Tag: about me

  • Day 4 of the Hostage Situation (Keeping calm in the world of Covid-19)

    Day 4 of the Hostage Situation (Keeping calm in the world of Covid-19)

    How are you all holding up? I will be honest I am alternating between being super anxious and being laissez faire. Thanks Anxiety and Depression. This is also proving to me exactly how extroverted I am. Truly it isn’t so bad currently, but the thought of how much longer this will last and how many things are being cancelled is daunting, disappointing and, well, depressing.

    On the positive side I have started a pen pal group for the Wenches. And will be writing to another lovely friend as well. I have so many books to read that I can work my way through, and I have a stationary bike I can use for exercise. Things are truly not all doom and despair but things are very different and it may take me a minute to adjust.

    I need to find the motivation to write and to make art, but currently my axiety is too high for that. Hopefully I can snap out soon.

    Stay sane my friends.

    If you would like to be a pen pal as well feel free to message me your address and I will gladly send a letter.

    The photo for this post is my new part time coworker, Samhain, helping me work. ❤

  • Fifty More Random Things!!

    This came up on Facebook, so I grabbed it and decided to do another one. 50 (Yes, fifty!!) Things You’ve Never Been Asked. 

    1. What is the color of your hairbrush? I have two main ones; one is brown and the other black.
    2. Name a food you never ever eat? There is no such food.
    3. Are you typically too warm or too cold ? At work too warm, at home cold.
    4. What were you doing 45 mins ago? Playing with one of my birthday gifts.
    5. What is your favorite candy bar? I don’t eat a lot of candy bars, but when I do I eat Mounds.
    6. Have you ever been to a professional sporting event? Yes. A bunch.
    7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “You just backed that ass up right onto my computer.” Said to my cat. 
    8. What is your favorite ice cream? Vanilla with nestle quick powder.
    9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water with lemon
    10. Do you like your wallet? Yes, it is a floral Betsey Johnson.
    11. What was the last thing you ate? Mexican Rice Bowl ala Seth
    12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Yes, I think so. 
    13. The last sporting event you watched? I think it was a UFC fight at a bar. 
    14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? I am happy with just salted popcorn. 
    15. Who is the last person you sent a message to? My sister in law Niki. Today is her birthday (3/15) 
    16. Ever go camping? Yes
    17. Do you take vitamins? Every Day
    18. Do you go to church every Sunday? Nope. 
    19. Do you have a tan? No, I am ungodly pale.
    20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? I love both equally. 
    21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? Sometimes
    22. What color socks do you usually wear? All colors and patterns. I love crazy socks. 
    23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? Yes
    24. What terrifies you? This whole virus thing has me fairly anxious. 
    25. Look to your left, what do you see? My birthday presents on the couch beside me. 
    26. What chore do you hate? Dusting
    27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Aussie!! 
    28. What’s your favorite soda? Diet Dr Pepper
    29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? We don’t eat much fast food.
    30. What is your favorite number? 13
    31. Who’s the last person you talked to? Seth, my husband
    32. Favorite cut of beef? Umm…I don’t really have one. 
    33. Last song you listened to? Something sung by Jameson’s Folly. 
    34. Last book you read? I am reading the poetry book Great Goddeses by Nikita Gill
    35. Favorite day of the week? Wednesday
    36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Yes
    37. How do you like your coffee? Black
    38. Favorite pair of shoes? Doc Marten Boots
    39. Time you normally go to bed? 10pm
    40. Time you normally get up? 4:30 am on work days, 8-ish on days off.
    41. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunset? Both are beautiful. 
    42. How many blankets on your bed? One Down Comforter
    43. Describe your kitchen plates? Gray
    44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage? All of them. I don’t drink often but I can drink anything. 
    45. Do you play cards? I have been known to play euchre. 
    46. What color is your car? Cafe Latte
    47. Can you change a tire? Yes
    48. Your favorite state? Probably Ohio, but it is a cheat because I love here. 
    49. Favorite job? Haven’t found it yet. 
    50. How did you get your biggest scar?  Had a cyst removed from my bronchial tubes when I was a kid. 

