Good morning All. Coffees on.

[Mmindy]

Good morning from across the pond @Robin.C

 

I like the minimal explanation approach too, if my manor of dress or hair style reflects a change, and that change isn't hatful, harmful, or dramatic. Then it must be useful, functional, and pleasing to the wearer. 

 

I'm starting with fitness wear, shoes, and boots to start the slide the the scale into feminity. Yesterday was a good day as my wife and I shopped and decorated the house for Christmas ?.

 

The coffee is hot, black, and strong.

 

Hugs for you all, 

 

Mindy?????

[Elizabeth Star]

 On my second cup-o-coffee already.

 

I don't know why but last night I decided to say hi (on FB)to my lastest step-mother. She's a couple years younger and it makes it a little awkward. I had blocked my father, their son and ,due to association, her on my FB probably 10 years ago. It was the only way I had left them to contact me. I had heard she moved back to Thailand some years ago but left her son with my father in SC.

 

I was told she knew I was transitioning, apparently she didn't. Out-the-gate she didn't know who I was but said I look like <deleted>, (my sister). I just replied "I was her brother now I'm her sister". "What??, really?, <deadname>?"  "I was <deadname>, now I'm Elizabeth".  "I'm happy for you, for being who you are. You're so pretty."  Why is it the only person in my family who thinks (at least has said it to me) I'm pretty has to live 8,000 miles away? Not fair! We messaged for about an hour. She assumed my father doesn't know. I don't know if he does, don't care. But if I ever find myself in Thailand, although might be hard to explain but randomly possible, I have a place to stay.

[Willow]

Good morning 

 

Ive finished my coffee.  Almost time for church.  We didn’t go today and likely won’t next week either.  Our son has to be in Atlanta and is coming here for a few days first.  It’s been over a year since the last time he was here.  We have seen each other in that year just not at our house.

 

Liz, I lived in Thailand for 18 months while serving in the Air Force back i 70 and 71.  It’s a beautiful country.

 

coming out to family you never know how it will go.  From yes I figured that out before you did to less than pleased.

 

nothing much to say right now. 
 

Willow

[BreM]

A couple good friends of mine,Amber and Cassie came over and shown me something.They were the last 5 pictures of me as male.They have been great to me since I went fulltime treating me like one of the girls and call me Bre now.

[Jani]

10 hours ago, Robin.C said:

the biggest thing to not feel the need to explain everything.

This is right Robin.  While the comparison isn't even, you wouldn't go into deep explanations about other facets of your life (think scar, lisp, etc).  Let the information out as you want.  Others may ask but that doesn't mean you have to favor them with a response.  

 

I'm sure you had a nice time visiting your sister and niece.

Jani

[JustineM]

Good morning! Sitting here finishing my coffee working up the motivation to get my butt to the gym.  Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful day

[Willow]

Justine, because of Covid we haven’t gone to the gym since March.  Our preferred activities are yoga and water aerobics.  We aren’t likely to go nail we hav been able to get the Covid vaccine.  I think we are in the third group.  Ol$ but not in a nursing home or assisted living.  I think our daughter is first tier as a hospital nurse.  
 

anyway I want to see hat happens when others get the vaccine before I jump on the bandwagon.  I wonder if we will get some sort of certificate indicating we have so that we can travel and do other things that are currently restricted.

 

get fit but stay healthy.

 

Willow

[Ann W]

I went grocery shopping at 5:30 am.  All stocked up and no line whatsoever.  Beautiful.  Then I went back to sleep and had another dream about getting caught by someone I'm not out to.  That's the third one recently.  I'll be in full makeup and dress, look up at the security monitor and see a colleague at the door.  I'm like...oh well..."guess what?"

 

I think my subconscious wants to get caught...just to get it over with.

 

Time for another round of coffee.

[Elizabeth Star]

2 hours ago, Ann W said:

I think my subconscious wants to get caught...just to get it over with.

It's a thing. At least it was for me and it took such a huge weight off my shoulders. Just a steeping stone toward living full time.

[Ivy]

2 hours ago, Ann W said:

I think my subconscious wants to get caught...just to get it over with.

I think this is a thing myself.

 

When I was just starting to go public, I ran into a bunch of my former co-workers at a festival uptown.  (I retired from the city).  I just said, "I've been through a lot of changes."

[Willow]

I agree.  I’m attending church as Willow although I’m not sure that many people have recognized me yet.  I don’t go outside at home except to go to the car.  But I told my wife I was to the point that I didn’t care anymore.

