Weekend highlights

We had a schizophrenic weekend: Sat we were on the go the entire day and Sun we didn't leave the house.

Sat was all about the parties:
Party #1: Mark's birthday breakfast, 9am-12noon
Spouse & I were up by 7am getting ready for my birthday breakfast party. We'd done most of the prep on Fri night, but needed to bake the sausage/egg/cheese casseroles and the french toast casseroles, pick up the bagels and scones from Surf Bagel, and put on the finishing touches. We had 14 for breakfast and had a terrific time! This really made up for my horrible day on my actual birthday.

Party #2: George & Steve's Tree Trimming, 1-4pm
They were the 1st people we met after moving to DE. Through their annual tree trimming party where everyone helps unpack and hang all their ornaments on their 2 trees we met several of the folks who are now our friends, too. They've been together nearly 30 years so they've collected a LOT of ornaments. Afterward there's food, drinks, and conversations; always a good time.

Party #3: Jason's birthday dinner, 6:30-11pm
Jason's birthday was 2 days after mine but his partner Chris arranged a birthday dinner on Sat at their home. The food was great and the friends we visited with were among our favorites. Kevin brought a home made chocolate chunk cake with chocolate icing that was practically orgasmic. We hated to leave at 9:30 but we still had another party to attend.

Party #4: Craig & Mike's Holiday Open House, 7-11pm
We arrived at about 9:30 and stayed about an hour. We could really feel our long day catching up with us, but it was nice of Craig & Mike to invite us. Since we'd been eating all day we didn't have any room left to sample their goodies, but you know I always have room for a pomegranate martini! Craig & Mike had 7 (yes, 7) theme-decorated Christmas trees in their house! We thought it might be because they have an 8 year old son who loves Christmas, but they confessed it was really all for them!

It was a really FUN day, but us old-timers were absolutely beat when we got home at 11pm.

Sun we slept in since we had no plans for the day, and because it was raining and very windy outside. We pretty much decided early on that we weren't leaving the house so neither of us got dressed. We stayed in our comfy flannel pj pants the entire day, which I consider to be one of life's under-rated luxuries. We snacked on left-overs from Saturday's breakfast.

We watched TV for a while, we spent a little time on the computer, I unloaded the dishwasher (from Saturday's breakfast) and then loaded it with the casserole dishes and coffee pots, wiped down the counters, then put on some Christmas music and finished writing/addressing/sealing/stamping the other 1/2 of our holiday cards. Spouse helped me with the last batch of cards. Then we ordered delivery pizza and ate it while watching 60 Minutes. Then I went upstairs to watch "White Christmas" (I love that movie) while Spouse watched crap. He later joined me for the last 1/3 of "White Christmas" and wished he would have watched the whole thing.

So Sun we never got dressed, never left the house, and didn't cook a thing. It was divine.

Crush du Jour: JC Vazquez

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

My friend Marty sent me this and I got a chuckle out of it.

I was off work today. I have leave I needed to use or loose so I took today off. I ran a few errands (post office, bank, etc.) and signed/addressed Christmas cards. I got about 1/2 of my list done and in the mail.

I saw these photos over on Bob's blog and just had to repost them!

You KNOW none of her friends can complete with her holiday spirit.

I must have gotten this photo and its accompanying story from 25 different people this week!

What do you get for that person on your holiday gift list who has everything? THIS!! Or, maybe THIS!!

My friend Jared sent me this, and I've since seen it on a few other blogs, too. Love it!

By now you've heard that NY voted down the marriage equality bill, but did you hear the speech given by Senator Diane Savino? Its concise, its logical, its truthful, and its wonderful. I'm in love with this woman! And although gay New Yorkers are likely still smarting over the loss, at least they can feel good that they have such an ally in Senator Savino.

Jared sent me this and I love it, too!

My friend Lisa sent me this article about a couple who live in the smallest apartment in Manhattan - just 175 square feet! I love this! I realize that may sound insane coming from a man who lives in a house about 23 times the size of their apt, but its true. Small spaces force you to only keep what you can't live without. No collections, no clutter. Its liberating. And to own an apt in Manhattan in just 2 years, giving them money to travel, eat out, etc is a fabulous concept. I think I could do it!! Not with Spouse; but I could do it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Crush du Jour: Seth McFarlane

Snowman humor

Many of you have already had some snowfall this winter, including Texas! So I thought I'd share with you these great snowman cartoons that I enjoyed a lot. Click on each one to enlarge. Enjoy!

