Sisters

I love when Lucy and Zoe lie together on their beds. They are good sisters to each other. I snapped a photo while they were sleeping, but they heard me and both popped up. I felt bad for interrupting their sleep time.

Slap in the face

The sunrise was beautiful this morning. It is always nice to start the day with a slap in the face reminding you how beautiful this world can be.

And I really needed that

I noticed this rose still blooming in the backyard yesterday evening after i came home from work. It made me smile. Dale planted it several years back in honor of my Mom. It was like she was there saying hello to me and I really needed that.

Creepy Toast

For Halloween breakfast this year, I want this! Creepy toast.

Pumpkin

When it comes to pumpkin carving Dale is pretty much Martha Stewart - well except he is a lot nicer, a bit more feminine and never served time.

Anywho...if you show him a picture of a pumpkin, he can create it. He is pretty impressive. I decided I want this pumpkin for the porch this year. I think the little kids will love it.

I plan to add a tipped over plastic pumpkin with candy spilled next to it so it looks like it ate the last time trick-or-treater who came by.

Halloween on the Brain

This year Dale and I are NOT going overboard for Halloween. We are going to keep it simple. However, that does not mean we cannot do a few things on the porch, right?

Am I just imagining this?

All the chatter on Facebook and Twitter yesterday and today is from the cool kids who got the iPhone 5. I am not one of the cool kids. It feels like everyone has an iPhone 5 except me. Am I just imagining this?

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl

Zoe turned 9 years old today. It is hard to believe that she is already 9. It seems like only yesterday she was a puppy tucked into my winter jacket. She has been a wonderful canine companion and incredible part of our family. We love her dearly.

I don't know

October marks the five year anniversary of my blog. It is hard to believe it has been five years.

Part of me is wondering if the five year anniversary a good time to end the blog?

It has been an almost daily chronicle of my life and a place to get what is in my head out of my head, but is it time to put it to rest? I don't know. I am blogging less than ever, but this seems to happen from time to time.

Would I miss it? A bit.

Would I keep things bottled up? Perhaps.

Would it make Dale happier? Probably as he hates that our life is so public.

I don't know. I guess I have about 6 weeks to figure it all out.

We realized we were...

On Friday night Dale and I joined our friend's Sandy, Steve and Judy at Buenos Aries Pizza in Denver. It was good food (except for Judy's Alfredo pasta) and a great atmosphere. After dinner we realized we were one block away from our new favorite bar - the Retro Room, so we ran over for a few of their delicious pickle shots. After we each had two, we headed to Little Man Ice Cream for some dessert. A great night.

On Saturday night Dale and I joined our friend's Sandy, Steve, Judy, Tim and Drew at Billy's Gourmet Hot Dog's. It was amazing food (get the White Dog) and a fun place to go. After dinner we realized we were two blocks away from our new favorite bar - the Retro Room, so we ran over for a few another delicious pickle shot. After we each had one, we headed to Gunther Toody's for some malts. Another great night.

Great meals, even greater friends and pickle shots - how could it not be a great weekend, right? Sometimes it is the simple plans that lead to the best memories. Thanks everyone for the fun!

Soaking in the sun

Zoe is lounging and soaking in the sun this morning.

Seeking medical advice

It has been 11 days since I fell off a Segway and smashed up my arm. Yes...you read that correct - a Segway. Yes, those slow devices that even the elderly woman in the Walgreens TV ads can ride successfully. Anyhow, I fell going downhill and fell hard. Unfortunately I have witnesses that will confirm to this. There was blood and everything.

But that is not the point of this post. The massive road rash on my arm is healing nicely, but my hand still hurts 11 days later. I came down on my left hand to try to catch myself. That is a lot of weight to come down on one hand in my opinion. I can move all my fingers and turn my wrist but my palm still hurts (please save all jokes involving my palm for another day - thanks).

So I really do not feel like going in for an X-ray but am starting to wonder if I should. Has anyone had something similar happen (there must be other idiots out there)? Is it possible it could still have a dull ache 11 days later and will be okay? Am I just fooling myself? Is anyone an Orthopedic Surgeon on here who can diagnose via the internet? Dale tells me I am fine, but I am starting to wonder. I rubbed dirt on it like he said, but nothing. It still hurts.. It is not a sharp pain, just a dull annoying one. Any advice?

Made me think

Sometimes I forgot that not everyone sees Dale and I just like any other couple. To me, we are just like anyone else - we love each other, share a life, have ups, have a few downs but through it all know we belong together. We are no different than any straight couple except we are two men in love. To me - love is love. I see no difference. I forget that not everyone else sees things the same way.

A co-worker who was in town for a trade show met Dale last night when he joined us for drinks and this co-worker said something that was a bit odd. After meeting Dale he said, "Oh yeah, I heard you had a partner and talk about how much you love him on Facebook."

Okay?

I know he meant nothing by his comment but it made me think. Am I not expected to talk about Dale on Facebook? He is my partner, my love. Why would I not talk about him. I adore Dale and we share a life. But then it hit me - I am not connected to this co-worker on Facebook, so he has no idea how much I do or do not talk about Dale on Facebook. Someone else I work with and who I am connected with told him I talk about Dale on Facebook and love my partner.

