Tag: #ConnecticutBlogger

My Current Situation – Part III

We are now entering the 6th month of living in a pandemic and needless to say, things have changed for me in Connecticut… here’s what I’m noticing:

 

Masks are still required when you walk into any workplace/school/retail store/restaurant/bank etc. (which, by the way, is not a problem to me…)

 

 

Gyms continue to operate at 50% capacity which forces me to work out from home on an online app 3 days out of the 5…and go to my gym I Love Kickboxing (at 5am) the other 2 days..

 

We Local Account Executives at News 8 continue to work from home every other day in a team hybrid fashion and to be honest, I’m not mad about it (smile).

 

 

Zoom calls (the way we now converse with each other and with our clients) are beginning to feel “natural” and “the norm.”

 

 

And I just returned from an actual vacay in Delaware where we drove to visit family and because I brought my latop with me, I did not miss a beat on my work load…

 

 

Virtual church is becoming “a thing” now, I can hear ‘The Word” from Pastor King at Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church right from the safety of my living room…

 

 

As far as golf goes, social distancing was already in place so other than having an electric cart all to myself, not much has changed there…

 

Self Care is becoming extremely important during this anxiety-ridden time…I am not feeling guilt at all about taking out quality time for myself as often as I need it…

 

 

And finally, my father and sibs mean the world to me so catching up with them via consistent family Facetime chats has become the best part of my week (smile).

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

 

 

 

 

Beach Bum

We were desperately in need of a vacation – the goal was somewhere warm, beachy and fun – so the Sunshine state immediately came to mind (with the help of Karen, our travel agent).

We couldn’t of timed it better – we departed from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT on a rainy, dreary Sunday morning in mid-May at 720am and arrived to sunny Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida less than 3 hours later.

Our destination was the Sirata Beach Resort in Clearwater, Florida a half hour from TIA airport (but it took our shuttle service over an hour and a half to get there due to heavy traffic and multiple drop-offs).

It was worth the long wait though once we saw that the resort (although not as new as the promotional video pictured it) was nonetheless cute and quaint (smile).

Sirata Beach Resort (a Marriott Hotel)

 

After we checked into our City View (as opposed to Ocean View) suite at Sirata Beach Resort, we headed out the door for some much needed grub and a walk on St. Pete’s Beach.

 

City view as opposed to Ocean view…

 

Our first stop at the resort for grub was Harry’s Beach Bar because we were starving and because it was literally right in front of us (smile).   The food at Harry’s was okay, nothing to write home about, but the peek-a-boo views of the pool and the beach were inviting…

 

 

After lunch we went for a long walk on St. Pete’s Beach, touted as the number 1 beach in the U.S.   The breathtaking beauty of this beach reminded me of vacationing in the Caribbean- – white sand, baby blue water and lots of big waves.

 

 

While walking the beach we could not help but notice how it was sectioned off by resorts in that each individual resort (over the 13 acres of premier beachfront!) had it’s own matching cabanas, beach loungers, chairs and umbrellas perfectly lined up on their own property.   Sirata Beach Resort property provided 2 complimentary beach loungers per room per day to their guests.  If you wanted front row access (prime real estate) you had to head to the beach by 8am and pay the the attendant $20 for a Sirata Beach umbrella.  This reservation ensured that your beach loungers and umbrella would be placed in the front row and that no one could move into your spot for the entire day.  Nor could anyone park in front of you.  We made front row reservations every day over the next 4 days (smile).

 

 

 

Sirata Beach Resort is a lot of things  but it is not all-inclusive.  However there are a total of 4 restaurants at the resort which are all decent.  One of our favorite casual dining restaurants on the resort was Rum Runners Bar and Grill which also featured live music in the evenings.

 

And since Sirata Beach Resort is situated on Gulf Boulevard, there are a ton of good restaurant choices – most within walking distance.   We discovered a really good seafood restaurant called Crabby Bills 5 minutes from our resort a few days before we departed.   It was sooooo good we ate there two days in a row (smile).

