Woot!

[Andrea85]

Well, so much has been going on now it's crazy. My bff Tiffanee and her hubby came in to visit from North Carolina this past weekend. The got here late Friday night. Tiffanee told me if she saw me as male she'd woop my butt. Trust me, she has the temper to, lol. So I got all girled up, put on some new LEI jeans and an Atari t shirt. Looked in the mirror before I left and was like, dang, I look good, haha! First time I've ever thought that in my life.

Well, I went and met up with her and her jaw dropped when she saw me, lol. She couldn't believe what the hormones had done to me in just the two months she had been gone. At that point, I still didn't think they had done much at all. Anyway, we went to Wally World looking for me some more shirts since I have like 3 I'll wear. No luck there, but while we were there, she was like, we should so get you a bikini. So we looked for one, but weren't seeing much. Then I found the perfect one. It's purple and has a lace like front on the cups and bottom. I'll post a pic if anyone is interested.

We went swimming when we got back, and I had a couple guys checkin' me out. Tiffanee bumped into one the next morning and he asked her if I was single, lol. Anyway, Saturday around noonish we left for West Knoxville to go to the mall, Goodwill, and McKays. Didn't make it to the mall since it was getting late and we were all hungry. Came home, I cooked grilled chicken with a pinch of salt and garlic powder, baked potatoes on the grill, and mac and cheese. Not too long after dinner, we left for a different Walmart, and ended up going to 4 that night. Sunday was just lounging around before she found out her grandmother went to the hospital. Before they left, me and Tiffany got an awesome pic together.

http://www.facebook.com/slammed87d21#!/photo.php?fbid=2108874568701&set=t.100000098330870&type=1&theater

Now today, the point of this whole post and all I've written so far. I figured that since I hadn't worn guy clothes in 3 days, why start now. Grabbing my bra felt natural for the firs time today. Kinda neat. I had an appointment with Voc. Rehab. to get the paperwork done to go to Tennessee School of Beauty. Went alone (huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge step for me) all girled up. Looked pretty good today too. Nearly had an anxiety attack before going into the DHS building, but not because of what I was presenting as, but because that little tiny waiting room was packed tight. I have issues with people being in my personal space and touching me, even by accident. Always been like that and prolly always will be. Signed in, and luckily didn't have to wait long.

Went back, and the woman asked the normal stuff for that sort of thing. What I thought was keeping me from finding work, what was wrong with me, and why I thought I deserve the funding. Seemed to go well, since she was curious about my transition. Didn't ask much, but you could tell she wanted to ask more. By the end, I had relaxed and gotten pretty talkative. Pretty awesome for me. While I was walking out, I was excited I didn't have an anxiety attack doing it. Then I got bummed since I have no local friends and nowhere to go but home.

Then it hit me. There were a dozen antique shops I hadn't been to since my ex left me and I got set on going to them right then. So I went to every single antique shop I could get to, even the ones that I knew the owners. After the first 2, i was totally comfortable. Before I headed home, I went to the Walmart to get me some Sprites and smokes so I wouldn't have to get back out later. Never got any looks, even when I had to talk. I just gave up caring about my voice. I'd like it to be more feminine, but whatever. Easier to just not deal with it, lol.

Anyway, after I got home, my mom told me she was proud of me for doing this. That got my crying instantly. I've never heard that from my parents ever. Makes me wanna cry thinking about it, lol. But I ended up realizing something. This is day 4 living as a woman, and I'm happier now than I prolly ever have been. And I don't plan on going back to my guy clothes either. If I do, I know I'll regress to having anxiety attacks about going out. Plus, guy clothes feel like ponchos now since they're so baggy, lol.

My life is finally going well. :daydreaming:

[Leasa Wells]

that you for sharing it girls like you that take big steps to help the ones like be that havent yet.

[Starling]

That's just great, Andy. I'd love to be on your path right now. Meanwhile, what's up with the photo--disappearing pixels?

