jealous?

Margarita Jean slaved all evening to present this fab meal for us! Drag queens later if we can convince Cynthia.

Tattoo!

I was at Tattoo Paradise from 6:00 - 11:15 on Tuesday night. Grant did give me two short breaks, but it was mostly unpleasant I powered through the whole thing and was (am still) in major pain, but it is over!

My friend Erica would be proud of me. She'd make fun of the style, but she'd still respect it. Strangely enough, she gave me the strength to get this, and her family tragically experienced another death on Tuesday. Her sister's long term boyfriend and father of her children passed away unexpectedly. I feel for both Erica and Marla's kids as it's been a rough year for them. I just can't imagine it...

I took a couple days to post the full pic so I could show a few people in person before throwing it on the web. I'm fairly certain that Timmy hates it, but the feedback from friends has been overwhelmingly positive. They're probably just humoring me, but I'm tough now... Let me know what you think. You can also check out my ink at the link below.

Sneak Peak!

Tonight is the fill in. I decided to go with solid black in lieu of shading. It's coming along nicely but I'm bleeding and in wretched pain. Thankfully, Grant says he can finish it tonight.

Tiff is safe

Thank God Tiff wasn't on this ship when it sank. I believe it is the same one she was scheduled to be on mid January.

A fun weekend and a wake-up call

Fantastic laid back weekend! Jeff came into DC on Friday and we had a nice night out on the town with Rita Jean. You know it is good when the day ends with Ben's Chili Bowl. We did play rock stars with a fun little bar crawl.

Saturday was a fun brunch, a power nap, and a few cocktails at Polly's. With all the locals out of town for the weekend, it was not a very busy night. Fortunately, many of our friends were in town and a great casual low-key night was had by all.

I heard a radio ad for Wake up Wal-Mart and thought I'd share. I've often talked about why I won't shop at Wal-Mart and it goes far beyond the appearance of WT living. The company has some very damaging practices. Check out the link below and spread the word.

Back to civilization

I could have slept for another hour. Concerns of snowy weather and BF shoppers blocking the roadways, I got up at 5:30, chatted with my Mom & Dad for awhile, and then headed to the airport. Much like the trip here, quick and uneventful. I was literally the only one in line for security. Hopefully the flight will be as painless. Unfortunately I have an hour and 40 minutes till it takes off.

I had a great time with my family, despite the discussions about politics, hunting, English as our national language, and assorted other things that made me cringe. Fortunately, Grandma's house is huge so I just changed rooms whenever the topic became too heated. I am, of course, outnumbered in thought at this family. Whitney had a nice visit, went to her Grandmother's for a few hours and then came back. She spent the majority of the evening playing with her cousins and visiting family. The pic above is my Mommy and my Grandma. Two of the many people in my family I give thanks for!

The pic below is my cousin Jenny. Fortunately she is not Amish, but sported her Halloween costume for a good family laugh. This is an authentic Amish outfit, diaper bag, etc., that my Aunt Lovina loaned her. She says it went over well in St. Louis! While the baby is a doll, she does have one in the oven (as my Dad would say.) I have two other cousins who are preggers as well. Crazy. My family needs to learn about population control.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friends,

It is again the specific time of year to give thanks. I want to thank all of my friends for making my life complete. You each add to some specific piece of my happiness and for that I am truly thankful. It would be a lonely and boring place without each of you.

I'm also thankful to the travel gods. Last night, I did not wait for the train or the bus. It took only five minutes to get through security at BWI. My Southwest plane boarded on time, I got a window seat, and we landed in CMH 15 minutes early. All of the rental car companies had big lines, EXCEPT the one I used. There were two agents anxiously awaiting my arrival. This was the most unusual and painless "day before Thanksgiving" travel ever! I had to drive through a little rain, but I arrived at Steve & Lisa's new mansion much earlier than expected.

I am watching the parade and will be heading out to Grandma's house soon. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Here's a little Thanksgiving horror flick from YouTube...scroll down and stop the site music before you watch it.

Holiday Time!

