Happy Halloween-Y

For Halloween this year we're going as a baseball pitcher and catcher. One of our friends has a big costume party each year- it's tonight- and we have to go out and get all our baseball gear right now. It should be fun times.

Cougar Attacks

We were attacked by a cougar on Saturday night.

In Dallas the Gayborhood (Oak Lawn & Cedar Springs) has their humongous Halloween bash the Saturday before Halloween. It's a tad bit like walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It's an enormous crowd of people and most are in Halloween costumes. There are lots of skimpy costumes and lots of creative costumes. Halloween is the one holiday when all the heteros like to hang around the homos.

My husband and I were enjoying the costume parade from a balcony. I made the mistake of making eye contact with a 40-something very fit woman in a kitty-cat outfit. A cougar was among us. She came over to see us. She flirted with us. She hit on us. She was very drunk. She wanted to sit in my lap. We explained that we were married. To each other. She didn't seem to get it. I think she wanted to come back to our place. She kept asking what else could we do for fun. Awkward. At this point I felt like the first time I caught a catfish and had to figure out how to get the fish off the hook. It had been so long since I was hit on by a woman that I was both excited and completely lost. What do we do with this woman? Finally, my husband and I used the oldest trick in the book. We said we're going to get some drinks from the bar, and instead we left the bar.

We gave up our prime balcony real estate because we didn't want to tell a very drunk lady to leave us alone. She really wanted to be our friend. And by friend I mean lover. We figured that any cougar that comes to the Gayborhood dressed as a kitty-cat deserves kindness from the gay couple she's trying to pick up. We wouldn't want to intentionally hurt her feelings.

A Great Day.

Today the President of the United States of America signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual based on his or her sexual orientation. It is the first-ever passed federal LGBT civil rights legislation.

It's a great day for all Americans. Thank you. Our country is headed in the right direction. One day my husband and I won't be second class citizens of the great U.S.A. One day my husband and I will get the same benefits and opportunities and protection as my brother and his wife have today. One day. Thank you America. Good Bless The U.S.A!!!!!!!!

Can you motivate them to drive well?

Yesterday George W. Bush spoke in downtown Fort Worth at the Fort Worth Convention Center. He wants to be the next Zig Ziggler?! Good luck with that. I was annoyed because downtown Fort Worth was overflowing with ignorant people that didn't know how to drive or park on their way to this event. It was a cluster. My whole office was almost two hours late because of the traffic. We had to shuffle our schedules. Crazy Monday.

The one good thing to come out of this event- my boss seems to be extremely conservative- he was caught in the traffic and late too. We never spoke politics, because I figured he might fire me if I told him how much I enjoy Obama and his brain power being in the Oval Office. Yesterday, by chance, we rode the elevator up together and my boss started bashing W. and Dick Cheney. It was the best elevator ride. Apparently my boss, who is conservative in business, is a big ol' Democrat. I wanted to kiss him.

Straight Guys Doing Gay Things

There is nothing like watching straight guys doing gay things to make me laugh. You have to watch this video on YouTube called: Shawty its ur Booty

I've watched it five times today and each time it makes me laugh. Wouldn't they be a fun bunch of friends? They just go for it. Very well done. And I try to ignore the fact that someone needs to pick up and clean up their house- straight men are so dirty sometimes. Random Fact: I counted guns, a bong, and a teddy bear in the bed room, but ignore the details and just enjoy their video. Fun times!

Metastasis

"Metastasis" is not a good word. I didn't even know what it meant before this week, but I knew it wasn't a good word the moment it was spoken. I've since learned: "Metastasis is a complex series of steps in which cancer cells leave the original tumor site and migrate to other parts of the body via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system."

We ate lunch with my maternal grandmother yesterday. I didn't speak to her much. I was scared I was going to cry. I am afraid to cry in front of her. I was okay with listening to her, looking at her, hugging her, and enjoying the family lunch. Cancer sucks.