    Some of these were repeats, or close to others I had answered but it was still fun. 🙂 

     

  • 50 Dig A Little Deeper Questions

    50 Dig A Little Deeper Questions

    I found this on Pinterest and thought the questions were fun and interesting. So…

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    1) Do you prefer writing with black or blue pen? – I prefer black, and my favorite pen is Unibal Signo Impact 207

    2) Would you prefer to live in the country or the city? – I am an active person so I am best in a city, but I love the idea of living in the country.

    3)If you could learn a new skill, what would it be? – I would love to learn another language. Currently I speak almost no Spanish and French and I would love to be at least mildly conversational in one.

    4) Do you drink your tea or coffee with sugar? – Nope. I drink both black.

    5) What was your favorite book as a child? – The Pobble Who Has No Toes by Edward Lear, and The Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein

    6) Do you prefer baths or showers? – I love both, but I love baths.

    7) If you could be a mythical creature, which would you choose? – Well, my myth for the Wenches is the Banshee and I am becoming very attached to her, so probably that.

    8) Do you prefer reading paper or electronic books? – I prefer paper, but for travel electronic is by far better.

    9) What is your favorite item of clothing? – My leather jacket and my favorite jean jacket.

    10) Do you like your name? Would you ever change it? – I love my name. I would never change my first name but I have joked about changing my middle name to Snow (It is legally Jo) so my name would be Betsy Snow White.

    11) Who is a mentor to you? – My mom, she is an amazing person. My fellow lady gangers and wenches. I am surrounded by some of the most amazing women.

    12) Would you ever want to be famous? – If so, what for? Well…I am a writer so being acknowledged for that would be nice.

    13) Are you a restless sleeper? – Generally, no. But when I get anxiety I can

    14) Do you consider yourself to be a romantic? – I do.

    15) Which element best represents you? – I am a water sign through and through (Pisces sun and Cancer moon)

    16) Who do you want to be closer to? – I would love to establish a relationship with my half-sister Chelli. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but…

    17) Do you miss someone at the moment? – I have really been missing my grandparents lately. My grandma died when I was 15 and my grandpa when I was 20.

    18) Tell us about an early childhood memory. – Some of my favorite early memories are swinging with my grandma in her backyard on a spring day. She would sing a little song and you could hear the turtle doves cooing. I still love to swing.

    19) What is the strangest thing you have eaten? – Probably alligator. I am not picky at all, so I will eat anything, but I think that is the strangest.

    20) What can you see outside your bedroom window? – My backyard from one side, and my driveway from the other side.

    21) What are you most thankful for? – My husband, family and friends.

    22) Do you like spicy food? – I love spicy food. When my husband and I got together 13 years ago I was absolutely not, but he slowly introduced me to more spice and now I love it.

    23) Have you ever met someone famous? – I have met Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls several times at signings. I met Voltaire, Puddles Pity Party, David Sedaris and Ron Funches in the same way.

    24) Do you keep a diary or journal? – I do.

    25) Do you prefer to use pen or pencil? – It depends on the application. In my journals I write in pen, but when I am prewriting etc. I prefer pencil.

    26) What is your star sign? – I am a Pisces with an Aquarius rising and a Cancer moon.

    27) Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? – Crunchy please.

    28) What would you want your legacy to be? – I feel like I am working on that. I hope that my work with the Wenches Guild will last and build beyond our work.

    29) Do you like reading? What was the last thing you read? – I love to read. Scythe by Neal Shusterman, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom and I just started I Am God by Giacomo Sartori.

    30) How do you show someone you love them? – I will just straight up tell them, but I also like to buy very selective and specific gifts that play to what they love.

    31) Do you like ice in your drinks? – Water, yes. Alcohol, not necessary. Soda, maybe.

    32) What are you afraid of? – The dark and I am not a fan of thunderstorms.

