tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:53:05 +0000http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/noreply@blogger.com (Beth)Blogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-4156215940428845801Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:54:00 +00002010-03-13T07:59:02.335-06:00humorOk, so I lied to you. I promised a recap on Thursday and I didn't deliver. Those of you who know me well enough probably weren't actually looking. You are well trained!Let me start by saying I didn't actually join on Wednesday. I discovered a loophole - a loophole that allowed me to attend as a "guest" and since the person who invited me didn't flinch at the idea, I pretended like this was my http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/03/toast-masters-recap.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-5882748679257997469Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:42:00 +00002010-03-06T07:53:02.261-06:00humorI'm not a public speaker, which comes as no surprise to my friends and family. I prefer to be that anonymous non-speaking blob in meetings praying we don't have to perform any icebreakers or group skits and repeating my name in my head so that I won't forget it if I'm called on.A few of you remember my last public speech, which took place in the ACL studio and went something like: "No, I don't http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/03/toastmasters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-7730626600568294395Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:53:00 +00002010-03-04T17:03:00.566-06:00SamrantspetsSam came with her name, which is a fine name, but not necessarily a name I'd give a pet. If I'd actually had the opportunity to name Sam, she would have been given a name generally reserved for pets, hillbillies or very old people, and it wouldn't have been anything like Sam or even Renee or Becky or Bobby Jo. On the other hand, it also wouldn't have been anything like Spot or Fluffy or Spike or http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/she-is-not-code-for-him.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-4178450855312901142Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:33:00 +00002010-01-23T07:33:49.687-06:00SampetsI know you've been waiting around all week hoping for the latest Sam update and you're in luck. I know! How exciting! (We all know "shut up about the dog already" is actually just a thinly veiled plea for more beagle news. It's "code". I have it on the best authority. Mine.) This week Sam lost the cone, lost her stitches and went for a walk on an underwater treadmill. Of course, for Sam http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/chronicles-of-sam-week-two-milestones.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-2218593581166685308Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:20:00 +00002010-01-18T07:18:36.466-06:00SampetsThis first week has been about establishing new routines and I'm very glad to be on the end of that week and not back at the beginning. Taking a dog that used to have the use of four legs and free range of the house and forcing her to become one who lives with a gigantic and encumbering cone who gets to live in a mobile crate (lovingly referred to as "your room") was not exactly an easy or fun http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/chronicles-of-sam-week-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-5091665010730507078Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:30:00 +00002010-01-08T15:33:41.388-06:00SamSam just got home... if she could speak I'm sure it would be something like: you feed me, you betray me and now you have a camera - on a suck scale you're rating a 10. Good job.http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/worth-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-7931758629391015069Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:14:00 +00002010-01-08T10:47:21.338-06:00Samrants"Is she worth it?"If you suddenly feel this question coming out of your mouth and you're talking to me, the high-pitched sound of someone slamming on their brakes at top speed to avoid a disastrous incident with an immovable object better have played in your head before even the slightest little hiss pops out of your mouth. If you need to blink at me stupidly before gathering your thoughts to http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/sam-chronicles-rant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-1974067859528809480Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:54:00 +00002010-01-08T15:44:23.823-06:00SampetsAs most of you know, today we start the lengthy process of getting our beagle Sam back on track to being the goofy, glad to greet the world, ever-starving, flappy earred mess that we love and adore. Sam recently tore her cranial cruciate ligament (CCL), which is a lot like your ACL - it's one of two ligaments that stabilizes her leg and, simply put, keeps her bones from shifting in ways they http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2010/01/chronicles-of-sam-surgery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-6484912068302576496Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:27:00 +00002009-12-28T12:03:38.848-06:00Every year I'm asked what I want for my birthday, just like the rest of you, and I sit on Amazon trying to think of things I wouldn't mind collecting dust on a bookshelf; it's my annual birthday/Christmas routine.But you know what I really want? and not necessarily for my birthday? I want as many of you as possible in one place. From Dayton to Davis - from Montreal and New York to Las Vegas and http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/12/post-to-friends-my-dream.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-8865477967259824273Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:35:00 +00002009-12-23T07:15:00.470-06:00humorbirthdayfamilyWell, the most notable thing to happen this holiday season is I had to disown my aunt. I feel really sad about it since she's the last of my grandmother's children, the last solid connection to my Mom, but it had to be done. I'm going to miss her. She's a great aunt - one of those who is very sweet and funny - a joy to be around type - the rock of the family; you'd like her. Of course, I fullyhttp://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/12/bbm-christmas-edition-or-how-ill-miss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-288302630471430563Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:19:00 +00002009-11-25T13:19:53.689-06:00humorrantsWell, it seems I can't avoid a rant and since Jay claims I can't just rant at an individual on my blog (something about how the rest of you were crinkle your brows and wonder why I went off the anti-psychotics), I'll try to pick on a topic everyone can relate to - Tier 1 Tech Support. These guys represent the first roadblock you encounter to getting your problem resolved. They're usually armed http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/11/rant-tech-support.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-3517368100487968852Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:35:00 +00002009-11-19T18:47:19.428-06:00humorWe're a world filled with milestones or rite of passages or atta-girls-way-to-go or whatever you want to call it when you've managed to accomplish something a little more exciting than consuming oxygen. You know those special occasions where only a Hallmark money holder card can properly express "yay". There was the first birthday - well, you don't remember it, but you've seen the photographic http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/11/milestones.