 

Loved Loved Loved Crabby Bills (smile)

 

As far as night life, we stumbled upon a beautiful hotel while walking along Gulf Boulevard during the day.   It had a rooftop deck for drinks and apps and a fine dining restaurant below called Spinners (it literally spun while you dined).  This hotel was called the Grand Plaza Hotel.   We went there that same evening and sat outside on the rooftop deck for drinks and apps.

 

Grand Plaza Hotel

 

While reading about daily activities at the resort I saw that there was a free service called Beach Rides.  These vans provide free local rides to resort guests but ask that you leave a tip since this is how they make their living.  We called Beach Rides to take us to another local beach called Madeira Beach on our 3rd day.   We chose Madeira as were interested in seeing the marina, stopping in on the boardwalk shops and taking a dolphin watch tour.

 

Our Dolphin Watch Tour boat

 

Our dolphin watch tour was for 1.5 hours and we found it was a quick and easy way to learn about the residents who lived around the bay as well as information about dolphin life.   There were a lot of dolphins out that afternoon and we even saw a baby dolphin that the Captain told us had just been born 24 hours ago!

 

Very active Dolphin tour which we learned that day is not always the case

 

Excited to see baby dolphins – a rare sight indeed!

Afterwards we ate outdoors at The Hut Bar and Grill while we watched lots of other tours and boat activity.  Great day at Madeira Beach.

 

 

 

The following day we were back at our resort.  Oh, I forgot to mention that every night during the week the resort offered free drinks at the tiki bar from 730pm to 8pm.   You had your choice of beer, wine or rum punch.   It was here that we met a nice couple that happened to be Clearwater locals.  They were telling us where to go in the short time we had remaining on our trip.

 

The Tiki Bar party featured free drinks to resort residents every night!

 

What stuck in my mind was when this couple told us about going to downtown St. Petersburg at night. From the way they described it, it sounded like our kind of town so we took their advice and caught a Beach Rides van to St. Petersburg, FL (15 minutes from Clearwater).  We paid a flat fee of $25.00 since it was out of the beach zone and enjoyed a nice stroll at the marina, sightseeing in downtown St. Petersburg, a free movie night on the Green, late night snacks outdoors at a popular restaurant and a live music session at Ruby’s.

Here we are on a rooftop lounge indulging in adult beverages

 

Late night snacks on the street (smile)

 

We loved our time in St. Petersburg and we plan on heading back  when we have more time (smile).

 

Our final day at the resort was spent packing up, spending time on the beach for a last walk and eating out at Crabby Bills.  Here is a picture of one of our last nights on the beach.

So long St. Pete’s Beach…

 

Sincerely,

 

TVFL

 

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 – Check out my blog post:  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 collectively 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 should not 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.

 

The Chrysler minivan was equipped with all of the amenities for the kiddos (smile)

 

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, South Carolina.  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 12 Midnight on 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 condo complex which we called Home for the next 10 days – as it turns out, Hilton Head is chock full of condominium complexes hence the confusion at the very beginning of our trip

 

The grounds of our condo complex
The natural pond

 

The pool at the complex – thank God my sister Dana raised her children and grandchildren to be strong swimmers (smile)

 

We spent the first morning in town doing some heavy duty grocery shopping at at the Piggly Wiggly.  Incidentally, I never worked so hard in my life while on vacation,  I was the Driver, the Hostess, the Cook, the Waitress, the Bottle Washer and the Dirty Clothes Washer and Dryer (smile).

 

The kiddos at dinnertime – never a dull moment (smile)  Here they are fighting over who gets control of the remote tonight.
Here I am in my bedroom at the condo around 7pm where I would start losing energy and therefore get ready 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…

 

Rambunctious Rasoul
Ready for the world Rashidah
Kuddle bug Kenyon

 

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!  And all of that Vitamin D was good for my illness…

 

Me contemplating life I suppose…
Me soaking up the South Carolina sun
Kenyon building a sand castle
Kenyon, Rasoul, Ahmad and Aunt Keedah
Kenyon, Rasoul and Ahmad
Rashidah, Rasoul, Kenyon and Aunt Keedah with Rasould

 

My niece Dimitrica drove down from North Carolina to spend 4 days with us – we all had a blast

 

Savannah, GA

We decided to spend Day 5  of our 10th vacation day 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.

