My Saturday with Benjamin:-)

Pedro was on Nick Jr., so it was difficult for me to get Ben to pay attention to the camera for the earlier part of our playdate...
Yep, he's looking over the camera to see the tv, and there were several sighs of frustration involved as well...to be clear, those sighs were from Ben and not me:-)

Just in case you didn't see it in the first shot, Ben put a big shiny red bow on my head soon after I entered his front door...I forgot the bow was there for 3 hours!

Aha! I have a much more captive audience when Ben eats because I become the entertainment...

Here is Ben reacting to my kidney bean song and dance...

...and then my "sausage is good" jig...hey, I'll do anything to be sure my Godson eats:-)

...and my finale...the beans and sausage jingle, complete with big hand gestures...

It was a great day!!!!

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

oxox Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

Raining like Crazy, and COLD!!!

Auntie Beth does not handle the cold or the lack of sunshine with as much grace as she would like. I'm a bit lazy since Auntie Shannon left but I have got to get off my booty soon...lots to do so I can come home...Ramona cleaned the apartment yesterday so it looks so pretty, and I finished a big tax client today!!!
I finally started wearing long pajamas because it's so chilly. These sheep pjs remind me of KK...partly because I think she picked them out for me a few Christmases ago, partly because of the pink! Here I am all showered and curled up on the couch last night, with the heater on of course...

Sending you big kisses...only 6 days til I get on a flight for CT!!!

My Saturday includes pilates class and a playdate with Ben for Auntie Beth:-)

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

oxxoAuntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

Auntie Shannon's Visit

What a week! I'm sorry that I did not blog for awhile but Auntie Shannon was here for a visit so I took a blog vacation:-)
Auntie Shannon & I decided to visit Venice Beach early in her trip...This December in California is very cold...the wind was crazy, and the temperature was probably only in the 40s...but we walked out on the Venice Beach pier anyway!
My first attempt at a photo of Auntie Shannon...her hair would not cooperate...yep, all that swing in her hair is from the wind...brrrrrrrr!

The second attempt went better...but you can still see the wind whipping the ends of Shanny's hair...it seems we did not think the weather through very carefully:-)

I love this photo...it's very impromptu and silly and natural...no makeup, self portrait, with us just lucky that the hair was not fully covering our faces...we tried to get a tourist to take a photo for us, but he took a picture of his feet instead...I don't know how to explain that!

After our walk on Venice Beach, we ate at C & O (Cheese & Olive), a very famous restaurant there...then we crossed the street to the Cabo Cantina for watermelon margaritas...

We chatted with lots of different people living near Venice Beach..and on such a cold night,we especially enjoyed the fire pit above...very very very toasty!!!

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

xoxo Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

My Playdate With Ben...and Randal & Lurene's Anniversary!

Randal had to work on his real anniversary November 24th, so he & Lurene went out to celebrate on Saturday night...
The Grimms have started a tradition of taking a family photo every anniversary which they proudly display in a special frame...until it is replaced by a new photo the following year of course...this is one of the photos from our picture-taking escapade:-)

Once Mom & Dad leave, Ben is all about testing how far he can push Auntie Beth...it's very cute because he already knows it's not very far...but here he is trying to convince me that being two inches from the tv is good for him...I swear, I thought he was gonna climb into the tv! True, I did let him do this long enough to take a photo, but then I promptly moved him:-)

My little multi-tasker...Ben wanted to play with his barnyard animals, but did not want to miss anything on Nick, Jr....so one hand on the animals, head turned toward the tv...shortly hearafter, Auntie Beth turned off the tv and gently shoved Ben toward a walk outside...which he promptly turned into a 45 minute run...Ben has never done this to me before and after an hour of pilates earlier in the day, Auntie Beth was tired...

As soon as we got back inside, Auntie Beth threw herself on the chase lounge in the living room (see photo of Randal on Thanksgiving)...she did not say hello to Mickey Mouse because she hadn't seen him yet...yep, the Grimm house is decked out for the holidays already!

This is Ben's reaction to not being able to get himself up on the chase with me...it's his "hey, no fair, help me" look...

...then Ben starts to roll around, knowing that I won't let him fall off...I love that he trusts me so much now...

