Just got hit on at the thrift shop.

If only he knew. Lol

An interesting question

To crossdress or not to crossdress..... That is the question

So, today was the first day since I decided to "just be me" that I've had this come up. I'm feeling particularly feminine today and had to ask myself "do I want to do a Heather day or just be a feminine guy?" On one hand, I do like the way I look when I go all out and on the other, I just want to be comfy. Since I'm working from home this week (kids are off from school), I have the freedom to dress any way I please so Heather is certainly an option today. I knew that I wanted to wear a skirt and tights or leggings, but those can work for guys too (there are quite a few who are doing it these days). I debated it for a while and settled on a pair of purple leggings, denim mini skirt and my 2 tone purple Cirque du Soleil t-shirt. My daughter picked out a small pair of earrings with purple stones in them and I'm being a feminine guy today. 

I don't need to be Heather to be comfortable and since I have the freedom to dress how I like I am actually quite happy being a feminine guy. This brought up an interesting thought. We all see effeminate males as gay because that is how society accepts them. But what if what I am doing was as socially acceptable as the effeminate gay male? Would we see many feminine guys in skirts and tights, yet still presenting as male? I'm not cross dressing since I am not trying to appear female today, no more than a female who wears her hair short and wears baggy jeans and work boots is cross dressing. It's an interesting question to ponder.

A new dollhouse

I'm building a multi-story Barbie doll house for my daughter that she designed. I assembled the first 3 floors of the house and she is downstairs sanding the edges. This is the first time she;s done a woodworking project so this should be interesting.

Another alternative for cross dressers

I realize that this may not work for everyone, but for those of us with the balls to do it, it's a good alternative. Recently in a conversation with my wife she mentioned that our daughter wants "daddy" some times instead of Heather. I can understand this. Being the child of an out of the closet cross dresser has to be far from easy. She doesn't want to tell people that Heather is her daddy, so Heather is her older sister. At the same time, the pressures there can get to her at times. This is something that I have thought about for quite some time, and there are basically 3 solutions to the problem.

1. Go back in the closet. This would definitely make life the easiest on our daughter, but at the same time it is not an option. Not going there. Sorry...

2. Keep going as is. Sure, she has to find a way to explain Heather, but it's no worse than if I were gay or some of the other alternatives.

3. I say screw what people think and wear what I want to wear when I want to wear it as a guy. This means that I will wear skirts (I already have ventured there and plan to continue anyway), carry a purse (been doing that every day for about 4 years), have my nails done 24/7 (been doing that for about 2 years), wear heeled boots, stiletto or otherwise (been doing that for a few years now), wear leggings, stretch jeans, or other feminine attire (tossed the last of my male clothing years ago anyway), etc. So basically, keep doing what I am already doing in guy mode anyway. So the only difference is there are some fashions that have been "heather only" that I would start integrating into my male wardrobe. Sure, Heather days will still happen but really it's about being me, which I have been venturing towards anyway. 

I've been saying for years now that I believe that most cross dressers only started cross dressing because it was the only way we could wear what we want to wear. Society invented the cross dresser. If we didn't have the "male" pressure and double standard when it comes to fashion, most of us would probably never have started. We would just be feminine males. For me, option #3 was where I was heading anyway, I think it's time to make the leap and just be me. Heather is here to stay, but Heather might spend less time out and about, and a more feminine Joe may be seen out more often. It should be interesting either way.

Hugs,
Heather

Girl Scouts now allow 'transgendered boys' to join Brownie troops

Oh no! The evil Girl Scouts are out to ruin civilization. Run! Hide! Bury your heads in the sand before it's too late!

http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147513279

Need I say more?

An interesting comment

Today I was out at Shop Rite and had an interesting experience, which seems to be the norm. I was wearing an ankle length dark gray denim mermaid skirt, my platform heeled boots, and a purple sweat jacket (women's of course), and carrying my purse as usual but it was not a Heather day. No makeup, breast forms, earrings, or wig. I was crouched down getting some items off of the bottom shelf when a woman in her mid 30's I'd guess, approached me, leaned over and put her hand on my shoulder and said "Good for you."

Meeting an old friend

Last night we went out to meet an old HS friend who I haven't seen in something like 15 years. He knew about Heather, but has never met Heather until last night. He was having a gathering at a bar and had invited his old college friends and those from HS still in the area. We were the first ones to arrive and about 10 minutes later another old HS friend walked in with his girlfriend. He saw me and said "hey, good to see you". This particular friend knew nothing of Heather at all. In fact, until yesterday morning when I found him on FB (under my Joe profile) we had not had any contact for 15 or so years. It didn't phase him at all. He asked a few questions like was I in transition, etc. But other than that, it wasn't even a thought to him. He had issues with the Heather vs Joe names throughout the evening but he was making an effort. 

A little bit later the friend we had come to see arrived and he walked over to the other friend and gave him a hug. He glanced at me, turned away then the light bulb went on and he turned back, smiled and gave me a big hug. He said "Heather, right?" He kept introducing me as his friend from HS, Heather all night. We had a good time and I was definitely well accepted by my old friends as Heather, not that I expected any different.

Meeting old friends

Tonight i'm meeting some old HS friends who I haven't seen in 15+ years. They'll get to meet Heather tonight. It should be a blast.

Google+ is so much nicer...

I just realized I haven't been on facebook in like 2 weeks and haven't missed it. Sure, I miss some of the status updates, but I also love the lack of crap on G+. :)

This is from my 9 year old daughters homework

Teachers protest "horrid working conditions" by boycotting back to school night

Ok, I'm more than a little miffed at the teachers in a nearby school district. They have the nerve to protest "horrid working conditions" by punishing their students and not going to the back to school night. Let me put this into perspective:

average starting salary: 30k salaried

work week: 7:30-3:30 m-f

Days off: every weekend, most holidays and most of the summer, a week at Christmas and Easter Many teachers get summer jobs to supplement their school salary.

Retirement: district paid pension, maybe a 401k on top of this.

Medical, dental, and vision with little or no employee contribution

Many sick and personal days (5-10 a year at the beginning). They usually can roll over from year to year until retirement.

1 week paid vacation to start.

Maximum salary at retirement $125k

Paid lunch

Duties include standing in front of a class for about 1/2 hour at a stretch, with intermingled desk time to do paperwork.

Now to put these horrid conditions in perspective

Typical office worker:

starting salary: $10/hour or less, about 20k a year

work week: 9-5 m-f

Days off: weekends, some holidays. 1 week paid vacation after 1 year of service

Retirement: 401k or IRA. If the employee is lucky the employer matches a portion of their contribution. Many don't.

