The View from Lajeune

The View (from Lajeune)

I had a really good feeling about Thursday December 1st, and my hunch turned out to be correct. 12/1/16 turned out to be a very special day. Let me back up (smile). My co-worker Jamie approached me about 6 weeks prior to that day and asked if wanted to plan a joint client appreciation trip to the ABC studios in NYC to see a taping of The View. Of course I said ‘Yes’ (smile). Once we had the date confirmed and the total number of clients attending the show with us (5), Jamie and I received a 2 page “House Guest List” from ABC Studios on what to expect on our taping day. We were asked to wear bright, fashionable clothing (as if you were being invited to a nice dinner), we were asked to bring our photo IDs and we were asked to arrive by 9am for check-in to the ABC Studios as the doors closed at 930am. We were also warned that we would have to go through a metal detector. And lastly, we were told that although we could use our cell phones prior to the taping, once we entered the studios we would literally be asked to power down all of our mobile devices…

Here’s how my day played out:

I woke up at 4am on Thursday, December 1st, left the house at 510am and met my client, Sheree, at 530am at the News 8 parking lot. Our goal was to catch the 605am train. Sheree was running a little behind so we ended up arriving at Union Station in New Haven at 550AM. Turns out the valet parking, which we planned on using, did not open until 6am (sigh). In the meantime Jamie and her 2 clients Nina and Christine were already at the train station for our 605am train, so Jamie went to purchase all 5 roundtrip tickets at the kiosk (no ticket windows were open until 610am) while I worked on getting the valet parking attendant to open before 6am.

Everything worked out, I got my car in the valet parking lot in time, Jamie got our tickets from the kiosk and the 5 of us rushed to make the 605am train. Whew!

Once on the train, we could finally relax and enjoy our 2 hour journey into the City.

Me and my client Sheree Marcucci on the Metro North train into The City

When we got to Grand Central, we stopped for a quick cup of coffee and muffin at one of the many restaurants. Then we had to hail a cab to the ABC Studios on the Upper West Side. As it turned out Nina was a pro at this, and not only hailed us a cab but managed to get one that was large enough for the 5 of us to ride together in (did I mention she was pregnant while doing it (smile).

When we arrived to ABC studios it was just 830am but there was already a long, long line outside. There was also an audience coordinator working his way through the line to make sure everyone was up to speed. We had only been standing in line about 5 minutes when he got to us and discovered that Jamie and I worked at an ABC affiliate (News 8). He quickly took us out of the back of the line and all the way to the front where we checked in with another staff member who took our names and quickly ushered us inside. As promised we were met by metal detectors and then seated in the waiting area. It reminded me of a medium-sized cafeteria but with a Starbucks in it. They handed us all a juice and left us to our own devices.

It didn’t take long before people started taking pictures in front of The View canvas poster. The View is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year so everything, including the hashtags on the poster and all of the memorabilia being sold at the kiosk had The View 20 on it. We had plenty time to kill as the taping was not until 11am and it was only about 9am. So we took lots of pictures of each other and then helped others by taking pictures of them and their party. When it came time to go to the restroom we were taken 5 or 6 at a time and closely guarded so as not to get lost on the way there or back.

Around 1015am the studio doors opened and after waiting in another short line, we were finally allowed to go in. The 5 of us were brought to the center of the surprisingly small studio and seated in the first and second r ows: Sheree and me in the first row, Jamie, Christine and Nina in the second row. I was super psyched!

Totally psyched with the VIP treatment! We literally had the best seats in the house! Front row center!

There was, I’ll call him an audience warm-up guy for lack of a better term in the studio, so for the next 45 minutes or so the AWG had everyone in stitches as he went from section to section of the small studio making complete fools out of the people he was picking on! It worked too because the time flew by and before we knew it, we were clapping loudly as the women of The View took their seats. Whoopi, Sunny, Joy, Sarah, and Jebediah. Looking much smaller and younger than they appeared on TV. It was a day for Hot Topics so Whoopi immediately launched into a hot political conversation regarding the post Election. All of the ladies weighed in with their opinions and then after the next few breaks, the often-controversial (CNN’s) Van Jones was their guest.