[BreM]

I am pretty much seen as Bre by family,other family members and friends since I dress fulltime as Bre.Lot of my family,other family members and friends say I am much happier to this day since I went fulltime in 1999 calling me Bre which I prefer

[Ivy]

1 hour ago, BreM said:

Lot of my family,other family members and friends say I am much happier to this day since I went fulltime…

I was told the same thing by some family members when I came out.

[BreM]

2 hours ago, Jandi said:

I was told the same thing by some family members when I came out.

They don't miss the guy side of me,saw that person wasn't happy being part time

[JustineM]

@Willow yeah our gym has restricted capacity and about half the machine can’t be used so that we can appropriately distance. I belong to a small branch of Anytime Fitness so there usually is t a whole lot of people there. Example today there was only 1 other person besides me. 
 

Im actually really glad I went today, I use the elliptical to do cardio due to my previous injuries. I actually broke the 10 minute mark for a mile! 
 

Ended up having my nephew come over for some Star Wars Roleplaying, first time he has really seen me as Justine. All went really well and I almost wiped out the party lol. 

[BreM]

1 hour ago, JustineM said:

@Willow yeah our gym has restricted capacity and about half the machine can’t be used so that we can appropriately distance. I belong to a small branch of Anytime Fitness so there usually is t a whole lot of people there. Example today there was only 1 other person besides me. 
 

Im actually really glad I went today, I use the elliptical to do cardio due to my previous injuries. I actually broke the 10 minute mark for a mile! 
 

Ended up having my nephew come over for some Star Wars Roleplaying, first time he has really seen me as Justine. All went really well and I almost wiped out the party lol. 

It went the same with my nieces and nephews too when they saw me as Bre fulltime,it went great and see I love my life as Bre.It also taught them something,can't live an unhappy life

[KymmieL]

For the sixth week in a row I had computer problems when I went in this morning. Found out that the Tech sent out on Friday night didn't finish fixing it.

 

I am wondering if my wife actually wanted to get the new truck or she got it just to appease me. She makes the excuse that Oh, I wanted to get new tires for the Explorer, then the MKZ will be needing new tires shortly. I think that spending maybe 2 K is a little bit better then 42K ( sticker) on the new truck. Oh, well I now have my escape vehicle. Just need the job and I am out of here. Just need to see if the Bike will fit into the back of it. Maybe with the tailgate down.

 

Kymmie

[Heather Nicole]

Playing a little bit of catch-up here. (Probably due just as much to the new Tony Hawk remake as to the holiday!)

 

Despite all the worldwide weirdness, this is ironically the first year in quite a while where I genuinely feel I have a lot to be thankful for. That, in and of itself is certainly something to be thankful for. ?

 

Turkey-day was good over here. Although I didn't expect it, I was relieved that we all agreed to break with traditional traditions and stick with our household bubbles. (My mom is all kinds of "at risk"). So it was just my mom and I, and between both our respective brands of fatigue, we managed to cobble together a nice little half-homemade, half-prepackaged demi-feast that we were both quite pleased with. (Protip: Not sure if it's an Ohio thing, but the Bob Evans brand produces a very respectable line of heat-and-east refrigerated mashed potatoes!)

 

Later on, we took a break from our traditional viewing of "The Muppet Christmas Carol" to do a three-way Zoom call with my brother and his girlfriend on one line and my sister's family on the other. Much of it consisted of my brother using modern live-video tech to entertain our 2 year old niece. Good times. ?

 

And thanks to the tri-magics of online shopping, not wanting to contend with crowds during a plague, and a holiday-triggered day-early paycheck, I managed to get all my holiday shopping done that day! Instead of my tradition of "fevered last minute shopping trips"! Yay!

 

But I don't know, maybe it's just the girl in me, but I feel like any Thanksgiving that doesn't turn into "screaming sports gameday!!!" is already a special one for the recordbooks

 

@Ann W *Clap clap*, Great Thanksgiving speech! And yet another great outfit!

 

@Aidan5 Sounds like you and your sister had a great day! I bet she looks up to you!

 

@Jackie C. What a beautiful, heartwarming holiday story! Hallmark Channel wishes they were you!!!  Also the "Edward's Day" thing, something tells me I'm not likely to ever forget that one...or maybe I just hope I never forget!

 

@Jandi Wow, a Trader Joe's that's not crowded??? It's a Thanksgiving miracle!!!

 

@BreM Congrats on your new job. And its heartwarming to hear that people like you/us are working in that field for clients like you/us. I think that's something very special and very encouraging. Also happy to hear about your friends' acceptance. I'm still very early in my journey, but a big part of me I knows I'd love to be accepted as one of the girls, so that's really beautifully  wonderful.?

 

@Willow When it comes to sewing, I'm with you! It's been awhile since I last tried, and I need to get a new machine, but I never was able to sew a straight line to save my life. Though I'd still love to overcome that! Sewing is just such a practical skill to have, especially these days now that it's less common than it used to be.