For those of you inspired by the Peta message, feel free to click over to VegCooking.com for an animal friendly recipe for your holiday feast. Check out the pic on the right showing how comfortable the early weeks of your bird have been.

For those of you now pissed off at me for posting this...just wait...there's a nice Adam Sandler song for you after the Rob Zombie message. You all know I'm not a vegetarian, but it wouldn't take much. See why I don't like meat on the bone?

Mrs. Dags

Check out this pic of Dag's mom! She's a famous scientist and going to be on a CBS special about genetics or disease or photocopying or something. I didn't really read the article, but was compelled to post this here for you to see.

I'm sure Dags is proud of her, but I hope it doesn't blow her cover. Those jewels...

For Laura

My thoughts and prayers are with my friend Laura. Her father passed on to a better world this morning. Laura has posted a loving tribute on her blog. Be sure to stop by and share your love with Laura and Jim during this most difficult of times.

J

Grand Concourse

It sure is pretty and lunch was fantastic! We're about to head home.

Announcing an engagement

The trip to Pittsburgh has been fantastic. We couldn't blog on the way here for fear that Bill would find out we were traveling and spoil the surprise! We drove through our first snow for this friend! Well worth it for sure.


Bill arrived from dinner with Tommy an was blown away by the house full of friends, which included many people like Beth, Dori, Tom, Paul, Greg, and others that we've become friends with over the years! As mentioned in my quick post on Friday night, Tommy proposed (hence the wedding music in the background.)


The boys enjoyed a piece of cake later in the evening. Wine was flowing, the boys were glowing, and we all had great fun. After opening presents, the city put off fireworks as if they were perfectly timed to finalize the evening!

The DC contingent went back to the hotel and the boys all went out. It turned into a bit of a disaster. We never remember that just because drinks are super cheap, it doesn't mean we should power through shot after shot.


M/C went to brunch with B/T, but the boys slept in. We each ate lunch at a variety of places and then met up at Bill's house where we relaxed for the afternoon and evening. Today we are getting ready for brunch at the Grand Concourse and then we'll head back home. Fun times in Pittsburgh!

P-burgh pride

They are proud of strange things in the burgh.

They take it literally

Spelling might not be my strongest subject, but when we order soco and lime we dont expect them to take it literally....what the f is a lime slice?

Happy Birthday and Congratulations!

We came to Pittsburgh to surprise Bill for his 40th birthday. It was pulled off flawlessly by his lovely boyfriend and fiancee, Tom. Yes, I said fiancee. Not only are we having the pleasure of celebrating a birthday, tonight at dinner, Tom proposed. Amazing to share such an evening with our friends. It's going to be a weekend to remember!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Hector!

Turn up the volume to hear your special birthday song!

It's Raining!

Look Mom, it's raining and I'm sticking my head out the window!

Republican Debates

I missed them, but here's a brief, but comprehensive summary from SummerCamp You must check it out!

My Service Team

I dropped my car off for an oil change before work this morning. It should turn out ok. Look who is on my service team!

Fantasy Football?

Hell No! Forget fantasy football. Now there's Fantasy Project Runway. Yes, you read it correctly. Pick your team and win points



I heard about it first from Daily Candy and thought it appropriate blog material. Today is the season 4 premiere! I'll be at movie night, but my DVR will be capturing the show. You can see my initial team above and I've also added a widget on the right hand column so you can see how well or how poorly I'm doing as the season progresses. Guess how I picked my initial team ;-)

Check below to see what the designers will get scored for!

• Winning a Challenge
• Eliminated
• Bottom 2
• First one saved from Elimination at the end
• Crying
• Verbal Fight (w/ another Designer)
• Model Trouble: No Show / Ruins garment / Late to show / Fight w/ designer
• Tim Gunn tells your designer to "make it work" (does not count if he says it to a group larger than 3)
• Their sewing machine breaks / trouble with sewing machine
• Leaves the Show (not eliminated by the judges)

If you aren't a fan of Project Runway, they also have fantasy competitions for several other reality shows! Check out the Fafarazzi site for all the details. It will make you smile!

A thousand words

This picture should have been posted yesterday. I'll answer the question: Yes. Click for the question.