Van Jones did not disappoint and Whoopi did not want to let him leave the stage as his thinking was so in line with her, Joy and Sunny, the liberal voices of The View…

Then came the Wildings (Elizabeth Taylor’s grandchildren). They were all so adorable to look at and very well spoken. As it turned out it was World Aids Day this Thursday, December 1st, so a short film was played showing Whoopi from years back. This film illustrated Whoopi’s selfless devotion towards working with Elizabeth Taylor on a cure for AIDS. This was at a time when very little people wanted to touch the topic…Then Elizabeth Taylor’s grandchildren presented Whoopi with a legacy award. She was in tears and completely surprised. This was part of what made the day so special — Whoopi was totally caught off guard in a good way, basically she was being rewarded for something she had once been criticized for involving herself in…My cell phone was purposely powered off or else I would have taken a picture to share of this special moment (smile).

As I mentioned before, the actual taping of the show flew by so when I heard Whoopi say, “…take a little time to enjoy The View” I knew it was time for us to go. They quickly ushered us out the side door but not before handing us a special edition magazine of Vanity Fair Icons featuring Elizabeth Taylor (as house guests” we were not eligible for the giveaway of the day). We then walked a few blocks and hailed another cab. This time to Bryant Park as Christine had a good restaurant recommendation there. Once there, we entered into Winter Village at Bryant Park, with free admission ice skating, pop-up boutique-style holiday shops and tree-lined alleyways.

First we ate a delish lunch in Bryant Park.

Sherry and I were having the time of our lives in Bryant Park

We ate lunch at Bryant Park Grille (Christine’s recommendation) and the food was fab! We ordered 2 appetizers and then (keeping with my clean theme) I ordered Monkfish with baby choy, jalapeno peppers, pineapples and brown rice. It was delish! We all enjoyed our lunches.

Bryant Park Grille’s interior was a solarium garnished with Fall leaves and holiday lights (2 seasons!) so we felt like we were outdoors but eating indoors.

After lunch we walked along Winter Village at Bryant Park‘s Winter Wonderland to check out the artsy holiday pop-up stores and restaurants up close as well as to look for a place to eat dessert.

Bryant Park is not too far from Grand Central so after dessert we walked a number of blocks (instead of cabbing it) back to Grand Central to catch the 335pm train. We arrived at New Haven’s Union Station around 530pm. I was beat down! But I felt gratified as this day turned out better than I could have ever expected…I quite literally took a little time to enjoy The View…

Sincerely,

TVFL

Baltimore Crab Feast!

Boy do I miss the year 1998. My oldest sister Dana was living in Baltimore, Maryland then and working for Enron so during the Summer, me, my mom Jean, my sister Casandra, my girlfriends Sherry and Thais, their mother Yvonne and my girlfriend Gina would take the opportunity to get out of Connecticut, shoot down the highway and visit Dana and her family for the weekend. We loved Baltimore for 3 reasons:

1. Lexington Market – a foodies’ paradise — a large, indoor market of good, diverse eats!

2. Baltimore Inner Harbor – Love marinas (as a matter of fact, anything water related) and people watching!

3. Baltimore Crab Feast Cruise-to-Nowhere – On this week(end) night cruise-to-nowhere, which boarded at 630pm and departed at 7pm, you could, for one reasonable price, eat all of the hard-shelled crabs you like, be entertained with live music and dance it all off under the starry night sky!

The Baltimore Crab Feast Cruise-to-Nowhere was hands down our most favorite part of the trip. It was like being inside a really cool nightclub (but on the water) with a DJ and finger-licking good crabs for days!

The line to board the cruise ship always wrapped around the block. Everyone and their grandmother seemed to be in that line. This was back in the day when busloads of people came to Baltimore for these crab feasts as good news travels fast! Once inside, and after getting our bearings, we would find a seat at a long wooden picnic table. At the table we were given heavy-duty paper bowls, plastic cutlery, wooden mallets, a sharp knife, hand wipes and plastic bibs. Each table was completely covered with brown paper wrapping and each had extra heavy-duty paper bowls on them for the crab residue. Serious business was about to go down! (smile).

