Saturday, December 27, 2008

Holiday Randomness

Originally published on MySpace, Dec 27, 2008

Current mood:content

The actual day of celebration of our Lord's birth has come and gone. My wish for you is that you keep the spirit of the season in your hearts for the duration of the coming year until we begin to formally celebrate again! Historically, December 25th was not likely the day of Jesus' birth, so live everyday as if it is and we are apt to get it right at least once a year.

I'm going to share some of my holiday's thumbs up and thumbs down moments, in no particular order.

Thumbs up

We have been blessed most of our married life to be able to spend the holidays with our family. Since we left the Northwest, that's not been possible. However, our first Christmas in Utah and now our first Christmas in Kentucky have been shared with my brother and his wife. Having family here for the holidays is undoubtedly one of our biggest blessings. When David & Maryclare are here there is no shortage of laughter filling the air.

Harriett's health has not made an upturn, but we are thankful that she is well enough to spend the day with us and join in much of the festivities. Healthy or not, she is an important part of our family.

No holiday is complete without our delivering cookies to friends and neighbors. Our first attempt was on Tuesday evening during an ice storm. Mark, Krissy & I "skated" (read as "shuffled") across our driveway to the safety of the neighbor's grass. When we approached their porch only Mark was brave enough to attempt the climb. Think about the front steps that McCauly Caulkin iced up in 'Home Alone' and you have a good idea of what this porch looked like. Krissy and I wrapped our arms around the stair rails and stayed below. When Angie answered the door, Mark handed her the cookie plate and I "frisbeed" the Christmas card up to her. Since the rest of the cul-de-sac is uphill from there, we surrendered and skated back home. On Wednesday, the ice was gone and we made a safe delivery of the remaining cookie plates.

I am so proud of adhering to my gifting limits limits this year! Okay, 98% adherence, but the remaining 2% regards stocking stuffers and I only crossed over the line a little bit there. Yay, me!!

I must give a thumbs up for the awesome gifts from my famly. I KNEW I would receive the DVD of 'Mamma Mia' but I was surprised that it came from Mark. MUWAH!! to my hubby on that one!

Every year when my daughters ask me what I want for Christmas, my answer is "Peace on Earth." This year Alyssa found Peace on Earth for me and it's adorable!! I love Love LOVE it! The globe spins!

Krissy was a bit sneaky about one of her gifts to me and it was unintentionally a last minute addition. While visiting Mom in the hospital , I think last Sunday, we got caught up watching an infomercial. It was Tony Orlando promoting the Time/Life collection, 'Romancing the 70's,' a 9 CD set of 70's music. We sat and sang along with all the songs but gagged at the "only 5 easy payments of $29.95" price. So Krissy covertly googled the set, copied the play list, found all the songs and made me my own set of Romancing the 70's CDs. How awesome is that?

Between the three of them I am one incredibly lucky lady!

Christmas dinner: my husband is an amazing cook and does almost all of the holiday cooking – all holidays. Our dinner was once again delicious and we sat around like six old pumpkins afterwards…. big and round but sorta soft and mushy. And groaning… did I mention the groaning and moaning?

Thumbs down

One of our thumbs down that we will just have to learn to live with is our first ever fake Christmas tree. Moving from the Northwest where evergreens are abundant to Northern Kentucky, land of deciduous trees makes the fake tree an economic necessity. We strove for a natural, realistic looking tree – no silver or pink tinsel tree and no artificial snow flock. But the lack of pine needles on the floor and fresh cut scent remind us it's not real. On the other hand, the pets don't drink the water and we don't have to get on hands and knees everyday to keep it hydrated.

We have missed some of our family "traditions." It's been a couple of years since we've done the daily advent and that is more likely due to children becoming adults and having jobs and such. I do hope we can recapture it next year, even if we can't squeeze it in every single day. Also, we messed up the order of events this year. Sounds silly, right? But I love doing stockings, having breakfast, then gathering back around the tree for the rest of the gifts. Didn't seem right to eat and do stockings and then move right on to the rest. Making a mental note to not allow that to happen again next year.

Having family here doesn't completely make up for those that aren't with us. I had hoped to bring Mom to the house for Christmas day but I didn't feel comfortable with her health and abilities since she'd just been released from the hospital on Christmas eve. We went to visit her and she was overwhelmed by our numbers. I think bringing her home with all the noise and people may have proven to be too much, too. We also miss being with Mark's family. They, too, are also spread from coast to coast.