    33) What is your favorite scent? – Sandalwood, lavender, rosemary, lemon and mint

    34) Do you address older people by their first or last name? – It depends. At first by their last name, but if they request then I will use their first name.

    35) If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? – I would own my own business, but otherwise my life would be pretty much the same. I would renovate my house.

    36) Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? – I am not a great swimmer, so pools all the way. I only wade in the ocean.

    37) What would you do if you found $50 on the ground? – If I could locate an owner I would return it. If not I might report it somewhere.

    38) Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish? – I have seen many shooting stars and I have wished on many of them.

    39) What is one thing you would want to teach your children?  – Well I don’t have any children, but I like to think I am helping to teach my nieces and nephew to be open, honest and inclusionary.

    40) If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? – I already have several, but some of the ones I am planning are the word Wench on my left arm, and a quote and maybe some artwork from the book The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern “We are all stardust and stories.”

    41) What can you hear right now? – Archer playing on the TV.

    42) Where do you feel safest? – With my husband, family and friends.

    43) What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? – I would love to better deal with my anxiety. I am already working on self-love, but my anxiety will always come back to bite me.

    44) If you could travel back to any era, which would you choose? – Maybe ancient Egypt, the past was kinda shitty for women, so it is hard to think of going back to those times.

    45) What is your most used emoji? hearts

    46) What is your favorite season? Why? – Autumn, though with climate change it isn’t much of a thing anymore.

    47) How would you spend your ideal day? – Go to Tommy’s Diner for breakfast, then go shopping on high street and to the Book Loft, hit a Mexican place for lunch, catch a show at a local theatre and then go out to dinner for drinks and maybe dancing later.

    48) Describe yourself using one word. – Creative.

    49) What do you regret the most? – Not going after my dreams when I was younger. Now I am just trying to make up for lost time.

    50) Invent your own word. What does it mean? – Somesense: It is more than sense and a direct opposite to nonsense.

     

    There you go! 50 more things about me. Are you getting tired of me yet?

     

  • Who am I? 20 Facts About the Weird Girl

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    Hi! My name is Betsy White. I will be 39 in about 12 days; I was born in 1981 and I am either a millennial or a xennial depending on what websites you look at. I have been married for 8 years in October to my amazing husband Seth. We live in Columbus, Ohio with a very large cat named Samhain (Sam for short) and a very small dog named Zoe. Now for some more random facts about me:

