Not gossip-worthy

I think it's a sign of progress, especially where we live, that Courtney has to regularly "come-out" at work.

It's not like she hides the fact that we're married. A wedding picture, among other obvious indicators, is featured prominently in her cubicle. Nevertheless, she regularly gets drawn into a conversation with someone at her workplace where one thing leads to another, which ultimately leads to the whole "I'm gay" thing.

The latest conversation was over Courtney's vanity license plate, which includes the letters M-R-S as in "Dr. & Mrs. S." Of course for most people, where there is a Mrs., it is assumed there is a Mr. Add in a bit of sexism about "Dr." equating to "male" and well, most people are bound to assume that Courtney is in a heterosexual marriage.

So yesterday someone asked Courtney about her license plate, which led to "Which hospital is your husband on staff with... blah blah blah." And once again Courtney had to disclose that she has a wife, not a husband.

Of course she also had to disclose that her spouse isn't a real doctor, but I digress.

Here's what is remarkable to me. This is East Jesus. Courtney's been in her job a year now, yet over and over she's still having these coming out conversations with people. The place is gossip-central, yet no one ever seems to have the goods on Courtney. Apparently,the fact that she's a lesbian isn't gossip-worthy.

I'm on a break

Ugh. I don't know what to do about this blog. Could it be any more boring?

No wonder few people bother to stop by.

Earlier this week I finished six projects in as many days. Now there is nothing in the queue until the 23rd. I'm left with a lot of free time and it's hard to keep from being bored. It's summer and I can't stand to be indoors. The last place I want to be is sitting at a computer. So, the blog suffers.

I fill my days will a lot of exercise, including at least one hour in the pool swimming laps every weekday, and at least four miles of walking every day. I've shed about 45 pounds over the past year, and I need to lose another 25, which I'd love to accomplish by the end of 2009. I'm sick of being fat and I am driven to get rid of it. I need to be constantly moving.

All that exercise is helping me emotionally too. I'm committed to managing my depression without medication. That's a tall order. It's an even taller order when life deals you a hard blow.

I don't want to talk about it, but something horrible happened last month. The fallout is that we were trying to have a baby and now we are not. My marriage has been under some strain as a result.

We're going to be fine. Everyone is okay.

In the meantime, I'm just trying to make sense of everything. I've kind of checked-out emotionally and mentally. I've been closed off, inside my thoughts. I'm the kind of person who needs to process everything. And while all that is going on I've been too vulnerable to let anyone in, even my wife. That's what's been so hard.

I'll snap out of it, and sooner as opposed to later. In the meantime, I'll just keep on moving.

I really need to woo my wife

Tomorrow night is date night. I need to make it special for Court.

I'm taking her here. After that, we'll be here.




Wish us good things.

What it's like to be married to Courtney

My keg party TO DO list:
Mow the lawn
Rake leaves
Hose out coolers
Put up the screen house
Set up the grills
Gather the firewood
Pat out 48 beef patties


Her keg party TO DO List:
Put out the frozen cream puffs
FB people with directions to our house

Should I be jealous?

Twice this week a man told my wife she has a beautiful pelvis.

My most excellent day at the paperclip

As you may have guessed, I had a great time at the race on Sunday. We left the house at 8:00, stopped at Panera for breakfast to go, and reached the track by 10:00.

We were directed to an access road that leads to several parking lots located behind the camping area. While it meant easy-in/ easy-out from the lot, it also meant walking all the way through the campgrounds. And they were muddy. This is how things were after two days of constant rain:


When we got to the track, our first order of business was buying tickets. We decided to wait to buy tickets for fear the race would be rained out. Though we paid a bit more per ticket, we ended up in very good seats. More on that later.

The next order of business was finding a good position for the airing of NASCAR Raceday Live, scheduled to begin at 11:30am. Here's how the show looked from our point of view. We had to fight for position. And it was VERY windy.


We stayed through the first 30 minutes of the show and then headed off to buy merchandise.


After that we headed through the gates and to our seats. We had excellent seats. We were right off turn two, about 24 rows up, with a great view of pit stall #1 and the pit road finish line. In a race where it's hard to gain track position, pit strategy is everything. We saw several close battles to be first off pit road.


This was our view of the back stretch.


The pre-race flyover.



My guy, Tony Stewart, had a GREAT race. A lot of tires were blowing, ruining the fortunes of many drivers by putting them lap-after-lap down. Stewart finished a solid third, his best finish so far this year. Take a look...



The best part? Court and I behaved like the married couple we are. We held hands almost the entire time we were there. Sitting in the stands, I either had my arm around her, or she had hers around me. My back started bothering me, so I spent the last 250 laps kinda leaning on Court. We were clearly a couple. And no one batted an eye. No one gave us grief. In fact, no one even noticed us that I can tell. It just goes to show you: NASCAR fans have way more class than most people are willing to admit.

The guy in the seat next to me was a real-estate agent from NC. I told him about my desire to own farm property somewhere between Hickory and Asheville. He's a Jr. fan. The guy next to him was a Harvick man. Next to him was an Edwards fan. And next to that guy were Stewart fans (husband and wife). Most of the people in our section were married men out on a Sunday without their wives. One in ten people were women, who were generally there with their husbands.

The last 50 laps were COLD. Clouds came out and it was VERY windy. I had trouble driving home for the wind.

We had a great time. I can't wait until the race in October. Maybe I'll persuade Syd to come back for that one. Who knows what I might do to her otherwise.

Overheard @Trop's

"I rode by; I always check for Unitarians when I pass by there."

