Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: writing challenge

  • Writing Challenge – Day 30

    Writing Challenge – Day 30

    Day 30: Your highs and lows for the month.

    These 30+ days have been full of ups and downs, highs and lows. I had pneumonia which was a solid low, and honestly I still don’t feel fantastic.

    We are trying to get through a refinance, and everything that is involved with that. As part of that we are going through a massive purge, which is both hard and freeing. We seriously have so much stuff. It is ridiculous.

    I am also looking into getting LASIK. My eyes are no longer fond of contacts, and there are some times when glasses just do not work. I am hoping to schedule that for June if all goes well.

    I ended my last class with an A and I am heading into my next class which involves writing a short story, so this should be fun.

    I also had a girls night with my friends aka the Lady Gang where we dressed like flappers and went to a couple of local speakeasy style bars/ gin joints. It was amazing and ridiculously fun. We were even featured on the facebook page of one of the restaurants, The Light of Seven Matchsticks.

    We also got to see a show by one of Columbus’ most prolific and amazing drag queens, Nina West. She was presenting Ohana, which was a show about togetherness and having each others back, and making it through in a time when the world seems like it is falling apart. It was so good, and made me cry a couple of times.

    I am working on coming up with a plan for this blog now that 30 days of writing challenges and introduction is complete. I hope you will stick around to see how/ where this goes.

  • 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.

     

     

  • Writing Challenge – Day 15

    Writing Challenge – Day 15

    Day 15: Bullet point your whole day

    • Wake up at 4:45am
    • Use the bathroom and try to wake up
    • Go downstairs to sit on couch with my husband
    • Do my morning tarot draw
    • Post it on Instagram
    • Kiss my husband goodbye
    • Get my clothes ready
    • Take a shower
    • Get dressed
    • Brush my Teeth
    • Wash my face
    • Put on makeup
    • Dry my hair
    • Gather my stuff for work
    • Feed the pets
    • Drive to work
    • Arrive at work
    • Get to Desk
    • Check Email
    • Work
    • Eat Lunch
    • ASL class at noon
    • Work
    • Pack up stuff
    • Walk to Car
    • Drive to Nail Salon (talk to loan officer briefly on the way)
    • Get nails done
    • Drive home
    • Eat Dinner
    • Work on assignments for school
    • Play on computer a bit
    • Watch an episode of Deadwood
    • Go to bed at 10pm
    Nails
    Beltane orange and gold nails – They just felt right. 
  • Writing Challenge – Day 14

    Writing Challenge – Day 14

    Day 14: Post your movies that you never get tired of watching.

    Movies that I can watch at any time:

    Labyrinth
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    Labyrinth is by far my favorite movie ever. I think it hit for me at just the right age, and was just the right combination of fantasy, music, and Jim Henson. I actually went to see it in the theatre twice last year; the first time was right after David Bowie passed and again later in the summer on a double feature with the Dark Crystal.

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    The Princess Bride is another of my favorite movies. My husband and I can literally sit and quote this entire movie, which is undoubtedly annoying for anyone who is not us.

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    Heathers is one of the funniest, darkest, and most painfully true movies about high school ever made. I once watched it on a loop for three days, and that is how I learned all the words to que sera, sera.

    I love movies, so much, so I could go on forever. I also love The Craft, Anything Tim Burton, Legend, Velvet Goldmine, and so many more.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 13

    Writing Challenge – Day 13

    Day 13: What are you excited about?

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    We are currently working on refinancing our house, and part of that is doing some painting, cleaning, and remodeling. It is silly to be excited about housework, but I really am excited. We are hoping to get a new sink and vanity for our upstairs bathroom, paint our porch floor and ceiling, and paint a lot of our trim. I have decided that the porch floor should be black with sparkles, because I am an adult and it is my house.

    My downstairs bathroom is already day of the dead themed and one of my favorite rooms in the house.

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    Green is an accidental theme in the house. We have three different green rooms; our living room, computer room and downstairs bathroom. I have no idea why this has happened. Apparently we love green walls. See the green dining room below.

