Josh Elliott

I enjoy original art.  This month I discovered artist Josh Elliott and since that discovery I've looked at his work on the Claggett/Rey Gallery website almost every day.  These are three of my favorites.

I tried to convince my husband that I needed the middle painting (with the cows), it's spectacular to see in person, but he thinks owning original art is not a necessity at this point in our life.  We're hoarding dollars for a baby!

Happy Birthday Honey! Hooray for Today!

Today is my husband's birthday.  I'm so excited that I want to jump around and celebrate!  Hooray for my husband!  I love him so very much!

Oscar Party

Our friends Dave and Myranda came over for an Oscar dinner party last night.  My husband grilled steaks, we served mashed potatoes, green salad, broccoli salad, carrots au gratin, and my mother's cream cheese pie with fresh berries for dessert.   It was an Oscar party, but we did not watch the Oscars.  (We never got around to it.)  We sat and talked, ate dinner, and talked some more.  It was a lovely night.

Marine Homecoming

This photo makes my heart sing with happiness.  What if you were a U.S. Marine who's served three deployments?  What if you were a soldier that fought in war and finally got to go home?  Of course you'd hug and kiss and jump in the arms of your partner.   I love that in 2012 a soldier (who defends our freedom) is free to express himself at a homecoming.

More vía Towleroad.

Ice Cream In February

My husband also always asks my mother to make her homemade ice cream for his birthday, and normally she "rain checks" his request until the summer.  Normally, she says it's too cold to make homemade ice cream in the winter!  However, this year she surprised my husband with ice cream in February!  She made him feel special.

My brother was in charge of the birthday cake, and he picked a "Disney Princess" cake because he knew our nieces would love it!  And my husband's happy if Presley and Paxten are happy.

Sweet and Sour Night

My husband's birthday is this week and he always asks my father to make sweet and sour chicken stir fry.  Last night we celebrated with my parents, my brother's family, my aunt, my grandfather, and my cousin.  It was a fun family dinner.  And my dad makes the best sweet and sour chicken.

Make Your Own Fun

Today was a beautiful day in Dallas; the sun was bright, the sky was clear and the temperature was warm.  I hope my plants don't think it's already spring- stay dormant plants!   It's still winter.  The day was so beautiful that my boss went to play golf with a few of his good 'ol boys in our office.  My team wasn't invited.  That's okay, because my boss wasn't invited to the after lunch movie outing my team went on.

We can make our own good 'ol boy office network.  We went and saw Safe House in the middle of the afternoon.  It's a really good movie.  If you enjoyed the Jason Bourne movies, then you'll enjoy this one too.  Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington are excellent actors.

12 Minutes of Must Listen Howard

You have to listen to this audio clip from Howard Stern's radio show.  (Language warning.)  He's a straight person that really understands the plight of gay people in the U.S.A. in 2012.  Thank you Howard Stern.

Heteros for Same-Sex Equality

I just discovered Heterosexuals for Same-Sex Equality, and it made my heart smile from within.  Check out more of the photos here, and if you're on Facebook join their group!

High Times

One of our newest friends is leaving Dallas and moving to Hawaii.  As a goodbye gift, we wanted to take him out to dinner one last time.  We drove to the house he's been living at and sent him a text that we were in the driveway.  We waited a few moments before our friend came outside.  He came outside, opened our car door, sat inside our car, and as soon as he shut the door our entire car smelled like marijuana.   My husband and I looked at each other.  And I giggled a little bit as I pointed a air vent to my nose.

For dinner our friend wanted to try Pappadeaux Seadfood Kitchen, because one of his ex girlfriends always talked about that place and he'd never tried it.

It was a happening night at Pappadeaux.  Our friend ordered the special appetizers of almost two pounds of the crawfish boil.  He also ordered the special entree of grilled Costa Rican mahi-mahi topped with lobster and avocados. For dessert he ordered chocolate fudge cake with ice cream and a glass of milk.  He had my leftovers boxed up, because he wanted to take them home!

It was like the man hadn't eaten all year.  It was fun to watch, expensive to pay for, but he made the night more interesting!  I highly recommend taking one of your friends out to dinner to an expensive restaurant, while they're high- it's funny!