Crush du Jour: Julian Fantechi

Worst. Day. Ever.

So, Mon was my birthday. I was hoping for a typical, 'normal' Mon at work, which would allow me to check Facebook at least 150 times to read birthday messages from friends, followed by a delightful evening driving Big Ella in the Hometown Christmas parade in Rehoboth Beach.

But such was not in the cards for me that day.

While taking Jordan for her morning walk around the block, she decided to poop in front of a neighbor's house, which is not the end of the world since I always pick up after her with a plastic bag, but I prefer she not do it directly in front of someone's house. But she did, and as she was pushin' one out, the neighbor's door opened and she and her 2 young boys came out of house. The mom reminded the boys that they had seem me the night before in the Lewes parade, but the 2 boys were riveted on Jordan's pooping. A bomb could have gone off and they wouldn't have noticed. With my plastic bag over my hand I leaned over to pick up the poop. But that b*tch cranked her head around and tried to eat her poop in front of the neighbors!

She got 1/2 of it in her mouth before I could yank her leash (I was bent over) and shout at her, all in front of the neighbor and her 2 young sons, in front of their house. The neighbor tried to distract the boys and told them to go ahead and jump in the car and buckle up, and I wished them a fun day at school. For the 1/8 of a second that I took my eyes off of Jordan to wave to the boys, she walked around in front of me and spit out the poop. Since she was in front of me I deduced that she was now ready to continue her walk, so I began to walk, and stepped right in the poop.

Happy birthday!!

I tried to clean my shoe as best I could with the inside of the poop bag so I wouldn't track it all over the neighborhood, but it was of no use. I was so mad I practically dragged her home, cleaned my shoe, and told her she wasn't getting any milkbones because she tried to eat her poop. Trust me, she understands a lot more than she lets on.

So I start working and things are bad right away. A client wanted to change something minutes before their launch, which took place before my work day began. I get a handle on things, explain what can/can't be done now, etc. Then client #2 called while I'm still on the phone with client #1, and left a lengthy voice mail about how they've all but lost confidence that their program will go smoothly due to all the problems they've had. Because I'm unable to return the call right away, client #2 calls 2 of my colleagues and whines to them about it, blowing everything out of proportion and making me look bad. I literally spent 1/2 my day calming them down, gently explaining that everything was okay, and assuring them their event would be fine, etc.

Meanwhile, its now after 1:00 and I haven't eaten anything all day, and I get an email from Finance telling me I have until 3:00 to complete my part of a financial project. I estimate I just might be able to get it done in time if I don't stop to do anything else, like read/respond to emails, eat, or use the bathroom. I work as quickly and accurately as I possibly can and make it just under the deadline. Its now 3:00, I still haven't eaten, but I take a minute to go to the bathroom before jumping back on the phone with client #2 who'd already monopolized 1/2 my day. I finish with them at 4:00 and remind myself that the detail shop (where Big Ella is waiting, all clean and shiny) closes at 5:00 so I must get there before 5:00.

Spouse comes home and takes me over to the detail shop at 4:45. Big Ella looks tres fab and I go inside to pay. As I hand the guy my card I see that I have a spot on the front of my jacket. 'Hmm, what's this?' I wonder to myself. Oh... my... god. Its dog poop, on my jacket, as I'm trying to pay for Big Ella's wash-n-wax.

Happy birthday!!

As I exit the detail shop I check the time and feel OK. I've got 1 hour to go home, grab a quick bite to eat, pick out a different jacket, put the batteries in the lighted wreath and attach it to Big Ella's grill, and get to the parade line-up spot. I should be fine.

