Internet Tidbits For the Week of 5-30-2015

Hey there friends.  Yesterday was a big day for Jules; she got the metal hardware removed from her leg.  She was in surgery and I was out in the waiting room stressing out!  Her surgeon is fabu, but he sucks at dealing with people!  No people skills what so ever!  Thus I was not informed of anything until a volunteer nurse came and got me and brought me back to her in the recovery room where she was wide awake and the surgery was done.  All went well and now she is recovering.

I am an internet scavenger and thus I thought I would share a few of the tidbits I have found interesting.  Enjoy!

Did you know that you can't actually see the Great Wall of China from space?  Neither did I.  I just believed the myth.  But apparently I was wrong about that, and I variety of other things.  Check out these other popular myths.

Recently I had to update my resume.  I vaguely remembered seeing some cool looking ones on my Tumblr feed.  Here are some neat ones to try out.  BTW, I did not use any of these ideas, i just kind of think they are neat.  The job I applied for and got is pretty boring so I didn't know if they would appreciate the creativity behind these ideas.

Talk about a blast from the past!  I used to play this game on a Commodore computer when I was in elementary school.  Way back then we had a tape player connected to the computer.  We had to type load"minervga.com" on the screen, press play on the cassette player, and then click enter on the keyboard.  Wow, that was OLD SCHOOL!!!  Today you can play it through Dosbox via this link.

Apparently about four years ago scientists discovered differences in the brain scans of transsexuals.  I do remember reading somewhere though that they don't know if these differences cause a person to be transsexual or if by being transsexual it changes their brains.  Interesting info anywho.

I think one of the most fascinating things about existing in the middle of the gender spectrum is in listening to how other discuss gender.  Even folks that know about me and how I self identify frequently exclaim things like "oh males are like this, and females are like this."  Check out this excerpt on male and female brains: "Male and female brains are of course far more similar than they are different. Not only is there generally great overlap in "male" and "female" patterns, but also, the male brain is like nothing in the world so much as a female brain. Neuroscientists can't even tell them apart at the individual level."

I truly believe that success is built upon failures.  If you are not failing enough, odds are that you are not putting yourself out there enough.  Here is a bit of inspiration for you.

Have you seen this site yet?  It is pretty cool.  I really like the photography.

I am SO bummed that this site now appears to be defunct.  What a great concept.  I wonder what happened?  They disappeared into the internet black hole of gone-ness!

Who should be allowed to wear dresses?

Some pretty powerful photos about our perceptions of others.

Love you all!

A Day at the Movies

I suppose it would be foolish to say that I am introducing my wife being as many of you are well acquainted with her already.  She has already written a post for my site and contributed on another.  But here is a fabulous aspect of my wife that you have not been privy to yet, her own personal style!  I am so excited as she has agreed to attempt to become a regular outfit contributor to my site, not just a guest writer!  You may also visit her on her own blog.  So without further ado, please welcome Jules!

Top- Nine West - Similar

Shorts- Merona - Similar

Shoes- Unknown - Similar

Hi all!! Jules Spirit here. I was graciously asked by my wife, Nadine, to be a fashion contributor to her blog. So I figured, what the heck?! It intimated me just thinking about doing it, so I decided, I must do it!

I have just gotten into some fashion in the last several years or so. I have been and am still usually a jeans and tee shirt girl. But as Nadine and I have been going out more and more over the last 10 years, I began to see that I do care, on some level, about fashion.

I wore this outfit to a morning movie outing on a fairly warm day; we saw Pitch Perfect 2, which was fantastic!! ( I guess I am a little biased as I loved the first movie and like musicals.)

This outfit has several things that are a part of my personal style likes: bold colors, zippers, and comfy, cute shoes.

The shirt is from Nine West, but I have no idea where I got it.  I love this color and have since I was probably 12. I have a school picture from that age in which I am wearing a shirt this same color. I think it goes well with my skin and now a days, my red hair. (Yes, I do dye it.) The other thing this shirt has that I often look for in clothing and shoes are zippers. Zipper are my thing! They are kind of edgy yet can be done in a classy way that is not too punk or alternative.