You know it was a good Sunday Funday if I only mobile blogged once...was having too much fun and I forgot. Of note is the fact that straight Tom was hit on more than any of the gay boys and even got a number...of course when asked why he accepted it, he simply stated that he was, "...trying to work a free drink." A man after my own heart!

We went to a few local spots and then I made the intelligent decision to go to an after hours event. I am too old and too fat to be up in nightclub filled with sweaty muscled gay boys at 4 A.M. drinking Red Bull. It was fun though. Thank god I pre-scheduled today off work.

Was great to see David. We had a nice lunch at Busboys & Poets then went shopping in the neighborhood (Pulp, Go Mama Go, Home Rule, etc.) He's now off to the airport. I'm exhausted and going to bed early. No Solly's vs. Duffy's kickball game for me tonight. Fun times this weekend!

Tomorrow

We made a reservation for one of our friends (to remain nameless) for tomorrow morning. We just finished brunch at the Beacon with David and a bunch of other friends. Now we're looking for the next destination.

Sunday Funday

Good Morning! This is a Sunday Funday and I'm already up and excited about it! Doing some final cleaning before our friend David arrives around 12:30. We'll be doing brunch and afternoon cocktails with friends after he arrives.

I found this YouTube video of a Price is Right episode from years back. I think you will agree that the man that wins the round has to be Dancin' Mike's brother, father, or uncle. Enjoy

Rumbero's

Rumbero's: Latin American Cuisine, Art, Bar

We had delicious treats for dinner with Hector, Michael, and Catrina. I highly recommend this Columbia Heights spot and there was live Brazilian music which added to the atmosphere. Now it's sleepy time.

friday

Having fun with friends. Tom isn't sure he wants the blurry picture shown, but such is life.

It sucks

It sucks when they pick the body up before I get to blog it....

Happy 21 Holly!

Happy 21st birthday to my superstar friend Holly! Here's a little something for you. Unfortunately I am missing the festivities back in Ohio that started last night and will likely go all weekend. There is no doubt Holly can power through and has plenty of friends to party along. After all, she has like 2.5 million Facebook friends!

My First Tattoo, Day 2

This is all new to me. I should have confidently understood that it would look funny this morning. After a night of tossing and turning, I awoke to remove the absorbent, medicine filled bandage, to find fat blurry lines all over my back. Fortunately it was just the top layers of ink that oozed out and it quickly washed away to reveal Grant's crisp clear lines!

Timmy thinks it isn't big enough in the front. A little late for that now...it isn't getting any bigger in this round. Should I lose my brain an decide to add to it down the road, I might agree.

I've carefully clothed myself in a loose t-shirt and bulky dress shirt; now I am off to work where I'll meet my boss' new boss today. Fun. I just hope nobody is chummy and tries to pat me on the back.

Here it is!

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but the outline is finished. I didn't pass out and it only took 3:15 to place it, finish the design, and do the outline. Now I have three weeks to recover and decide on the shading technique. My adrenaline is pumping in overload right now and I am starving.

Preview

So here's a marker drawing of the shoulder. I'm a wimp so he's sent for a smoothie to add some sugar to my system before he starts killing me with pain. Perhaps dinner would have been a wise choice. I'll save the reveal of the back for another time...if I make it that far.

T Day Update!

After tearing at my heart, my baby girl called me after I went to bed. She let me know that she would, in fact, come stay with my family on Wednesday night and spend Thanksgiving with us as long as she could leave for a few hours to have lunch with her Grandma. Hardly an equal compromise when it is my holiday, but it is better than pure abandonment. I had already booked a flight home for Thursday afternoon thinking I wouldn't want to spend all weekend there without her. I hopped out of bed and changed my flights to accommodate her availability. I'm truly on a leash, but what can I do?

This video shows how I feel (of course my daughter is much younger.) Now I'm off to work!

T Day

T is for Turkey Day - It's my turn, but it sounds like the princess wants to go to her "other" Grandma's house. This makes me very sad, but I guess that's what happens when teenagers get an attitude of independence. Regardless if she'll join me or not, I'll be there to see my family. It is truly amazing how one day I have a sweet little child who can't get enough time with her Dad and the next day I have a teenager who sees no value in spending time with family. She has no clue how these actions drive daggers into my soul.

