daddy_stan

As you all know, I have not been posting much. This week I will be taking off for a few days to go see my mother in FL. Last week she landed in the hospital and things are not looking good. At least being able to spend time with some great people has made life easier. Hanging out with friends on Fri. night, k and I going out for a great meal at La Provance, getting to spend time over coffee with a friend that amazes me more and more as I learn more about her, and chatting by phone with "a" while she is recovering from her cold, has all been very healthy.  Now it is time to get things into the laundry, do last minute shopping, and prep for the trip. Send any positive thoughts you have and be well.

This years RGL was great! While I did not plan on judging the contest, it turned out to be a great experience. The way </b></a>nosinsforgiven worked as judges boy was flawless. I could not have asked for anybody to the job better! The contestants were all a pleasure to deal with and I was in the fortunate position of a no lose outcome. With three people as qualified as these contestants, there simply could not have been a poor choice in selecting the new title holders!

On the more personal side, we all had a great time. k, enjoyed both getting to connect and reconnect with friends.  "a" had not been to RGL before and totally enjoyed her experinces both in and out of the dungeon. Overall we got very little sleep, but would not have traded sleep for the experiences we enjoyed.

To our new title holders, congratulations! To </a></b></a>dancejason, you did an amazing job, showed honor all the way through and earned even more of my respect than you had before... and it was pretty high to start with!

We just flew back from presenting workshops at Behind Closed Doors in Tucson. We flew in a few day in advance to have time to relax and explore the area. It had been some time since k and I got to take a vacation! For the first two days we played tourist, ate at some interesting restaurants and got in some shopping at places we do not have in NM. After that, it was time for the conference. The event went wonderfully and we got to connect with some amazing people. After the workshops DD held a very good play party. It was really a great weekend and we look forward to doing more with the AZ community. Today we simply hung out and enjoyed the time we had left in Tucson before heading back home.

The entire trip was made so much better knowing that D & E had everything under control with the cats. Not to mention the help "a" gave both before leaving, and in getting us to and from the airport was amazing. Our community has some very cool people in it that we have been fortunate enough to bond with. Returning from this trip, I can not help but feel that that number has grown even further.

So tonight was the AEL/Leather Wolves trip to  "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". The show is great, but what made it really special was having about 20 of us from the community go to see it together. From what everyone was saying after the performance, this is not going to be the last event of this type. It is wonderful how we all can find such common ground even when we are not focusing on our sexuality.  If you missed going with us, and get the chance to see the show, it is more then worth the time and money! Thanks to all of you that made this evening the success it was.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend!

k is out of town visiting her brother till tomorrow night. From all of her reports she is having a great time and got to the ocean today. At first I wondered what I would do to keep busy, but that turned out not to be a problem. she left on Sat. and we had AEL that night. The mix of people was amazing and the energy was through the roof.

 The next day I recovered from AEL just in time to head out to the Melissa Etheridge concert with D & E. If you ever get the chance to see her, GO! It was a blast and the people we landed up meeting, made the evening memorable to say the least. Who knows, but one or two might just land up coming to AEL. Then tonight, sushi and the Sheryl Crow concert with a friend. It is hard to decide which concert was the better one. Both of them put on outstanding performances.

k is probably wondering which one of us ended up having more fun this weekend! Mmmmm... I better not make her think I had too good of a time while she was away...

My girl from TX is back in town for a few days with her children. As a result I landed up spending a bit too much time hanging out by a pool today. Thankfully sunblock works or I would not only be tired, but crispy as well!

I hope you all have a great week. It is off to Florida for me, but I will return on Sat. At least my pre-trip day was good.  I got to have lunch in a parking lot with my girl! It is amazing how cool lunch in a parking lot can be with the right person. Then k was able to get off work early and we got to spend some time together. Now off to mom for a few days.

What Kind of Empath Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Judge You are a Judge Empath, one who is a "truthsayer". You can tell truth from lies, good from evil. You do not tolerate wrong doing. You are a defender of the good and the innocent. You are kind and merciful but do not play foolish games. (from "The Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Empaths/) Judge 80% Universal 70% Healer 65% Artist 65% Precog 60% Shaman 50% Traveler 50% Fallen Angel 45%

This afternoon a respectable number of people from out community gathered together to take part in this years walk. It was great to see each and every one of you out there showing that we are a community that is about more than many people seem to think. Thanks also to all of you that donated your hard earned money to the cause. Without the help of each and every one of you, we could never have had such a great success.

The other nights AEL PowerMunch was a blast! As always it was great to have the chance to hang out with so many good friends. That coupled with the outstanding job crrreature did, made the evening a pure pleasure.

