A chance to get out Friday night to Sweet Home

It is Friday and I am going to get out tonight to Sweet Home for a little while, besides Cassandra texted she would be there for a while also. I am looking forward to it as it has been a long time. But first a side note, I have been getting acrylic on my mails now since spring and for the last 6 weeks a light pink color and the last time a little thicker acrylic. Any way today at work finally one of the ladies said something and it was kind of funny. I was getting something and she looked at me and said “wow (male name) you have better looing nails then I do, I have been slacking off” I just said thanks, she looked at her nails and said “wow my nails look like crap” I smiled and said a little money and time at a nails salon will fix that. Now I was looking at her nails they had polish on about half the nail and really did look bad, they would have looked better with no polish on them and I thought to myself yes almost everyone here male or female have better looking nails. It will be interesting to see what her nails look like on Monday. Now as I said no one has said a thing about my nails till this but what I have noticed is I see a lot fewer ladies here at work with nail polish chipped and worn this bad, I think they are redoing their nail polish more often and not letting the polish get so bad. Maybe I am having a small effect as they don’t want a male to have nicer nails.

Well I got home early and I knew Cassandra was planning on being there by 5 and Chris probably earlier so I decided to get there as early as I could, more Susan time. It was a little before 4 when I started getting ready. Now I have said it many time and sorry if to you it is repeating it but I really do love my time getting ready. There is just something so relaxing and enjoyable about becoming Susan and doing my makeup. It is funny how something like doing my makeup can make me feel so nice inside. I was ready by 5 and on my way to meet my friends at Sweet Home. I am not sure how many will show up but it will be fun. I am also looking forward to seeing some of the people from the other group.

I got there and Cassandra and Chris were there playing pool and Roxy showed up just after I got there. It was good to see them all again. I gave Cassandra my money for our dinner cruise on the Portland Spirit in December, she is making the reservation and paying for it and we pay her. It is awesome of her to do this and coordinate events like this. I think she said we had 18 signed up but still 5 need to pay yet. She doesn’t have to pay till the 22^nd so there is still a little time even for those not signed up. Right now, we have spots for 25 so if you are here in Portland and want to go get a hold of Cassandra. This is really going to be fun I have wanted to go on a dinner cruise on the Portland Spirit and to think my first will be as Susan.

We also talked about our Mexican cruise next October which will also be so much fun. Cassandra asked me if I was planning on doing the whole trip as Susan including flying down and back. I told her yes, I was, I really want to try flying as Susan although I do know 3 people who work TSA at the airport but I figure the odds of me going through one of their lines is small. It is funny though as 10 years ago it took all I could do just to get out of mat car and go in someplace. Now I have gone to Las Vegas several times and lived and traveled as Susan, checking in and out of hotels as Susan and now ii am planning on flying on an air plane as Susan. I have come a long way and it is al because of my wonderful friends I have made. I really think Cassandra would love to make the trip and fly as Cassandra but she is worried of running into someone at the airport she knows and as her wife is going with her that would give her away. It will be interesting what happens but we still have 11 months to figure it out.

We also talked about Diva Las Vegas we are all looking forward to it although being a little later this year one of our girls may not be able to go but she is thinking she may be able to rearrange things a little and at least go for part of it. It really is a fun event. We also talked about maybe just doing a Las Vegas trip with our group, the last few years we have had 10 to 15 each year from our group and maybe we could get them to go at a different time.

It was not real busy here tonight as the other main group that comes here had another event tonight which was a little sad as I was looking forward to seeing them again. Looks like I will have to try and make it out another Friday night. There were some new faces here although as I have not been here for a while I was probably the new face. A couple men came by and told Cassandra and I how beautiful we looked tonight. I am not interested in men but it is always nice to hear you are pretty. Any way it was a small group of us tonight, just 5 from our group but still fun.

BY 9:30 we were thinking of calling it a night, which is funny as 10 years ago we didn’t even show up till 9:30 or 10 but we did get here early tonight. Karaoke started and it was good, we listened for a little still talking as we could. We made it till 10:30 and then we all paid our bills and called it a night. It was a good night out.

