June 29, 2011 - Blue Flowers

I walk by this house practically every day on my way to & from work. It's for sale and the yard is starting to get a little crazy... but those hydrangeas are crazy beautiful, right?

June 28, 2011 - We've Got Tile

Yay - work on the bathroom has started up again after a brief pause. The guys have started putting tile up and it looks great! You may notice the mess on the floor... that is because we decided to go ahead and replace that tile too after realizing that trying to patch the missing pieces would probably not work out very well.

June 27, 2011 - Yard Work Helpers

Part of my current morning routine now generally includes watering our plants along with walking the dogs. I usually take the dogs out back and water there first, then take them for their walk around the block, and then hook them up to the railing when we return so I can water the front yard. While I'm watering, Foxy likes to keep an eye out for squirrels and roaming kitties in our trees & bushes, Huckleberry makes sure to bark at any person who walks past the house, and Howard likes to remind me that he's waiting for his breakfast. It's a fun part of the day!

June 26, 2011 - Pride!!

Today was the NYC Gay Pride parade, huzzah! I wasn't planning on going, but I ended up near the village while running an errand and so of course went to see how it was this year. There were tons of people, and I actually couldn't get too close, but I did manage to spot Manila Luzon (from RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag U) on top of a float.

June 25, 2011 - Born This Way

Do you recognize this lady? Does the name Cynthia Germanotta ring any bells? How about... Lady Gaga's MOM!!??? Yes, that is Mama Gaga at Garden State Equality's Legends Gala about to present awards to 7 bullied students whose testimonies helped get the country's toughest anti-bullying legislation passed. As the mother of one of the LGBT community's strongest allies, it was incredibly movingly to hear her speak about her own daughter's struggles as a teen, but what topped even that was when she put her cell phone up to the mic so that Lady Gaga herself could say a few words directly to these brave kids.

Oh, and did I mention that Papa Gaga was there too? Or that I was sitting AT THEIR TABLE WITH THEM? It was very cool & I have to thank my friends Jack & Jon for making it all happen (for me, for Garden State Equality, and especially for those kids who were smiling from ear-to-ear the whole night.)

If you're interested in donating to or reading more about Garden State Equality, please check out their site www.gardenstateequality.org!

June 24, 2011 - Equality!

It happened... gay marriage is now legal in my great state of NY. I don't have the right words to describe how exciting this, so instead I'll invite you to watch this great speech from Governor Andrew Cuomo just after he signed the marriage bill into law

June 23, 2011 - Closed!

Hmm - this is the place next to my office where I get either breakfast and/or lunch almost every day. Not a good sign, but I have to say I'm not completely surprised. Among my co-workers, we refer to this place as the "smelly deli" or "dirty deli." It's remarkably slow and honestly pretty gross, but it's also ridiculously cheap & convenient, and it's always packed with people.

I'm actually relieved in a sense that the sign was up and the door was down because it probably should have happened a long time ago... that being said - where am I going to get my breakfast now? Boooooo!