Dining Out: Le Moulins de Mougins

Thursday night in France was to be our “big night out”. As I mentioned last Friday, it was the precursory celebration of Mr. and Mrs. G’s 16th Anniversary. P.O.D. and I joined the "G's" and Mr. G's cousin, Sophy, at a restaurant of note in a town called Mougins, not far from Cannes.

From the moment you walked in the door, you knew this place was going to provide an extraordinary dining experience. We sat in a kind of “garden room”, enclosed on all sides by glass allowing a virtually unimpeded view of the courtyard garden outside (photo below, in the daylight).

Autographs of notable personalities were scrawled on the glass the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor….all who had dined at 'Le Moulins de Mougins' on a previous occasion.

Tonight was our night to dine there and, although we were not asked to sign the glass, we did enjoy an amazing meal. Our table opted for the “Chef’s Tasting Menu”, which is a practice of being served several (I believe we had 11) small-portioned courses hand selected and prepared by the Chef. We were tended to by a graceful and fun wait staff, led by our head waiter, Diedre.

Not far into our courses, we learned of the notoriety of our chef, Sébastien Chambru. The staff sung his praises and the plates they brought to us were probably the singular best-tasting culinary pairings that I have ever had. French and Japanese fusion. My favorite? Escalope de foie gras de canard poêlee, pain perdu á la banana (Pan friend duck foie gras, French toast banana flavor).

This being "The Sweet Life", I thought I would highlight our sweets (desserts....and there were THREE....can it get much sweeter than that??) Below are some photos and descriptions:

Ananas bounty (Coconut, vanilla, pineapple combination and pineapple sorbet)

Feuille á feuille craquante au praliné, caramel glacé (Contemporary “mille feuille” of chocolate and hazelnuts, salted caramel ice cream….and you may not be able to see it in the photo, but there was a small gold leaf draped over the wafer/ice cream presentation ….beautiful….and, for, the record….the leaf had no real taste!)

Finally….NOT on the menu, but presented to our table as a gift from the staff, was this lovely glass of custard with a chocolate topping decorated with the restaurant logo. A very nice end to the perfect meal.

We left full and happy. It was a beautiful night and the company was wonderful.

Then, just this morning, I received an email from Sophy, who excitedly explained that she happened to catch a feature on television LAST night about the restaurant and its artful Chef, Sébastien Chambru. Here is her report:

He is exactly 32 years old and has worked in Japan where he especially worked on
choosing the products and associating them. He said that 50% of the work is done
in having good products. He brought a [uniqueness to the menu of] 'Le Moulins de
Mougins' with his young Japanese experience and his brand-new French and
Japanese association of food.

He [received] the 'MOF' graduation in 2007: “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” (Best worker of France), issued from a competitive examination. There were only [seven] to be graduated in France in 2007, and only they are allowed to wear the French Flag around their neck when they are in the kitchen clothes. [You can see this red, white and blue French flag collar in the photo,below...from L to R: P.O.D., Mrs. G, Chef Sébastien Chambru, 1SweetMama, Mr. G, Diedre, Sophy]

'Le Moulin de Mougins' has two 'Macarons Michelin'
(or we can say also 'Etoiles Michelin'), Sébastien Chambru is trying to bring
the 3rd Macaron Michelin to the restaurant with his New French/Japanese Cuisine
[fusion-style menu selections].

We were the last to leave the restaurant…I think it was around midnight but everyone remaining at the restaurant was very gracious to us. If I am ever lucky enough to visit France again, I would love an encore at Le Moulins de Mougins, but….until then, you will find me on my treadmill.

If you would like to visit this restaurant, virtually, you can travel there via this website: http://www.moulindemougins.com/fr/index.php#index.php

Next Friday will be my last posting on my French adventure. Please join me as I wrap up this chapter of “The Sweet Life”.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Bud's Big Day

It has been two weeks of travel and I have another big week next week (you will hear all about it in my blog post on Tuesday) so it comes as no surprise that Bud’s (my oldest son) 15th birthday kinda snuck up on me.

Not to be “snuck up” upon by any birthday, I was prepared. I whipped up another fabulous party last night, complete with birthday cake and Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic® ice cream, gifts, singing relatives, and lots of embarrassed eye-rolling from my “I’m-too-cool-for-all-this-attention” 15-year old.

The party needed to end early so that everyone could get homework done and get in bed at a decent time so that we could be up and making my first kid delivery to school by 7:15 a.m.

And since September seems to be about birthdays and cakes and ice cream, I must tell you one of my most favorite stories about Bud. One year, when he was 9 or 10, he asked for an Easy-Bake Oven® for Christmas. While this was the source of several conversations on whether or not a pink EZ Bake oven for a 9-year old boy was a good gift….come Christmas morning, that oven was under the tree and weeks of teeny-tiny cakes, baked by the heat of a light bulb, and quarter-sized cookies, baked 4 at a time, were enjoyed by all. We continue to tell stories about it to this day and Bud has even expressed interest in the possibility of pursuing a career in the culinary arts. Who knows………….maybe Chef Duff got his start with an Easy-Bake Oven and, possibly, a blow torch!

As the oldest, Bud has always been a bit of the Guinea Pig…the science experiment. From the day he was born until this morning, and for every morning hereafter, I will always look upon him with wonderment as the one who started my motherhood journey and leads me into unchartered territory on a daily basis. Bud continues to fascinate me with his compassion, kind heart, talent, and his resolute.

He is easy going and knows how to “work a room”. He has a winning charm and plays a very mean piano…..and he will always hold a special place in his mom’s heart as the one who, on this day 15 years ago, both terrified me and melted my heart all at the same time.

Happy 15th birthday, Bud!

Beware! Today’s blog post ends in a Cliffhanger!!!

Before I leave you for the week, I IMPLORE you to check out my blog post on Tuesday. It will be pretty unexpected, i assure you. Not sure the time that I will post it so keep checking back on Tuesday until you see it.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Time To Take A Stand

OK. Seriously. Someone has to say something and if no one else does, I sure am going to. I need to take a personal stand against "those" emails…..you know the ones….you get them two or three times a day. The “here-is-a-ridiculously-sappy-email-with-flowers-or-cute-puppies-or-angels-or-roses-that-says-you-need-to-forward-to-10-friends-and-your-wish-will-come-true-at-11:37-and-besides-you-must-hate-me-if-I-don’t-get-this-back” emails.

