Grandma's holiday helper: 2015 Toyota Rav4 Limited

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As a freelance writer working from home, I don't have to do a lot of driving. Until holiday time, that is. There's all the shopping, the visiting, the touring holiday displays that light up the neighborhood, and more.

toyota rav4 

For all that extra driving on my itinerary this past Christmas, I had the pleasure of tooling about in a 2015 Toyota Rav4 Limited AWD SUV, courtesy Toyota and Rocky Mountain Redline. The vehicle...

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For the grandma in me

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Everyone knows grandmas have multiple personalities. Not in a "Sybil" sort of way, just in that we have many facets, many interests, many hats that we wear that make us the grand women that we are. Right?

 grandma apron

Well, those varied parts that make up the "Grandma" package mean that loved ones bestowing gifts upon us must take into consideration which personality they hope to...

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Holiday highlights, plus GRAND Social No. 137 link party for grandparents

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Holiday highlights

As some of you know, I was a little concerned about how my Christmas holiday might play out. Why I worried at all, I don't know. Considering I have pretty much the best daughters — and a pretty darn awesome husband, too — I should have known everything would turn out exactly as it should. For me, it turned out nearly perfect. The only way it could have been better would have been for my grandsons and their parents to have been here, too.

Here are some highlights of the holiday time with some of my favorite people — and pets — in the world:

christmas 2014 collage

For two full days, my nest was...

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Christmas and how the empty nest gets harder after college

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Christmas and how the empty nest gets harder after college

I used to be one of those moms whose child — or children, plural — recently left for college. You know... the moms walking around with a dazed, how-the-heck-did-this-happen-so-fast look in their eyes, virtually visible cracks in their hearts as they miss the once little ones who have flown their nest. They're the moms who live for holiday breaks, spring breaks, summer breaks, for that's when their loved ones return home, back to the safety of the nest where mom can hold each one in her arms and savor the sweet scents and sounds of her babies all around.

family christmas stockings

I was one of those moms. That first year my daughters were scattered afar for schooling and such was rough. It got easier, though, as it does for all moms (and dads) whose kiddos have gone off for enrichment and enlightenment on the road to becoming full-fledged adults. I found new...

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