My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. When she was 60-ish she had a breast removed. She went through chemotherapy while she was still teaching 4th grade. She survived. Thrived. Life goes on. All was well for 15-ish years. And then the cancer reappeared 3.5 years ago. It couldn't be removed with surgery this time because it was embedded in her breast or below her breast. No worries. She beat it once. She can beat it again. She's 15 years older, but she's still a fighter. She was put on a hormone therapy. It worked. The cancer stopped growing, and she battled other ailments while her cancer remained silent. And then last week we found out her cancer was silent no more.

The cancer has migrated from her breast into her bones...No worries...she beat it once before...she stopped it for 3.5 years...she's older now...but she's still a fighter...we can beat this...she can beat this...I hope.

Jumping P.

When Presley is at SueSue and Poppy's house she likes to jump on the beds. Although, sometimes the iPhone camera cannot keep up with her speed.

The Tone of the Turkey

My husband makes fun of me- I think he rolls his eyes behind my back- because I enjoy a good ceramic fowl. He doesn't see the value in the seasonal decoration. He is the CFO of the family and he (for some odd reason) thinks these types of purchases are a waste of money. Odd. This beautiful turkey sits on the living room sideboard or the dinning room table from October to Thanksgiving. I think this turkey is big and beautiful with it's crackle glaze, and nothing sets the autumn tone like a big fat turkey in the room. Williams-Sonoma no longer sells these beauties, which makes me even more grateful that I made this purchase last year. I was with my mother when I made the purchase; my father and my husband try to not let my mother and me go unsupervised during a shopping trip, because we come back with $200-made-in-Italy-exclusively-for-Williams-Sonoma-ceramic-turkey type purchases.

Let the turkey remind us that it's time to start giving thanks for all the blessings in our life.

Our Slice of Time

I was listening to an interview with Gail Collins author of When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to Present. She wrote this book because during a research assignment she discovered that women of the year 1000 were treated the same as women of 1960. (They were their husband's wives; they didn't have many choices because women reared children and served their husband.) Everything changed after 1960.

During the interview Ms. Collins made a brilliant point: aren't women lucky to be living in this slice of time where they have endless choices? It's an astonishing point. Women have only gained freedom in the last 50 years? Incredible.

I parlayed this thought into the gay community. Gay men, such as me and my husband have only been free to be out and open in the past 10 to 15 years. I feel so lucky to be alive in this slice of history. We met, feel in love, had a wedding in front of our friends and family...yadda, yadda, yadda. I don't know if we'd have the same life if we were born 20 years earlier.

The world still has a long way to go. I still want to have equal rights under the federal and state laws as my brother and his wife. And sometimes I get tired of all the first I hear people say: " This is our first gay wedding." and "You're our first gay neighbors." and, "I've never had two men on the same home owners insurance policy before- this is a first." and "You're our first gay employee." and "This is the first time I've seen two guy's names on a check- are you roommates?" One day I want my gayness to not be a first. I agree, we're lucky to be living at this time, but the world still have a long way to go- that's another post another day. For this blog post, I want to be thankful that I AM living in this slice of history even if it's not perfect. I love my husband. I love my life. We're lucky to be alive at this moment in time. I guess somebody has to be first?

The End of Recession?

Trigger and I like to walk around the neighborhood, and in the past 30 days there are three houses that have been torn down along our route. After a 12-month hiatus, the tear-down/rebuild trend is back on. Does that mean the recession is over?

Mary Poppins

To celebrate my husband's mother's birthday we ate dinner at the truly amazing Abacus and then went to see Mary Poppins the musical at Fair Park. It was a memorable evening. I fulfilled a childhood dream by purchasing the Mary Poppins Parrot Head umbrella. It's sitting in the umbrella holder in our entry way. Glorious.

The first act of the musical was excellent but it was a bit bloated. I wanted them to trim one musical number. The second act zoomed and was practically perfect in every way. Lucky for us, our seats were directly under Mary Poppins departing flight path. She flew over our heads!