T is for Tattoo Day - Tomorrow at this time I'll be under the needles. I have to admit that I'm scared to death. Considering the dentist has to revive me from passing out after a shot to numb my mouth for dental work, this could be an adventure in madness and insanity. Let's just hope Grant Cobb at Tattoo Paradise does a good job. His portfolio is amazing and I can't wait to see the custom piece he's been working on for me. I'll just focus on Erica and trust that she'll be there in spirit to get me through the pain. This one is for you dear friend.

Still Alive!

#8 Palace of Wonders
#9 The Red & The Black
$10 Phase One
#11 Ugly Mug
#12 Bachelors Mill

so no...we didn't break our record. Next time no bottomless drinks at #1.

bad idea

I'm just sayin' Leaving RJ at te 'beauty' salon and moving on.

H St. Martini lounge #7

Hot & Dirty.....that's what I'm dinking not wht Rita's doing.

granville something #6

We thought we were lost, but we found a familiar place. Rita read the sign that said for the poor and underprivaleged. She tried to run, but I made her go in.

ZONE

We may be lost in NE, but we're in a drug free zone so we're safe. If only a taxi was close...

Rose's Dream #6

So...actually we''re lost in NE, but we found Rose's dream. Rita says it aint gonna be pretty but we're going in. Yes, he's wearing a cone. Safety First.

Ars

Rita went to help this man fix the aquarium (sp?) but I just wanted to capture his tramp stamp.

Argonaut #5

Blurry...yes. Drinking with Sean at the Argonaut (a friend of Doug from Sollys...smalll world) and having fun. Time for a viddle.

Old Glory

We made it to H street. Let's hope this isn't a sign. Nothing tattered, nothing gained.

Officer

It is apparently illegal for him to actually mount it (a first) but Rita Jean takes a lesson from Officer Tataro. She's protecting us. We're about to snatch a taxi and go to NE.

be bar

We aren't the only ones. Rita finds a friend to pry open the door, but they aren't open. Our bar math is skewed. Time for a taxi.

Corporate Ladder

...or something like that. i think he's chasing a brown boy.

Good Eatin'

Yummy

Nellies #4

Cute puppy

I found someone...

It's Rita not Cher

Asmara Lounge #3

Duffy's isn't open yet so we walked down 9th. I'm not sure where we are. The bartender doesn't speak english, but I think they are celebrating Ethiopian Christmas. We discreetly took a pic of ourselves in the mirror. We may have been shot if documenting this any other way. Now we know where the cabbies drink! There are no less than 12 parked outside and I always thought they were parked here waiting for a show to let out at 9:30 club.

Sollys #2

Our pace is off, but Dags found her boyfriend at Sollys.

Beijo

OMG

Whatever will I do? This machine tells Rita Jean she only has $3,279,427.39 left

Creme - Go

It is on. We begin the madness with bottomless mimosas and bloody marys at Creme.

Bondage

What does this mean?

4 Laura

Out Again

This is my second attempt at mobile blogging this pic. It was time to break the "make fun of Box" posts of earlier today. Having a cocktail at Pollys where they are still celebrating the Halloween while all the department stores have moved on to pushing Jesus' birthday.

Tomorrow is a bar crawl where Rita Jean and I will be counting bars and breaking records.

Mansion Update: Steve and Lisa moved in today and we anxiously await the photos!

Halloween Movie

Makeover

I was checking up on Jay over at "Kill the Goat" I found out she's apparently ending a relationship and her post today was a bit sad. I then followed one of her sponsored links and ended up doing this makeover. Make sure you replay it a few times for the full impact. I wonder if they could do this over at Iris' Hair Salon?

Hug In

I blogged last Friday about the gay couple thrown out of Rite Aid for embracing in public. According to an article at DCist, a blogging group called The New Gay organized a hug in on Tuesday night. If we had known about it in advance, several of us would have joined them! Read the details at the articles above.