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Thursday, January 7, 2016

My (Semi) New Home-Away-From-Home...

I went North-ish East-ish on Tuesday morn to visit My Gals! Little Leighton (LL) was getting quite bored with pre-school not starting back, from Christmas vacation, until yesterday. TLC was getting a teensy-bit punchy and finds she gets a lot done when I can keep a watchful eye on LL.

TLC’s home was back to “normal”—she’d put all their Christmas decorations up. Her house looked lovely. Peaceful. Cozy.

LL was to take a nap at 1:40-ish and then, when she woke, I was going to help her ride her tricycle. After she had a snack that involved a Hershey’s “kiss.” (These are gluten-free—YIPPEE!) She, unfortunately, was a wiggle wart—unable to calm down enough to sleep. At 2:15, this Grammy Nanny gave up the cause. Of course, LL knows I’ll throw in the towel. But she seemed tres shocked when she discovered, via her Mama, that she truly wasn’t getting a “kiss.” Shocked and heartbroken. I’m a pushover for 90% of the things she wants to eat/do/play/color/etc. I don’t budge on our “Nap Negotiations.” For some odd reason, LL hasn’t grasped that yet. She did have some pretzels and eight candy corns. (It was supposed to be five. I talked TLC into three more for LL. Bless LL's sad little soul.)

Once LL (finally—this toot is a turtle when it comes to eating) finished her snack, we put our jackets and tennies on and went out to the front yard and sidewalk to ride! This is her second tricycle. She outgrew her first one FAST. This one has been at my casa. She hasn’t ridden it more than a couple of times in the past three months. She has some practicing to do. Grammy Nanny bent over for the length of four homes/driveways until I had to tell her I couldn’t do much more of that. I’m close to 62. I’ve had a bad back for twenty years and horrible knees for three years. I do what I can until I can’t any longer. Twenty minutes in, we returned to their house and promptly went out into their backyard. Where we jogged back and forth. In a race. For approximately fifteen more minutes of fresh air and exercise. LL declared herself the winner every single race. I made her accept that, for the last race, we actually tied. She was (reluctantly and skeptically) gracious. As gracious as a 3-year-old can be.

I was beyond happy this trip, as TLC finished “My Guest Room.” It has nothing new in it. Everything was in the first guest room or in some other part of TLC’s home. The room itself is twice as big as my last one and has a fabulous powder room, with a shower (I’m not a bath person), attached to it. Here’s what half of My Guest Room looks like:



And here’s a picture of what I cherish and adore about TLC:


While I was bathing LL and getting her ready for bed Tuesday night, TLC was preparing my room/nightstand. With the two little chocolates, a bottle of water and my sheets turned down. It was a fun surprise and as comfy/fancy as any 4 to 5-star hotel I’ve ever been lucky to stay in while traveling with My Sweet Hubby (MSH).  Please don’t misunderstand—I’ve stayed at maybe five of these Lifestyles-of-the-Rich-and-Famous hotels. In the past 38-ish years. Haven’t stayed in one—and probably won’t ever again—in the past six or seven years. (However, there’s always the chance I might win the $650 million dollar Powerball Lottery Wednesday, right? Got my $3 ticket today. If I win, I promise I’ll be staying at a few more “royal” hotels. Yes. Yes, I will. Indeed. I'll be treating many, MANY of my family members and friends, too, to some luxury treats. Why not?)

I got back home yesterday evening—missing My Girls (including Baby Elle--she'll be here SOON!) the moment I drove away from TLC’s driveway. MSH has a horrible cold. He’s felt bad since Monday. I'm doing my best to stay clear of his germs. This afternoon, I had a much-needed lunch/therapy session with Sunny.  I’m now in my jammies and about to settle in to my place on our davenport for a night of television. My goal for the next six days will be to get 7,000 steps, per day, logged into my Fitbit. I’m staying between 5800 and 6400, at this point, and I need to bump my goal up up UP! (Yes. I do know they recommend 10,000 steps per day. Yikes. I have confidence I'll get there. I will!)

I hope each of Y’all has a Wonderful Weekend—wherever in the World you are! Stay safe and JOYFUL, okie-dokie?

Smooches and Hugs…