Thanksgiving - Vegas Style

Each season the Iowa State women's basketball team plays in a Thanksgiving tournament.  Matt and I have made it a tradition of traveling to see the team play.  This year - LAS VEGAS!!!!

The team is playing a tournament at the South Point Casino, about 7 miles south of the strip.  We arrived yesterday afternoon and it's been pretty busy. After getting settled into our room, it was time for Thanksgiving Dinner at the hotel buffet - so good. Then we headed down to the Strip with a friend of ours to see how things have changed since 2004, the last time we were in town.  Wow!

Today I'm getting a professional shave (pics to come) and a quick trip to see Hoover Dam.  The team plays tonight and tomorrow night.  Then Sunday, sigh, back to Ames. The added bonus, I've won at Craps and Blackjack!

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP MILHOUSE!!!!

The Night My Life Changed Forever

Eighteen years ago today I had a dinner date that changed my life.

A few weeks earlier I had placed an ad in the local Iowa City independent newspaper - "Hockey Fan Seeks Same". I mentioned that the kind of guy that I was interested in needed to like country music and college football. I was hopeful, but prepared for disappointment. I also had a voicemail message that I recorded in connection with the ad. I distinctly remember saying, "if you're the kind of person that I would see on 'Ricky Lake', I'm not interested."

A few days later I check the voicemail, a guy named Matt had responded. He actually sounded.... interesting.  I called him back and we chatted for about an hour. We made plans to meet the following Monday (he was going home for the Thanksgiving weekend) at a local restaurant in town.

Now, I have to admit, I picked the place because it was a bit of a sports bar and I thought that if the dinner didn't go well that I could at least stay and watch the Raiders - Chargers NFL game. I even went so far as to wear my San Diego Chargers jersey (the awesome powder blue one). When I was getting ready, I looked in the mirror and thought, "I actually look good."

I showed up at the restaurant and he was already there and seated. Back then, before this whole internet fad, there weren't any photos available, so I had no idea what he looked like. When I saw him, I breathed a sigh of relief because he was good looking.

The whole night was amazing. We talked the entire time and the conversation flowed easily. There weren't any uncomfortable pauses and it felt like I had known him for years. We had similar stories, divorced parents, worked in music stores, sports fans. LOL

Before we knew it, the waitress was giving us the "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" look. The restaurant was closing for the night and they needed us to leave.

We walked outside and there was a light snow falling. I offered Matt a ride back to his dorm and along the way we made plans to get together the next day. I remember getting back to my apartment building and talking with my friend Rebecca.  I told her, "I really like this guy. He would fit in very well with our group of friends.

We've been together ever since and not a day goes by that I am grateful to have him in my life.

Happy Anniversary Matt.

TMI Tuesday - Happy Thanksgiving

Once again it's time to answer Sean's TMI Tuesday questions.  He always has great ones to answer. 


HAPPY THANKSGIVING

1. Do you travel or stay local? Family or Friends? Host or Guest?

Matt and I have a tradition of traveling with the Iowa State women's basketball team over the Thanksgiving Break. Over the years we've been to Nashville, Chicago, Reno, and Honolulu! We took a whole week for the Hawaii trip and I honestly didn't want to come home. 

The only time we don't travel to see the girls play is when they are in a tournament in the Caribbean (Bahamas, Virgin Islands). It's a lot of money to make the trip and there isn't a lot to do other than sit on the beach.

We will be doing it again this year.  Where are we going?  You'll have to wait to find out. :-)

2. Parade: Love it? Leave it? Never let it go?

Leave it.  My Mom LOVES watching the parade every year, but for me, I'd rather be doing anything else.  To me it's cheesy and WAY overproduced.  Plus the commentators make me feel the need to have an insulin shot from all the faux sweetness.

3. Favorite Food?

Hands down - Dressing.  I love the stuff. I can eat an entire pan of it by myself if given the opportunity. Matt makes an amazing dressing using cranberries. OMG it's insanely good!

4. Favorite holiday movie or do you watch football?

Football. How can you not love a day full of great food and beefy guys in tight uniforms. But usually since we are traveling we find something to do in the city we are in.

5. If you do holiday decorations, for which holiday and when?

Since we are usually on the road for Thanksgiving, we host Christmas at our house for the family. We try to get the Christmas tree and other decorations up as soon as we can after Thanksgiving. Matt does the tree as he is very particular about how it should be done. That's fine by me. :-)

6. Black Friday. Thoughts? Feelings? Soapbox?

I've never gone out on the morning of Black Friday. Haven't ever felt the need to do so. If we are in town, Matt and I will venture out that afternoon to see what's on sale, etc. Mostly it's to just get out of the house for a little while.

