Beulah

Hello - My name is Beulah.

I recently moved in with Brett+Greg who brought me home from STAF (Save the Animals Foundation). I was born in July 2008 - so I'm roughly 7months old. I'm a mix of what people are assuming is AMERICAN BULLDOG and BOXER, but I've decided to keep my true identity to myself and let you continue making guesses, cuz its funny what everyone comes up with.

I am an excited, lovable pup that can't wait to meet you in person! Here's some pictures of me, I'm sure there will be many more to come. For now I just wanted to say HELLO and introduce myself.



FaceBRETT

This past week I finally jumped into the black hole that is FaceBook. All while doing a swan dive into picture tags, friend adds and status updates. It’s been a bittersweet plunge. From thinking I was finally part of the cool-kids to realizing other people were suggesting friends for me (I thought everyone was on the edge of their seat waiting to add me as a friend). Then comes my panic moment during the TAG-AHOLIC’S session where my heart rate probably doubled as I raced my sister to remove tags she was adding at the most rapid-fire pace known to man.

SIDE-NOTE: My SisterLove is a professional FaceBooker, and probably has more friends than if you combined everyone who actually reads my blog. She can multi-task on that website better than YOU, guaranteed.

Now that the initial start-up anxiety is gone, and I finally understand what my "wall" is, I think I can get the hang of this FaceBook thing and utilize it at my own pace. Although I have many a friend and family member that are VIP fans of the website, I think I will tippy-toe through a little more custom fit for Brett.

I bring mixed feelings to the table when it comes to FaceBook in general, I am an ex-MySpacer who binge "MySpaced" until that rehab moment of clarity over a year ago where I just quit cold turkey. Now hopefully I can resist the temptation and not overdo it with FaceBook, and maybe I can find what so many like to call – moderation. Wish me luck!

If you’d like: be my friend, tag me in pictures, write on my wall. I think eventually I’ll understand exactly what all of that means.

Have a looky-see at the following article. Really – YOU should read it! It’s a pretty entertaining (and true) viewpoint of facebook, myspace, and all of those other words we didn’t use 5 years ago.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/183180/page/1

I got it GOIN' ON!

Thanks out to TYLER for reminding me of this song..


I Rock Hard.

On just the second day of 2009 I smashed in some child’s RockBand game. Great way to start off the New Year.

Have you been to a concert where the band destroys the instruments at the end of their show? Or maybe you’ve seen it on tv? Well in a basement recently that happened, sort of. I was basically tagging along to a friend of a friend’s house, so yeah I didn’t even know the kid whose game I broke. I’m no musician, and it was very evident as my lack of rhythm showed thru on the game. After having to restart many times because we couldn’t rock out, I was told; you have to hit the drums pretty hard, and so that’s what I did. Not 2 seconds later the right side of the drum set breaks off and there is RockBand no more.

Lucky for me the owner was pretty cool about it all, brought tools downstairs determined to fix it: quote "better than before". My guess is either he’s a wishful handyman or that his son would flip his lid if he realized some random girl came and broke his game. So we found the right drill bits, mastered together quite a remedy and actually got the drums working again. Well, I should mention I had nothing to do with fixing it, I really think the guy wanted me as far away from them as possible. I however stood by his side, knuckles bleeding from my rock star destruction, worried I ruined the game completely.

By night’s end the game was fixed. But no one turned RockBand back on, I guess I had eliminated all excitement of being a rocker. So everyone left, a little less "Ozzy Osbourne" than we all were before. Driving home, thinking about my rock star moment and how my dreams might have died in that very basement I remembered: I wanna Rock and Roll all night, and Party every day! Everything’s gonna be fine.

SO – For those about to rock – WE SALUTE YOU!

Side Note: New Year’s Eve was quite fun. I think we managed to bring in the New Year with a bang, and we didn’t even have to go to club "Bang" to do it. Happy 2009 everybody – may all your resolutions get fulfilled, but stop overcrowding my gym while you attempt them (kidding.)

At the Stroke of Midnight

Santa’s come and gone. 2008 is winding down. Here comes the New Year, are you ready? Resolutions. New beginnings. Quitting said resolutions. Ending the beginnings, and on the cycle goes until we approach the next December, etc etc. Whatever your MidNight plans may be, and whether you’re feeling Frisky, Feisty, Sassy or Spunky, I sure hope your door closes well on 2008 and opens to a wonderful 2009.

