Paw Painting at Karob's House

A few weeks ago, Rhonda had her paints out and was working on some pieces. Thinking the paints would be safe from any unsuspecting artists, we ran an errand for about 10 minutes. Upon return, we saw that Karob decided to find her inner artist and make a painting of her own. From the paw prints on top of the table and scattered throughout the floor, we figured she had to have been standing on the table. All four paws were paint ridden!
As seen from the picture above, she is quite the artist. She prefers acrylic on canvas and here she was going for an autumn sunset.
Unfortunately, she isn't good about cleaning up after herself. She left her paws full of paint! Luckily it wore off within a few hours.
She was happy as ever with the finished piece. Unfortunately, we haven't had any offers for an art show yet. I guess she needs to increase her selection before that will happen.

Little Missy has always been my little hellion. Always into anything she can get her paws or mouth on. Gum, suckers, spatulas taken from the sink, dental floss, cat food, saran wrap, Tupperware lids, chocolate...and the list goes on. She was obviously sent to me for a reason and this reason I hold very dear to my heart. She is truly a special dog and I wouldn't trade her mischievousness in for anything!

Melody4Equality

Ro and all the fabulous members of Community In-Roads Alliance pulled off another very successful fundraiser. With lots of hard work, running around and securing donations, the satisfaction we get in the end is undescribible. Rhonda had recently had shoulder surgery so that meant everyone else had to step it up a notch-and they did! We had many items to raffle off and even some items big enough for a silent auction. A print by Darin Jones, a one night stay at a bed and breakfast, Under the Lindens and a BBQ catered by Cantu's.

The turnout was pretty good. We had a wide variety of people, which is always nice. We try and make our fundraisers affordable so everyone can come. We don't make hundreds of thousands or even thousands of dollars, but we make enough to make a difference.

Everyone of the members of CIA worked really hard to make this night a great success. We also had great volunteers and we couldn't have done it without them. Thank you to everyone who helped in the planning and execution of such a brilliant night and Thank you to all who attended and supported.

The money raised was split between Equality Utah and The Utah Pride Center.

My Other Half

If you see me randomly smiling, it may be because I was just thinking about my other half. The other half that makes me smile, makes me laugh and loves me more than I could ever imagine being loved.

We met under unusual circumstances but considering, we have toughed it out. We have our hard times, our bumps and our downs but we manage to pull through and all because of one reason: our love for one another.

I love waking up to her gentle kiss and beautiful smile. I love the coffee she makes me in the mornings. It always tastes so much better than when I make it. I love her passion, her drive and her love of life. Despite some health problems, she continues to trek on. Rather than getting discouraged, she knows she will one day be in the mountains again, roaming around. She is a hard worker, keeping the house in check and taking care of the dogs.

I love every minute of everyday that I get to spend with her. And I look forward to spending everyday of the rest of our lives together. I look forward to her gentle kiss waking me up every morning for years to come.

I thank the powers that be for bringing us together. A love I never thought I'd find I have found with my love, Rhonda.

Here's to many more happy years together!

Ro's first fundraiser

Ro's first fundraiser was a success! The group had decided to do a fundraiser hosted by ClubJam with live music, a comedian and great prizes for raffle. Ro had run around for months before the event asking businesses for donations of their services and merchandise. She was successful. She was able to get many great prizes. Over $800.00 worth of merchandise and services were donated!
Not only had Suzy designed our logo, she made Ro and I business cards of them and she made a huge poster that hung at the front of the club. We want people to know our name. We want our name and logo to be a symbol of fun fundraising events. This event was called Community FUNraiser.
This beautiful cake was donated from The Bakery. Not only was it beautiful and had Equality Utah written on it...it was YUMMY!! Thank you to The Bakery!

We had a great turnout. The club owner said it was the best turnout any fundraiser had at that club. He was surprised at the number of people we brought in. That was a great compliment from him.
We had many of our friends show up to volunteer and to support. Thanks to Kim and Jess for the food setup & the use of their food handler's permit! Steph and Lu fought the cold to tend to the canned food donations! We're glad they were able to join us to party later on. Joni and Sean (picture to the left) kicked it at the front door. They were our donation duo. Sean got sucked in last minute, but I don't think he minded. He got to spend the night next to a beautiful lady!