--Ryan, a friend who said he saw me having lunch yesterday at a downtown cafe.

Overheard @Trop's

Trop: Look at that.

Court: What?

Trop: The sign on that car.

Court: "Odd Job Solutions."

Trop: I wonder how odd a job is too odd.

Court: What are you thinking?

Trop: Sperm donor.

St. Patrick's Day, Trop-style

I have to make a run to the deli in about 10 minutes to pick up our Reuben sandwiches.

We're going to a fertility/ mid-wife thing across town at 1st Christian.

After that, we're hooking up with friends for karaoke night at Applebees.

Overheard @ Trop's

Trop: We're an unlikely pair for a perfect couple.


Court: We're like peas in a pod.



Trop: You are a sugar snap pea.

Court: Uh-huh.




Trop: And our kids will be a baby sweet peas.

Court: Uh-huh.


Trop: And I'll be a shriveled up pea.

Court: Like the kind they serve in school lunches.

How you know you are in for a fun night

You know you are in for a wild night when your wife picks you up after work for happy hour, and hanging from the rear view mirror is this blindfold and these.




I love my wife.

Overheard @ Trop's

[While watching Whispers in the Dark]

Trop: I had the biggest crush on Annabella Sciorra after seeing this movie.

Court: My Dad has a huge crush on her.

Trop: He does?

Court: He loved her and Rebecca De Mornay in The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

Trop: Yes.

Court: It's really disconcerting... that you and my dad have crushes on the same women.

Trop: [chuckling]

Court: I guess it's true; we do marry our fathers.

Jesus would have given me the flower

Leaving the grocery store yesterday, we were confronted by a young woman with flowers. She extended her hand to give us a Valentine's Day carnation.

"Who is giving us this nice flower?"

"XYZ Baptist Church of East Jesus."

I put my arm around Court and asked the effervescent young woman "What is XYZ Baptist's position on same-sex marriage?"

In an instant the young woman's face went from bubbly-happy to expressionless. She withdrew her carnation and turned away.

WWJD?

So glad I am a lesbian

The Orgasm Gap

The winter thaw

We had a taste of spring this weekend. The temperature hit 72 on Saturday. That night we had our first back-yard fire of the year. We had another fire last night.


Our whole weekend was fabulous.

Eau de Parfum

I'm not one for cosmetics or fragrances, except for the Garden Botanika Eau de Parfum I wear from time to time. I consider it a splurge, this fragrance, and until Amanda gave me some for Christmas this year, I hadn't had any for very long time. I wear it sparingly.

I wore it last night to happy hour. I wanted to woo my wife.

We gathered at a downtown pub next to Court's office, so she was there ahead of me. I made my grand entrance about 30 minutes after the rest of the gang arrived, and as is our custom, I had a hug for everyone at the table.

Before I could sit down, Court had me take her office things out to the car so they wouldn't clutter the table. When I stepped out, all the women began interrogating Courtney about my fragrance. They loved it.

[Their husbands looked on in amazement.]

And that's partly why I love it. Women swoon over it. They always have. And last night they were swooning over me.

Court was so jealous... and completely wooed.

How to handle the bitter cold

It's been unusually cold these past few days.

I spend all my time in this house now that I work at home, and it's as energy efficient as a tent. Making matters worse, I've had a persistent head cold all week. By yesterday I had a serious case of cabin fever and mild hypothermia.

So it should not have surprised Court last night, as our evening out with friends was about to end too early, that I suggested we spend a few hours at a jacuzzi suite at one of East Jesus' better motels. I just couldn't bear to go home before 9:00pm to a cold, cramped house.

We know from experience this place has an hourly rate. We checked in at 9:00 and checked out by 2:00.

After a week of layering on the clothes because our house can't get any warmer than 58 degrees when the temps outside don't top 20 degrees, it sure was nice to bask naked in a spacious, 75-degree room.

Very. Nice.

And the jacuzzi tub? Ahhhhhhh.... positively steamy.

Just call me Clark Griswold

I'm referring to the attic scene, when Clark finds gifts for his wife that he hid years earlier.

I'm not quite so bad. Earlier today I found this gift for Court that I completely forgot about and obviously hid too well.

She unwrapped it this morning.

I'll unwrap it again, later.

Greetings from Little Rock

We're having a fine Christmas with Court's family. There has been minimal drama, for which we are grateful. Things are quite improved from last year.

Court's grandfather, who broke his hip and shattered his elbow nine weeks ago, was able to come home for the day. It is good to see him. He's lost a lot of weight but otherwise is doing well.

The kids had major parts in the church Christmas Eve service, so we went. Court's dad introduced me to the minister as Court's "spouse." This is huge. The minister was very welcoming. We were impressed.

Court gave me a Christmas gift for the ages: a gift-certificate for eight laps in a Sprint Cup car at a track of my choosing. I'd love to do it at Talledega, but I'll most likely cash it in at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. I am so excited.

We took the kids to see Marley & Me. It's a good movie, but has a sadder ending than My Dog Skip. There wasn't a dry eye in the theater. Even Amanda cried, and she has emotions of steel.

We're taking it easy today. Tomorrow we are headed to Hot Springs for the Mid-America Science Museum.

Reality bites

So, we got the long awaited call yesterday. And I'm all excited, because there's something in it for me. Court promised that if she got the job, my monthly allowance would get a boost.

As it became clear over the past several weeks that she would make the final cut, I'd been pondering all the ways I might spend my monthly windfall.

Imagine my disappointment when I learned that the extent of my bonus will be a whopping $10 raise.

So much for quarter-less trips to the deli.