Incidentally, there were also service bars in select areas of the cruise ship but alcoholic drinks were not included in our price.

Here we are all dressed up and ready for our night out.

Here we are L to R: Yvonne, Sherry, Gina, Casandra, Thais, Lajeune, my mother Jean

Here is just one of the picnic tables showing our Crab feast (smile)

Here is a picture of me and my late mother Jean right after we ate. Happy faces!

Again, this was 1998, I was 36 years old and Enron hadn’t collapsed yet…

Sincerely,

TVFL

Thanks(Giving)

One of my favorite holidays growing up (besides Christmas) was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in my mind was Christmas without the presents and I mean that in the best way. You see, I grew up in a large, dual-parented family in the small town of Groton, CT. I was one of 7 children and the ‘baby girl.’

My father was in the U.S. Navy and my mother was a housewife (today she would be called a ‘stay at home mom’).

Here’s a picture of my parents when they first met. My mother Jean was 17 and my father Jonie B. was 19.

In my humble opinion, holidays were and are so much more fun when you can share them with your parents and siblings and the bigger your family, the better. I was 6 years old in this picture of me and my six siblings, I’m the second one in from the right.

My mother was the ultimate multi-tasker and as such super organized so the bigger holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) afforded her the opportunity to show off her skills.

She would take one or more of us with her to the grocery store to buy the turkey, the trimmings and the holiday themed tablecloth, plates, cups, cutlery and paper machete turkey.

Between making sure that the house was spick and span clean as well as decorated, each and everyone’s clothes washed and folded, and the food prepped and ready, she was also genius at balancing our lives to ensure that we were where we needed to be at any given time.

I had no cooking skills whatsoever so I marveled at how my mother could wash, stuff and prepare the turkey, bake multiple pies with homemade (not store-bought) crusts and then cook a ton of side dishes with ease.

On the big day, the food was blessed and then we would go around the dinner table and share what we were most thankful for that particular year. This would usually elicit misty eyes…

Then my father, Jonie B., would do the honors by carving the turkey. If he was out to sea during the holiday, my older brother Michael would handle it.

The Thanksgiving menu was not light. It usually consisted of an oversized turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, giblets, sweet potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens with ham bone, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, string beans with fat back, hot dinner rolls, pumpkin pies, sweet potatoe pies, and apple cider to wash it all down with.

Huge mounds of food on serving plates would be passed around the table, laughter was heard throughout and we all knew that we would be eating leftovers for days!

Football was on TV all day long, Macy’s parade as well. Good times.

Fast Forward to today: with the holiday season quickly approaching, I sometimes catch myself getting caught up in a lot of the negativity of the world. My solution a few weeks ago (inspired by my good church friend, Bobo) was to start a (daily) blessings jar to remind myself that I still have plenty to be thankful for. It works like a charm (smile).

One of the first blessings that I wrote and put in my jar was how thankful I was (am) for my late mother so this blog post is written in loving memory of Jean Anna Tinsley Hollis, gone but not forgotten…

Yoga Anyone?

As I mentioned before in Check out my blog post: Cave Girl, I work Monday through Friday on 100% commission in media ad sales, a super stressful, extremely competitive industry. Consequently, on the weekends (or even some weeknights) I’m on the look-out for new ways to de-stress.

Yoga has become a new ‘old way.‘ Full Moon Yoga with Gong Meditation that is. It’s my new go-to when the gym (Edge Fitness in Hamden) although helpful in terms of working up a sweat, building lean muscle, burning calories and fat, etc. still leaves me with a busy mind…

At this point I’m looking more for something that helps me to relax to the point of emptying my mind and filling it with good clear thoughts.