The last thumbs down is no snow. I love a white Christmas and that was one of my favorite things about living in Utah. No White Christmas here in Northern Kentucky. Apparently our friends and family back in Seattle have hogged it all!!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Bridge

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Christmas Memories

Monday, December 8, 2008

My Big Fat Random Life

Originally published on MySpace, Dec 8, 2008

Current mood:overstimulated

The Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 16 random things, shortcomings, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end choose 4 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. You cannot tag the person who tagged you.



1. My legal name is Betsy. It's not short for Elizabeth no matter what you think. Betsy is what it says on my birth certificate and Betsy is what it is. Many people have tried to tell me my name is really Elizabeth. How does that work? Like I wouldn't know my own 'real' name???



2. The reason my name is not Elizabeth is because my initials would have been E.A.L. and my daddy thought I would be made fun of with those initials. So, if he would have still been alive I would have had to tell him in high school boys did make fun of my initials.... B.A.L.



3. It's very likely that I will never grow up. If it was going to happen I think it would have happened by now.



4. I love drinking with straws. I drink almost everything with straws except 'normal' coffee and milk. I hate it when I run out of straws at home. I don't have to have any certain straws, but I do prefer the neon colored ones.



5. My first car was a Ford Pinto named Rufus, named after my gerbil, Rufus. I don't know why I named my gerbil Rufus. When he got old I let him go in the woods, thinking it was a good way to go. My mom told me it was cruel. Rufus the gerbil, not Rufus the car.



6. For a short period of time when I was about 21 or so, I lived in a VW van with my boyfriend, Ed. I refer to that time of life as my granola head days. We lived on an island in the Pacific Northwest. Living in a van sort of sucks.



7. My husband who is five years younger than me is FINALLY starting to look older than me. YAY. Gray in his hair and Loreal in mine helps.



8. I want a tattoo and it will be a seahorse - anyone that has a very stylized drawing of a seahorse, I'd like to see it. I hope to get my tattoo either around Christmas or at least by the end of 2009.



9. I have over 100 Christmas CDs.. I love Christmas music and can't help but buy more every year. And yes, unfortunately, I do have some duplicates.



10. I never particularly wanted to have children and was afraid I would neglect them. I can't imagine my life without my daughters and I am completely thankful that I took that leap of faith!!!!



11. I can't force myself to burp and rarely ever burp. I 'gurgle' instead. Except during pregnancy, then I burp. When the rare burp occurs now, my husband panics.



12. The scariest dream I used to have as a child was about a little white ball that floated on air and chased me. I don't know what it meant, but it sure sounds stupid when I tell anyone else about it!!!



13. I used to cry at some episodes of The Brady Bunch.



14. I can be very emotional (see #13)


15. My mom was always heavy and when I was a child I felt sorry for kids with skinny moms because they didn't seem very huggable to me. This is perhaps why I am a heavy mamma, too!


16. I am probably the only person on the planet that really didn't care a whole lot for the Twilight series books. So shoot me!!


I tag....

Capri, because I am sure she has some really random facts to share.

BaaBaaLisa, because she seems to have kissed a girl and liked it.... or was that someone else?

Corinne, because she hasn't been around much and I want her to get involved!

Alli, because I barely know anything about her yet

11:27 PM
Post a comment...


    Katlanga SkyCherry

    Hey, feel free to mail me all your double Christmas music CDs, he he... I have NONE!! I only have two cassettes with all my favourites, but my cassette player died a horrible death 3-4 years ago and I still haven't found a replacement for it. He he... No tag for me, hahaha!! Woohoooo! Or, as you say it - WOOT! xoxoxox

    2 years ago

      Betsy Gully

      My neighbors were telling me about a wine called "woop woop." I don't know if that's how you spell it but that's how they said it. Maybe I should start using that instead of woot?

      2 years ago

      Betsy Gully

      aaaahhhh simone! I have missed your comments here!

      I don't think I have your current address - didn't you move? I think you better update me! Even if I don't send you my extra cds at least I can put a Christmas card in the mail to ya!!

      xoxo

      2 years ago


    Jeannie Corby Becker

    Heavens to Betsy I love this random blogness.