The shorts are Merona, which is a Target brand. I do shop at Target and find that if I look, I can find some cute items there. When I first saw these shorts, they seemed too bright a color for shorts. But needless to say, I took them into the dressing room and after trying them on, had to have them.  I like that I can pair them with another bold color or with a neutral, and they look great every time. I also like that they show off my long legs.

Lastly, the shoes I am wearing are a 2 1/2 inch wedge backless sandal. I have had them for several years and have worn the brand name off the inside of the shoe so I have no idea who made them. They were one of the first pairs of shoes I bought in a brighter color. (They are an ocean blue.) I like these shoes so much because they are girly, fashionable, and comfortable. Since breaking my leg very badly in 2013, I do not wear many high heeled shoes, yet I have worn these many times since then because of how comfortable they are.

I still have a ways to go with finding my own style, yet I am getting there.

What is your style? Do you know? I would say that it is definitely worth looking into.

Thank you so much for reading my first (and hopefully not my last) fashion post here on Unordinary Style.

Hugs!!

Outfit for 5/26/15 - Guess Boots!

Purple Top - WHBM - Similar

Tank - Calvin Klein - Similar

Pants - 7 for All Mankind - Similar

Boots - Guess - Similar

In this outfit I have on several of my favorite items.  The boots are totally one of them.  One of the reasons I like them so much is how tall they are.  But I problem that I often encounter with such tall boots is that they are not very form fitting to my legs near the top.  These boots though have zippers on the back side of them.

Having the zipper up the top of the back makes it so that they snug up closely to my legs, which makes them look SO much better in my opinion. The one thing I don't like about them is that they don't stay up smoothly.  I wish I could find a pair of tall boots that don't scrunch down at all!

I also am wearing my super favorite skinny jeans from 7 for All Mankind.  Possibly they are my favorites because of how much I spent on them.  I think they were like $150!  Which possibly makes them the single most expensive item in my entire wardrobe!  And that wasn't even the retail price of them.  That was the outlet price!  I could not imagine what they sold for at retail!

This outfit was worn when Jules and I went to the movies this past Saturday.  We went and saw the new Avengers flick.  It was an enjoyable show.  The main reason I chose to wear this ensemble on this day was that it was predicted to be in the mid 70s and the super heat will be coming on shortly.  Thus I tried to fit in my jeans and boots before it got to be above 100!

Hope you all are doing well!

Love ya!

Gender Non-Conforming - Shoes

Saucony - Famous Footwear

Today I am more than bit nervous.  Why?  Well because I am at work with female shoes on.  The shoes that I have pictured above are the ones that I am currently wearing.

Saucony - Similar

And aren't they totally different from the male shoes that I normally wear, which are the ones pictured above?  OMG, they are so totally different!  I mean, can you see the pink splash of the Saucony symbol across the side of the female shoes?  I mean if anybody were to see that I would surely be pitchforked, right?

Well, I decided to call BS on myself yesterday and buy the shoes regardless of what my inner meanie voices were saying.  I had gone to Famous Footwear here in my town while on a break from work with the specific intent on buying some female shoes that I felt as though I could wear to work.  This is something I have been doing a bit more of lately.

Converse - High Top

Converse - Low Top - Similar

Here are some shoes that I have been wearing to work.  They are female, and I have never gotten anything but nice positive comments about them.  I work with a couple of people who really like Converse and they were sure to tell me how much they liked the ones I wear.  Super nice!

But I have been down to one pair of tennis shoes, male ones, and I think it is better to have more than one pair of tennis shoes, otherwise they wear out so quickly.  Thus I decided to try and find some female ones.  And in Famous Footwear, I found some, the ones pictured at the top.  But after trying them on and experiencing the fabulous fit, I decided that they were much too fem looking for me to be able to comfortably wear them while dressed as a male.  And I left them sitting on the bench and walked out of the store.

As I was walking back to my truck, I looked down at my fingernails.

And there I was.  Contemplating my own messed up voices.  So, my super obvious female styled nails are fine, but shoes with a bit of pink on them, yeah, that's not okay.  My two pairs of female Converse, yeah those are fine and I wear them all the time, but shoes with a little bit of pink on them, not okay.  Wow!  I am messed in the head!