I considered going all out for an end-of-the-year blog entry. Offering some "best-of-2008" lists and top-whatever countdowns of my fave from this year. But instead I choose to leave you with a brief "well-wish" for the New Year. I hope ALL the best for ALL of you, and I think simply saying that eliminates any need for lists, stories, or expectations of the upcoming year.

Tip the glass at the stroke of midNight, sip the champagne, snag that kiss and on we go. Isn’t life just a beautiful thing?


Should all acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind
Should all acquaintance be forgot for the sake of auld lang syne

Santa Says RECYCLE!!!

I'm turning into a recycle nut. I made a box at work for paper recycling I take to local bins. It sits near my 6 inch stack of scrap I use to avoid new paper. As I mailed out my christmas cards I got to thinking, "I hope all this paper doesn't get thrown away, maybe I should put a reminder note to recycle the paper" (dork). I recycle at home, have little grocery totes I drag everywhere, and take my overstock of plastic grocery bags to the recycle bins at the stores. I smash cans for recycling. I even talked my boyfriend into bringing home the plastic bag he carries his lunch in to use more than once! Today I stumbled upon the following article that included useful information I thought you might find interesting, and make you put your christmas cards in a recylce bin instead of the trash.
Happy Reduce/Reuse/Recycling!!!


The holidays are here and you want to do it all! And with all that overindulgence comes a lot of waste. In fact, Americans throw away about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve than the rest of the year. This year, you can enjoy the holidays — and be kinder to the environment at the same time — just by following these easy tips.

Holiday Cards
Every year, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the U.S. When choosing cards this year, make sure they contain recycled content or are made from recycled material. And when the season is over, don’t throw away the cards you receive. Be sure to toss them in the recycle bin.

Catalogs
Everyone’s mailbox is stuffed with mail-order catalogs this time of year. Call the companies and ask to be removed from their mailing lists. (If each household canceled ten mail-order catalogs, it would reduce their trash by 3.5 pounds per year!) And be sure to recycle any you do wish to receive.

Shopping Bags
Don’t you hate being bogged down by armfuls of bags after a day of shopping? Then why not take your own tote bags? Unlike store bags, they’re easier to carry and can hold a lot more items.

Gifts
Keep the environment in mind when choosing holiday gifts. Instead of buying trinkets that will end up in a landfill one day, select gifts that won’t create waste, such as homemade cookies, a plant, concert or movie tickets, candles, soaps or a donation to a charity.

Wrapping Paper
While a package wrapped in shiny paper may look festive, just think how wasteful it really is to use the paper once and then throw it away. Try to buy wrapping paper made of recycled paper. Or get really creative and use old maps or the Sunday comics to wrap your gifts. Avoid paper all together by using reusable decorative tins, baskets or boxes.

Decorations
If you put up a Christmas tree, be sure to purchase one that can be planted or mulched after the holiday. Or use an artificial tree instead. Make ornaments and other decorations out of things you find around the house or outside. Use outdoor light strands that are wired in parallel. (This means if one bulb goes out, you only have to replace it and not the whole strand.) Also remember the smaller the bulbs, the lower the wattage. Low wattage consumes less energy and gives off less heat, making your lights safer.

Food
After a holiday meal, don’t throw away the leftovers. Wrap them up and send them home with your guests, or donate them to a local food bank. You can also compost your food waste. Fruits and vegetables and their peels, pits and seeds all make a great natural fertilizer once composted.

And So This is Christmas...

This past Monday (Dec.8) marked 28th anniversary of the shooting of John Lennon. Looking back, much seems different than 28 years ago. I recently caught a documentary on the time he spent "in bed for peace" with Yoko, and it reminded me – certain things are no different from back then. Here I am a mere 26, wondering what the world woud be like today if he were still in it. Things he said in interviews, and the ideals he wanted to spread are still very needed in the world today. We are in the same positions, just with different elements of the equation. It amazed me as I watched him in bed, people asking questions of why. Why are you doing this? Why is this what you believe? It made me recollect the issues in my life, the things that weigh me down, even tho in 28 years they probably won’t matter. And there’s John Lennon in bed for PEACE, something that still is in play after all this time. And even tho I might not say he’s my favorite "Beatle" or that I’m even a super die hard fan (eh – that’s debatable) credit is due to how amazing he was on his own. The Beatles were such a wonderful package of one another, and yes John was quite a package with Yoko Ono, but still he shook the world as an individual.

