Speedy Gonzales Update

It's a crazy day, so I can't chat much, but I have some updates on The Mer Show.

1. My job has made a turn for the better and it looks like I'm staying for 6 more months as a college/ university relations recruiter. I thought my contract was ending!! Apparently not...

2. Can't wait for the Sex and The City movie on Friday - I'm meeting a handful of girls I've met here in the Bay Area through work for drinks and the movie on Friday night. I used to be Samantha, but I'm more of a Charlotte these days!!!

3. Sheridan and I are heading down Hearst Castle for the 50th anniversary of the tours of the property. Sheridan put together a sweet little weekend for us - we're staying an inn on the water in Cambria, hitting the cocktail party on the veranda of the castle, and then heading back to enjoy the fireplace in our suite. Update next week!

4. My father is in the hospital as we speak after taking a nasty fall yesterday. Everyone send him warm thoughts for a speedy recovery!!

I hope all of you are doing great! Love, Mer

They Do

Finally - my lovable, liberal, beloved state of California has legalized gay marriage. It's about time! And sort of romantic, don't you think? How many people are going to soon profess their love for each other publicly, in front of God and family, promising to love and cherish each other until death do they part? It's sweet!

I personally think that two people that love each other and want to commit to each other should be able to get married, divorce, have (adopt) children together, fight over the wedding china in the divorce, and live just as happily or miserably any heterosexual married person! I know the argument on the conservative side says that marriage is for the purpose of procreation, but that's just silly - what about hetero couples that don't want, or can't have, children? Should they not be married and able to commit civically and religously to the person they want to love and take care of for the rest of their lives? That's what marriage is about, right?! Anyway, I'm so pleased with this development and can't wait to watch the rest of the nation finally catch on to the truth, just like it did with other civil liberties that have been denied in the past.

Go forth and get hitched, gay Californians!! I'm rooting for you!! Meanwhile, please pardon me as I enter law school to become a divorce attorney in San Francisco... Admissions, 3 years school, pass the bar... YEP - just about perfect timing for a big wave of cases. :)

Love, Mer

The Big B

As in Baci!!! I haven't shown pictures of the sweet love muffin in a while, so I figured you guys could use some new shots. Here are a few of my favorites, taken lately.

Love, Mer

The Big D

A little late, but better late than never... So last week Sheridan and I went to Dallas for the wedding of a very old friend of mine, Laura, who did gymnastics with me growing up. Laura was one year older, always a little bit better than me, and was a superstar at everything she attempted. We were sort of a package deal for a very long time - the two of us were really close in age and talent level - although she worked really hard, and I was always screwing around, cheating on how many sets of routines I was instructed to do and relying on what little talent I had, rather than working hard to improve. She was the "good one" and I was the "bad one" - in high school, she was studying hard and participating in National Charity League, and I was chasing boys, going to parties, skipping gymnastics practice, and causing trouble. I guess some things never change!! ;)

Anyway, it was Sheridan's 2nd trip to Texas, and first to Dallas. I decided to take him to Gilley's, an old school honky tonk, where Urban Cowboy was filmed (although technically it was filmed at the original bar in Houston) to see what he thought. We had a blast - there was good music, cheap drinks, fun people watching, mechanical bull riding, and all kinds of fun stuff. I didn't teach him to two step yet, but I could see in his eyes that he REALLLLLY wanted to... (not) Anyway, I rode the bull to impress my California boy and it was pretty amusing - I STILL have a huge bruise a week later to show for it, but it was SO worth it! Good times.

Saturday night we saw Laura Belle get married, and it was a lovely event. She had a beautiful dress, a sparkle in her eye, and it made me happy to see my old friend so happy! The wedding was on the 50th floor on an old building in downtown Dallas, at the Empire Room, and was a classy affair. We ate, drank, celebrated, and when that was over, one of the bridesmaids talked us into crashing the Greek wedding next door. That was FUN... until we got kicked out viciously! Gotta keep an eye on those crazy Texans - we're a bunch of troublemakers. Anyway, it was a great wedding and I'm so happy for my old friend.

Otherwise, I took Sheridan to see Dealey Plaza, where JFK was assassinated in Dallas. We visited the JFK museum and learned all about the logistics of the day, saw home videos of the motorcade, learned about conspiracy theories and saw the exact spot where the president was mortally wounded. Here's a shot of Sheridan looking very shady behind the fence on the "grassy knoll"! We had massive amounts of Tex Mex throughout our trip, visited a sculture garden of cattle, had a rental car breakdown, and all kinds of fun stuff - it was a great time in the Big D!

Next stop - Seattle in June for a big Sheridan-style wedding (that's Sheridan's mom's maiden name, so I'm referring to the 9 Sheridan siblings, their spouses, offspring, and signicant others, plus the groom's peeps). Should be lots of fun - both of Sheridan's brothers and their wives, plus his mom, will be there, so it should be a great time. :)

Love, Mer

THIS is what I'm talking about!

Could it be an Obama/ Edwards ticket?

Wow is all I have to say. Crossing my fingers..........

Mer

HARD CANDY!!! Wooooooooo!