My solution has become Full Moon Yoga with Gong Meditation. It’s offered once a month at the Yoga Community Center in Hamden, on the Friday closest to the Full Moon. It’s held from 7pm to 9pm. It’s wise not to go on a full stomach and light refreshments are served afterwards. It costs $22 for one session or $60 for three sessions. Everything takes place on the second floor in a large yellow walled yoga studio with soft lighting and relaxing music. Mats, blankets and other yoga equipment are provided if you do not have your own. Quick tip: don’t forget your water bottle. Kundalini Yoga is practiced in the first hour and the second hour (while you are now lying on your mat, covered in a blanket with your eyes closed) focuses on deep sound healing and relaxation via Gong Meditation. This is where you hear an actual gong being struck repeatedly for a good hour. The gong vibrations (after two or more sessions) will cause you to experience deep relaxation. The goal of each of these sessions is to “elevate awareness and rebalance your physical, emotional and spiritual bodies.” I remember the first or second time I went I felt like I was walking on actual clouds for at least an hour after the session (smile).

Here’s the room where all the magic happens…

If interested, you may register online at yourcommunityyoga.com or call them at (203) 287-2277. Drop-Ins, however, are always welcome.

Namaste!

Sincerely,

TVFL

Divas in the desert!

There are soooooo many reasons why I love love love Las Vegas and as what usually happens with me, I discover something good later on in life. Why it took me 50+ years to discover Las Vegas though is beyond me. I’ve had ample opportunities over the years to go and now that I’ve been (twice already this year alone!) I can’t wait to go back (smile).

Again, the first time I ever went was this year (2016) in April with my man James. We stayed in a condominium off the ‘Strip.’ The experience, although fun and exciting, was not the same. The ‘Strip’ was a place we visited via Uber and Lyft, both the preferred (and most cost efficient) taxi alternatives. However, because I was visiting the ‘Strip,’ I didn’t feel as strongly attracted to it until I came back in October of that same year where we (me and my girl squad) actually booked a hotel on the ‘Strip.’

We booked a Fun Girls Getaway Weekend with my client Charlene of Clear Vision Productions in Hamden, CT. The agent who worked with her on it was Karen Quinn-Panzer of Dream Vacations.

The Fun Girls Getaway Weekend was originally scheduled for Friday, October 7th through Sunday, October 9th but we all upgraded our hotel room to stay one extra night – Monday, October 10th (4 days/3 nights).

Here’s what our Fun Girls Getaway Weekend included:

A hotel stay at the Flamingo Las Vegas. This hotel (the oldest Las Vegas hotel on the Strip) is smack dab in the middle of all the action. Most of the other hotels with their themed casinos are within walking distance as this is truly a walkable city. The rooms we stayed in on the 9th floor were simple and clean but with no view and sparse amenities. The stylish modern rooms they boasted about on the flyer are situated on the upper floors where the remodel has taken place. I’m not complaining because outside of putting away our clothes, showering, and crashing for a few hours, our rooms were nothing more than our base…

Our room at The Flamingo was simple and clean – perfect for our busy weekend

Flamingo Las Vegas in its entirety is stunning as it has:

The 16 acre ‘Go’ Pool
The Mall Shops
The Health Spa
The Caribbean themed Casino
The Restaurants
The Bars
The Wildlife Habitat

We could easily have spent our entire weekend there as it seemed to have everything but the streets were beckoning (smile). We even ran into the “doctor” from Grey’s Anatomy (actor Jason Winston George) in the hotel lobby who was even more handsome in person (smile).

Our first night (Friday at 6pm) we had our ‘Welcome Champagne Tour of the Las Vegas Strip‘ transported via a “Presidential” stretch limo.

Our very own stretch limo complete with alcoholic beverages

Me and my girls in the limo sipping on our welcome drinks (smile)

We ended our tour at the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to take pictures under it with the photographer on duty. It was awesome!

Later on that same evening we had VIP seats (practically front row, center) to Frank Marino’s Diva Show (a cast of celebrity female impersonators) at The Linq Theater, literally across the street from the Flamingo. I must admit I had never heard of Frank Marino before that night, but when he came out in his Joan Rivers get up I immediately knew who he was. He was, and still is, a hoot and his Celebrity Look-a-Like Divas: Whitney Houston, Madonna, Pink, Lady Gaga, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Liza Minnelli, just to name a few, are all true pros and simply spectacular!

