Zeitzeuge Redux

Ah the joys of owning your own home

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:03:00 +0000

One of the joys of owning your own home? It's something that hits me every time we watch a movie or listen to music. There's no one next to us, above us or beneath us to have to worry about the music or the TV being too loud or the bass turned on. GOD I love that. I catch myself every time, thinking that we need to turn things down so we don't bother our neighbors. I can't tell you how much it excites me to know that we don't have to give a shit! I still am not use to it. I think it's going to take a while before I don't hesitate when things get a little loud.

It still hits me from time to time that we own our own home and we answer to no one but ourselves. I think it's going to take a bit longer then two months for me to get use to it.

But damn I love it.

Um, OK. It's been a while.

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:22:00 +0000

Wow. My last post was all the way back in August, which explains a lot actually.

August was during the month we started heavily looking for a home and desperately trying to close. We found the home we wanted, only to lose it, only to get it offered to us again, then deciding to turn it down. We closed on our current new home in the middle of September. We decided shortly there after to plan a Housewarming/Christmas party which was probably the single most stupid thing to do. That put a lot of pressure on us to have the entire house completely finished and ready for a party in only two and a half months.

I'm not sure what we were thinking.

But we accomplished getting 80% of the house completed and it turned out great. We made it just in time for this past weekends party, with little time to spare.

Our party was a huge success. People started arriving immediately at 7pm and within an hour, our house was packed with probably 70+ people, all wanting to know where the coat closed was, a tour of the home or where the drinks and food were. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but after an hour or so, I calmed down and we handled everything in stride.

We had a mix of my work friends, Steven's work friends as well as designers, close friends of ours and even some friends we haven't seen in years. Even a few new friends we had yet to meet. Everyone loved the home (especially the Disney room) and the decorations, which made us feel so good. All the food was eaten and a lot of the drinks were finished off. The amount of tipsy people attested to that fact.

We had a wonderful time and it seemed that our guests did as well. I think we've started an annual tradition. The only bad thing? We were too busy to take ONE picture of the entire evening. Go figure. Someone like me, who has a camera in his hand at all times, at any event. Actually felt good to not have to worry about it all night like I normally do. I promise tons of pictures next year.

It feels good to be writing something again. I've had a lot to say and so many things going on in our lives to tell everyone about. We'll see how restarting this old thing goes.

In the meantime, I've missed everyone.

Hopefully, I'm back.

Getting closer......

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Inch by inch, we get closer to owning our new home. Seems like nothing else is going on in our lives to talk or worry about lately. I'll be glad when this whole thing is behind me and I can write about everything else that goes along with owning a home. Decorating!

Our inspection has been completed and the sellers agreed to putting on a new roof. That was one of the most nail biting weeks I've ever put in. Since they agreed, life seems a bit less stressful and I can breathe a little easier. Next step in the whole process is getting the appraisal done. That's our next big hurdle. Making sure it appraises for what the asking price is.

I have high hopes that it's not going to be a problem. Such high hopes, that we've already started talking about packing and organizing this place. Everyone knows how much I get off on organizing. It means breaking out the label gun!

I think one of the biggest things that bothers me through all of this process is our social life. I miss our friends. I miss hanging out for a couple drinks or grabbing a bite of dinner. Luckily, our friends are understanding and know exactly what we're going through. I miss being able to go see a movie or run down to Macy's to take advantage of one of their weekly sales. Hey, I still like to shop! I'm sure Kenneth Cole misses me desperately.

Disneyland is only 10 days away. Yes, we know the exact number of days. It's going to be an amazing trip.

These are the only two things on our horizon. New home and a Disneyland trip. I'm sure everyone out there is going to be happy when we stop talking about both of them.

Weekend wrap up....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Friday night we met with our Agents assistant and looked at another house that we had previously viewed. After walking through it a second time, we realized quickly that we should have picked this house 3 weeks ago. It might not be as updated as the other house, but it's in beautiful shape, a lot more room and storage, with a yard that will make Max very happy. We spent a couple hours today working on the contract. They're meeting tomorrow to discuss it. Now comes the part I hate. Negotiations.