I turn the key in the ignition and Big Ella cur-wurs a few times but doesn't start. I'm not panicking yet because cars built before electronic ignition usually take longer to start. I try again and the cur-wurs get slower and weaker. Now I'm starting to panic. The guys from the detail shop come out and we agree they'll connect their portable battery charger to my battery so I can get her started and not drain my battery. This still doesn't work. I realize that even if I get Big Ella started now with assistance, I won't be able to turn her off. Besides, I'd need to get more gas if I were to have her engine running for 2-3 hours, but I can't turn off the engine at the gas station with confidence that she'll start again. I try a couple more times to start her but she cur-wurs weakly and the detail shop guys shake their heads. It becomes clear that driving her in the parade is not going to happen.

Happy birthday!!!

I called Spouse who came and picked me up and continued to ask me questions like "What's the matter?" "Why won't she start?" "Is there any gas in there?" "Do you want to try and jump start her with my car?" "What do you think the problem is?" Trying hard to choke back my anger, frustration, and disappointment I calmly said "I don't know. I'm not a mechanic. We'll have to have her towed to a mechanic to find out what's wrong."

So my hope for a typical, 'normal' Mon at work with plenty of time to check Facebook and read emails, followed by a delightful time driving Big Ella in the Christmas parade went to hell in a hand basket.

The one thing I thought would make up for having such a horrible day was to drive Big Ella in that parade. Now the day appeared to have no hope of redemption what-so-ever. I was so thoroughly distraught I couldn't see straight.

It was unequivocally my worst birthday ever.

The only thing that 'saved' the day from being a complete and total disaster was my friends. Since I was supposed to be in the parade, I declined an invitation to join some friends for burgers, but Spouse had accepted. Now that I was suddenly 'available' I joined Spouse and the gang for burgers and conversation. We talked and laughed enough to coax me down from the ledge.

Tues morning I called roadside assistance and arranged for a flatbed truck to carry Big Ella to the mechanic's shop. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.

Crush du Jour: Joe Cada

Weekend highlights

We arrived at Spouse's mom's house in VA at about 9:00 Fri night and visited with her until bedtime.

Sat morning we picked up my aunt Mary and headed to Kerry & Hugh's for the Manassas Christmas parade. It was raining when we picked up Mary, but it changed over to snow by the time we got to Kerry & Hugh's. It was the wet snow that hangs heavily in the trees. It really was beautiful! We wondered if they'd call off the parade due to the weather, but they didn't, and the scene couldn't have been more picturesque.

I forgot my camera so I got these photos from my friend Liz. (All photos will expand when clicked.) Here's one of several high school marching bands.
Notice how they all have on clear plastic to keep their uniforms from getting wet, but still allowing the uniforms to be seen. I loved that!

Here is me, Kelly, Spouse (clutching his non-existent pearls), and aunt Mary watching the parade from Kerry & Hugh's front porch. The parade goes right down their street.

Here's one of many floats.

Here are some folks on horses.

They had a teenager follow them with a poop-scoop so the parade contingents that followed wouldn't step in anything.

One of the parade sponsors gave out these funny elf hats to everyone, so Spouse donned his for this photo op.

Aint he a cutie?

The parade ran from 10:00-12:00 and we hung around for a little while afterward and visited. Then we stopped for lunch on our way out of town, then headed back to Spouse's mom's house.

My aunt Mary and I visited with Spouse's mom while Spouse went to his sister's house and made home made ravioli. His sister will freeze them and then we'll have them for dinner on Christmas day. Making pasta with his sister is a Christmas tradition Spouse really enjoys.

When he returned he took a short nap (of course) and then we all got ready to go out for Spouse's mom's birthday dinner (3 weeks early, not that I'm still bitter). All 5 of her children were there, along with most spouses and grandchildren. She chose Bonefish Grill which was very crowded. Despite having made a reservation several days in advance, we still had to wait almost 20 minutes to be seated. I had Lily's Chicken and thought it was fine; definitely not as exciting as the ingredients implied. But the service was excellent. Afterward we all went back to her house and visited. Spouse & I took aunt Mary back to her place.

Sun morning Spouse's sister came over and the 3 of us and his mom went out to breakfast, then did a little shopping at the Home Goods and World Market stores, which we like a lot but do not have here in DE. Literally for years Spouse has been looking for lightweight (not stoneware) plain white dishes, and we finally found them at Home Goods: 12 dishes in a box for $19.99, so we got 2 boxes. These will be great when we have holiday dinners and dinner parties. We also got a very cute ottoman for our dressing room, on clearance for $36. All in all it turned out to be a very productive shopping expedition.

