Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: family

  • 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?

  • Wednesday Ink Therapy

    Wednesday Ink Therapy

    My little sister and I have been sitting on a couple of gift cards to a local tattoo parlor for months, and had been putting off a plan to go get the tattoos done for almost as long. Something always came up, or one of us was sick, or the weekend was just too busy. Well finally early this week she texted me asking if she took Wednesday off if we could finally go get our tattoos. As Wednesday is my day off (I work 4×10 MTThF at the moment) I was in.

    We agreed to meet at Defining Skin at noon on Wednesday since that was when they opened, and we would figure things out from there. I was, of course, twenty minutes early as is only right and proper so I sat in my car taking selfies until Traci arrived. It turns out she had the foresight to call ahead and Charles Martin (@tmberwolf) would be able to get us in, but not until 1:30. That meant we had some time to kill.

    Traci hadn’t eaten yet and I only had maple pecan puffs, so we decided to go get something to eat and since Brewdog Franklinton was nearby it seemed an obvious choice to us. Because you have to get a beer if you go to Brewdog I decided to try their Franklinton Dumpster Fire (The night before this location opened the dumpster caught fire very dramatically and they thought they may not get to open) which is a sour gose. It was delicious with berry and a lovely smoky aftertaste. Traci got a Sucker Punch Cider from Mad Moon, which was delicious and much too easy to drink. For lunch I got cauliflower wings with blue cheese dip. They were so good. I could have moved into that dish and lived happily for some time.

    We headed back over to Defining skin where we filled out all our paperwork and waited for Charlie to be ready for us. Traci and I were both getting text; Traci a quote from Kingdom Hearts – “One Sky One Destiny” and for me one of my favorite words and a tattoo I had wanted for a long time “Bibliophile.” I wanted mine to look as much like typeset as possible, and Traci wanted hers to be script. He got them together, made the stencils and I was up first. I was afraid that the wrist would be super sensitive and uncomfortable, but it really wasn’t bad at all. All in all the whole tattoo took about 15 minutes, which is so much quicker than all my other pieces. Traci was up next and she wanted hers on her chest under her collar bones. He got it lined up and spaced out, and then got to work on her. Hers took 30 minutes or so, not very long at all. She said the chest didn’t hurt badly either, but I don’t know if I believe her.

    We are both so happy with our new ink. The only sad thing about it is that I am going to a pool party tonight and I can’t get in the pool with my fresh ink. Oh,well. It is worth it for the awesome. I am just going to put my feet in and look at my beautiful and long time coming tattoo.

     

     

  • Will you be my Grandma?

    Will you be my Grandma?

    Recently I was on my assigned week for our company’s Meals on Wheels route. The way our assignment works you run a week every 3 months. We leave the building about 11 am and deliver to between 6 and 9 houses. This week we had a couple of new houses on the route, and had lost a few houses as is common while people lose and gain eligibility.

    The house on Petticoat Ct was a new one, and when we pulled up I was immediately charmed by the well maintained flower boxes, beds, and pots. We got to the porch and I remarked how rare it was to see the old cast iron boot scrapers anymore, this one in the shape of a dachshund. We knocked on the door, and when it was opened the sound of 1940’s jazz/ big band came streaming out. She invited us in and the house smelled like cinnamon. On the wall was an Irish Blessing. She was sweet, and asked me to point to where to sign because she doesn’t see very well.

    I wondered if she has close family. Does she get company often? I hope so.

    One day she came to the door wearing a pair of bright pink shoes. I complimented them and she laughed that her sister said she was spending the big bucks on Sketchers, but “jokes on her. These are from Walmart.”

    Dear Lady on Petticoat Ct. I no longer have any living grandparents and I miss them terribly, so I would like to apply to be a new adopted grand daughter for you. I am very good at being quiet and listening for long periods of time. I love to watch all classic movies and TV shows. I will listen to any music. I love puzzles, crosswords, and word finds. I lived most of my life with my maternal grandparents and it made me really appreciate the wisdom of my elders.