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    So, that is what I am excited about. My house, and potential changes.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 12

    Writing Challenge – Day 12

    Day 12: Write about five blessings in your life.

    1. I have an amazing and ridiculously supportive group of family and friends. Really.
    2. I own my home, and while it is not perfect it is my HOME! I love it, flaws and all.
    3. I am gainfully employed with insurance and retirement and such. And while this is not the job I want to have forever it is a good job, and it is supporting me while I pursue my dreams.
    4. I am married to someone who is my equal and my partner in crime. We are equally silly and occasionally immature and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
    5. I have the freedom to be able to return to school, in my thirties, and start working my way to what I would really like to do with my life. How fabulous is that?
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  • Writing Challenge – Day 11

    Writing Challenge – Day 11

    Day 11: Something you always think “What if…” about.

    This is a fun thought. I guess the biggest is what if  I have is: What if I had gone straight to college from high school for Musical Theatre? Originally when I was leaving high school I was auditioning to get into a theatre program, but after my grandfather became ill I made the decision not to go, and instead to stay home and help my grandfather. I would be his chauffeur and runner for two years before he would pass away, and while I would not lose that time with him for anything, I do wonder what I might be doing now if I had gone ahead to college.

    I honestly think that I would have continued in that major for a year or two, and then would have changed to English. I think I might have ended up living in Columbus eventually anyway, but possibly not. I also love Chicago, so I might have ended up living there instead.

    I do not think that I would have been this amazing success and be on Broadway. I am too logical for that. If I had kept moving through the musical theatre major I would probably be teaching theatre at a high school somewhere.

    There are so many possibilities there, but really it doesn’t matter. I feel like I am working to get back to my path, and to become that person I might have been.

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  • Writing Challenge – Day 10

    Writing Challenge – Day 10

    Day 10: Write about something for which you feel strongly.

    There are numerous issues on which I have strong feelings, therefore I could go on and on about a variety of issues. I am not going to to that though, and instead I am going to focus on a single issue which I find important.

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    I am a feminist. I believe that there is long-standing and perpetual misogyny in this world, and in this country, and it is beyond time for this to stop. I believe that this misogyny is not only detrimental for women, but also for men who are also being held to ridiculous gender roles and expectations. I believe that women of equal qualification and job title should be paid equally to their male counterparts. I believe that women should be trusted to make decisions regarding their own health; ie: in order to get my tubes tied to prevent pregnancy I need my husband’s permission. I believe that women can be anything they want from President to housewife as long as it is what she wants! I do not believe that a woman has to be a mother to be complete (I am proudly childfree). I believe that a woman should be able to wear anything she wants, drink as much as she wants, and go where she wants without the threat of being raped at any moment.

    There is so much more, and I have no doubt that this topic will come up again on this post, but I think this is enough of me for now.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 9

    Writing Challenge – Day 9

    Day 9: Post some words of wisdom that speak to you.

    My absolute favorite quote is.

    It is never too late to be who you might have been – George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

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    I would consider myself a late-bloomer in many ways, and this quote has such resonance in my soul. It is never too late.

  • Writing Challenge – Day 8

    Day 8: Share something you struggle with.

    Sadly, mostly I am struggling with coming up with something I struggle with. This is not to say life is perfect, it isn’t, but I don’t consider many things a struggle. I am not fully satisfied with my job, and occasionally “struggle” with feeling like a corporate tool. However, I have managed to stay mostly myself in spite of working for multiple large banks over the years, and currently still working for a major bank. These feelings were much worse when I was younger, because I was working for a major corporation while my friends were enrolled in college.

    I will say that I struggle with feeling creatively satisfied while working in a business that is not “creative”. Creative banking is generally frowned upon, lol. This is why I am currently working on my bachelor’s degree in English/ Creative Writing, because one day I would like to find a career that allows for more creativity. I just cannot imagine working for a bank for the rest of my working years, at least not in the capacity that I am currently.