QOTD

"Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder."

- E.B. White

U.S.A. All The Way

Hooray for the London Olympics!  Normally I'm not much of a sports fan.  I cannot tell you which channel is ESPN, however every four years I do my patriotic duty and support the U.S.A.  My favorite sports to watch are men's diving and men's water polo.  These two sports have a way of capturing my attention.  I wonder why?

And why is Rugby not in the Olympics?

It's About Family

He's a World War II vet.

He's been with his wife for 59 years.

He wants his granddaughter to get married.

And my eyes filled with salt water when he said this line: "This isn't about politics.  It's about family and how we as people treat one another."

Reunion

This weekend I joined my family at the Wise County Reunion, where families have been gathering at their "cabins" (glorified screen porches) for over 100 years during the last full week in July.  It's hot.  It's dusty.  It's a family tradition.  The Reunion builds a strong sense of community.  If you enjoy the Reunion, then you're part of the cult.  It's the first Reunion without my grandmother.  Luckily it was impossible to think sad thoughts when Presley and Paxten and my other cousins' children arrived, because they bring us so much joy!  One day will bring out own kids to Reunion.

New Dog - Attack?

My friends Nikki and the human Sarah Dooley (our daughter's namesake) sent along this little white beast.  It was an unexpected gift at an unexpected time - such a delight!  They felt like this dog was calling out my name, and needed to be in my home.  I agree.

When I first placed it on the ground Dooley was very territorial.  The hair on her back stood up as a low growl emerged from her throat.  I could see her nose working hard to absorb any identifying smells.  She finally got close to our new addition and determined she didn't need to attack.

Interestingly enough, Trigger who relies on smell (he's a sent hound) more than sight did not give this statue a second thought.  His nose told him there was not another dog in the house.

Thank you Nikki and Dooley!  XOXO.

July 2012 is my month; I'm feeling really loved, and I hope everyone experiences a month of love too!

Beautiful Mother

About a year ago, I saw this Bitossi Ceramics in Rimini Blu plater and I immediately thought of my mother.  I bought it to give to her for Christmas, but after a few months I took it out of the closest and gave the gift to myself.  (Does that make me selfish?)  I would find another Christmas gift for my mother.  When she was at the house I pointed it out as her gift that I gave myself.  She tried to steal it from my house a few times - as a joke.  This year for my birthday my mother saw the cylindrical vessel and immediately thought of me.  She bought it and gave it to me even though it would look beautiful in her house too.

I think we proved again that my mother is a better person than I am.  I think of my mother when I see these ceramics in my house.  I love it.

A Mother's Garden

My husband's mother picked flowers from her garden and brought them to us as a gift.  They are still cheering up our house with their beautiful colors.  I think there is something so special about giving away gifts you create.  My husband's mother spends hours in her thriving garden and she is sharing her success with us!

Trigger Monkey

Trigger is such a sweet dog, and when I'm out of town it always makes me smile when my husband sends me photos of the dogs.

Aurora Colorado

The shooting in the Colorado movie theater makes me sad.  I try to think about "what if" we were in that theater when the heavily armed gunman started killing people?  I try to put myself in the victims' shoes, and it's terrifying.  It's also incredibly unfair.  I am sending love to Aurora, Colorado.

My relationship with my husband multiples my joy and divides my sorrow.  When I'm sad it makes me feel better to be near my man.

Across the spectrum of time a life is just a flash in the pan.  Life is short.  Life is fragile.  For all of us just one moment separates life from death.  I think about in October when my grandmother took her last breath of air while she was surrounded by her family.  I think about my mother's dance with death in December; I think about my father's stroke a few weeks after that, and today I'm thinking about the victims in this most recent public shooting- those who survived and those who didn't. The line between life and death is incredibly fine.

I wish our society honored the brevity of life more.  We might be making life overly complicated.

In this short life I have to live I don't want to create any road blocks in the pursuit of your happiness and you shouldn't create any road blocks as I pursue my own happiness.  I wish I didn't have to spend my time fighting for marriage equality.  I wish I could legally get married to the man I love...and then continue to enjoy life in all it's gloriousness!

A Day of Love

Yesterday was my birthday, and the day started with my husband making me blueberry pancakes.  I ate eight pancakes, and then I paid for that gorging at noon yoga.   I'm 32 years old; I'm not old but I'm not young and it gave me a great deal of satisfaction to successfully practice Bikram yoga, which made me feel younger!

