Family stuff… – Page 2 – The View from Lajeune

Lucky 7

There’s something about the number 7 that is lucky for me. Here are a few reasons why:

I am one of 7 children
My birthdate 2-14, with the single digits added together, equals 7
My actual birthday 14, divided by my birth month, 2 equals 7
My first name Lajeune has exactly 7 letters in it
The first letter of my first name L and all of the letters in my last name Hollis equal 7
And finally, the city I was born in Newport (RI) has 7 letters in it

Speaking of the number 7: 7 years ago, after experiencing excruciating stomach pains, I finally got a colonoscopy and was subseqently informed by my Gastrointestinal doctor that I had colon cancer A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free.

At my pre-surgery consultation I told my soon-to-be Yale New Haven Healthcare surgeon, Dr. Schlessel, that I had already planned a trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina the following month (July) to spend some quality time with my niece, great niece and 3 great nephews from New Jersey. I also told Dr. Schlessel I had already rented the condo, the mini -van and even bought additional car insurance…

Incidentally, while this was all happening, I was getting some serious opposition from different people in my life who felt that I was crazy to take the trip. They all pretty much said the same thing: ‘you have Cancer, what if something happens to you on that long road trip?!?’ I listened to everything these folks had to say and then asked my surgeon for his honest advice. He said (and I’ll never forget it) “Go! And when you return we head straight to surgery!” Here is a what I remember of that fateful trip:

The mini van

You can’t take a long road trip involving children without the use of a mini-van (smile). I rented a Chrsyler Town Car Mini-Van for our 10 day vacation…I left New Haven, CT very early on a Friday morning in mid-July and approximately 2 1/2 hours later, picked up my niece, great niece and 3 great nephews from their home in New Jersey.

This mini-van was equipped with all of the amenities…

After about 4 or 5 food/gas/bathroom-break stops along the way (each time resulting in a driving-duty swap with my niece Keedah) we made it (18 hours later!) to Hilton Head, SC. Miraculously my stomach did not bother me at all the entire time and my energy level felt pretty normal…

Hilton Head, South Carolina

My first thought was: Hilton Head is lovely. This was my first time here and I was so impressed with the look of the town as well as the good vibes I felt in the air. The endless sunshine didn’t hurt either…But first things first, our ‘home away from home’ for the next 10 days:

The condo complex

We had a mini-nightmare when we arrived after Midnight in Hilton Head Island. Our GPS took us to the wrong condominium complex! Apparently there are a ton of condominium complexes in Hilton Head plus the roundabouts throw the GPS’s off. Long story short, we almost thought we would be sleeping in our mini van the first night as my key would not work to what we thought was our unit. Thank God the realtor was up and returned my frantic call. He quickly re-directed us to the right complex and we were happy, tired campers. Whew, that was close (smile).

This is the complex where we stayed, and, as it turned out, one of many condominium complexes in Hilton Head

We spent our first morning in town doing some heavy duty grocery shopping at the Piggly Wiggly. Incidentally, I never worked so hard in my life while on vacation – I was the hostess, the cook, the waitress, the bottle washer, the driver and the dirty clothes washer (smile).

Let the ***fave-TV-show fights*** begin…this happened each and every night around 7pm-ish – the fights over the remote control – and this was also when, because of my illness, I would start losing energy and retire for bed…

The outdoor pool at the condo complex

It sure was nice to have a pool at the complex for those few occasions when we did not feel like packing up the car and heading to the beach…

Beautiful outdoor pool at our condo complex

The kiddies all enjoying themselves in the outdoor pool

My rambunctious great nephew Rasoul being thrown into the pool by one of the residents

Coligny Beach Park

I was so impressed with the South Carolina beaches (they truly are beautiful). However, one of the nearby beaches – Coligny Beach – stood out! The sun, the sand, the surf was unbeatable!

We all loved Coligny Beach so much we came back almost every day!

My great nephews Kenyon, Ahmad, Jr. and Rasoul and my niece Keedah all “Beaching” at Coligny…

Sand play and jumping into the waves, life is good (smile).

My niece Dimitrica (who drove down from her home in North Carolina) to spend 4 days with us

My great niece Rashidah and great nephew Kenyon enjoying the endless sunshine; my great nephew Rasoul playing in the sand and me, contemplating the waves

My niece Keedah and I enjoying our new beach umbrella and chairs (we stopped renting the beach umbrella and beach chair after Day 1) my great niece Rashidah and great nephew Kenyon “Beaching”

Me and my great nephew Rasoul enjoying our time in the sun – by the way, I discovered that all of that Vitamin D every day was good for my illness…

Savannah, GA

We decided to spend Day 5 of our 10 vacation days in this beautiful, cultural city which was less than an hour away.