Thanks for reading and be sure to keep up with me and what Susan is doing with my most resent blog.

Friday night going out to meet Jeny a Facebook friend visiting from the East coast.

It is Friday after a short week as I only had to work 3 days after my vacation which was awesome. On a side note after 12 days of living as Susan it was nice to have a short break and not have to do makeup and worry about how I look every minute but now I am already missing the Susan time and all that goes with her. Aldo my nails look awesome with just a thin coat of acrylic the only thing that might give them away is the length, yes, I left them longer than I should have but when you go from long nails to shorter ones it can be hard to judge. So on to tonight’s story.

I have a friend on Facebook Jeny who is in town for work and she wants to go out tonight, this is one of the wonderful things about Facebook as you can meet people from all over the world, people you would never get a chance to meet and connect with them in in some cases like tonight actually meet them in person how awesome is that. She was going to Over the Rainbow Transformations here in the Portland area for a makeover. I know the Victoria the lady who runs it and she is wonderful, I have never used her service as by the time I found out about it I was already going out and pretty good with being Susan but if I had known about her when I first started going out it would have made it a lot easier. Any way Jeny was going to meet me at Sweet home at 6:30 which I was looking forward to.

I started getting ready early as I wanted to be out by 5 or so but that didn’t happen as I took longer getting ready. I think it must be a female thing as I knew I was meeting someone for the first time and I really wanted to look my best, to be as pretty as I could. It was about 5:45 when I left home and I got there a little after 6

Chris was the only one there but I knew Roxy would be there and one of his friends was also at the table so I took the next table behind him so Jeny would have a place to sit plus we were sitting right next to each other so we could still talk. I ordered dinner and did some work on my computer while I waited. It wasn’t long and Roxy showed up and so did Kim so we had a small group tonight, I was kind of hoping others might show up so Jeny could meet more but Friday nights out are just not what they use to be. It was good to see Kim again as I think the last time I saw her was Halloween. We talked a little which was nice, she changed her hair and it really looked cute on her. She has long blonde hair but on the ends now is dark brown maybe black (hard to tell as it is not well lighted here) and on the underside, it goes up higher. It really is a cute style. I guess that is one advantage for having your own hair.

Jeny sent me a message she would be late as it was taking longer than she planned, yes part of her transformation package is getting pictures in a few different dresses, kind of like being a model for a few hours. Jeny showed up about 7:30 and she looked fabulous, here is a picture of us from later in the evening. Jeny is really passable as she is probably the average size for a woman in case you can’t tell from the picture I am seated and Jeny is standing behind me but slightly bending forward. The hardest part for someone who is transgender is size and height which is not a problem for her. By the way if you notice her cleavage in some small way I helped as she used my technique for creating cleavage although I must say it looks better on her then me.

Jeny sat down and we started talking and getting to know a little more about each other. I really do enjoy meeting new people and getting different perspectives on things as I think that is how we grow as people and most of the time we find out we have more in common than we thought. She told me this was only her 2^nd tome going out, wow she seemed so relaxed and comfortable like it was something she did everyday of course her nonstop smile was probably the only give away. I really like meeting people when they are first going out as I think back to my first few times and the excitement and yes fear I had. It was such an incredible feeling. On this note my funny story, When Jeny got here she had already lost 2 of her nails as she used the ones with the stick-on tabs. It was funny as we talked she kept looking at her finger nails and fussing with them. I could tell she is a nail girl as it was maybe 30 minutes and she asked if I thought there would be any problem with her going into Walgreens across the street as a girl and I told her no Portland is accepting place. So, without hesitation on only her 2^nd night out she walked across the street in her heels and dress and bought more nails and came back and fixed her fingernails. Throughout the night, she lost a few more and each time brought out the nails she bought and quickly fixed them, yes Jeny is a nail girl like me.

Lori also showed up and joined us and the 3 of us talked, Lori mostly comes out at the Escape on Saturdays so it was a delightful surprise to see her and also another person for Jeny to meet. It was a little after 1 and Lori asked if we wanted to go to the Escape for a while. It was a little loud in here now with Karaoke so we decided to go, I think Jeny liked the idea of going to another place, a new experience. I will have to think about that for the next time I meet some new on their first few times out. Maybe going to several places to so they can experience being out more. WE all drove out there Jeny followed me.