I returned to work and pondered my twisted up perceptions.  For the next few hours I questioned myself and returned again and again to the question of, if I am okay with myself, then why not buy the shoes?  What is the worst that would happen?  Someone might ask me about my new shoes with some pink on them.  I was all twisted up about a color.  A color that apparently I had deemed as not appropriate for a guy to wear.  Even a guy with his nails painted.  Even a guy who has both of his ears pierced.  Even a guy who wears a diamond and sapphire wedding ring.  Wow, seriously?

So I called BS on myself and I went and bought the shoes.  And today I have them on my feet and I am at work!  Wow, small victories huh?  Yeah well I have not made it through the day yet.  Who knows maybe I will still be pitchforked at some point!

Okay.  Sounds great.  Then how come I am still unwilling to wear my pair of super hot pink Saucony tennis shoes to work?

Saucony - Similar

Wow, is it too much for me?  Do I not want to wear this pair of super female shoes while dressed as a guy?  Or do I think they violate the guy dress code far too much?  Hmm??????  Just when I think I have myself figured out I find yet another area that I can't quite figure out.

I like to think of these things as an unsolved Rubic's Cube.  I pick it up, twist it about.  Try out different combinations.  I can't quite figure it out, so I set it down and let it sit while I observe it from a distance.  Occasionally I will go over, pick it up, twist it around, ponder it, and then set it down again.

I don't think there is a solution to the puzzle, just different combinations.

Hmm.....

Hot pink.....

Guy dress code violations......

Hmm.......

Painted fingernails, totally fine......

Hmm........

Just when I think I have it figured out......

Love you!

Wear more pink!

Tale of Re-Coming Out! - To My Sister

As of right now I have yet to even see the Bruce Jenner 20/20 interview or his other stuff on E, but I am thanking him anyways!  Why you ask?  The other day I received a text from my sister who told me that she watched the interview and she HAD to talk with me.  It is not unusual for me to receive a text from her or for she and I to speak with each other; we have a very close relationship.  But in terms of me being transgender we really don't talk about it.

Several years ago it occurred to me that I was tired of hiding myself from her and I told her that I am a cross dresser.  At the time I didn't have the vocabulary to really explain myself.  Actually I didn't have the knowledge at that point to be able to explain myself.  What I did know was that I was cross dressing, and blogging about it, and I had never told my sister about any of it.  I knew that was odd, and thus for only the second time in my life, I began to explain my gender variant behavior to someone.  This was at least four to five years ago and at that point the only person that knew was my wife.

My sister took it in stride and let me know that she had no issue with it and was in fact totally fine with it.  The only problem was, while she said very supportive things and totally reassured me, being as I was so unknowingly insecure with myself, I couldn't truly hear her.  Which led me to believe that she was in fact not really okay with it and would prefer that I did not discuss it with her.

So it was.  We still conversed a lot.  We still had a very close relationship.  I would still talk to her about things like clothes and fashion and such.  But... I chose to not talk to her about me and my personal discoveries about who I am.

And that was an error in my judgement.  Instead of me being secure in who I am, I unknowingly was looking to her for reassurance.  I was waiting for her to bring it up.  It was kind of my way of thinking that if she wanted to talk about it, she would, and since she did not bring it up, she didn't really want to talk about it.  What I see now is that what was really going on was that I was the one who was not okay with it.

I discovered my own insecurities with myself about the same time I told her, maybe four to five years ago.  I don't know how many of you remember, if anyone actually does, but I had a shocking epiphany moment about my gender variances.  I was fully dressed, rushing out of the house, and I forgot something in the bathroom, I ran in there, grabbed what I had forgotten, saw my female reflection in the mirror and in my head I clearly heard me calling myself a freak.

That really messed with my head!  It made me begin to realize how insecure I was about myself.  And once I understood that, I knew that every judgement that I thought was being handed down by someone else was immediately suspect.  And even though I found that out over four to five years ago, I continue to catch myself perpetrating the same crime to others.

Oh I fight it.  I have plenty of instances where I can point to and say, see, see how much I have changed?  I treat people differently now.  Now that I understand the voices are only within my own head I give others the benefit of the doubt.  But alas, simply because I can point to instances where I have been more open and not judging of others does not mean that I do that with everyone.  Nor does it mean that I have become aware of my prior judgments of others that are still in place and are still affecting my relations with people like my sister.