Medical. Employee pays about 1/2 of their portion and 100% of their spouse and kids. No dental or vision coverage.

2-3 sick/personal days a year. use it or lose it

Maximum salary at retirement: $45k

30-60 minute lunch, may or may not be paid.

Duties include sitting at a desk mostly

Typical retail worker:

starting salary: $7.25/hour (minimum wage)

work week: 4-5 days a week, 30-35 hours typical. Schedule varies from week to week and is usually posted a few days before the week starts so planning vacations, family events is hard to do. Usually has to work most weekends and some holidays such as Thanksiving day, Christmas day, 4th of july. Hours can be anywhere from 7am - 10pm or later.

Annual salary: about $12k

Retirement: maybe an IRA and possible employer match

No medical, dental, or vision plans for part time workers

No sick or vacation time off. You don't work, you don't get paid.

Maximum salary: $30k for a manager

Duties include standing on your feet for your entire shift, lifting heavy boxes, etc.

un-paid 30 minute lunch after 4 hours of work, if you are lucky enough to be scheduled for more than 4 hours that day.

Unemployment (the other 9-10% of the work force)

If you're lucky you qualify for unemployment benefits. If not, you rely on your spouse's pay to cover the bills. If you're really unlucky, you have moved your entire family in with your parents because both you and your spouse are out of work.

So, just how horrid are those union negotiated contracts that the teachers are forced to endure really? They should be thankful they aren't working retail or unemployed.

Lace front wig 3rd time is the charm?

Ok, so I'm trying this for the third week. The last 2 attempts
resulted in me taking it off after 2 days due to one temple or the
other coming loose.

What i did differently this time:

I started by using hair clips to pull the hairs back away from the
hair line all along the front edge while it was on the foam head. This
made it easier to line up the hair line when putting it on.

This time I used 91% alcohol to prep instead of 70%. Hopefully it got
more of the oils out of my skin.

I also used an eyeliner pencil to mark the line where the wig sits so
I knew exactly where to put the glue. Right off the bat, this is the
way to go. The last 2 times I had a bunch of hairs stuck to my
forehead right in front of the wig. This time there's no glue there
for it to stick to. Definite improvement.

I loosened the wig adjustment to the loosest setting. I suspect that
the wig was too small and was applying extra pressure at the temples
since that is where the weakest spot is. The pressure form the
adjusters lines right up with the temples. I can already feel the
difference.

I waited about 12 minutes for the glue to cure before applying the
wig. I've read that this glue should wait 10-15 minutes. I think I was
rushing it before and I have read that if you apply the wig too soon,
it may not hold as well.

Now all I need to do is wait another half hour and I can let my hair
down. I'll find out in a day or 2 if this made any improvement to the
glue hold.

Lace front wig day 2

Well, 2 days ago my lace front wig arrived along with the supplies to
properly attach it. Wed. night I spent a bit of time figuring out
where the wig needed to sit, etc. so I would know where the glue
should be used. I've had the wig on now for a day and a half and I
have to say I am liking this much better than the normal wig routine.
I've slept in it twice and it really does feel natural. There are some
definite advantages to something like this for those of us who have
the means to wear one. The lace front wigs are not really for casual
wear since they really do require tape or glue to set the hair line
properly. It's not a throw it on and head out the door and take it off
kind of wear. These are meant to be worn days or even weeks at a time.
On the plus side, I got this on Ebay for $55 including shipping.

This morning I did have to fix a small section which had come loose
near the temple, but I chalk that up to my own inexperience with
putting one of these on. Some of the advantages are that it's no fuss
once it's on. There is little chance of it slipping, which means
things like head bands and high pony tails are possible. Also, for the
first time I have no bangs and you can't tell it's a wig. Another
advantage will be I will be able to ride the motorcycle and not have
to worry about losing the wig when I take the helmet off. It does feel
odd to wake up and have hair in my face though.

I'm curious to see how it holds up to a few more days of wear. I plan
to take it off Sunday night.

Something new

Ok so I am trying something new. I bought a lace front wig for a more
natural hair line and it's glued in place. I think I did an OK job
considering it's my first time trying this. I'll see how it looks
tomorrow after it's settled in and gotten a bit mussed up.

How to cover beard shadow

I had a request on how I cover black beard shadow, so I figured I'd do a write up on it. Just as a reference, I have that really thick Sicilian black hair that leaves beard shadow even after a close shave and this works well for me.

First off, make sure you are using a good razor. Personally I use the Venus razors (http://www.gillettevenus.com/en_US/products/refillables/embrace/index.jsp). The one I use is a 5 blade. Start with a close shave, then a good moisturizer. You also want to use a primer, which helps smooth the skin. I have a friend (another crossdresser) who developed and sells a moisturizer/primer made specifically with the crossdresser/trans person in mind. I use this moisturizer myself every morning. Here's a link if anyone is interested http://www.hisinhers.com/herculanm-facial-products. And, no I'm not getting paid to say this. ;)

Next I follow up with a liquid foundation to even out my skin tone. I have managed to match my foundation and my beard cover pretty closely. Getting a good match is important so everything is seamless. The beard cover that I use is from a company called colortration (http://www.colortration.com/). It isn't cheap at $37 for a small container, but one of these lasts me about 6 months with me using it on average 3x a week. It covers me all day even with my black beard shadow. If you aren't sure what shade to get, I recommend the sampler set they sell. Also, if you call them, they have trans friendly staff and are extremely helpful in choosing the proper shades to try. If you have a foundation that you use and like now, they will try and match their shade to what you use. I found colortration through a theatrical makeup site. This is actually one of the recommended coverups used in TV and movies.

To apply the colortration, you want to use a small stiff makeup brush. Go easy with this stuff as a little goes a long way, even better than products like dermablend. You don't need to apply it very heavily at all to get complete coverage. Also, you might want to get the mixing vial they sell. It makes dispensing and applying the makeup much simpler a process. If I plan to be out more than 8 or so hours, I will make sure I have a little extra colortration makeup in the vial and I mix it with a drop of moisturizer. I then take my small makeup brush and the vial and toss them in my purse and it works really well to do a touch up later in the day if I need to.

I use a tinted powder over it all when I am done just to make sure that there is no unevenness to the shades of makeup. By following this process I can go for 12+ hours and rarely even need a touch up. The makeup even holds up under flash photography, which tends to penetrate most makeup and reveal the shadow underneath.

Christian witch trials

OMG, do you think that now they will now what we feel like when they do this to us???

