I took the plunge...

This is just a quick post to let those of you who have not seen me recently know that I got a hair cut. It is is true. How cruel is it that I am not posting a picture? I think that I will not so secretly (since my hubby reads this blog) load pictures onto this computer to give you a sneak peak. But it won't be tonight. I am winding down from a very exciting hair bow making party that I hosted tonight. The girls made a ton of great clippies and bows! I am SURE that many of their creations will be all over blogland if not tonight then first thing tomorrow am. They are probably as wound up as I am and blogging it right now! Just kidding. I think. All kidding aside, there was some serious bow making going on here with some really great clips and idea sharing. It was totally fun and the time just flew by!

OK. Back to the haircut. I did it and it felt great. The pony tail was about 16 inches to the very tip. It is well on it's way to Locks of Love- my third and final donation. No regrets and I can still put it in a pony tail...what more could a girl ask for?

Will do my best to post pics soon. Please check back:)

Here are the pics as promised taken the night my hair was cut:)

festive fun food

I made this fun jello salad for Easter at Steve's parent's house. We all got together the Saturday before Easter and had a great time.

Ribbon Jello Salad

1 (3 ounce) package cherry flavored gelatin mix
1 (3 ounce) package lemon flavored gelatin mix
1 (3 ounce) package lime flavored gelatin mix
1 (3 ounce) package orange flavored gelatin mix

1 (3 ounce) package berry flavored gelatin mix (optional)

2 cups milk
2 (.25 ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup white sugar
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, boil milk and sugar. Cool completely, but do not refrigerate.
Dissolve each package of flavored gelatin separately in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water. Set aside.
Dissolve unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add with sour cream to cooled milk and sugar and vanilla mixture. Set aside.
Spread gelatin of one color on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Chill in refrigerator until set. Then put 1 1/3 cup of the sour cream mixture on the chilled, firm layer of gelatin. Keep alternating these until all gelatin is used. Be sure to chill after each addition of gelatin.

This was really fun to make and was so colorful but took a loooong time due to letting each layer set. The visual results were totally worth it though! I actually used 5 packs of jello so that is why I added an optional pack in the ingredients. The layers wanted to slide off one another so the next time I make this I will add each layer after about 20-25 mins instead of letting it set completely. I was not very diligent about timing the layers and often would forget about it! Don't let the sour cream throw you....the white layer tastes a lot like cream cheese:)

I also made Bird's Nests. This is a throw back to the days of my youth when Mom would whip these up. Super easy and very cute!

Bird Nest Cookies

1 bag milk choc chips

1 can (5 oz.) can chow mein noodles

1 c. chopped salted peanuts (optional)

1 bag sm. jelly beans

Melt chips in microwave or double boiler. Add noodles, stir until completely coated. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper shaping into nest. Cool completely. Add jelly beans.

There are so many variations on this cookie. You can use white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or combine the butterscotch with the chocolate. You can even add peanut butter. Whatever you would like. I just went for easy and used the milk chocolate chips and the noodles. AND jelly beans of course!

too much of a good thing?

What do you get when you mix a hard boiled egg (before Mass), Life cereal (during Mass), ham and cheese omelet (after Mass aka THIRD breakfast), a sucker, pack of skittles, string cheese (given to you by your big brother without asking Mom who found the wrapper after the fact), a riveting Easter egg hunt followed by 8 jelly beans, a couple of swigs of milk and a chocolate candy???? An upset tummy and a small pile of vomit (resulting in clean sheets) when you are put down for your nap!!!

Happy Easter from a very full Dax who had a little TOO MUCH of a good thing!!

no pictures????

While the basement is under construction and I have no access to my computer, I have been allowed to use my hubby's computer in the office with the request not to download to or inundate the computer with unnecessary "stuff"(read: don't junk up my computer and NO you may NOT put pictures AND editing software on my computer). All kidding aside, I do miss my computer and all of it's "stuff" and "junk". It is not nearly as fun to blog without the photo which is usually the topic of my posts. Soooo if any of you are wondering what the heck is up with the lack of photos or are relieved that you do not have to endure another photo from the Noe family- this is a temporary situation. Thank goodness for that because I am already feeling a serious urge to do some "junking."

Since I cannot show you the photo of the 4 bunnies that live/play in our backyard, you cannot see how cute they are. They love to run and play with each other and boy can they do flips (and dig holes)! The other day I asked Xavier what he thought the bunnies were doing out in the yard. X: I think they are looking for places to lay the Easter eggs:)

Greek Style Garlic Shrimp with Orzo

I recently made a new recipe from Rachel Ray's 365: No Repeats Cookbook. I thought it was really good. The hubby disliked the skins from the grape tomatoes that I used...it's a texture thing with him:)

Greek Style Garlic Shrimp with Orzo

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2/3 pound orzo
2 teaspoons lemon zest
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
freshly ground pepper

Season the shrimp with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Cook the orzo according to package directions in salted water. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add the onions, garlic, crushed red pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for an additional minute. Then add the tomatoes, olives, oregano, and parsley. Cook just until shrimp turn pink. Add the wine and remove from heat. Drain the cooked orzo and drizzle with just a touch of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. Toss in a large serving dish with the shrimp mixture and top with the feta cheese crumbles.

I pretty much left the recipe as is this time. I did use grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes and begrudgingly left the olives out because Steve doesn't like them. I may try a canned , drained diced tomato next time to see if the hubby will give it a better review. I will be making this again. Don't skip the feta...it MAKES the dish!

A quick funny. I try to take pics of the food to go with the recipe just for fun (although I am slow to add them to the blog!). The other night I was snapping away and Xavier said "Why are you taking pictures of that? Nobody wants to see pictures of our dinner"! OK maybe he is just a tad like his father...that sounds like something straight out of Daddy's mouth! Thanks for your support babe!