When I Grow Up, I Want To Be...

...A Wedding Food Taster!

 

     You may remember that a few posts back, I mentioned a wedding. Well, while we were in Florida, we made a trip to the venue:

 

 

We sat at a beautiful table in a dining room

with no one in it and the food just kept coming.

 

There were 8 different appetizers...4 were chosen.

Two salad choices...which one
do you think they picked?

 

Three fabulous entrees...two were selected and yes,

that is lobster in those mashed potatoes.

 

     After months of "healthy eating" I nearly jumped up and down when each of us was presented a platter to sample cake and cupcake flavors along with various frostings. White, chocolate, key lime and lemon along with buttercream and cream cheese frosting and a chocolate ganache. You know sometimes as a parent you just have to make sacrifices for your kids...I would have rather been eating carrots and celery, but I forced myself to try those potatoes, crab cakes, and each and every flavor of cupcake and frosting. This was fun, plain and simple. We were treated so well and it was really easy to make the selections. Everything was really good and some things were just perfect! I think I could make a career of this, don't you?

 

 

I am joining Michael @

Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday

 

 

Another May 13th

 

     It was 3 years ago today, May 13, 2010, that I lost my mom. It was 47 years ago, May 13, 1966 that she lost her mother, my grandmother. May 13th, Mother's Day, they always come together and I remember that Mother's Day was always bittersweet for my mom. I get it now, I wish I could tell her that.

 

     In many ways it seems as if she has been gone forever and sometimes it seems as if those 3 months from a healthy, happy mom to losing her, just happened yesterday. I'm still using a bottle of her perfume and it hasn't been long enough that the bottle is empty yet. There are so many things I wish I could ask her and so much that I would love to tell her.

 

     She lost her mother very suddenly when she was 36, with 2 little girls at home to raise. She never faltered. I never saw her cry although my dad said that she did often. She was the type of woman who protected her children from seeing her pain. I was only 11, so I had no idea what she was going through. I lost her at 55. I cried every day for the first year and some days I thought I wouldn't survive without her here. I wasn't stoic like she was, I called my daughter in tears many times and she was there for me in ways that I only wish I could have been for my mom.  

 

     Mom absolutely lived for her grandkids. She would hate this picture...but, you can see the love as she held my son for the first time. She is younger in both of these pictures with my babies than I am now. From that moment on, they shared a very special bond.

 

My daughter, a vision in pink on the way home

 from the hospital, also captured her heart.

 

     In the 3 years she has been gone, there have been so many changes in our family. My sister has had two daughters get married, I have one engaged. She would have been so happy for our girls and as wonderful as these moments are...something is just missing without her there. Some of her 6 grands have really thrived in the past 3 years, others have struggled and her youngest...is now 17, driving, going to prom and growing into a beautiful young lady.

 

     Mom was our rock, the glue that held our family together. She was the one that we could talk to, who never minced words with us. When we spoke, she really listened and our kids had a respect for her opinions that they have never had for ours.

 

     Life does go on and it certainly has in our family. Some wonderful things have happened since she left us and some not so great. We have had to adjust to things that are painful and difficult and yet we have survived. My sister and I are closer than ever, my daughter has really tried to step up and fill the void left by my mom, even though I tell her it isn't her job to "mother" me. People say it gets easier, and it does. The pain is no longer acute. I no longer wake up crying in the night and when I think of mom, I smile. The missing her, never gets better. She is with me every day of my life...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

     So, is May 13th a day of sorrow for me? Not really. I don't miss her more today than any other day, every other day. Is it jinxed that her mother died on May 13th and so did my Mom? I could think that (and I probably wouldn't go sky-diving today), or I could remember what someone wise told me...it is a special day. It is the day my Mom got to see her Mom again, after a long separation. I think that is a much better way to think of it. Love you Mom.

 

Our last "3 generation" picture.

It Is About "Time"

 

It is a musical week on I Need Mom!

I wanted to post this today as the album was released.

My suggestion...buy it!

 

     I grew up listening to Rod Stewart. I was in high school when the album Every Picture Tells A Story came out. When I hear that raspy voice, I am right back there with Maggie May and Reason to Believe.  Over the years there were albums I liked and some I didn't, songs that stuck in my head (remember Hot Legs) and others that were forgotten, but I always was a fan.

 

     Then, in 2002, Rod began a decade of doing The Great American Songbook series. He started by singing songs from the 30's and 40's and gradually moved on to old standards and old rock covers. He lost me. Those album were very successful, but I missed the Rod Stewart that was creative and a little crazy with his music. I found a quote where he said that Time, is a rock album of his own original material. It marks a return to songwriting after what Stewart termed "a dark period for twenty years"; he said that writing his autobiography gave him the impetus to write music again. As a fan, I couldn't be happier.

 

     Time, released today, May 7th, 2013, marks Stewart's long-awaited return to his songwriting roots and features 12 tracks, 11 of which he wrote and produced. Rod rediscovered his voice as a songwriter and rekindled his gift for writing the honest, nerve-touching narratives that have been the cornerstone to the first three decades of his career. "Suddenly ideas for lyrics were piling up in my head," he says. "Next thing I knew, I had a song called 'It's Over' about divorce and separation. And now I was getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down, which has never happened to me. I finished seven or eight songs very quickly and I still wasn't done, and it became apparent that I would eventually have a whole album of material to record."