Just recently, I was sent an email from a good friend and the subject headline read:

“Let’s see if you reply….if ya don’t it says a lot!!”

Wow! That is harsh!

My immediate reaction is, “Why would so-and-so send me an e-mail with that as the header??” I guess I better read it! I open it up to find a series of roses for love and friendship, blah…blah…blah. I am supposed to send it on to 10 friends including her, the sender. If I don’t, I must be some kind of stone-hearted person with ice water running through my veins.

My email reply to her was:

“Dear friend,

“Know that I get all of your emails like this
one but I just don't reply or forward out of respect for my
fellow cyber-friends. If I sent and received all of these "Send to 10
friends and see who replies" emails with wishes being granted I would never get
anything done. In fact, my Inbox is generally where those kinds of emails
go to die. BUT I will reply to this one so you DO
know...

“I appreciate your friendship.....here is a virtual
rose.

“Just because I don't reply doesn't mean I don't care.
Hope all is well with you and your family!

1SweetMama”

I absolutely adore the gal who sent this to me…..but I cannot stand receiving these emails. I don’t mean to be a cynic but these are the cyber equivalent to credit card offers that litter my mailbox or solicitations for donations for The Boys and Girls Home or the ASPCA with photos of starving dogs and cats on the envelopes. I can’t stand these things! I am riddled with guilt when I toss them into the shredder. I know I should respond but I never have enough money to spread around for these kinds of things. I want to give but I just can’t.

And because my money is like my time, I must carefully budget it and spending time to respond and forward thousands of “here-is-a-ridiculously-sappy-email-with-flowers-or-cute-puppies-or-angels-or-roses-that-says-you-need-to-forward-to-10-friends-and-your-wish-will-come-true-at-11:37-and-besides-you-must-hate-me-if-I-don’t-get-this-back” emails is not very prudent. Again: I want to give but I just can’t.

So….here is YOUR virtual rose, your angel, your kitty, puppy, dancing hippopotamus, shout out to the classy ladies for “Today Is Classy Lady Day” (which, according to the number of times I receive this in a year….it must occur 47 times annually). I love you all but I don’t need to forward or respond to emails threatening me to do so. My promise to YOU is that you will never get one of those emails from me, either. You might, however, get a personal email telling you how much I love you. I hope that is okay.

Send this on to 10 friends or not. I really don’t care.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Aunt 1SweetMama Will Always have Gum!

I told you previously that there is a slight difference between birthdays and birth days and here is that subtle nuance.

Early Thursday morning, just 3 and one-half hours past the “lucky” 09-09-09 date, my sister, “Little A” gave birth to my VERY first nephew. For now, I will call him “Squeaker”, because that is what he mostly does. I only met him for the first time for just 45 minutes yesterday and he squeaked and squawked the whole while, melting his “Auntie’s” heart. His fingers and toes are long and purplish but soft to the touch and oh, so dainty. His poor little head is misshapen and bruised from hours of stress and pressure of a long and painful labor and birth.

I must tell you that, while many cultures boast the good omens of the 09-09-09 date, the best omen for our family was to finally meet this little guy. My sister, a petite (but strong marathon runner) suffered 20 hours of labor, including 4 and a half hours of “pushing” before her doctor must have finally “done the math” and realized that a 5’1” girl may not be able to successfully push out a 7 and a half pound baby. Near total exhaustion, she finally underwent a C-Section and….

Welcome “Squeaker”!

He was born on 9-10-09…maybe not the lucky date that everyone talked about on Wednesday but the luckiest date for Little A and her hubby, “Banan-er” (pronounced like “banana with an “er” at the end). He is their first-born and a definite keeper.

This little angel joins the ranks of my two nieces (from my brother and his wife) as holding a very special place in 1SweetMama’s heart. These are the people who I hope will always know that they may come to their “Auntie” for advice and, most importantly, GUM.

That is right. Let it be known that if they ever have want for gum and I am in gum-giving proximity…..I will be ready to hand it over for their pure chewing enjoyment. Advice will also be dolled out in the same fashion, should they ever decide they need it.

I know that aunts play important roles in nieces’ and nephews’ lives and I hope that I will be able to fulfill this duty with courage, dignity, humor, sweetness…..and a piece or two of Juicy Fruit gum.

So, you see there IS a slight difference between birthdays and birth days and in this instance, this particular birth day is a wonderful moment in 1SweetMama’s life.

…..and, while I am at it, how about a “shout out” to all those who I love who also celebrate September birthdays….

Corey, Maggie, Jayne, Evie, and Peanut. Congrats on another beautiful year!!

Tune in next Tuesday when we will start the countdown to Chef Duff Goldman and my “Ace of Cakes” encounter in New York City!

Until then, I remain….”Auntie”1SweetMama

Peanut And His Tenth Trip Around The Sun

(Peanut in 2006....I love this picture...it is about the only moment when he wasn't talking...we call this photo "Peanut, at rest")

He was supposed to have been born on 9-9-99 but he just couldn’t wait. Peanut was born, instead, on September 8, 1999, and I watched, from my hospital bed, all the other mothers being interviewed on television because they had had their babies on September 9. Peanut was anxious to get started with life a day early and he has never looked back.

I also remember that he latched on to a “binky” and a stuffed animal from just days old. Peanut still cannot go anywhere without that stuffed animal, which was – we believe – a beanie-baby hamster but we began to call it “Mole” or more endearingly, “Moley”. I don’t even want to get into the whole… “But the animal has eyes so how can it be a mole?” thing….it is just what we called it and the name stuck. Today, Moley is just a stump with an eye (and no arms and legs) that Grandma Jane has to continue to perform surgery on in order to hold him together. Peanut doesn’t care.

The binky was a near permanent fixture for Peanut. When we began to grow concerned because his speech and language development was slow, the doctor simply told us to “pull the plug” on the binky and, upon its removal, the words began to pour out of his mouth like never before. He still talks non-stop and sometimes we joke with him, asking him if he ever even stops to take a breath. It is a common belief that he is making up for lost time from the binky and his “no-talking” days.

He has the wildest imagination and wants so much to be like his big brother. He says the funniest things without even realizing they are funny…which makes it even funnier.

He tells me that he likes to take showers because it is his “imagination place”, which, at first, terrified me when he said it. When I asked what he meant by that, Peanut said, “Well, I like to go in there and just think about things that are interesting.” Wow. That is deep.