We left Spouse's mom's just before 2:30 and got home just before 5:00. I fired up Big Ella so I could drop her off at the detail shop so she could get a wash-n-wax on Mon, in preparation for being in the Hometown Christmas Parade in Rehoboth Beach Mon evening. But as we headed out we saw that the road was blocked by a police barricade. The Lewes Christmas parade had been postponed from Sat evening to Sun evening due to heavy rain and wind. So I circled around and made my way to the start of the parade and got one of the officers to let me join the Christmas parade which had just started! Big Ella wasn't particularly shined up, nor was she decorated for Christmas, but onlookers seemed to appreciate her just the same. She received lots of compliments and accolades, and it was really fun.

Afterward, Spouse followed me to the detail shop where we left Big Ella, then we went to the store, had dinner at Ledo Pizza, and returned home to watch a little TV before going to bed early.

Crush du Jour: John Salutare

Monday, Monday...

Work has been a BEAR today, and not the hot/hairy kind either, so my ultra-exciting weekend highlights will be postponed until tomorrow's post. I know, I can hear the disappointment in your sighs, but it simply can't be helped.

Immediately after work Big Ella & I will be heading over to line up for the Hometown Christmas Parade in Rehoboth Beach.

Oh yeah, today's my birthday.

Crush du Jour: Charlie Cox

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

I haven't started my holiday cards yet, but I received my 1st Christmas card/photo already. Its from Tiger Woods and his lovely wife!

Fellow blogger Gallus made a video to wish his readers "Hunky Holidays", and I thought you guys would like it, too. Check out his blog for lot of great photos (many are NSFW) and other fun stuff.

"Family Ties" mom and Lifetime movie actress Meredith Baxter has come out as a lesbian. After being married (to men) 3 times and having 5 kids, she's apparently got it right this time and has been in a relationship for 4 years now. She was recently spotted on a gay cruise. Her announcement to Matt Lauer is here.

Those hirsute hotties known as Bearforce1 are back with a Christmas medley you won't want to miss. Enjoy!

Not one, but TWO friends sent me this photo because they knew I'd get a kick out of it: I've also seen it on at least 3 blogs that I read regularly. Great minds think a like.

On Tues the City Counsel for Washington DC (not a state) voted to extend marriage to same sex couples! Its not quite a 'done deal' though, as this article explains, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Thanks to Bob for turning me onto this funny yet simultaneously annoying video of Oprah screaming the names of celebrities she's introduced to her audience over the last 25 years. Its crazy!

Here's wishing everyone a terrific weekend.

Crush du Jour: Brent Banes

Christmas decorating

Its unlike me, but I've not been in the mood to decorate for Christmas this year.

Normally by now we'd have our tree up and decorated, an 8-10 hour process which usually spans 2-3 days. We'd have white lights wrapped around the spindles of our front porch. We'd have our framed family photos removed from the mantel and replaced with candles and Christmas decorations. We'd have holiday votives, stuffed snowmen, and other assorted decor strewn throughout the house. We'd have both of those 'lovely' (tongue in cheek) silver fiber optic Christmas trees that change colors in our family room and TV room. There would be a wreath on the front and back of our front door and side door, and Spouse's Christmas cookie jar collection would be displayed on the kitchen counters. I would have started writing and addressing the holiday cards.

As of today, none of that's happened. And since we're leaving tomorrow after work for VA and will be gone the entire weekend, it won't be happening this weekend either. I've just not been in the mood to do it.

Although holiday depression is very common, I don't believe that's my problem. I was excited enough about driving Big Ella in 2 Christmas parades to call and enter. Unfortunately one of them was supposed to be last night, when we were having torrential rain and near tornado winds. The other one is next Mon, on my birthday.

When I talked to Spouse about my uncharacteristic nonchalance about holiday decorating, he said "I know why. The house was in disarray for over 5 months. We just got it all put back together and cleaned, so the idea of pulling out all those decorations isn't appealing to you."

By Job, I think he's right. Now that the addition is done, the furniture and rugs are all put back where they belong, and the housekeeper has been here twice, the house is finally back to normal and I don't feel like upsetting that again.