Lucky for me Bruce Jenner decided to go public with his transition and my sister watched the 20/20 episode.  When we finally connected on the phone, we chatted for a bit about life and then she brought up the interview.  She told how impressed she was with the entire show.  That she felt they approached it very well and that it would be well worth my time to watch it.

But what really struck me was when she began a dialogue about me and she apologized for not bringing it up sooner.  She realized that I had opened the door for her many years ago, but she was waiting for me to step back through it.  She thought the same thing I did; if I wanted to talk about it, I would bring it up.  I thanked her for that but then apologized to her because I felt as though it was really my error in judging her as not wanting to talk about it when in reality it had nothing to do with her and instead with my own insecurities.  If I really had no problems with what I was doing, then I wouldn't have any problems with talking about it.

It was then that I was suddenly aware of how much I had not communicated with my sister about who I am but being as my sister is so totally awesome she had questions!  And the fabulous thing was that I finally had some answers!  With her having watched this 20/20 episode it gave her an inside view, a vocabulary, and some actual scientific information about what it is to be transgender.  And with me having worked on myself and having taken the time to learn about vast diversity of my own community, made it so that my sister and I just clicked and flowed through that conversation seamlessly.

Even when she had to put her daughters to bed it worked out perfectly.  Her daughter and I have been communicating lately via Facetime and she has certainly seen my painted fingernails.  This apparently has sparked much thought and I bit of conversation about gender non-conforming behavior on the part of my niece.  She is an awesome person and I love the way he mind problem solves.  Anyway.... my niece was supposed to be brushing her teeth but her super ears picked up my sister talking to her husband a bit about our phone conversation and Bruce Jenner.  My niece then piped up and asked if they were talking about my fingernails.  This sparked a great conversation with my niece about societal gender expectations. How awesome!

My sister ended up calling me back and we talked a bit longer.  Probably what took the longest was explaining my personal version of my own label.  Read the sidebar on this site if you haven't caught it already.  But our conversation ran the gambit.  And it was fabu!  I loved it.  I only wish I could have had it much earlier.

But thinking about it now, it was destined to be.  The timing was right.  It was meant to be.

One last thing that she said to me that really struck me -  she thanked me for being so forthright with her.  It was thrilling to me to have her give me such a complement that really showed me just how much I have grown with understanding who I am.

Thanks sis!  I love you!


Do you know who you are?

Have you put in the time to yourself?

I truly believe that only by giving yourself the time to figure out you, can you be free enough to appreciate what the world has to offer.

I hope you know who you are.

Love you!

Love yourself!

Amazing Ingrown Destroyer!

PFB Vanish via Amazon

For the past month or so I have been testing out this product and I am here now to report my amazing results!  I truly am amazed by this stuff.

I have been a shaver for most of my life.  Let's see, I would probably be going on about 30 years or so of shaving at this point.  I have also tried epilating and waxing, which both work just fine, but shaving tends to be what I do the most.

Shaving works great, and I am quite quick at it at this point.  I am probably down to about 20-30 minutes for my entire body!  Wow.  But the thing that I hate about it is ingrowns!  I suffer wildly from ingrowns.  Probably ever single time I shave I end up with about 10 or more ingrowns in various places.  And more often than not they hurt!

Anywho.... I have had an ingrown on my upper inner thigh for several months and the hair just never seemed to want to come to the surface for me to be able to pluck it.  I examined it several times to no avail.  The hair was in there and it was NOT going to come out.  I tried sloughing, and another chemical exfoliator, but nothing was working.  Through some other website I found this product, PFB Vanish and decided to give it a whirl.

It it applied easily enough, you just roll it on the spot.  Being as I have such difficulties with ingrowns, especially on my inner thighs, I began using it over all of my inner thighs and not just on that one stubborn ingrown.  It took about 3-4 weeks, applying it in the morning and and night, but do you know what happened?  Eventually that little bugger of a hair showed its evil little head and I was able to snag it with a pair of tweezers and pop out a nasty little twisted up hair that was about 1/2 - 1 inches long!  Yuck! Nasty!  But YAY for this product!  It actually brought it out and to the surface.

