Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Ohio Life

  • 16 Days of Blogging

    Today we headed to Polaris Fashion Place, which is a giant mall in Columbus, to stalk our favorite soap makers and buy more of their amazing soaps. We have been almost exclusively using Elder Forest Soaps for at least 5 years but more than likely more than that. We met them at the Ashville Viking Festival and started by buying a couple of bars just to try them. Now we buy 6-9 at a time. We love their products so much and I highly recommend them.

    We ended up with Sandalwood Rose, Rosemary, Coconut Lemongrass, Woodland, Patchouli Spice and their seasonal Charcoal Rose in soaps. I also picked up some of their pain balm which is one of the best things for muscle pain I have ever found. Their natural deodorant spray which works well and leaves you smelling wonderful. And I tried their new lotion in Cashmere and Vanilla Oak and I smell so amazing right now. Katie the owner also threw in a lip balm for me and it is also great. If you are looking for a great natural soap company give them a look.

  • Shrimp’s Oh! Strip! Show

    Shrimp’s Oh! Strip! Show

    On January 25th I brought my husband to Akron to see an amazing Burlesque show. I was lucky to get VIP tickets so we got to be part of a VIP cocktail party before the show where I got to meet a couple of my favorite burlesque dancers. The show was beyond amazing and I was ridiculously excited to see both Siomai Moore and Dirty Martini since they are regional acts that I may never have gotten a chance to see.

    I bought myself a Siomai Moore pin, a couple of really pretty Bettie Page Clothing Bras and a pair of bedazzled cockroach earrings from the amazing Veronica Lockhart, The Countess of Cockroaches.

    I wore a dress I bought several years ago in Vegas at the Bettie Page store. Proudly, I managed an amazing victory roll. I felt very vintage and very cute. We ended up grabbing a bite to eat before the show at Cultured Waffle and Coffee.  The whole evening was lovely and I am so happy I went.

  • These Are Things that I’m Gonna Do.

    I had so much fun working through my bucket list for the last quarter of 2019, so I decided to do more of them in 2020. Here is what I have so far…

    • Create 2020 Vision Board – Done!! Photos Below.
    • Get prettied up for Shrimp’s Cocktail Party!
    • Meet Dirty Martini at Shrimp’s Cocktail Party! on Saturday.
    • Buy a pair of Veronica Lockhart’s rhinestone cockroaches.
    • Go with the Wenches to Pub Sing at Dub Pub.
    • Wench wine meet up in February.
    • Be under or close to 200 lbs by my birthday March 14.
    • Visit Prologue bookstore.
    • Sew new Viking garb for Seth.
    • Write 30,000 words in my work in progress.
    • Go to Mustache Ride Drag Brunch
    • Go to Archery Range
    • Visit Elizabeth’s Records
    • Set up new Entertainment Stand.
    • Set up Stationary Bike.

    Vision Board – The lovely Molly Roberts held a live event for her Patrons all about creating a vision board. I decided to get in on the action and began building up images and words for my board. I just bought myself a brand new Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (as previously stated my favorite dictionary) so my old falling apart one became fodder for my vision board. I found these battery operated lights I bought at Target a couple of years ago that have glitter in bulbs around the lights and I decided they would look amazing on my vision board. I bought a shadowbox style wooden box to use and painted the inside neon pink and the outside silver. I used glitter infused mod podge to place my images on the board. I began with bright colored images and then added words and pieces from the dictionary. I found some star shaped push pins and attached the lights to the edge with them. I am really happy with how it turned out. It is going to live on my new altar for 2020.

  • Camping in the Summer and Midsummer Masquerade

    Camping in the Summer and Midsummer Masquerade

    My husband and I spent the weekend camping in Caeser Creek with some friends so that we could attend Midsummer Masquerade at the grounds of the Ohio Renaissance Festival.

    Friday it was ninety some degrees and about 150% humidity on Friday when we arrived for camping. We got set up and only melted slightly in the heat and insanity. We had to borrow a tent from my sister and brother-in-law because ours was apparently stolen from our garage at some point. Their tent is a 9 person cabin, so it was huge! I could get used to that.

    Saturday we woke up, went to a flea market (It was big and fun and shockingly Trump-y) and then waited for our fellow campers to arrive. They finally arrived, set up, we went to dinner, and then got ready for the Masquerade. My friend Susan decided we should do a glitter part and since I am always willing to do anything glitter I was in. I chose to do a fine red and then thicker gold toward the middle. I used a brick red eye shadow to create a mask style makeup. Since it was so hot I wore a cute fancy bra with a cropped bodice and a skirt for a belly dancer look. I felt super cute!

    The Masquerade was already in full swing when we arrived, but we got to watch the beautiful dancers of Lunar Rhythms, the daring fire work of Reverend X and friends and the comedy musical piracy of The Varlots. I also bought glow in the dark bat hair clips and punk doll head earrings that made me ridiculously happy courtesy of Mirabellaz Menagerie . Then we went back to the camp to have a fire thanks to my lovely Eagle Scout, Seth.