We got there and they really were not busy for a Friday night so we had no trouble finding a table. Now they had a DJ playing music so it was a little loud but not as loud as when you have Karaoke so we were still able to talk. Now one of the ladies here at the Escape came over to talk with us. I have met her before and she is nice so it was us girls sitting and talking. Well she wanted to buy us all drinks which was nice, although I am not a drinker. I drink Sprite when I am out, yes, I am a cheap date, turns out Lori also drinks Pepsi. Any way she bought all 3 of us drinks which I guess is the ultimate female experience. I can’t remember her name but we all thanked her for the drinks.

We took several more pictures here, the one above is one of them. It was a fun evening. Jeny and Lori played a game of pool which again was a new experience for Jeny as it is different doing things in heels, nails, long hair, tight dress and breast, but then everything is more fun doing as a female. Now the lady who bought us drinks hung out with us as I said it was not very busy tonight and yes, she bought us more drinks, 3 maybe 4 more, wow I am glad I don’t drink. I can see how girls can sometimes have a little too much when they are out as you really don’t think about it when someone else keeps buying them for you and you don’t have to make the decision or effort to get up and go get the drink. It was a wonderful evening and I have a new friend now that I have met in person.

It was about 1:30 when we called it a night, yes, another late night for Susan and I was feeling it as I got up for work this morning at 4 am. It was sad to see the evening come to an end though. It is always hard to say goodbye to friends especially when they live far away as you know it will be a long while till you see them again but I will be able to keep in touch with her through Facebook and see how she grows as a woman and goes out more. It really was nice meeting you Jeny and getting to know you. Thanks for letting me know you were in town and getting together in person and thanks to Lori for also being out tonight who I will probably see tomorrow night at the Escape again when I go out with my friends again.

Thanks for reading.

Friday night out

It has been a long busy week, trying to get things caught up and things I need for my trip to Diva Las Vegas which is now only a week away. Next Friday March 24 Cassandra and I will leave early and make the drive to Las Vegas. Hard to believe it is here already, we have our hotel reservations, our activities signed up for and yes, we are doing the golf tournament which Cassandra is overseeing. That is one of the cool things about Diva Las Vegas, it is all volunteer based. Every event is set up and coordinated by a volunteer. This is the reason there is no cost to attend. A lot of these girls put in a lot of time doing this and some do it year after year, we owe them a big thanks for what they do so if you go please be sure and thank the people who set up these events as that is really all they get for what they do.

I started getting ready as soon as I got home as I wanted to get out early as I am tired and won’t stay out to late tonight. I was on my way and got to Sweet Home a little before 6. Chris and Robyn were already there but at a different table as another couple had the table we always sit at, I always call it our table but it really is not. Chris and Robyn were playing pool so I got out my computer. Now we were at the big table in the middle of the room which usually the other group who gets here later takes so when the couple which were at our normal table left which was only about 10 minutes after I got here we moved over to that table to leave the bigger table open.

Now being St. Patrick’s Day the special was Corned Beef & Cabbage which is not one of my favorites so I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak instead. Now Roxy showed up so we had our normal group for a Friday night. It was a normal crowed here so far but always a fun group of people. This really is a friendly bar to go to. I played on my computer for a while and caught up on some things I had to do. Computers do make it easy to do things away from home.

It started getting busy around 9 and of course o was starting to feel more tired as it has been a long week and I have been getting up earlier every day. I bought an Elliptical for my home use which I got about 2 weeks ago, I did like the gym I was going to Snap Fitness as it was close to where I live and not to expensive but there was one problem. Being a neighborhood gym and smaller they don’t have showers which during the summer wasn’t an issue but I found the last few months with the cold, wet and snow we got it made it hard. Working out at the gym and getting all hot and sweaty and then going outside didn’t work for me and where I was going almost every day from June till Christmas over the last 2 months I was lucky to make it once a week so I am now working out at home. That being said I have been getting up a little before 3 am to work out for minutes before getting ready for work. This makes for a really long day and you wouldn’t think getting up 45 minutes early would make that big of a difference. I think I will go back to working out when I get home from work.