So, it destroyed that long-term nasty giant ingrown I have had for about 3-4 months.  YAY again! But during that time this lovely little product has also kept my other ingrowns to a minimum.  I have developed them, but the little red raised bumps, indicating a start of an ingrown just sort of disappered and never actually developed into full on giant ingrown volcanoes as many of mine do.  They just disappeared within a couple of days.

But wait, there is more!  Once this stuffed showed its merit on ingrowns that had developed I decided to start putting it all over my thighs, which is an area that is notorious for getting ingrowns on me.  I also took a further risk by shaving against the grain of the hair in that location.  I know, not the best, but it really is the only way to have super soft smooth legs.  So I went for it this weekend, and guess what?  No ingrowns developed at all!  And no irritation from shaving!  I am seriously impressed with this stuff. Can you tell?

The one caveat I will say is that your skin will peel a bit from using it.  It was a minor concern for me, but you should be aware of this before you dive into it head on.  It never hurt, but it did cause my skin to experience a mild peeling.  It acts like a mild chemical exfoliant and thus a bit of drying and I really only noticed the peeling after I had been sitting in the spa for like 2 hours.  Upon getting out while drying off, I noticed a bit of peeling skin on my thighs.  I just dried it off and it was done.  No pain, just a bit of peeling.

I am so impressed with the effectiveness of this product that I made sure I went to amazon and purchased a second bottle to have on hand before my first one ran out.  Yeah, I like it that much!

So there ya go!

Enjoy.

Destroy all ingrowns!

Destroy!

Destroy!

Outfit for 5-17-2015 - New Skirt

Skirt - Ringostone - Similar

Tank - WHBM - Similar

Sweater - Jones of NY - Similar

Shoes - Nickles - Similar

I realize that I have a few things that I kind of obsess over.  One of them, of course, is black and white - we have already been over that I am a total sucker for just about anything black and white, but another thing that I seem to really enjoy is skirts.  I feel a bit silly about it actually as I think that I have like two or three skirts in my closet already that have been there, unworn, for a few months.  Frequently they just hangout and wait until I find the right outfit for them, but I still feel a bit silly buying something that does not immediately get used.

Anywho..... this skirt was just one of those ones that was waiting patiently for me to figure out how I was going to work it in.  I really like it, but I was finding it difficult to figure out how to wear it well due to the geometric design on it.  And while I am on it, that is another thing that I am drawn to - clothing with geometric designs.  I have found some really cool ones, like this skirt, but then I often struggle with putting it together with something else as SO many of my clothes have patterns on them that I feel as though the patterns don't mesh well.

I figure one of two things needs to happen, either I need to get over my thinking that two apparently different patterns can comfortably coexist within the same outfit or I need to invest time in buying some more non-patterned items that would work better with what I currently own.

Personally I struggle with mixing patterns.  How about you?  Do you think two different patterns can coexist together in the same outfit, or should I mix solid with patterns as in this outfit?

Today this outfit was worn to get our nails done and to do some light shopping.  Aren't my nails cool!  Thanks I think so! (Obviously & I am SO modest about them right?!)

Updates:
- Today I had a post go live on Already Pretty!  OMG, I am so dying over that!  Dying in a good way! (What an odd expression!) How about I am SO thankful for Sally for inviting me to contribute to her site.  It was a super generous thing for her to do, so go check it out!

- I was NOT a winner for the Glamour Boutique contest.  I showed Jules who did win, and she thought it was good that I didn't.  I thought that was funny!  What I did learn is that a place called Glamour Boutique is apparently looking for Glamour Shots photos.  While I think I can get a decent looking photo, my photos are not along the lines of that! Not that there is anything wrong with that, it is just not the look I am striving to achieve.  Oh well.  Seriously, congrats to the winners!