I had heard nothing but good things about Savannah and I liked what I had watched on The Travel Channel. So it was a no-brainer to take a Day-cation there, especially since we were so close to the border.

Once we arrived, the first thing we did was head to the free ferry to quickly explore the 4 corners of the city…but not before feeding the meter…

My great nephews Kenyon and Ahmad and my niece Keedah wait while my niece Dimitrica feeds the meter

Free ferry ride with a scenic view of the Savannah river

My niece Keedah and great niece Rashidah inside the ferry boat

My great nephews Rasoul and Ahmad, Jr. and I enjoying ice cream we had picked up at one of the 4 corner stops on the ferry boat ride. Despite my appetite, which I must say was pretty decent, I was still losing at least a half a pound a day…

Back in Hilton Head, SC

We spent the remaining days of our vacation ‘Beaching’ at Coligny or ‘Pooling’ at the condo complex. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in most days and truly enjoyed the lovely weather. I was starting to feel tired earlier in the day now so I was glad it was nearing time to head back.

And driving back was much easier as well because this time we left on a Saturday night (approximately 12Midnight to be exact) and drove straight through the night with only one or two stops – getting back in record time the following Sunday.

Can’t say I’ve driven so far since that time but it was most definately an adventure to remember (smile).

And, as a bonus, I was not only tanned but refreshed. And as my surgeon would have noted, ‘ready for surgery.’

LJ’s Style

LJ’s style…where did this conversation come from…oh, now I remember: one of my gfs was talking to me about her 15 year old daughter and how she had so much style for her age. Not just the style of her clothes but also how she wore each piece – well. She made such an impression that she was constantly receiving praise from her teachers, family members, other girls her age, etc…It definitely got me thinking, Growing up Hollis I really didn’t have any style. I was the baby girl of the Hollis family and one of 9. My father Jonie B., my mother Jean, one older brother, one younger brother and 4 sisters. And since I was the “baby girl” of the family, my style was whatever clothes I could fit into that year that had been passed down to me (smile).

To this day, my style will forever be eclectic and sometimes even out of the ordinary. I’m not complaining, merely stating a fact (double smile).

Here are some of the many styles that I (LJ) possess today…

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner:

Work:

**My chit chat at the water cooler look**

Church:

Gym:

Post Work Events:

**My ‘I hope they like this arrangement’ look**

**My ‘I hope I picked out the right outfit out for this event’ look**

Romantic Dates:

**My Valentines Day Birthday (VDay/BDay) Look**

Play Dates:

**My Good Book with a Cup of Java look**

Vacations:

R & R:

Bedtime:

**And finally, My Getting Ready for Bed After A Loooooong Week of Work look!**

My Clean Living Life – Part V

I can’t believe that I am already into my 7th year of clean eating! MacMillan Dictionary defines clean eating as “a diet that is based on eating whole foods and avoiding processed and refined foods.” If you were to tell me even 10 years ago that eating clean would be a way of life for me today I would’ve called you crazy (smile)…

Backstory: In June of 2011, I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer so (post-surgery and during chemotherapy) I started my journey of clean eating. I have to admit that it has not always been “easy breezy” and, as a matter of fact, it has sometimes been a real struggle because it takes both time and effort to think and eat clean…

Also, I work on 100% commission in Media Ad Sales so I am on the road alot – that being said, I sometimes don’t have time to eat a healthy, clean lunch. The quick and easy option (junk food) is not only plentiful, but very appealing to the eyes. From time to time I give into those temptations…

And I have to admit that oftentimes when I am stressed I tend to go crazy in the “snacky” foods department…

Plus every now and then (mostly weekends) I’ll have bacon and eggs (not exactly clean eating) but certainly comfort food…

Late night eating is never a good thing but occasionally I can’t help myself and I give into those delicious satisfying cravings in the middle of the night…

Thank God for my daily workout regime at the Edge Fitness Club in Hamden, CT…

And that (God willing) there’s a tomorrow to start over with to try and eat clean, once again (smile).

Doxie Love!

Anyone who knows me knows I love me some Doxies! “Doxies,” short for dachshunds, are those “short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dogs.” Dachs meaning badger, hund meaning dog.

Dachshunds originated in Germany and were developed to “scent, chase and flush out badger and other burrow-dwelling animals.” Some people refer to them as the Hot Dog, or the Weiner Dog or even the Sausage Dog. I just call them adorable (smile).

So whether I’m on a staycation in Connecticut or on a real vacation in the U.S. or Abroad, I am often on the look-out for what my girlfriends have come to know as a “Cute Doxie Surprise.” These are the moments when I spot a Doxie in an unexpected place and go nuts – running after it, taking pictures of it, rolling down my car window to ask questions of the pet parent, etc.