Two Men and a Baby/Babies

I just had a thirty minute conversation with my buddy Adam.   He and his partner are in the process of having a baby via surrogacy.  I didn't realized how badly I was infected with "baby fever" until I had a hard time containing my excitement when Adam told me they've 1) deposited sperm at the clinic, 2) picked out an egg donor, and 3) have identified a surrogate.  On the current timeline they could have a baby before Christmas 2012.  I'm so excited!

Thanks Dad

While we were skiing last week my dad was overseeing a 130,000 mile tune-up on my 2004 Toyota 4Runner.  Thanks Dad!  I've slowly come to the conclusion that buying a car and driving it until the wheels fall off is financially the smartest approach to handling vehicles.   I want a new car, but I don't want to pay for it!  So I'll keep driving my 4Runner...and this tune-up gives me peace-of-mind.  I can drive with confidence!

We Are All the Same

Wow.  I just finished watching Part 1 and 2 of  Oprah's America's Hidden Culture.  It was an incredible two hour exploration of Brooklyn's Hasidic Jewish community.  It's obvious that Hasidic Jews are spiritual beings having a human experience.  Their culture is all about a shared set of Godly values.  It was remarkable.

You know what else is remarkable?  It became crystal clear to me that the two gay guys living life in all its glorious in Dallas, Texas have a lot in common with the Hasidic Jewish family living in Brooklyn, New York.  I too care deeply about my family, friends, and community.  I too hope my family, friends, and community leave this earth better than they found it.  I too have a loving, committed, partnership with my spouse.

I was surprised when Oprah asked "what if" they had a child that was different; what if you had a gay child?  The women couldn't even answer the question because it was so unspeakable?  However, after a bit of awkwardness, one mother said if her child was different, then she would love them the same.  

This show reminded me of one of the great lessons in life (the lesson I'm trying to communicate in this blog) that at our core all people have more in common than not in common.

So why do we focus so much time on our differences?

Randy Roberts Potts

You must read this article in Details, The Amazing Story of the Televangelist and his Gay Grandson, especially if you grew up in and around middle America.


Randy Roberts Potts is traveling around with a performance piece, and his mission is very similar to the mission of this blog:

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"The idea is to show the neutral, domestic side of gay couplehood—the 99 percent of quotidian gay life, according to Randy, that's identical to straight life. "It's a visual that people haven't ever really seen in conservative towns," he explains. "A lot of people immediately jump to images of sex or a pride parade. Well, here's another visual. This is what gay couples look like when we're together as a couple in love. There's really nothing to watch, and I want to leave people with that impression. Psychologically, visual images like that go a lot deeper."

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Who knew that Oral Roberts' grandson and I would have something in common?  Life is so unpredictable.

Activist Governor?

Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have legalized same sex marriage in New Jersey.

Republicans are on the losing side of history; they need to stop being anti-gay.  Seriously.  Am I the only one that sees this?

Doesn't anyone realize what's going on?  In California when the majority voted to not give the minority equal rights (Proposition 8); Republicans cheered.  And in California when judges determined it was illegal for the majority to take away the rights of the minority; Republicans whined about "activist judges."

This week when the New Jersey state congress passed a bill that would have given ALL of its residents equal rights to marry the person they love, which was subsequently vetoed by Gov. Christie no one whined about an "activist governor."

Gone to Grandparents House

Trigger Monkey and Sarah Dooley stayed with their Susu and Poppy (my parents) while we were skiing in Vail.  Last night we picked them up.  Trigger was beyond thrilled to see his two dads and he was determined to not let us get out of his sight again.  Dooley, on the other hand, was excited to see us but I think she would have been fine if we hadn't loaded her up in the car and brought her back to Dallas.  Dooley loves staying with my parents.  She has more land to explore, and she appears to be in-charge of the household.

Three stories from their week:

While my mother was walking on her treadmill Dooley jumped on and was immediately thrown from the treadmill.  My mother cannot tell this story without laughing.

