Your Turn

Any suggestions?

I like writing this blog and I assume people like reading it with over 7 million hamburgers sold.

Can I do better?

Is there anything I can do here that would increase the value of reading this blog for you?

I am always open to your suggestions, so please leave comments below or, if you prefer, e-mail me by clicking on the "send me e-mail" link below my mug shot (above right).

I look forward to reading and implementing your suggestions, so have at it!

flickr Update

Good news: the Femulate flickr account is fixed again! I hope the fix sticks.

 

Actors Allan Zinyk and Peter Jorgenson femulating on the Canadian stage in Leading Ladies, 2008.

 

Wearing Dsquared2 (cardigan), Splendid (blouse) and Robert Rodriguez (skirt).

Gadgets

Now that I own an iPhone, I am considering not lugging my laptop and digital camera to Dayton.

With my iPhone, I can write and post to my blog, do e-mail, and take photos.

If I bring my digital camera to take photos for blog posts from Dayton, then I have to bring my laptop because it is my only gateway for transferring photos from my camera to the blogosphere. Bringing the camera and laptop also necessitates bringing their battery chargers, a spare camera battery, a cable to connect the two, and a bag to carry the laptop.

I can type faster and more accurately with my laptop, but to tell the truth, during Hamvention there is not much time to blog. I usually post a few words and a photo each day, which is as easy as pie with my iPhone.

What would you do?

Words of Wednesday

flickr… Argh!

My flickr account is messed up again. It was reset to free status and 200 images maximum a few days ago. I have a new complaint into flickr and hope the problem will get fixed once and for all or I will take my business elsewhere.

Off Broadway

Aunty Marlena alerted me to a new off-Broadway dance, Summer's Different, about a married with children transwoman. Here is the New York Times review of the dance.

My Dance Card is Filling Up

Yesterday afternoon, I was invited to a party after my ham radio group's banquet next Friday at Hamvention. The party is at a hotel 7 miles from the banquet hall, so I am definitely stopping by.

Google Hitchcock

If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock films like I am, visit Google today and view their video honoring Saul Bass, Hitchcock's master of film titles. It is very cool!

 

Advertisement for comedian Tim McNiven’s UK stand-up show Emasculated, 2012.

 

 

 

Wearing Alice + Olivia (top), Love Letter (skirt), and Marc by Marc Jacobs (bag).

Something Different Again

Yesterday, I wrote about my plans attending the Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio, next week and how I was doing something different on Saturday evening, that is, attending a banquet I never attended before.

As I wrote yesterday, "Perusing the guest list posted on the Internet, I know only one of the attendees, an officer of the host group, who I have exchanged e-mails with in the past. (Maybe I will drop him a note to let him know I am coming.)"

I did e-mail him yesterday morning to let him know I was attending the banquet, that I am trans, and that I planned to attend en femme.

I waited anxiously all day for a reply and as time passed with no reply, I began thinking the worst.

At about 8 PM, I finally received a reply. The replay started with "Hi Stana." He had always addressed me by my male name in the past, so I thought that was a good sign and it was. He was very gracious, looked forward to seeing me and invited me to sit at his table.

And so it goes.

By the way, that’s me in the photo above at my group’s booth before the start of Hamvention last year. And just so there is no confusion, I wanted to make it clear that I am not the blond wearing the black low-cut dress in the photo accompanying yesterday's post. LOL!

 

The femulating cast of another local production of Pageant, The Musical.

 

Wearing Alice & Olivia.

Something Different

I am jazzed about attending Hamvention next week. The opportunity to live as a woman full-time at an event I truly enjoy is one of the highlights of my year.

A lot of the things I do during the Hamvention are routine: Thursday evening is my group's board meeting, daytime Friday and Saturday I am a “booth babe” at the convention, and Friday night I attend my group's banquet.

Saturday night is different. In 2010 and 2011, I attended the Contest Dinner, a banquet hosted by a ham radio contest club that attracts a huge contingent of famous radio contesters and wannabes. In 2012, I attended a cook-out hosted by one of the other directors of my group.

My comfort level the first year attending the Contest Dinner was very good because I was sitting with my editor and her friends. She watched my back just in case, but everything went smoothly.

My comfort level the second year attending the Contest Dinner was very good because of my experience the year before. However, I was on my own (my editor did not attend) and I sat with a group of strangers, who turned out to be a bunch of idiots. They treated me as a lady (no problem there), but they were loud and obnoxious (possibly drunk), and it was embarrassment sitting at their table.

At the cook-out last year, my comfort level was extremely high because I already knew most of the people in attendance.

I thought about attending the Contest Dinner again this year. The meal was excellent in the past and they give away so many prizes that half the attendees win something. But always looking to push the envelope, I decided to do something different this year and I am attending a banquet hosted by another ham radio group on Saturday evening .

Perusing the guest list posted on the Internet, I know only one of the attendees, an officer of the host group, who I have exchanged e-mails with in the past. (Maybe I will drop him a note to let him know I am coming.)

So my comfort level is zero, I will be a little nervous, but I will be breaking new ground and that's the way I like it.

 

  

The femulating cast of a local production of Pageant, The Musical.

 

Wearing Elle Tahari.

And they look a lot like their father.

Next, let’s get our nails done!

Back in Business

Thanks to Galen’s comment to my flickr fouled-up post, I learned that if I renewed my flickr Pro account even after my previous Pro account expired, all my previously uploaded images will be restored.

So, I renewed again paying via PayPal without incident and the 3,000 Yearbook Femulation images were restored.

Yay!