Karaoke started about 9:45 and they had a list of people to sing. It really is fun to listen to people sing, some are good and some not so good but they all are willing to get up and sing and you have to give them credit for that. By 10 I was really feeling the long days I could have fallen asleep at the table, who knows maybe I did a little. It was a fun night out and good to see my friends which with going to Diva Las Vegas I will not be out here now for 3 weeks. It was about 10:30 when we called it a night, I guess we are not the late crowd we use to be. I plan on sleeping in on Saturday to get rested up as I am planning on going down to Salem to the South Side Speakeasy Saturday to see my friends down there. The group has been going down there once a month for a while and I have not made it yet. The last time I was there was probably 8 to 10 years ago, when I went down to meet Alice. It will be a fun night and then after that it will be getting ready for Diva Las Vegas as I probably won’t get out again till Thursday when I go and get my acrylic nails for the trip.

Thanks for reading

End of the week

It is Friday and has been a long week, lots going on at work so I was ready for the weekend and really tired. No I was deciding if I should go out tonight. I still haven’t had time to do my blog from Wednesday night dinner so I thought about just staying home and doing that. But I also needed to eat dinner and in the end I figured I would go to Sweet Home for dinner at least, and I can do my blog there. I got home from work a little after 5 so it was a rush to get ready.

I was ready by a little after 6 and on my way, I got there about 6:30 the same time as last week and again I got one of the 3 parking spots. Looks like 6:30 is a good time to get here. Chris and Roxy were already here as they get here early. I ordered dinner as the special tonight was their Pork chop Special which is one of my favorite dinners here. Then I got out my computer and did my blog from Wednesday. It really is fun to look back over my blog and see the things I have done, places I have gone and the friends I have met. Wednesday blog is my 930th blog as Susan. It is hard to believe I have gone out that many times (maybe more) as Susan. I started my blog which was very basic back in November of 2006 so I have been keeping up on it for over 10 years now. It really is my diary of Susan which I keep on line so others can share. Now it doesn’t matter who you are but I would encourage everyone to write about their life and experiences in your life. It is a great way to look back on your life.

Dinner came and it was so good as always. As I said their pork chop special, chicken breast and steak specials are my 3 favorites but all their food is good. Now there was a good crowd here for as early as it was so I knew it would be busy the later it got. Chris of course was playing pool so I took the time to catch up on some work I had to do on my computer. I am starting to have a lot of issues with my computer so I am going to have to look into getting a new one. It won’t install the latest windows update and is getting slow. Besides I really want a new one that has a backlighted key board as it is hard to work on my computer here as it is kind of dark.

Now as I said it is Friday night and Diva Las Vegas is getting close, a little over 4 weeks. As a matter of fact Cassandra and I will be in Las Vegas in 4 weeks as we will leave early (4 am) on Friday March 24 and drive straight through to Las Vegas. it takes between 14 and 15 hours for the drive. That may seem long but I really am a road trip type girl. I love this drive and have made it many times over the years. By the way there is still time to sign up for Diva Las Vegas. They will start event sign up the first full week of March and remember this is not a convention it is a vacation. There is no cost to attend the event. you just pay your way for what you want to participate in, go golfing pay for your round of golf, go for dinner pay for your dinner. we have 8 for sure going from our group so it will be a lot of fun.Now I do need to do some shopping before we go to Las Vegas, just a matter of finding the time.

As it got later it did get busier and the other main group that comes here on Friday started to show up. Robyn showed up late but she did make it which was good. She said Diane was also coming later but I am really getting tired so I am not sure I will make it late enough to see her. Just before Karaoke started Chris left so it was just Robyn and me and we talked a little. One lady came over and told me how much she liked my sweater dress and asked where I got it as she had been looking for one. I thanked her and told her I got it on line at Fashion bug but they were bought out a few years ago and no longer on line.

karaoke was going and that made it hard to talk. I stayed a little longer listening to the singing but  was really getting tired and was afraid I might fall asleep at the table. wow it was only a little after 10 and I was worried about this, I guess I am getting older. 8 years ago I didn’t even go out till 10. I stuck it out till about 10:30 before calling it a night.