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1398206

Passing leads to acceptance

I had an interesting day today at Chuck E Cheese. We went to a birthday
for the 7 year old daughter of friends of ours. Our friends know and
accept Heather and have no issue with it at all. Since I was in a
Heather mood and it was due to hit 100+ today I wore a nice black &
white sun dress and flat sandals for the occasion. We were the first
ones there and our friends arrived a few minutes after us. My friend
(guy) walks over to me and says "Hey Sister" and gives me a hug. His
normal greeting is "Hey bro" when it's a Joe day, so this was expected. A short while later his parents arrived. Now, his parents met us last
year for the same occasion, but it was a Joe day then. His mom comes
over next to me and introduces herself. I figured she just didn't
remember me from last year. I was wrong. I introduced myself as Heather
and she commented that it'd been a few years since she saw me last and
I'd changed a bit (I found out later she confused me with another
Heather). I replied "well, last year I wasn't quite dressed like this."
She looked at me kind of funny and then the light bulb went on. She said
"You're Joe." I told her that I was. She made a comment that I wasn't
quite so fully dressed "like this" last year. I told her I tended to go
androgynous most of the time. She then commented that I looked good as a
woman.

After the party we went back to the grandparents place to open presents
since the birthday girl wanted our daughter to come over for a bit and
it was only a few miles away. Everyone was fine with how I was dressed.
I know grandpa knew who I was and my appearance didn't phase him in the
least. We had a bit of conversation while we were there. Grandma
referred to me as Joe but the whole time I could see it was not big deal
to her either. I would call this passing that turned to acceptance since
I believe she saw me as a woman until I told her who I really was.

Our little girl is growing up

Is it a bad thing that my 9 year old daughter is starting to wear my
girl clothes and they fit?

Google+

This is to all my friends. If you're on google+, let me know and i'll add you to my list. If not, I can send an invite if you want to get on. It;'s so much better than facebook and I'm definitely planning on using Google+ more than FB.

It's been quiet

I haven't been blogging much because not much has been happening around here.

New toy.

Sent from my HTC Inspire™ 4G on AT&T

Memoirs of a Geisha

I just finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha. The movie has been one of my favorites for quite some time, and I have to say that the movie followed the book very closely. Now I need to watch the movie again. :)

new orleans photo

The beauty of a broomstick skirt

It's about 98 degrees outside today. Ordinarily I'd wear a short skirt or shorts, but I decided on a broomstick skirt instead. Wow, what a difference it makes. Surprisingly, it's cooler than a shorter skirt. I suspect this is because it makes a nice little pocket of shade around the legs. Either way, I will be doing this much more in warmer weather.

New Orleans

My wife and I spent 5 days in New Orleans over the weekend and I got to get in some Heather time as well while we were there. We were down there for a sort of 'family reunion' with our family of choice. Some of them knew of Heather, others did not. Over the course of the first 3 days there was occasion for the topic to present itself and I broke out a photo on my phone to share. Heather was taken quite well in these cases.

When Sunday rolled around I waited until mid-day and got changed so Heather could come out and play. I put on a denim mini skirt and a tank top and headed down to the lobby where the remainder of the group was hanging out (some had headed for home already). As I got off the elevator one of the guys saw me and I don't know if he knew what to do. He just stared at me as I approached the group. As people saw me and recognized me, there were smiles and compliments all around. Most of them had seen photos by then. I sat down and joined the conversation and it was like I had always been Heather around them. One of the guys said "Well, that just totally blew my mind." One of the guys came over a few minutes later and his wife (whose comment when she saw me was "Well, look at you. You dress up nice.") pointed to me and she said "what do you think". He just stared for a minute until it registered who I was. His response was "That works. It works so well in fact that I didn't recognize you."

The whole group (about 15 people) headed out for a street car ride and then 5 of us headed to the Court of Two Sisters restaurant for lunch. I recommend the place. Excellent food. Afterwards the 5 of us wandered around the French Quarter doing a little shopping before we headed back to the hotel. We stopped into one of the voodoo shops. The guy behind the counter said "Let me know if I can be of any assistance." and then he looked me in the eye and said "Especially you." Yup, he was hitting on me. My wife just shook her head and smiled because she heard the comment.

We headed back to the hotel and hung around for a while and then we headed out for some music with 2 other ladies and a guy from our group. We took a cab to Bourbon St and hit a jazz club for a few hours and then wandered for a little bit and had a late night snack at a bar. It was a fun evening and we all had fun. On Monday the rest left for home and my wife and I planned some souvenir shopping and then a Paddle Boat dinner cruise. I wore a khaki skirt and a camisole for the day (got a photo at the boat too). The dinner cruise was fun. After dinner we headed topside to enjoy the night air. As I was paying for our drinks before going up, the food services manager hit on me. After a bit we headed below again. As we were coming onto the second level deck, the food services manager asked us to sit and chat and take a break, so we did. He was still hitting on me big time. As we walked way to go down to the first level he kept complimenting me on how good I looked. This guy definitely had the hots for me. As we were sitting in the lower dining room, here he comes again to chat. I have to admire the guy for his persistence and he was very much the gentleman. I wonder what he would have done if he knew...

Yesterday was a Joe day. I wore my flying clothes - leggings, ballet flats and a tight t-shirt. It makes getting through security so much easier when your clothes are skin tight. As we were getting picked up by the cab (van) the driver said "How are y'all ladies doing this morning?" Now, I wasn't wearing any make up, wig, boobs, or girly earrings, and hadn't shaved that morning. I did have my purse as always and my nails were purple. It just goes to show how little people pay attention. All in all it was a good trip.

Creole queen

I got hit on by the food services manager on the paddle wheeler.  Lol

Jazz

Enjoying jazz on bourbon street

BOURBON street

I just got hit on by a shop cashier on bourbon street.

New Orleans, here I come!

My wife and I are heading to New Orleans for a few days and at least one of those days will be Heather time. I can't wait to hit bourbon street in a skirt and party! :)

Coming out (again)

Ok, so today I got a message from my sister on Facebook. We haven't talked in like 5 or 6 years and even before that we never really talked much. It's not that we didn't like each other, we just were never all that close. Well, she is the only person who knows me really that didn't know about Heather. When I told her (facebook chat) she was totally fine with it. As she put it, " RHPS gave you away... you and aaron way too comfy in girls clothes :)" and "id rather have pot smokin mom or cross dressing dad then abusive one". Let's hear it for open minded people! She has no issues with my mode of dress around her kids either. "good exposure for the kids to have an open mind". I love her take on clothing, too... "i think society is fd up for saying boys can only wear pants.. girls get to wear anything they want.. not fair".

It should be interesting to see how things are between us going forward.

Let's hear it for the bigots....