    I too will have to create one of my own.

    I have missed you dear friend and have thought of you a great deal in recent days. How are things with mom going? I am sure you are excited to spend the holidays with family.

    I too will never grow up, cry at certain Brady Bunch episodes, my mom was heavy as I am and I too could care less about The Twilight Book or the movie.


    I am off to blog what I have been up too. Have a wonderful holiday season!

    Love from Iowa,
    Jeannie

    2 years ago


    Connie

    I hear you on the name thing. My legal name is Connie, not Constance or any variation thereof. I'm with ya on #3 too. Obviously. Living in a van on a Pacific Northwest island may have sucked at the time, but it's a pretty awesome experience to have in your repertoire! Be sure and post pictures of your tattoo! I'm fascinated by dreams and dream analysis. Were you by any chance hit by a fast-flying golf ball in early childhood? LOL

    2 years ago


    Kari Fisher Williams

    I don't ever want to grow up either. I am sure that my life is Neverland, but no one believes me.

    Your tattoo idea sounds fabulous. I can draw you up something and see if you like it.

    I love the fact that you lived in a VW van... I had a boyfriend (yep a boyfriend) that dreamed of traveling the country in one. LOL

    Cool randomness!

    2 years ago

      Betsy Gully

      I would love to see what you draw for my seahorse. I am thinking of something with just a few brush strokes, but I am open to other ideas... I may end up with something better, right?!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

The Musical

Originally published on MySpace, Dec 6, 2008

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Remember when?

Originally published on MySpace, Oct 29, 2008

Current mood:nostalgic

Been feeling a little nostalgic the past few days and thinking back on my life.

In my early 20's I was pretty much a granola head. I lived on an island out in the San Juans (Washington State). My boyfriend, a man from Fresno, lived where ever he hung his hat. At that time it was in a VW van. I moved in with him briefly, but I have to say, it was a tad cramped!! He had some definite ties to what we would call "new age" spirituality now and claimed he had seen his own future death. If true, he's been dead many years now. We split later on when he moved his van to another island.

I lived in a very small, very rustic cabin after the tourist season wound down. Then along came an offer to 'move up' and I lived rent free in the home of a couple of elderly snow birds who were of course wintering in Arizona.

My best female friend was living in a tiny cabin on the beach. I LOVED her cabin! She did everything she could to winterize it but it was drafty and damp and probably should have been torn down prior to that time. Aurelia was my idol... She rolled her own cigarettes (both kinds), never shaved, had lived in exotic places and was a vegetarian. She shoo'd spiders and flies out the window and picked up cigarette butts where ever she went, not her own, because she never ever tossed one on the ground, but other people's.

We kept in touch for quite a few years after I eventually left the island and moved into more 'mainstream' society. After all, I never did get into rolling my own cigarettes... I definitely required filters on mine!

Aurelia eventually came to the mainland and went to school to study Marine Biology. She still left little impact on her environment. She lived on a small boat she bought and spent most of her time either working on the boat, in school or studying. She didn't moore in a fancy marina, she was in a small marina with wobbly piers that scared me to walk on when I ventured to her boat home. In later years I think this marina came to public attention as the place where a very sick man kept his mentally ill wife confined for years in a tiny boat with several large also neglected dogs. Very sad story....

I wonder what happened to Aurelia. I was thinking the last time I saw her was at my wedding, smoking her home rolled cigarettes, but I think I saw her one more time after that. I can visualize her visiting me in my home in Seattle. My oldest daughter may have been born by that time.

It's interesting to think that we are both now in our 50's... how has she changed? Is she a marine biologist on a ship somewhere? Is she still so very much her own person? Is her hair still long and blond? Does she eat meat now? Perhaps she moved back to the Virgin Island where the weather would be more suited to her lifestyle than the weather of Washington State. Did she have children or marry? Is she still living?

In my mind I am sitting on a rock, under the tree outside her cabin in the sunshine. Aaaah.... remember when.....

Tony FrankenCat

Originally published on MySpace, Nov 29, 2008

Current mood:dorky

This blog is an attempt to educate anyone who doesn't understand my status today....

