Happy, Happy Gay Day!

Portland Pride 2008!

The weather was perfect, the Drag Queens were divine. Pride was felt throughout our fair city–without a protester in sight!

My mom came along for her first Pride Experience–she now wants to join PFLAG so she can carry a sign that says, “I Love My Lesbian Daughter.” Finally after all of these years I have accomplished something that she can be proud of.

We hung out with good friends, listened to music, enjoyed the sun and overall had a perfect day in every way.

To see photos of topless women, men in assless chaps, and more Drag Queens than you can shake a stick at, see Flickr.

Keep Pride Alive Portland, all year long!

Yes, my bike is gay. It is really, really gay.

How do I know?

Why, just look at it.

That is my shiny new bike. Do you see the baskets? And the flowers? And the bell?

The secret to my bike is this–

It’s a lazy girl bike.

It has an Electric Assist.

That little thing that says Electric is Electric, as in “makes it go” electric. It has a key. See it hanging there? And when you turn the key and start pedaling, the electric assist helps you to pedal. It helps you pedal while you’re riding on a flat surface or on a hill. If you don’t want to pedal at all, you just push a button and it goes by itself–no pedaling required.

Yes, lazy.

And delightful.

HG and I picked up the bike on Saturday and didn’t use our car again until today (Tuesday.) We rode 12 miles the first day and several more the next and several more the next. Last night we all rode our bikes into town for dinner. No gas required, and me without breaking a sweat.

Sweet.

I’m madly in love with my new bike and I am going to ride it everyday, even when it’s 45 degrees and windy and rainy like today. Someday when summer arrives, I will ride it and get a tan while going to the market for my food shopping.

I did tell you all that there would be jealousy. Don’t be jealous–buy one for yourself with your China money. We found mine Green Scene in Portland. They were super nice and very helpful and a high recommend. Go, go now. Go buy a bike. Gas is too expensive. I hate it, I hate gas.

Aren’t incoming links to your blog neat? Today I was alerted about this one. I’m not sure what language that is, I just hope they translated everything properly. Who knew? Lezzies in Istanbul. I’m not even sure where Istanbul is in the world, but I now know that some lesbians live there.

Today is Melissa Lion’s Birthday! She’s back from her trip to Sunny Southern California with a tan no doubt, and older. But just a teeny bit. Happy Birthday Melissa!

I need to study some more. Tomorrow I have a final and I’m off for the summer– with the exception of online classes, but they should be easy. I hope.

Research Paper Grade came in today. A.

My life is very excellent.

Damn, I need to cook dinner

Firefox keeps freezing up on me and it’s pissing me off.

I’m in the Research Paper Zone–it’s a very scary place where I don’t shower, brush my teeth or know what time it is, what time is it anyway? Wait. I have children don’t I? Where are they? If anyone sees them, tell them to come home and feed the dogs.

Portland Mercury article is out. It’s here.

My friend Teresa is turning 40 tomorrow. Go tell her Happy Day and read her fabulous blog. She’s a novelist too–she’s writing a book set in a Scary Suburb that is surprisingly a lot like mine. I’m trying to get her to make me a character–I see myself smoking cigarettes in a short sexy nighty getting the paper in the morning with my hair up looking just right rumpled. Or maybe I could be the token lezzie in town. That may be a better fit.

Sidenote to Teresa’s husband and other husbands of straight women whom I am friends with: it’s not contagious, I promise.

Those of you inquiring after a copy of my research paper–I will send you a copy when it is finished. Email me and promise you won’t sell it on the internet. I’m copyrighted you know. (I don’t know if copyrighted is a word, but I’m going with it.)

Damn, before I cook dinner, I have to pick up my kid from soccer. I took her there I think?

99 cents worth of gas please

It’s final primary day and I am looking forward to the whole thing being over. Time to unite the party–everyone fall in line–and let’s keep our eye on the big game in November.