     It took about 2 seconds to realize that this album was while new and creative, flavored with the happy, feel good songs of the Rod Stewart I always enjoyed. Opening with She Makes Me Happy (watch the video here), one would never know that Mr. Stewart is 68-years-old. You can't tell by his hairstyle either as somehow, it remains the same over all these years. It's Over is a beautiful ballad that will touch so many hearts as it speaks of the end of a marriage. Beautiful Morning is a feel good song that will have you singing along and Finest Woman sounds very much like an old Rod Stewart rock song.

      What I love most is that this is rock album for my generation. Every song "tells a story" that I can relate to as a grown-up. I can only say that this record was a very pleasant surprise that I will be listening to often. Time is available on iTunes and Amazon. Along with the release of Time, Stewart is set to embark on the European leg of his Live the Life tour on June 1st, while American dates with Steve Winwood will kick off October 17th.


Time-Track Listing:
 1. She Makes Me Happy
2. Can’t Stop Me Now
3. It’s Over4. Brighton Beach
5. Beautiful Morning
6. Live The Life
7. Finest Woman
8. Time
9. Picture In A Frame
10. Sexual Religion
11. Make Love To Me Tonight
12. Pure Love

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

Michael Bublé "To Be Loved"

 

     Michael Bublé is one of those artists that I really like as a person. I think he would be fun to have over for dinner, he seems to have a great sense of humor and to be an all around great guy. I truly respect his talent and I think that he is one of those rare artists that sings the classics beautifully, but also transitions into today's pop music when the occasion arises.

 

     With all of that said, I personally don't listen to the old standards. I think they remind me too much of my "parent's music" and the days of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. When I was asked to listen and review Michael's new album, "To Be Loved", I accepted the offer because I was curious.

 

     Known as a Canadian Crooner, Bublé wants to "take you on a wonderful journey about love—all different kinds of love," with this album. He says it  "rocks, it’s soulful, it’s happy, sometimes a little sad. It’s romantic, it’s yummy, and it’s heartfelt."  The album covers songs by Frank Sinatra, the Bee Gees, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, and more. In the mix of golden standards are four original songs co-written by Bublé, dipping into his personal life for inspiration.

 

 

     As I listened to the album, I found an interesting pattern in my response to the music. The standards are done beautifully, it goes without saying that Michael's voice is as smooth as silk. So, if you are a fan of the older songs...you will love this album. The surprise for me was that the songs that made me stop and listen that I really enjoyed the most, were each one co-written by Bublé and each was beautiful. My favorite song on the album is "Close Your Eyes" which was written for his wife and the other women in his life. It is beautiful and so obviously sung from his heart. "After All" is sung with Bryan Adams and is another of my favorites. There is no doubt this man has a long career in his future as both a performer and I hope as a song writer...he excels at both!

 

     "To Be Loved" is available now on iTunes and Amazon. You can watch Michael sing "To Love Somebody" by clicking here.

 

To Be Loved Track Listing:

 

1. "You Make Me Feel So Young"

2. "It's a Beautiful Day"

3. "To Love Somebody"

4. "Who's Lovin You"

5. "Something Stupid" (featuring Reese Witherspoon)

6. "Come Dance with Me"

7. "Close Your Eyes"

8. "After All" (featuring Bryan Adams)

9. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (with Naturally 7)

10. "To Be Loved"

11. "You've Got a Friend in Me"  

12. "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (featuring The Puppini Sisters)

13. "I Got It Easy"    

14. "Young at Heart"

 

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

Food, Glorious Food

 

     This year, Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival added some food and beverage booths. Unlike the Food and Wine Festival in the fall, the foods were made with "garden" ingredients to go along with the festival theme. There were less booths than in the fall, but a few of the things we tried are worth mentioning.

 

     The picture above of Watermelon Salad was one of my two favorites. I have already made this at home and it will be a staple at our house this summer. It is light, fresh and good for you...plus delicious. The ingredients are watermelon cubes, baby arugula, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. It is very simple to prepare-cube the watermelon, top with arugula. Reduce the balsamic vinegar (boil it until it thickens, then cool) and drizzle it over the top. Sprinkle with the feta cheese. It was really good.

 

 

      My dad tried the shrimp, grits and sausage and loved it. It looked very good and had a bit of a bite to it.

 

     I love mushrooms, so I opted to try the savory Mushroom and Spring Pea Bread Pudding. My first bite what I noticed was how salty it was. I was hungry and I ate it, but it was one of those foods that I never want to see again. Too much salt, too heavy and just not my thing at all. 

 

     Baked Goat's Brie with Kumquat Chutney-to die for! This was a crispy pastry with a creamy filling that tasted both like goat cheese and brie. This is one of those things that I could have gone back for a second...or third, but I restrained myself.

 

     My daughter and I had to try the "Frushi". It looks like Sushi, but is actually fruit with a coconut rice around it. Tasty but nothing I would crave.

 

 

This little bit was very good. Limoncello Panna Cotta,

wish I had one of these right now!

 

     We also tried the Brisket with Cornbread and the Pulled Pig Sandwich with Coleslaw on the night we went back to Epcot for the concert. Both were excellent. What concert? I guess you will just have to wait for another blog post. It certainly was fun, I must say!

 

 

I am joining Michael @ Rattlebridge Farm

for Foodie Friday