The question is - if I was straight and Dale was a woman, would anyone give it a second thought to mention my wife on Facebook and talk openly about our love? Probably not. Is it being gay and taking about Dale what seems odd to him or the fact that I am open and proud of my life.

It just made me think.

Rain

It rained last night and the forecast says there will be rain all day. A rainy day is a rare thing here is Denver, so it is very welcome - probably not by all, but definitely by me. I personally love the occasional rain.

There is something cleansing about rain. It not only seems to clean your physical surroundings but I feel it also cleans you soul a bit. Cloudy, rainy days make me think and reflect. It seems to be a time when I purge old feeling and accept new. Rain always feels like an ending to me and that once it ends, it is the start of something new.

It would be the perfect day to sit on the couch and read, but on a Wednesday I am work bound. Instead, I have my iPod set to slower, melancholy songs for the day. I might as well match the music to the weather, right?

Stay dry friends!

Love, strength and unity

It is difficult not to reflect on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 without thinking about the lives that were lost, the heroes who rose and a country that was changed forever.

Even today when I see the footage of the planes hitting the Twin Towers it still feels more like something from a movie than our reality. It is incredible that even after eleven years it is still tough for me to watch that horror. It physically pains me to think of the horror, chaos and fear that so many people faced that day on the planes, at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. It is difficult to fathom the countless lives impacted that day by the senseless evil of a few.

However, perspective is an interesting thing as I view the days, weeks and months following the attacks so differently today than I did at the time. At the time it seemed like there was an incredible sadness over our country but what I remember now most was the unity. For a moment in time we were all Americans. Americans who banded together and showed we could be hurt, but not defeated. Americans that showed when knocked down, get back up. We came together, we took care of our own and we recovered. We showed just how strong of a country we can be and that ability to come together is what makes us great.

I look back at the time following September 11, 2001 with such pride, which feels odd in a way, but I do not know how else to describe how I feel. I am proud of the firefighters, police and all the people those who helped the survivors. I am proud of those who took the time to honor and remember those who were lost. I am proud that in one of our worse moments, the people of our country rose to the occassion. We put aside our differences and focused on what was important. More than anything this is what truly makes me proud to be an American. I just wish we were able to find this unity more often.

So although today is a day where there was incredible loss, it is also a day where I am reminded how great the United States of America can be. Today is the anniversary of a time where Americans showed incredible love, strength and unity.

Funniest thing I have heard in ages

I really did have an interesting morning out getting coffee and donuts. At Lamar Donuts there were two woman in front of me buying donuts for what I assumed was their kids' sports team since they bought three dozen.

We were waiting for the Lamar Donuts employee to fill the racks so the woman were chatting about the one woman's anniversary dinner the night before. One woman asked the other woman if the dinner was romantic. The other woman responded no, laughed and said the romance in her marriage was long gone. She then said, "My husband's idea of romance is poking me in the back with his dick in the morning." While her friend laughed (as did I) the woman turned and apologized to me for being so crass. It was honestly the funniest thing I have heard in ages.

And wait...that is not romantic? Here I thought I was constantly romancing Dale. Damn!

If you did not...

There was a homeless woman at a table at Starbucks at 104th and Wadsworth this morning when i stopped for coffee. I have seen her before there and at the Starbucks at 80th and Wadsworth. It is rare to see a homeless person in our neck of the woods as they tend to be in Denver more than the suburbs. She has two suitcases and a blue tarp that she moves with a furniture hand truck.

Anyhow, she was sitting and talking to someone across the table, who was not there. Just like I have seen her other times, she was having a full blown conversation with nobody. The first time I ever saw her, her back was to me so I assumed she was on a Bluetooth device. Today, the invisible person even had a drink cup and napkin in front of him/her.

It is like there was someone really there talking to her. Sometimes the woman sat quietly and other times was answering like the person across from her asked something or commented. Other times I have seen her have a lively conversation or debate with the person she sees in the chair across from her.

The homeless woman is in her fifties and actually is fairly well kept. If you did not see we pulling her belongings, you would probably never identify her as homeless. If you did not see her talking to an empty chair, you would probably never identify her as having mental problems.

It always makes me think when I see her. I wonder what happened in her life that made her mentally break like this. Was she born this way? Did some trauma happen to her? Does she really see someone? Is she just reliving past conversations? Did she lose the love of her life? Is that who she sees? Is this how she copes? I wonder how I would be if I lost Dale? It just makes you realize how fragile the human mind can be. I always wonder about her story? Where she lives? Who she is? Who she once was?

Beanie Babies

Today I donated 60 beanie babies (remember those things) to Children's Hospital Colorado. They had belonged to my Mom. She used to collect them in the late 90s with my nieces. I have had them in my basement since she passed away in 2003. I decided it was better that they bring smiles to the face of 60 kids, than collect any more dust. I know my Mom would want that too.

The good, the bad, the ugly

This morning we got up at 3 AM to head to Colorado Springs to go to a hot air balloon festival and go on a hot air balloon ride. It was a mixed bag day.

The good: A stop at Dunkin' Donuts.

The bad: The hot air balloon was canceled because it was too windy.

The ugly: Crashing a Segway at Garden of the Gods and getting road rash on my arm and both hands after we decided to do this after the balloon ride was canceled. It was not my finest moment and I pretty much felt like a total idiot.