Californians will be voting on whether or not to ban Gay Marriage on November 4th. Until then, the state will begin issuing marriage licenses, beginning June 17th. I hope those in the wedding industry are looking forward to a big surge in business this summer–California has a lot of gays! LeLo and I will be at BlogHer in San Francisco in July–if anyone was planning on arranging their wedding plans around my schedule.

Speaking of BlogHer. I just took a peak at the Agenda and noticed that there is a session on Queer BlogHer. If any of my fellow Queer Bloggers will be at the conference, send me an e-mail–perhaps we can organize a Queer Blogger cocktail party.

I enjoy cocktails–and just to clarify to a recent commenter–I’m co-dependent, not an enabler. If you’re going to accuse me of being something at least get the correct disorder. Geez.

It’s wrap-it-up week. Two school days left and one final. This is bittersweet as I will be happy to have the summer off from commuting to school but it also means that the children will be home All Day Long. This means that I have three long months to endure the pain of bored children who argue and create havoc disturbing my auditory environment continuously.

I certainly won’t be able to afford to go anywhere–with gas prices at $4.10 a gallon. Two days ago I paid $3.98–it cost $67.00 to fill my tank (or the equivalent of four tops at Marshalls.)

I remember when gas hit $1.00 a gallon. People were outraged, they protested, they bitched, they picketed, they complained. I was in the car with my neighbor when she went to the gas station and filled her car with 99 cents worth of gas–just to make a point. What that point was exactly, I’m not certain, but she made one.

And here we are, paying over four dollars a gallon and no one seems to care so much. We’re complaining, but we’re still driving around. Today I drove DD#1 and two neighbors to school because it was pouring down rain and she was afraid that she would melt. The carpool lane was filled, bumper to bumper, people everywhere driving their Suburbans and their Tahoes and their whatevers. I was driving the Lesbaru and having anxiety–wondering how much it was costing to drive my kid to school.

I think this summer will be spent hanging at home a lot–doing some projects and riding our bikes. I will be writing. I have some projects brewing in the back of my head including a new blog project and more. Much more. It will all be on the list. The Summer List of Things To Do.

Summer–it’s just around the corner–time to get your list on.

Me Me Me Me Me Me Me

I’ve been tagged for a Meme by the lovely Wacky Mommy.

Meme’s are pronounced meems, but I like to pronounce them Me Me’s because Meme’s like these are all about ME!

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

I was pregnant with DD#3 and trying to figure out exactly how I got that way. DD#2 was just 13 months old, DD#1 was three and I was COMPLETELY CRAZY!

2. What are five things on your To-Do list?

• Pay bills
• Write the second part of my research paper
• Study for my final
• Buy new underwear
• Spend as much as possibly kissing my wife for the rest of the weekend!

3. What are five snacks you enjoy?

Peanut M&M’s, Red Vines, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, HG.

4. Name some place where you have lived.

Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon.

5. Name some bad habits you have.

None.

Really, I have no bad habits.

Okay, let me try to think of some.

I leave glasses of water next to my bed for days on end. I don’t always fold the laundry as soon as it’s done drying, nor do I put it away (I like to see the pile on top of the dryer,) I spend WAY too much time on my computer, on the Internet, reading blogs, twittering. I don’t exercise enough, I eat too much sugar, sometimes I skip flossing, I procrastinate. I break down and cry when I’m PMS’ing, as well as get a little teeny bit cranky. Did I mention I procrastinate?

6. Name some things that you would do if you were a millionaire?

Pre-pay for my girl’s college, start a charitable foundation, buy a Highlander Hybrid, travel a bit, save and invest the rest.

7. Name some jobs that you have had.

waitress, flight attendant, wedding coordinator’s assistant, restaurant manager, homemaker, mom, freelance writer.

I’m not going to tag anyone because I’m lazy. But feel free to do your own Me Me Me Me Me Me!