Tenn. Senate OKs ban on teaching of homosexuality

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_XGR_TENNESSEE_SCHOOLS_SEXUALITY?SITE=AZMES&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Ger shelves

Grumble

Somebody screwed up on scheduling and he's not in today. I have to wait another 2 weeks. :(

electrolysis

Well, I have an appointment with an electrolysis guy tonight to see about getting rid of the facial hair. I've been looking forward to doing this for several years now and my wife told me the hair salon we use is having a guy come in regularly to do electrolysis so we figured why not... I'll know more in a few hours.

Watch the following distance

If you're like most drivers, you are in the habit of following way too close to the car in front of you at highway speeds. Few of us leave the recommended minimum 130' distance at 65mph. Most of us are lucky to have 30' between us and the car in front of us. I regularly follow too close, even on the bike. This morning I got a good reminder of why this is a bad thing...

I was getting on the parkway and approaching highway speed (65mph). There was a large pickup tuck about 100' in front of me. With no warning I see a 4' piece of tail pipe fall out from under the truck. Since this was a big truck, it was a big pipe. It was easily 6" in diameter, complete with a few bends and an exhaust hanger sticking out.

Luckily for me, the road was recently repaved and still smooth. The pipe skidded down the highway relatively straight, tracking slightly to the left and since I had 100' warning was able to safely do a lane change to avoid it. The car that came on right behind me was not so lucky. I saw him swerve to the right and almost take out a few large road cones (they are doing road work) because he was maybe 30 feet behind me since the pipe was now sideways and taking up half the lane and doing maybe 40mph. He never saw the pipe till I changed lanes and by then he was maybe 50' from it. If the road was rough, the pipe could easily have caught on something and went tumbling wildly.

So, please back off at highway speeds. It could save you alot of pain.

Bras

Taking Katie bra shopping.  This should be interesting.

Is that your sister?

Last night we were at a birthday party for a friend in guy mode. One of our friends from our family of choice noticed my "H" necklace which I always wear and inquired about it. So i pull the phone out and pull up a Heather photo. She says "who's that? Your daughter? " I asked if she recognized the face and she didn't. I told her it was me. She then asks me when I went through the transformation. it seems she thought I Was a ftm transsexual. I corrected her and she was perfectly ok with it.

a funny thing happened

I had to run to best buy to pick up a couple of things today. As I was leaving and getting into my Jeep, a car pulls into the next space. Next thing I know, there's a guy at my window handing me a piece of paper with his email address on it. I'm thinking I'm about to get hit on when he says "I'd like to get to know you." Oh boy, here it comes... The next thing he says is "I dress too." It turns out he's a closeted cross dresser and is really wanting to meet other cds so he doesn't feel so alone in the world. I'm guessing he saw me in the store and was waiting outside for me to come out because he pulled in next to me as soon as I got in the Jeep.

Why I think legalized "Gay Marriage" is a bad idea

Now, before anyone jumps on me about this, read this in its entirety.

The gay rights people are attacking the problem from the wrong angle. Instead of fighting for legalized marriage for gays, they should be fighting for legalized "Civil Unions" for everyone, religious or not. They should be fighting to get government to stop recognizing "Marriage" officially.

Marriage is inherently a religious practice. By recognizing "Marriage" legally, the government is effectively violating our first amendment rights. Since marriage is defined as "between one man and one woman" by some religions, but not by all, the government is essentially saying that those religions which say it is alright for gays to marry are invalid. This is a law "prohibiting the free exercise thereof" and also "respecting an establishment of religion".

Now, if the government were to stop recognizing "Marriages" as being valid for legal purposes, and instead only recognized civil unions, then there would be no violation of our rights, and no religion would feel slighted either. In this scenario, you could choose to get married in the eyes of God within your church and following its own rules, but the paperwork that is legally filed with the state would be for that of a "Civil Union". If your religion doesn't recognize "Gay Marriage" then you couldn't get married within your religion. You could, however still have a "Civil Union". Marriage is in the eyes of God, and as such open to your particular interpretation of "God".

Making this one little change solves the whole "Gay Marriage" debate in such a way that neither side can argue it with any validity. Everyone who is "Married" would have a grandfathered in status of "CU" for "Civil Union" for all their tax documents. "M" could still be chosen if you like it, but it would be equivalent to "CU" in the eyes of the government with no distinction being made at all. Medical insurance, death benefits, Family Leave, Taxes, etc. could now be enjoyed by both partners since none of these "benefits" are of any religious significance whatsoever. A "Husband and Wife" (religious term) would be "Partners" (legal term) in the eyes of the government, the same as 2 men or 2 women.

This is what I am going to start pushing for, and if you agree, forward this idea to everyone you know and have them fight for it as well. Let's get the government out of religion once and for all, as it was supposed to have been all along.

The first amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Mississippi Town Destroys Westboro Baptist Plans

http://www.retirelikeme.com/2011/04/21/mississippi-town-destroys-westboro-bap...

Dracula

I just finished dracula. Good book. The end was a bit anti climactic, but I can see how this book inspired so many stories and movies. Excellent read.

Hop

I took the kids to see hop on Friday. It was kind of cute, but all hype. It was definitely over rated. I give it a 6.  It might be good on tv but I wouldn't spend money to see it.

It's Easter.

Well, the kids let us sleep in until 7:00 anyway.

The Scariest Gay Marriage Chart Ever

http://front.moveon.org/the-scariest-gay-marriage-chart-ever/?rc=fb.fan

I got a new phone

I just got an Android phone and am loving it! HTC inspire.

Kindergartner brings gun to Texas school, 3 hurt

My big question is how does a kindergartener get access to a loaded handgun in the first place? I have no issue with people owning guns, but if you have kids in your house, LOCK THEM UP!!!!!! (the guns, not the kids)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOUSTON_SCHOOL_GUN?SITE=AZMES&SECTI...

The new ger door attachment method.

Can we say ouch?

Strange Truths For Mature Humans

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. 

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. 

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. 

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time! 