While Trigger was sleeping on the couch his sister (Dooley) jumped on his head.  This caused a big ruckus between the two of them, and was the only "drama" reported from the week.  My mother defends Trigger's aggression, because he was sound asleep when Dooley jumped on his head.  My mother also defends Dooley's jump, because she wasn't able to see where she was jumping because she's so little.

My mother announced that she is going to have to buy a new couch.  I asked why?  She said because Trigger and Dooley spend all their time sleeping on or digging in her couch and it is destroying it.  (Of course it didn't occur to my mother that she could establish a no dogs on the couch household rule.  Isn't she a good Susu?)

Jack In the Box

Remember when I posted about how the Jack in the Box Marry Bacon ad was getting under my skin?  Apparently I'm not the only one, and a reader submitted this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Jack-in-the-Box-Marry-Bacon-is-anti-HUMAN-Rights/275634765839239

Robert Lougheed

I love art.   Looking at art relaxes my brain. Yesterday, after skiing I tooled around the art galleries in Vail all by my lonesome.  I discovered Robert Lougheed (1910-1982) at the Claggett/Rey Gallery.  This painting, Canada Geese Passing, is beautiful to see with your own eyes.  The detail is spectacular.

When I win the lottery, I'm going to buy this painting.

Two Guys on Valentine's Day

One great thing about being gay and having a husband is that we're both guys.  We think like guys.  It's hard for either one of us to take Valentine's Day seriously.  We try, but we both shrug our shoulders at the effort.  I tried to start a Valentine's Day gift exchange, but my husband (the CFO of the family) vetoed the gift exchange idea.  (I was falsely accused of scheming to just get more stuff.) 

It was sweet to see our brother-in-law give roses, chocolate covered strawberries, and a card to my husband's sister this morning.

We have plans for a fancy dinner tonight too.

And we celebrate our love for each other every day.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Lobster and Bacon Sandwich

For lunch I had a lobster and bacon sandwich with white truffle butter and sea salt fries.  It was delicious.   So delicious that I felt like it deserved its own post.

Family Tradition

Our nephew, Owen, is 3-years-old.  And since he was born into my husband's family he is placed on top of the mountain and taught to ski down to the bottom.  It was so much fun to watch.

On our future adoption application we'll have to tell the birth mother: "Your child will learn to ski at 3-years-old; it's a family tradition."

No Choice

We're in Vail with my husband's side of the family tree.  We were VIP spectators at a few events of the Teva Mountain Games: ski jumping, snow bike jumping, and ski boot running.  It was crazy fun to watch.

We're mostly skiing and spending time together.  I've stated before on this blog that my husband has been skiing every year since he was 3-years-old.  He is phenomenal. I am the least experienced skier in our crew with only approximately 4 years of ski trips under my belt.  However, I can keep up with the crew.  Everyone keeps complimenting me on my skiing. 

Isn't it amazing what we can do when we do not have a choice?  I never had any other option.  I had to learn how to ski good enough where I could keep up with the family; otherwise, I'd be left behind.

Equal Sons

The world is changing, for the better.  I had a teary-eyed moment on Saturday night.  I shall summarise: We met a couple with two teenage sons, and when their youngest son was 16 he was really into Glee.  So the father asked his son: "I know everything about you, but I don't know your sexuality.  Are you gay?"

The son confirmed that indeed he was gay.  The father, mother, and brother all confirmed that indeed being gay was okay.  All three of the men in the family went out to get the same equal sign tattoo on their arm.  The tattoo was a physical representation of their family value: equality for all. 

The gay son is now a senior in high school and he is thriving.  I congratulated the mother and the father on having a gay son.  I told them their son was lucky to have such supportive parents  The father corrected me: "No, we're lucky to have him as our son."

(I have something in my eye.  In both eyes.  No, those aren't tears.)

Hooray Washington State

"Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed."

This is so exciting.

Marry Bacon? No.

It's important to not take life too seriously.  This I believe.  But still, every time the Jack in the Box marry bacon commercial comes on it annoys me immensely.  I don't have the freedom to marry the person I love.  Marriage is not a joke to me.  Plus, my head explodes when ignorant people say things like: if a man can marry a man, then what will keep him from marrying a goat/dog/horse?  I can just hear them now: if a man can marry a man, then what will keep him from marrying bacon?