Things I Know

It’s Thursday and I have absolutely no idea how it got that way. Life has just been a whirlwind of activity and a LOT, LOT, LOT of writing. I’ve been writing so much that my brain is physically tired. Do you know what it feels like to have your brain physically tired? It’s kind of like when you go to the gym and work out three times as hard as usual (not that I would really know anything about that) and you are so fatigued that your muscles feel weak you can’t move. My brain feels like that. As a matter of fact–my brain is buzzing with fatigue. I have Buzz Brain.

I wrote a research paper last week on Marriage Equality and it’s Effect on Children–turned it in on Friday at noon. Got my grade back yesterday. 4.00 out of 4.00= A. Wrote a presentation on Sex Toys for my Human Sexuality Class–no grade yet, but it was good. Wrote my weekly piece for The Oregonian, wrote a post for Back Fence PDX–it’s not up yet. Wrote a piece for The Mercury’s Pride Edition–comes out June 6th. In the process of writing about Spoken Word Publication for tomorrow.

Brain Buzz.

Brain Buzz is the opposite of Writer’s Block. I just decided.

So, LiLo (not LeLo) the other LiLo–the crazy one–is a lesbian? All the queer women in the world and she picks her? Ok. Whatev LiLo.

And Jodi Foster left her girlfriend of 15 years for a writer?

A lot of drama going on in your closet there Jodie.

I asked HG if she was going to leave me for a writer. She said, “Uh, why? I’m already with one.” Right. A Brain Buzzed Writer.

Other Things I Know

New York is going to recognize same-sex unions performed elsewhere–elsewhere meaning places other than New York–like Massachusetts and Canada. This is definitely a step in the right direction and I imagine that soon Niagara Falls will be making a big comeback as The Honeymoon Capitol of the world.

I took the girls to High School Musical on Tuesday. It was surprisingly quite good and I am super-happy that I went. Reminded me a lot of Grease without the smoking and gangs and underage drinking (or bowling–there was no bowling.)

It is now preferred to use on one space after a period when typing. I consulted several authorities on the subject and this was their general consensus. I’m still not sure that I agree–but I am trying to conform. Change is hard people.

Tomorrow evening we are going to QDoc to see a fab queer film.

We had a great time on our Big Lezzie Camping trip–I’ll post some photos as soon as I have some free time. LeLo posted some on her Flickr–including one of my new Ax.

All of you who made fun of my hatchet? Ha-Look at that bad boy. Try not to be jealous of my Butchness.

And I believe that is all of the Things I Know for today.

Blogged Down

I have deadlines. Newspaper job deadlines, school deadlines, laundry deadlines. Today I finished a big project for school. It wouldn’t have been as big as it was except that I am a wee bit of a perfectionist and I have to do it all perfect. Plus, Melissa Lion refused to come over and do my MLA citations for me. My perfectionism is a good thing sometimes–I was notified by my Institute of Higher Learning that I am on the Honor Roll. I would be on the Dean’s List but I didn’t take enough credits last term. Honor Roll is good–I’ve never been on it before!

I’m still ill and tired from my new medicine. HG is about over it I believe but for some reason she sticks around with me. I do cook for her. And put out. Except when I’m nauseated, like now.

The sun is out today, my girls have gone to their dad’s until Sunday. Sunday is Mother’s Day and I will be expected some lavishly made homemade gifts from my girls and a very overpriced dinner out from HG (we couldn’t get brunch reservations.)

I’m blogged down peeps. My brain is empty and my head is light. I guess one would call it Blogger’s Block. So I’ll leave you with this:

Everyone thank their Mom this weekend. Be nice to your mom, or moms as the case may be–including mother’s in-law and out-law. It’s hard to be a mom–sometimes you feel as though all of the energy is being sucked out of your mind, your body, and your soul just for the sake of another person. And your entire life you spend waiting. Waiting for something bad to happen, for some tragedy to occur that may impact your child–you never know what is going to be up ahead and around the corner. You look at your sweet child and wonder how they are going to turn out. You could be raising the next president of the United States or the next serial killer. They come hard-wired and it’s a crap shoot most of the time and the job of mothering never gets any easier. Not ever.