Saturday we were on such a high after making what we felt like was the right decision on the right home. We were kind of embarrassed that we got so excited about the previous house and didn't pay attention to the size of the bedrooms and closets. After relaxing all afternoon, we headed over to a friends house for a large pool party. It was nice to get out of the house, drag my friend Brad out for a change and to be able to sit and have a good time with friends and see people we haven't seen in ages. Lots of hugs and "where the hell have you been" greetings. Makes a person feel good.

Not long after we arrived, my ex showed up with his partner. He was all smiles and happy to see us, but his partner still hates us. You see, after pushing the issue, he told me a while back that his partner feels that the money he owes me for all my investment I put into the condo we owned together, should not be paid back to me. That I don't deserve it. Like he has any say so in the arrangement my ex and I made.

(I told you I wouldn't be holding back on this blog anymore. It was one of my rules when I started this thing up again. If I want to get something off my chest, I'm going to do it. I held my tongue for way to long.)

Rather then just sucking it up for my ex's sake, putting on a fake smile and saying Hi, he stands a few feet behing my ex, staring into the distance as if he's not seeing us. I hate seeing him having to deal with something like that, but he's not the type of guy to cause confrontation. He just deals with things. It was obvious we were making his partner uncomfortable, which in some twisted way, I enjoyed. I'll admit it. Soon my money will be paid back to me and his partner won't have anything to worry about anymore. I'll be glad when that day is over.

After working on the contract today, Steven painted, I watched a Disney movie then after dinner, we sat and watched True Blood while I cried like a baby during the ending.

Stupid Vampires.

Let's throw a wrench in it......

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Life seems to have the need to be controlled by Xanax lately. If only I had some.

The latest turn in house hunting. Remember the house we walked into and fell in love with almost instantly? We got our hopes up and lost it due to the seller taking a conventional deal rather then wait a couple weeks and do our deal which would be FHA, despite the fact that our offer was way better. So we started the house hunting process over. Until now.

A couple days ago our agent got a call from the agent of our little dream home that we lost. Seems his conventional offer fell through (neener, neener, neener). Not that we're surprised at all. Majority of all home sales out there right now are FHA. She knows our agent by reputation only and based upon that, wants to close the deal with him and us. Speaks volumes for our agent. He and his team really are amazing. Now we're sitting in the shadows, waiting to pounce on the deal. You see, the seller bought the home to flip less than 90 days ago. FHA requires he own the home for 90 days before he can sell it. That date ends August 19th. He wants to do the deal with us UNLESS he gets a conventional offer before then. This coming week we're going to negotiate everything to have it ready just in case no other deal comes through.

So we sit and wait. Start sending your Xanax.

We've put off all house hunting until we know 100% for sure that we can or cannot get this house. Unfortunately, it means letting go of the other house we liked a lot. It's all a game. If we don't get this house, maybe the 2nd choice will still be available.

In the meantime, we're counting down the days to our annual Disneyland trip. I think we're down to about 33 days, not that we're counting or anything. We both really need this vacation. I'm tired of not being social and getting out of the house more, but saving money prevents that. I'll be glad when this whole ordeal is over.

I, along with everyone else I'm sure, will glad to not have to see another post about the house. Then you'll get to read all the posts about all the other trials and tribulations of owning your own home.

At least I'll try my best to do it with humor and sarcasm.

Starting over....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:01:00 +0000

It's strange how you can get so attached to a home that you've only spent a very short time walking around in. You start picturing your life there. You've already started picturing where all the furniture where go, where to hang the artwork and all of the little upgrades you want to do to it to make it your own.

You realize how attached you've become to that home when the seller doesn't want to take your deal. We fell in love with a house the minute we walked in. We knew it was perfect and what we wanted. We have no desire to look further. We submitted a contract the next day. Unfortunately, after three days of agonizing waiting, they refused our offer. Ours was the best offer even. He didn't like having to resign the contract in a couple weeks, switching it to an FHA approved home. He took a major hit on the house and went with a conventional instead so he could close quicker.