My brother's family, my parents, and my husband's parents came to the house for grilled fajitas and my mother's pound cake with her homemade ice cream.   It's always lovely to have a house full of family.

I live a charmed life.

Two Sissies at Sissy's

Friday night, on the eve of my birthday, my husband and I had date night!  We tried for the first time Sissy's Southern Kitchen & Bar.  My husband really enjoyed his jalapeño margarita, steak, and cheese grits.  I also enjoyed my iced tea, chicken fried steak, and fried okra.  We started the meal with delicious salads, and the portions were so grand we took home doggie bags.   The food was exceptional and the atmosphere was delightful; however, the deal breaker for me was the crowded room.  Sissy's had the tables jammed together like it was a NYC restaurant.  I could hear the surrounding table conversations, which isn't what I want to hear when I'm on a date with my husband.  Here's to hoping Sissy's moves into a larger space!

Of course, crowded tables couldn't rain on my (gay pride) parade, because date night with my husband is always a treat.

QOTD

I just saw this post on Del Shores' Facebook fan page.  (Click to enlarge.) It's brilliant.  I wish Lacey was my friend.  It's always been confusing how people so easily accept that "homosexuality is a sin" but they ignore the many other rules in the Bible.  The "cherry picking" of scripture has always confused me a little bit.

I have the same confusion when Republicans want "smaller government" except when it comes to social issues, and then Republicans want the government to tell us who can marry and what women can do with their bodies.

DAM

When I was growing up my mother was a member of DAM - Mothers Against Dyslexia.  (That's an old joke.  It still makes me smile.)

My current client, the CFO of the organization, asked me if I was dyslexic.  I'm always disappointed in myself when people ask if I'm dyslexic, because I feel like I've failed in some way to compensate for my mind.  I answered my client's question with the truth; yes, I am dyslexic.  He replied with an enthusiastic: "I can tell!"  Doh!  I guess he could also tell I was a little stressed by the question, because my client then informed me that the CEO is also dyslexic.  Booyeah!  That made me feel better.

If it were possible I wouldn't want to change who I am, because I am the man my husband loves!  He loves all of me - even my dyslexic mind.  However, sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I wasn't dyslexic.  Oh, well...and life goes on...

I Heart McDonald's

I'm a consultant, which means I'm on the road four days/three nights a week.  I want to give McDonald's a shout-out, because they offer a few choices that make it easy for me to eat healthy on the road.  I love their blueberry oatmeal, which has fresh plump blueberries mixed into the oatmeal.  The choices you make dictate the life that you live, and I try to make good food choices more often than not!

Mounted iPad

Do you know how the dentist's chair has the light and x-ray camera that swivels over your head?  I think someone needs to invent a similar devise that could swivel above my bed at home, but instead of a light the devise could hold my iPad.  I love to lay in bed and read my iPad at night, but it's uncomfortable to hold.  If my iPad was floating above my head it would be great.

Someone invent this, please!

Time and Place

You must look at Steven Gambrel's book Time & Place.  It's the most beautiful interior design book I've ever viewed.  I'm so inspired by his interiors because they are gorgeous and interesting.  (Just like my husband!)  Good design is not a luxury.  Having a soothing, inspiring, interesting home is essential to living well.

After I make my first billion, I'm going to hire Steven Gambrel to design our house!

Hallelujer!

You heteros will not understand the significance of this, but today in the mail my husband and I received the alumni magazine from our alma mater AND it was addressed to both of us! Hallelujer! Usually we get two of every catalog, magazine, junk mail, flyer, etc.  We get two of everything because on paper the world is unsure if we're roommates or husbands.  We're husbands!

I just want our relationship to be recognized, and getting mailings that include both of our names is one small step in that direction.

Again, only homos will understand how happy this makes me.  It's a great way to start the weekend.

I want to know...

...does it mean I'm addicted to coffee if at night when I'm in bed I think: 'if I go to sleep, then when I wake up it'll be morning and I can drink coffee'?  I love a good strong cup of black coffee in the morning.  I'm not addicted.  I could quit.  If I wanted to quit.  Right?

Looking Outside

My husband has turned our dinning room into his study zone, and sometimes Dooley isn't happy until she's sitting in a chair next to him.   I feel the same way as Dooley.  My husband captured these great photos of our baby girl looking out the window.

