Sorry I’ve been away…Sometimes Life Happens

So yeah, sometimes life happens and I don’t get around to posting. Sometimes I’m sick, sometimes I’m stressed, sometimes I’m running around doing everything yet nothing, sometimes I’m spending time with my daughter, sometimes gardening, sometimes typing run on sentences…sometimes I’m just lazy and doing nothing cause I can. So here’s a lil update on me. 

I just got a new car!!! …ok New to me. It’s a 2009 Elantra. You may recall that I was in a car accident about 8 months back. I’d been in rental cars and borrowing cars for work. Insurance company…sucked majorly. I had to get a lawyer to get my insurance company to do their job….yeah….not fun. American Independent, worst insurance company ever! Ok, back to the present-ish.  

I also have a new camera because my old camera pretty much died. As you will see when I post the very few pics I took at the last Raven party (which I still need to blog about). The camera started dying at the end of a Raven party…so, yeah. So, now I pretty much have what I need to do more freelance photography, so that’s good at least. 

Let’s see…My garden is doing well, strawberries starting to flower, Kale is still alive, I think this is year 3 for them! I have much chocolate mint…and other things that no one cares about but me. My job has been veryyyyyyyyyyy part time for a long time so I’m also actively looking for other employment or a 2^nd job. Hopefully I can just do freelance to make ends meet. 

Shopping has been happening. Just the other day Paula, Jerome & I took a girl going through transition shopping for girl clothes out in a mall for the first time. That was fun.

I’ve been wanting to do a video blog post for a while. Every time I’m ready to do it something comes up to prevent me from actually filming. Random stuff…I’ll get it done eventually. I’ve been working on a logo design as well. 

I also co-host &/or photograph at Dr. Thunder Karaoke in Philadelphia. Lots of my nights are full of singing. One of my CD friends in Wisconsin decided to give me an awesome gift, a brand new Corset from Corset story!!! That should be coming in within the next few days. He wants me to do corset waist training with him. Will Do! I’ve been friends with him since about January last year. I really do appreciate it J. I wish there were something I could do for him but…I guess I’m doing what I can right now by blogging and talking to all my CD friends letting them know that it’s OK to crossdress. There are totally accepting females who are somewhere out there waiting for them. 

Back when I decided I wanted to start dating crossdressers I had no idea where to look. Most women who are into crossdressers don’t usually go out actively seeking them. Because I did I found sooooooooo many beautiful men out there. Lots of them have great personalities. Most are totally non-creepy. Most are respectful. Most I’d totally hang out with offline if they were local. Most were not local. One local CD though, I have had the pleasure of getting to know for the past year. I’ve been seeing him (mostly non-exclusively) for the past year. It’s been quite a nice experience. Way better than I’d expected. I had planned on doing another separate blog about the crossdressers I’d seen & dated but…well…I don’t even keep up with this blog so, who am I kidding? I won’t keep up with that. Maybe I’ll add some tidbits here & there about those few individuals. Won’t use names but if they’re reading, they’d know I was talking about them. Wow! This post is going everywhere. Well. I haven’t posted in a while and have had a lot on my mind. I think I’ll end it here-ish.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

~Pirate Pebbs~

Email me your & questions, comments. Let me know what topics you want me to discuss. Your participation will help feed my fingers

StraightCrossdressers@gmail.com

Facebook.com/StraightCrossdressers

International Women's Day 2013

Today I think of all the women making a difference in this world. First I thought of was the head of the Gulabi Gang of India, Sampat Pal. She is making a huge difference for women and families in India. She is a strong women who has helped other women find their strength. One of my friends is reading about the autobiography of Fawzia Koofi, the exceptional woman who is running to be the next president of Afghanistan. I read earlier today a little about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,  the 24th and current President of Liberia.