 

@JustineM Did you make sure to ask the recruitment officer if they had anything in a nice teal, or maybe a light pink? I think the Empire is really missing out here, it may be an element in their persistent rebellion troubles. Just white and black squads? What is this, a game of multi-dimensional chess, or a proper empire?

 

@ElizabethStar Happy to hear your story with your step-mother. Wish you two were closer, geographically, too! I wouldn't know firsthand, but everything I've ever heard about Thailand says that it's a very accepting, welcoming and tolerant place. With good food!

 

10 hours ago, Ann W said:

Then I went back to sleep and had another dream about getting caught by someone I'm not out to.  That's the third one recently.  I'll be in full makeup and dress, look up at the security monitor and see a colleague at the door.  I'm like...oh well..."guess what?"

 

I think my subconscious wants to get caught...just to get it over with.

 

That's how I was starting to feel around my mom before I finally told her I was trans-questioning and looking for a gender therapist. I'm still not at a point of wearing my preferred clothes in front of her, but at least for me, thankfully, getting that particular elephant out of the room with her, and gaining her acceptance, did wonders in easing that part of my subconscious. (Maybe even a little too much! At this point I feel like my biggest struggle is with self-doubt. Which is kind of ironic, because before I consciously accepted the whole "might be trans" I used to feel like I had no doubt that I'd rather be female, and that it would've suited me better, and the self-doubt was never even a thing. The mind can be strange sometimes...)

 

[Heather Nicole]

1 hour ago, KymmieL said:

I am wondering if my wife actually wanted to get the new truck or she got it just to appease me. She makes the excuse that Oh, I wanted to get new tires for the Explorer, then the MKZ will be needing new tires shortly. I think that spending maybe 2 K is a little bit better then 42K ( sticker) on the new truck. Oh, well I now have my escape vehicle. Just need the job and I am out of here. Just need to see if the Bike will fit into the back of it. Maybe with the tailgate down.

 

I understand that it may be bittersweet, but I am really looking forward to seeing you feel like you can finally be truly free to be yourself. It's been clear from your messages that you've been feeling held back and unhappy with current circumstances. Change can always be difficult, but I'm sure we're all rooting for you! Good luck on the new job!!!

[Willow]

Good morning 

 

For everyone that mad3 personal comments, thank you.

 

It’s quite windy this morning but the storms we were supposed to get over night missed us.

 

I as going to go do some work on the boat but I think I’ll put that off unti tomorrow.  No need to be on a sailboat in this wind.  Yes I get the irony of that.  lol

 

ive got plenty of house work and it’s housekeeping at the boat so no big deal.

 

enjoy your day everyone.

 

Willow

[CallMeKeira]

Pepsi and green tea, breakfast of champions. I am engaging my brain with some Stellaris. The doggos are happy to see me.

 

@KymmieL Your patience is inspiring. Waiting out a rough situation until an ideal time takes grace. I know it's not easy, so good on you.

 

@Heather Nicole Bob Evans is delicious! I actually interviewed at their main restaurant a few months back. No dice, though.

 

I'm still going about seeking a proper gender therapist, but so far my mom has been my biggest supporter. I'm not sure if she quite understands, but she is unequivocally in my corner no matter what I decide. (Lucky for me, she's also a natural on the sewing machine, and is even willing to fix a strap on one of my dresses. Big shoulders. Oops. ?)

[Gabriel]

19 hours ago, Ann W said:

I think my subconscious wants to get caught...just to get it over with.

That's so interesting. Instead of warding you away from it, it is nudging you along. That's nice! 

 

3 hours ago, CallMeKeira said:

I'm not sure if she quite understands, but she is unequivocally in my corner no matter what I decide

That's wonderful Keira, and it talks both about her and also about your openness to her. Keep up the good job. And eat something healthy for breakfast! 

 

Good day all. I'm off to a (very late) lunch

[Jackie C.]

5 hours ago, CallMeKeira said:

I am engaging my brain with some Stellaris.

 

Woot! Another Stellaris player! I don't think I've every WON a game, but I like to play.

 

Hugs!

[Mmindy]

Good morning everyone, my first mug of coffee was at 04:25AM in preparation for a day long road trip Indy to Atlanta, GA teaching my last Cargo Tank Workshop for the year. 

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy??️‍??

[Bri2020]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:19 PM, JustineM said:

Feeling cute today. Decided to try a new look. 
 

But does it make my butt look big? Lol

Luv it!  I use to dress up as "Phin Fett" for my Dolphins games.  This is me in London when we played over there and I was invited to help "pour a few" at the pub before the game. lol