Now I am looking forward to Saturday night out with my friends. Next week I am not sure if I will make it out as I have family coming to town. I know I will not be out next Friday and Saturday is not for sure and I may not even make it for Wednesday night dinner so it may be 2 weeks before I get a chance to go out again.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.

out for a Friday night at Sweet Home

It is the end of the week and I am looking forward to a fun Friday night. It is always good when I can get together with friends and just be out as Susan. Now I did make it out twice this week already, once to a PFLAG meeting to hear Cassandra speak about our group and of course Wednesday night dinner at Who Song & Larry. This means with going out Saturday night I will have been out 4 times this week as Susan. Now I hope over the next few weeks I will get out even more as I do need to do some shopping as I need a few things for Diva Las Vegas which is coming up fast, 5 weeks away. There is still time to register if you want to go to Diva Las Vegas. Check out their web page if you want more information and also check out the photos from past years. The years I went are 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 so you can look for me in some of the pictures. You can also read my blogs from those years here, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015. It really is a wonderful time. Now My friends and I are staying downtown at the California hotel casino this year which is owned by Boyd Gaming, we wanted to try downtown and the room rates are a lot better. We are really looking forward to it. we will be there for 8 nights.

Well back to Friday night, I got a late start getting ready so it was a little after 6 when I left home. I got to Sweet Home and luck was with me as I got 1 of the 3 parking spots in their lot, first time I haven’t had to park on the street in a long time. Robyn, Chris and Roxy were already there as they are the early crowd. I joined them and ordered dinner and of course got my computer out and took care of some thing I had to do. I may have to get a new computer as mine won’t do the update to Windows 10, for the last several weeks it downloads it but wont install it. I have to take the battery out a couple times each day to get it to reinstall the previous version but than this computer is over 5 years old.

We talked and of course I played on my computer, it was a typical Friday night out with my friends. The bar was a little busy for as early as it was which is always good and there were some new faces in the crowd. Chris and Robyn played pool as always, they are both pretty good.  Robyn played some video lottery  but didn’t do well this week.

It was about 9 and the other group that comes for Karaoke started to show up, Heather was out tonight and it is always good to see her. It was a good crowd here tonight. Roxy was the first of our group to leave as she works on Saturday. and soon Chris also left about 9:30.

Two guys came over and sat at our table for a while, I think there names were David and Michael but I am horrible at remembering names. They talked more with Robyn them me as they had all been in the military so they had a lot in common. It was a good night.

It was a little after 10 when Robyn and I called it a night. It was a great start to the weekend.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.

Manicure and then out to Sweet home

It is Friday and I am looking forward to a fun night. It has been a long day but I still need to get a manicure and as long as I am out I will be off to Sweet Home. I called Dream Nails at about 4:15 to see if I could get in at 5:30 and that was fine so I had an hour to get ready. Now I really love taking my time getting ready usually an hour and a half but when needed I can get ready in 45 minutes if needed.

I was all ready by a little after 5 so I had a little time before I needed to leave for the nail salon. I got there about 5:20 and Anna was ready for me. Now they were a lot busier then the last time I was here. there were 4 woman and a man getting pedicures and one getting her nails done. I really do love going to the nail salon as it is such a relaxing fun time.

Anna worked on my nails and did a wonderful job, this time she didn’t even ask me if I wanted my nails trimmed back she just filed them down a little and evened them out. They look beautiful and just a little on the long side for my male side. I will have to file them down some in a few days. It was about 6 pm when I was done and left the salon with my beautiful nails. They would look so much better with a red though.

I got to Sweet Home a little after 6, Robyn and Chris were already there. I little later Roxy showed up so there were 4 of us tonight. We had a nice time although I was really getting tired now as I have been up since 3 am today. It was a little before 10 when I called it a night. It was a fun evening out.