Now in the 4th grade, he loves football (see my 8/28/09 entry), video games, the Nickelodeon Channel, collecting stuffed animals, and wanted nothing more for his birthday than an overly priced Nerf gun and a chocolate ice cream cake.

(Photo, middle, right, is of Peanut at his party....he held up the cake so we could take his picture and it slid off....his expression is priceless!)

His birthday was a huge hit.

Not only was there chocolate ice cream cake, Peanut received TWO Nerf guns (because what’s the point in having just one gun when you can have two and choose your opponent?), a giant slab of beef jerky (that’s his favorite), some little “fun” gifts, and the meal of his choice, which ended up being country-style BBQ ribs, Iowa sweet corn, and Grandma Jane’s applesauce.

Peanut is wildly proud of the fact that he is now a double-digit number. 10 passes around the sun and a personality that is just as bright.

Happy birthday, Peanut. We love you!

Labor Day!

Today is the last day of a crazy work week and I must confess that the minutes are ticking by ever so slowly….I know that, since it must be 5 o’clock somewhere, we all should be allowed to get out of here and go home and begin our “relaxing” weekend that is meant to congratulate workers across the globe for a job well done with a well-earned long weekend.

In case you were wondering (and this comes straight from Wikipedia. Read the full story at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day ) …..

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 7 in 2009).

The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes ("Nine-Hour Movement") first in Hamilton, then in Toronto, Ontario in the 1870s, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872. The parades held in support of the Nine-Hour Movement and the printers' strike led to an annual celebration in Canada.

In 1882, American labor leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto. Inspired, he returned to New York and organized the first American "labor day" on September 5 of the same year.

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations.

Or……simply host a bar-b-que! Go camping. Have a party. Go fishing. Eat ice cream.

This is supposed to be a workers’ holiday….a time to celebrate and rest from work.

Hmmmmm…..rest from work?

Do we ever really rest? In the age of cell phones and email and smart phones and mp3 players, and Facebook, do we ever truly “turn it off” and spend some quality time just (figuratively speaking, here) sitting on the front porch and wile away the hours….resting?

If given a chance, would we?

Maybe our mission this weekend is to find a hammock or chaise lounge and put our feet up for a while and just do nothing…..or…..if you must do something productive….take a nap.

Or eat ice cream.

I have heard that you never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

That moment arrived, for me, about 4 days ago.

I hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend and PLEASE take some time for yourself and/or your family. Shut the phone off. In fact, shut it ALL off and just “be”. The time that you spend with those that are important to you is truly the remedy for the stress and strain of the work-a-day world.

There is no better way to celebrate than to do it with family and friends…..and eat some ice cream.

Have a glorious weekend and we’ll chat on Tuesday.

Until then, I remain….1SweetMama

What The Hell Is That Thing??

We have all seen them. I know I see them as I am sitting, taking care of business, in the women’s restroom. I know! I know! What am I doing looking around when I should be quickly and efficiently “conducting my business”? I can’t help it. I look up and there it is…

What the hell is that thing??

Smoke detector? Motion detector? Both? Neither? “Big Brother” watching? Aliens? There are no signs identifying it. It just hangs there – a constant sentinel standing watch over the ladies’ restroom. There are actually two of them in there. They don’t do anything but blink…that is – a little green light alternately blinks on and off in a random blinking pattern. I am almost convinced that the blinking is in response to movement but I can’t be sure. There are also these two “eyes” that don’t do anything at all, except perhaps to watch me. They NEVER blink. Ever. Disturbing.

To test it, I sit “there”, VERY still and it doesn’t blink. After what I feel is an appropriate amount of time, I move my hand….and it blinks!! Or maybe it isn’t random at all and I am just impatient for shorter amounts of time than I think I am.

I AM aware that the lights in the bathroom are motion activated. There are times when I have walked into the bathroom and when I open the door, the lights turn on. If there is enough traffic through the bathroom, the lights stay on all day. If there is a lull in activity in there, the lights shut off.

But no one really knows what the “timer” is set at. Is that what that "thing" is for?

I don’t know!! There is no sign.

It just simply begs the question, “What the hell is that thing?”

There has been a lot of discussion in the office. We see this thing all over the corporate office and I have seen similar things in restaurants and shopping areas but it is very unsettling that a semi-intelligent woman, such as myself, cannot identify this "thing".

I know you are thinking that I am crazy for obsessing about it. Perhaps I am….or is it the aliens that are watching in me in the bathroom that make me think this way?

The mystery remains as we stare each other down in the ladies’ restroom.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

P.S. If I might brag….before I leave you today, I want to tell you to strap on your “sweet-belts” because the next “bakers’ dozen” (13, for those of you who don’t like pastries) of blog posts will be the BEST ever. My posts will feature LOTS of birthdays, birth days (yes, there is a slight, but related, difference!), more Chef Duff encounters, stories about cakes and male anatomies…yes, they are related…., and ONE BIG, GI-NORMOUS SURPRISE!!! But, you’ll never know if you don’t read and tune in twice (Tuesdays and Fridays) each and every week to “The Sweet Life”.

Tell your friends. Grab your laptops and wi-fi hot spots and hang on. It is going to be one SWEET ride!

"Pardon Me, If It's No Trouble..."

(Peanut is the one in the center of the photo with his "Lineman" stance. Grrrrr!)

I love my almost-10-year old, "Peanut". From the day he was born, he was always very sweet. A “cuddler” and…..a bit of a Mama’s Boy, he always does his best to do what he thinks is right.

At nearly 10 years old, he still collects stuffed animals and says “I love you, Mom” about a hundred times a day. Out of the blue, he will tell me that he loves his grandmas and grandpas, how much he adores his dog, Max, and quotes random scientific facts (“Do you know why a spacesuit is white? So that it is cooler because it reflects the sun and so other astronauts can see it. Did you know that there is gravity in space?…it is just less.”).

He is smart as a whip, loves to read, is a master Guitar Hero player, plays piano, and is starting on the viola this year. Stubborn as an old mule…but a very good heart and is one of the gentlest and kindest souls I have ever known.

This being said, I have to talk about his love and participation in football.