I'm really torn on the Thanksgiving Day shopping that's now occurring. If stores want to be open, that's their choice, but I would hope that they give their employees the option of working or not. When I worked retail, I relished that one day off before all hell broke loose for the Christmas shopping season. Plus if you work on Thanksgiving, you better be paid double time for it.

When Matt and I are on the road, we always make sure to personally thank, and tip if possible, everyone who is working on Thanksgiving. We want to let them know they are appreciated for working that day.

Bonus
People traditionally give thanks on Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

I'm very thankful for my husband Matt.  He has been the rock that I have leaned on for close to two decades. I am grateful every day for him.

I'm also thankful for the support network (blogging, Facebook, etc) that I've found for my weight loss journey. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in this and that there are others out there who share my plight and can prop me up when needed. :-)

I'm Exhausted

Not my real doctor, but I can dream, right?!

I had my annual physical today.  Everything is as it should be, except, I'm exhausted.  I've been tired for the past month and I mentioned it to my doctor.  He's gonna run a few tests to see if there's anything in my blood work.

I'm also starting to fight a head cold. And of course I had to fast before the blood work, so by 2 this afternoon I was starving!!!  Thank goodness there is a Hy-Vee near my doctor's office, so following my appointment, I hit the in-store food court.  Oh did it taste good.

Hoping for a good night's sleep tonight.  I'm trying to get my school work done NOW so I can get to bed early. :-)

Sunday Selfie - It's Cray Cray!

This selfie was taken a couple of days ago in my classroom. My kids were discussing the word "selfie" and how it was named "word of the year".  

For some misguided reason, my students were under the impression that us "old people" didn't know how to take a selfie. I felt compelled to prove them wrong.  LOL

It's always fun to use vocabulary that the kids are using. My favorite lately has been "Cray Cray". It's hilarious for me to watch their faces when I'm not only using the terms, but I'm using them correctly. Ah priceless. 

I've got a busy week coming up. Three days of school and then Thanksgiving Break. Matt and I have a Thanksgiving tradition that we will be continuing this year. 

More about that later in the week. :-)

Wednesday is also our 18-year dating anniversary.  That'll be a fun story to blog about. 

Ciao!

Robert

Gay in Nashville - Shane McAnally

This week's issue of "Entertainment Weekly" has a great article about Shane McAnally. Shane is a songwriter who has recently had a great deal of success writing for some of the biggest artists in Nashville - Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry and Chris Young, just to name a few.  He's also produced the debut album of Kacey Musgraves, a singer / songwriter who has been named Best New Artist at the recent Country Music Association Awards.

Shane also happens to be gay.

He married his husband in 2012 and and talks in the article about how it's really not a big deal in Nashville.  Although let's be honest, if he were a major act, it kinda would be.

The song that got McAnally noticed was Kenny Chesney's "Somewhere With You."

I'm gonna be honest, the first time I head the song, the lyric's screamed "Gay Love Song". Plus it is a Kenny Chesney song, and there have been rumors (there was a reason Renee divorced him).

And no, Chesney does nothing for me.

I looked at the list of songs that he has had a hand in writing and they are some of my favorite songs of late. Finding out that he is gay just seems to make sense.  Not that the songs are necessarily "gay", but that there is a "gay sensibility" to them.  That you could easily switch out genders in the song and it would still be a great song.

I was kinda surprised he didn't have a hand in Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me".

I've never been a big fan of artists who happen to be gay being promoted to the gay community simply because they are gay.  "HEY! Support this guy because he's gay.  Don't worry if the music is any good or not." For me it's about discovering the music and loving it.  If the artist happens to be gay, cool bonus - nice to know.

Here are a couple of more songs written by Shane that I love.....

"Text Me Texas" by Chris Young

"Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert

TMI Tuesday - Ya Gotta Have Friends

I'm happy to be answering Sean's TMI questions.  It's been a couple of weeks. 

YA GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS...

1. Did you have an imaginary friend growing up?

No imaginary friends growing up, but I'm honestly surprised that I didn't. We moved around a lot during my childhood (Navy Brat). Friends were hard to come by and making friends was not my strong suit (tried WAY too hard). 

2. Are you still friends with your BFF or anyone from your youth?

One of my best friends from high school is still a very good friend.  We were in youth group together and still keep in touch. He and his family live in Tennessee, so anytime I'm down there we get to see one another.  

3. Who is your best friend now? (SO's excluded)

My best friend now would have to be Andy. We got to know him here in Ames when he was a graduate student and the connection was immediate - sports, pop culture, love of men, etc.  Andy officiated at our wedding and I've been able to talk to him about things that I would be hesitant to discuss with anyone else.  