Fun fact: While Growing up Hollis in Groton, CT, a neighbor named Mrs. Brown had a beautiful long-haired golden Doxie aptly named Goldie Von Bruen. Goldie gave birth to a litter of full-bred Dachshund puppies. I’m not sure when but at some point my late mother Jean did something kind for Mrs. Brown that caused her to offer my mother one of her prized and valued Doxies at no charge. My mother happily picked out a male puppy. We were so excited because this was our family’s very first canine pet. My older brother Michael came up with the name. He called him Rapper and it stuck (smile). Rapper was a standard (or loooooooooong) red, smooth-haired dachshund with a good disposition. Dogs were not pampered back in the day so Rapper was not “walked,” rather he ran from the house, sometimes disappearing for days at a time (smile).

This is the closest image I could find of what Rapper looked like back in the day as I could not find any of the Polaroid pictures we took of him!

The closest thing to what Rapper looked like

Rapper mostly ate from our plates (often times eating what we didn’t want) despite the fresh, dry dog food sitting in his bowl on a daily basis…

And it was apparently clear who Rapper loved the most – my mother Jean. So much so that when she and my father Jonie B went out on a date, we Hollis girls would take turns putting on my mother’s coat, hat and shoes to trick Rapper into believing she was still home. It worked like a charm (smile).

5 years ago I had two Doxies of my own…I was living in New Haven, CT at the time in a 90-year-old Colonial style house that I owned in the Edgewood neighborhood.

I named my 2 Doxies Coby and Crimson Hollis. Coby was a black and tan smooth-haired, male miniature Doxie and Crimson, a red, smooth-haired female miniature Doxie …They were equally energetic, loveable and fun so lots of good memories were made in that house.

I adopted them both from the same breeder in Canterbury, CT. Coby was just 3 months old when I adopted him and I had him until the ripe old age of 17 (in people years). Unfortunately he died of kidney failure in May of 2012. Coby was 8 when I adopted Crimson, a “breeder dog” who wasn’t producing many pups so the owner “fixed” her to sell her off. On top of this Crimson had social interaction issues since in her world adults coming to visit were coming for the sole purpose of taking away her puppies so I was able to get her at a much lower price than I did Coby. She was 4 1/2 when I adopted her and lived a happy and “normal” pet life to the age of 9 before she was struck (1 month after Coby passed!) by a hit and run driver on a busy residential street.😥 Life was rough without my 2 Doxies but the passing of time eventually healed my broken heart…

Today I am an Insta girl who loves her Instagram pix and I’m happy to admit that the majority of my own collection of saved pix are of the Dachshunds of Instagram. Here are just a few of my personal faves with my very own captions:

If I have to do the laundry every week, at least I can look cute!

Doxie Love – it’s no small wonder that my fave breed, the Dachshund, according to the American Kennel Club, remains one of the top 10 breeds of dogs in the United States.

My top 10 fave blog posts!

Over the past 2 years I have published almost 50 blog posts on The View from Lajeune so I think this is a good time to highlight my top 10 faves. Here they are:

The View (from Lajeune): The View (from Lajeune) I chose this blog post because the entire day was truly magical from beginning to end!

A Place of Desert: A Place of Desert…(almost) 4 years cancer free This blog post will always hold a special place in my heart as I truly learned what it is like to survive colon cancer…

My Very First Bug: My Very First Bug… This post took me back to a time when I was asserting my independence but too hard-headed to see that the route I chose actually costs me in more ways than one (smile).

Clams on the half shell…: Clams on the half shell…and roller-skates! This blog post speaks to me as it happens during the 70’s, one of my favorite decades!

Like Moths to the Flame: Like moths to the flame… This blog post is special to me because it brought me back 31 years to when I first started my career in media…

CT “Summatime” Eats: Connecticut “Summatime” Eats! This blog posts was real popular with TVFL readers who, like me, love Connecticut in the Summertime and the variety of eats!

Divas in the Desert: Divas in the desert! My good friend Tony Marinaro, who is a faithful TVFL reader, chose the title to this blog post and I will forever be grateful to him for it :))

My Clean Living Life (Parts I, II and III): My clean living life… My Clean Living Life – Part II; My Clean Living Life, Part III I imagine that these blog posts are popular with my TVFL readers because they know the struggle to live “clean” is real…

Cave Girl: Cave Girl I enjoyed doing the research on this blog post and tremendously benefitted from my ‘R & R’ day. I was not allowed to take pictures of us inside the cave so this will have to suffice:

Taking Fun Seriously…: Taking fun seriously…my very first golf lesson I had fun writing and doing the research for this blog post and still hope to one day have that golf date with my Dad…

Thank you for reading The View from Lajeune. I have plenty of more stories to share…

Category: Family stuff…

Lucky 7

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LJ’s Style

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My Clean Living Life – Part V

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Doxie Love!

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My top 10 fave blog posts!

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