24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

a busy weekend

This weekend we went to Atlantic City to see Cirque du Soleil. A friend of ours has a timeshare so we stayed there for the weekend. Saturday night we all went to the pool. Since I planned on a Heather weekend, I brought my bikini along (pics in the blog). I didn't notice any unusual looks and our friends didn't either, so that was a good thing. Saturday we went to the Ripley's museum and had a good time. Afterwards we went back to the room and changed for the show and to get some lunch. After lunch we took the bus to the Boardwalk Hall and saw the show. I love seeing the Cirque and I think this is the second time I've gone as Heather. After the show we went back to the room and went to the pool again. My friend went along but went to the bar which is next to the pool and was talking to some other timeshare owners. Afterwards, he told me that one of the guys he was talking to kept asking if I was single and wanted him to introduce us. He was disappointed to learn that I was married but kept trying to get an introduction anyway. Our friends mentioned that they hung back and were watching for reactions when we were on the boardwalk and didn't see any at all other than the normal looks someone might give a person who catches their eye. We had a fun weekend and I would consider it a successful Heather weekend too. :)

Waiting for the cirque to start. :)

At the wyndham in A/C

Commodore 64

If you ever owned one, you 'll want to check this out...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/the-new-commodore-64-updated-with-it...

next heavy launch vehicle?

http://www.spacex.com/falcon_heavy.php

busy weekend

This weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we built a play set for the kids and then on Sunday I got 2 cu. yd. of mulch to spread under it. I still need at least 2yd more mulch to get enough depth to cushion the ground, but that was enough for Sunday's work. I also bottled the sweet mead, red delicious apple wine and the peach wine. I racked all the rest of the wines while I was at it.

Mulch spread out

2yd of mulch

Today's project

moisturizer formulated for transgender community

Press Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIS-IN-HERS goes on line with a new facial product created for the Transgender community.

4/1/11, Toms River, New Jersey
HIS-IN-HERS, creator of Trans-Curves, is proud to introduce the first in a series of natural skin products formulated specifically for the Transgender community. "Herculanm" facial moisturizer is the first of its kind created to meet the requirements of the transgendered male face.
Formulated with deionized water, organic virgin coconut oil and other natural ingredients, "Herculanm" hydrates the skin and infuses natural vitamin E and anti-oxidants necessary for good skin health and appearance.
"Herculanm" is odorless (no perfumes), invisible when dry (less than 1 minute) and contains no additives that will make your skin look rosy in appearance as woman's moisturizers do, so it can be worn EVERY DAY even when you go out the door in male mode.
Created also to be used as a skin primer under foundation, "Herculanm" will not coagulate on your skin and clog your pores like mineral oil based moisturizers do. Say good bye to having your foundation look like chalk after a couple hours.
For those that are not "out of the closet" at home, "Herculanm" is sold in a plain plastic bottle with a masculine label. Leave it out on the bathroom shelf!
Its been known for hundreds of years why most women look younger than their actual age.
THEY MOISTURIZE TWICE A DAY!

Kimm Jacoby, inventor of Trans-Curvestm (part-time CD) and owner of HIS-IN-HERS, custom formulated this product line from questions asked to hundreds of girls in the community on their likes and dislikes of their moisturizers formulated for women.

For more information, go to http://hisinhers.com/herculanm-facial-products ,
e-mail: sales@hisinhers.com Call: 732 600-6156

Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

ice... what a wonderful thing

Wow, i forgot how nice it was to actually have ice in the house. Our ice trays were never used because we could never get to them in the old freezer. Now that we have ice on the door it's a wonderful thing indeed. :)

New frigidator

caller id with name on cell phones

The last few weeks or so i have been noticing that some numbers now come up with a name when calling my cell phone. This is for numbers that are not on my phone book. I'm on AT&T so I don't know if it's everyone or not, but it is looking quite promising and about time too.

The Longest Password!

We laugh -- but her I.D. is safe.  
During a recent password audit by Microsoft & Google, 
it was found that a blonde was using the following password: 

"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento" 

When asked why she had such a long password, she said
she was told that it had to be at least 8 characters
long and include at least one capital.

Wizard of oz

We're watching wizard of oz to darkside of the moon. Way too cool!

YouTube - Marble adding machine

Happy Pi day

It's 3.14 so I wanted to wish everyone a happy Pi day... :)

khana shelves

I thought I'd share the shelves I just made for the ger. These hang off of the khana itself and can be placed anywhere in a ger. I've tested these with 40lb on them and they hold easily. The best part is they pack completely flat. For my test I used some press board shelves from an old desk I'm getting rid of. Any more I make once i run out of these shelves I'll use pine since it's lighter. I used 2 L shaped hooks to grab the khana, cut two slots to hold the rope (so they can be removed for storage) and that's it.

Khana shelves

I now have shelves that hang frm the khana. :)

Quotes from a crossdressers kid

"I'm mad at daddy Heather". This was said by our 3 1/2 year old son tonight at dinner.

I tried something new

Tonight we went out to dinner and they had alligator as an appetizer so we ordered it. All I have to say is yummm! :)

holy @(#*

Too cute!

fermenting fruit...

I so love the smell of fermenting fruit. I don't know why, but I just do. Every time I walk into the basement and get a whiff of the strawberries and bananas I love it.

ouch (but worth it)

Well, last night I decided it was time to do something new. I grew tired of having to shave my chest daily, sometimes twice a day if I was going out in the evening wearing something low cut. So I bought one of the do-it-yourself waxing kits and waxed my chest. Sure, it stung a bit ripping the hairs out, but if I am right I will get at least a couple of weeks before I need to shave again and to me that is so worth the brief pain and some redness and sensitivity in my skin this morning. Actually, plucking the few stragglers hurts far worse than the actual waxing did. I'm going to try maintaining it by plucking what I can and see how long I can go before I really need to shave again. The hardest part of the whole thing was letting the hair grow for a whole week before I tried this. I'm so used to being shaved that it was tough to not shave every morning.

Strawberries

Yesterday I decided I needed to start more wine so I headed to costco to see what looked good in fruit. I spotted a huge pallet of ripe strawberries so I knew what I had to do. I bought 40lb (10 4lb flats) of strawberries and 18lb of bananas. 32lb of the strawberries went into the 10 gallon bucket (should yield about 8 gallons) and 4lb went in with 15lb of the bananas in the 7 gallon bucket (should yield 4-5 gallons). The rest was for the family to consume. We had strawberries on pound cake with whipped cream for dessert last night. yum!

The next LNO party

It looks like the next LNO party is on March 26th. We have plans during the day but hopefully we'll still be able to make the party too.

The definition of hero...

http://www.app.com/article/20110301/NJNEWS/110302001/1001/rss

Making the inlaws happy

We're going to a funeral service Saturday and Rain asked me to take the nail polish off and guy it up as much as I can to avoid the drama. It's sad when the "family" is so petty as to make an issue over how someone dresses at a function such as this. It just goes to show how shallow some individuals can truly be. I'll be glad when this is over and I can just "be me" again. This is just one more example of how the bullies are trying to run my life by dictating what I can and cannot do based on their standards, with little regard for my feelings or those of my family. I do draw the line at wearing a shirt and tie though. I am definitely NOT going there.

Domino's driver saves life of customer who ordered daily pie

http://www.9news.com/rss/article/182909/337/Dominos-driver-saves-life-of-cust...

i can see this happening.

adam & eve

What, no kiss??

