So Grateful

I am nearing the end of a 16 day cross country trip and it occurred to me that I haven't taken the time to tell you what I'm grateful for this year. So while Ron and I are resting at the glorious JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, I thought I'd reflect and give you my list. I am so grateful...

...that my hair grew back!

...that I have been able to play Scrabble and Words with Friends almost competitively with Anita, Eileen, Megan, Debbie, Katie, Gibby and Rita. (Thanks for keeping my brain working!)

...that I got to visit my good friend Don and his feathered kids.

...that I am well enough to have gotten a new job and that my boss at my new job was so understanding and flexible about me taking 2 weeks off even though I just started there at the end of October.

...that I continue to get to spend time with the Wild Thing!

...that in all our travels this year, the airlines never lost our luggage, we never missed a flight and that we arrived safely at all our destinations.

...that I finally got to meet my dear friend, Meredith.

...that we got to see Ron's parents, brother and sister this year.

...that I got to see Kevin, Leah and Kimi this year.

...that even though it's been a challenging year, my girls, Ron and I are all healthy.

...that I got to spend real quality time with Stef and Tim and their families. (Next year, Ginger?)

...that my beautiful, healthy baby nephew Wyatt arrived to the enthusiastic welcome of the whole family and that my brother and sister-in-law allowed me to go to Georgia to meet him and spend some time with all of them.

...that after 30 years of being married, Ron and I are still best friends and that he loves and accepts me blonde or brunette, thin or fat, in sickness and in health!

Tomorrow Ron and I will be driving the last 7 hours (480 miles) back home. It's been a whirlwind of a trip, but we made it! I wish you all a belated "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen...start your engines!!!!"

It's one of those special days in the Beeson House...Memorial Day weekend means the Indianapolis 500 Race. I spent my adolescence in Indiana and all the tradition and hoopla around the race has stuck with me over the years. Well, that and the fact that I married a Hoosier! Every year Ron and I look forward to hearing Jim Nabors sing "Back Home Again in Indiana." It's a song that will bring tears to our eyes as they usually show beautiful scenes of the Indiana countryside while Jim is singing.  I can't explain how exciting it is to hear the drivers start their engines - I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sound of the cars as they speed around the track. (If you were here I would make the sound for you!)

What's prettier than a Indy race car? I don't know.

Today there is a 40% chance of thunderstorms in Indianapolis - that worries me a bit because rain increases the chances of accidents. It's no fun when the yellow flags come out on the track and slows everything down. And we REALLY don't want anyone getting hurt.

There are 4 women starting the race today - Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann and Simona de Silvestro. They are all underdogs and not expected to win. I just hope they all finish safely. It's too bad that Danica Patrick isn't racing Indycars anymore  - it was great to root for her every year. Today I'm rooting for the pole sitter, Ed Carpenter as he is hometown boy from Indiana and a graduate of Butler University as well! More than anything, I am hoping for a safe race for all the drivers.

Time to sign off now - the festivities are starting and I don't want to miss the national anthem and the singing of "Back Home in Indiana." Who do you think will drink the milk today?

Easter Nostalgia

I had no Easter baskets to make or eggs to decorate or hide this year. I am going to make a Ron a lovely  meal and that will be the extent of our Easter celebration. I may have shared this photo before, but it is one of my favorites. Here are the Beeson Girls at Easter 1992...

Memories....

Hope you all have a lovely day!

The End of the Valentine's Day Curse

I realize that it is February 13th, but I thought you'd be interested to know that Valentine's Day started a little early for me this year!

I was going about the business of completing my chores for the day when the doorbell rang. I'm a little paranoid about answering the door when I'm home alone, but I looked through the peep hole and saw someone standing there with something in his hands. He looked safe enough so I answered the door. There stood a young guy holding a beautiful flower arrangement.

"Laura Beeson?" he asked with a big smile on his face.
"Yes?"
"These are for you!"
"Oh! What a surprise! Thank you!" I took the flowers and shut the door. Wow! Flowers!

If you know my history with Valentine's Day, you won't be surprised when I tell you that I truly didn't know who the flowers were from until I opened the card. Inside the card was the sweetest sentiment from my very own husband. I know you are thinking, "well of course it was!" but sometimes I am a little slow.