    1. I have 5 tattoos with plans for many more. I have the word bibliophile on my right wrist. Huginn (thought) on my left arm and Muninn (memory) on my right. I have an interesting looking gentleman on my right calf whom I have named Admiral Flaneur and declared the captain of an airship. And finally I have a cricket on my right shoulder who is wearing a naval officers hat and has an arm extended with an anchor tattoo. It is a tribute piece to my grandparents; My grandmothers nickname was Cricket and my Grandfather proudly served in the navy. My mother and my younger sister also have the cricket tattoo.
    2. I don’t have a favorite color so to speak, because it depends on the day. I love all colors. For clothing I tend to wear black, but I have been working hard to add color back into my wardrobe. I had far too many years as a goth and old habits die hard. In the rest of my world I am all about color and the brighter the better.
    3. I love vinyl records and have quite a collection. My husband bought me a gorgeous record player for my birthday a couple of years ago. I love the sound of vinyl and I prefer to buy albums if at all possible.
    4. My favorite movie of all time is Labyrinth. I have a binder that has the original screenplay that I printed out once upon a time ago when I was bored. I am a genuine Jim Henson junkie, and Labyrinth is my favorite obsession.
    5. I have been writing poetry since I was a little girl, but I do not share it often. I love poetry though, and especially love to read it aloud. I just bought a new poetry book yesterday by Nikita Gill.
    6. I have multiple tarot and oracle decks. I read tarot very well, but I do not do it professionally and I have never charged for it.
    7. I love crazy colorful socks. I am especially fond of knee high or over the knee stripey ones. I own a bunch.
    8. I have been a singer since I was young. I am a high soprano. In another world I would have been an opera or musical theatre major. I still love to sing, though I don’t do it much anymore. I have been considering practicing and auditioning sometime in the next little bit if I can get brave enough.
    9. I am a pretty good seamstress. I learned to sew from my mother when I was a little girl. I can make viking garb in about an hour since I make it all the time.
    10. I love skulls, bones, taxidermy and many things dark and macabre. I have in my personal collection several skulls including a full alligator skull that I inherited from Seth’s Grandpa.
    11. If I am craving change I always just want to change my hair. Dye it or cut it off. I have been resisting the urge for the past couple of years but I still want to do it.
    12. I have a minor obsession with Fairy Tales. I love them all; the classics and the retellings. I have a massive collection of books, movies, comics and other pieces that are Fairy Tale based.
    13. I am a water sign to my core, and I love to take baths. I am obsessed with bath bombs from Witch Baby Soap. I use hand made soaps by a lovely girl named Katie who runs Elder Forest Soaps. I dream of remodeling our bathroom and putting in a larger soaking tub for me to luxuriate in. Someday.
    14. I am currently fantasizing about opening my own business. I have an idea that I am in love with, but I have no idea where to even begin. I would genuinely love to make it happen though.
    15. I love bookstores! and Libraries! and Books! And Books! I visited my newest local bookstore the other day and even joined a book club there. I am so excited. It is the LGBTQ+Allies book club and I am ready to dig in. Our first book I am reading is Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom. I listened to it on audible today, and I am planning to listen to it again before we meet on the 15th.
    16. I love to play dress up, and have my entire life. I am absolutely unashamed to go out in public wearing the craziest things. It is why I love the lady gang so much, they are dress up girls too.
    17. I have a VCR, a laser disc player, a dvd player and a bluray player. I also have media to watch on each.
    18. I cannot play video games. I had an Atari as a child, but then never had another gaming system in my house until the Playstation. I have absolutely no hand eye coordination in that way. My husband laughs at me because I play so poorly.
    19. I love musical instruments, but I cannot play any. That being said I own two acoustic guitars, a ukelele and several percussion instruments. I am actually working on playing the ukelele but will probably never play the guitars.
    20. I love to make jewelry and specialize in Shrinky Dink charms. I am thinking of making better pieces and trying to sell them.

    So…do you feel like you know me a little better? More about me as the month progresses. Do you have any questions you would love to have answered? Let me know.

  • Giving Thanks or 30 Days of Gratitude in One Go

    1. Cinnamon…always Cinnamon

    2. Laptops and my $4 led keyboard light from Five Below

    3. All of them…I love color. More color please!

    4. Butternut Squash…It’s like pumpkin potato and can be sweet or savory.

    5. Podcasts and Audio Books.

    6. Big spooky trees, clearings full of moss and acorns.

    7. The memory of baking up a storm with my Grandmother. The memory of making silly ridiculous gingerbread men with my mom and sister. The memory of marrying my amazing husband.

    8. Anything and Everything by Terry Pratchett.

    9. My home and the Ohio Renaissance Festival my home away from home.

    10. The sting of mint.

    11. Christmas…and Thanksgiving for the parade!!

    12. The feeling of the inside of a new sweatshirt.

    13. Creativity, musicality and imagination.

    14. The white of a blank page.

    15. Autumn 🧡

    16. The strength of my legs, the youthfulness of my hands, the beauty of my hair

    17. All knowledge is worth having. I hope I never stop learning.

    18. The pieces my family and friends have made for me.

    19. The feeling when my husband grabs my hand to hold it just cuz.

    20. My husband, my mom, my sisters, my family, my friend, the lady gang, the wenches!

    21. Start Wearing Purple by Gogol Bordello

    22. All the classic fairy tales, especially the dark German ones.

    23. Christmas day tacos and margaritas.

    24. Working full time, school full time and doing NaNoWriMo.

    25. Spending time with Family and Beginning Yule/Christmas Celebrations

    26. Writing!

    27. My phone…there is a whole world on there.

    28. I was acknowledged at work for helping with an issue.

    29. My Seth.

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    30. Singing, though I do not do it much anymore. Writing. Art. Dancing.