That day wasn't one of my best.

I swore I was going to give myself a break from house hunting, but I couldn't. I didn't want to sit around. I started looking immediately, trying to find another "perfect" home. Perfect isn't something we'll find again, but hopefully we'll find something close.

Our Agent is out of town this week and we're suppose to be contacted by his assistant so we can look at some more homes, but we have yet to hear from him. I guess his sense of urgency is different then ours. I don't want to be waiting until the last minute to find a home, close and get it done before the December 1st deadline so we can take advantage of the 8K government incentive.

Whomever says that buying/flipping/selling a home is fun, is nuts.

I hate this process.

Why do some people act the way they do?

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Remember, that one of the reasons I started my blog again was to vent. I felt like I couldn't say anything before and now I just don't give a shit. Plus, so many people, especially the people I might write about don't read this blog anymore. Lucky me.

We went to see Harry Potter this morning. The theater was packed for an 11am movie which was kind of surprising. Minutes before the movie started, in walks my Ex and his current partner and sit on the row in front of us. This doesn't bother either one of us. My Ex and I are fine with one another. He's fine with Steven as well. We speak when we see one another like nothing is wrong. I honestly didn't fully expect us to be best bud's after the whole break up. I'm not that delusional. But we're nice to one another. There's no bitterness, hatred or uncomfortable feelings at all.

It just blows our mind how uncomfortable it makes his partner. Uncomfortable I guess isn't the right word. It's how angry, jealous and bitter it makes him. He literally hates us. We were all fine and got along great until one weekend a few months ago, after texting to my ex, he grabs the phone and starts going off on me by texting to Steven. Obviously, it was none of his business. What my ex and I were talking about was a serious subject between he and I. It's a wonderful thing what alcohol does to someone and what it brings out. When they're drunk, some people open up their mouths when they should keep them shut.

I've never been known for being the type of person to shut my mouth and take someones shit either.

Ever since then, he's made things very uneasy. Brian has to sneak a wave and a hello while the partner looks away, ignoring us on purpose and acting like a child. He actually pretends he can't see us. I hate the fact that first off he's making it difficult for my ex. He's a good guy that shouldn't have to deal with this, but he's also not the type of person to say anything either. Secondly, that it's caused the friendship that we could have continued with to dissolve. The new partner has said it himself, that he prides himself on being a bitch. Lately, it's showed.

This is the first Ex I've ever had that I'm not still on speaking terms with or that I'm still able to be friends with.

It bothers me more then I want to admit.

It feels good....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:01:00 +0000

...to be somewhat social again. The last few days we got our asses out of the house finally. We've had a night out with Glenn who's in town for work. One of my dearest friends Jim showed up to have a couple drinks at Woody's as well. Afterwards we all headed to Snuffers to eat as much heart clogging food that we could, continuing to talk and have a great time. I miss that.

Last night we had dinner with Gary and Troy at Ball's Burgers. It was great seeing them both. It had been way too long since our last dinner. We have good intentions. Troy is moving to Hawaii so we thought it best to make sure we see him before he's off to the land of perfect weather. We're really going to miss him.

We also got two invitations to Bear pool parties for the month of August and a Birthday party invitation for this coming weekend.

My life as a social butterfly seemed to be coming back, at least for a short while. We've been hermits lately due to Steven's project for work which has taken up so much time. We've also been watching our spending so we can pay off all our bills in the hopes of buying a home this year.

Unfortunately, not evryone understands that we're not capable of going out for drinks and dinners every other night of the week. We're lucky if we can schedule and budget a movie once a week. I'll be glad when this whole house buying experience is over.

We miss some of our friends. Some have moved on and we never hear from them anymore. Others, it's just tough to find the time when we're both available and able to meet.

Other times we're just too lazy to get our asses out of the house when it's 105 degrees outside.