I'm also thinking of my Trans-Women friends who are helping their other trans-women friends find their voices. I know so many lovely ladies who I have met through the meet-up group I belong to who are so inspirational. Lisa Empanada, who I've borrowed an entry from before and posted here. Also Jenn Bryant who organizes parties, like the Raven Events. Also I'm a big fan of Reena, Val, Allie...there are so many women who should be saluted. (just because they were born with a few extra pieces of equipment doesn't mean they are not exceptional women).

There are also the women that make a difference in people's every day lives. The moms, the sisters, the Teachers, the bus drivers the healthcare workers...maybe even the bloggers.

um...i think that's all i have to say about that. Happy Women's Day!

Happy Valentines Day 2013

So, it'll probably be after V-day when you all see this, sorry. I've been sick. I just wanted to give a warm shout out to everyone out there. I also wanted to quote RuPaul and myself with this next pic and what I copy & paste below it from the Facebook page associated with this page:

RuPaul has been saying those words forever and they are true. Some people get into relationships not loving themselves and hoping the other person validates their existence. You can't go in that way; it will ultimately fail. Everyone gets depressed, sad and lonely, its no reason to hate yourself. Realize that you are worth it. You are worth your love and additionally you will be worth someone elses. It all starts with you. If you crossdress, realize its not shameful. you can crossdress and love yourself. If you can let your light shine no matter what you're wearing, people will see that. Show your happy glow on the outside and people will notice...maybe (hopefully) the right people. The people who won't judge you for wearing what makes you feel happy. So love yourselves, then love others, you will get some love back. May not be today, may not be next week but it'll happen. If no one else, Pirate Pebbs Loves You!!!

I was shown some Love today. I had a special valentine this year (first time in many years, believe it or not), you all know her as Paula. Paula (guy mode version, but i shall continue using girl name and pronouns for continuity's sake) got me a vase of flowers (including in the mix my fav flower the Stargazer Lilly) Brunch in bed (cause i've been sick and haven't left the house all week) from a favie restaurant Riverwinds (I highly recommend the place, found it from restaurant.com so if you're looking to gain loyalty as a restaurateur it works. They no longer use restaurant.com but we still go and I wish I were getting paid or free food for recommending them) and the ultimate gift for a girl like me...a new(-ish) X-Box 360!!! (i say new-ish cause its the refurbished older style 360 but exactly what i wanted cause i have a hard drive with all my saved games and i didn't wanna lose my saves and start all over again with games & extras i had) So all of that stuff made for a pretty happy v-day for me :) I...made Paula some jewelry and gave her a framed pic of us. Pics below, they're cell phone pix...i'm sick didn't feel like getting my swanky camera :p

I didn't take a pic of the framed pic, but it was in a black frame and I wrote 'Happy Valentines Day 2013' on it. Was nice. I am confident that a day will come where all my pretty GM (who like to dress en fem) ISO GG's will find who they are looking for. :)

Pirate Pebbs Loves you ALL!!!

Raven 13 part 3 - finale...finally

Raven 13 part 1
Raven 13 part 2
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Thanks to that full bottle of wine I didn't need any other liquid courage all night. We danced a bit. Met a couple of other GG/TV couples I hadn't seen there previously. Also saw a couple I had met there before. Had a brief chat with Maureen, whom I met at a previous Raven event, also had a chat with a couple where their family all know about his crossdressing for the past 6 years!!! I think that’s pretty awesome!  There were a good deal of people attending for the first time and having such a great time. I didn't have my friend there this time to take pictures so I have less than I’d like to have had. Ah well. Got to be 2am, everyone either went home or to their rooms to either sleep or party more.