I will be out again Saturday night as our group is having a celebration of life for Cristine who passed away a little over a week ago.

Friday of a long week

It has been a long week as our group loss a deer family member. We are all healing from the loss and as part of that spending time with friends is important. I was looking forward to gong out even though I was really tired. Now I got home and started getting ready about 5 so I would not be out as early tonight.

I got to Sweet Home about 7. I had to park on the street but was closer than the last few weeks. Robyn and Chris were there as usual. It was good to see them again. I ordered dinner right away as I was hungry. Robyn and I talked for a while as I waited for my food. Now it really wasn’t busy tonight.

Roxy also showed up and Cassandra and Laura H. for a little while. Cassandra and I talked a little about Cristine as we are both missing her. She was one we could count on being out almost all the time, Wednesday night dinners she almost never missed and also Saturdays at the Escape and of course Harvey’s Comedy Club where we will be tomorrow night. She was always there at Harvey’s when we showed up. Saturday night will be a little different at Harvey’s. I don’t think I have ever been at Harvey’s when Cristine wasn’t there.

We also talked about Diva Las Vegas we need to make our hotel reservations soon. We are both looking forward to it. Robyn was playing one of the video lottery machines so I went over and watched. I am not a fan of slot machines I just can’t get excited about playing them. She did play for about 30 minutes before giving up. Cassandra then played for a little bit and Robyn and I watched. Cassandra didn’t do as well and her money went almost as fast as mine would have gone if I played. I can not win at these games. Well When Cassandra was done Robyn put another $20 in the machine and just a few spins later she won, she walked away with a little over $280

Karaoke started and we listened to some of the songs. It was a fun night and we were talking about how we use to come out about the time we are not thinking of leaving. I can remember a few years ago where I wouldn’t even leave home till 9:30 or 10 to go out. I think it is because we have grown and become more comfortable with going out. I like that idea better than the fact we are getting older.

Well it was about 10:30 when we called it a night. Now we are looking forward to Saturday night and going to Harvey’s Comedy Club. I am really lucky to have such wonderful friends in my life that I can share this side of me with.

Thanks for reading.

Friday night out the 3rd night in a row

It is Friday night and I will be going out for the third night in a row, guess I am making up for earlier in the month when I couldn’t get out. Now a quick update on my friend Cristine, She is still in ICU but has been breathing on her own for a day now but with difficulty. Our group started a go fund me account for her to help with medical expenses and on January 28 we are trying to get 28 of her friends to each donate $10 as she has been in ICU for 10 days now. We really miss seeing her out with the group.

I started to get ready by 4 as I was looking forward to getting out as early as I could. I always enjoy my time getting ready, so relaxing. I was on my way and got to sweet Home just before 6. Chris and Robyn were already there, Robyn had been here since 5. She actually got here before Chris tonight. I ordered dinner as I was hungry and then Robyn and I talked a while about Cristine. It is good to talk with other friends about this as it helps us all process it.

It was good to be out with friends for a while. Roxy showed up a little later as did Laura H. and Lisa so we had 6 of us out tonight. Now there was a good crowd here tonight for Karaoke, Craig is sick so Betty is filling in as the KJ for Karaoke. It was nice to see her again. Don’t get me wrong I really like Craig and he does a great job but the only time I get to see Betty is when she fills in.

karaoke started and there was a long list of people to sing, a lot of the regulars here on Friday but also some new people. It is fun to listen to the singing but what makes it special is being out with my friends, out with people. It got later and soon it was just Robyn and me left of our group and I was getting ready to leave when Robyn said Diane called and was on her way. I decided to wait with her till Diane showed up. It was about a half hour till Diane showed up. It was good to see her again. I stayed for just a little while longer before calling it a night. Now I am looking forward to Saturday night and seeing more of my friends at the Escape.

Thanks for reading.

