Betsy Horvath

Month: December 2011

  • Some Fun Facts About Colds

    I often ponder what I should write on my blog. But then I figure I should just tell you what I’m thinking about at the time. Because, hey. I’ve really got nothing else to write about.

    This week I’ve been thinking about colds. Head colds. Well, really head colds that settle in your throat and make you feel like you are being stabbed with hot pokers, to be precise.  I really am feeling better now than I was earlier in the week, but since colds are what I’ve been thinking about I thought I would share with you.  And so, here are some fun facts about the common cold.

    What is a “cold” anyway?

    The common cold is a viral infectious disease that infects the upper respiratory system. It is also known as acute viral rhinopharyngitis, or acute coryza. So there.

    Can I catch a cold by going out in the cold?

    Experts say that going out when it is cold does not have any effect on the risk of catching a cold or spreading one. Sometimes when I have a cold, I intentionally go outside because I figure the cold might kill the germs. But that’s just me. I’m a little unusual.

    Well, okay then. What causes a cold?

    The common cold can be caused by more than 200 different viruses. Up to 50% of colds are caused by rhinoviruses.  As opposed to rhinoceroses.

    Why do we cough?

    Duh, so we can get the attention of sales clerks talking on their cell phones when we want to pay and get out of the store.  And we cough to clear our airways (lungs, throat, etc). Sometimes we cough because of irritations to our airways – either an inhaled irritant (like smoke) or due to an infection of the upper airways. Sometimes we cough because we feel like we have hot pokers being stabbed into our voice box.

    Why do our noses run?

    Because they can’t walk! HAH! I SLAY me! No, no. Viruses, like our friend the cold virus, get in there and attack the mucus membranes, causing extra watering and mucus production. Trust me on this one.

    Ew. Mucus. What is Mucus?

    Mucus is a slippery, slightly sticky fluid produced by membranes in the mouth, nose, throat and naughty bits. The mucus membrane traps anything inhaled…like viruses. And then it’s all over but the shouting. Or coughing.

    And what should I do for a cold?

    Gargle with salt water. Because my mother says to. And because it really does help. It kind of pickles your throat and kills the nasty little virus germies. And eat chicken soup. Because you just should, that’s all. Unless you’re vegetarian. Then you should eat vegetable soup. Which is what I’m going to do right now.

     

     

    References:
    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166606.php
    http://www.drreddy.com/rhinitis.html
    http://www.ivillage.com/why-does-gargling-salt-water-help-your-throat/4-n-142239
    http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jan/10/chicken_soup_common_cold/

  • Wisdom from Charles

    Thanks to a wicked Christmas cold attacking my throat and some rather stringent demands from my day job attacking my sanity, I don’t have many creative brain cells left to come up with a blog post today. So I’ve decided to share with you some wit and wisdom from Charles – Charles Dickens, that is.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this great novelist:

    “I admire machinery as much as any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for us.  But, it will never be a substitute for the face of a man, with his soul in it, encouraging another man to be brave and true. ”

    The Wreck of the Golden Mary

    You can encourage people through an email, but you need to be with them to hold on tight.

    “I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

    A Christmas Carol

    Just remember – we are all pink on the inside. And the fact that you can afford a great funeral for yourself won’t get you out of attending it.

    “No one is useless in this world…who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.”

    Our Mutual Friend

    It doesn’t matter what we do for a living. Our real job is to be a blessing to each other.

    “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”

    Our Mutual Friend

    As we move into the brave New Year of 2012, this is my wish for all of you and for myself as well. May we have hearts that never harden, tempers that never tire, and touches that never hurt.

    Indeed.

     

  • A Betsy’s Blog Christmas Party


    “Christ-mas is coming! The goose is getting FAAATTTT–“

    Blogosphere?

    “Please to put a penny in the old man’s HAAAAATTTTTT–“

    Blogosphere!

    “If you have no penny, a ha’ penny will DOOOOOOOOOO….”

    Blogosphere! Shut up for a minute!

    What? Oh, hey. How’s it going?

    What are you doing up on that ladder?

    What does it look like I’m doing? I’m decoratin’

    You’re decoratin’, uh, I mean, you’re decorating? Again?

    Yeah. For the party.

    Party?

    Yeah. Party. Must you repeat everything I say?

    *crosses arms* No, but the other things I want to do to you can’t be done in a blog post.

    Huh. That sounds like a quote from your book.

    Never mind. *waves hand* When did we decide to have a party?

    WE didn’t. Your Muse and I decided when we were out to dinner last night.

    Out to….Blogosphere, are you DATING my MUSE?

    Hey! She’s a lot of fun when she’s not all tied down to you.

    But–

    Blogosphere? Honey are you here? *Muse enters the post* *sees Betsy* *stops* Oh. Hello.

    Hello, Muse. Something you forgot to tell me?

    Like what?

    Like that you were having a PARTY in my blog maybe?

    Oh, that. *Muse waves it away* It’s the Christmas season. The Blogosphere and I wanted to have a little fun. I thought you were talking about the other thing.

    You want to–what other thing?

    Never mind.

    Hey, babe, did you see the decorations? Whaddya think?

    *Muse looks around* Oh, Pookie! They’re just beautiful! You did such a good job!

    Pookie?

    What color ribbon is that anyway?

    Puce. I had it left over from the Release Day party.

    Ohhhhh. Pretty.

    Can we just talk here for a moment–

    Look who I found outside wandering around!

    I don’t– Coffee?  Coffee, is that you?

    Ah, Betsy. **Coffee takes Betsy’s hand and kisses the palm** It is so good to see you, ma cherie.  I had to be here.  You consume me.

    Oh, Coffee…you’re talking with such a sexy accent…

    I am ze French Roast.

    Of course.

    Let’s all sing!