Peanut plays in the community youth football league. An organization, I assure you we had no idea when we signed him up for it, that is an extremely competitive, travelling league. The coaches yell a lot in practice and blow the whistle to the point of near annoyance. I painfully watch my delicate flower of a son as he lumbers around the field and when Coach makes him run two laps. I can only breathe again when I know he has successfully completed the drill. Peanut wants to always have someone at practice to watch him because (and these are his words, not mine) he might “puke”.

When we signed him up last fall for this league, we knew it was tackle football and full pads and gear. Peanut begged and begged to do it. He loves football – his favorite teams are the Vikings and the Iowa Hawkeyes. To bring down an opposing player like the “big guys” do on TV? Well, to Peanut…..this would be sheer bliss.

However, because Peanut is such a kind and gentle soul….I am not sure football is his game. He has a tender demeanor which prevents him from being aggressive on the field. He tries so hard to please the coaches and he certainly has size on his side…..nearly 105 pounds. He pushes himself through each practice and game and is learning all the skills and plays of a Lineman. Starting out as Defensive Lineman, he was moved to Offensive Lineman because he just wasn’t aggressive enough to “give it” and was much better at “taking it”.

I tell him that I am going to sprinkle a little “mean” in his cereal each morning. He laughs and gives me his sweet, little smile and says, “Mo-om!!”

Peanut’s interpretation of “bringing down the other guy” is to awkwardly squat down, wait for the hike, then quietly say to the other boy, “Pardon me, number 26, if it’s no trouble, would you be so kind as to not cross this line of scrimmage and tackle our team’s quarterback? It would be most appreciated,” while his other teammates are dragging down the other boys by their legs and hips into the mud. I, of course, exaggerate. However, Peanut DOES master the “gentle fall down” technique by tapping the opponent on his chest or shoulders, then looking for the pile-up and running to jump into it.

At least he is trying. He has stuck with his football career longer than I could have expected (and it just started three weeks ago) and I give him points for that. I am very proud of him. He loves football and I want to support him every season, if he wants me to. I must admit that he does improve with every practice and I did watch him at practice lat night actually PULL DOWN a ball carrier. Very impressive.

This may not have been the way Peyton Manning or Brett Favre started out, but one thing they all have in common is passion. Peanut shares this love for the game and tries very hard and as long as he knows I am on the sidelines with a water bottle and a friendly word of encouragement, that is all that matters to me.

Who knows? He could, one day, be the big star on the high school Bulldogs football team…..or not. But it will be fun to watch him find out on his own.

Until next time….I remain, 1SweetMama

...And We're Off!

(Photo: www.flickr.com , **msk - http://www.flickr.com/photos/estmsk )

It is that time of year where I have a death grip on my Franklin Planner, monitoring every hour of every day and planning and orchestrating every single move and complex decision which will help me to best manage the schedules of my life.

With my job, the boys’ lives, school, sports, music, and church schedules - my calendar is an intricate series of “so-and-so needs to be here at this time” and “so-and-so needs to be there at that time” and who is going to get them there and who is going to pick them up.

As a single mom, I have become a diligent 5-Star General, strategizing troop movement from battlefield to battlefield, with me shouting orders and commands as we go. There is no room for error, less the enemy (our crazy schedule) find the weak spot and inflict total schedule annihilation. We must be swift! Agile. Determined. We must not show fear. We must forage our path into school year territory and (in the words of Winston Churchill) never, never, never quit.

For those of you who read this and wonder why I never call anymore…..here is why:

(Bear in mind, I work from 8 – 5 Monday through Friday….)

Monday: 7:05 – leave home to drive Bud (my oldest) to chorus rehearsal followed by my racing back home to get Peanut (my youngest) ready and out the door and to school by 7:55 (my neighbor, who watches these shenanigans from his back porch, calls this “Round One” and “Round Two”). School until 3:15 p.m. Grandma Jane picks up Peanut and brings him home. I meet up with them at my house at the end of my work day; walk the dog; help feed and dress Peanut for football practice at 6 p.m. then leave to pick Bud up from High School football; drop Bud off at the house…tell him to scrounge for food (“Think ‘Man vs. Wild’”, I tell him. “Imagine you have been dropped into the mountains of Yemen and you must stay alive but instead of eating reindeer droppings….you might find a peanut butter and cracker pack or frozen microwavable pizza!”). Then I am off to watch Peanut practice until 7:30 p.m. Everyone reunites around 7:45 p.m. Piano practice. Viola practice. Drum practice. Homework. Showers. Bed. Monday nights are also game nights for Bud so on the nights that he plays, the evening schedule management must be farmed out to any family member with a car and the mental fortitude to help out.

Tuesday: Repeat morning and day schedule. Just substitute Peanut’s piano theory class for the football practice element. Everyone reunites around 7:45 p.m. Piano practice. Viola practice. Drum practice. Homework. Showers. Bed. Throw in a random Tuesday night game for Peanut and theory must be rescheduled or skipped altogether.

Wednesday: Transition day for the boys to their dad’s house. Repeat morning and day schedule. 7 – 9 p.m. is Catechism for Bud and me (I am an adult guide for the group).

Thursday: Repeat morning and day schedule. The boys are with their dad but I must remain on call to assist their father if he has a work conflict. Peanut has football practice from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Friday: Repeat morning and day schedule. Boys are with their dad. Evening activities include 5 p.m. piano lessons for Peanut, later attending the high school football game and to watch Bud play in the half-time marching band program.

Saturday: Boys are still with their dad but he often has Saturday work conflicts so I remain on call. Meet any time (depending on the gametime) between 7:45 a.m. and 10 a.m. to drive to and watch Peanut’s football game. It is a traveling team, so this usually takes all or most of the morning. Bud has football practice from 8 – 9:30 a.m. Piano Lessons at 11:30 a.m. Catch up on laundry and house cleaning. Yard work. Grocery shop.

Sunday: Church – usually 8:15 a.m. service as "late church" is too contemporary for my preference. Lunch. Family fun activity or more yard work with the boys. Catch up on anything left on the list that didn’t get done. Evening dinner/dessert and card game activity with the extended family.

So…we are off and running. Eventually this will all become a carefully choreographed dance that we perform effortlessly and will, ultimately, master. For now, we clumsily take it a step at a time – until we fall into a rhythm.

To all you Moms and Dads out there: I feel your pain. Give me survival tips, if you have any. Just know that we are all in this together!

For those of you who wonder why I never call….please bear with me. I will get back to you when the schedule lets up….in about 8 years!