As those of you that were there know, we took up a donation for the NMAS AIDS Walk. Thanks to the generous contributions, we have so far raised $183.00 as a team. Remember that it is not too late to still join us in the walk or make a donation. Donations can be made at http://www.firstgiving.com/ael and you can join the AEL team at http://www.nmas.net

Thanks to all of you that have played an active role in showing that we are a community with heart.

In just a few hours my other girl will be here! For those of you that know m, I am sure you understand why I am looking forward to seeing her.

It is sometimes hard to imagine that we have been together for over a decade. That is not to say that it has always been easy. There were times early on when I wondered if we would even be talking, no less still Daddy/girl. What got us through all the rough spots was communication and love. Not the type of love that is simply voiced, but a love that manifests itself in actions. We never simply dismissed each other, although we thought about it at times. We talked, critiqued and modified things to allow your relationship to blossom. That sounds so easy now, however back in the early days it took us both showing that we are people of commitment and trust to be able to pull if off. It is not always easy laying yourself open for honesty. There were times I thought to myself that blowing the whole thing off would be the best move. I think I knew deep inside that this was one of those rare people that comes into ones life about as often as winning the lottery. As I look back over the early years, I am thankful that I never let myself off the hook that easily.

Over the years I have seen her get married, divorced, be in relationships and go through break-ups. We have been there for each other in times of health and illness. We have supported one another in healing the wounds that other left. I have seen her children grow and become amazing people.

Now, with her one son grown, he and I are still close. The relationship with him has evolved from being his mothers "special friend" to becoming a friend of his. Nobody ever instructed him about what a Leather Family is, in fact we kept our activities as far from his eyes as possible, but he seems to have grasped the concept on a deeper level than many. Maybe it had to do with my girl/wife, k, reading him to sleep many nights. Or maybe he could just sense that this connection was not just a fling or a game.

Speaking of k. she is more than looking forward to seeing m. The bond is not simply between m and myself. k actually was the one to first become friends with m. Over the years they have grown to be as close, if not closer, than many sisters. Not a call goes by that m is not asking me to give k a kiss for her. I can say that either wold be willing to sacrifice if it was what the other needed. I am pretty damn fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life.

So, what will we do while she is here? I do not have any specific plans, but I can tell you that whatever we do, will be wonderful because we will all be doing it together.

Jack Russell Terrier

The Artist

You, my friend, are an artiste! Fuelled by a hounding sense of creativity and an untameable desire to express yourself, you see the world through rose-colored glasses one day and then wrestle the curtains closed and turn off the lights so you can ponder life the next. Your dog-eared journal is filled with brilliant ideas about rescuing the universe, yet you have trouble training your noggin on any one of them for any significant amount of time. Your originality occasionally manifests itself as performance art, and you love showing off your amazing athletic abilities in front of an audience. When it comes to taking on the leader of the pack, you’re not afraid to sink your teeth in - and won't loosen your grip until you've gotten your point across.

I have to agree with bigdykebear, last night was great. Getting to hangout with some wonderful people is always a treat. The regular suspects, those that had been MIA for a couple of months and some new people, all made the night awesome.

It never stops amazing me what a diverse group of people this community has. I can refer to people to almost every type of business, and now I can add on that I have a friend who owns a doggie poop pick-up company! I wonder if he does human pups as well...

For those of you not aware of it, the AIDS to benefit NMAS is being held on the 29th of this month. As always AEL is forming a team. Anyone interested in joining us, or making a financial contribution, can do so by simply signing up at http://www.nmas.net/index.htm or make your contributions at http://www.firstgiving.com/ael.

This was a busy and great weekend. k had her birthday yesterday, but the celebrating went on into today. I had to work for a good portion of yesterday, however we still manged to have a ton of fun.

After a great seafood dinner we headed over to the EQNM fund-raiser that bigdykebear produced. She did a wonderful job, and our community should be very proud of the mark she is leaving  during her title year. We were honored to be able to help her raise funds by offering a public spanking/whipping of k. For every dollar that was donated k received one swat. Lets just say that today her butt and back are still glowing! Of course, doing that was fun, but what made it even better was having Lady K and bigdykebear assist. Thanks to both of you for joining us in the philanthropic beating.

Getting to spend time at Exhale with some good friends made the day just that much more fulfilling for both of us. Both k and I enjoyed having time to hang out with both old friends and new. Sometimes it is easy to forget how many people in this community have come to take on major roles in our lives.

Today we went to see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). For any one that enjoys theater, catch this play if you want a good laugh. It was the longest running comedy in London for a good reason! After that, it was off to dinner at Restaurant Antiquity. While we only go there for special occasions, it is still one of our favorite restaurants in Abq.

Now that all the fun of the weekend is over, it is time to get back to work. This weeks client load is looking slammed and that always makes me a very happy camper.

We just got back from the TX trip. It was a good little break and one that was much needed. I think I need to do things like that much more often.