The Village by Wrabel, with some of my favorite Trans Singers.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LF83Kur69g

Well, the state is known for its Mules, and it seems some of them were elected to the school board there based on the stubbornness I see there.

https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/i-found-humanity-here-inside-elati-village-denvers-only-micro-community-for-transgender-people   It's very encouraging when a city can come up with innovative, creative solutions to problems that work as intended. Very nice, Denver.   Carolyn Marie

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-804856   This is good news.  A bit surprised that the legislative body had the time to discuss this in the middle of the war.    Carolyn Marie

https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/04/missouri-appeals-court-sides-with-transgender-student-in-4-million-discrimination-case/     Carolyn Marie

Paula,   For everyday wear I like Sheer Energy from L'eggs, but sadly they have been discontinued.  Another brand I like is "Berkshire."  I use these for special occasions; they are a little more expensive.  They have lots of different styles, and I bet you could find something you like.  You might also try "Hanes," but as a tall girl, I like the way Berkshire fits better than Hanes.  Another brand that gets rave reviews is "Commando," but they are quite pricey.  I don't have any personal experience with this brand but have been very tempted to try them.  Good luck searching.

Gosh, as I re-read what I wrote, I hope I didn't come off like a narcissist or appear self-centered.  I f I did, apologies, because I certainly didn't mean to.    Mae, to answer your question, I mean that people recognize I am trying my best to be a woman, and for the most part they accept that.  I don't mean to infer that I am fooling anyone.  And when I say I seem to be passing quite well, it is measured against my personal concept of what passing is.  When I pass, it doesn't mean I am being stealthy or that I am being clocked as a cis woman.  When I pass, it means my feminine presentation is being accepted.  I have learned not to hold myself to the high standard of being stealthy, because I accept that standard isn't achievable for me.   I hope that answers your question a little better.   Ashley, it helps to develop thicker skin.  Early on I was extremely sensitive when I got clocked, but I learned deal with the too long stares and the turning heads.  When it happened, I kept telling myself people were checking out my shoes, or my outfit, or my makeup.  I'm also curious what you mean when you say you wished you were actually passable.  I think I'm proof positive you can be passable without being a beauty queen.   It's hard to pass when you set the bar for yourself too high, which I think a lot of us have a tendency to do.     Hugs,   Sally

It is true that HRT will heighten emotions. I don't mind getting teary-eyed more often when something hits my heart. I want that actually, to feel life more ... But I do not like at all how this seems to ramp up my angry emotions. Yikes. I've always had a bit of a temper (like mother, like son). But I about broke my hand earlier today when something upset me (a string of things actually) and I slammed my hand repeatedly on my desk. Yeesh. I'm a little scared of this part actually...

I love the whole mystery of dreams. They fascinate me. I remember one night falling asleep with headphones in my ears while listening to a Catholic radio station. Early in the morning, the station played morning prayer from the liturgy, which is very beautiful and solemn. I had this vivid dream that I was in a church and I saw all these people there looking at me. I remember waking up thinking, "where did my brain conjure up all these distinct faces" (though I don't remember them now, I did right after my dream and didn't recognize any of them).   I have recurring dreams about driving, traveling, taking trips. Trying to get somewhere. A lot of times, I come up to an intersection or a light and I hit the brakes and nothing happens. I can't stop the car!! (Sometimes I am going in reverse). I wonder if that means I feel like my life is out of control or going backwards. In a lot of ways, it really is ...   Sorry, got off topic a bit ... 