I'm ready for Summer to finally start feeling like Summer.

House Hunting...

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Saturday, we met with our friend John, The Real Estate Agent. After going over the normal formalities and basically scaring the living crap out of me, we sat down to look through some houses to go check out. I hate this process. There never seems to be the perfect one. I found something wrong with all of them. Not small things, but big enough things to cause me to not want to live there at all. I know it was our first 5 hours of house hunting, but it was frustrating.

One of the new constructions, I fell in love with. It was listed initially at 350K and the price is now 189K due to the fabulous market the country is in. Quite a bargin, except for the fact that it's a townhome and Steven's really wanting a home with a yard for Max and possibly another dog some day. Max probably does need a playmate. I guess I don't think about Max as much when deciding on a home for myself. I know a dog and owner will adapt to whatever type of living situation they're put in. When you live in an apartment, condo or townhome, you learn to walk your dog more, take them to the park and doggie day care on a consistant basis. Sure, when you have a yard you can let them run around and take care of all the exercise themselves.

I don't know. I'm not in the mood to buy a place and turn around in 3-5 years to sell it for a profit and then do this whole process of house hunting all over again. I'd rather be terrorized by a scary clown and we know how much I love clowns. The thoughts of putting so much time and effort into remodeling and upgrading over the years only to sell it doesn't appeal to me either. I'm too old for this shit. Many people love this sort of thing, but I hate it with a passion. It causes tiny panic attacks, frustration and way too much analyzing and thinking on my part. It's tiring.

It's such a huge decision and it scares me to death.

Social Networking Hell

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:14:00 +0000

I'm sitting here while Steven fervishly works on his project for work. I have to say that I'll be happy when this project is completed and done. First off, our office area of the loft will look normal again. You all know how much I can't stand it when things are not organized. Secondly, I won't be sitting here on the computer for 4 hours a night killing brain cells while he works. Ah, the sacrifices we make.

I keep playing around with Blogger, Facebook and well, Twitter. Tweaking things constantly. Putting up stupid status updates. At least I'm not one of those status updaters who tells you he's awake, he's eating, he's going to bed, he had a great bowel movement, etc.

Although, twitter just confuses the hell out of me. I update both through ping.fm to make it easier, but honestly can't figure out the reasons or purpose for twitter. Just the fact that I need to keep up with what the hip and trendy kids are doing these days. I use to swear up and down that I would never join any sort of social networking site and before you know it I'm on all of them, including LinkedIn. Here I was quitting blogging because I felt I had nothing to say and now I'm on more sites then I should be. Who really needs to know my every thought and my every move?

When the hell did I all the sudden have something to say?

San Francisco Trip

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:45:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, Steven and I got the chance to spend four days in San Francisco, enjoying the city, eating amazing food, seeing all the sights we could possibly cram in and then got to experience my first San Francisco Pride. The first three days we rode my first trolley car, went sigtseeing and saw the Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, Haight Ashbury, North Beach, Alamo Sqauare with the Painted Ladies, quickly through China Town, Fishermans Warf, Castro, gawked at the sea lions, saw Beach Blanket Babylon (which was amazing!) and the Civic Center. I know I have forgotten a few things.

Sunday was spent at Pride. Half a million people. Not quite the same as our little Dallas Pride. Didn't see much of the parade, but ran into Victor, Tony and their son Bruno and hung out with them, checking out all the booths and eating way too much food.

I won't bore you with all the details, other then the last thing we did was to sit on the beach at Fisherman's Warf and watched the sun go down behind the Golden Gate Bridge. Romantic, huh?

I froze my ass off. This Texan isn't use to that sort of weather.

Check out all the pictures here.

Had to have one of the obligatory "in front of the bridge" shots.