Ron and I are approaching our 30th wedding anniversary this August and a total of 34 years together. I honestly have never doubted how much he loves me although I have often felt undeserving. After what I put him through during the last few months, I would say that he has definitely earned a pass when it comes to things like Valentine's. He has gone above and beyond proving how much he loves and cares for me during my recent illness and recuperation. But there was the delivery boy holding this gorgeous token of my husband's love for me in an arrangement of roses and orchids. After 34 years, he can still surprise me and make me cry (happy tears). Is it possible to love someone more than you did when you first fell in love all those years ago? Yes. I can tell you honestly that you can...I do.

And if all that weren't enough, tomorrow, on Valentine's Day, we are going out to dinner with friends! There might even be a little dancing involved. I think it's quite safe to say that the curse has been lifted!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fabulous February

There are so many reasons that I love February not the least of which is that it's not January any more. After all the warmth, color and excitement of the holidays, January just seems to drag on and on. I do get to celebrate the birthdays of 3 of my favorite people in the world in January, but so soon after Christmas, it's always a challenge to come up with any kind of fantastic gift idea for Ron, Mandi and Beckie. Besides that, it's cold in January. No, not Minnesota cold, but cold enough to be uncomfortable and not want to play outside.

Even if the groundhog did see his shadow this year (did he? I didn't hear...), February is still just that much closer to spring and the beautiful temperate weather California is famous for. Not to mention all the fun and exciting events that this month brings.

Even if you are not a football fan or if your team doesn't happen to be in the big game, there's always the half-time show and the commercials to look forward to...This year, it was an EXCELLENT game, even if the 49ers didn't quite get it done. The half time show was pretty good and so were most of the commercials.  I'm still squirming about the GoDaddy.com commercial with the extended kiss between the model and the awkward young man...yech... Anyway, I can't remember the last time I watched the Superbowl all the way to the end - it was great!

The Grammy's are on the 10th this year. Although I've gotten to the age where I don't know many of the musicians nominated and I don't care for some of the music that is performed at the event, I still love to watch and see what everybody is wearing. I admit it - I am an awards show addict. Besides, from time to time, there will be an amazing performance of someone I'd never heard or seen before. I think that it was a Grammy's show where I first saw and heard Adele. Embarrassing, but true!

JB's birthday is this month. Although she is miles away, I am always grateful to think about how she changed my life when she came into the world and made me into the only thing I ever truly wanted to be...a mom. She will be 27 on the 12th! Where does the time go?

Ok, it's true that I have a troubled history with Valentine's Day. However, red is my favorite color and I love the way the stores decorate around this holiday. Even if Valentine's Day has been turned into a day that florists can charge 3 or 4 times the amount they usually do for a dozen roses or a day that you can't get into a restaurant unless you made a reservation weeks ago, I still like the idea of a day set aside for love and romance.

Thanks, George and Abraham! Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend?!

And last but not least, one of the reasons that I love February is the Academy Awards. This is MY Super Bowl every year. I can't wait to see all the movie stars dressed to the nines in their finest duds and their borrowed jewels. Yes, it's a bit silly, but I love it anyway. Ron and I still have a few movies to see before the winners are announced - not that it really matters, but we like to see all the nominated films before the big day. The show is on the 24th so we have a couple of weekends to see the rest of the movies.

As I am finishing up this post, the sun came out from behind the clouds. It's going to be a little bit warmer today. Warm enough to hop on my bike and get some exercise! Yes, I love February!

Deconstructing Christmas

It's that time of year. I've started the tedious process of UN-decking the halls. It's my least favorite part of the holiday aftermath. So far I have painstakingly removed all the ornaments from all 8 decorated trees and have started to put them in their designated boxes and bins. Is there anything more forlorn looking than a naked Christmas tree? I feel very strongly about organizing my decorations by color and theme because it makes it so much easier when I decorate for the next Christmas. It is a little obsessive, but so am I when it comes to my trees and decorations. 

I have just finished filling a big plastic bin with all my white and silver and snowflake ornaments - filled it to the top because I haven't yet met a snowflake I didn't like. It's one of my "things." I have another bin dedicated to my Santa collection - also filled to the top - I LOVE all things Santa as well. Packing up the stockings, tree skirts and silk poinsettias and the rest of my Christmas this and that...it's time.

What a mess!