We were on our own for food all weekend long so we ate at a variety of restaurants though most of them were located at the Flamingo (our fave was a $22.95 lunch/dinner buffet at Garden Paradise that included bottomless Mimosas and/or Bloody Mary’s!)

Oh, I forgot, I met another celebrity (a canine actress and model out of Beverly Hills, CA) while walking through the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat (shown below) the very next day on my way to the 15 acre ‘Go’ Pool.

Her name is Miss Coco Puff and she’s a Chi-Weenie (part Chihuahua, part dachshund) so she had me at Hello (smile). Her owner gave me her calling card so we are now friends on Instagram (double smile).

Miss CoCo Puffs herself – looking fierce (smile)

Speaking of the Flamingo ‘Go’ Pool, this could have been one of my favorite places to hang out, but because we were in Vegas (the City that never sleeps) hanging out was not part of our weekend plan. Our goal was to visit as many casinos, shops, tourist attractions, etc. so the ‘Go’ Pool on Saturday was merely a pit stop for us 50-something weekend adventure seekers (smile).

So our next adventure on Saturday was a ride on the High Roller at the Linq Hotel and Casino. This spaceship-looking ride reminded me of The Jetsons, a TV show I used to love watching in the 70’s. After standing in line for a short while, all 4 of us got into this big bubble then sat down to watch and listen to a computer-generated young man on a screen above us as we slowly ascended 550 feet up into the sky…

The whole trip (to and fro) took all of 30 minutes, but the experience was unbelievable and the aerial views were breathtaking.

By the way, there are a ton of nightclubs at the hotels for each and every taste. There’s Hyde at Bellagio, Drai’s at Cromwell, Marquee at Cosmopolitan, Foxtail at SLS, Tao at Venetian, Intrigue at Wynn, Omnia at Caesars Palace, Hakkasan at MGM Grand and XS at Encore. Most of them open at 10pm and close at 3am, 4am or 5am. Some of them offer free admission and/or free or reduced drinks for the ladies. Unfortunately we did not get to take advantage of our VIP Club Pass with VIP Entrance (it was included in our weekend package – free access to 8 nightclubs!) as we just did not have the time or the energy in our 3 night, 4 day stay.

P.S. Here’s a huge time and money saver tip – If you are visiting Las Vegas for the first time, do yourself a favor and book a professional tour as there is so much to see and do and you can easily get overwhelmed by all of the choices. We spent $62 for a 3 hour bus tour on Sunday night called The Las Vegas Night Lights Tour and it was truly money well spent!

We met up at Bally’s – there were about 19 of us in all – and according to our tour guide, we were one of the most diverse bus tour groups she ever had (smile). Our tour was fantastic – Renee, our tour guide, taught us a lot about the history of Las Vegas in the most engaging way, and since it was a stop and start tour, our first stop was to see the volcanic Fire Show at the Bellagio – afterwards I felt as if my face were melting!

We then cooled off at the grand Water Show at The Mirage…

And we couldn’t leave our Las Vegas Night Lights Tour without actually seeing (from our tour bus windows) all of the colorful and beautiful lights at night in ‘Old Vegas’ and then getting off the bus to actually go in and see the ‘Old Vegas’ casinos (reminiscent of the movie, Casino). Renee, our tour guide, told us that this is the section of town to ‘do Vegas’ if you are looking for cheap eats, reasonably priced hotels and dollar tables! Plus, it included my favorite part of ‘Old Vegas,’ The Fremont Street Experience – the pedestrian mall and attraction where I believe the phrase, ‘What Happens in Vegas…” came from (smile).

This woman was not happy when she realized I was taking her picture!

Lastly, and Reason Number 42 on why I love love love Las Vegas: there’s always something different to see or do…and apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way. Our tour guide Renee told us that Vegas typically has 42.5 million visitors a year but this year they were projecting a record 45 million visitors! 45 million! Wow!! It’s no wonder Vegas remains one of the top travel destinations in the country!

I felt like I was part of a movie scene in this photo op at the Mall (smile)

Enjoy!!!

TVFL