The fog would NEVER leave enough to get a clear shot.
One of our favorite parts of the city, Palace of Fine Arts.
I swear Steven's favorite part of the trip is seeing the sea lions.
Ok, walking in this city is hell. Loved Lombard Street though.
Went to Winchester Mystery House our first day when we landed in San Jose. House built by a crazy woman. Creepy, but very interesting. Like a big dollhouse.
Our favorite picture. We had to print of tons of copies for family already.

Why I'm back, I have no idea....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:50:00 +0000

I had a feeling I would be coming back. I didn't know how long of a break I was going to take, but deep down in my heart I knew I would be back to blogging. I think I just needed a break from all the crap. In many ways the last year or so has been rough, mixed with so many incredible things as well. But it had gotten to the point where I felt like I couldn't express what was on my mind freely. My blog had always been a place where I could bitch, complain, vent, share, ask for help. I couldn't do any of that anymore. I felt that too many people in my life read my blog or could stumble across it and might not like what I had to say. I felt censored.

I don't have those feelings anymore. At all, so beware. So many of those people are out of my life now. If they were to stumble across the blog and read it, I really wouldn't care.

The past year and a half has been an amazing year. I'm in a relationship that truly makes me happy, where I feel like I'm an equal. I have someone who's in my life on a daily basis and who truly loves me and I him. We have so many things in common, including Art and our obsession with all things Disney. I mean, there's a reason for spending the rest of your life with someone if I ever heard of one.

I'm not discounting my previous relationship. It was a wonderful 4 years. I wouldn't trade it for anything. He provided some wonderful times and experiences that I'll never forget. We were just two very different people who wanted different things. We both made mistakes, myself more so. In the end, it worked out the best for both parties. I would have loved for us to have stayed close, but his friends and current lover prevent that from happening. Childishness, drama and backstabbing are things that I do not deal with and will avoid at all cost. Life's too short to deal with all that shit.

My social life has changed drastically. I was a social butterfly, with tons of friends, going out and doing things constantly. Now, we're homebodies and how quickly people drop you to the wayside when that happens. It's not like we don't like to go out, enjoy dinners, drinks or movies with friends. We do. Luckily, we still have our best friend couple, Brandon and Dusty with whom we love dearly. We don't see one another as much as we both would like, but we try at least and do get to see one another once in a while. Hopefully, that will continue to grow.

Other friends in our life such as the ones we made through The Ranch are pretty much gone. We don't keep in contact. Hell, the last time we were there it was as if we were total strangers. That part of our life is gone and we're ok with that. It's in the past and I have a feeling that we probably will never go back. What would be the reason? Even many of the friends I had from my previous relationship that we hung out with here in town have disappeared as well. Moved on. I guess I would say that true friends are the ones that have stuck around. True friends are the ones you see and hear from and the ones who want to spend time with you. There are very few now. How can you go from tons of friends down to ones you can count on one hand?

This past year has been an eyeopener regarding all of that. At times we feel like outcasts. At the age of 43, there are times where it feels like Highschool all over again. I'll admit, it hurts. Nothing is worse then sitting at home, hearing and reading about friends out having a good time.

I guess it's time to move on from them and start to cultivate new friendships. Kind of what starting this blog up again is about.

I missed it, missed my blog friends.

I'm back everyone.

Hmmm.........

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Should I start blogging again? I keep getting the itch and thinking of things to say or pictures to post.

Who knows. Facebook and Twitter keep me busy.

Decisions, decisions.........

A Bittersweet Ending

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:19:00 +0000

I think the time has finally come, although I've been dreading it for quite some time. My blog has run it's course.

I started blogging back in September of 2003. There was such a smaller group of people blogging and things like MySpace didn't exist. It felt special and quite unique to be sharing your life with the rest of the world for anyone to read.

It didn't take long before I was making friends. I was visiting bloggers all over the country as well as opening up my home to other bloggers as well. What started out as a trip to NYC to visit some bloggers, turned into GB:NYC1, 2, 3, 4 and I think 5 was the latest installment of the infamous blogger hook up, which I wasn't able to attend. Hopefully, they'll accept me as a non-blogger attendee some day.