"You May Say I’m a Dreamer, But I’m Not the Only One…
I Hope Someday You Will Join Us, & the World Will Live as One"

I don’t know what it was about that show, whether the coincidence of its timing or simply the state of mind I was in while viewing…but I felt a sort of inner comfort afterwards. A sort of – don’t let things factor in, they might not be an issue down the road. Who knows. The holidays are here as well as the end of the calendar year, bringing a time for looking back and forward all at once. A time for coming together with friends, family, loved ones. A time to remember it is YOU who makes a difference in your life, and there’s no better time than now to find your balance.

Happy Christmas Everyone



So this is Christmas
AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

U Can't Get Ahead While UR Getting Even

When someone asks: what are your strengths and weaknesses? The answers often mold to the type of atmosphere the question comes from. Interviewers are told the strengths of a person’s communication skills, etc etc. For a while now my answer has always been the same, regardless. I feel my biggest strength is, at times, one of my biggest weaknesses: my versatility. I have been both complimented and criticized for this trait, and do my best to learn from the bad and take from the good.

It might look like my strength-weakness is an oxymoron, or maybe that I’m just simply a moron, eh? But I promise you, it is a big part of who I am. And as much as I’m grateful to balance out my perspective, and attempt to represent a sort of "karma" I sometimes wonder if my perspective would change, given a different well, perspective.

I'm sure none of this makes sense to you. And that’s ok. Potentially that’s what I’m going for with this blog. Take this moment to re-read its title. I feel like it represents a part of what I’m trying to express as I type-vomit all over this keyboard. Basically it pulls me like Stretch-Armstrong (remember that guy?). I "go with the flow" but then wonder if the "flow" really pushes me forward. I can’t grasp it sometimes, but isn’t that the spice of life? No wait, they say "variety" is the spice. Grr, I’m so confused.

As my confusion sets in, and you realize I’m going nowhere with this blog. I think I’ll quit my attempt to figure out life, and balance, and right versus wrong, and strength versus weakness. I think I’ll just keep on truckin’ with hopes that you also see some beauty in that quote of a title that inspired me to blog about nothing. I hope that as we all get sucked into the expectations of the holiday season we realize we don't have to compete to win, (beyond the Bengals and their TIE, come on WHO DEY!!) And we remember to avoid spite or vengeance. Because the base of those qualities contradict versatility and understanding of one another. And without that we won’t have the ability to move forward.

My Party on Pancake Mountain

I can't seem to figure out how to put the youTube video directly on my blog here, but just click the link below and watch the video....its classic adorable.

Kings of Leon played a 2-song set on a kids show called Pancake Mountain. I guess when they were doing their sound check some kids didn't like the loud noise, and some even started crying. But once they started playing they loooooved it and were dancing around the whole time. The boy in green is great! The sound on this video seems awful.....The band seems almost awkward.

I found all of this amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMGEt_k643Q

Just plain OFFENSIVE

We had over 300 pieces of candy, carved pumpkins, and were all ready for ghouls and goblins to knock on the door. Well, THAT didn't happen so instead we ran around all dressed up on our own trick or treat adventure. Turns out we were on a "pub crawl" where the costume contest theme was Most OFFENSIVE. Although none from our group were all too offensive, we did happen to know the guy who won the black diamond grand prize....The dark knight Joker, frothing at the mouth with an apology note from Heath Ledger. He was up against TheWHO concert victim, and special olympics guy, among others.

It was a great time, packed in those tiny village bars like sardines, all determined to chase around the Naked CowBoy and the radio station guy. I dressed up as a "Deviled Egg" in case you were wondering from the picture. Creative, yes. But most didn't know until I explained to them that the yellow dot on my belly was NOT part of a Twister Game Board.

So next year maybe a young'un will come knocking for some candy, who knows. I suppose even tho we were upset we didn't get any treaters, I guess its good we didn't get any "tricks" either. Cuz our pumpkins are still sitting on our porch (pretty much rotted might I add). But they didn't get smashed against the side of our house like I thought maybe they would.