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).
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 :))
Cave Girl: Cave GirlI 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…
From as far back as I can remember, I have always loved going to the cinema to see a movie. Coming from a large family of 9 (two parents and 7 kids) my mother Jean, who was the original Hollis movie buff, would, on a rainy day, load all 7 of us Hollis kids in our two-toned station wagon and drop us off at the Saturday matinée. And we were never without our snacks. My mother was the ultimate planner so on one of her many trips to the supermarket, she would buy large bags of candy and miniature chocolate bars and then proceed to put them in smaller Glad baggies with twists so she could save $$ at the movie concession stand. To this day I cannot watch a movie at the cinema without having something to snack on (smile).
I saw 3 really good movies last week while on my Staycation in Connecticut. All 3 of these movies had just opened at the theaters in 2016. However, these movies were all from Red Boxso we watched them rightfrom the comfort of our living room. Things are real different today then they were back in the day…Brand new movies don’t stay in the theaters long so you don’t have to wait before plunking down a mere $1.59 to rent them from Red Box. Or another option is to pay $4.99 or more and watch them On Demand from your local Cable TV service. Unless it is truly something that has to be viewed on a super large screen for the visual and audio effects, I am okay with watching it on our own big HD TV screen at home with the volume turned up real high (smile).
Incidentally the 3 movies we rented from Red Box couldn’t have been more different from each other in genre and/or story line.
The first one was a comedy called Central Intelligence starring The Rock and Kevin Hart. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who has not seen it, but I was really surprised at the serious undertone it took with the whole Bullying aspect that is so prevalent in today’s society.
The second was a drama called Legend of Tarzan starring Alexander Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson. I have to admit that the idea of seeing another Tarzan movie made me queasy (my childhood memories of Tarzan movies were not pleasant to say the least) but my S.O. James assured me that this one was done well…he was right and I was pleasantly surprised…Enough said (smile).
And the third was a foreign flick and drama (my personal fave) called The Lobster which my S.O. James handpicked for me. It stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Can’t say enough about this movie except you should absolutely see it as it will open your eyes WIDE to a whole ‘nother world…and make you feel grateful for your own (smile).
This has got to be one, if not the, hardest times of the year for a striving-to-be-clean girl like me (smile).
Wake me up when the holidays are over!
It doesn’t help that I live in New England where its bitter cold outside at 5am in the morning when I wake up to go to the gym.
And, to add insult to injury, good and un-healthy food greets me everywhere I turn, making it harder and harder for me to make the right food choices…Between office day and night parties, get-togethers with friends, family gatherings, pre-holiday dinners, after-work happy hours and the like, I almost feel like throwing in the towel and biting into that lovely red velvet cupcake!
And eating clean?!? What a joke?!? Not with all of this yummy, hot and cold prepared food surrounding me…
But then this tiny little nagging voice of reason shakes me, wakes me up and tells me to maintain control because if I keep giving in to food temptation, it’s going to be that much harder come January 2nd…
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz…
So…I take a deep breath and remind myself of the little things that I have done in the past to counteract the decadence. Here are just a few tips that I have used successfully:
Drink lots of water (not only is it filling but it also cleans out toxins)
Eat slowly and take small bites
At parties, eat out of tiny dinner plates
Try not do two things at once (like eat and talk on the phone) as you will lose track of your portions
And finally, drink one large (10 ounces or more) glass of ice waterfor every alcoholic drink consumed
The holidays are truly a whirlwind of fun, good food, good drinks and activity but if you try to keep track of what you eat and drink daily and not give in to every temptation out there you can get through them with minimal damage and celebrate the post New Year in style!
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 on the 605AM Metro North train into NYC
When we got to Gran 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.
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.
L to R: Christine, Jamie, Nina, Sheree and me killing time!
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!
The stage, so close you could touch it!The best seats in the house! Front row center, rows 1 and 2!
There was, I’ll call him an audience warm-up guyfor lack of a better term in the studio, so for the next 45 minutes or so the AWGhad 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 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 Iconsfeaturing 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.
This rink feels like Rockefeller Center and this place brings out the figure skater in me!
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.
Selfie taken in the cool-looking interior of Bryant Park Grille
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.
December 1st in Bryant Park, feeling like a Fall day…
Bryant Park is not too far from Gran Central so after dessert we walked a number of blocks (instead of cabbing it) back to Gran 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…
Easter Sunday was always so special in the Hollis household. My mother was so good about making sure her children were dressed in their Sunday finest as we got ready for church. I’m in red, the sixth of seven children and the youngest of the girls…those were the days…