I must chime in on this.  Underwear and bathrooms have been a huge frustration for me for most of my life.  I absolutely hated bathrooms in K-12 schools and avoided them as much as humanly possible.  Gym class was agonizing torture even though I am an active person who has bike commuted for half of my work life.  Men's underwear in the 1970's and 1980's, at least what I had, was absolutely horrendous and was torture just like the bathrooms were.  I am a little odd though and wore polyester slacks in high school and have only owned 3 pair of jeans in my life.  When I do construction work, I wear black Dockers.   Then the 1990's happened and I had a regular biking partner who turned me onto large flannel boxers.  He said "you don't have to worry about the looseness down there when you are riding a bike.  Those tight bike shorts are not a requirement."  And what do you know, he was absolutely right.  Things were much better after that, but I now realize that I looked terrible down there!  But you know, I was feeling much better.  I often wore silk boxers too.  I'm sure the guys in the band locker room thought....  Well, you can use your imagination on that.   Then my female partner in 2017 turned me on to women's microfiber bikini underwear.  Wow!  Hers didn't have any elastic on the ends and I think the ones I have do.  Let me check....  Yes, that is correct.  Spiro is definitely helping with this situation.  As has been noted on this site lately, it seems that blood pressure lowering meds have a similar effect.  My blood pressure was thankfully lower before starting HRT although I do have some blood vessel constriction from light smoking for a couple decades.  I mostly fight that by cooking all my own meals and trying to limit salt to 1 tsp a day.  It does work for me.   This is the look I generally go for (picture).  It's pretty inexpensive and I like layers in the northern climate I live in.  Videos that were made of me this year reveal just how small my frame is.  I never really knew that.  This picture isn't me.  I tried to find an official link to it on the internet, but it has been taken down.  Perhaps I'll have to find a replacement for this stuff when I go to order again.     

And then you can't find them anymore and you are back to square one, wasting money again.

It’s great to make new friends! Glad for you!

Wow she is skilled !! Thank you for showing me this video

There is many different type of pantyhose brands to choose from, as well as size length may vary from person to person. Finding the right pair comes with a little trial until you find a brand that feels comfortable for you.

Welcome to the Forums Paula,  I can't help you on the brand of panty hose, since I have not worn them in several years due to old age problems in putting them on, but others will be here to answer your questions there.  When I was wearing them, it was the brands that you no longer feel right in.  Good and appropriate forum for this to be in though.

Hello all, Can anyone recommend some top-quality pantyhose brands? Ones with a very silky feel to them. My favorite brand *used to be* Leggs, Silken Mist variety. However over the last year or so the quality of those have plummeted, in my opinion, They feel very cheap. Thank you.   ** please forgive me if this kind of question does not belong in this forum, or even in this website **  

Well I have already shared how great my morning was. I had a great conversation with a woman. Butterflies feeling happened. I want the feeling to never end but as always good things must come to an end. I don’t even know how she feels about me. We are Facebook friends and had an amazing conversation. It was just the first conversation. I wished I didn’t fall so hard so quickly. It only tends to end in ways that are opposite of what I hope. I have been optimistic believe it or not but all the crap I have faced has changed me. I would love if things would actually go my way and stay like that for a while. I hope I can become optimistic again one day. I’m already for her to say she doesn’t want me. I don’t know what is worse borderline personality disorder or gender dysphoria. I want to be with someone but I’m tired of the being ghosted, or just getting hurt in general. There have been somethings that went ok. As I knew it she doesn’t like me that way. I wasn’t even looking but those damn stupid butterflies got my hopes up. I just want my luck to actually be lucky. Love sucks so many hopes and dreams and it all gets thrown right back at you. The good thing though is she did say wanted to be friends. 

Most of the time, I use that logic.  But there is a little more to life than being 100% stoic and practical.   I tend to fantasize about this zero depth option a lot.  I've always thought it would be fun to be with someone without that thing between my legs.  Male or female.  Peeing in a different way is enticing as well.  Although either VP option is exotic, I tend to think of ZD as more exotic and I like the idea of being in that class.  Right now money is stopping me, but I'm on a list.  Also, the fear and paranoia about surgery is huge with me.  I've spent my whole life trying to be as healthy as I can be and avoid surgery at all costs, but now I'm considering doing it voluntarily?  Like many of us, these feelings go way back, but I put them in the closet because I thought it would be a bad outcome.  I suppose that the older I get the more I'm like, well, there is less to lose now.  It's likely my life is 75% completed anyway.

That sounds awesome. There are many makeup tutorial videos on youtube these days. I've watched some of makeup artists who transform themselves into different celebrities of different genders by contouring. It is amazing. This video, for example. Gives you the idea of what's possible. But I imagine there are other videos which explain how to and what products to use.