  • The State of My State…update.

    The State of My State…update.

    So…I have spoken with my advisor at school and as soon as I get my personal statement to her I will be officially changed to a Creative Writing major. I am so relieved and excited to get started on the right path for me.

    I am also going to do NaNoWriMo this year. I have never even tried this before, but I feel very drawn to write this year. I am trying to decide if I want to share what I am working on here or not. What do you think? Are you interested in reading my very rough drafts? Let me know.

    This week I am going to see Heels of Horror XII by Nina West on Friday, back to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, a Halloween party Saturday Night and David Sedaris on Sunday. Whew! This is going to be chaotic fun. I have decided to be one of the gang members from The Warriors, specifically a Bowery Punk. Overalls, a rugby shirt and roller skates for the win!!

    My older sister will also be in town this week, so I get to meet her boyfriend who none of us have met. It is going to be a great week.

    Any big plans this week?

  • The State of My State

    The State of My State

    My life feels like a most delightful form of chaos currently.

    I am halfway into my first semester of my Grad school and I am already realizing that I may have made a mistake. My thought was to take my English degree and make it more practical by studying Communication – Social Media and Marketing and the truth is I don’t like it. Despite having worked in the banking business for 17 years I am not a very business minded person and I don’t love looking at people as commodities and creativity as something that can be swayed to be profitable. I am doing fine, but I am not happy. I am planning to contact my adviser to see what I can do. I will keep you posted on the outcome. I am hoping to maybe swing over to a English – Creative Writing. Fingers crossed.

    The Wenches of Myth, IWG 73, have made they’re debut in their first official year at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. We are having a great time. I even wrote a toast that I got to present during pub sing. I am meeting new people, making new connections, and generally having a really good time.

    I have lost 53 pounds so I am also able to wear some of my faire garb that I haven’t been able to in years. It feels fantastic. I am down to a size 14-16 and still working. My husband and I joined WW (weight watchers) in February and with diet alone have together lost about 108 pounds. He also looks amazing and we both feel so much healthier. Check out this this side by side of my face from January to August.

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    Beyond that my little sister is buying a house, my cousin is getting married, we have tickets to see Rasputina and David Sedaris in October. There is a lot going on, and a lot to look forward to. Tomorrow we are surprising my friend with a Duchess party. Pictures to come.

  • Are you going to Renaissance Faire? Part 1

    Are you going to Renaissance Faire? Part 1

    Did you sing that title? I did. Thanks Simon and Garfunkel.

    It was the September of 1995 that my mom bought tickets and took me for the first time to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I remember walking through the front gate that day and thinking “This is it. I am home.” It is a feeling I still get to this day. We watched The Swordsmen, belly dancers, the Washing Well Wenches of Willy-Nilly (Ohio Renaissance is set in the mythical English town of Willy-Nilly on the Wash.), human combat chess and Full Mounted Joust. Some of the acts from that year are no longer active, and others are still going strong, but all of them penetrated into my 14 year old brain.

    I auditioned and was a cast member in 2003, when I was 22. I was Emma Cricket the town gossip. I was paid I think about $250.00 for the full season, plus “peter pounds” an in faire currency that could be used for food and drink. I spent close to $1500.00 in costuming, etc. So I came out at a solid -$1200.00 for the season, but it was worth every penny. I loved talking to patrons, and especially playing with children who were attending with their parents. I had several fellow cast members (Sue, Jen, Ashley, and Lynk as well as many others) who I would walk about with and spend the majority of my days. Jen was playing nobility while I was very lower class, and we had fun with me acting as something of a servant for her while also teaching her fun peasant things.