I remember the first few times I would run into people who would recognize me and get all excited. There was the one time a stalker/fan came up to me in a bar and was gushing about meeting a Dallas Celebrity. I had to laugh. I'm far from it. I think that being recognized when out on the town in other cities or in Dallas was the coolest feeling at the time.

I shared everything, good and bad. Some who have stuck around from the beginning, watched me battle with being single, to meeting someone and being with them for four years, go through a tough break up only to find myself back to being happy again in a wonderful relationship with someone I love. Many of you have stuck by the entire time and I thank you for that.

The days of 400-500 hits a day is down to less then 100. I know that interest is diminishing with my readers and interest in finding something to write about has done the same for me. I feel as if I have nothing to say anymore worth putting in print.

For those who want to keep in touch, you can always find me on Facebook. Click the link on the left hand side. I use it to keep in touch with friends, family and other bloggers. I post the occasional picture, video or comment. It's become my lazy way of sort of blogging but not really.

I honestly can't believe how tough it is for me to say goodbye. Tougher then I thought.

Maybe I'll just say, See you later. Come say Hi to me over on Facebook or shoot me an email once in a while to catch up. You know I'll be checking out some of y'alls blogs from time to time to make sure you're staying out of trouble.

Who knows. Maybe I'll even come back some day.

Until then, see you later.

Finally doing some more drawing

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:44:00 +0000

First some good news. Mom is doing much better. She's at home with her husband and every day she sounds much better. It's going to take about 2 months though for her to get back to normal. You just don't bounce back from pneumonia at the age of 80 years old.

Thanks to everyones thoughts and prayers.

I finally dug out some paper and did a figure study. I was worried that I was going to be really rusty, but I guess it's like riding a bike. You never really forget. I don't have access to any live male or female nudes, so I'm going to have to search for artist photographs and create some figure studies from those.

It's better then not doing anything at all.

Mom update

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:05:00 +0000

I haven't really had anything to say lately. Probably because I've been in such a funk regarding my Mother, that I haven't felt like saying or doing much. It was nice to have yesterday off so I didn't have to deal with going through the motions of work.

Mom was released from the hospital yesterday and is now staying with my sister because they indicated that she needed to be taken care of for a while. Her husband was in the emergency room a few days ago with the same thing, but was released that same day. They treated his dehydration. They don't want Mom around him for a few days in fear of her getting a set back.

I talked to her yesterday and she still sounds horribly weak. I can't seem to get a straight answer out of anybody as to how she's doing. They just say she's "ok". I feel like they're not telling me something or hiding the fact that things were far worse off then they lead me to believe. My family is notorious for hiding the truth to not make someone upset or over react.

I don't know. All I know is that I can't get her out of my mind.

Mom

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:31:00 +0000

It's a scary thing when your sister calls you late at night, telling you that your Mother, who's 80 years old and has been dealing with a lot of health issues during the past couple years, has been put in the hospital for pneumonia.

I'm such a mama's boy. I broke down immediately. I still can't get her out of my head or stop saying a prayer for her. Doctor said that she is going to be fine, but when you're 80 years old, pneumonia isn't a good thing.

She had the flu for the past couple of days. She refuses to get a flu shot every year. Maybe she'll think twice about it next time.

I just hope everything turns out ok.

I've been cheating on Facebook....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Damn, it seems like it's been a while since I posted again. I get wrapped up on Facebook and forget about this place. She's been the "other woman" or should I say man lately.

We've both been so good about budgeting and not spending money. It's so tempting when the weather gets nice outside again. All you want to do is be outside or out and about. That's just a receipe for spending money. I'm bound and determined to stick to my plan of having 80% of my bills paid off by May, plus money for our trip to San Francisco for Pride as well as our yearly trip to Disneyland for Steven's Birthday.

Steven's still a painting machine. He's finished another painting. This one's a smaller one. I've started a male figure study which has been turning out pretty good so far. I was worried that I might have lost my touch. It's been since gradschool that I did any sort of figure drawing. Hopefully I'll have something to show within a couple days. I seem to take much longer finishing things like this then I do portraits. Not sure why.