Usually I dread January. Everything seems so empty and dull after all the decorations are down and stored safely back into their bins. This year is different. I am excited for all the new things that will happen this month...yoga classes, volunteer work and hey, truthfully, I'm just happy to be alive. 

Today I'm especially happy - it's Ron's birthday and I'm making a special dinner and his favorite cake. Simple pleasures are the best. 

Happy New Year!

For all my friends whose addresses I don't have - I thought I'd post my Christmas letter here. Please forgive me if you've heard some of what follows...

The Beeson 5 + 3

Dear Family & Friends,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I bet you thought I wasn't sending out a holiday greeting this year, huh? Well, this year I decided that a “Happy New Year’s” greeting would be more appropriate. I also wanted to wait until JB and Causten got here so that I could include a photo of the entire Beeson 5 + 3.

At the beginning of 2012, Ron was out of work and I had a job – oh, the difference a year can make…but more on that later. Let’s start this with our amazing daughters…

JB is still working at CFY in New York City. She has done so well at her job that she was promoted to Chief of Staff! She was enjoying running for fitness and fun until she developed tendonitis and had to wear a boot on her left foot. She and fiancé Causten spent some time apart this year as he was persuaded by the Obama campaign to move to Denver to be in charge of training staff and volunteers. He returned to New York before the election to get back to school and JB. Living with them are our grand-kitties, Luna and Thunder.

Mandi spent the first half of the year in New York with JB and Causten. She worked as an executive assistant. During her New York adventure, she met a very special guy named Bryce. It made coming back to California to go school very difficult for her. However, she did come back to California and started graduate school in the UCSF Physical Therapy program. Not too long later, Bryce hopped on his bike (yes, that’s a bicycle not a motorcycle!) and rode from New York to San Francisco. It took him 2 months to complete his journey and he is now acclimating very nicely to the west coast. Mandi is happier than we’ve ever seen her and is doing very well in graduate school. Only 2 ½ years until graduation!

Beckie continues to be one busy gal. Her list of jobs this year included tutoring, working as a barista at a local coffee shop, babysitting, and facilitating the afterschool writing table at 826 Valencia. Her volunteer work there included editing and illustrating publications of her students’ work. This year Bec moved out of our house and into an apartment in Oakland with her boyfriend, Brian. He is a great guy who is definitely the yin to her yang! The New Year will find Beckie working full time at a high end coffee shop in San Francisco called Four Barrel. She continues to pursue her passion for writing and hopes to finish her novel soon. Interested family members will receive an advance copy prior to publication!

After a well-deserved break from the 9 to 5 grind, Ron went back to work in March as the corporate controller of a company called Picarro. This company manufactures a device that detects greenhouse gasses. PG&E is the first utility to adopt this technology. The company is expecting this to be a game-changing approach to natural gas leak detection not only for consumer distribution but for the emerging fracking industry. Ron is never happier than when he starts a new job and digs into the details to make the company run more smoothly and efficiently. Shortly after being hired there, he found a significant mess that he has been working hard to clean up ever since. Otherwise, he has had his hands full taking care of me this year…I’ll get to all that in a minute….

2012 was a year of ups and downs for me. It started happily enough with a trip to Las Vegas to gather with my crazy family and a friend to celebrate my 50th birthday. Attending the big shebang were our kids jb & Causten, Mandi & Bryce, Beckie & Brian; all my siblings-Ginger and her two boys, Jeronn and Joshua, Stef and her husband Paul and my nephew Chance; and my brother Tim and his wife Megan. The party would not have been complete without cousins Kevin and Andy, Kimi & Randy, Leah & Tom, Derek & Cesar, Lisa & Danny and Mickey & Phoebe. To top it off, my friend Audrey made it to the party as well. Ginger hosted the event at her restaurant and it was amazing! There was good food, a beautiful cake and a live band. The whole thing made turning 50 not quite so difficult. It was wonderful seeing my family and I was humbled to think that they all came to celebrate with me.