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Do They "Trick Out" Riding Mowers??

Last Friday afternoon, I guess you could say that I came face to face with that famous brass ring and, finally, decided it was time to pull the heck out of it.

That’s right, boys of the neighborhood….that middle-aged, hot (mostly because my tolerance to heat and humidity isn’t what it used to be) mama sitting on her brand new, bright red, hydrostat automatic engine, 24 horsepower, 42” cut Craftsman riding lawnmower with the drink cup-holder? That’s me!!

Well…..er….for now…..it is really my oldest son, Bud. Who, yes you are hearing me right - moms and dads of the world, begged – and I mean groveled – to climb on and mow not just my lawn but his grandparents’ lawn, too. If you can at all swing it financially (which, thanks to zero interest and zero payments for one full year along with season close-out pricing!!)….I am telling you, the price of this fine piece of lawn machinery was worth it simply for the fact that my teenager was not only excited to mow the lawn….asked when he could mow it again!! He said that this mower was the greatest investment I ever made. My youngest son, Peanut, kept asking when he would be old enough to mow the lawn. I believe he even compared the lawn mowing job to his current role as “Weedinator” as being more fun than pulling weeds and that I didn’t even have to pay him to mow.

Ahhhh, Heaven. It might be that I am a genius. It might also be that I can start thinking about standing up my lawn for our weekly “date night” and begin to hand that job off to my offspring. What would I do with an extra free night? Get a pedicure? Clean the toilet?? So many options!!

Oh, yes….and I cannot forget to tip my hat to the new gas-powered Weed Eater I also purchased along with the riding mower….or “The Tractor” as we now like to call it at the 1SweetMama household. I watched in utter disbelief as Bud gave Peanut a tutorial on how to operate it. It was so sweet watching Bud shepherd his little brother through the process. Bud pulled the starting cord and demonstrated, step for step, what I had showed him an hour earlier, including safety tips like “You will be better wearing pants when you do this because it hurts when you trim and the grass and dirt hits your shins.” For a moment my kids were adults, working together, to collaborate on a home project.

Until the newness wears off, I will bask in the afterglow of my tractor purchase and watch as my children take over my lawn care maintenance. And when it does, 1SweetMama will be waiting to spring like a gazelle into the driver’s seat of my bright, red beauty. I wonder, do they “trick out” riding lawn mowers??

By the way, my boys and I make our annual trek to the Motherland of all things Iowa today! Read about our adventures at The Iowa State Fair in my blog post on Friday, August 21!

Until then, I remain….1SweetMama

The Sweet Mystery of Motherhood

A Letter To My Sister on her approaching baby shower.....

Dear Little A,

For whatever it is worth:

I often joke with friends and relatives that I was never meant to be a “Baby Mom”. I am awkward with tiny people and about the only thing I love to do is hold babies until they start to cry and then I hand them back to their mothers. Of course, I loved having my own babies and the experience was one that I would never trade but I was always the type that just couldn’t wait until they got older and I could relate to them in a different way. I have even flirted with the odd (yet beautiful) role of “grandmother-type” to a young lass as P.O.D. has been blessed with one of the most handsome and sweet grandsons on the planet. My relationship to P.O.D. gives me the assumed right to be able to purchase stuffed animals, show off photos to co-workers, and dote on him in order to give his parents a break. It is good practice, anyway, for the day when I officially take on a role of Grandma.

However, I must confess that these days I am finding myself more drawn to my devilishly handsome sons with whom I have discovered I can now relate to in a more adult-ish way. We can joke about more intellectual comedic moments that present themselves in our lives or on television. I am able to relate to their friends better. We can have great meaningful discussions about important life issues like politics, relationships, futures, goals, dreams….yes, sometimes even girls.

It has occurred to me that somewhere along the way, a line was crossed where they stopped being tiny people and have grown into young men. And, even, within that journey, I have discovered that we are now – dare I say? – raising each other.

This is a Sweet Mystery of Motherhood that moms and mom-types across the globe realize at some point during child-rearing but never really talk very openly about. You don’t discuss it at baby showers when you are discussing the pros and cons of organic baby food and cloth vs. disposable diapers. It isn’t shared during playdates, not even at parent organization meetings. Yet…it is one of those realizations that just washes over you one day when you are really not thinking much about it.

It is such a wonderful and satisfying part of raising children when you realize that you have not only participated in bringing up young people who are good-hearted and healthy but that they are also intelligent, witty, and possess a sense of humor beyond the “bodily noises that are funny” category. You somehow have this feeling of semi-accomplishment that they will be able to interact well with people and that your kids might actually be someone that other intelligent, witty, people might want to be around, as well.

Parenting is funny sometimes. It is such hard work and can be physically and emotionally exhausting but it is over before you know it and when you look back on it, you barely remember the things that were hard about it. I am halfway there to kicking my kids out from the nest and I know there will be a lot of wing-spreadin’ yet to do, but it is so nice to know that I am, at least working on building them a really great runway.

Good luck, Little A, as you and your "Banan-er" build a runway for your little birdies!

Love, Your Sis/1SweetMama

My Love-Hate Relationship With My Lawn

You know when Summertime has arrived at the 1SweetMama household when my Friday night date is usually with someone who can be a little loud and obnoxious and is a little gassy and hard to turn on.....my lawnmower.

And by "lawnmower", I don't mean a sexy groundskeeper who manicures my lawn, shirtless, and cracks open a Diet Coke like that construction worker some years back that drove all the women wild in that commercial.

No....by "lawnmower", I mean my non-self-propelled, well-worn, pull start "Lawn Boy" push mower.

Now, I will set the stage by telling you that my backyard is, roughly, half a block long and 1/4 of a block wide yet when I mow it, it feels roughly the size of the National Mall in Washington DC. Oh...and one very important feature of my lawn to note is that even Jef Corwin - the wild animal guy on the Discovery Channel - would turn green at the number of snakes who have chosen to live in my yard. Yes, they, too, appreciate my lovely yard yet none of those rat ba$#ards have received the memo that if they live there, they have to step up and help out with the yard work. Oh, sure....they eat crickets and grubs and various 6- and 8-legged creatures what I hate just as much as snakes....but I say - "Not good enough. Get out of my lawn!!!"

I digress.