So this weekend, we've spent time at home drawing and painting, cleaning house and doing laundry. Not very exciting, but it's keeping us out of trouble.

Wish I had more to tell you, but as always if you want more details of my exciting life, I update more on Facebook lately. Go figure.

We Gay's have taken it over!

Enough said....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:51:00 +0000

We decided to pick up Max a few dog toys last night when we went to the store to buy him dog food. I need to take a video of him chasing the laserbeam. He's worse then a cat.

One dog toy we came across, had a saying on the left hand side that produced a huge giggle. Yes, I'm in 3rd grade.

Enough said.....

The Dallas Symphony

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:09:00 +0000

It has been a while since I was able to sit down and enjoy the symphony. Steven purchased us tickets a couple months ago for the 2009 season. We were treated to a Lizst Concerto by an amazing 21 year old woman, as well as Hungarian Dances by Brahms and an odd Suite by Bartok.

The Myerson is a beautiful place. I still have to laugh every time I'm there. Kathy Griffen played here a few years ago and she said that the building was probably in shock after hearing the word Fuck for the first time.

My hubby the painter

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:57:00 +0000

I'll let Steven explain his new painting and show the picture.

Click here to see his first painting in ages. It turned out beautiful, with a wonderful story behind it. It looks amazing on our wall in the livingroom. He's already working on sketches for others.

I'm so proud.

Mark and Steven

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:43:00 +0000

(click to embiggen)

Steven and I got extra creative today. The weather has gone from 80 degrees for the past week, to about 40 today and it's getting colder by the hour. It kind of forced us to stay at home and find something to do other then lounge around stuffing our faces with food that's bad for us.

Steven's been wanting to do this triptych painting (who knew?) and I've been wanting to draw our portrait for the longest time. I'm anxious to see how the painting turns out.

Our portrait is done in a slightly different drawing style then the portraits on my artist site. It might be difficult to tell from a picture. I tried to loosen up with the drawing style, but I still have trouble letting go fully. Guess I'm a little out of practice.

I was surprised at how fast I completed it. I was done in about 3 hours and that included framing. The only thing that sucks is how many wrinkles I have now! The past portrait I did, it wasn't that bad.

I need to buy some Oil of Olay Rengenerating cream.

Budgeting blows....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:54:00 +0000

During times like these, when the economy is bad and we have to start watching our money, it forces us to stop and do the things we've been putting off for so long.

Money has been tight and we're in the process of budgeting. Severe budgeting, requiring us to eat at home, not go out for a night out on the town, watching movies at home rather then seeing 2 or 3 a week at the theaters and the hardest one of all, putting a hold on buying clothing or glass, which seems to be our two biggest weaknesses.

It sucks. We're two people who enjoy all of those things. We enjoy a nice dinner out, a few drinks with friends and of course, shopping until we collapse. We're not happy about having to penny pinch, but by the end of May, we both should have almost all of our credit cards paid off and money saved for our June trip to San Francisco for Pride. If we play our cards right and be good little boys after that, we might even be able to afford our yearly trip to Disneyland in October for Steven's Birthday. You get in the park free on your birthday this year.

To pass the time at night and on weekends, we're going to start back to the gym. I'm digging out old canvases and paper for some painting and drawing that I've been meaning to do. Hopefully during this time, my portrait site will get some traffic and business. We have well over 500 DVD's, so it's about time to start watching some of them rather then having them gather dust. Add all the TV shows we record weekly and we have enough to keep us busy and not want to go postal because we aren't getting out of the house as much.

It's not easy finding cost effective things to do.

But the rewards a few months down the road will be so worth it.

Regarding today.....

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:03:00 +0000

Did you EVER think that today would ever come? It's been a long road getting to this point.

I love stuff like this...

mthaut@gmail.com (Zeitzeuge) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Funniest shit EVER! Make sure you watch the outtakes as well.