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-4698068468440655458Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:14:00 +00002009-11-11T14:43:34.066-06:00momTinaWith each passing year Veteran's day, the day I unexpectedly lost my mom, becomes easier. There were a couple of unexpected and jarring bumps that managed to put a bit of an edge back on the day. Two friends lost parents within the last week (Esther Arbuckle and Orville Jennings). I'm at a complete loss of words except to express my deepest heart-felt sympathy to both of those families. I canhttp://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/11/for-mom-1941-2006.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-5681122925417471948Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:53:00 +00002009-11-17T06:06:07.149-06:00familyMany years ago, my good friend Anna got me into Family Tree Maker, a great piece of software for tracking your family tree. With this application, the help of chatty relatives, and the apps' online search capability, I've managed to go from a tree that only extended through my great-grandparents to one that reaches back into the 1600's. The tree has reinforced some family information - like http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/10/family-tree-maker.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-7332897485143970591Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:12:00 +00002009-10-16T18:29:29.321-05:00friendsLately, as I spend more and more time interacting with people online, I've been thinking about the nature of friendship. What makes a friend a friend versus an acquaintance? When does an acquaintance make that transition to become a friend? I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I think I can identify a criteria that works for me.My friends: Send me birthday cards. I'm not talking online http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/10/friendship.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-5704491612517804500Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:49:00 +00002009-09-25T19:50:56.742-05:00random thoughtsI think I've mentioned that my blog entries are ostensibly letters without the "Dear" (I was never a "dear" sort of person) and for those friends who got a kick out of my letters. Old news for you guys. When you see several week lulls, I'm caught up in the every day stuff that is sometimes too "real" for a public "note" - it usually occurs when topics like politics, work, people who should be http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/09/dear.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-334999851191017572Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:39:00 +00002009-09-13T06:47:17.645-05:00A few weeks ago a group of us were sitting around our table telling stories and one of my friends pointed out that I was surrounded by characters. I've heard this before, but it did make me wonder - am I drawn to colorful people, do I bring out certain outrageous qualities or do I simply create them to fill a part in a story? and if I was creating them, what did it say about me? I spent the nexthttp://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/09/my-characters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-390255806706166831Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:01:00 +00002009-09-08T18:10:23.512-05:00humorI had lunch with "the guys" earlier this week - former co-workers that helped make one of my many stupid jobs bearable. These are "the guys" who call me by my first name (and get away with it, because there's no point fighting it and if I whine, they'll only post the whine on their websites. Yes, they really did.). The guys who go shark fishing or gator hunting depending on the season. (It's http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/09/listener.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-2131503199957253560Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:33:00 +00002009-09-02T18:34:43.153-05:00Sampetshttp://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/09/tenacity-prevails.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-132128322390400346Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:20:00 +00002009-08-30T16:24:03.033-05:00rantsHmph. Well, either Blogger or the Interwebs don't seem to want you to see a photo of Sam. So, I'll describe her - she's beagle-y, all ears and nose with four paws and exceptionally cute. (I'm exceptional at descriptions - you can practically see her frollicking about now.) If the web relents, I might actually get a photo up.http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/insert-your-photo-here.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-8043932255977074882Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:15:00 +00002009-09-08T18:12:02.074-05:00SampetsFor you Sam groupies out there, here's an update --We recently learned Sam loves chicken. Sure, as a beagle she lives for her nose and all the neat things it can snuffle out (rule of paw - the smellier the better), but food is food is food to Sam (and sometimes food can be clothing or backyard deposits - she isn't particularly picky, but she can be gross). So, eating chicken one night and http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/sam-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-9191935887331864254Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:43:00 +00002009-08-28T09:09:52.997-05:00friendsrandom thoughtsI feel obligated to follow-up on a piece within that particular post of mine.Most of you who know me also know Julie and know that Julie was alright and eventually grew up to become a doctor. While we may have walked a good mile or two back to her house like the oblivious teen morons we were, Julie did have the foresight to call her mom. In what seemed like minutes, her mom was at the house and http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/follow-up-to-friendship-vs-bbm.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-1944174120702045444Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:22:00 +00002009-08-27T19:38:44.105-05:00Vampiresrandom thoughtsI was about seven the first time I saw a vampire movie. It was late and I was at my friend Jeff's who lived two houses down. The only clear memory I have of the actual movie is a swarm of hissing women in long flowing polyester dresses, bearing their fangs and chasing some poor selfish fellow around. Just like Sesame Street, this was clearly an allegory about the virtues of sharing and the http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/relenting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-3909951860069658743Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:33:00 +00002009-08-25T17:34:55.484-05:00bloghumorfriendsThere's nothing more devastating to friends and family than announcing you've just placed more trust in the words of a stranger than in them. No, not just for candy or a safe ride home, but for important things like "does this make my hair look short?" - the advice, the ego strokes - the things they try to tell you all the time. See, here's a simple truth - family and friends (the ones you http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/friendship-vs-big-blue-mess.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21981543.post-7478616954795417865Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:57:00 +00002009-08-20T18:09:09.407-05:00humorOver the years I've had the more curious friends, family and co-workers inquire about various things I've done in my life. Since they tend to ask the same questions, I thought I'd throw together a little Beth FAQ. 1. Beth, your minor was in English, can you edit my [insert anything from documents to stories]No. All my English minor means is that I am fairly well-read. Well, it doesn't even http://www.bigbluemess.com/blogs/main/2009/08/faq.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Beth)3