OMG, the new album by Madonna - Hard Candy - is out!! You know what that means, right? TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!! This time, I'm not going to miss it - I almost CRIED when I missed the Confessions on a Dance Floor tour because there wasn't a tour date in San Diego and noone would go to Vegas to see it with me.

Saturday November 1st, Oracle Arena, Oakland, California. Who's coming with me? Am I going to have to make some friends locally, or what?? Maybe I'll place an ad:

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

SWF looking for girlfriends or gay males to attend Madonna concert with me in November. Must be loads of fun, be prepared to drink and celebrate this momentous occasion, and lift 125 pounds in case I pass out from the excitement! Please apply at MadonnaFreak2008 at yah00 dot c0m.

What do you think?

Love, Mer

Feliz Cinco de Mayo and Happy Anniversary!

Today is not only Cinco de Mayo - YAY, a chance to use all my handpainted Mexican pottery - it's also mine and Sheridan's SIX month anniversary! With that, I have quite a feast planned for tonight! You ready for the menu?

Carne Asada
Tequila and jalapeno shrimp
Saffron rice and homemade "refried" black beans (they're not really fried, so they're healthier)
Mer's homemade salsa
Mer's homemade guac
Organic flour tortillas
Mergaritas

Here are a couple of the recipes for your gastronomic pleasure!

Mer's Salsa

1/2 onion

1/4 jalapeno, seeded and cleaned

1 clove garlic

1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 lime
cilantro

Put first 3 ingredients in a mini chopper or food processor and blend very well. Add tomatoes, blend again. Add juice from one small lime, or 1/2 large lime and blend again. Add large handful of cilantro and blend again. Voila! It's yummy, I promise - one of Sheridan's faves!

Mergaritas

6 oz frozen limeade
6 oz cold, filtered or bottled water
4 oz good tequila
2 oz Cointreau

Shake in a cocktail shaker and pour over ice. Voila again!

"Refried" Black Beans

1 1/2 cups organic dry black beans
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 heaping T cilantro
2 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice, divided
1 teaspoon organic dried oregano

Soak beans for at least 6 hours in 4 ½ cups water. When complete, combine the beans with their water, the onion, and 2 of the garlic cloves in a bean pot, a heavy-bottomed casserole, or a Dutch oven and bring to a boil. The beans should be covered by 1 inch of water; add water if necessary. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour. Add the remaining garlic, the salt, and the cilantro, cover, and simmer for another hour, until the beans are soft and their liquid is thick and soupy. Remove from the heat and drain off about 1 cup of the liquid from the beans.

In a large bowl, roughly mash the beans with a fork. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and mash until incorporated. Add the chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the oregano and mash until incorporated. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until blended. (Depending on the dryness of the beans, you may need more olive oil.) Stir in the lemon juice, a small amount at a time, tasting until it has the flavor you like. Adjust the salt if needed.


Garlic and Tequila Shrimp

About 12-20 shrimp
Salt, pepper, paprika
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced
cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime
2 ounces tequila

Dry shrimp and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. In a shallow sauté pan, heat olive oil and garlic together. When garlic starts to brown, add peppers and parsley. Stir to coat. Add shrimp and sear on one side. Turn shrimp and pour in tequila. Cook for 4 minutes until tequila reduces to dry. Remove and sprinkle with a little paprika and squeeze in a little lime.

And TO SHERIDAN:

Thanks for changing my life for the better - you've made my life happier every single day we've been together. I love you and will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I appreciate you! Thanks for a great 6 months...

Love, Mer

Man Rooms

Sheridan and I talk all the time about "man rooms" and "man caves" - you know, the space that every man as a part of a couple deserves as a small token of understand that YES, we know we've taken over their lives. We pick the bedding, the wall colors, the artwork, the dinnerware and corresponding silverware, and in some extreme cases (such as Sheridan's), their clothes and shoes! It's only fair that a man has a little bit of space to call his own - he can put whatever he wants in there, do whatever he wants in there (as long as it's not disrespectful to the woman or illegal; scratch that - illegal is actually fine, just as long as we're not forced to take part).

I wish we could have a man room for Sheridan to have some space for his... um, artwork, if that's what you call it (signed photos of football players, pictures of Vince Lombardi with motivational sayings, and pictures of boys playing baseball, and such) and other things that he deems necessary. I can't really imagine what that would be, but I'm guessing a big TV and tons of dudely DVDs with several beanbags for his friends, a beer fridge and maybe some nudie magazines - that all sounds pretty reasonable to me, really, but our little apartment is just too darn small. So here, on The Mer Show, in writing, I promise to offer the man of my dreams an official man room of his very own. Perhaps a finished basement, 4th bedroom, bonus room, or some other space that isn't totally necessary for future kids or guests. :)

What precipated this grand gesture? This article. http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/02/mantuary.marriage/index.html Apparently our discussions of man rooms aren't the first ones to be had... And I thought I was somewhat original!!

Anyway, have a great weekend, everyone.
Love, Mer

p.s. Who's your horse for the Derby? I'm doing my homework tonight, and will decide by tomorrow morning. Sheridan and I are heading to the track in Sacramento for a Derby party thingy, and you know I'll put a few bucks on my horsie. If anyone has any hot leads, call me on my cell!! hahaha