...and Ben takes a bit of a lounge while Auntie Beth pats him...once Ben got what he wanted, which was the security of knowing I was there and ready with attention, he got sick of me:-)

...and slid off, with the help of Auntie Beth of course, to the foot of the chase...

...then Ben got so secure that all I could see was the top of his little blonde head:-)

This was his final act of independence, walking clear across the room from me---I just wasn't quick enough to catch his defiant look on camera...

I saw this box when I was leaving the Grimm house and it was painfully obvious that I had to take a picture...turns out this was actually a box from 13's apartment on the show "House"...makes more sense now:-)

Auntie Beth had a class tonight so I took a picture to show you how I looked today...you guys get bigger & you change between my visits, and so does Auntie Beth!

I love you lots, and miss you more-

xo Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

Thanksgiving...and the bestest present in the world!!!

Auntie Beth got the most exquisite loving gift in the mail on Wednesday...and of course I wore it on Thanksgiving for all to see...

Here I am in my still messy bedroom...gosh, how am I ever gonna get this place clean before Shannon arrives on Wednesday? Yep, Auntie Shannon is coming to California for a visit!!!

I wore my new favorite t-shirt with plain black pants so there was no distraction from the loving piece of art I was wearing:-) Lurene & I after Thanksgiving dessert...chocolate cream pie made by Auntie Beth...thank you Mom/Auntie Kake for sending the ingredients:-)

Auntie Beth was tired at Thanksgiving so she did not break out the camera until after we ate & Ben went to asleep! Have no fear though, Ben and I have a playdate today while Mom & Dad go out for their Anniversary...I will take some photos of our fun!

Randal is very into the football tradition of Thanksgiving which mean blissful rest on the couch right after dinner...Randal actually answered all my football questions and offered insight into why the players do what they do...I caught on quickly, and I even cheered for the Denver Broncos...c'mon, their team colors were pretty...

This is Mieken...she is living with Randal, Lurene and Ben while she goes to the Fashion Institute...she is 20 and she works at Forever 21...her Dad is Randal's brother...Randal has 5 brothers and one sister so it's an even bigger family than mine...Mieken will be going back home to her family in Kansas for a few weeks at Christmas...I asked her to take a photo of my great shirt and this is what she came up with below...

I laughed hysterically because she cut off my head!!! Those are my arms, I swear...

Look at the mess the adults made...hey, the football got really rowdy and we couldn't help ourselves:-)

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

xoxo Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

My Very First "Auntie Beth" School Photo This Year!

I couldn't possibly reflect all the bounty I received from the beautiful Cacace family in one blog entry...so I waited until today to get a photo of another great find in my new penpal's envelope...
Lucas included his school photo, hot off the presses...Luke looks so incredibly handsome and this photo now holds a place of honor on my fridge next to my tax desk:-) Thanks Lucas!!!!

My new hair color and shape is working...I had just gotten home from an Allstate Insurance audition above, so I thought you might like to see how I doll up for my auditions...and yes, it was an audition on Saturday, my first weekend audition in over a year...and yet I did not have any auditions at all during this past work week!

Yes, Auntie Beth is feeling all feminine and girlie with the hair...I'm shedding for the first time in almost a decade, but I always know it's mine because of the distinct color...so I got that going for me!!!

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

oxox Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

New PenpalS...and Ramona works miracles on the messy apartment...

I went to my mailbox today and saw a bill, another bill, another bill, another bill, and...WAIT...two really cool envelopes decorated with coloring and stickers addressed to "Auntie Beth"...SCORE!!!!
I wonder what is inside here...I'm trying to guess, to read the letter without opening it in this photo above...but nothing could prepare me for the beautiful note and car & airplane drawings from Lucas...I was in heaven!!! But wait, can an Auntie get lucky TWICE...twice in ONE day?

Oh yes she can...because Ella sent me a very wonderfully decorated envelope which made me smile...stars are my favorite...but there was more! Ella also sent me a note & colored me a picture...so many pretty colors...yes it was a very good day in Auntie Beth's apartment-yippee!!!