I watched Mary Poppins the movie numerous times as a child. I can recall seeing Mary Poppins the play at Casa Manana for our second grade class field trip. Back then I would pretend that I had Mary Poppins as a nanny and sometimes I would pretend to be Mary Poppins. Last night with my adult eyes, it wasn't the children or Mary Poppins that spoke to me. This time I could relate most to the father, George Banks, as he struggled with his priority of making money vs. focusing on his family. I supposed that's why it such a great work; a familiar story can hold my attention in a new way.

Happy Birthday Mom/PLW!

Today is my husband's mother's birthday! A day that must be celebrated! Hooray for the birthday girl! We had a white cake with pineapple cream filling- just like she likes it!

Dallas Swells

It's TX/OU weekend in Dallas. We live in Lakewood, which is east Dallas, and the streets are full of cars, the bars are full of drinkers, and the restaurants are full of eaters. The City of Dallas- or at least my part of the city- is full of Longhorns and Sooners. It's an exciting place to be.

I am so happy that we won the game. When I was at UT we only won my freshman year- so beating OU feels especially good to me.

Pear Preserves

My almost-grandparents, Glenda and Gene, used to give us pear preserves. I love the simple taste of pears and sugar. I don't like cinnamon or nutmeg or lemon or any other flavors in my pear preserves. I just want to enjoy sweet pear goodness like Glenda and Gene used to make.

Today I made pear preserves for the first time. I am so excited. I think I can improve my recipe the next time...but right now I have 12 jars of deliciousness I plan to enjoy and share with friends.

It's fall in Texas!

Presley hopes you're enjoying the cool fall weekend.

Dish Wisdom

Thank you Cousin Kate. Over four years ago when we were planning our wedding we had dinner with Cousin Kate and her husband Jason. She told us at the time not to register for Pottery Barn dishes because their Pottery Barn dishes had started to chip.

My grandparents still use the everyday dishes they have owned for years, because they picked a timeless white set of dishes. I wanted dishes that would last like my grandparent's dishes have lasted.

Armed with the wisdom from Cousin Kate and my grandparents we registered at Williams-Sonoma and asked for 12 place settings of Apilco Tres Grande dinnerware. They are a timeless white that can be dressed up or dressed down depending on the table-scape. It's been over 3 years since our wedding, and we love these dishes as much today as ever. We do not have any chips or cracks.

One of my colleagues who was married in November 2008 told me on Friday that her Pottery Barn dishes had started to chip. If only she had a cousin Kate, then she would have known to go with the Apilco dinnerware.

Elephant Mother Brings Her Calf to Life

You must watch this YouTube video of a mother elephant giving birth (warming: it is graphic) This clip amazes me on many levels. First, the mother elephant makes giving birth seem easy. There is no yelling or hollering or what-not-drama. The mother elephant makes it seem like it's a normal part of her day to give birth even though elephant gestation is 22 months. Second, I am touched at her distress when the baby is not breathing. How does she know to kick it? How does she know to pull on it's trunk with her trunk? It is touching. Animals are amazing. Animals give me hope.

The only problem I have with this video is that the stupid humans put a pregnant elephant on concrete instead of some softer dirt or sand or hay. It seems like a harsh way to enter the world- hitting concrete. If only it could have been a bed of roses or something special for this little girl. At least she didn't have to worry about lions or tigers or bears...

Pillow Talk

Today during a conversation about good health I heard that you're supposed to change your bedroom pillows every two years. They said dust mites reproduce in your pillows. Really? I mean really- every two years?!

First, a good quality Pacific Coast luxury down pillow cost $160. I cannot afford to replace my pillows every two years, and I cannot soundly sleep on cheap pillows. Second, I started thinking about when I purchased my current pillows. All of my pillows are five years old or older. I have one pillow saved from Granny's house, I saved it because it smells like Granny's house, and Granny died in 1992.