4. Do you have same sex friends of the opposite orientation?

To be honest, MOST of my friends are of the opposite orientation.  Although we have made friends with more gay men in the area, our closest friends are straight.  

5. Ex's as friends?

Well considering that Matt was my first boyfriend, I don't have any ex's to be friends with. :-)

6. Do you have any non human bffs?

Nope, no pets to speak of.  I'm pretty much allergic to everything.  Plus, with all the traveling that Matt and I do, it's not fair of us to have a pet that other's would have to look in on or to have us board.

7. Are you friends with any relatives?

My brother and I are good friends. This is surprising considering we HATED one another growing up. Once we grew up, we settled our differences and even bonded over our strange relationship with our Dad. Mike was my best man in the wedding and I couldn't have asked for a better man to stand there with me.

8. Friends at work?

Too many to mention. Being a teacher, you bond with coworkers over things that others just can't understand. Being able to vent or laugh about the day is essential to staying "sane" as a teacher.  Significant Others, while very supportive, just can't fully appreciate my job the way a coworker can. 

9. What's your Face Book number?

428 - and yes, I have a few friends that I've friended just because they are hot.  LOL

10. What's the worst thing a friend has done to you? Are you still? 

A number of years ago I was on a softball team with friends. When the team was formed, it was just for fun. The second season, we were in the running to win our division, and I noticed that I was playing less and less. My friend told me, "I only want my 'A' team out there." I was really hurt and had it out with him. It basically destroyed the friendship - not only with him, but others as well who stood by him.

BONUS
Friends with benefits?

Not out of the question, but always with full disclosure. :-)

Selfie Sunday - Rise and Shine

This is me first thing in the morning. 

Yup. You've seen it.  

You can't unsee it.

It's the ugly truth and honestly, it's the way I've felt the past couple of weeks.  It's interesting that I feel summer is my slow time of year. Once November rolls around, I feel like I'm doing something every night and I don't get a chance to slow down. This ultimately leads me to not sleep well and then feel like a member of the Walking Dead during the day.  

This also explains why I haven't been blogging as much. And I miss blogging.

This weekend has been no different, although Friday night we did stay at home and worked on getting things clean around the house and got caught up no DVR'd stuff. Saturday was a trip to Minneapolis with Matt and Mom. We went shopping at IKEA to get stuff for Mom's new place. She was very grateful and we got a good bit of stuff. We got home around 10 in the evening, watched the Lady Gaga SNL and then I crashed.

Sunday involved going over to Mom's and putting together the things that we bought the day before, grading papers, doing laundry and then rec league volleyball.

Where did the weekend go? Sigh.

This will be another busy week at school as I'm getting kids signed up for a trip to Washington D.C. next summer.  I'm hoping to make it to the gym in the morning a few days this week.  I have five new shirts that I really want to wear, but don't want to wear them until I'm under 220.  

Small moves Sparks. Small moves.

Hope everyone has a great week. :-)

Sunday Selfie - The Long Weekend

I kinda like this selfie. Although I look a little cross-eyed.

OMG what a week and weekend. If I look tired in my photo, I am. I really haven't had a lot of downtime in the past week and I honestly could use a day where I don't do anything. :-)

Monday through Thursday was Parent Teacher Conferences at school. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was at school from 7 am to 7 pm. The conferences were great, but I was exhausted at the end of each day. Thursday morning I met with parents from 8 to 11:30. From there we got the rest of the week off.  

Thursday afternoon was busy with errands - lunch with a coworker, getting my car's oil changed, working out with Kyle, and taking Mom to pick up her car from the mechanic.  I actually was able to relax at home with Matt on Thursday night and do little to nothing.  Ahhhhhhhhh.

Friday it was down to Des Moines to take care of some things and THEN it was off to Minneapolis. I was invited to a reception hosted by the travel company that plans our school Washington D.C. trip. I packed a bag and headed 3 hours north. Following a "quick" trip to the Mall of America, I made it to the reception and networked with other teachers who coordinate student travel.

From there it was off to meet up with Chris of the Mangina Monologues. I met Chris through blogging and we've been great friends ever since.  He was gracious enough to put me up for the night he showed me a great time.  I am kicking myself for not getting ANY photos with Chris. (Seriously, he's really good looking)

We started off at the Eagle Bar for "3-4-1" drinks. We caught up on our lives and lusted after all the hot bears in the bar - seriously, there were A LOT! Following 4 gin and tonics, it was on to a wonderful Italian restaurant in St. Paul. The "Pasta Experience" was all that Chris told me it would be. I'll definitely be heading back in the future.

