Short and Sweet

Tuesday evening was the local Avon representative Christmas party. I took Tuesday afternoon off to do some things around the house and then get ready for the party.

My getting ready routine was different on Tuesday due to the dress I was planning to wear. It had a very narrow collar and I found out the hard way when I tried the dress on that it was impossible to get my head through the collar without smudging my makeup and soiling the dress.

So I dressed first and then did my makeup. To prevent my makeup from getting on my dress, I wore a big old T-shirt over the dress and I tucked tissues in around the collar of the dress. It worked perfectly; I got my makeup to go where I wanted it to go and not where I did not want it to go.

I was ready early. The party was at 6:30 PM and it was only 4:30, so I decided to go to Serphora at the Brass Mill Center mall in Waterbury to buy a gift card for my daughter.

Brass Mill Center was a new venue for this girl. I was born and raised in Waterbury and have family, friends and acquaintances there, so I usually avoid going en femme in my old hometown.

I am sure no one would recognize me as a woman, but they might recognize my car and its distinctive license plates. But since it would be dark by the time I arrived at the mall, I figured it would be safe, so I drove to Waterbury.

The parking lot was packed ― no surprise considering the time of year, but I scored a spot near a mall entrance, entered the mall and walked to the Sephora section of JCPenney.

It was all for naught. The gift cards that they sold could only be used in a Sephora store that was imbedded in a JCPenney store. Since my daughter shops in a variety of Sephora outlets, as well as online, that would not do. So I returned to my car and drove to the site of the party.

By the way, while I was walking through the mall, guys were checking me out, which was quite flattering for this very mature woman as well as a big ego boost, so my mall visit was not a complete loss!

I arrived at the party at 6:30 on the dot. I checked in and found a seat with a group of women, who I did not know, but welcomed me to join them.

As in the past, I was probably the nicest dressed woman in the room of approximately 50 women. Most were dressed in neat slacks and tops, while some were dressed not so neatly and in my opinion, did a poor job of representing the company they represent. 

The woman who invited me to sit at her table lived in my town and was very friendly. We chit-chatted about where we live, about the business of selling Avon and about the cold temperature of the hall (and wasn't I freezing in my sleeveless dress?).

The party started with our district manager making a presentation recognizing the sales leaders. In the middle of her presentation, my cell phone rang ― a call from home about a health emergency that necessitated me leaving the party and going home to attend to the emergency.

I was upset that I had to leave the party just as it started, but I was even more upset about my family health emergency. My family has had one health issue after another for over a year and we are all getting very tired of it.

It was a short night out en femme, but a short night out en femme is better than no night out en femme!

 

 

 

Wearing New York & Company.

 

 

 

By popular demand, another photo of actor Ben Porter in the 2004 film School of Seduction.