All White Garden

My goal for our front yard is to have an all-white blooming landscape.  The anchor of this vision has always been three Natchez crape myrtles to breakup our single-story roof line.   The two Natchez crape myrtles flanking our front door are thriving, but we haven't been able to get the third one to live.  Two other crape myrtles have held the third spot, but neither one has lived.   I have to have three, because everyone knows there is more beauty in odd numbers.

The third time is the charm...

My husband's mother showed up to our house looking all cute in her 1996 blue Chevy extended cab Z71 gardening pickup (the dream car of my 16 year old self) with another Natchez this weekend.  She wished me a happy earlier birthday, and gave us instructions on how to properly plant and care for this third one.  I know we'll be successful, because we've started with a younger tree and better instructions.  Plus, when we planted the tree we used expanded shell, earthworm castings, liquid seaweed, organic potting soil, and some voodoo dirt concoction my husband's mother gave us.  

If you're in our neighborhood, then stop by and bless our tree.  Maybe do a little dance around the tree? Live, live, live!

Wife, Mother, Working-girl

The short Newsweek article written by Maggie Gyllenhaal really spoke to me.  She defines the moment she realized she couldn't be good at it all: wife, mother, career.  She could only do her best.  I think about this issue often, because we want children (either via adoption or surrogacy) and since my husband will be putting his prestigious MBA to work, it will most likely be my job to focus on the children during business hours.

Like Maggie, I want to do it all.  I want to be a great husband, father, and have a career full of achievements.  However, intellectually I know I can't do it all.  My goal will be to find the balance in life.

QOTD

"It's very dear to me, the issue of gay marriage.  Or, as I like to call it: 'marriage.'  You know, because I had lunch this afternoon, not gay lunch.  I parked my car; I didn't gay park it."

Love and Marriage

I just saw that congressman Barney Frank married his longtime partner, Harry Gural, over the weekend.  Congressman Frank is 72 years old and he's found love again, which is superb.  Finding love at any age is worth celebrating.  I wish the newlyweds the best!

I wonder if we'll be 72 years old before we can legally get married in Texas?  I hope it's sooner, but I'm more than willing to keep updating this blog for the next 40 years!

Magic Mike

What's one (of the many) good things about being gay?  You can do gay things!  Haaaay!  Yesterday my mother and I had a dinner and moving outing.  Unlike her straight son, I wanted to see Magic Mike!   This film is getting really good reviews, and so my expectations were a little too high.  I liked the film, but it was very predictable.  (Guess what? Strippers have drug and alcohol problems?) I also was disappointed that Joe Manganiello (from True Blood) didn't have a bigger role in this film. Nonetheless, the price of admission alone is worth seeing Channing Tatum get out of bed nude and walk to the bathroom!  He has incredible legs.  Also, it's a little bit unbelievable that a male strip club wouldn't be over run with gay men, right?  This film had zero gay guys.

Magic Mike is a fun, sexy summer film.  Channing Tatum can act and dance.  I liked him in this film a lot.  Matthew McConaughey was the best in his role as a seedy, self-absorbed club owner.  Both my mother and I laughed out loud when he was playing the bongo drums in the nude!  (That's an Austin, Texas inside joke if you didn't get it.)

My mother and I couldn't decide who enjoyed the film more: a 56 year-old grandmother or a 31 year old gay man.  The audience was full of women of all ages and just a few men. The important thing is that my mother and I had fun together!   Mom, you can pick the next movie we see together.

Thursday July 5

Did you know that it's extremely hard to work on Thursday, July 5?  Yesterday we had so much fun at my husband's parents' lake house.  I'll post more later.  I'm struggling to focus on work, because really I want to nap, relax, and go to bed early tonight.  I'm headed to yoga to reboot myself, and maybe I'll get some work done later.  (Fingers crossed.)

I hope you had an enjoyable July 4th too.

Country Living

I just read my subscription copy of Country Living (yes, I subscribe to this magazine) and I was pleased to read about how Jesse James and Gus Anagnopoulous and their daughter Olympia transformed an old butcher shop into a house.  Their home creates beauty from ordinary items.  It's a real the-whole-is-worth-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts kinda place. Plus, as a bonus, it's nice for me to see people in the world that reflect my way of life.  One day I hope to be in a two dad and child family too!  Show me anything with two dads and a child/children and I'm completely, totally interested.

You should at least look at the photos of their house, here.