Chris also made me a couple of great mix cd's with new music to add to my morning workouts. We had breakfast at my favorite place in the Cities - The Egg and I. And then it was back to Iowa. Sigh.  I really enjoyed my time with Chris and just enjoy hanging out with him. It's not many people with whom I can make really inappropriate comments with other than Matt. :-)

Dashing back to Iowa (the mix cds really made the trip fly by), we went to see the ISU women's volleyball team sweep Oklahoma 3-0.  Then it was off to a party hosted by our friends Don & Troy. They host karaoke parties, and while Matt and I don't sing, we love going and hanging out there. It's our chance to socialize with other gays from central Iowa (cuz there are sooooo many of em...lol).

Today we headed over to Nevada (Iowa) to have an early Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's family. A lot of us will be out of town, so we decided to have it when everyone could get together. It was awesome and the food was amazing. I'm still kinda full 8 hours later. teehee.

Finally, the weekend ends with the season opener for the ISU women's basketball team (where my selfie was taken).  The girls defeated North Dakota 84-55 and looked good and there were a few hot cops there (sigh....). 

Now I'm getting ready for tomorrow and making sure I blog about it.  I miss doing this. I need to be better about writing. 

So I leave you with a video that Chris shared with me. It's Kylie Minogue's "Timebomb" as done my Jasun Marks. This song immediately went on my workout playlist!  Thanks Chris!

Sunday Selfie

I just don't take good selfies.  LOL

Busy day today!  Got a little extra sleep from Daylight Savings Time ending. Yay!  

At Noon it was time for the Iowa State women's basketball team exhibition game against Wayne State (Nebraska), a Division II school.  It was a sloppy game, but ISU came out on top.  Matt and I have been going to games since 1997 and I haven't missed a home game since 2006.  We know the team and the coaching staff pretty well and have even traveled to many an away game to support them.

Tonight was another rec league volleyball beat-down.  We only have a few weeks left and then a hopeful move down to a lower league for the winter season.  I feel like I've gotten better, but unfortunately we're playing much better competition.  

Time to get ready for the week, I've got an early workout planned. :-)

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Over the past few weeks I've been pondering my "place" in the gay world. Recent posts by RB and The Closet Professor have let me know that I'm not alone in what I've been thinking.

I'm gay.  I've known I was gay since I was in middle school. But for a long time I couldn't reconcile who I was with being gay, simply because I didn't relate to those things that in the media I saw as "being gay" - dancing, outlandish clothes and behavior, love of musical theater and drama and the feminine mannerisms.  Now of course I know these are stereotypical and not at all representative of the community as a whole, but that's how I saw being gay.

Me, I'm a sports-loving, blue jeans / sweatshirts, hang around the house and watch tv kinda guy. What makes me gay is that I find men attractive, nothing more, nothing less.  It gets under my skin when I'm made to feel less than gay because of my interests.  Being gay is part of who I am, but it doesn't define who I am. I've been told by a number of people recently that if they didn't know I was gay that they wouldn't have been able to tell.  It's not something that I try to do, "to pass" so to speak, it's just who I am.

Am I completely comfortable around anyone who is gay? No.  There are certain affectations that I'm just not comfortable with and that's just me.  What I don't do is make them feel any less a member of the gay community.  We're all one big family and we should treat each other with respect and not judge based on looks, interests, etc.

Saturday Musings

It's been a long and busy week.  Busy enough that I really haven't had a chance to blog this week. Today we're watching college football on tv, so I'm taking the opportunity to pound out a few sentences about how life has been going.

Sunday at Rec League volleyball I banged my knee pretty good. Yes, I know, any gay man worth his salt owns a quality set of knee pads, but I wasn't wearing them (I hate how they bind my knees).  I went to receive a serve, slipped on a patch of moisture on the floor and BAM!  My entire team was gathered around me in about a second. I think I saw twelve shades of purple flash before my eyes. Nothing broken, just a big ol bruise and some swelling.

Because of the knee knock, I postponed my personal training session with Kyle until Thursday. I've been going to the gym first thing in the morning before I go to work and getting more comfortable with it. I'm realizing that my body is actually "craving" the exercise. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I NEED to be at the gym (and it's not just to ogle over the hot guys and hopefully see em "nekid" in the shower). With a little work, I'm cautiously optimistic my waistline will shrink.

School has been pretty busy as we are preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences next week.  For three hours each night, Monday through Wednesday, I'll be meeting with parents and discussing their students.  I also meet with parents on Thursday morning from 8 - 11:30.  Then, I'm done for the week - we get Thursday afternoon and all day Friday OFF! I really do enjoy meeting with parents, but after three and a half LONG days, it's nice to have a bit of time off.  I'm thinking about heading up to the Twin Cities on Friday.

Tonight we have a housewarming/costume party in Des Moines.  Matt will be dressing as a baseball player, I'm going as a priest.  Should be a lot of fun.