Things took an unexpected turn for me at the end of spring and I “lost” my entire summer. It’s a very long and complicated story, but I will try to keep it short so not to bore you with the details. Or you can skip the next couple of paragraphs if you've heard this story before. In March, I had started receiving infusions of Benlysta. This is a fairly new lupus medication and has done amazing things for some patients, but does have some adverse side effects. For me, the side effects really kicked in at the end of May and caused me to have to leave my job and go on short term disability. As June and July wore on, I became more fatigued and weak. I was really hoping that the new treatment would work for me so I tolerated the side effects. It was only when my doctor started prescribing medications to deal with the side effects that things went horribly wrong. To make a very long story short, I got very sick, ended up at the UCSF emergency room with very high blood sugar, hallucinations and delirium. I was admitted and spent the next 17 days at UCSF Medical Center. It took a while for the doctors to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was suffering from Cushing’s Syndrome which was caused by all the steroids I had been prescribed to combat the side effects I was dealing with. I was found to have a urinary tract infection that became septic – this probably caused the delirium. I was also found to have a fungal infection in the right upper lobe of my lung called Nocardia. I was receiving insulin since my blood sugar was out of control and during the first couple days of my hospitalization I experienced two seizures. Much of what happened in the hospital during my first week there is lost – I just don’t remember, but maybe that’s a good thing.

Once my health stabilized, I was transferred to St. Mary’s Acute Rehabilitation unit. I had lost much of the muscle mass in my legs and had overall weakness.  I stayed there for 15 days and received physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. I had wonderfully great care at both hospitals. I feel lucky to be alive and so grateful for the love and support I got from my family. Ron rarely left my side and took very good care of care of me. Talk about “through sickness and health”! It was a real blessing to have Ron and the girls, my sister Stef and cousin Leah here for support.

As a result of my illness and the uncertainty of when I would be able to return to work, I lost my job. Hopefully, I will be able to return to the working world and find something fulfilling to do in 2013. At present, I am still receiving physical therapy and keeping up with many follow up appointments with my NEW doctors who are all affiliated with UCSF. My recovery is almost complete with only a few residual effects – fatigue, weakness, muscle stiffness and the small issue of my hair which fell out in huge clumps. I am now sporting a very short blonde “do” and hope that someday my hair will grow back in. Otherwise, I really am feeling much better and have resolved to do a much better job of taking care of myself in the future. Thankfully, now that I’m on the mend, we are slowly working play-dates with Viliamu (who turned 6 and started kindergarten this year!) back into our schedule.

Ron and I are thrilled to have had all three of our daughters here with us during the holidays. There were sweet reminiscences and so much laughter about times past. It is so rewarding for us to see how well our girls are making their way in the world. We are just so proud of them.

Mandi, JB & Beckie

Every year I end this annual letter by saying something about how glad I am that the year is coming to an end and how I hope the New Year will be better.   I hope the Universe is listening this time because 2012 almost did me in! Here’s wishing you all good health and great happiness in 2013!

Married 29 years and going strong!

With love, Laura & Ron

Santa Baby

Mandi and Bryce showed up at the house last night with a bag full of red and white fabric and grand ideas about making Santa outfits for San Francisco SantaCon 2012. In case you've never heard of it - here is a link that will tell you all about SantaCon...

http://santacon.info/About.html

It didn't take long for me to figure out that I would be the one making the costumes - partly because I'm a little bit of a control freak and wouldn't allow them to touch my sewing machine! Besides that, they didn't have a pattern or a real idea of how to make what they wanted. I spent the better part of the day measuring, cutting and sewing. Here are a couple pictures of the finished products...

Aren't they just adorable?!

I had a lot of fun making their outfits. It took me back to when the kids were little and I made all their Halloween costumes. I'm very pleased with the way their outfits turned out - Mandi and Bryce seemed pretty excited about them as well. The best part of the day was when Mandi made tortilla soup for dinner while I was sewing - it was delicious! All in all, I think it was a pretty good trade!

Christmas Crunch

19 days until Christmas --- YIKES!!! How did it get here so fast? The elves at Santa's workshop are putting in overtime to get things made in time for Christmas. Thank goodness I have a designated sewing room now!

This holiday is different for me this year. I am just so grateful to be around this Christmas. In the spirit of appreciating the holiday, I am going to do my best not to get stressed about things that don't really matter --- I am going to focus instead on my fantastic family. All 3 of my daughters will be here with their significant others. I can't wait! We will have some wonderful meals, have game nights and go to the movies...More than anything, though, I just want to look at them and put my arms around them!

FYI - I won't be sending out my annual Christmas letter until AFTER Christmas this year since jb and Causten won't  be here until the 24th and you know how I love to take pictures of the entire family together! Be on the lookout for a letter around New Year's...unless, of course, the world does end according to the Mayan calendar!