Ticket Talk

I'm a proud Gay P1 of Dallas' sports radio station The Ticket. I love The Hardline show. I get annoyed if anyone schedules meetings at 3 during their opening shtick "Why Today Doesn't Suck" and I also enjoy their Entertainment News segment at 4:45. I ignore the sports talk. I enjoy the fun and games of Mike, Corby, Danny, and Grubes.

The midday show is called Bad Radio and every Tuesday they have a segment called Gay/Not Gay. Straight guys email and phone into the show and describe situations and ask if it makes them gay. At first I thought the homophobia was offensive. The straight guys don't want to be called gay. I'm gay. However, after awhile I started to find the Gay/Not Gay amusing. It's funny to listen to guys describe what their friend did and asks if it makes them gay.

I'm thinking about hosting a Straight/Not Straight segment. That way my husband could email and phone into the show and ask if trying to watch all six seasons of Entourage in two weeks makes him straight?!

Is my husband still gay?

My husband has recently discovered HBO's Entourage. He loves the show. I am getting neglected because he loves this show so much he's trying to catch up on all six seasons. I know lots of people that love Entourage, but the problem is none of them are gay. Is my husband still gay? I'm worried he's turning hetero.

One is much deeper than the other

I painted one swatch of Benjamin Moore's Polo Blue on our white kitchen door. I painted another swatch of Benjamin Moore's Deep Royal Blue on the other half of the door. I asked my husband which color he liked the most. He looked at the doors. He looked at me. He looked at the doors. Then he asked; "Is there a difference? Aren't those the same color?"

I then quoted one of my favorite movies: "My colors are blush and bashful. One is much deeper than the other."

My husband still thinks I painted the same color twice.

When you have a gay son, you do gay things

On Saturday my father and I went to First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas. Canton is a 100-acre flea market with vintage finds, arts and crafts, and some new stuff in the mix. I love the hunt that I experience at Canton- you never know what you'll find or see. My Aunt Jan used to take me to Canton when I was young. I always think of her when I'm there. I am a fan of Canton.

My father is not necessarily a fan of Canton. I knew we were in trouble when he asked if I ever noticed the ratio of women to men is 15 to 1. Canton is full of Dallas housewives that take girl trips to Canton. Most guys don't like Canton. However, my father wanted to spend time with me. He takes my brother (his hetero son) hunting and he take me (his gay son) shopping at a flea market. My father just likes to hang out with his sons. It was a great day.

Cream Cheese Pie

One week ago the husband and I hosted a small dinner party. The hubby made his made-from-scratch delicious and unique pizza and we served it with a bountiful salad. For dessert- there must always be dessert- I whipped together my mother's cream cheese pie and served it with fresh berries, which had soaked in fresh lime juice. I love the taste of berries and lime.

My mom made this pie my whole life. It's easy: whip 5 (free-range/cage-free) eggs, whip 3 packages of Philadelphia cream cheese, mix the whipped eggs and the whipped cream cheese, and then add 1 cup of sugar and a heavy-handed splash of Mexican vanilla. Easy. Pour the mixture into a graham cracker crust- try this one embedded in this Mar-a-Lago's key lime pie recipe, here. Put the pie in a warm oven (250 degrees) for 1 hour, cool and then refrigerate.

The uneaten pie haunted me all week. I couldn't throw it away, because it's so delicious. I didn't want to eat it, because it has a billion calories. When my husband returned from a week of business travels we celebrated with a week-old pie. It's so good!!!

Banana Leaf Wallpaper - Beautiful.

Out 1980 house came with some bad 1990 wallpaper in the kitchen and breakfast nook. It's expensive to take down the wallpaper, match the texture of the rest of the house on the walls, and then paint the walls. I've been on the prowl for some nice wallpaper for about a year, and although I've never consider myself a wallpaper person I've found this greatness.

"Considered one of the most famous wallpapers created. This classic wallpaper specified for the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1942 is a true classic."