  • On Choice, Birth Control, Pride and Being Afraid

    On Choice, Birth Control, Pride and Being Afraid

    In my home state of Ohio the rights of women are under attack. The Heartbeat Bill that has been passed by our state legislature and signed into law by our backward facing heel of a Governor is a disgrace, and has left me feeling scared and occasionally powerless. The even more draconian bills that are following would make many birth controls, including the one I am currently using (Mirena IUD) illegal in the state of Ohio.

    I am trying to keep myself grounded and remember that this and similar laws in other states are unconstitutional based on the ruling Roe v. Wade, but with the most recent additions to the Supreme Court I feel like there is a very good chance that Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

    I have personally never had to make the choice to have an abortion, but I have been on birth control since I was 15. I have known almost since that time that I did not want to have children. I have been blessed that my birth control has never failed, but I was always reassured that if the worst (for me) happened I had the freedom to seek an abortion. Having that taken away from me, and my husband who also does not want children, is so upsetting.

    The whole situation has me wanting to quickly having tubal ligation, or a salpingetomy which is what my little sister recently got, so that I don’t have to worry as much about the possibility of losing access to birth control and getting pregnant. I called today to make an appointment to have my IUD removed because it is time and to discuss my options. I am 38 year old so I am hoping that I don’t run into the same push back I received when I was younger.

    My mother, sister and I are planning to walk this year in the pride parade for Planned Parenthood of Ohio to lend our support to a super important organization in our community. When I was 15 I had my very first gynecological exam at the Planned Parenthood in Newark and got my very first birth control. The doctors there were lovely, and so non-judgmental. I will always support them for that reason.

    I will also always fight for LGBTQIA rights. I have always considered myself to be bisexual as I find myself sexually attracted to both men and women, though nowadays I might consider myself closer to pansexual. My being currently in a heterosexual monogamous relationship does not change this, but does make it so that I am not personally effected by homophobia, etc. I am painfully aware of it happening, though, and its effects. Until this is no longer an issue I will continue to fight.

    I am planning to attend some rallys and protests as well around these issues, and to become more active in local politics to try to encourage change. How do you get involved? Would you run for local political office? Why or why not?

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  • In which the Heroine pretends to be a Viking…

    In which the Heroine pretends to be a Viking…

    This weekend is the 16th annual Ashville Viking Festival in Ashville, OH. Seth and I have been attending for at least 10 years, and we always have a great time and spend far too much money. This year we are having meet ups for the International Wenches Guild both days as well as having Wench breakfasts both mornings.

    The festival has grown so much since we first attended so long ago, and it is something I look forward to doing every year. Here is a look at some of the past festivals with more photos to come this weekend.

  • I, the not so fit, attended the Arnold Sports Festival 2019 and survived.

    I, the not so fit, attended the Arnold Sports Festival 2019 and survived.

    Columbus plays host every year to the USA Arnold Sports Festival, because Arnold Schwarzenegger loves our town. The last couple of years we have attended at least one day of the event, and this year we got weekend passes. The passes get you into the expo and into a majority of the days events. There is a common misconception that the Arnold is only for bodybuilders, and that is just categorically untrue. In the past several years we have watched/ experienced jiu jitsu, fencing, cheerleading, pole fitness, art, gymnastics, highland games, crossfit, strongest man/woman and more. I have yet to locate the ballroom dancing, though I know it is an event there.

    This year on Saturday we wandered the expo floor to hit a couple of booths. I got some protein powder to make my morning shakes and a couple of other supplements from NLA for her. We wandered the floor trying supplements and protein bars. We saw Eddie “The Beast” Hall in one of the booths and several pro body builders.

    We spent quite a while watching Jiu Jitsu competitions ranging from children of I would say five or six to competitors of eighteen or so. There were so many amazing bouts, and kids showing off their amazing skills. There was this tiny girl of eight or so in pigtails who was absolutely there to win. She competed against boys and girls alike and won soundly every time. At one point she made a girl cry with a perfectly executed arm bar and she handled the whole situation with such grace.

    We eventually wandered on and watched the professional and amateur highland games. I am a sucker for the highland games, and it is so exciting to see new people are taking an interest. We arrived just in time for the pros to be doing the caber toss. Then there was a break between events which featured Irish step dancing. Then the amateur competition began which started with the stone put. We also watched some double dutch and some power lifting.

    On Sunday we started by watching some more jump rope. Then we claimed places by the main stage in the expo to watch the finals for dead-lift followed by the strongman record breakers. We watched strong woman Donna Moore hit the world record for valkyrie spheres and  Hafthor (Thor) “The Mountain” Bjornsson set the new world record for height on the bell toss. We then moved on to the pole fitness finals. We watched the men and the youth categories, before calling it a day.

    So if you happen to be in Columbus next march, check out the Arnold. There is truly a little something for everyone.

     

  • 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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