Trick or Treat!

Ron and I both worked a full day today but then raced back across the San Mateo Bridge to get home in time for some trick-or-treating! We had a date with a very GREEN 7-year-old who was anxious to go door to door for some candy! My husband is a very good sport and even agreed to dress up for the occasion. Here is the photographic evidence...

Just in case you weren't sure who Ron was supposed to be...

 

Halloween smooches

Charlie Brown and the Hulk

Viliamu got tired of being the Hulk and decided to change costumes!

It was all good fun, but now it's over for another year. Time for bed!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Father's Day!

I may have mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't, I want to tell you that I REALLY like my husband. He's a good man, a loving and supportive husband and a GREAT DAD! He's not without quirks or faults, but over the years, he has been a wonderful partner in the parenting process. He may have trouble saying the words sometimes, but he loves our girls with all his heart and does all he can to help them even now as adults. Here are some of my favorite photos of a loving daddy with his girls...

A brand new daddy with jb

he certainly had his hands full!

Sharing a joke with Beckie

at White Sands

Right before the Father/Daughter dance 1994

with jb on the beach in So Cal

Twin love

Christmas in NYC!

Dancing at a friend's wedding

Homecoming at SLHS 2005

with Mandi

in Maui

Here's to all the daddies out there who have made the world a better place for their kids - Happy Father's Day!

New job...new wheels!

Ron was just minding his own business last month, when a head hunter came looking for him. She had an amazing job opportunity for him that she felt he would not be able to pass up. Once he agreed to take the interview it all happened very fast. He met with several key people at the new company over 2 days and they loved him. They checked his references then offered him the position of Vice President, Finance; Corporate Controller. The name of the company is LiveOps.

I don't completely understand what this company does except that it has something to do with a call center in "the cloud." All I know for sure is that 3 weeks into his new job, he is happy, less stressed and he gets home at a more reasonable hour every day. It's a good thing, for sure!

Soon after becoming a VP, Ron decided it was time for a new car. Back in 2004, he had bought 2 Dodge Stratus' for the family. One he used to commute back and forth to work and the other one was for the girls to share (fight over) during high school and then college. The gold and silver Strati have been driven back and forth to Santa Barbara repeatedly and have scratches and dings all over them. The internal workings of these cars have been well tended to and they are both still running very nicely. Ron is very happy to be able to allow Beckie and Mandi to each have a car to use as they go about their business. I, of course, am still stuck with the Beeson Bus. Oh well.

After careful deliberation and a weekend of shopping various car lots, Ron settled on a 2013 Nissan Altima. The color is "Java Metallic" (sparkly brown) with a tan leather interior. It's quite fancy with a moon roof, blue tooth, rear view camera and XM radio. It even has a push button starter. I got to drive it the other day and it was like driving a spaceship! I'm glad that he has a new car - after all he does for the rest of us, he really deserves it. It's not his dream car; he says we aren't quite there yet, but it's certainly a step up from the Stratus!

Moving day...again...

Happy March, Everyone! It's been a busy weekend and I'm still trying to recover. Ron and I spent the last couple days helping Mandi move from San Francisco to Oakland. This is her 3rd apartment since she moved back from NYC, so hopefully she will stay put for a while! Not that Ron minds. He loves to be able to help the girls and it gives him the opportunity to justify himself for keeping our full size van.

Soon after our twins were born way back in 1988, Ron bought our first mini-van. It was so much easier to get all the car seats situated in our Chevy van and to get the girls in and out of the car. However, having a van meant that I had to learn how to drive a "bus" and that our parking choices were sometimes limited because of the overhead clearance. We lived in Texas at the time and often traveled around our big state and back and forth to Arizona to visit Ron's parents. I have to admit that it was a great way to travel on vacation - we even made the trek to Disneyland in it when the JB was 6 and Mandi & Beckie were 4.

The Mini

Around 1993, Ron decided that it was time to upgrade to a full-sized customized Chevy van. Traveling with a wife, 3 girls and a mother-in-law (mom lived with us at the time), made it difficult to squeeze all our luggage into the mini. I remember one trip when Ron piled the luggage on the top of the mini and tied it down with rope and bungee cords. Then it rained - what an ordeal! We spent the first day of that vacation in wet clothes! He'd had enough of that, so Ron brought home Big Blue around 1993. "She" was a full-size custom Chevy van with plush blue interior. Driving and parking that monster was a challenge for me but I had no choice but to learn to do it.

Big Blue during a trip to Northern Arizona - yes, that's snow!

Having Big Blue made it much easier for us to drive the girls and friends here and there. As a girl scout leader it was helpful to be able to deliver cookies out of the back of the van and to take the troop on field trips. Yes, there were many benefits to having a bus, but I really began to long for something smaller...something sporty. Ron loved being able to take comfortable car trips and we never had to listen to the girls fight with each other in the back of the van because they had plenty of space.