To top things off, Ramona cleaned the apartment...laundry is now put away, living room is looking good...just in time for Ben & Lurene to come over on Saturday and help me rip apart my closets:-)

Friday did indeed rock...thank you, Ella & Lucas...Auntie Beth misses you too...I'll see you at the airport...and yes, Ella, I also think another lunch at 99 is in order:-)

I love you lots, and miss you more-

oxxo Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS

Peek-A-Boo, Pilates Device, Road Kill, Playtime, Holiday Cheer & Refreshments

O.K. so I'm making an effort to get myself out from behind my hair...baby steps!!!

This is called a pilates reformer machine. When I say I'm going to a pilates class, this is the machine I use...on the far left of your screen is the foot bar...I lay facing up toward the ceiling and push my feet against the foot bar to do my leg exercises. The shoulder pads in the middle of the machine make sure you don't hurt your neck and the handles right next to the shoulder pads are for my arm exercises...it may look wierd but it does wonders for my body...tonight was my very first day back to pilates class since Auntie Meg's wedding!!!

This is my kitty cat, Rhapsody...I got this stuffed animal because my friend adopted a cat that looked just like her...Rhapsody has sat on my dashboard for 2 years now, falling off everytime I take a sharp corner...yet I continue to diligently put her back in place...my friend Wes says she looks more like roadkill...he's mean! Auntie KK & Auntie Meg thought it was very funny that I had a cat in my car when they visited:-)

Don't look now but it's my SECOND playtime with Ben this week...after pilates, I headed over to see two of my fave people, Ben & Lurene...we were trying to get Ben's focus but "Upside Down People" was on which is his fave...we had zero chance of getting his attention!

Look how gorgeous Ben's mommy is!!! Ben is very into kisses & hugs right now which makes an Auntie very very happy...Lurene & I tried yet again to get Ben to look at the camera but this time he just wanted to stare at mommy...

I yelled "BEN", he glanced for half a second...but wanted to get back to staring at mommy...the kid is focused, I'll give him that:-)

...and right before this shot, Ben was doing his "where is it?" motion with his hands...kind of the same meaning as Annie's shoulder shrug except Ben does it with his hands...and Ben was gracious enough to point out exactly where to find said item once he spotted it!

Our clever little boy now grabs your hand and pulls you up out of your seat to follow him...he does not let go, and there is usually not a place he really wants to take you, not that we've figured out anyway...but it's so cute that Auntie Beth was right behind Mommy as he led us around the kitchen for the 3rd time...Lurene is really great about indulging Ben up to a point and then telling him "it's enough" in a kind but firm way...the girl has patience!!!

Ben had hit his bedtime and his tired time...it did not help that Auntie Beth got him riled up the minute she walked in the door, grabbing him, snarkkling him, running after him...mom had just told him it was bedtime above...

...and Ben hurls himself into his mommy's arms...very snuggly with mom...it's great to watch this beautiful amazing boy be so loved...
Onto the next topic, holiday cheer...and in my defense, the holiday lights come on after dark because well they are lights, so most photos cannot turn out well...but if I'm gonna display just how crazy Californians are about the holidays, I need to document it, even if poorly...so there...

This is Santa Monica Boulevard, one block away from my home...there are twinkling stars on every street light in West Hollywood already...we are considered a separate "city" from Los Angeles proper even though we are within its city limits...and West Hollywood knows how to budget for decorating!!! These stars were put up in early November, so WeHo got quite the jump on the holiday cheer...

I got up close and personal with one star...it didn't have much to say but it sure was pretty:-)

... and right up the street our Bristol Farms had strings of white lights hung by last week...

...and in between my place and the Grimms, there were no less than 3 Christmas tree lots already set up, ready to receive the trees from the north...

The tree lot above was pretty big and will be filled with trees this weekend...the Christmas tree sellers in California only order certain kinds of trees because only a few types can last for over a month in our weather even when the tree is kept indoors...

...and finally, we stop at the 7-11 on Santa Monica Boulevard, a blessing & a curse just a few blocks from my house...my late night snack place...yes, they know me there:-)

Candy immediately to the left, icecream straight ahead on the left, Big Gulp to the right at the end of the register:-)

Blogging takes a long time...whew...

I love you lots, and I miss you more-

ox Auntie Beth/Bethie/Beppy GBAKYS