It Gets Better, or at least, It Gets Different

I’m extremely fortunate in my life to have made some amazing friends, one of them, I met just a couple of years ago.
A very talented individual, but a wise and caring one also by the name of Lily Armani.

Some of you may have heard of the "It Gets Better" program created by Dan Savage and his partner Terry.  This program was created in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay. Its goal is to prevent suicide among LGBT youth by having gay adults convey the message that these teens’ lives will improve.

Lily had something to share for this program, and share she did.  Lily is no stranger to adversity and has a very positive approach to it.

Granted I’m biased, but truly the video she has made as her contribution for this program is a powerful and moving one, and I don’t believe it’d be overstating things to say this, but I’m sure if it’s seen by the right people, the people who need this message in their lives, it could save lives.

Watch it for yourself, and please share it with others.

Lily Armani–It Gets Different

To Lily Armani, you’re an absolute inspiration, and as always I wish you the best of everything. Keep bringing joy to the masses lady and may as much joy as you bring be bestowed back on you! xo

Shameless Self Promotion

Going by the calendar, and ignoring the timezone, it’s my birthday today.  38!  Woohoo!

So far I’ve had an amazing day, and utterly enjoyed all the well wishes from my friends, a perk of being active on Facebook.

Thank you to everyone, I’ve had an amazing day.  The only thing that could have possibly made it more perfect would have been having my Mum, sister and nephews here.

Love you all!

Inlaws in Seattle

Mark’s brother Adam and his wife Nicole landed in Seattle this afternoon for their first ever visit, and while they’re a little exhausted from their trip, we’ve already whisked them off for dinner, a drink, a scenic view of Seattle at night and now we’re all home again and relaxing.

Mark’s excited to have his big brother here.

Dragtastic!

We’ve been out and about again this evening for our friend and performer Lily Armani’s birthday.  First stop was her Friday night show; Lily Armani’s Untucked, followed by post performance drinks and shenanigans.

A fun night, and that was just this evening, it all happens again tomorrow.

Mmmm Brunch

Today’s been a pretty busy day, but one that started with brunch with a friend at a place that we’d never been to previously.

I performed a Google search yesterday for breakfast places in Seattle and stumbled across a Vegetarian restaurant called Cafe Flora.  I’m a self confessed meat eater, so generally the idea of Vegetarian anything is a bit of a downer, but I glanced at the menu for this restaurant and was pleasantly surprised.  Surprised enough that I wanted to go and check it out.

So we did, and I can tell you, I’m glad we did.  The food was amazing, and as much as I enjoy eating critters, I didn’t miss them at all.

The hard part was selecting one item to eat as everything just looked so good.  I guess we’ll just have to go back sometime.

I had the “Fall Foragers Scramble” which had scrambled eggs with locally foraged yellow chanterelle and crimini mushrooms, roasted butternut squash and fresh sage topped with Fontina cheese.

Next visit, I think I’m going to have the “Brie and Roasted Pear sandwich”; Gently spiced oven roasted pears served open-faced on sliced rosemary bread with an herb-pistachio pesto, melted Brie and crispy frizzled onions.

They even have great coffee, so we’ll definitely be back!

Welcome 2011

Last night was supposed to have been a relatively quiet evening.  Ha!

It started with watching a friend perform at a club, and then we were going to go see the fireworks.  But, it was 23.F outside, so we decided that since we were having too much fun at the bar we all went to after the performances, that we’d stay and enjoy the party rather than trying to find a prime position to see the fireworks display.

Good decision.  We had far more fun than we ever would have imagined.

The photos are proof.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aumojo/sets/72157625718959924/

New Years Eve Nearly

It’s not quite New Years Eve here in America, but it is back home in Australia, so I’m taking this opportunity to wish my friends and family back in Australia, and everyone else who’s celebrating this evening a very Happy New Year, and hope that 2011 brings you health, happiness and prosperity.

Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day

It’s Christmas Eve here in America, and we’re getting ready to head out for festive drinks at a friends place, but right now, as I type this, my family back in Australia are sitting down to Christmas Lunch.

I’d love to be there, but fortunately for me, we had an early Christmas back in October when I was in the country, so I don’t feel like I’ve missed out too much.

A big Happy Christmas to you all if you’re celebrating now, and for those of you celebrating in the morning, I hope Santa brings you everything you wished for.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Goodnight.

Two More Sleeps

Then it’s Christmas Day and I’m boarding a plane for Anaheim, California and a few days at Disneyland!

I can’t wait!

But for those of you ahead of me time wise…   It’s Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day for you, and my family in the morning.

So, a great big Merry Christmas to you all, and hope you have an amazing day!

Cyber Greetings

To all of my Friends, Family and random readers,

In the interests of masking my inability to organise Christmas cards, and masking that inability under the label "Environmentally Friendly Decision", consider this your Holiday Season wish.

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy New Year!
Happy Holidays!