Before we left Arizona at the end of 2000, we got a new Chevy van and it was beautiful. The color was  an iridescent teal that changed color in the light. The interior was tan leather and extremely comfortable to ride in and to drive. We had this van during the time that I was helping to drive the girls to away games for volleyball or football. When JB started college in 2004, we drove her and all her belongings to Santa Barbara in this van. Ron is a master at packing the van - it's like watching a real game of Tetris when he starts packing up!

Shiny and green! This was an anniversary trip to Palm Springs.

We put a lot of miles on that van back and forth to Santa Barbara and around the state, but we lost her on Thanksgiving Eve 2005, when a guy driving towards me in a Toyota Camry decided to make a left turn. I slammed on the brakes, but I hit him anyway. His car scooted back through the intersection and my beautiful blue-green bus was totaled. Physically, I was fine since I was wearing my seat belt, but my van was done. It surprised me how emotionally attached I was to that car.

The current Beeson Bus - taking Mandi & Beckie to college

We still had years of moving the girls back and forth from college so Ron was determined to buy another van. He had to go all the was to LA to find what he was looking for and we still have that van now. I'm not attached to this one the way I was to the last. "She" isn't as pretty - she's grey with a grey interior - nothing special, but she has taken us on many great trips. We've made many trips to Santa Barbara, lots of trips to Napa and Sonoma and 3 trips to Disneyland (the last two of those Disney trips with our Wild Thing). It's been a good bus, but I'm starting to long for something smaller and sporty again...something that we can park without worrying about the overhead clearance and length of the parking space...sigh...I know that Ron isn't ready to let go of the Beeson Bus, though. He's certain that it will come in handy the next time we need to buy a new mattress or TV or something big. He is also convinced that since it's my car, it's the safest thing I could be driving. He just won't let go. So even though the price of gas is ridiculous and I'm itching to ride in something smaller, I'm stuck with the Beeson Bus.

Maybe someday....

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!

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. 

Savor - a lovely day

In honor of Father's Day and because we have two daughters living in San Francisco, we decided to have brunch yesterday to avoid a big crowd today. It took me most of the morning to slowly get ready to go and then we were in our comfy Beeson Bus for the drive to the city. First stop, we picked up Mandi and then Beckie so she could direct us to the restaurant - she has really gotten to know her way around the as she works in different areas of the city. We took her recommendation for SAVOR  - in the Noe Valley neighborhood of SF. Ron was able to drop me off within 10 steps of the front door and then he was off to find parking - it's San Francisco - always a challenge to park our bus.

Can you believe I didn't take any pictures of the food? I am totally off my game, but I did get some photos of us and that's the important part, right? Because I am not a food critic...but the food was delicious. My appetite has been off but I ordered the Golden Gate Salad with a filet of Salmon - it was so good and just what I needed. The enormous mimosa was pretty tasty too. I don't remember what everyone else ate, but I do know that their plates were all as empty as mine when the waitress came to clear our table! The ambiance in the restaurant was great, the food was good and we were never rushed.

It was good to get out of the house for a bit and to spend some time with our girlies. Here are a few snaps from the day....

Beckie, Big Daddy and Mandi

 

Mandi and me as I try to take a photo with my phone

Me and Bec  - I was starting to lose steam but isn't she cute?!

The back patio of Savor on a warm SF afternoon

future physical therapist!!

we are so proud!

Mandi sent this picture of the view out her window at the end of her day 

 It was a lovely day.

Picarro

I rarely write about current events that don't directly involve me, but I thought you might find this very interesting and reassuring.

There is an up and coming company in Santa Clara, California called Picarro. In very basic terms (that I can understand, because I am not tech-savy) this company manufactures a device that detects green house gasses. This is important technology because the device is able to detect natural gas leaks. Here is a link with a video that explains how PG&E is going to use the device....

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=8524992

Had PG&E had this technology earlier, the 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno might have been avoided. The company does more than manufacture this device. This is directly from Picarro's website -

 Picarro's singular mission is to produce the world's highest performance and easiest to use gas analyzers. Our analyzers serve a wide variety of markets including atmospheric science, greenhouse gas measurement, air quality, food safety, hydrology, biomaterials testing, ecology, environmental consulting, semi-conductor, industrial process gas measurement, and landfill gas measurement. With the highest precision and sensitivity level measurements, months or years of calibration-free operation, and a quick and easy set-up, this incredibly rare combination of attributes enables our customers to make the highest quality measurements both in the modern lab and in the most remote locations imaginable. 

Every possible source of industrial and municipal emissions are subject to increasing regulation either for worker safety, to improve air quality, or as part of larger state, national and international greenhouse gas reduction strategies and protocols. Regardless of whether the customer is an expert scientist who values performance foremost, an engineer who demands quality and uptime from a solution, or a field technician who values simple installation and little maintenance, Picarro analyzers are the emerging standard.