    Thank you for your consideration.

    Betsy

  • Things I love Thursday – Go Team!!

    Things I love Thursday – Go Team!!

    I will be walking in a 5k this weekend called the Cheddar Challenge at a local Dairy Farm. We have participated in this 5k for a couple of years, and it is seriously fun. You get a milkshake, and cheese samples. The course takes you through the barns and by the baby cows. It is so much fun.

    Our team for this race consists of myself; my husband, Seth; my sister, Traci; and my mother, Karla. We are The Lactose Intolerants. I laugh at that stupid name every time. Last night, I made the team shirts for everyone.

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    My shirt with nickname, AlphaBetsy
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    Seth’s shirt with nickname Tuna.
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    Traci’s shirt with nickname Shmoo
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    Karla’s shirt with nickname Kage.

    After the race we will grab a shuttle down into the Yellow Springs Street Fair. Yellow Springs is a wonderful little alternative community just outside of Dayton Ohio. There are beautiful galleries, lots of little shops, and a generally lovely feeling to the whole place. This is the town where Dave Chappelle lives.

    At the street fair I know we will find our absolute favorite soap company, Elder Forest Soap. We swear by Katie’s soap, as well as her salves, and natural deodorant. I am so excited to renew my stash.

    This is a photo from our team in 2014. I can’t find a more recent one.

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 18

    Writing Challenge – Day 18

    Day 18: Post 30 facts about yourself.

    1. I was born and raised in Newark, OH.
    2. My maiden name is Bailey.
    3. My maternal grandparents names were Crystalene Lucille and Alvin Leon.
    4. I have two Sisters; Krystie who is 8 years older than me, and Traci who is 10 years younger than me.
    5. I am 36.
    6. My husbands name is Seth.
    7. We have been married for 5 years October 6.
    8. We have been a couple for 10 years May 19.
    9. I have an eleven year old Chihuahua named Zoe.
    10. And an eight year old domestic long haired cat named Samhain (Sam).
    11. I am a high-soprano.
    12. I had two poems published as a teen.
    13. I currently have a 3.75 gpa in college.
    14. I am an English/ Creative Writing Major.
    15. I live in a house that is over a hundred years old (built in 1910)
    16. I am an avid audiobook reader.
    17. I listen to 7 podcasts regularly.
    18. I have been a practicing witch since I was 16.
    19. I consider myself an eclectic cottage art witch.
    20. I am an on/off bellydancer.
    21. I love to dance.
    22. I have 12 piercings and four tattoos.
    23. I used to be a singer for the Country Music Fellowship Organization.
    24. I can sew well, and make viking garb for my husband and I.
    25. We do reenactments as vikings.
    26. I do a variety of art and crafts.
    27. I collect hats.
    28. I own two guitars, but I cannot play them.
    29. I cannot read sheet music.
    30. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

     

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 16

    Writing Challenge – Day 16

    Day 16: Something that you miss.

    For the majority of my youth my mother and I lived with my maternal grandparents. Grandma passed away when I was in high school, in 1996 I think, and Grandpa passed in 2001. I still miss them both terribly.

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    My Grandmother was a retired teacher. She was fun, open, supportive, and loving. She had trouble sleeping and could somehow rearrange the furniture in the middle of the night without waking any of us up. She saw the best in everyone. She never met a stranger; I remember her once walking up to a random woman in the mall, and the woman and her crying together, because the woman needed someone to talk to. My grandmother was a good christian who attended church at least every Sunday, and taught Sunday school. She was a survivor.

    My Grandfather lied about his age in order to enroll in the Navy early. He was a radioman on several different ships. He had several tattoos, that he was not particularly proud of. He once got drunk and tried to walk back to the ship, so right off the end of a pier. He was funny. He loved Westerns. He taught me how to use power tools, because he thought it would be good for me to know. He wore socks with sandals. He was a shameless flirt.

    They shaped my life in innumerable ways, and I miss them every day.