Summer is winding down and so are the many adventures of Sheila. One of the most fun adventures this year was Nana Camp, a series of days spent with my granddaughters. (Yes,hard to believe I'm old enough to have granddaughters, isn't it? What can I say, I started young!) They are, of course, adorable. This is not surprising since they are related to my children. Yes, I know those of you with children and grandchildren think they're adorable too, but they're not as adorable as mine. Really. Getting back to Nana Camp though. This is such a fun thing to do with kids and I got the idea from my friend Debbie Macomber. Yes, I'm not too proud to admit that when it comes to doing cool things I have no problem moving right in on my friends' great ideas. Nana camp always involves fun activities, learning and baking or cooking. This year we had style camp where we practiced good posture by walking with books balanced on our heads, made bracelets and decorated Rice Krispy Treat flip flops. We enjoyed a spa day where we gave ourselves egg facials. Even poor Gerhardt had to have one. (This is what happens when you're dumb enough to stick around for Nana Camp.) And we had Germany Day where the girls learned about the German culture and language. And made soft pretzels with Grandpa. (Hmmm. Grandpa is beginning to horn in on Nana Camp. If he crashes the party next year we may have to dress him in a Tutu. Actually, he'd look fabulous. He has great legs.) But now summer is at an end and so is Nana Camp. It all went so fast.. just like the time with my own children. When I was going through the nutty years older women would say things like, "Enjoy these years, dear. They go so fast." And I'd think, "Yeah, right." And now, years later, I think, "You were right." Time with the ones we love is precious. I'm going to value every minute of mine!

No, I'm not talking about cheating on your spouse or cheating on a test. I'm talking about fudging. Fudging numbers. Fudging numbers when asked about your weight. Some of us (me) hate having to fess up what we weigh so we just sort of fudge the numbers. This is a dumb thing to do when ordering your first ever pair of Spanx. And it has sad, sad consequences. I hadn't intended to fudge the numbers when I called to place my phone order with the nice Nordstrom's rep. But heck, she sounded young, hot and blonde and I couldn't bring myself to tell her my real tub-o-pudge weight (she wouldn't understand), so I gave her a number that I figured was somewhere in the Spanx ballpark. There. What's a few pounds anyway? Those things are made to have some give. And wow, was I going to look sleek and fab for my writer's conference! Happily, my new suck-it-in sleek maker arrived the day before I was due to leave. Well, let's try it on and see how I look, I thought. And that was when I realized that cheating doesn't pay. I couldn't get the thing up past my thighs. Sigh. Oh, well. Sleek is overrated. But not diets. Guess who's on one right now. And no, I'm not telling you how much I weigh. Anyway, as you can see, I can't be trusted!