Our friends Adria and Nat (picture below) were there all night long. Adria is the reason we have such great pictures. She took that camera and got a shot of everyone! Nat is the reason we sold so many raffle tickets! She was rocking the raffle tickets!




As you can see, we did have a great turnout and a great time! Despite my nasty cold and biladeral ear infections, I even held up the night! Thank you to our group and the many volunteers there to help. Between suggested donation at the door and raffle tickets, we made $772.00 to be equally donated between Equality Utah and The Utah Pride Center.




Great job group for pulling off an amazing event.

Community In-Roads Alliance

Post passing of Proposition 8 in California, which
bans same-sex marriage, many groups have been
popping up around the nation. Some of the local
groups are geared towards activism and service.
Rhonda had a great idea to form a group that
would focus primarily on fundraising. Most of
the local GLBT groups that are fighting for equal
rights are non-profit and are in need of
some extra cash.

I am so proud of Rhonda for envisioning and pursuing such a great organization. She brought
together a great group of people with the common goal of involving the whole community.
A group that will build a bridge both inside our community as well as a bridge from outside in. She has been a great leader with inspiration for all.

Our straight ally and sister Suzy graciously lent her creative self to create both our logo as well as flyers for our most recent events.

Thank you to the whole group for the hard work, creativity and inspiration they bring to the group. Hopefully, Community In-Roads Alliance will be able to build the bridge to include everyone!

Happy Eco-friendly Holiday!

Thanks to our sister Suzy, we were able to go Eco-friendly with our Christmas cards this year. Year after year, we get Christmas cards just to be displayed during the season then to be tossed out upon decoration cleanup. Ro and I thought it would be a great idea to send an email with the card attached to our family and friends. We are still mailing out a couple but we saved about 30 cards and envelopes (and postage cost). Thanks to our sister Suz, who designed this beautiful card, we were able to take a step forward in our quest of being an ecologically friendly home.

Happy Holidays from our Family to Yours....

Got Milk?

Ro and I volunteered for Equality Utah last week. We passed out postcards to everyone leaving the filming of MILK. The best part is we got to watch the movie - free!

Until the last year, I hadn't had much contact with the GLBT community, I wasn't too aware of our history. So, coming into this movie, I wasn't sure what to expect. I got more than I expected.

Harvey Milk is often known as a "martyr for gay rights". He opened a camera store on Castro St. and setup residence in the Castro district. This was at a time when this district was experiencing an influx of gays and lesbians. He ran for and lost City Supervisor a couple of times until a final victory. He used his popularity to lead the gay political movement in fierce battles against anti-gay initiatives. When I was one year old, Milk became the first openly gay man to be elected into office. During his time in office, he took on the likes of Anita Bryant, John Briggs and the infamous Proposition 6, a bill that would have taken the job away of any openly gay teacher.

Milk is especially known for the two bills he sponsored. The first one was a civil rights bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation. The other bill Milk concentrated on was designed to solve the number one problem according to a recent citywide poll: dog poop. Within a month of being sworn in, he began to work on a city ordinance to require dog owners to scoop their pets' poop.

Sean Penn is Oscar-worthy in his portrayal of Milk. Everything, including real clips of rallies, marches, was fabulous!

It amazes me that the fights Milk started in the 70's are still being fought today - with the addition of same-sex marriage. Many states have anti-discrimination and hate laws for sexual orientation or sexual identity. Not Utah. I could be kicked out of my apartment or fired from my job...just because of who I am...just because I am gay. It's very scary but true.

I would have loved to be part of the movement in the 70's, been part of the Stonewall Riots, but I wasn't. I am proud to be part of the movement that is today. The movement for same-sex marriages, a supporter for Common Grounds Initiative, which is going to the legislature next session, and an activist for Equal Rights for All! When it comes to my rights as an American citizen, I will stand up and fight. I have the right to justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - just like the guy next door.