Besides the amazing work this company does, why should I care? I care because since March 22nd, Ron has been the corporate controller. I couldn't be more proud!

Sweet 16

It has been a very exciting day! I must confess that I have been watching the games in my room away  from Ron and the big TV in the family room. Why? Because my husband becomes a stark raving lunatic when he watches basketball and that is only amplified when he watches IU play. He screams and yells and jumps up and down. You can take the boy out of Indiana, but you can't take the Hoosier out of the boy!

So, the good news is that IU won their game against VCU and made it to the Sweet 16. The bad news is that they have to play Kentucky in the next game. I don't know whether Ron loves IU more than he hates Kentucky - it's a real toss-up. IU beat Kentucky back in December by 1 point and it was a very happy day here at the Beeson Homestead.

For now, Ron will savor today's victory and count the hours until the next big game on Thursday. Maybe I will  find my earplugs so that I can watch the game in the same room with him. I will let you know how it goes.

Bracketology

It is a holy day in the Beeson household for today is Selection Sunday. To many people, March is about the beginning of spring, St. Patrick's Day and Daylight Savings time. In my house, March is all about basketball.

The NCAA selection committee is hard at work at this very moment deciding who will get to go to the Big Dance. You may wonder why I choose to comment on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at all. I guess if I hadn't lived in Indiana for 11 years or married a Hoosier, this day might have gone by without much notice from me. I have never been any kind of athlete and still don't completely understand all the rules of college basketball, but it's impossible NOT to get caught up in the excitement of this time of year. I blame my husband for pulling me into the insanity.

Basketball is a religion in Indiana and Ron remains a faithful follower even though we moved to Texas in 1984. He grew up in Connersville where the boys' basketball team won the state championships in 1972 and 1983. We were actually at the 1983 state championship game at Market Square Arena and exhausted ourselves jumping up and down and screaming ourselves hoarse watching that final game. I'm sure that he could tell you the names of the players and give you a summary of the key plays. I just got caught up in the emotion and excitement of the whole thing.

There are few things that evoke more excitement or emotional outbursts from my husband than watching college basketball games. I have spent the last 32 years of my life watching him get red in the face while yelling at the TV during games. There are also a few things that remain constant. He is generally supportive of Indiana teams (he was thrilled by Butler's performance the last couple years) and he always roots for Indiana University. Coach Bobby Knight is still revered in our house no matter how flawed he may be as a human being. Another constant is the disdain Ron has for the Kentucky and Duke teams. His grudge against those teams goes back many many years. I am a Hoosier by marriage so I don't completely understand it, it just IS.

Need any help filling out your brackets today? I'm sure that Ron will be happy to give you his opinion. In fact, Mandi may be willing to share her picks with you as well. She is the only one of our children that has the "disease." I'm not sure how the other two escaped it - it's quite contagious. I will let you know how we all fare with our picks as we wind through to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and finally, to the National Championship on April 2nd.

 Can you feel the excitement?!?!

love

Happy Valentine’s Day

The older I get, the more I recognize that this day has been inflated by department stores, greeting card companies and florists. I didn’t used to feel that way and Ron and I have a rocky history with Valentine’s Day. It’s been much better since I grew up and realized that roses, candy or cards are not the measure of how much my husband loves me. The proof is in all the little things he does for me every day…like making coffee while I’m in the shower and bringing me a cup while I get ready for the day…or that he drives me to work and picks me up every day even though he doesn’t have to…or that he loads the dishwasher without me asking him…or that he carries things up or down the stairs for me…or that he happily does the grocery shopping (he knows how much I don’t like doing it)…or that he will give me a foot rub whenever I ask. Truly, I know how much he loves me because he puts up with all my crazy – that is saying a lot!

So today I wish you a day filled with the things that really matter…good health, friendship and love. Never mind the heart shaped box of chocolates…

Half a Century

Baby Ronnie at 1 year old

The love of my life and my very best friend is 50 years old today. Ron is not one for big celebrations even for a milestone as big as this. The truth is he is not fond of celebrating his birthdays at all (except for the part with the cake!) He's not happy about getting older, but I keep reminding him that the best part of our lives is still ahead of us.

Is it any wonder that it was love at first sight for me?

As "Schroeder" in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!" 

Senior photo - 1979

Engaged at 20

Married at 21

2002-ish

2004

2011

As you can see, we started out much thinner and we both had more hair. We met 32 years ago and have been through our share of ups and downs, good and bad, even sickness and health. But here we are all these years later and I am thrilled to wish my wonderful husband a very happy 50th birthday! I look forward to each and every milestone that we will continue to share as the years go on....