So for one freaking day of the year–be nice to your mom–even if she drives you batty or is a bad cook or hates your significant other or never remembers the details of any conversation that you ever have or hates your hair. Buy her flowers (or an iPod,) and take her out to dinner. And remember, she could have left you in the pumpkin patch for someone else to find!

Happy Weekend!

I am a fancy lady

And I go to fancy Galas (pronounced Gay-La,) to which I was invited by some fancy people who do fancy things. LeLo came as my guest and she was beau-ti-ful. She has the photos of us together so you’ll have to visit her to see them when she posts them. The Gala was a fund raiser for Portland Center Stage and a lot of fancy people bid a lot of fancy money on some very fancy things.

LeLo and I watched–which was almost as fun as bidding (but not quite.) Alas, I had forgotten my Amex Black card and could not bid.

There was a lovely cocktail reception and a lovely dinner (Sea Bass) with lovely Oregon wines from Argyle, yum. There was great dinner conversation with smart and interesting people. After the auction and entertainment there was dessert and coffee. And then we were Gala’d out so we left.

Here’s a rundown on the stats of the evening:

Dress: $14.99 from Ross
Shoes: Free. (Borrowed from BFF Neighbor Judy, The Crying Jew)
Hair: $138.00 (including tip)
My Date: The Lovely LeLo (HG would have rather had dental work done than attend this event with me.)
Conversation, Scenery, People and Dress Watching: Priceless

It was a fun time and a great experience and I highly recommend gala-ing anytime you can.

Next Up:  Queer Blogger get together tonight!  Whatever shall I wear??

Try Now

One of the members of my “team of experts” diligently working on fixing the virus warning on my blog has given me something to try.

I know that everyone is sick of this–but Can You See It Now???

Fancy Pants

Today I went to lunch with the governor. I wore a new outfit that I purchased in a quick 20 minute shopping spree at TJ Maxx–a store that I heart. A lot.

I looked super cute and I would show you a picture but I don’t have one.

Today at the lunch with the governor I was taking pictures for Basic Rights Oregon and no one took any pictures of me looking so fancy. Too bad because I was wearing a skirt and tights. I haven’t had myself in a pair of tights or pantyhose for as long as I can possibly remember and I don’t anticipate it happening again anytime soon. It’s been so long since I’ve worn pantyhose or tights that I forgot how–but luckily I have friends to help me out. I was advised not to wear any panties with my tights to avoid all of the unfortunate stuff that happens when one wears tights or pantyhose. Stuff that I won’t mention here because . . . boys read this site . . .

Also at the luncheon with the governor were some fancy people like Jeff Merkley, Tina Kotek, and Sam Adams. If you don’t live in the Portland metropolitan area these people mean nothing to you but to us–they are fan-cy.

LeLo was also there and she was W-A-Y fancy in her spring dress and incredibly cute non-lezzie-lezzie shoes. I wonder if any of you know how incredibly talented that LeLo is? She’s amazing. She designed all of the print material for the luncheon today and it was Beautiful. And she did it pro-bono which makes her even more amazing. So I’m happy that LeLo is my friend–she’s beautiful, talented, nice, generous and she wears the greatest shoes.

HG and I went out for sushi tonight which was nice.

And quiet.

We have had house guests for the past week. My friend Cory and her two little boys have been visiting and even though we love her and her boys–little boys are Loud. Like really Loud. And messy. Have I also mentioned that my wife is maybe just a little, teeny, tiny bit OCD? Just a tad. So sushi was good. And quiet.

Yes, I changed my blog template back to see if all of y’all who had been getting a virus message were still getting it. I have a team of experts who have researched the problem and found none–so if this doesn’t work–I don’t know what to do. Just let me know–mmkay?

Two very long days have come to an end with successful results and that’s all I’ve got for now.

But if you were at the luncheon today and happen to take a photo of me–send it will you?