Thursday I had to take my wife's Jeep in to the dealer to get the ignition lock replaced. While I was there, I asked them to look at the blower motor because it only works on high. Now, I knew what the problem was and what is involved in replacing it. I just figured while I was there I could have them do it. The service guy came out and told me it'd be about $300 to replace the resistor pack for the blower motor. Say what??? I declined the work and decided to price the part up myself. The dealer quoted me $155 for the part and $142.50 to replace it. The local parts place wanted $139 for the part, so that didn't sound too bad. I went online and found the same part for $101. Ok, now I know the stealership needs to make their profit. What I don't get is why they quoted me $142.50 to replace the part.

Here's what is involved in replacing the part (I looked it up before I went, BTW). Open the glove box and remove 3 screws. Remove the glove box. Take out 2 screws on a metal plate. Behind the plate is the resistor pack. Unplug the resistor pack and replace. Put everything back together. I figure this would take at most 1/2 hour to accomplish if you take your time, which is why I figured I'd have the dealer do it. I was willing to pay the 1/2 hour labor to have them do the job. They were going to charge me what looks like 1 1/2 hours labor. So, this leaves me with the thought that I must have passed and they were trying to take advantage of the woman since she couldn't possibly have a clue what was actually involved in doing the job. Little did they know that I not only know what it takes, but I've torn more than my share of cars apart to repair them (a few times as Heather even). It makes me feel good to pass, but pisses me off to see a business attempt to take advantage of women like that.

Do Speed Limits Matter?

I found this article rather interesting...

http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/a-slmatr.html

The actual apocalypse...

No LNO party for us. :(

I just found out my brother in law's memorial service is next weekend in WV so we can't make the LNO party. :( why does the timing always work out that way?

So, girls... Do you still think you look good with no makeup?

This morning I was running late to take my daughter to the bus, so I went out with just my foundtion on and no eye makeup of any kind. When I got back, I decided to take a before and after photo with the only difference being eye makeup. All I can say to all the women out there who think that no makeup makes them look good, think again, girls... These 2 photos are proof that a little makeup goes a long way. I look a good 10 years younger by simply putting on some light eye shadow, eyeliner, and a little mascara. See for yourself!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Ok, rain feels better now :)

Openmindedness in redneck country

We checked into a hotel in WV last night. The lady who checked us in complimented me on my nails. I have dark blue polish and some basic designs on them. The part that made it interesting is I was in guy mode.

Another reason why I like to cross dress...

Yesterday on the way to visit a friend our son needed to potty so we stopped at a rest stop on the Turnpike. I was in guy mode so I took him into the mens room. It was disgusting in there. There was toilet paper on the floor, it smelled like pee, and the graffiti on the stall walls made me happy that my son can't read yet. The last time we made this trip we stopped at the same rest stop but it was a Heather day so we used the women's room. Holy cow, men are pigs... I definitely prefer using the women's room. It is far cleaner, smells better, and there's none of that disgusting graffiti on the walls.

"is he a rock star?"

I had a funny occurrence happen yesterday. I was gothed out in leather pants, my boots with the 5" heel, black eyeliner & lipstick, arm warmers, t-shirt, a black leather trench coat and my black wig. We went to visit a friend and as we were walking to his apartment, some kids were playing in the snow. One of them said to Rain "Is he a rock star?" LOL I love being me.

Shorai vs lead acid battery

How much viarga can one person possibly need????

With the sheer volume of viagra spam I get, it makes me wonder... How much viagra do they really think people are interested in?

A new product for the transgender community

I wanted to post an introduction and then the actual press release. There is a new product out there for the trans community and I have had the pleasure of experiencing it first hand. Let me just say that this product is not only produced for the transgender community, but by one of its members (and a good friend of mine). I had the pleasure of modeling the product for both the website (yes, that's me in the photos), and for the product roll-out this past Saturday night. Check it out if you have a few minutes. It is definitely worth looking at.

Press release follows:

Press Release

 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

HISINHERS.COM goes on line with new prosthetic for the transgendered community.

 

1/30/11, Toms River, New Jersey

HISINHERS.COM released Trans-Curves^tm, its new life-like prosthetic molded off a woman's lower torso. This one piece anatomically correct support garment eliminates the need for poor fitting foam, fiber or silicone pads used to enhance hips and butt. Constructed out of silicone, it is 100% skin contact safe and does not deteriorate over time like latex products do.

 

Kimm Jacoby, inventor of Trans-Curves^tm and owner of Hisinhers, has spent over a year doing R&D on this product.

 

For more information, go to http://www.hisinhers.com or e-mail sales@hisinhers.com

dead battery

Monday I was all set to take the bike to work since I haven't had it out in well over a month. I anticipated the possibility of a low battery, but the battery tender should have kept it up. I went to start it and it was dead, as in 3 volts dead. It seems the extension cord got knocked out of the socket and it's been sitting for a long time with no maintenance. Without the maintenance, in the sub-freezing temps for weeks, it slowly froze and lost its charge. So I pulled the battery and brought it inside to thaw out and then tried to charge it. No luck. My battery is toast.

I am tired of having to keep it on a charger, so I did some looking around and found a Li-Ion battery for the motorcycle. It can hold a charge in the cold for up to a year, compared with weeks for a lead-acid battery. It costs twice as much as a standard lead-acid battery, but the manufacturer says ti should last 2-3x as long as the lead-acid battery does. On a motorcycle, that is 2-3 years on average so this one should last 5-6 or longer. On top of that, because of the type of battery I won't need to plug it in every night in the cold weather to keep the charge level up. They actually recommend not charging it unless it really needs to be charged. It should be here any day now. :)

Here's a link to the manufacturer: http://www.shoraipower.com/

An interesting conversation.

Here is a conversation I had on a group I belong to. It all started with the article below and evolved from there.  I left names out of the replies for privcy reasons, and the conversation was had between me and a few others. I think it's a good evolution of an idea.

by Joanna Douglas, Shine Staff, on Fri Jan 14,
  2011 1:41pm PST
 
  A new study of 3,000 women conducted by Superdrug found that  one in three women refuse to go out in public without wearing makeup.  As in, they can't even run out to the grocery store or to pick up their kid  without makeup on. Really? Nearly half of all women say they prefer to wear cosmetics than to show their bare face.  But what's the most shocking of all: one in ten women polled said they would  never ever let their partner see them without a full face of makeup on.
 
Sara Wolverson of Superdrug told the Daily Mail: "For many women, putting  their makeup on is an important part of their day, and the thought of people  seeing them without can be horrifying. We know that when it comes to cutting  back, cosmetics are seen as an essential. Wearing and buying cosmetics is not  about vanity. It's about giving a woman confidence to succeed in every area of  their life."
 