Last night we had Capri, her hubby and young son over for the evening. TC is a charming and delightful young man. So charming he even charmed us into playing poker, which quite frankly, I *suck* at!

This was the first time we all met face to face and of course that means being introduced to all our fur family as well. At the moment, Tony is recovering from some sort of animal bite and he looks like this:

TC, who apparently doesn't let anything escape his attention, soon asked us, "why does he have cigarettes poking out of him?"

You just gotta love how a kid's mind works!! If it was me I would have simply said something like, "Ewwwwwie!! Keep that cat away from me!" but, no, not TC - he wants the lowdown - starting with the "cigarettes!" LMAO!!!

Tony himself was quite the charmer this morning while I was trying to get his picture:

Go away! Can't you see I'm sunbathing??

**

I already told you - I don't feel like playing!!

**

Okay, but just once, and then you'll leave me alone??

**

"Little Bunny Foo Foo, hopping through the forest, picking up the field mice...."

**

Okay, that's enough cat games.... If you wanna know what my husband's answer is to "Why does that cat have cigarettes sticking out of his butt?" you'll have to give me your answer first.... just why does Tony have cigarettes sticking out his butt?

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happiness is....

Originally published on MySpace, Nov 28, 2008

Current mood:happy

Sharing the warm spot in the sun

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Sharing a lap & a nap

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Finishing a project

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Finding your own warm spot in the sun

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

More thankful

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pet Peeve 015

Thankful

Originally posted on MySpace, Nov 25, 2008

Current mood:thankful

In no particular order or emphasis, these are the things I am thankful for.... plus much more that just didn't come to mind right now....

My Children Friends, Old & New Tulips Differences Geese Baseball Brothers My Husband Photography Quail God & Heaven Rainy Days Flowers Brothers-in-Law Forgiveness Food on My Table Hearing Family Mercy Trees Vision My Home My Mother-in-Law Beaches Books An Audience Washington State Lakes Seasons Sisters-in-Law My Country Sunsets Good Health My Father (deceased) Soccer Clouds My Family's Health My Mother Doctors & Medicine Sunrises Vacations Starbucks Camp fires My Talents Beautiful Colors Utah My Childrens'Grandparents My Father-in-Law Holidays Harriett Kentucky Education Nieces & Nephews Reliable Transportation Love Movies Snow Jobs Angels Birds Music Grace Sunny Days Mountains Cousins Deer Furry Companions Art My Crafts Stories

Monday, November 24, 2008

Little Life Delight 001

Nov 24, 2008

Current mood:froggy

I started thinking that I need a counterpart to my pet peeve blogs, something that is a warm fuzzy when it happens.... Hm... thinking aloud here - I was trying to decide what the opposite of a pet peeve is and maybe it's a "warm fuzzy" instead of a "little life delight." Maybe I'll let you, my faithful readers, decide which is the better choice.

This evening I present you with my first LLD or WF. And it's really a simple thing, which is what it's about. The simple little things that make me feel good but sometimes forget to stop and appreciate them. Or maybe I do appreciate them but just have never acknowledged them out loud before. But I've digresssed:

I love it when I am online and comment or write on another profile and I am almost instantly replied to. Also, when I first come onto MySpace and I've got new messages or comments. I'm not sure why that makes me so happy - perhaps it just confirms that there really is life "out there" beyond my keyboard and monitor, or maybe it's just nice to be responded to or thought of. But it is a warm delight!

.......don't forget to vote

6:58 AM
Post a comment...


    Alyssa Gully

    i have to say that i like little delights better... and i'm not just saying that to even the score

    2 years ago

      Betsy Gully

      really? I was leaning toward warm fuzzies....

      2 years ago


    Connie

    I'm partial to warm fuzzies myself. It makes me think of the ones I used to collect (that's what we called them anyway)...you know, the fuzzy pom-pom balls with glued on eyes and big feet that were stickers, so you could peel off the backing and stick them somewhere? Like your dashboard? They came in different colors, some had hats. There's your 70s flashback of the week! ;o)

    2 years ago


    Gordon Lee

    Greetings Ms. Badonkadonk
    .
    It's always nice to express a little gratefulness. How about "Fuzzy Delight" blogs?
    .
    Respectfully,

    Gordon Lee

    2 years ago

      Betsy Gully

      hm... might be a little too anatomical? *wink*