Finally a Friday night out

It has been several weeks since I have really been out do to the cold snow and ice we have had. The last time I was out was a quick outing to get my nails done on January 15 other then that I haven’t been out or even been Susan since December 30th. I was really looking forward to it as I really do miss this side of me when I can’t express it. I know it is hard for some to understand this feeling but the best way I can explain it is find something you really like, something you eat, drink or do that really makes you happy and then go without it for a while. That is how I feel about being Susan as it really is a big part of who I am and my life.

I started getting ready at 4 so I could take my time as I said it has been a while. It is so relaxing spending the time getting ready doing my makeup and getting all pretty, this truly is one of the most stress free feelings I have. I got my makeup all done and was happy with the way it turned out, a Smokey eye look with a wine color lipstick. Of course I wore my maroon dress and heels.

I was on my way by 5:45 and got to Sweet Home at 6 and parked about a block away. Now just as I parked it started to really rain, so hard I had to use my umbrella. Now I love my open toed high heels but the one bad thing is they are not designed to keep your feet dry in heavy rain and by the time I got inside my feet were wet and cold and it took a while to get them warm again but it was worth it as they are really cute.

Chris and Robyn were there when I got there so I joined them. They had their pork chop dinner special tonight which is awesome so I ordered one. They really do have good food here. Now it was not really busy tonight as the other group that comes here had another event to go to tonight. Because of that Craig was not doing Karaoke tonight but instead it was Betty, she does it here on Saturday nights. Now I have only met her a couple times but she is really awesome, actually pretty much everyone who comes here is wonderful as it really is your friendly local neighborhood bar, kind of like what Cheers was on that TV show, where everyone knows your name.

Cassandra showed up which was nice as I haven’t seen her for a while actually it has been a while since Susan has seen anyone. it was good to see us getting out again after the weather we have had. We got a chance to talk which I really wanted to with her as one of our girls was rushed to the hospital Wednesday and had to have emergency surgery. All I had gotten was updated text messages from Cassandra on her which Cassandra did a great job of but it is better to be able to talk about it. She is still listed as Critical in CU but has improved a lot over the last couple days. Our group really is a big extended family and we all care about each other. We are all keeping her in our prayers.

We also talked a little about Diva Las Vegas which is only 9 weeks away. We are both looking forward to it as it really is a fun time. I am hopeful we will have a big group from Portland go again this year as it really is fun. I even played a game of pool tonight against Chris but boy it was not a good night for me at pool. I couldn’t sink a shot for anything but it was fun.

Karaoke started and of course Chris sang, it was a different crowd here tonight with the other group gone but it was really fun. It was getting late and Cassandra and I were calling it a night, Betty came over to let us know they had a surprise for Chris and were going to sing Happy Birthday for him as he just had his birthday. It was nice of her to let us know so we could stay for that. It was a fun night and we all sang to Chris. As we left Betty gave us both a hug which was nice. It was a good night and now I am looking forward to getting out more as the weather is more normal for us. I will of course be out on Saturday evening at the Escape so it will be a good weekend.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.

The last Friday of 2016

Well it is here the last Friday and the end of 2016. It is funny and sad as I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook from people about 2016 and they are glad to see it go as it was so bad, mostly because of the deaths of some of our favorite and beloved actors and singers and there were a lot this year. And although here were many issues in 2016 there were a lot of good things also and I myself like to look at the good things. so that is what this blog will be about plus my going out tonight. There will be links to other blog posts from this year throughout this blog if you also want to look back with me, All the links will be to my blog about the events and not to their web page.

Tonight will be my last opportunity to go out as Susan this year so I was going to take advantage of it. Cassandra texted me to see if I was going out since Roxy and Chris would not be at Sweet Home and of course the answer was yes. I was going even if only to eat dinner and if no one else showed up I would leave by 8. Well Cassandra said she would be there then so I wouldn’t be by myself. Don’t get me wrong as it is always more fun with someone else with you but you really need to be able to be happy with yourself to be truly happy. If you cannot find joy in your own life and need others to make you happy it is hard. Focus on the good things in your life and let the rest go as life is to short to dwell on the negative.