The next morning we went to meet up for breakfast at the nearby Eagle Diner. There were a few people from the Raven event, at least 2 rather large tables and several smaller tables had faces I recognized from the night before. Some of the gurls were in girl mode and a few were in guy mode. Paula and I sat at one of the rather large tables surrounded by people we knew either by face or name. I sat next to an older woman I had met a few times before named Jackie. I thought Jackie was a GG supporter of T-Girls, like myself. But as I was chatting with her she mentioned herself being ‘dad’. I was floored!!! I HAD No Idea! I didn't (or at least tried) not to express my shock, in a good way. She is totally passing!!! She is also very sweet & a wiz in the kitchen. I LOVE to hear other people’s stories and she had many. Stories were told of the ex-wife (who didn't cook very well), kids and even grandkids. The grandkids know her as Aunt Jackie, which I think is cute. When they get much older and start asking questions I guess they’ll get the answers then, but for now Aunt Jackie will do. Also at our table was the Dancing Queen Linda, a few men… men…er… Men who don’t dress…I guess. Also at our table was our wonderful event host Jen!!! But…not dressed as Jen. She was in guy mode. Ok, so Paula and I were wondering what Jen looked like in guy mode. Neither of us could imagine. Actually, for a while I thought she’d already went under the knife and was full time girl but I was told that she went to work male. So my mind was kinda blown seeing her w/o boobs, wig & make-up I guess. She was still Jen. Same voice, same attitude, same zeal for life. She just looked a bit different. I saw a few others out of their girl clothes at breakfast. It was a nice time. We talked about maybe having a flag football game at another Raven weekend. That would totally be a fun thing to do, maybe a Friday afternoon in the spring or summer. We all had out meal and had a good time eating and laughing together. Then it was time to go.

The thing I like is that there are girls who go to the Raven who are at every stage of…T-Girl-ness. You have the girls Dressing and going out for the first time, girls who just like to dress up and go out who have no interest in transitioning, girls who would like to transition but because of their significant other are not. There are girls who have transitioned who are still with their spouse who are working on seeing if this life will work out for them. There are girls fully transitioned and looking for a significant other of their own, be their preference male or female…or another t-girl. I love that, though not everyone necessarily knows where everyone else is on the spectrum of things, everyone respects one another enough that no one is ever put down for being one way or another or having a gender preference etc. …Though I did hear that one girl’s spouse was disrespected by being inappropriately touched by a couple of the gurls… that totally was not cool. From what I hear this was an isolated event, I’d never been harassed in that way but I, being a natural born GG don’t go around grabbing other girls bums. It’s not cool to do to someone you hardly know.

That being said, the weekend was fun. I met new people and hope to talk to them more in the future. Next time I think I’ll see if I can gather email addys and get a conversation going that way. Maybe have a few more interviews under my belt and on to my page. It seems my 1 ‘interview with a straight crossdresser’ is the most popular post on my blog. I plan on doing a year in review for 2012 blog posting soon.

Laterz!

Raven 13 part 2

Raven 13 part 1
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I got very little sleep that night. Got up early to greet my sis when she arrived at my house. Hang out with her for a bit then we went to an early lunch (brunch) at RiverWinds in NJ. Awesome food, service & atmosphere there. I always enjoy meals there. Try the calamari, they make the absolute best!!! 

After Brunch with the sis, Paula and I stopped by a JCPennys and got a few things we needed…I think stockings were the major needed item. We also looked at the clearance jewelry. can’t remember if we got anything else. Back into the car to drive up to New Hope.