:) Lallie

[Rianna Humble]

Anyway, after I got home, my mom told me she was proud of me for doing this. That got my crying instantly. I've never heard that from my parents ever. Makes me wanna cry thinking about it, lol. But I ended up realizing something. This is day 4 living as a woman, and I'm happier now than I prolly ever have been. And I don't plan on going back to my guy clothes either. If I do, I know I'll regress to having anxiety attacks about going out. Plus, guy clothes feel like ponchos now since they're so baggy, lol.

Isn't it great when parents say something like that! I think you ought to let Tiffany know that she has given you the spur you needed to let out the woman in you


My life is finally going well. :daydreaming:

Welcome to the best of your life! :hugs:

[Jorja]

There might be a few rough spots along the way but it only gets better the more you go out and live your life.

[Aprilrain]

good for you keep it up, and THROW OUT THE BOY CLOTHES for christ sake! lol.

[Badtranny]

Andy,

All I have to say to you is this;

You go girl!

[Sheila11]

I am so excited for you. To get comfortable as the cute girl you are is wonderful.

[Longing2be-Trisha]

Andy You rock! I am so proud of you!

Hugs

[Andrea85]

Thanks everyone! I know things may not always be perfect for me, but heck, so far the good outweighs the bad and thats all that matters to me. :) Give me a moment, and I'll get the pic that doesn't seem to want to show up.

[Andrea85]

Let's see if this worked.

[Badtranny]

Damn Andy, your hair is sooooooo pretty.

[Jorja]

You girls are looking good!

[Andrea85]

Damn Andy, your hair is sooooooo pretty.

That's from close to 2 hours a day of work, lol.

[Andrea85]

You girls are looking good!

Thanks! She's a bit more photogenic than me though.

[Starling]

You're both very cute.

:) Lallie

[Melody Moore]

Thanks! She's a bit more photogenic than me though.
Come on Andrea, its time you stopped being so down on yourself, you look freaking great!
So when are you going to get your name changed to Andrea here on the forum & on your ID? ;)

[Andrea85]

Soon as I figure out where I gotta go, what I gotta do, and how much it costs. Wish I could now, but keep forgetting to since everyone I know already calls me Andrea, lol

[Andrea85]

Just thought I'd say this is the end of day 5 and all is well. Still have some issues, but I'll get over them. I'm more worried now whether I should stop stuffing my bras and get one the right size or not now, lol.

[Melody Moore]

I think you should start looking for a quality bra that fits properly & does all that it is suppose to.
They are a lot more comfortable wear when they are properly fitted. But strangely enough the
best bras I own were given to me by my ex girlfriend & they fit me better than they did her.
The best part is I know what size to buy now & what style of bra works best for me, so that
was a lucky find & will save me lots of time & money trying to work out what works best. But
still it pays to get measured up & fitted properly & the girls in the ladies underwear sections of
the big department stores are great at helping you to find your proper size. So check them out.

[Andrea85]

Well, it's not so much as they're uncomfortable, just I have sensitive skin, and the straps no matter what kind of bra, end up irritating my skin. A plain old t shirt can rub my skin raw, lol. Plus, the only catch for me is that a bra that's the exact perfect size is in a size that really isn't sold in stores around here. I've been thinking about it anyway and I believe I'm happy with how I'm doing it.

But day 6 is over now, and all is well still.


Andrea

[Aprilrain]

There might be a few rough spots along the way but it only gets better the more you go out and live your life.

A few? Jorja, I need a bulldozer to completely regrade the road! I think its washed out for all my tears : ( lol. But things are good today : )

[Aprilrain]

Soon as I figure out where I gotta go, what I gotta do, and how much it costs. Wish I could now, but keep forgetting to since everyone I know already calls me Andrea, lol

I think Andy's a cute name for a girl!

[Andrea85]

A few? Jorja, I need a bulldozer to completely regrade the road! I think its washed out for all my tears : ( lol. But things are good today : )

I know how you feel. I don't exactly post everything that happens to me.

Andy would be a good girls name but it's what I've been called all my life, short for Andrew for me. (Lol. Trying to type Andrew I typed Andrea not even thinking, haha!)

[Annaliese]

Great post, It is good to see thing going so well for you. Take you boy thing to good will.