So, despite the heat and humidity, the lack of a self propelled (or riding) lawnmower, and sexy Diet Coke drinking groundskeeper....each week I trudge out to the garage, don my brown yard/work gloves and set to work on my lawn. I hate doing this.

I often joke about how I inherited my anal-retentive approach to lawn care from my father. My father - God love him!! - walks slower than any human I have ever seen that isn't actually standing still to very slowly and methodically mow his lawn. "If you walk too fast," he explains, "then you don't give the mower enough time to mulch up the grass!" It is for this very reason that we do not have (we share a lawn mower) a self-propelled mower.....because it will go too fast for his liking.

I am thinking it might be time to break from the communal lawnmower and purchase a self-propelled or a riding mower of my very own. Maybe one that is green and yellow with the initials JD...yeah....you know what I'm talkin' about!!

I also grew up watching my father hand-trim (with those little garden scissors) the lawn. It is for THIS reason, that, while I own an electric weed-whacker, I chose not to use it. I know I cause physical pain to my neighbors when they see me going around the yard after mowing it and hand trimming the grass blades around the edges of my house, trees, and flower garden with hand shears. Years of therapy has not allowed me to let go of this OCD behavior of mine.

But......and this is my saving grace......when I am done mowing and trimming and weeding and step back - after 2-3 hours of grounds keeping efforts - and look over my yard that my hearts swells with pride.

Years of annual investments into a fabulous yard care (chemical applications) company and weekly mowing and trimming with love have produced a lush and weed-free lawn. One of the finest on my block, if I dare be so bold.

While my ultimate dream is to own one of those 0 degree riding mowers that they use on Major League Baseball fields that lay the grass blades in wide strips so that you have alternating tones of green.....for now, I will settle for the old Lawn Boy...and I do not mean the guy who drinks that Diet Coke.

Yes....it is a labor of love. A job I love to hate and an end result that I love to show off. Truly, when I reflect on my beautifully manicured lawn.....I can appreciate another aspect of "The Sweet Life" in "The Ice Cream Capital of the World(R)".

Until next time, I remain....1SweetMama

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

It is late and I just wanted to get a quick post in today before I tuck myself and my boys into bed.

This morning, I set off on another road trip with Bud and Peanut at 6:15 a.m. Our ultimate destination was a business event that afforded my the luxury of being able to bring them along with me. The evening event was a customer/client appreciation/networking event at a Twins game vs. the Chicago White Sox that culminated in a very exciting "Twins Win! Twins Win!" ending.

Taking my young boys to a ballgame has always been very exciting for me as I feel that it is a passing along of my family's love of the game to the next generation. I have written in previous blog posts how much I recall my father's careful teaching of baseball to me and to my fellow siblings.

Score keeping.

Knowing the traditional rally cries.

Appreciating the fine art of peanut-eating....in the shell (like my dad did) or peel the shell off?

Understanding the importance of root-root-rooting for the home team (because that is what the song says!).

...and so much more.

So after several innings of careful teaching and informational, yet entertaining, commentary from me, my boys and I watched the Minnesota Twins ultimately defeat the Chicago White Sox in a very exciting game. The sweetest thing of all? Hearing Peanut, somewhere between the 7th inning stretch and the top of the 9th inning, comment...."Wow! I really DO love baseball!"

There are many things that will make me proud of my children as I raise them into happy and well-adjusted adults. Teaching them the love of baseball is definitely right up there.

We are all exhausted and have to be up early again tomorrow to return home so I will make today's post a short and sweet one. Until next time, I remain.....1SweetMama

Christmas in July in Copenahgen

It is 87 degrees in “The Ice Cream Capital of the World®” and I am laughing this afternoon because I just read that a “Santa Congress” was held in Copenhagen this week.

I was compelled to write about something a little more significant today…something with a little bit of substance….but was distracted by this sparkly object of news-worthiness.

According to the allthingschristmas website and news reports from Yahoo!, the congress is a proud tradition, conducted since 1957, that provides a venue for the coming together of Santas from all over the planet to gather for networking and merriment-making.

Besides Christmas itself, this is the Santas’ most important event and the only time they can meet to discuss important issues such as better rooftop parking conditions and standards of chimney-cleaning. And of course, they have to fix the date for Christmas Eve. Not sure what that is all about… I wonder, too, if the “Little Helpers” find this a good place to lobby for better working conditions and bigger pay for smaller people.

Congressional events also include a parade, an obstacle course (complete with chimney climbing), visits to local children’s hospitals, seminars discussing the challenges facing Santas in today’s economy and world situation, and…of course…..sight-seeing.

Maybe next year, they should consider a fashion show to share all the latest in Santa fashions…..maybe even invite chefs from around the world to offer up delicious cookie delicacies of what only the “coolest Santas" are eating this year??

Ahh….only in Copenhagen.

And, really….why wouldn’t there be a “Santa Congress”?

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

There's No Place Like Home

Settling back into the routine of living in Northwest Iowa after being completely engulfed by the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple has been a nice transition for me. It has enabled to me to, once again, review the reasons why I live where I do. I need to take a mental inventory every now and then when I am romanced by the light of the city.

Always a fan of big city life (I grew up in St. Louis), I miss a lot of the cultural and social activities that a city provides. It is also nice to be a small fish swimming in a big pond and not feel like you are living a life under a magnifying glass. There are museums and diversity and lots of great things to experience.

Having said this, there is much to be said for living in a place where you can walk to the farmers market and the grocery store on a sunny Saturday morning. One can also send your kids to the park without fear or know that if you forget to set your garbage can out the night before trash pick-up….your neighbor will remember to do it for you.

It means that, come August, your co-workers bring bushels and bags of vegetables that have grown in abundance in their garden… “Please! Take them! They will go to waste if you don’t!” It also means sweet corn being sold on the side of the road out of an old pick-up truck by teenagers (usually the farmers’ kids) – the sign, painted in orange paint on a piece of 4’ x 8’ particle board that reads, “SUPER SWEET CORN” – while another pick-up truck 30 yards away is advertising on their own particle board sign, “SUPER CANDY SWEET CORN”. How does one choose??

Living where I live provides free concerts in the gazebo on Wednesday nights, county fairs, kids selling home-made pie at the 4-H stand, driving through country roads surrounded by the smells of earth and growing things and farm-fresh air.

Bon-fires.

