Beeker's Words

Links and Thoughts for Your Consideration

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Favorite Things

November 3rd, 2012 · Gifts/Products

Garmin FR70 Fitness Watch with Heart Rate Monitor

My husband and I have been focusing on getting fit. I decided that I needed to know the length, intensity, and calorie burn of my workouts.  I tried a couple different Heart Rate Monitors and decided the Garmin FR70 worked best for me.   At the moment, I am going to a gym, but in the spring I plan to start swimming and jogging. This monitor can also be used in water and to track running.

Carmel Nut Brownie Luna Bars

I am watching what I eat, but at times I really crave something chewy and chocolate. I decided to try the Luna bars in an effort to eat more protein. I discovered these at my local Giant grocery store, but found I could buy them much cheaper on Amazon.  I use these after workouts or for an evening snack. They are not a brownie, but they are as close as I am going to get to one anytime soon!

A Discovery of Witches

I haven’t been reading much since Charlotte was born. I wanted to get back into a good story and my friend Nicole recommended this book.  I read this book and the second in the series in four days!  I love  witches, vampires, and history.  I won’t share more but I will guarantee you won’t regret opening this book!

 

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Stutgart American High School – Reflections ’92

March 6th, 2012 · life

 

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A Sad Farewell

February 22nd, 2012 · life

I took this picture last September understanding that we would be saying goodbye to my mother in law in the near future. We discovered three weeks after Charlotte was born that my mother in law had a terminal form of cancer. The doctors gave her six months.  She held on for five and a half months.  On January 25th she passed away.

She adored Charlotte and could spend hours just looking at her.  I thought that me and my husband were the only ones who would do that.  I always knew that Anne would be an amazing grandmother and she was. In her last months, Anne recorded children’s books so that Charlotte could listen to her grandmother read to her as she grew up. Anne loved reading to her kids and she made me promise that we would make sure that Charlotte was a reader.  We have her copy of Charlotte’s Web from when she was a child.  Anne talked to me about cooking because, “Pete is not a good cook. You are going to have to teach Charlotte to make our family’s recipes.”  She made sure I had all of her recipes, that I knew the secrets and the best ingredients to use.  When she thought we weren’t looking or even when we were looking she would sneak a taste of whatever treat she was having to Charlotte. I took home jars of canned jelly, relishes, and chutney that she had made.  Anne was a classically trained cellist and had the voice of an angel.  Charlotte has her grandmother’s cello, violin, and bows waiting to see if she has a calling to musical instruments.  One of my favorite memories is of Anne singing Ave Maria at our wedding. She made me cry.  She loved to sing “You Are My Sunshine” to Charlotte and made me promise to watch “The Sound of Music” until Charlotte  knows all the songs.  Anne never met a stranger. Our child met so many of Anne’s friends, extended family, nurses, and Hospice staff that she now looks around and wonders where her adoring public has gone now that we are home.  We know separation anxiety when we are away from our child but she looks at all people and sees a new adventure.

In the few short months that Anne had with Charlotte, she managed to share what she felt were the best things in life: books, food, music, and people.

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Favorite Things

January 6th, 2012 · Gifts/Products

Itzbeen

Itzbeen has to be by far the most useful gift we received upon Charlotte’s arrival.  You keep track of when you last fed and changed you baby. It also keeps track of when they last slept and has a nifty fourth button that we used to keep track of when we last gave her medicine.  Itzbeen has a nigh light feature so that you can locate it and the screen has a back light making it easy to read.  It is  a lot easier to hit a button than to try to recall at 3am when you last gave your baby medicine.

Fresh Sugar Honey Tinted Lip Treatment

A few years ago, I started using Fresh’s Sugar Lip Balm.  It is expensive but I had tried just about everything to treat my chapped lips. I hate feeling like my lips are coated in vaseline or as though I dipped my lips in wax which is pretty much how every lip balm felt.  This Christmas, my husband gave me a tube of Fresh’s Sugar Honey Tinted Lip Treatment. I love it! I still use my old Sugar Lip Balm, especially when I am just kicking around the house, but when I am going out, this is a great alternative to lipstick. It has a hint of color and moisturizes my chapped lips at the same time.

A Game of Thrones

These books were recommended by everyone and I never added them to my reading list because they are long and I wasn’t sure about reading another series.  I noticed that a TV series was being made and I decided I should read the books before watching the show.  My best friend lent me her copies a few weeks before the end of my pregnancy. I just finished the fourth book.  They are amazing books!  There is intrigue, war, love, and a cast of characters that you find yourself loving and hating. I highly recommend these books!

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Charlotte Grace

October 3rd, 2011 · Uncategorized

Birth

One Month

Two Month

I can’t believe that Charlotte will be 3 months old next week!  She is simply the best thing  that has ever happened to Pete and me.  She arrived on July 13, 2011 at 6:33pm.  I am amazed that a year ago, we had just put a contract on our house and Pete had started his new job. I remember feeling so sad about our fertility treatment not working  but I was determined to create a happy life for us in Virginia.  We didn’t realize that we were already pregnant.   This year we face new struggles with our family but we find that we get through each day because we have each other and our Charlotte. She is a happy and engaging baby!

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Etsy Purchases

June 23rd, 2011 · Baby, Gifts/Products

I have had some fun on Etsy. I bought a lovely baby book from Ruby Love Designs and these three adorable headbands from Monday’s Child.

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The Nursery

June 23rd, 2011 · Baby

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Introducing…

March 14th, 2011 · Baby, Current Events

You are not seeing things. That is an ultrasound of our baby. Pete and I are expecting a little girl this July!  I am 23 weeks today and she is perfect.  Many of you know that we stopped fertility treatment last July after our IVF with egg donor cycle failed. We had tried everything and we accepted that having our own child was not going to happen.  We prayed that God would help us accept this and maybe we could look at adoption a year from now. Pete took the job in Northern Virginia and we bought a house. I had decided to go to graduate school and work part-time.   After settling into the new house,  I wasn’t feeling well and I thought I had kidney problems.  Pete was joking and told me I was pregnant. I dismissed him but then I thought about it and my period was really late. Two sticks later, we are making an appointment with an ob/gyn.  Dr. Wolfe confirmed that we are pregnant and all I can say is miracles do happen.  It has been two months since she gave us the good news and as of our ultrasound today Charlotte Grace is perfect and should be arriving around July 12th!

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100 Books

January 17th, 2011 · Books

I have decided once again to try to read 100 books during the year. This means reading an average of eight and a half books each month. I managed to read fifty seven new books last year. Between the fertility treatment and relocating, books took a backseat in my life. I am not sure what will happen this year, but I plan to do it with a book in hand. I have already read five books this month:

Artist of the Beautiful by J.D. Landis

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Roses by Leila Meacham

I really enjoyed Fall of Giants and Roses. The other books were just not my cup of tea.  As usual, if you have a recommendation for a good book, let me know!

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Happy New Year

January 1st, 2011 · Uncategorized

The last few days I have been reflecting on our life for the past year. We said goodbye to our cat Little One after 14 years of companionship. We made it through two failed IVF attempts and then came to the painful conclusion that having a baby was not going to happen for us. We decided to pick up and move back to Virginia. This allowed Pete to accept a new job and we bought a new home in the process. Through it all I found I never loved my husband more and I am blessed to have an amazing family and a group of friends that I can count on no matter what. There was a lot of pain in the last year but also a lot of love. I look forward to the New Year and I wish that everyone finds their way through the tough times of the year to see the good that helps us through those times. Happy New Year!

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