I try not to take life too seriously, but still...

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

We gave our nieces chocolate covered strawberries, and they both loved them.  Presley ate the entire strawberry, but Paxten would only eat most of the chocolate off her strawberry and then hand it back and ask for another one.

QOTD

"Like smallpox and whiskey, homophobia was a Western import, codified once the U.S. and Canada became nations."

- Jon Roth

As you know I'm 1/32 Cherokee, which is why I liked this article in Out: A Tribe Called Queer, In the Native American community, two spirits can be better than one.

Marnie vs Marine

At work, last week, I read something aloud and incorrectly read "Marnie" (as in a woman's name) instead of "Marine" (as in the U.S. Forces).  My team made fun of me because I followed the oopsie with the statement: "That doesn't make sense, why does that say 'Marnie?'"  My team corrected me.

I was first diagnosed with dyslexia when I was in the third grade.  I went to special classes in fourth and fifth grade to learn how to learn with dyslexia.  It was a low point in college when I realized I would never "out grow" dyslexia; I was twenty before I realized I'd never "catch up" and be "normal."  

I never, ever tell anyone at work I have dyslexia because I don't want it to be perceived as a weakness, an excuse, a crutch.  But sometimes it gets to me.

Lucky for me, today The New York Times had an article by Annie Murphy Paul titled The Upside of Dyslexia

Thank you Annie Murphy Paul.  I needed that.

Flue

Last night we were watching our nieces while my brother and his wife went out on a date night.  We had just gotten the girls in bed upstairs, and since I was chilly downstairs I fired up their gas fireplace.   Ten minutes later their fire alarm (which is tied to their burglar alarm) was loudly beeping in every single room in their house.  I mean every single room in their house was beeping.  Every single room.

After we got the alarm off, the fire off, the widows up, and the girls back in bed, my husband looked at me and said: "Did you open the flue before you started the fire?"

Hooray for Blue

This is magical.  It's like Williams-Sonoma created the perfect mixing bowls, prep mixing bowls, and place mats for our house.  Look at those beautiful blues!

Williams-Sonoma Associate: "These are the best mixing bowls."
Me: "I know, I bought them in orange five years ago."
Williams-Sonoma Associate: "Oh no, did they break?" (She was concerned.)
Me: "No."
Williams-Sonoma Associate: "Oh, are these a gift? Do you need a gift receipt?"
Me: "No."
Willams-Sonoma Associate: "Oh, these are for you? Do you need another set?"
Me: "You sound like my husband.  I don't need them; I want these because they are blue."
(She laughed.)

Trigger's Spot

When I wake up in the morning Trigger Monkey likes to jump in the bed and take my spot.  I think it's funny when I see my husband and Trigger sleeping next to each other with both their heads sticking out of the covers.

Agreed, It's Time

My brother sent this YouTube video to me, and you absolutely must watch it.  It's brilliant.

QOTD

Today's quote-of-the-day is from an Op-Ed in Sunday's New York Times by Frank Bruni titled Genetic or Not, Gay Won’t Go Away:
"We don’t need to be born this way to refute the ludicrous assertion that homosexuality poses some special threat to the stability of the American family. We need only note that heterosexuality — as practiced by the likes of Newt Gingrich and John Edwards, for example — isn’t any lucky charm, and yet no one’s trying to heal the straights...

"I honestly have no idea if I was born this way. My memory doesn’t stretch to the crib. 

"But I know that from the moment I felt romantic stirrings, it was Timmy, not Tammy, who could have me walking on air or wallowing in torch songs and tubs of ice cream. These feelings gelled early, and my considerable fear of society’s censure was no match for them. 

"I know that being in a same-sex relationship feels as central and natural to me as my loyalty to my father, my pride in my siblings’ accomplishments and my protectiveness of their children — all emotions that I didn’t exit the womb with but will not soon shake. 

"And I know that I’m a saner, kinder person this way than trapped in a contrivance or a lie. Surely that’s not just to my advantage but to society’s, too."