Christmas Tree Therapy

The quality of these photos is not great. Most of these pictures were taken with my phone...however, in the interest of letting you know what I've been up to since last weekend, I thought I'd go ahead and post these.  Better photos promised soon.

The calm before the storm! Despite thinning out my decorations earlier this year, I still have 10 storage containers
dedicated to Christmas decorations. I promise not to buy ANY new decorations this year...really...I promise...

8 ft. tall - decorated with burgundy roses, poinsettias, berry branches, sugared apples, pears & pomegranates. This is a
new tree and is in the living room. It is much better than it looks in this photo - I will definitely get a better photo of this tree.

This 2 ft. tree sits on the piano. It has a special place in my heart because Ron bought it at a
Duane Read for me on Christmas Eve when we spent the holiday in New York City in 2003.     

4 ft. tree decorated with cream colored roses and golden glittery fruit.
Living room.

3 ft. - this is the only tree in my house with multi-colored lights this year. It's the only whimsical tree - decorated with  candy cane  bows, elves and reindeer peeking through the branches. It plays a variety of Christmas carols, too. This tree is in the family room.

4 ft. - decorated in rust colors with glittery balls, roses  and ribbons.
This tree is in #1 guestroom. I will try to  get a better picture of this tree.

6 ft. white tree decorated with silver & white snowflakes, balls, and butterflies. This tree is in the dining room.

There are two more trees to photograph, but they need a little tweaking before they are ready to be made public. Decorating Christmas trees is one of my true joys - too bad I can't make a year 'round career of it! Who needs therapy when I can decorate trees?!

Busy Hands

I have been a little blue lately. Physically I am doing better every day. My strength and stamina continue to improve and I am actively exercising and going to physical therapy. Even so, I feel pretty isolated during the week. I am still prohibited from driving until the end of the year, so it really limits me.

Now that the holidays are rolling in, I keep thinking about what I have done in years past...more times than not I think about the place I used to work and the people there. I guess I am still coming to terms with being unemployed. Recently, I talked to a friend about how I was feeling. She was very supportive and suggested that I get back to doing some sewing or other crafty things...so I did! The picture above is the table runner I made. This reminded me how much I enjoy making things and how satisfying it is to finish a project. Thanks for reminding me, Eileen!

I am also starting to slowly put up Christmas decorations. I admit it's a little early, but putting up my Christmas trees has always been very therapeutic for me. I won't have time to be blue....I'm gonna deck the halls!

My Favorite Season

Last Sunday I looked out my kitchen window and thought to myself, "It looks like Fall..." Something about the quality of the light had changed...I'm not sure if that really explains it, but I could see the difference. So, I stuck my nose out the door and I could actually smell autumn in the air.

What is it about this season that I love so much? The first thing that comes to mind is the colors - red, orange, gold and yellow - warm and comforting. I also enjoy the cooler temperatures - I love wearing turtlenecks and sweaters. Finally, autumn brings Halloween, pumpkins and the beginning of the holiday season. The holidays will bring the girls home and that's always a good thing.

In a couple weeks, Ron and I will be going to Half Moon Bay for the annual pumpkin festival. This signals the beginning of the holiday season and maybe the start of some Christmas shopping. I will be walking more carefully and slowly than last year, but I am going to enjoy every minute. I have vowed to never take anything for granted again....

Easters past - just a few more pictures

2012 - No Easter outfits or baskets - just some posies from my garden

I meant to post these yesterday, but the day got away from me. Here are a few more photos of Easter - it turns out that I haven't scanned most of the Easter photos. I didn't go digital until 2005.

Here we are in 1991 - do you detect a theme here? Pretty obnoxious, i know, but it seemed like a cute idea at the time!

1992 - my angels - L to R - Mandy, Jenny, Becky

1994 - Not our best year - Jenn broke her arm a few days before Easter and Mandy was recovering from chicken pox.
 Becky and Jenny came down with chicken pox a few days later. This was our last Easter in Texas before we moved to Arizona.

Now I have skipped a few years (mainly because I have to hunt down the photos and then scan them). So I fast forwarded to 2007 and a couple pictures of the Wild Thing years.

2007 - Viliamu at 4 months

2009 - Viliamu at 2 1/2

That's all for now - now I have to hunt down photos for my birthday blog!