It is a place where my children are being raised by a community who cares about growing kids up to be strong, patriotic, and responsible citizens. It is a place where family members live within walking distance and Sunday nights in which dinner, dessert, and/or a card game is the order of business. It is where I can sit on my mom and dad’s front porch swing and watch the world go by, waving at folks walking past on the sidewalk.

It is wide green spaces and no traffic jams and just about the only thing that makes you late for work is the 7:55 a.m. train that crosses through town.

It is chilled Pinot Grigio on the back porch, road trips to the lake, and Sunday church service. It is ice cream in the freezer 365 days a year.

It is life in “The Ice Cream Capital of the World®” – where, while it may not be over the rainbow, it is where life, truly, is sweet.

Until next time, I remain…..1SweetMama

Making New Yorkers...and me!...Smile

So, a post on Friday was not possible for me so you are getting it a couple of days late....

Our fabulous week in NYC promoting National Ice Cream Month was a rousing success. Thursday proved to be an exciting challenge as we gave away - if I am to understand correctly - 41,000 (yes, that is forty-one thousand!!) pieces of product at the corner of 50th Street and 7th Avenue. The morning sampling event included our givng out the new Blue Bunny(R) Sedona(TM) Frozen Yogurt Granola Sandwich and the aternoon event included the Blue Bunny Caramel Lovers' Champ!(R) Cone.

The BEST part of the sampling events over the past three days was making people happy by giving them ice cream. It is truly amazing to me that we all are different in terms of background, economic and social status, religion, nationality, and beliefs....yet something like an ice cream cone brings us together. Everyone loves ice cream....well, except those who are lactose-intolerant or suffer gluten allergies!.....and everyone smiles when they are given one. Young and old alike would smile and their eyes lit up when you offered them an ice cream cone.

And with the arrival of Friday, our mission to distribute thousands of pieces of ice cream drew to a close and we had a great time not only getting to know our consumers but each other.

Since there were so many great experiences in the City, I will give you my top 10 memories:

10. Trading hats with an NYPD while in line at "Good Morning America"

9. Eating my lunch and people-watching in Central Park, pretending like I have lived in NYC all my life

8. Setting out on my own to find really great sushi

7. Eating a "black and white" (cookie) every night

6. Dinner of PIZZA at John's Pizza....no slices!!

5. Crying at the end of "Wicked" - what an unbelievable story...who thinks of that stuff??

4. Running my fingers through Lonnie Quinn's hair (read my entry on 7.14.09)

3. Seeing two more original Gustav Klimt original paintings at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)

2. Eating at an off-the-beaten-path, "open to the street" restaurant/cafe with three FABULOUSLY interesting friends.....we fed crackers to the passing pooches!

1. Making New Yorkers smile with Blue Bunny ice cream!

So there you have it. What a great trip. I am richer for it.

Remember that TODAY is National Ice Cream DAY. That is right, in 1984, Ronald Reagan declared it so. Make your own people smile by making sure to feed them lots of Blue Bunny ice cream.

Until next time, I remain....1SweetMama

A Hair-Raising Encounter With Lonnie Quinn

(me, pre-hair encounter..."OMG!!! That is Lonnie Quinn!")

Well, here I am in New York City with my fellow Blue Bunny(R) buddies. We are working a Public Relations event in which we are giving out 50,000 Blue Bunny Champ! Cones at the corner of 50th Street and 7th Avenue, right underneath our "Devour Them" ad. It has been so fun. Our crew is a total blast and every step is a new adventure.

This morning was our big debut on a couple of the morning shows. A colleague (I will call her J-Gal) and I were up at the crack of dawn to dress in our "uniforms" (Blue Bunny t-shirts and kahkis) and head off, each of us wearing an ice cream cone hat, to the "Good Morning America" Show. After 45 minutes of networking with the crew and NYPD, we deduced that we were definitely going to be a hit on the show. It was our job to get in-studio to tell them about how we were celebrating National Ice Cream Month (July!) by giving out our product in Times Square today through Thursday. Our hats and winning personalities won over the staff, crew, and security and that gave us the confidence that not only were we going to BE on the "Good Morning America" show, but we would probably get our own segment. OK, that is a slight embellishment but we thought we could at least make an impression. We filed, along with about 150 other tourists, in line to the entry point of the studio. We were finally singled out and pulled out of line by the audience coordinator person (I am sure there is a much more official title than that one but I cannot remember it) and asked to come with her.

This is it! They ARE going to give us our own segment!

Not exactly. We were called out of the line because we were obviously promoting something and we were not allowed to pull any kind of "PR Nonsense" (not her words) in-studio. With a few kind words about how she loves ice cream, we got the New York "Get the heck outta here" Line and a friendly bit of advice about how we should try The Today Show because (and I quote)...."Over there it is just a free-for-all."

Dejected but not discouraged, we trotted over to The Early Show, instead, to meet up with the rest of our troupe who had also gotten up early and dressed in THEIR uniforms and had gone on ahead to loiter around the gates of Harry Smith (very dashing, in person) and Lonnie Quinn, handsome-est weather guy ever, and....the hair!! Need I say more??

Well, needless to say, The Early Show folk were much more receptive to our Blue Bunny PR Antics and our uniformed group of 30+ were not only appreciated but were encouraged by the crew. We made it on several times during the hour and a half that we stood there and, despite having to share the stage with fake-bearded Santa Clauses wearing dark socks and red swim trunks and the Snickers(R) "Bar Hunger" PR pack, had a rousing good time and scored a wonderful "win" on the show.

The best part??? Yours truly made her national debut this morning! Yep! It is true.

To set it all up for you.... I have often joked about how I admire the hair of CBS weatherman stand-in, Lonnie Quinn. He covers the weather for The Early Show on weekends and fills in for the usual weather guy who works the Early Show during the week when regular, Dave Price, cannot be there.

So... Lonnie is handsome in a super-hero kind of way and has this gorgeous hair. Duirng a station break, our eyes met at one point and he was intrigued by my ice cream cone hat that I was wearing (it is always a conversation-starter). He came over and commented on the hat. We shared some "blah-dee-blah talky-talk" and then I shamelessly confessed that I watch him on the weekends and could I just touch his hair??