Hugs

[Starling]

...I have sensitive skin, and the straps no matter what kind of bra, end up irritating my skin...

Andrea, when it's humid I can get chafing from my bra too, so I use Monistat Chafing Relief Powder-Gel. It's pretty amazing stuff that you can apply anywhere your skin is subject to irritation from friction. You can also use it as a makeup primer, and probably to keep your hinges from squeaking, too.

There are a couple of threads about it on the forum. I order it from Amazon, where it's pretty inexpensive, but I know they have it at WalMart and lots of other stores.

:) Lallie

PS: I also use it to keep sandal straps from rubbing the skin on my feet.

[Andrea85]

Lallie, I'll have to check that out for sure.

Been sanding on the walls in the bathroom today. All that spackle dust has me itching more than freakin' fiberglass insulation. My OCD kicked in doing it cause all I had to do was spackle a couple of nail holes, and it's turned into me sanding every inch of the walls and making them perfectly smooth, lol. It's hard to tell in the pic, but my skin isn't that pale and my hair isn't normally that bright of a blonde, lol. BTW, I have dust in places I never thought possible now, lol.

[Starling]

You look very content to be covered with dust after a job well done, Andrea, but be sure to wear a mask, because you might need one or two of those lungs later on.

There seems to be a correlation between working with our hands (carpentry, tinkering, modeling, etc.) and transsexuality. I know I've always loved to fix mechanical things.

Perhaps it would make an interesting graduate psychology thesis: The Handyman is a Lady. And perhaps I'm just proud of my sisters.

:) Lallie

[Andrea85]

Oh, I was very content with what I accomplished today. If you want to talk about fixing mechanical things, how about this. By the time I was 8, I was repairing small electronics. Before I even got my first car at 15, I could rebuild an engine. And now, in less than a year, I went from knowing very little electronic theory and very basic repair skills to knowing the theory behind it all, properly troubleshoot, and even design from scratch different electronics. My first project was a 2 tube (vacuum tube) AM transmitter I built from scratch, only using the theory and a tube manual. No schematics for me, lol. But besides that, I can do carpentry (built my own workshop, pic at bottom), electrical work (I've basically rewired and installed a breaker box in my parents house, among other places) do plumbing (learned how then went to school for certs), heat and air (same as plumbing), and software coding (does help I'm a Linux geek, lol). No matter how girly I may act, the desire for mechanical things will never go away. :P



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/5756747801_30dc90da3c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubes2transistors/5756747801/)
Shop (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubes2transistors/5756747801/) by Tubes2Transistors (http://www.flickr.com/people/tubes2transistors/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5182/5774172761_0798113665_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubes2transistors/5774172761/)
First shelf (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubes2transistors/5774172761/) by Tubes2Transistors (http://www.flickr.com/people/tubes2transistors/), on Flickr

Excuse the mess in there. Pics were taken right after I started moving my equipment in. It's my little electronics heaven. Haha!



BTW, my business I own is restoration of antique radios from basically 1900 to around 1962. I may have some fancy equipment there, but I rarely use it. Does help to just know what you're doing. :P

[Jay Cee]

Oh, I was very content with what I accomplished today. If you want to talk about fixing mechanical things, how about this. By the time I was 8, I was repairing small electronics. Before I even got my first car at 15, I could rebuild an engine. And now, in less than a year, I went from knowing very little electronic theory and very basic repair skills to knowing the theory behind it all, properly troubleshoot, and even design from scratch different electronics. My first project was a 2 tube (vacuum tube) AM transmitter I built from scratch, only using the theory and a tube manual. No schematics for me, lol. But besides that, I can do carpentry (built my own workshop, pic at bottom), electrical work (I've basically rewired and installed a breaker box in my parents house, among other places) do plumbing (learned how then went to school for certs), heat and air (same as plumbing), and software coding (does help I'm a Linux geek, lol). No matter how girly I may act, the desire for mechanical things will never go away. :P

Excuse the mess in there. Pics were taken right after I started moving my equipment in. It's my little electronics heaven. Haha!

