Author Archives: beth

Unknown's avatar

About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

white elephant.

Standard

white elephant action shot

(not meant to be artsy, more of a testament to my photographic skill level)

 

enjoyed a holiday party with friends

food, drink, chatter, and fun

 white elephant game is always a hilarious part of this event

each and every game is different

and this year certainly did not disappoint!

many people participate in secret santa gift exchanges. but others like to take things a step further and plan a white elephant swap. if you aren’t familiar, white elephant is a game in which everyone brings a wrapped present, places it in a pile and draws a number to determine the order in which the participants will select gifts to unwrap. as the game progresses, people have the option to unwrap a new gift or “steal” a previously opened present.

the game can get pretty heated, so naturally it offers a lot of opportunities for twitter humor. see today’s quotes below – a sampling of tweets about this very exciting game –

A white elephant gift exchange is a great way to secretly resent someone for swiping the dollar store bath bomb you didn’t think you wanted until you were stuck with the dollar store candle.
Teen came home wearing a fluorescent alligator around her neck she won from a white elephant exchange. She’s shocked no one else wanted it.
Every time I play White Elephant, I always say I’m not gonna get too intense. But 10 minutes in, I’m already yelling at people I’ve never met. Then by the end, I’m chasing Nikita down the block, in the pouring rain, for a pair of sunglasses. I need help.
You don’t know hysteria until you’ve played White Elephant with 10 girls under 13 and a One Direction toothbrush gets in the game.

control.

Standard

when having snow tires put on my car

had an early appointment

brought my laptop and a giant coffee

to settle in for an hour and a half or so.

while waiting

i planned to write and read and catch up on things

knowing there is always something going on

with any group of fellow ‘waiters.’

i sat at a high table to make for easy typing

 most everyone else sat in the lower, more comfortable chairs

quite soon after my arrival, the ambiance changed.

on the left side in front of me

a woman sat down

in the seat next to the remote control for the tv

meant to help the time pass, amuse, and distract everyone.

she immediately took control of the controller

switching whatever channel had been on

to fox news.

the woman in the family to my right

politely asked if she would mind changing

the channel from fox to something else.

she said yes and all good

in no time

we were all watching baywatch reruns

in high def, on the big screen, 90s music pumping

those red bathing suited beauties

running on the beach, boating, emoting, doing pull-ups, rescues, looking hot, and whatnot

and david hasselhoff, the hoff.

the workers at the tire store desk were mesmerized

some young enough to never have seen it before

some old enough to have had the poster and remembering.

i refilled my coffee

 the channel was not changed again

throughout my entire (now 2 hour), wait.

new customers coming in had mixed reactions

what an early holiday surprise!

“of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing.”

-herodotus

ciao, december.

Standard

welcome back, december.

 

“december is a simple wish that brings spectacular moments.”

-author unknown

 

 

 

art credit: willowday

pathway.

Standard

the kinder discovered a pathway on a hill

covered in beautiful, kind, and encouraging stones

created by the older children

left behind for them to find

“what sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

these are but trifles, to be sure;

but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”

-joseph addision

from the garden to the heart.

Standard
using locally foraged plants, artist kayla powers
taught us to make our own botanical watercolor paints
not a quick process
with many steps along the way
what an incredible experience
from the garden and the forest, to the art, to the heart.
  —
“use your own paint; colour your world”
― israelmore ayivor, author

zeal.

Standard

the dentist gave me this bag

when i left her office today

i think she was really happy

that i didn’t cry.

i displayed it proudly.

 

 

“we do have a zeal for laughter in most situations, give or take a dentist.”

-joseph heller

colors are nature gone wild. – r. farooq

Standard

 quite accurate, though probably not too popular with the marketing team. 

 

 

“they’ll sell you thousands of greens,.

veronese green and emerald green

and casium green and any sort of green you like;

but that particular green, never.”

-pablo picasso

 

the beginning.

Standard

 here comes the snow, tiptoeing in –

the beginning of a very long season ahead

 

 

“the beginning is always today.”

-mary shelly, author of frankenstein

downtown.

Standard

downtown detroit

on a very chilly and beautiful november evening

sparkling christmas tree

ice

music

family from near and far

laughter

winter market

lots and lots of food

warm drinks

lights

comfort.

“downtown. lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder.

and in that moment, i swear we were infinite.”

stephen chbosky

the holdovers.

Standard

after seeing the trailer for this film

i really thought it was going to be a comedy

it did have its funny moments and lines

as the movie played out

 it was so much more

the trio of lead actors were brilliant

the characters

interacted

 revealed themselves

learned about each other

   personal stories emerged

in ways unexpected, tragic, and beautiful

 finding something in each other

perhaps they didn’t even know they needed

but oh, did they ever

because as their understanding

of their humanity

with all of its flaws and challenges

came to the forefront

they chose grace

each was made the better for it

and forever changed.

“the moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad

but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be.”

-alain de botton

 

image credit: miramax films, focus features