  But really, how is it that some of these women will be intimate with their man,  but won't show him her natural face? Makeup is pretty, but it's not always necessary!
 
  The Daily Mail reached out to Jackie Fletcher, a life coach from Hampshire, who  said a woman's relationship with makeup is not just about her outward  appearance, but also what's going on on the inside. "Make-up can help with  a sense of self-respect," said Fletcher. "The reality is that we do  judge people by how they look, and this can be especially important for women  in business who often need to appear professional. But there is another side to  it. If the reason for wearing make-up lies in the woman feeling worried that  people will judge her for the way she looks rather than who she is, that’s a  problem that needs to be addressed."
 
  More stats from the poll: 
 
  Over 33% felt their partner would not have been attracted to them if  they hadn't been wearing makeup when they metThe average woman waits 2.5 months before going  makeup-less in front of her partner14% of women get out of bed early to put on makeup  before their partner wakes upSix in 10 women will not go to work without makeupNearly 25% believe they would be ignored for a  promotion if they didn't wear makeup37% think their managers would assume they didn't take  care of themselves
 
  How important is wearing makeup to you?

My response:
What I'm waiting for is the day when the same thing can be said for men.. Most men would do good to never leave the house without makeup on.

reply:
Guys are not that polished. One of the questions was about getting dates and if a guy thought he could not get a date with out make up the article would have been if men were addicted to make up. I guarantee you if men needed lipstick to get noticed by women they would be over doing it.
I think it is interesting that gay men do pay more attention to being attractive because they seek someone who is visually oriented. Lucky for straight men that women care more about a mans abilities and what he can do than what he looks like. Usually there is only enough room for one beauty queen in a relationship. 

Me:
Are you sure that women are more attracted to a man's abilities? It might be that since the choices in "beautiful" men are so scarce, that women have no choice but to settle for abilities, even though they really want a "pretty" guy. Women have been taught all their lives that this is all there is to choose from, so settle for one who can support you. There have been times where the men were prettier than the women and women loved the pretty men over the rest.

reply:
Well heck.....  you are right Heather. There have been cultures where men were "the pretty ones"... but they were not pretty like women they were decorative males and not impersonating/copying  females. Cowboys like to dress somewhat flamboyantly for example. In a way they are doing the same kinds of things women do, heeled decorative pointed boots, colorful fitted shirts, hats, fancy silver bling and tight pants. Guess the cowgirls like it but does not seem to be a universal appeal. In LA cowboys have a 20 percentage point lower perceived IQ but in Colorado it's reversed and they don't like city slickers. 
I said something like that the other day about a lot of what a "man" or "woman" is, is what is needed at the time. If one can fill the role?

Me:
It's all a function of the culture at the time & place. There are women who look for guys with long hair, smooth bodies, and wear eyeliner and lipstick, but those are usually the goths or rock band types. There are some who like guys with lots of muscles and need a shave. With the average American male being overweight, women have a lowered set of expectations and just say "he's a guy, what else do you expect?" If we start to raise the bar again, guys will start to be pretty again and women will start to expect it.

reply:
Yah....yah....yah.... I'm Okay with all that... so what about the fake boobs?

me:
When men aren't allowed to be "pretty", those who would otherwise want to be "pretty" have no choice to dress up as women in order for society to accept them as being "pretty". If society accepted that men can be "pretty" too, then i have no doubt that most cross dressers would never have started cross dressing.

reply:
I'm sorry but a doesn't equal b here. The fact that I want to be pretty has nothing to to do with my desire to crossdress. In fact I would not want to be a "pretty" man; a handsome one, yes. Being pretty in my mind is a feminine trait. I crossdress because I have that deep-seated need to express femininity, whether I'm pretty or not. At my age, being pretty is probably some kind of internal sense of self. I'm lucky just to be considered an older attractive woman. And considering I'm plus-size too, well, how about just not being ugly

Me:
But, if society allowed men to be feminine, would you really still want to cross dress? Think about it.. If you could wear the same clothes, makeup, jewelry, and hair styles but not need the boobs, voice or feminine name, would you still cross dress? And, would it still be considered cross dressing, or just a feminine male?

reply:
Being a feminine man is not the same as being as being female and most crossdressers desire to emulate women in all aspects, although clearly we tend to emulate what most would consider the girly-girl look instead of some androgynous look

Me:
But do cross dressers try to emulate women because we really want to be like women, or is it because we know that is the only way we will be allowed to express our feminine side? I think we emulate the "girly-girl" as a form of rebellion against a society that expects us to be "manly men" all the time. If you stop and look it from the outside, the question is very valid. We have been programmed from birth to think that a feminine male is wrong and something to be ashamed of. If we had been raised from birth to believe that a feminine male was perfectly acceptable, would we still have this desire to emulate women?

If I use myself as an example, I used to think that emulating women was the only way I could be happy and express my feminine side. About 2 years or so ago I finally said  f*ck it, I'm going to be me and if they don't like it, they can take a long walk on a short pier. Ever since then I have found that I don't care anywhere near as much about emulating women. Sure, I still have my Heather days and as Heather, I am all woman. But on the rest of the days I freely express my femininity as a guy. On those days I have little to no desire to emulate women at all even though I carry a purse, have my nails done, wear earrings, wear high heeled boots, wear skirts, etc. I leave the boobs, femme voice and wig home and forego most of the makeup on those days and am extremely happy. I am a feminine, androgynous, or otherwise ambiguous male on my guy days and have found that society for the most part accepts me as who I am. I am far happier since I had this revelation than I was even after I came out of the closet.

I firmly believe that if I had been allowed to dress and express the way I want to from birth that Heather would never have been. I would simply be a very happy, gender fluid male. Society made me become Heather because it was the only way to be who I truly was on the inside. I have my "manly man" days where it's jeans, work boots, and getting dirty tearing a car apart, and I have my feminine guy days where it's tight jeans, heels, form fitting low cut top, makeup and my purse. Then I have my Heather days because it's just fun to be a girl sometimes, but those days are not the same as they were before I said f*ck it. Now those days are simply another way of expressing what I freely express every other day of the week.

Check another thing off the list

I got to check another item off my list of things to accomplish. I can now say I have actually worked as a model. I modeled for a new product that is coming out in the near future for the TG community. I can't say more right now, but I can say that alot of people are gonna be excited by it. I'm also building the website for the manufacturer, so I'm getting to have some fun with the site. More to come once things are officially announced.

Why nobody should vote for Pawlenty if they are nominated for president...

As president, Pawlenty would reinstate DADT

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1273036

Jury duty - the whole story

Monday I didn't have to go in, so it was life as normal.

Tuesday I missed having to go in by 3 numbers.

Wednesday my number was on the list, so I had to report. I dressed very respectably for court. I decided to go with a purple sweater dress, black leggings, and my brown leather winter boots since it snowed Tuesday night. I also decided that my long brunette wig would be the hair of choice for my jury duty. I didn't have to go in until 11:30 since they started late due to the snow.

When I got there, I went to the wrong entrance and the guard pointed me to the jury entrance (they should have had signs at the main entrance to tell us where it was). Once I made it to the right entrance I went up to the window and handed the lady at the desk my jury notice and my drivers license. I had my TG ID card handy just in case it was needed. To my surprise, she didn't even think twice about it and simply checked me in. She wrote the code to the restroom door on my badge and went to put it in one of those plastic holders that you clip on your shirt and stopped. She printed a fresh tag and put that in the holder and handed me the one with the code written on it. I didn't think much of it at the time and put the one with the code in my purse.

I went into the jury waiting room and joined the 50 or so jurors who were already there and found a seat and took out my magazine to read. I didn't see a single off glance or anything. In fact, nobody paid me any more attention than they would anyone else. After a little while they started calling jurors by first name and # to go in for a case. This was it, everyone was going to know I was a guy when the lady called "Joseph" and I answered but I was ready for it. As the jurors dwindled, there were 3 of us left at the end and she hadn't called us. We had to go to the window where we checked in so they could figure out what happened. It seems that one of us wasn't supposed to report that day and the other 2 of us were supposed to be in the first group of jurors called, but our names were missed for some reason (we were on the list for the judge). The lady called over to the court (it was in a separate building) and told them she had 2 more jurors headed over. We (me and another lady) walked over to the courtroom together and chatted while we walked. I don't think she suspected a thing.

We made our way into the courtroom and took a place near the back as things got started. They started by dealing with the people who said they had some hardship and wanted to be excused. About 10 jurors were excused. Next they gave us all a questionnaire to answer. It was things like did we serve on a jury before, did we know anyone in law enforcement, etc. Then they started calling jurors one at a time to get more information and seat them in the jury box (after going over the questionnaire answers with the judge and attorneys). The order seemed to be totally random from what I could tell. It was not in juror # order, name order, or any other order I could find.

As we were going through things, I glanced at the other juror's badges and that was when I noticed that mine was different. All of them had just a 4 digit restroom code on theirs. Mine had "L"and a number "/" "M" and a number. The lady that checked me in had given me the codes to both the mens' and ladies' restrooms.

Since this was a criminal trial, there would be 12 jurors + 2 extras. As they seated jurors, each had to tell a little about themselves. I started thinking of what I was going to say - hobbies, family, etc. By the time the day was done around 4:45pm, they had 14 jurors in the box and about 30 alternates in the pool still. The next morning the attorneys would get their chance to excuse jurors, so it was still anyone's guess as to who would remain.

Thursday morning I need to be there at 9am. I went with dark jeans and a brown pullover top with my brown boots. On the way to court, there was a major accident and I barely made it on time. It seems that several other jurors were also caught behind the accident and had called in and ran much later than me, so I didn't feel so bad.

While we waited, I chatted with an older lady who had sat down next to me in the waiting area. Again, no indication that she suspected anything. When we were finally called in (as a group this time, no names since we knew which judge we were with), we all headed over to court. Eventually, one by one the pool shrunk and more jurors went away. It got down to the point where there were 4 of us left in the pool and the attorneys were finally satisfied with the jury. I was kind of bummed that my number hadn't been called because I was so waiting for the reactions when they called my legal name and I stood up. A few times they called a number a few away from mine and I started to get excited until I heard that last digit called. I guess that is just the luck of the draw. The 4 of us who were left went back to the jury assembly and were told we were done. It was time to go home.

I may not have made it to the jury box, but I did my civic duty and a whole bunch of people got to see a cross dresser up close, even if they didn't realize it. Oh well, maybe next time. I posted pictures of what I wore on my blog.

When a goth gets bored

I like to play my favorite game when I get bored.. "Freaking the mundanes" hehe

Jury day 2 photo

Here is the photo from day 2 of jury duty.

Jury duty - day 2

Well, I'm getting ready to head out for jury duty day two as Heather. I don't know if I'll get called into the "box" or not, but either way I'm there representing the transgendered community. I'll post more later on when I have something to post about. I'm hoping some of the current people in the "box" get tossed out so I get my shot at it, but that's all up to the randomness of the jury selection.

photo from today

Here is how I went to jury duty today...

Jury selection

Well, I made it past the first round. After lunch the attorneys get their crack at us. After that I know if I made the jury or not. When I got here and checked in, the check in lady gave everyone the security code to the mens or ladies room by writing it on our badges. I looked around. I am the only juror with both codes on my badge. So far all is going well. More to come later.

Waiting

I'm at the jury assembly area and waiting. Its actually kind of exciting.

jury duty

"Jurors 551 thru 739 please report to Jury Assembly Wednesday, January 12th at 11:30 am.  Your services are needed at this time. "

Today's the day it looks like.

jury duty...

Well, looks like tomorrow I get to report for jury duty unless the snow tonight shuts the courts down.

New domains

Well, I decided to protect my name and bought heathercd.net and heathercd.com. They just redirect to heathercd.org, but now nobody else can use the name...

another tsa comic

New wine labels

I bottled some wines

I bottled some of my wines today. All told, I think I bottled like 25 gallons.

The banana is a little dry, but good.

The bananas with cocoa is a winner and like the first batch. I will be making this one again.

The dandelion mead is incredible. It is sweet and fruity and had a great flavor. I need to make this again.

The pear has a light flavor and needs a little more time to mature, but otherwise is very drinkable.

The watermelon needs more time, so I racked it and will let it sit a few months.

3-6

ugh... the last of the blizzard is still on the ground and it's snowing yet again. They are forecasting 3-6" today. I don't foresee taking the bike out any time soon.

Respect...

Yesterday I took my son to the eye doctor's office for a check up. Being that it was a Heather made no difference. When the optometrist saw me, she said "Hey, Heather." Now, that is respect for you. She knows who I am, and only sees me a few times a year, but she thought enough to remember me as Heather.

Another good cominc

it's green...

I started a batch of kiwi wine tonight. It's definitely green. I'll find out in a few months how it turns out.

Genderful

GENDERFUL from Joie Reinstein on Vimeo.

5 more days

Friday night I will know if I have to attend jury duty or not for Monday.