Stunned (but not offended), he obliged and was so friendly about it. He let me run my fingers through his lovely locks to which I relished every moment. Our group laughed, snapped a few photos, and he went on about his business. By the way - a little hairspray-ish but, otherwise, very soft. :)

So how did I make my national television debut? Goodness loves Lonnie Quinn....would you believe that he came back over to me during his live broadcast and asked me to reinact our hair encounter?? Twice in one day???? I felt faint. He was a great sport about it and, at the end, he planted the nicest kiss on my cheek. Two words: hubba hubba.

On our way back to the hotel, I decided to set a new goal. If I could run my fingers through Lonnie Quinn's hair, what would Matt Lauer allow me to do?? Maybe I will ask him the same question and make a morning show personality comparison of scalps.

By the way...by early afternoon, our Blue Bunny crew DID gave out 15,000 Blue Bunny Champ! Cones in less than 2 hours - the first of three sampling days in Times Square - and it was a total blast. It is so great to make New Yorkers and their guests smile on a hot July afternoon.

Can't wait until tomorrow's adventures. Until next time, I remain....1SweetMama

Blue Bunny® Takes A Bite Out Of "The Big Apple"!

(I will be right there!)

Today’s blog entry is relatively short and sweet but I wanted to let my readers know that next week is going to be a really cool (no pun intended) week for myself and several of my co-workers.

Monday morning, our group will depart for New York City….The Big Apple….where we will be giving out nearly 50,000 Blue Bunny® Champ!® Cones all week in Times Square, beneath our ad (see photo). In addition, Yours Truly will be attempting to get on camera (I actually have two “in-studio” tickets) at the Good Morning America Show on Tuesday and my other co-workers will be sweeping the other morning networks shows, The Early Show (on Tuesday), and The Today Show (on Thursday). Be watching for us on your favorite morning show!

You can follow all of our activities on Twitter, too, at http://twitter.com/Blue_Bunny . I will also be writing about our fun in my blog entries next week.

So…start spreadin’ the news…..I’m leavin’ on Monday…..I’m gonna be a part of it…New York! New York!

And…they say that if you stand in Times Square for 7 minutes, you will run in to someone you know. I plan to be there for 4 days so….hopefully I’ll see you there!

Until next time, I remain…1SweetMama

Fly On Proud Birds

(Photo by Rusty Russ)

Yesterday, two prominent figures from my youth passed from this world and I just wanted to pay a small tribute in The Sweet Life to these people.

Despite their talents and trials, joys and controversies, these two figures: Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were individuals who contributed to the culture of my youth - Fawcett for her strength and beauty, Jackson for his contribution to the bridging of the gap between soul and pop music. I know it seems odd that the death of these two icons of the 70s and 80s should impact me so much, but as I reflect on it and as I talk to so many others from “my generation”, the stark realization that these seemingly immortal figures can – and do! – die is almost too difficult for us to swallow. It sort of makes me step back and realize my own mortality and that life is, indeed, a big old circle. Babies are born, the young get old, the old die and babies are born to carry on in our footsteps. Thus the Great Circle of Life begins anew.

To not acknowledge their deaths would seem inappropriate.

I am not sure where I first heard this quote but I remembered a piece that Charlie Daniels, country and southern rock musician, wrote for his friend who had died in a plane crash. I remember that I felt this might be fitting for today’s blog entry and thought I would look it up and print it here.

“A brief candle;
both ends burning An endless mile;
a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The
future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird You're free at last.”

-written by Charlie Daniels en route to the funeral for his friend, Ronnie Van Zant of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Fly on, Farrah and Michael, you are finally free at last.

Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama

Pirates and Pastries

Our week in St. Augustine, Florida, with my aunt and uncle was such an adventure! I learned a lot from my boys. One of those things I learned was that they are “destination people”. Much like their mother, they don’t mind getting up early in order to beat the heat and the traffic and simply get to the next destination.

So it was on Sunday morning. Saturday marked the longest day of driving – 12 hours in the car from Kansas City, Missouri, to Dalton, Georgia (The Carpet Capital of the World!). With heavy traffic in Nashville and a stop for dinner, the day ended up being a very long one. After our arrival in Dalton, the boys and I took a walk around the outside of the darkened (it was after hours) outlet mall and a quick game of invisible basketball (the hotel desk wouldn’t check out a basketball to us to play on the basketball court because it was after 10 p.m.), the boys and I made the decision to leave on Sunday morning at 3 a.m. – which meant that Mom awoke at 2:15 a.m. to shower and dress. I rolled the boys out of bed at 3 a.m. and we were on the road by 3:15 a.m. This got us to the beaches of At. Augustine by 1 p.m. on Sunday. What a glorious day!

During our visit to the oldest city in the U.S., we, along with our aunt and uncle – both retired librarians and avid history and entertainment buffs – booked passage upon the Pirate Ship “Black Raven” and sailed the inlets of St. Augustine – or St. Arrrgh-ustine, as the pirate crew called it.
I also learned that my boys, who would never admit it to me outright, thoroughly enjoyed the piratical antics aboard the Black Raven. We met Captain Blackbeard, William Mayhem (pictured), Red (the pirate wench) and William Scott. This surly, yet hospitable and merry-making band of buccaneers took us on a 90 minute cruise upon their beautiful ship where we sang pirate chanteys (songs), my uncle was emblazoned with a facial scar, and we watched dolphins leap and play in the waters alongside the ship. We even learned the Black Raven rally cry, which we shouted to the surprise of passing boaters: “Smoke and Steel! Aye!!!” If you ever find yourself in St. Arrrgh-ustine, a voyage aboard The Black Raven is a must!

Also – make sure you end your day at LuLi’s cupcake shop. As 1SweetMama, I can never resist the opportunity to include sugar in my day, so a stop at this local favorite was almost a requirement.

Although I understand it is better when you go earlier in the day because selection is at its best, we stopped in after our pirate cruise and still found a nice selection of the most decadent cupcakes I have ever had. The boys enjoyed a chocolate/peanut butter cupcake and I thoroughly enjoyed my vanilla-vanilla one. Our aunt and uncle ate, respectively, the peach cobbler and carrot cake cupcakes. Three words: oh…my…goodness.

While enjoying these wonderful sweets in a fairly feminine confectionary shop, I also learned that my boys weren’t too “macho” to appreciate the finer things like indulgent delicacies in a pastry shop in the middle of the afternoon….in fact….in the picture, it would appear that Bud was enjoying himself a little too much, perhaps.

Just kidding.

All in a day’s vacationing for 1SweetMama! Until next time, I remain….1SweetMama