Keedah and I drove the mini-van and once we arrived, the first thing we did was head to the free ferry to explore the 4 corners of the city…but not before feeding the meter…

 

Parking is no joke! We lucked out and found a good space close to everything!

 

Our free ferry boat

 

Dimitrica checking out the shops
Rashidah, Ahmad, Kenyon and Rasoul
Ahmad playing as usual
The kiddos around the wishing well

 

Rasoul inhaling his ice cream
Ahmad playing it cool as per usual

 

After our ferry ride we did some sightseeing and explored some African American historical exhibits, ate lunch and then headed back to Hilton Head.

 

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 definitely 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.’

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

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 Broadcast 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).

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brace Face

I am sooooo excited because I’m about to turn 56 years old next week and my braces are coming off – wait, what?!?  Really?!?

Like I have mentioned before in previous blogs, I do almost everything backwards (smile) so its’s only fitting that I would be sporting braces during my middle aged years (double smile).

As it turns out, I am in good company…

As a matter of fact, more and more Adults are sporting clear braces (or Invisalign) now than ever before.  In most cases Adults are comprising up to 50 percent of Ortho patients today!  And, according to the American Association of Orthodontics, any age is the right age for ortho care.

By the way, insurance usually does not cover orthodontics for adults over the age of 25…I found that one out the hard way…

However the good news for me was that my braces are light and clear, unlike back in the day when they were heavy metal.  Eeeck!

And I’m proud to say that I only have 8 of them – all on my upper teeth – (4 on each side) which is what my orthodontist suggested.

So here are the top 2 reasons why I decided to get braces (besides my regular dentist, Alan Friedler, DMD recommending them):

  •   Looking to close the gap between my two front teeth
  •   Looking to decrease my overbite.

My Orthodontist told me it would take up to one year to achieve these goals so I figured:  ‘I’m not getting any younger’ and ‘Now is as good a time as any…’ (smile).

 

Me before the braces – with a gap and overbite

 

Me sporting my light and clear braces

 

Here are some helpful tips if you are an Adult considering braces:

Daily Maintenance:

Good news: you may brush with an electric toothbrush – it doesn’t get in the way of the braces at all.

You need to rinse out your mouth and brush after each and every meal.

You need to floss daily and often…

You need to use the wax they given you in your “kit” on a regular basis to keep the wire from the braces from cutting into your cheeks.

Monthly Maintenance:

You have to make appointments to visit the Orthodontist at least once a month for check-up and tightening – look for an orthodontist that first of all comes highly recommended and secondly is convenient to where you live and/or work as those 4 week visits come up rather quickly!

Watch what you eat:

Here’s what I truly enjoy eating but have a tough time with right now:

  • Sushi
  • Pizza
  • Grilled Chicken
  • Steak
  • Popcorn

Here are foods the Orthodontist recommends you eat with braces:

  • Dairy – pudding and soft cheeses
  • Bread – sliced lunch bread, soft tortillas, pancakes, muffins
  • Grains – pasta, noodles, soft cooked rice
  • Meats/poultry – soft cooked chicken, meatballs, luncheon meats
  • Seafood – fish without bones, tuna, salmon, crab and crab cakes

Cost:

It cost me around $3700 but again that was just for a total of 8 braces on my upper teeth…most Ortho offices do offer monthly payment plans which helps…

Post Braces:

When my clear braces are removed next week I have to wear a thin wire removable retainer for up to 8 weeks (full-time) and then another 4 weeks (part-time).

That brings me smack into Summer – free of braces and ready for my next adventure~ Yay!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL