Perfectly Flawed - A Guest Post By Samantha Prescott

I have been extremely busy lately and haven't posted much lately. I apologize for that. I do have Awesome friends who are willing to help me out. This post is by Samantha and she's going to let you in on a bit of her life. I hope you enjoy and post your feelings about it here or you can chat about it in our Facebook Group or Page.

Take it away Sami.
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Before I go back to the beginning and recant any recollection of when this all stared for me I will start with who I am at this exact moment.

    My name is Samantha "Sami" Prescott and I am a soon to be 50 year old happily married heterosexual crossdresser. I revealed the innermost me to my wife very early on in our relationship. We were becoming very involved quickly and I knew I could not wait another second. I was born into something that I didn't have a choice or say in and my own life experience that who I am was never going to change or just go away, I knew that she needed to have a choice to stay or walk away. I needed to be free of the secrecy and shame that my life has been accustomed, and I owed it to both of us to be honest and upfront to insure that would be a foundation on which our relationship would be built. As a result, one of the hardest decisions I ever carried out in my life, and one of the biggest risks I decided to take, I am very blessed and fortunate to have a supportive and accepting wife who has encouraged me to not be ashamed of who I am. Without understanding she stayed and she has been the one and only reason that I have found acceptance and peace within myself.  Without her support I might not have ventured out from the safety and confines of my home.

    I have been getting out and about for a little over 2 years now and have been working on my head to toe transformation and presentation for about 9 years, but 'I' have been a lifetime in the making. I am non-transitioning and very part time. I am closeted to everyone except my wife and I am not looking to make any drastic changes in my life nor seeking to come out and be full time. I do have a desire to get out a bit more often and know that I want to be able to be active in the community, provide help and support for other like myself, and also make a positive impact on those I interact with along the way.  Going a bit further in my self realization I also consider myself to be transgendered.  I know there is more to all of this than the clothes, I have no conflict with my gender, my identity, or my sexual preference. I do realize there is a duality that exists in me, a feminine aura, and a certain comfort and wholeness that comes with my drive and desire to nurture and outwardly express this part of me that I have hidden and denied for the largest part of my life.

    Going all the way back I could make this very short and say the day I was born I fell right into a pair of panties and took off running. That could very well be but my earliest recollection was when I was probably around 4 or 5 years old. I was in one of my mother's satin nightgowns. It extended way past my feet so there was no chance of running to hide when she was half way up the stairs and quickly approaching. As she is calling I lifted the lid of the hamper and tumbled in to hide. The lid opened right after but the hiding lasted for the majority of years afterward. It was my attraction to silky and satiny clothing and everything that was hidden under what a woman wore underneath the top layer that everyone would see excited me. The feeling against my skin was then and is still now incredible. I don't know why back then at such a young age I was so conflicted that something that felt so good to me was something that made me feel as if I was doing something so wrong. It was also those thoughts way back then that had me keeping all those things to myself.

    Within the next 2 or 3 years I was already into my mother's stockings, bras, panties, girdle's, pretty much everything and anything I could get my hands on. I was already hands on in self exploration before most boys or girls even had a clue as to what the real difference was between the sexes were. I can remember watching "Bewitched" through much different eyes than most children did, unless of course they were like me!

    Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha and who is the inspiration in my name, was just a witch who was a mom and a homemaker on the television show. She was so much more than that to me. She was the essence of woman-ity and femininity, she was everything that I adored about a woman and the thought of what she was wearing under her dress had me thinking way past my mother's lingerie drawers.

    Then there was Jeannie, Ginger, and Mary Anne, the sitcom starlets who I wanted to emulate and larger than life when it came to how I was inspired by them. They were a vision of desire that I saw back then and very instrumental on how I present today.

    Somewhere in that time frame my mother asked me what I wanted to be for Halloween, before that point I was never asked, she just slapped a costume on me and off I went. Well, given a choice the obvious answer was "A Girl" so she borrowed a bunch of things from one of her girlfriends daughter's. Little did I know that I would be in my glory and I certainly did not show it, there I was wearing a cute blue dress with a strawberry pattern on it, a pair of white tights, and a pair black patent Buster Brown Mary Jane flats. I was all anxious to run out the door to go Trick or Treating and my mother stopped me and said, "You're not ready yet".  She pulled a wig down on my head and smeared some rouge blush on my cheeks and said, "Now the girl is ready".  I can remember one  of the ladies that answered the door saying, "Aren't you just the prettiest little girl".  Halloween wasn't the only time I slipped back into that dress. I can say that memory still brings a smile to my face today because I was somewhat embarrassed by it at that time.

    Two of the biggest disappointments after that was the day my mother returned the clothes to her girlfriend and years later when the day came that my feet would no longer fit into my mother's heels. So it wasn't long after that I had to muster up the courage to go and buy my first pair of heels. I also bought a bra, panties, and a matching garter-belt set and stockings which all became part of my first and only purge when I was married for the 1st time at 23 years old.

    I thought that was going to be the end to my secret to never surface again. Not so, it was not long before I was back to dabbling and I decided to come clean shortly before the birth of my 1st child. It did not go over well and was something that was not accepted or supported. Over more than 10 years and the birth of several more children I lived my life secretly, hiding my dressing. I was made to feel as if I were a freak and deviant by my former wife. My dressing was always something that was a sore point and always used by her as a weapon to make me feel ashamed of myself or to belittle me.

    Once that marriage ended and time passed I knew that I could never live that way again and also knew that if another relationship was to develop that I could not keep this part of me a secret. I have always lived my life and existed somewhere between blessed and cursed.

Back to where this story all started. Considering that I and my current wife never asked for any of these things to be a part of our lives, the only thing that I could ever hope for has become a reality for me. I have a wife who loves me for who I am as a person and someone I don't have to feel ashamed to be myself around. Cursed is no longer a part of the equation and as of now I am the closest to blessed that I could have ever hoped for, and a realization that although nothing in life will ever be perfect. I can accept and live with the fact that I am and will always be perfectly flawed.

Straight Crossdressers on HuffPost Live

Interview with a Straight Crossdresser # 2 ~Gia

I recently reached out to everyone who 'like' the Straight Crossdressers & Friends Facebook page to see if anyone there was willing to be interviewed for the blog. A few people volunteered to. This is the first of the finished interviews. 

This interview is with Gia, a beautiful 32 year old crossdresser from NY.

*PP: I'm glad you agreed to be interviewed for my blog, its been awhile since I've done one. I wanna try to make it a regular feature.
(*PP= Pirate Pebbs aka yours truly)

Gia: aww, you're welcome. I'm glad there are blogs like this and appreciate you doing this.

PP: Thank you!

PP: Do you find it odd that a Genetic girl, like myself, is so passionate about wanting to straighten people out?

Gia: Interesting word selection. "straighten"

PP: lol, I'm punny sometimes.

Gia: I don't think it's odd, but I do think it is rare.  It is difficult enough finding genetic women who are attracted to people like myself who perhaps are more "open" about expressing their feminine side.  To find someone who outwardly supports it to the point of building your own blog and reader base is something else altogether. So rare indeed.

PP: I never really thought of it that way...

I see myself as more of a person who doesn't like to see people put down for how they feel

I want people to be Happy and if people have to hide part of themselves because others will think they are odd or something so they keep everything pent up inside...they'll never really be happy.* (*This doesn't apply to people who become happy by abusing others or indulging in highly illegal activities People who have abusive impulses should seek help by a trained professional to help them overcome their abusive thoughts & impulses.)

Gia: Hehe. That's a good philosophy. All I can say is keep it up and perhaps you might encourage others with similar ideals.

PP: I'll do my best.

Gia: I've made sacrifices for being able to express who I am. Some are fairly significant. I think Dan Savage said something along the lines of, "the most powerful thing anyone within the LGBTQ community can do for change is to come out."

PP: Indeed! Now I'll [finally] get on to the questions. 

First, What name shall I call you? Gia or is there more to the name that you'd like noted?

Gia: It's just Gia. The name is somewhat influenced by the movie and the model. And there is a closeness to my actual name, which I'll leave to everyone's imagination.

PP: Ah, I know of that Gia, cool!

About when did you become interested in or start crossdressing?

Gia: When I was just a little cross dresser. I used to sneak into my sister's closet when no one was home and play dress up in front of the mirror. Course I was a bit limited at that point, but the fascination grew.

PP: Is she older than you?

Gia: Yes, she's older. Which was good news for me since the clothes was a better fit. I wonder if I would have tried on her clothes if she was a little sister. That feels different for some reason.

PP: Have you ever been 'caught' [as a kid]? If so, by who?

Gia: Haha. Once, I think I unconsciously sabotaged myself. 

I was getting more daring and I was again rummaging through my sister's closet. This time it was in our weekend home, and there was this flowery dress that I used to love to wear. Well, it turned out that they were getting rid of it. I snuck the dress into my own closet and left it there.

Of course my mom found it, and gave me this completely embarrassing guilt trip about how boys shouldn't be wearing dresses.

That was the first and last time I was ever caught by my family. To this day, they don't have a clue.

PP: That was my next question, if your family knows you did, but I know that answer now.

Gia: Well, there was a minor incident when I still had a trace of eyeliner and my sister saw it, but I made up some story about being dragged out to a goth night by some girl friends. [so to answer the question] No, and I think I'm going to leave it that way. I'm sure my dad wouldn't really care. Well not really. But my mom, lovely woman, is a bit more old fashioned and would never get it.

PP: Have you /do you ever gone out crossdressed in public?

Gia: Yes, all of the time!

PP: When did you start going out [cross] dressed?

Gia: It took some getting used to. But I started to get dressed up on my own and going out after I finished college and moved out to my own apartment.

PP: Do you get someone to do your makeup? Did anyone teach you how to apply makeup?   Did you learn trial & error style?

Gia: Of course back [then], I relied on more help to get ready and didn't really know how to work it without looking like a cheap hooker with bad make-up. But I eventually developed my own style and with some coaching from my lovely make-up artist friends, I developed the basics for painting. I've had a long list of teachers.  Thank god for Craigslist and Myspace.

PP: Are you 'Passing' /is it your goal to be passing?

Gia: It's important to me that... I don't look like a guy in a bad wig.

Yes, passing is my goal, but I'm realistic. I'm a tall guy. Big shoulders, and there is only so much you can do. So, I do what I can to get as close as I can. But I have no expectation that people aren't going to know I'm a boy in a dress. At least after a 2nd or 3rd look.

PP: From the photos I've seen you look great! Passing or not!

Gia: Aww, why thank you.

I'm a cross dresser, but I like to refer to myself sometimes as a female illusionist. It's about creating a perception / image of being a woman. But I don't necessarily feel like a woman, or want to be one. It's also a bit like creating an alter ego where I can act a certain way that I wouldn't otherwise.

PP: Indeed!

Do you Tuck &[/or] Shave when you crossdress?

Gia: Tucking is a general term. I wear briefs and 2 pairs of tights, and usually that's enough. I don't usually pick out outfits where it would be too tight in the wrong spots.

As for shaving, I do to varying degrees. Of course I shave my face. I usually shave my chest too, but the legs I usually hold off on unless there is a really good reason.

And I leave my arms and hands alone. Those are just too tough to explain. It's all about the long gloves. 

PP: I hear ya!

What makes you want to crossdress? How does it make you feel?

Gia: Haha. Good question. I think it's changed/evolved over the years.

I didn't know what to make of it at first. Yes, like a lot of cross dressers, it's a bit of a turn on, and I think that's primarily how it started. It was exciting to see how sexy I can get. I'd look at myself in the mirror and get turned on by what I saw, and I wanted to do more. It was the primary driver to buying new clothes and shoes and make up.

PP: Does [being] Gia make you feel more empowered? Less shy? Anything like that?

Gia: Well, yes. And that goes to the other reasons for my dressing. 

It evolved to the point where it wasn't about turning myself on. I've reached the point where I realized that it was more of a release. A chance to escape from the same old and be someone else for awhile. While at the same point be able to more freely express my inner feminine side - which is much easier to get to when you're in a dress.

Needless to say, there were some ups and downs along the way.

PP: [Unfortunately], life is full of those.

Gia: I've heard other stories about people essentially taking these deep introspective looks at themselves and basically trying to numb the need or desire to cross dress.

Twice in my evolution, I've tossed out full wardrobes in street corner trash cans, far away from my apartment. Out of disgust.

"This is not who I am. I'm a boy, I like girls, I'm confused, stop doing this to yourself."

But it always comes back. And it's really about accepting it to whatever level that you're comfortable. Whether that's wearing the occasional panty in bed, or in my case, full ensemble head-to-toe going out to bars and dancing. Or the occasional photo shoot.

PP: Ideally what percentage of your time would you prefer to be 'dressed'? like half the time, every once in awhile, every weekend etc?

Gia: It depends. Usually I'd go out 3-4 times per month in drag. It depends if there is a reason, and I don't typically dress up to just hang out in my apartment alone. That's boring. If I'm going to spend 2 - 2 1/2 hours getting ready - I want to be seen darn it!

PP: I hear ya!

Have you ever been caught by a girlfriend? If not, have you admitted to crossdressing to a girlfriend? What was the result?

Gia: No, never caught. And with my last significant relationship I was pretty upfront about it right away. It wasn't easy. But important. And we got through it, at least at the beginning.

I wish I could say that it was a positive in our relationship, but it wasn't. And although I don't think it was the only reason for why we eventually broke up, it was a big factor.

PP: I still think being honest up front is the best way to start a relationship

thats what I generally tell to all my CD friends & on my blog.

Gia: Exactly. So now, I've been very focused on trying to date girls who know about Gia right up front so there are no surprises down the line. Gia even has her own [dating website] profile.

PP: Is there an inspiration for your look?

Gia: I can't point to anything specific. But I like to be edgy. Bit more rock and roll versus country. Nothing against country. But my roots are in punk and maybe a little glam. It's funny to put names to it, but it's like a weird combo of David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie and Sid Vicious.

PP: Cool!

Do you have a story or idea to share that you haven't previously shared here?

Gia: I want to express that if it wasn't for Gia, I would not have met some of the most interesting and special people in my life. She's opened up new experiences that I would never have had before, and frankly, makes life more interesting to live.

It's not easy being a straight cross dresser. But usually it's worth it.

PP: I feel like i've met a lot of cool interesting people through my blogging etc as well. I'm glad I was encouraged to start it.

Thank you for letting me interview you for my blog today. Would you like for me to put a link to your online profile or email, in case some lovely ladies are interested in getting to get to know you better? 

Gia: Yep, anyone should feel free to reach me at callmegia@mail.com. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to reply to everyone.

That was  Interview with a Straight Crossdresser #2. If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below or you could email me or Gia. You can reach me at StraightCrossdressers@gmail.com , PiratePebbs@gmail.com or at the Facebook page Facebook.com/straightcrossdressers. I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit more about some of the wonderful people who inhabit our world who I happen to hold dear.

Raven 14

This time I was able to bring one of my GG friends along for Saturday. Its nice to have more genetic girls in attendance who support t-girls. But Raven weekend starts on Fridays. On Friday Paula & I drove up to the hotel that the meet & greet was at. After changing rooms once we got Paula's makeup on & got her all dolled up. This time i got the make-up on her pretty well. I implemented something i had heard cosmetologists talk about as far as shading. It all worked well. We went to the meet & greet and saw some of our old friends and met some new ones. We had a really good time and retired just a few steps from the meet & greet to the hotel room, way better than driving for an hour + to go home. Next day had continental breakfast then I was off to pick up my GG friend, Felixia, from philly. Picked her up then headed to the franklin mills mall. I still had Nothing to wear to the main event. Saturday is the red carpet, dinner & dancing. Stopped in JCPenny (I work in the portrait studio of a JCP so I has discount whoot!) Found the perfect dress & accessories and even a dress for my kid (awesome!)! We headed back to New Hope. Paula started on her makeup before we got there (as planned) so I only had to finish the work. Paula was sooooooooooooo excited to wear the dress I made for her. We all got ourselves together (a bit later than we should have cause we had plenty of time, oops) we got there still with red carpet time. Paula showed off her awesome dress. Looked beautiful! Like the prom princess of Raven 14. She got shoes just for the red carpet....then off they came cause they were super uncomfortable, but like they say, beauty is pain.
After the red carpet was dinner. Food was awesome, as usual at Raven. Marty was there again this time, but not our waiter (yes I have total waiter favouritism). Still had a bit of a chat with him. Awesome person, you should totally chat w/him if you meet him. Next off to the dance floor. I...had to consume a few amaretto sours before I could dance (I have a bit of dancing shyness). Had a few drinks, danced and made some new friends. Saw more GG/CD couples this time than before, which I thought was awesome! Also met a girl named Samantha (who a couple weeks later we, Paula, Jerome and myself took out to the mall to shop for girl clothes), who was very sweet. Also spent a good half hour or so chatting with Mercury. Kinda made tentative plans to hang out...never panned out. Maybe next time. Sunday morning we met with Jackie at the breakfast spot at the eagle diner. This time with Paula in guy mode. (We saw a few of the other girls in guy mode as well) We had a nice conversation & a nice breakfast there. Next we headed off home after a fun weekend. All in all I always have fun at the Raven weekends. The Next Raven is June 1st. I already am bringing 1 other Genetic Girl who is interested in dating crossdressers. Hopefully she'll find the girl of her dreams there. I'm hoping to bring a few other girls. We'll see.

I Love you ALL!
~Pirate Pebbs

Happy New Year 2013!

I hope as 2012 leaves we can leave behind all of the bad feelings and thoughts that may have brought you down over the past year and 2013 will be a new beginning of good thoughts & good feelings. I hope you will be able to dress how you like and be proud of who you are inside and out. I hope acceptance of how you like to dress will be embraced. I have high hopes for 2013. I hope you all have a really great and prosperous new year!

Love,

Pirate Pebbs

Happy (almost) New Year!

Ok, so I haven't posted all month...and only a bit last month. I'm Sorry...I'm really Horrible with New Years Resolutions but...I mean...I was good about posting most of the year...and...ok...I got Nowhere in my calendar. My problem is that i'm very long winded with my posts. Also...well...I still don't have enough hot Straight CDs willing to be in my calendar...(I wonder if Jessica Who would be in it???) Maybe I should start doing video posts...or something. Speaking of. There is a Wonderful Awesome Straight Crossdresser who goes by the name Jessica Who who always posts the BEST videos for Straight crossdressers. I have 2 to share with you. :)

The first: Its OK to be a Crossdresser!

 Next one is a bit longer and goes a bit more in to things. Basically a Straight Crossdresser PSA. :)

Jessica Who is doing what I want to do as well which is being a voice for the voiceless...a Beautiful Bold Face for those hiding theirs from the world. Maybe at some point I could work w/Jessica on some sort of project to get the word out about Straight crossdressers. Jessica...probably doesn't need my help, but...I am a GG who thinks its OK so...maybe thats something. Hmmm...Maybe we could go on the Ellen DeGeneres about it. LOL Ok, I kinda dream that one day I could go on there and talk about Straight Crossdressers. Though...sometimes i wonder if it'll come of anti-gay because i'll be like, "...dude...they're not gay...not that there's anything wrong with that....er...Next question...heh heh..." Ah well.

I'll try to be better at posting more often next year. I Love you ALL!!!

Pirate Pebbs
ARRRRRR!!!!

Raven 12 - Utopian Weekend 10-10-12

2 weekends ago was the 12th Raven event Hosted by Jen Bryant at The Raven which has an Award Winning Restaurant with a Bar & Club. This was my 3rd visit to a Raven event. Original plan was to stay for the whole weekend but it turned out that my weekend was kinda double booked (would have been triple booked if i'd attempted to go to Phil-Con which I realized I couldn't do). At Raven 11 Paula and I Went to the Saturday Dinner & Dance Party and Sunday morning Breakfast at the Eagle Diner. This time we went to Sliders Bar & Grill on Friday night...Fashionably late (as usual...it takes forever for Paula to get ready) While there we met up with some familiar faces and made a few new friends. I got some yummy food from the bar (and a few drinks) everything was pretty good. We had some pretty awesome discussions as well. We had a discussion with Lisa Empanada (guest writer of this post) about Straight crossdressers. ...Ok...It kinda came up due to a major Faux-Pas which I committed. I mistakenly referred to Paula in the masculine. Something I never do when referring to her online...you know...where I can edit myself when I make a mistake... The thing is, I usually see Paula in guy mode. Also Paula doesn't care if she is referred to in the masculine or feminine. Also knowing we were in the company of ‘like’ individuals I guess I was a lil more lax. I think it has to do with the divide of not really feeling like a girl but enjoying her feminine side. Well...most of it was Lisa asking Paula questions about straight crossdressers. Lisa is a trans-Girl. She identifies as female and doesn't really 'get' people like Paula who...are fine living their male lives but also like to indulge their feminine urges. It was quite interesting hearing the uber masculine things Lisa did before she became Lisa.

I was also surprised...the whole weekend how many of the Gurls were married to women. I was told by one that she considered herself a Trans-Lesbian. She believes if she were born female she'd still be attracted to women. More of the girls were married to women than I expected. I was kinda surprised  I think I'd just grouped trans-lesbians with straight crossdressers...but...I guess technically that's not true even though..I guess physically it's true. I'd always thought to myself that if I were born male that I'd be attracted to females but I was born female and am attracted to males...but I lean towards pretty/androgynous males...or males that dress like females...that look like hot chix when dressed en-fem. :D 

While we were there I told Paula, "Ok, I didn't really plan on coming tonight. I came because you wanted to come. This is a meet & great, so...go meet someone new and make friends." So I had Paula lead the way & I followed. Paula walked up to a gurl neither of us had met before & introduced herself. Her name was Charlene...or was it Charlize  It turns out that she was there because we were there. She is on the same meet-up group that we are in. She noticed that a majority of the girls on the group are way older than us but that Paula and I were around her age. That gave her confidence to come out. (Whoot!) She & Paula exchanged email addys and we all made tentative plans to hang out and see a movie. We hung out with her most the rest of the night. There were a few photo sessions that happened. Jen was posing on a pool table and other girls joined in posing on the pool tables. Even Paula joined in. I took a few shots of Paula on the pool table. Then we took a few shots in the foyer. Then the party continued at The Raven’s dance floor. Our new friend took some pics of Paula & I on the dance floor. I took a lot of pics of our new friend with her camera as well all night. She wasn't ready to have any pics taken by any camera but her own.  We left around 1:30-ish AM and picked up my good friend Jerome from a karaoke party that I couldn't attend due to the meet & greet. He was my stand in for the night with my karaoke host Dr. Thunder (yes we also do parties). We had a sleepover at my house where I got a little sleep.

I woke up a few hours later on Saturday morning. I had a religious assembly to attend from 9am-4pm. Went there and got back to my place around 5pm. Paula had already started getting ready. Jerome was just about ready. I got the rest of Paula’s make-up on her after I finished up the corset that we’d started on Friday (which I didn't mention earlier. Made another duck tape corset, this time w/boning. Paula lost a good deal of weight since we made the first one and it no longer fit properly.) I needed to put/hammer the eyelets into the corset that was nearly permanently attached to Paula the night before (I cut it off of Paula before I went to sleep). I also had to take in Paula’s red dress, she had gotten it online and it was bigger than expected. My mom helped with that by pinning it while on Paula so that I could sew it when I was finished with the corset (yes my mom is also cool with CD’s). I got myself together as quickly as I could. I wore a women’s pinstriped suit with a Black & Gold tie, and we were off. We got there…I think around 7:30PM. We were seated by the fire. Jen’s Official Photographer took a few pictures of us. We got/ate our delicious meals. I had a Manly Meal of Ravioli…Jerome had Chicken cordon blu and Paula had a chicken salad…she couldn't eat much in that corset. We saw some familiar faces from our seats as well. After we were done eating it was time to Party!

I handed the camera duties to my good friend Jerome while I go touch up my make up in the ladies room where I met another lovely lady who is married to a woman. She says when she’s dressed as a girl she feels like a girl. When she’s dressed as a man she feels like a man. I think she said she considers herself a trans-lesbian. I put on my lip color and I was off to dance & have a good time w/o having to worry about taking pics, yay! But, of course…I was a bit shy to start dancing right away…this looks like a job for Liquid Courage!!! Had a bit o’ booze. And did a bit o’ dancing mostly w/ Paula. We met up with our friend from the night before, Charlize (I really need to ask her how she spells her name), and the 3 of us danced a bit. We put what few flyers I had for my blog in Jeromes hat. Looked like a press hat after that. And he was off taking pictures of just about everyone there. At some point I met up with one of my online friends that had come to the previous Raven event but I couldn't find on that day. I saw the many tattoos and saw the face and it was them!!! Chris & her Fiancee, 2 beautiful blondes, I had to get pics with them. I planned on meeting up with them again later but, alas, t’was not to be. I also saw a GG I had chatted with at Raven 11, Maureen, was nice to see her there again & it’s so great that she supports her husband’s crossdressing! I went outside a few times; it was a bit chilly, I was so glad I had decided to wear pants at this Raven event. I sat with Paula and met a new gurl there. I think another Straight CD. We had a nice conversation which I mostly forgot cause I’d been drinking. (I really need to keep a notebook with me at these events so I could write down names and key things to remember.) Jen came and then…and then… I called Lisa, Jen. I’d have been wayyyyyy embarrassed if I were sober (but had I been sober I wouldn’t have made that mistake) But after my sincere apologies and praising her for her grace & beauty she forgave me and came over to have a picture with me. (wow…I had been rubbing Lisa the wrong way a bit too much that weekend) Unfortunately my camera started to act up around that time (I found out later that it was my external flash) so pics from about that time to the end of the night were half blacked out. Thankfully it happened at the end, instead of the beginning of the night. At the end of the night we all drove back to my place because staying locally for the night could get quite pricey. It would have been nice to stay closer and go out to breakfast w/ everyone but…maybe next time. It seemed like everyone had fun.

Raven 12 Pics

Raven 11

Ok I have to start with Friday September 21st. Friday is not Raven related, though The Raven party started on Friday, but was awesome and I gotta talk about it! My good friend Kandice bought tickets for us to go to the Beats Antique Concert in Philadelphia a lil over a month ago. She wound up not being able to go because she had to go back to Massachusetts sooner than she expected. So she gave me both tickets so I decided to take Paula (in ‘guy’ mode) with me to the concert. Zoe Jakes = teh Awesome!!! It was one of the amazing shows I have ever seen live! Oh and Lynx! She was Amazing!!! I had never heard of her before but now I will never forget her! Her voice was beautiful…then…then…She Beat-boxes too!!! Wait… & she Raps! But like…she is Awesome! You don't know…you don’t know… I have clips (scroll to bottom of page for clips). So we went and it was an awesome show. Zoe even crowd surfed at the end of the show! Ok, Ok, now to the Raven.

Raven 11, Saturday September 22, 2012

Ok, so Paula and I drove up there a lil later than planned. I went to a housewarming party before the drive up and I lost track of time a bit…oops. We shared a room @ the motel owned by the Raven. When we got there, around 5-ish we started getting ready… took WAY longer than expected. Paula had to do a bit o’ shaving, meanwhile I had to pick up a few things from Rite-aid. I needed to get some clear coat for out nails as well as some q-tips and bobby pins. I got back and Paula had started applying the make-up as instructed but had a bit of trouble with the eyes. I did the eyes for Paula, helped style the hair and…well…helped with everything else that she needed help with. Meanwhile working on myself…we took so long we totally missed the Red Carpet! Ah well. We tried. The nails took a while. 3 coats of the silver then 1 coat of the black crackle. Loved how it came out! Looked great on Paula as well as myself. I had re-fashioned some of my jewelry so that Paula could wear it. Turned some of my fav earrings into clip-ons. A necklace I had brought for my outfit, before I got the perfect necklace a week before, was de-constructed and fitted onto another necklace that went with Paula's ensemble. Then another matching necklace that I grabbed before leaving the house that just happened to match perfectly and also a nice noisy anklet from my jewelry collection. Paula looked like a greek goddess! Next on to getting myself together. Thankfully i'm quite used to handling my own makeup in a generally quick way. Then into my dress & shoes and we were off. We were staying at the cabin in the woods, which was across the street and up the block a bit from Raven. We decided to walk...was not the wisest thing to do in 5inch heels... But we did. When we finally got there it was maybe 8pm. Dinner started at 7:30pm so we were a bit late. When we arrived there we met Jen, the organizer of the event, and had a bit of a chat and also met a few other lovely ladies. Then we headed in and actually got seated in the dining room. Ok...it was in a cramped corner, but whatever, we were in the room w/ everyone else who were there for the party. We ordered and then I got up to say hi to a few people. I met a married couple. Was their first outing to one of these events. I was recognized as being the writer of this blog. We had a nice convo. The out appetizer came out. As I made my way back to the table I...tripped on my dress & knocked over Paula's drink onto the bruschetta...oops. Our Awesome waiter, Marty, came over and remade out table and quickly got us another one...I decided to stay seated for the rest of dinner so as not to destroy more food. I had the salmon & Paula had the grilled chicken salad. The food was awesome! After dinner we had a really nice conversation with Marty. Marty is also a Drag performer at the Raven!!! I would LOVE to see a performance! Maybe one day I will get to see him perform. We also conversed about crossdressing and my blog.

Next off to the dance floor...kinda. We went to the dance hall area and I was immediately called over by a lovely crossdresser. I thought she wanted to talk about my blog...but she wanted to take me out to dinner. 2 seconds in there and I was already getting hit on! lol. Since I came there with a date, I thought it might be rude to set up a date with someone else while already out on a date. I gave him a flyer for my blog and went to the other side of the hall to look for a seat so I could put down my camera and rest my feet (5 inch heels...yeah...) I was determined this time to try to keep my shoes on all night, where as last time the shoes came off about half way through the night and most pics of me were shoeless.

I set about taking some pictures and mingling a bit. Saw a few people I remembered from my last visit to Raven including Allielee & Jamie. I also saw a few people whose names...i just can not remember. I wish my memory for names was better. Paula and I had a seat in the gazebo and got into a conversation with another person named Jamie. Jamie lived in NY but was in the area, one of Jamie's friends told her about the Raven event happening that night so Jamie came. Jamie is the 2nd Married (to a GG) CD I had met that night. Jamie's wife accepts it and has gone out with Jamie while Jamie was dressed as Jamie, which I think is Awesome!!! Reena came over and spoke w/us as well. Reena is also married (to a GG) but Reena's wife isn't into it, but doesn't mind if Reena goes out and has fun dressed up, but at least she doesn't make Reena restrict her from dressing at all. It was about then that we took a nice group picture (which I used for my facebook page 100 likes as pictured below).

After that we went back into the dance hall. I had a few drinks and the liquid confidence kicked in and I was able to dance a bit w/o feeling too self conscious. My dress was altered, by me. Originally the dress was just a black & silver mini dress. I added a tear-a-way train to it. I made it tear away so that it wouldn't get tripped on or trampled upon on the dance floor (I tripped over it enough myself). So dancing time started and within seconds the train was off & tucked away in my bag. When I was tired of dancing we went outside again and we met another couple who were sitting under the gazebo...another married couple! 3rd married CD couple (ok, 2nd where both persons were in attendance) of the night!  We had a really nice conversation with them. i think we had the longest of our discussions with them...and i can not remember their names. I blame all of  the long island ice teas that i drank...probably shouldn't have had so many.

Went in danced and talked some more. The night ended, took off my shoes and walked back to the room. The next morning Paula & I were kinda late to the breakfast meet up (I was helping Paula get ready, took a lil longer than expected) Went to the diner and had breakfast. First time for Paula out in the day time...and at a diner with a mixed crowd which included the elderly & children with Paula dressed as Paula. We missed meeting up with Jen, but she did say she saw us through the window and that Paula looked great.

All in all, it was a very nice time. Can't wait till the next one. Sorry it took so long to finish this post. While at the diner I started feeling sick and I was sick for a good 2 weeks. Was hard to write while sick. Other issues happened and well... I'm finally finished. I do have Pictures & Video (of the Belly Dance Performances) which I will post links to here.

I am curious about something. I have over 500 hits a month on my page and only 2 subscribers... Its a bit disheartening to have so few subscribers, but it makes me feel a bit better seeing so many hits. I just wonder if my subject matter is too embarrassing to subscribe to?  I guess it might be but I'm not embarrassed.

I Love you ALL! Ans now for links to Pics & Videos!

Raven 11 Pictures by Pebbles