I got to Sweet Home at 6:30 and had to park a block away so I figured they would be busy but they weren’t. I got the table Chris is always at as a matter of fact all the tables were empty. A few people at the bar and a few playing video poker. Sometimes I get here early and sometime late like when I have a nail appointment on a Friday usually before a vacation to get my nails painted red. Any way I ordered dinner as I was hungry. They have wonderful food here and looking back over the year Susan’s biggest expense was food while she was out. Yes this year I added lines for Susan in Quickens which I use to follow my expenses for the year. Some of the places we have gone for dinner this year are Morton’s Steak House, Who Song & Larry, Southland Whiskey Kitchen, A dinner I had with Julie which was awesome, Alexis Greek food, Hobo’s, Rock Bottom, McMenamins Ringler Pub, Diner with a friend visiting from Canada Stephanie Shostak, Henry Tavern, Benihana, Spaghetti Factory, We really have gone to many new and fun places as a group. Now this is what I mean about being positive, I could think about all the times I couldn’t make it out to dinner with my friends which there were more of but I look to the times I did and the fun I had.

There were also out trips to Harvey’s comedy club again which I did not make everyone but the ones I did were wonderful and I bought new dresses for some of them, January, February, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, December. These are wonderful memories I have with my friends. Okay my pitch for keeping a blog or diary, it is a great way to look back over your life and remember the fun things you did and how you grow as a person, you can do it with a blog which I do, Blogs can be set for public view, just friends, or private and word press actually lets you set Ii t on individual blogs so you can have some public and some private. when I started my blog it really was just for me to remember and I never thought people would find it and read it and keep coming back to see what I am doing. It is kind of a humbling experience to think people follow my life as Susan and I thank each of you as I do consider you all part of my extended family. Well back to Friday night.

I got my food and just then Robyn showed up. It was good to see her again as I said it really is more fun when you are out with friends. Cassandra showed up next and it turned out to be just the 3 of us for the night. Cassandra and I talked about Las Vegas and going to Diva Las Vegas. We are still planning on staying downtown as the room rates are so much cheaper. and there are so many casinos right next to each other where o n the strip they are so spread out. We are trying to talk Robyn into going also. I think it would be great to have a big group from Portland go. I was looking back and I went to Diva Las Vegas in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 so this will be my 6th time going and I am so looking forward to it. Cassandra and I checked out hotels downtown for prices and they seem to be about the same and no resort fees. Cassandra is going to book both rooms so we can get two together. If you have never gone to Diva Las Vegas there is nothing more fun then spending time in Las Vegas as your female self. Okay here is a link to the Diva Las Vegas page and not my blog.

Cassandra and I played with our group web sight and she showed me some of the improvements that have been made. It really is a wonderful web site and we have full control over it as we own it. Well it got late and Robyn left and soon it was time for Cassandra to leave as she was DJing on Pal talk at 11 the chat room she follows. I paid my bill and was getting ready to leave when a lady came over to talk to me. She had been meaning to come over and talk with us and was sad Cassandra and Robyn had left but we talked for a little while. Her name was Leah and she was really nice. She had been playing video poker by our table and had heard some of our conversation and thought we were wonderful as we had been talking politics. Now you have to remember when we do talk politics it is not about who won or party sides it is about how people on both sides take it so personal and serious. I see it online and in real life. people have attacked both verbally and in person those who voted against them. Family and friends have been divided and lost over this election. This should not happen, we are first and most important Americans. We stand together. We can disagree on things and that is okay but we are still all American. The last time our country had such a divisive divide over politics was when we had the Civil War which also divided neighbor against neighbor and family against family and we know where that went. We are one country Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. United we stand, it is time to put differences together and work together to make our country work for all. Opps got a little off track but I hate seeing all this fighting between people and friends.

Any way Leah and for a while and of course she had some questions and of course thought I was beautiful which I always love to hear. She told me a little about her family and even had to get a picture of us together to send to her daughter, So of course I had to take one for my blog. She even introduced me to her Husband. It was fun. It was almost 11 when I left but I had a fun night.

As 2016 ends and we look forward to a new year I am thankful for all my friends I have made who accept me as I am, you are all wonderful. Have a Safe and Happy New Years.

Thanks for reading and being part of my life both in person or online.