Additionally, since we're not having a holiday party this year, there's even less incentive to pull out all those decorations and set them up/put them out. Maybe we won't do it this year.

I sort of hinted to Spouse that maybe we'd just skip all the decorating this year since we're not having a party, will be busy every weekend in Dec, and will be back in VA for 4 days over Christmas. He bawked and said that at a minimum we would put up our tree and decorate it. But the longer we wait to do it, the less I'm going to want to do it.

I wonder if I can talk him into just setting up those 2 silver fiber optic trees, side by side in the living room and calling it a day...


Crush du Jour: Justin Bartha

Birthday

So, my birthday is coming up next Mon.

I like to celebrate my birthday because I didn't get to do so growing up. As you may recall, I was raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion where birthdays (and other holidays) are not celebrated. My 1st birthday celebration was when I turned 30, a few months after I came out.

Since my birthday is this coming Mon, I wanted to stay in town this weekend, go to all of the Christmas activities (parade, tree lighting, carol singing, etc.) in town, and have some friends over for a birthday dinner. However, this coming Sat is also the annual Manassas Christmas parade back in VA that we attend every year. The parade passes in front of our friends' house and they have a big parade-watching party. Its a lot of fun, but we have done this for many years so I thought that maybe we'd skip it this year in order to stay in town.

But then Spouse's mother decided that she wanted to celebrate her birthday (which is still 3 weeks away) this coming Sat, while Spouse & I were in VA for the Manassas Christmas parade. Her birthday is on Christmas eve, and we ALWAYS make sure to wrap her birthday gifts in birthday wrap and have a birthday cake for her on the 24th, her actual birthday. She is NEVER slighted on her birthday, just because it falls on Christmas eve. If anything, everyone remembers her birthday BECAUSE its on Christmas eve.

My birthday? Not so much. My birthday falls 1-2 weeks after Thanksgiving and everyone is in the mood for Christmas shopping, sending Christmas cards, and going to Christmas parties. No one remembers my birthday on Dec 7.

So I tried to get Spouse to agree to staying in town this weekend so we could do all the holiday stuff in town we've never done before, and also have my birthday dinner. But he felt bad about not going to the parade in VA like we always do, and didn't want to mess up his mom's birthday plans, 3 weeks before her actual birthday.

So after much discussion and no accommodation for MY birthday, I basically took a 'whatever' attitude and agreed to go to VA this weekend for the Manassas Christmas parade and his mom's birthday dinner.

Don't get me wrong: I have LOVED going to the Manassas Christmas parade in VA all these years, and will certainly enjoy it again this year. I also love celebrating his mom's birthday. She'll be 80 this year, which is a real accomplishment.

But going to the Manassas Christmas parade in VA every year means we miss out on the local activities that always occur on the same day. Just this one year I would have liked to attend the local Christmas parade, tree lighting, and carol singing. Plus, by staying in town it would also have allowed us to celebrate my birthday close to my actual birth day.

But Spouse's mother's early birthday celebration proved too much for Spouse to decide to stay in town. "Besides," he said "we can celebrate your birthday on another day.

Yeah, well that's kind of a problem. Going back to VA means we leave on Fri right after work, so we couldn't do it Fri night before my birthday. We won't be back in time on Sun to do it then. The following Fri, Sat, and Sun nights are all booked with holiday parties from friends who actually plan these kinds of things in advance. The following Fri & Sat nights are also booked.

Literally, the only viable option we could come up with was a birthday breakfast (who has a birthday breakfast??) at 9am on the Sat after my birthday. Of course, we'll make it work. Several friends are good sports and have RSVP'd already, saying they'll come, despite having to get up early on a Sat. It will be fun, I'm sure.

And then once everyone leaves, we'll quickly throw the left overs in the fridge and run out the door to a tree trimming party at 1:00, followed by another party at 7:00. It sorta feels like we're squeezing my birthday celebration in, I guess, because we are.

And here's the kicker: After the VA parade this Sat, we'll celebrate Spouse's mom's (early) birthday by having dinner at a restaurant she's chosen. Then when we return to VA for Christmas eve, we will celebrate her birthday AGAIN at Spouse's sister's house, like we always do, every year! She gets 2 parties and mine is preempted.