We got there…maybe around 2 or 3pm and started to get Paula ready first (as usual). I did similar makeup as the previous day but used lighter grey on the eyelids. Because of the way Paula’s dress was cut and the corset being cut the way it was, Paula’s faux boobs couldn't fit in the dress without showing through. I decided we’d try to create cleavage using make-up. I didn't have the right kind of make-up so I improvised. It didn't come out as good as expected but, looking at the pictures, it did have a bit of the desired effect. On went the corset and then the hair. Paula really like everything about the hair on the previous day so I duplicated it in a more secure way than the day before (I couldn't fine more than 2 bobby-pins on Friday). I got the hair pinned up securely with many pins. While Paula finished getting herself ready, I worked on me. I had to iron my Lehenga Choli cause…well…I didn't have it properly hanging so it was very wrinkled. I decided on wearing false eyelashes that had rhinestones on it. I said, out loud, “If these don’t stick the first time I’m not wearing them”. They must have wanted to be worn cause they went on quite easily. I used this gold make-up…stick thing (that I got from the dollar store a few months ago) on my eyes and lips. It’s the type where you can use it wet or dry. I usually use it wet. It’s more opaque when used wet, it’s more of a shimmer when dry. I didn't do much with my make-up. I bobby pinned my tikka into my hair. Pinned my hair up a bit got dressed and we got out and to the Red Carpet before it was over!!! Red carpet is from 4:30pm until 7:30pm. I think we got there around 6:45pm. We met our friend Jen and she was quite surprised to see that we actually made it out to the red carpet. We had our pictures taken on the red carpet with our friends. I…forgot to get a red carpet shot alone. Ah well. There are pictures of me sharing the spotlight with others.

I met a lovely lady there…whose name I have forgotten (Maybe Jennifer…why am I so bad w/ names???) She was tall and passing! She wondered why I was there. I told her cause I like crossdressers. She seemed quite pleased with my answer. She said she had previously believed herself to be a straight crossdresser but was recently also interested in males. She was quite interesting. She told me about how she used to wear wigs and how once the wig is on she is ‘Jennifer’. Then she decided to grow her hair out. Once there is no wig/you’re always in the wig where does ‘guy type’ stop and ‘girl type’ begin? It’s kind of perplexing. I’d love to talk to her more about her views on herself etc. I told her about my blog and wrote down my blog address…maybe I should have gotten her email? Ah well, hopefully I’ll see her again at another event and we can chat more. I ran into some other friends there. Allie came in wearing this awesome black dress with red shoes; she looked as fashionable as ever. I met another GG there who is dating a crossdresser. Her Gurl couldn’t make it that night but she still came with another friend. She made her complete outfit. The dress, which looked awesome & awesome on her, her hair accessories, the works and for the life of me…I can’t remember her name either *sigh*. I also met Lisa’s lovely lovely spouse. She was very sweet. I got to chat with her a little bit; hopefully I can chat with her more some other time. Lisa was so much happier at this Raven than the last one I saw her at. I think maybe having the love of her life there was the reason. Sometimes it’s lonely not having the one you love nearby. I can’t say for sure why she didn’t seem very happy at the last one, I didn't feel it was my place to ask, I was just glad to see her so happy at this one. After a few more pictures it was time to head over to the Raven for dinner.

We had our dinner reservations set for 7:45pm I believe. We arrived there about 7:25pm and asked if we could be seated early and we were able to. The Host there was looking awesome as usual. This evening he was wearing all white with diamond-esque embellishments on his tall white hat (kinda like the nutcracker styled only with white faux fur) and was wearing a big diamond-esque rhinestone necklace. It turns out he was a creator of costumes (awesome!). I like being crafty as well. Maybe at some point I’ll make something from scratch to wear to a Raven event. We were seated and I decided on having wine…a whole bottle of wine. When I thought about it, it was cheaper than getting several separate glasses of wine and I usually don’t change wines glass to glass. Whereas Paula…is not a drinker so…More wine for me, Whoot! After we ordered we mingled a bit with some of the girls there. Went to a few tables, made some new acquaintances, talked to a few people we had met earlier that night and the night before. At the table behind ours was a girl who was attending their first Raven event. She had a makeover by a make-up artist who often comes to make over girls who request the service. She does great work. Nikki looked great. She seemed to be enjoying herself very much. As I looked around the room I spotted a couple I had seen before who I’d only seen for dinner, usually they were leaving just after I got there (we were always running late) I wanted to talk to them… they were wearing the cutest dresses J I mentioned in my previous post about this encounter (here) finished up dinner and headed to the dance floor.
(cont. Raven 13 part 3)