    It was while I was on cast that a fellow cast member told me that I would be an amazing wench and that I should look into it. He was a member of the brother organization the International Brotherhood of Rogues, Scoundrels and Cads otherwise known as the Rogues Guild. I did some research into what the International Wenches Guild was and how it worked, and immediately sent off for my pin and membership. Several months later I received my certificate declaring me a certified wench, and my wench pin #2648. It was 2004 and I was 23 years old.

     

  • Sisters are doing it for Themselves!

    Sisters are doing it for Themselves!

    I am a woman with sisters. I have biological sisters and chosen sisters and one spectacular sister-in-law. There are few things in this world I find as important or as necessary as the relationships I have with these women.

    I have three half-sisters, two from my mother and one from my father. From my dad’s side there is Chelli. Chelli is a boss babe and an entrepreneur who created Bloom a coworking space for women and women owned businesses. She is gorgeous and amazing. I don’t know her super well, but I am proud to be her sister, even distantly.

    From my mom there is Krystie and Traci. Krystie is eight years older than me. She lives in Oklahoma so I don’t get to see her as often as I would like to, but isn’t that just the way. She worked her ass off and is a manager for Raising Canes, a job that she loves (most of the time) and is good at. She is also studying business management through SNHU online and working hard on bettering herself and the world every day. She is also a bad ass. Traci is ten years younger than me and she and I are super close. She is a creative power house. She is an amazing artist, a lovely singer (though she refuses to do it in public) and is becoming a fabulous cosplayer. She is sensitive and smart and hilarious. She is a bad ass as well.

    Apparently my family only produces absolutely bad ass women.

    My sister-in-law Niki is one of my best friends. She embraced me as the strange coworker her husband befriended because she had no life. She, and her husband Chris who is his brother, were instrumental in my meeting and falling in love with Seth. She is an activist, amazing mother to my two bad ass neices and one bad ass nephew, and a great friend.

    I am involved in several women based groups as well, and those bad ass women are my sisters by choice. I have spoken before of the Lady Gang and those women are precious to me. They are smart, funny, brilliant, creative, and the most fun. The lady gang has had numerous happy hours, hygge nights, wig nights, gone to conventions, gone to put-in-bay, and we are planning a big camping trip soon. These ladies always have something going on.

    There is also the International Wenches Guild which is a Renaissance Festival based group that I have been a member of since 2004. It is made up of naughty, bawdy women who love ren faires and love to play. My friend Susan and I had been spearheading to get Ohio it’s own local and we suceeded last year in establishing Local 73 – The Wenches of Myth bringing my friend Sarah into the mis to be Madame of Vice. Then just in the last couple of months we found out that we also have official sanction from our home the Ohio Renaissance Festival. The guild council had their first meeting today to plan for the season, and I have no doubt that it is going to be amazing!

    Do you have amazing, bad ass women in your life?

  • In which I get my degree and think, “Well now what?”

    It is officially official, I have earned my bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. I received my diploma in the mail, framed it, and currently it is hanging on a wall in my living room staring at me and challenging me to think about what comes next. I know I would like to begin looking for a job that is closer to my career field, but what does that look like and how do I begin.

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    Do I want to teach? If so I should probably begin looking at Master’s Degree programs, because that is almost prerequisite nowadays. Would I rather find a job in the “business” world that will utilize my “new” strengths? That is what I have been looking at and applying for, but so far it seems like they want people who have many years of solid writing under their belt, and I am just getting started. I know I could do the job, and successfully, but if I never even make it to the interview stage how can I show that?

    Life is not all gloom and doom, though, yesterday my family surprised me with a graduation party at one of my favorite restaurants, Mi Tradicion. My mom and sister, my husband, my aunt Gayle and uncle Charlie, my aunt Cathy, my cousin Lynsi and her daughter Kynadey, and my cousin Robby and his fiance Sharon all came together to celebrate my graduation. It was a lovely time, and it was nice to get to see everyone and chat. I got some lovely gifts including an amazing laptop that my mom bought me. My family knows me really well, and they gave me gifts that spoke to my soul, like the amazing book based charm bracelet my sister made me.