How Did I Wear It Better? - Mini Skirt

Skirt - Guess - Similar

Tank - Calvin Klein - Similar

White Sweater - White House Black Market - Similar

Black Sweater - 89th & Madison - Similar

Leggings - White House Black Market 

Tall Black Boots - Guess - Similar

Nude Wedges - Taryn - Similar

Belt - Mossimo - Similar

Same skirt and same tank, two different outfits; which one do you think looks better?  My opinion is the outfit with the leggings.  Besides the fact that I feel way more comfortable with leggings on with such a short skirt, I think the black on my legs with the white on my arms makes for a more balanced look with my body shape.  The oft thought aspect of black is that it makes things recede from your vision, but I think with these two outfits, seeing them side by side, the black sweater makes my upper half look very stocky.

I love the look of my legs, I think they are super nice, but my eye is totally drawn upwards towards the black sweater.  And my legs do not necessarily look very shapely, they look more like little twigs sticking out from a rather blocky upper half!  Oddly enough, with the black of the leggings and the black boots I feel as though my eye is drawn more to my legs in that photo than when they are clearly visible.

Wow, colors, and photos, and perspectives, odd!

Anyway, which outfit do you think works better?  Any thoughts as to why you like that one more than the other one?  Am I over playing the appearance of my upper half with the black sweater?

Of course, the obligatory "catus interuptus" photo.

And another thing here folks - "Luke come to the dark side."  Sorry, I always hear that line in my head while thinking of this.  I once read someone say that by advertising on your blog or by monetizing things that somehow you have traveled to the "dark side."  Well apparently then, I am going to the dark side.  I am going to begin to include links on my posts that may lead to commissions for me.  You can read my new disclaimer page if you are really interested.  I am actually kind of hoping that it will be a win-win for the all of us.  Maybe I can get a little compensation for my time here, maybe you can be directed to locations to be able to purchase some of the products, or similar products, that I am showing off here, and maybe it may inspire me to be a bit more active here.  We shall see what will happen in time, huh?

Oh and I am contemplating a move to a self owned Wordpress site.  I will retain my URL, but it would mean that I will be loosing some of the features that are provided by the Blogger platform.

Hmm.... decisions, decisions.  (From the game of Life, if you didn't catch that reference!)

Love ya!

Have a great weekend!

Outfit for 5-11-15 - Zippers!

Skirt - H&M

Top - Charotte Russe

Sweater - 89th & Madison

Shoes - Guess

Belt - Mossimo

I got this skirt a little bit ago at H&M and absolutely love the zippers on it.  The zippers totally sold me on the skirt. I love the look of them and that it adds a little bit of edge to it.  But I struggle a bit with my body image while wearing skirts that have that little bit of flare at the knees.  I think it helps my body to have skirts that are tight at the knees.  But I like to push myself into new fashions territory and thus I went for it.

I like the overall look of how this outfit turned out.  You know me, I am such a sucker for black and white!  And yes, those are the same killer heels that toppled me over the last time I wore them.  But you know what they say about getting back up onto that horse!

This outfit was not actually worn out for anything.  It was part of a mega outfit/picture-a-thon.  I may have mentioned already that I will shortly become  a contributor over at Already Pretty.  What I may not have mentioned is how much it THRILLS may but also TERRIFIES me!  I have been somewhat stressed (okay massively stressed!) about providing a decent looking outfit and a nice head shot photo for my biography for Sally's site.  What do I do when stressed?  What do I do when I want to turn away and bury my head in the sand?  I face the challenge head on.

Thus it was that I reserved some time this past weekend to get dressed and take some photos!  Which resulted in me trying on about 10 different looks and getting a whole bunch of closeups of my face.  And what did I find?  A few outfits that I thought actually looked good, and I actually, AMAZINGLY, got a few head shots that I LIKE!  Wow.  That is truly amaze-balls!  I have such a difficult time with getting pics of my face that I actually like.  I still shake my head in disgust at the levels to which my insecurities still smack me around.

I really need to get over myself.

Oh well.  At least I fight the fight.

And more and more, I find that I may actually be gaining some ground.

Love you.

Love yourself.

Take more pictures.

Who knows, maybe you too can find one or two that you actually like.

(Just for your info, I took about 300-400 shots to find a few that I actually like.  Yes sometimes people it takes that much effort!)

Loves!