As you can tell, I'm still a little miffed by all of this. It almost makes me want to 'change' my birthday to Feb when nothing else is going on.

But if you know us in person, please don't mention any of this to Spouse, as he would NOT be happy that I'm tellin' all our bidness up in here on the internets. But this blog is my place so I am venting today.

Its not like this is a milestone birthday for me; I'll be 46. Big deal. I should probably quit my belly aching and just be grateful I have people in my life to celebrate with, right? Well that's what I'm going to do. Hissy fit cancelled. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Crush du Jour: Emmanuel Delcour

World AIDS Day

I feel quite fortunate that I have not lost many friends to AIDS. Most of my good fortune likely comes from the fact that I came out later in life, after AIDS prevention efforts were in place, and most of my friends were practicing safer sex.

But some of my older friends are not so fortunate. Some of them have lost many friends to AIDS, and so in solidarity I am observing a moment of silence in their honor, and suggest you do the same.

Since my little seaside area has a higher-than-usual percentage of GLBT residents, there are several World AIDS Day activities going on today:

• HIV+ artists exhibit and reception
• candlelight vigil
• Service of Remembrance and Hope
• Dinner (following Service)

Are you participating in any World AIDS Day activities?

Crush du Jour: Jon Foster

Holiday weekend highlights

While many of you busily put up your Christmas trees and decorated the exterior of your houses, Spouse & I were lazy and just enjoyed the weekend.

Sat we took Big Ella out for some exercise, we went to lunch, stopped at the grocery store, watched TV, and Spouse napped. Steven & Thad, their friend Joe, and The Bobs came over for dinner. We purposely made extra Thanksgiving food so we could have it again with our friends. Amazingly, after 5 people at on Thanksgiving and 7 people at on Sat, we STILL have Thanksgiving left overs. But they're so tasty I don't mind. I had some for lunch today and put the rest in the freezer. We had a really nice evening with the guys and I was surprised at how quickly the time flew by. We ate in the dining room and used our 'good' dishes, glasses, silverware, and serving pieces. It was fun!

Sun morning we met Rick & Nick for brunch at 10 (we drove Big Ella). It was surprisingly warm and very sunny; we didn't even need a jacket. We took Jordan for a nice, long walk, then decided to go for a convertible ride with the top down, of course. I washed the last of the casserole dishes and played around on the computer while Spouse napped. Then we went to Rick & Nick's to watch a movie on their theatre-size screen. First we watched Kathy Griffin's "Balls of Steel" stand-up comedy act, which was great! I love Kathy Griffin! Then we watched "Stardust", which I'd never heard of before, but apparently was in the theatres for at least a week. We enjoyed it.

Its amazing how quickly a 4-day weekend can pass. I'm already looking forward to having some days off for Christmas.

Crush du Jour: Eion Bailey

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Thanksgiving was different this year for us. Since Spouse & I have been together (over 13 years) this is the 1st Thanksgiving that his sister (his favorite sibling) and her husband and children were not with us. They went to NC to be with her husbands' family. So it was a smaller, more quiet holiday for us, but it was still very enjoyable. Spouse's mom, brother, and sister-in-law came and we had a delicious meal and 'family time'. Spouse's lemon-herb roasted turkey was wonderful, as usual, and our side dishes included sweet potato shuffle and Paula Deen's corn casserole. We purposely made too much so we'd have lots of left overs. Tomorrow we're having some friends over for Thanksgiving left over dinner.


I'm just CRAZY for this video! Check it out - it is just one guy, using technology to 'clone' himself. Some people are so creative...

Do you ever feel like you blend into the scenery? Can't seem to get noticed in a crowd? Then get yourself one of these scarves:
A friend sent me this photo and it cracked me up!

Can I say just how much I CAN'T STAND Taylor Swift?

There was no Black Friday shopping for us today. We had no interest in being out in those crowded stores, risking getting trampled to death over a bargain.

Another friend sent me this photo, which I found to be pretty clever. Check out the location of the door knob.

Have a great weekend!

Crush du Jour: Matt Schiermeier

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Here's one Thanksgiving 'tradition' I will NOT be participating in.

Crush du Jour: Randy Orton