BTW, my business I own is restoration of antique radios from basically 1900 to around 1962. I may have some fancy equipment there, but I rarely use it. Does help to just know what you're doing. :P

You are quite the Renaissance Woman, I'd say.

btw, you look tremendously attractive in that pic where you are covered in drywall dust.

[Andrea85]

Well, I don't know about all that now. Just like to stay busy, and I'm too cheap to pay anyone for anything lol. :)

And thank you. That was me with no makeup and 3 days without shaving, lol.

[Aprilrain]

Well, I don't know about all that now. Just like to stay busy, and I'm too cheap to pay anyone for anything lol. :)

And thank you. That was me with no makeup and 3 days without shaving, lol.

3 days without shaving!!!!!! your lucky id have a full goatee! of course you are blond my beard is BLACK ugh! BARF!

[Andrea85]

Lol. Day 4 and my facial hair is finally noticeable lol. I just never had much facial hair to begin with. My first puberty didn't finish, so I never got any hair anywhere lol. Nothing on my chest/stomach, nothing on my back, and I almost had vellus hairs on my legs. I have to say I was extremely lucky.

[Starling]

...My first puberty didn't finish, so I never got any hair anywhere lol...

You are lucky. How did you manage that? I have some chest hair, but my legs, arms and back are girly, and I'm very grateful. I just wish I had less hair on my face and more on my head!

Wigs are God's way of telling you not to transition.

:) Lallie

PS: I bow to your technical acuman. I mostly built hi-fi components from kits and replaced light switches for my parents.

[Andrea85]

I wouldn't really consider it lucky. Went through a lot of Hell in school over it. It happened cause I've almost always had low testosterone levels. Might be why the hormones have done so much work to me. Well, thinking about it I guess I am lucky there. I'd say if it weren't for that happening, I probably wouldn't have had such good results from the hormones. My hair line has returned to normal, my hair got thicker (which I honestly hate. my hair is so think it's hard to do anything with and costs a small fortune to upkeep. I spend more on hair products than I do ordering my hormones, lol), skin has become extremely delicate and soft. What little body hair I had turned vellus, B cup breasts (and still growing rapidly. got my fingers crossed for a big C or small D cup), and my facial hair grows so slow I never have to worry about it, and it's thinned out a LOT.

I have to agree about wigs. There may be some nice ones out there, bu you can still spot them a mile away. No offense to anyone that has to use one, but if I'd has less hair than I did when I started, I probably wouldn't have transitioned. IMO, transtioning is hard enough as it is, let alone finding someone once you start, so I couldn't imagine dealing with telling someone you wear a wig. It isn't something I'd be willing to go through.

And thank you. Bu the only reason I'm so good at so much is because learning was my way of fighting off the desire to want to transition for years. When I kept my mind occupied, it didn't wander to the thought of transition, which at the time was "Oh crap, I'm going to lose everything if I do it, but I can't live with myself if I don't." Anyways, so what kind of Hi-fi stuff do you build? I've yet to build a kit of any kind, but would love to. I'd love to find kits for mono block amps with quad 6L6GB outputs. Too bad their aren't any, lol. I like my electronics to be space heaters, lol. I have a Heathkit amp that's solid state in my bedroom for watching movies through. I've modified it somewhat for more output (a Hell of a lot more, lol), and now, it pushes 2 12 inch subwoofers, 4 6 inch speakers, 4 4 inch speakers, and 2 tweaters that'll put any movie theater to shame. :) Wanna talk about realistic? Imagine seeing a drink in your hand having waves across the surface of the liquid when an explosion happens. :D Or, when I play my classical music through it, the next more realistic way of hearing it is watching the orchestra live.

Uh oh.... my inner geek came out. Hahahaha!

[Andrea85]

Just thought I might do something that makes some of you jealous, lol. This pic is from a few minutes ago. Was at the club from about 9 pm last night till around 5 am this morning, haven't showered, hung over a little, still haven't changed clothes, and makeup is a mess (IMO). Lol.

[Starling]

Bitch. And stop smoking!

:) Lallie