Outfit for 5-7-15 - The Outfit That Almost Killed Me

Dress - Calvin Klein

Sweater - White House Black Market

Shoes - Guess

I really wanted to try out my new wig and thought, I should wear something new and fun. The obvious choice was this new Calvin Klein dress and had just recently purchased. I really like how it hugs my body with its super stretchy fabric. Just on its own, it shows off any curves that I actually have. The horizontal stripes also work to give the illusion of a curvier body. And of course I had to pair it with my T strap Guess shoes.

It was with glee in my step that I setup my camera on my tripod and walked out my front door to snap some shots. Without really thinking, while holding my tripod, topped with my pricey relatively new camera, my heel came down right on the edge of the short little step on my front porch. I wobbled for a second, and then began a horrific feeling fall.

I knew I was going down. I knew it was going to hurt. But I had some forethought and I brought down my tripod, still with its legs folded together, and managed to control my fall. My camera stayed upright instead of ending up in pieces smashed in my demise, which was super lucky. But then I came down hard on my right knee.  It smashed into the ground and then then event was over.

I stayed there for a moment, catching my breath, and making sure I was steady. Slowly I got to my feet and surveyed the damage. I was sure that I was going to be bloody, or maybe broken, or at least chipped. But thankfully no. My knee hurt, but all that had occurred was a sore spot and a slight grazing of my knee.

Being out of danger, I setup my tripod and snapped my shots!

Yay, I lived! Yay, I didn't break anything. Yay!

Over all of the years of wearing heels, this was the first time I have ever gone down. A little wobble here and there of course, but I have never hit the ground before. It was pretty terrifying!

The obligatory cat photo!

Watch out for those steps people!

New Hair!

For the past two years, I have had the same hair style.  Awhile back  I went on a wig search and I ended up with the Zara from John Renau.  I fell in love with that wig; which I do still love.  But while recently searching through various large cap wigs, I discovered a wig that Jon Renau also makes.  It is called the Amber - large cap.  It appealed to me and after a little bit of thought, I decided to go for it.

Of course I ordered it from my friends at Wilshire Wigs.  They were having a 25% off sale, which was awesome!  Plus, whenever I have ordered something from them and it didn't quite work, they happily exchanged it for something else.  The other thing I really like about them is they are close to me.  Thus I ordered the wig on Thursday, it was shipped on Friday, and got to my door on Saturday!  Wow! What service.  (And for full disclosure, yes I have received a wig at a deep discount from them in the past, but I was using them before that, and have continued to use them since.)

I was so excited to receive my new wig, that I did something I do NOT recommend; I tried it on while still dressed as a guy.  Generally this does not work out very well.  I have read of others experiencing this exact same thing.  So my first impression of the wig was that it looked okay.  Not great, not horrible, but just okay.

Later that day, after finishing my work, showering and shaving, and getting something pretty on, I again tried on my new wig.  Wow!  What a difference the whole look makes.  But still.... there was something about it that made me a bit hesitant to fully embrace it.

And I think that what it is, is that change is tough.  For two years I have had the same hair.  The same length, the same color, the same style.  Thus it can be more than a bit challenging to accept a different look.  I have seen this same thing with Jules.  We had a funny conversation actually about this.  I asked her how many hair styles would she change back to what she had before if she could.  She has changed her color, length, and style many times, including shaving it all off once!  The thing about a wig is that if you don't like it, you can just send it back for a different one.  With real hair, it does not work so easily!

Thus, I think that what I want to do is to embrace the possibilities of wigs.  Why should I just stick with one style?  I should enjoy what I can do with wigs and get a few different ones.  I have been contemplating the possibility of getting a human hair wig, at a cost of about $1000.  This new wig of mine ran me about $250.  For the same price of a human hair wig, I could get four different wigs like this new one.  That would afford me several different styling options!

And that could be super fun!  I could go for curly hair one day and straight the next.  Maybe even have one in a darker color.  How about black?  Think I could pull off black hair?  I did once upon a time.  It is a very different look for me.  But why not try?

I think I should dive into the benefits of wearing wigs and look at all that it offers me.  Often I lament that I am unable to grow out my own, which leaves me a bit bummed.  But I think I have been looking at it all wrong.  I need to embrace the options that wigs afford.

What about you?  Do you own just one wig?  Do you mix up your wig wearing?  Or are you gifted with your own natural hair?