    Okay.

    “If you have no ha’ penny, then God Bless You!
    God Bless You, Gentlemen, God Bless You!
    And if you have no ha’ penny, then God Bless You!”

    What the hell is a “ha’ penny” anyway?

    Oh, Blogosphere. Go look it up in yourself.

    *everyone laughs* *eggnog is spiked and poured* *Coffee brews*

    And the party continued long into the night. But it was okay. Coffee was there to wake Betsy up in the morning.  *wink, wink*

     

  • Twas The Week Before Christmas

    Twas The Week Before Christmas
    by Betsy Horvath

     
     

    Twas the week before Christmas
    And out at the mall,
    A tide of anxiety
    Threatens us all.

    The merchants are busy
    Hawking their wares,
    While parents pull out
    What’s left of their hairs.

    The sales clerks are frazzled
    And just slightly mad,
    But the stores, they are jumping
    For sales can be had!

    The music will deafen,
    And some of it sucks.
    Men shop for perfume
    And hope for good luck.

    Children scream loudly
    For this toy or that.
    Santa looks jaded
    In his red suit and hat.

    Gift cards have been purchased
    So the thought will be right.
    If only the amount wasn’t
    There in plain sight.

    There’s still cards to be written,
    And cookies to bake,
    And gifts to be wrapped up,
    And pictures to take.

    Why do we do this
    Year after year?
    Because of all of the
    Holiday cheer!

     

  • More Than A Hobby

    My mother is a wonderful artist. She paints in acryllics and oils and I think she is just brilliantly talented. Over the years she’s produced many, many beautiful things. She’s sold a lot of her work, but she’s never really broken out and made her painting more than a hobby. She’s never taken her art to the next level.

    There are a lot of reasons for that, the primary one being that she really didn’t WANT her painting to be more than a hobby. That’s absolutely fine with me. If she’s happy, I’m happy.

    But as I try to take my writing to the next step, I’m trying to figure out what really made the difference. What made my mother a comfortable hobbyist and not someone striving for more? If she wanted to take her painting to the next level, what changes in habits and attitudes would she need to have made?

    One big thing I’ve noticed is consistency. My mother never paints unless she feels like it. She can go weeks, months, or even years without lifting a paintbrush. She might produce other artistic-type things during those dry spells, but she’s not producing paintings. She’s not really practicing her art.

    And because she never paints unless she feels like painting, she’s never really learned how to produce regardless of her feelings or her life circumstances.

    I think that’s fine for a hobbyist. What’s the point of a hobby if you aren’t in the mood for it? But it seems to me that if you want to take your hobby to the next level then you need to do it whether you’re in the mood or not.

    In the same way that you go to work whether you feel like it or not, you need to practice your art – whatever that art may be – whether you feel like it or not. If you don’t go to work because you don’t feel like it, you eventually lose your job. If you don’t practice your art because you don’t feel like it, you eventually lose your art. And every time you lose it, every time you step out of the stream of consistent practice, it takes longer to get the juices flowing again.

    Believe me. I know.

    So, I’ve decided that I will touch my writing every day, whether I feel like it or not. I set a ridiculously low word-count goal for myself because the important thing at this point is not volume but consistency. I’ve been practicing this for the last two months. No matter how I feel, no matter what kind of day I’ve had, no matter what I’m worried about, I touch my writing.

    I’ve been finding that it’s working. Most days I write far more than my ridiculously low word count goal. Touching the WIP every day has kept it in the forefront of my mind and its kept the juices flowing. I highly recommend it.

    Besides, if you can be consistent over the holidays, I figure you’re golden. 😀

     

  • Just Some Thoughts On Barbie

    I used to love playing with my Barbies. My sister and I would crack their little legs and put them on my mother’s spinning wheel. We would spin the wheel and they’d go flying across the room….good times. Our Barbies and Kens would go camping and swimming and ride in their cars and even on a planes.

    When my little 6 1/2 year old niece began to show some interest in Barbie, I was excited. I looked forward to buying Barbie stuff for her.

    Then I actually tried to buy Barbie clothes.

    My choice of Barbie clothes at my local Target consisted of: ballgowns of various degrees of glitter, a set of very small, very shiny clubbing dresses, or a set with “play” clothes. This last was made up of short skirts, crop tops, high heels with leg warmers, and roller skates. That’s the set I got. At least it had roller skates.

    I admit that I didn’t comparison shop, so I can’t tell you what Barbie wardrobe choices are available at other “big box” stores.  I’m assuming that the selection I saw was fairly typical.  And it made me kind of angry, if you want to know the truth.

    The kid I was shopping for likes to go fishing with her father. She wants to ride a skateboard and play basketball. Where were Barbie’s sloppy jeans, for God’s sake? Where were t-shirts and sneakers? What does Barbie wear when she goes camping or swimming? Does she always wear Victoria’s Secret lingerie to bed? Can’t she wear a sleep shirt?

    I’m being serious here. Because what if you’re a girl who doesn’t especially want to wear sparkly little dresses and ballgowns? And then there’s this doll that’s presented as what a girl should be. And this doll mirrors what you see on television for the most part. Won’t you think that you don’t want to be a girl? Or that you’re the wrong kind of girl?

    And what if you are a girl who DOES like sparkly dresses – absolutely nothing wrong with a good sparkly dress. But if that’s the only thing you see Barbie do, then won’t you think that’s the only thing you can do? That it’s okay if you want to be a princess, but you’d better not want to be a physicist. And won’t you think there’s no way you can wear sparkly dresses AND be a physicist?

    I don’t want to offend the Barbie lovers out there.  Maybe I’m just oversensitive because I want my niece to have all of the possibilities life can offer.  But I was sad, because I really did love my Barbies.  I’m sorry she’s become so limited in the years since I was a kid.