 

 

 

 

Actors John J. Joseph (left) and David Engel (center) femulating
in the Los Angeles production of Leading Ladies, 2012.

 

Wearing Zenobia.

flickr fouled-up

I tried accessing the Femulate flickr account this morning and received an error message from flickr.

I renewed my flickr Pro account in mid-April. Evidently, my Paypal payment "failed" for some unknown reason, but flickr never notified me that there was a problem.

Since I did not pay up, flickr reset my account to a free account yesterday. As a result, most of the 3,000 Yearbook Femulations images I uploaded to flickr during the past year were deleted except for the last 200 that I uploaded (200 is the maximum for free accounts).

Argh!!!

I complained to flickr and await their response.

In the meantime, if you visit the Femulate flickr account, you will only find 200 images, not 3000.

And so it goes!

Mama Stana

I seldom remember my dreams, but this morning I did recall snippets of the dream I had before I awoke.

I was a woman in the dream.

There was a discussion with my girlfriends about the new high heels I was wearing.

And I breastfed a baby!

Wow!

 

Rocker Frank Iero femulating.

 

Wearing DressBarn.

Enhancing Your Figure Inexpensively

This guest post comes from a long-time femulator and Femulate reader, Patio.

If you are a femulator, you probably would like to present the appearance of breasts. You will find that Amoena breast forms are wonderful, but expensive, although you can find them on ebay at reasonable prices, along with Amoena bras with pockets for the forms.

I started out as many of  my femulating friends do, with breast forms that were, shall we say, too ample. With time I used more appropriate forms.

I have also used adhesive breast  forms and found that the adhesive comes in many different strength: too weak, just right, or too strong. Recently, however, I was visiting a Jo-Ann fabric and craft store and in the aisle where they sell shoulder pads and other dress making needs, I found Dritz Adhesive Silicone Cups.  I bought some in A-cup size and found that for me, on a smoothly shaved chest, the adhesive was perfect. They stayed on all day and peeled off without pain.

Jo-Ann often has sales at 40% off, so a pair cost me $16. These adhesive breast forms do have a limited number of applications, but I have used mine 30 times and they are still holding strong (so after 30 uses, it only cost me $0.50 per use). They also come in cup sizes B, C and D.

During a recent sale, I decided to try some C cup size.. The inside bowl of the adhesive form looked too large for my “nearly AA” natural breasts, but I started at one edge and rolled them into place squeezing out the air and they pulled my breasts into a perfect size for me.

I thought maybe that there was a gap between the form and my flesh, but when I peeled them off, they were adhering all the way across. The larger cup sizes are larger in area, though not much greater in thickness. For my 40-inch bra band size, the C cup proved to be a fine size.

I use adhesive forms with a bra most of the time, although sometimes I just wear them under an elastic camisole,and other times just let them stick on their own. So far I have had no failures.

If you femulators would like to try an adhesive breast form on a budget, check Jo-Ann’s for their sales and try out  the feel of attached breast forms.

 

Actor Nolan Gould femulating on television’s Modern Family, 2012.

 

 

 

Wearing Worthington.

Happy Birthday, April Ashley

Remember April Ashley?

I do and yesterday was April Ashley’s birthday. Although it is a belated greeting, I would be remiss in not sending birthday wishes to the woman who amazed me with her beauty at a time when I was just starting to recognize my femininity and thinking about emulating females like her.

“Maybe I could be an April Ashley, too,” I thought.

I femulated whenever I could, that is, whenever I was home alone. I explored my mother's and sister's wardrobes and learned all about women's fashions. I experimented with my sister's makeup trying to look like a pretty young lady just like April Ashley.

My femulations were closeted during my teenaged years. But even though I was deep in the closet, I worked hard to perfect my female presentation. I was not sure where I was going with it, but I wanted to be the best woman I could be.

In my early twenties, when I finally broke out of the closet dressed to the nines to attend a Halloween party, my hard work was affirmed when I heard one guest ask another guest while referring to me, "Who is the woman not wearing a costume?"

I did not succeed at becoming April Ashley. Instead, I succeeded at becoming my own woman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Womanless beauty pageant contestant femulating Katie Holmes (left). Wearing Spiegel (right)

30 Shades of Lipstick for a Four-Day Trip

I overpack.

It has not been an issue so far because airlines have not been involved in my travels, but multi-day trips involve packing my Subaru to the brim.

I took eight pieces of luggage to Provincetown for my first trip to Fantasia Fair for an eight-day stay (see photo above). Last year, I only had seven pieces, but I also stayed one day less.

My annual Dayton, Ohio trips usually involve four or five pieces of luggage for a four-day stay.

The only time I economized was for my four-day trip to New York City. I only had three pieces of luggage because I was traveling by train.

I always bring stuff that I never use: extra dresses, extra hosiery, extra bras, extra panties, extra Spanx, extra shoes, extra nails, extra jewelry, extra etcetera.

Usually, I plan ahead and know what I am going to wear for each day of my trip, but I still overpack.
One piece of luggage that I know I should leave home is my makeup box. It is a large tackle box that I bought at Walmart that is chock full of makeup. Who needs 30 shades of lipstick for a four-day trip

Funny story occurred the last time I was moving my luggage into my hotel room. I was in boy mode carrying my makeup/tackle box and as I passed two guys in the hall, one said to the other, "He's going fishing!"

In two weeks, I will be packing for my four-day stay in Dayton. I hope I can do it with three pieces of luggage. I'll let you know how I do.

 

Actor Michel-Serrault (left) and another actor (right) femulating in the film La Cage Aux Folles II, 1980.

 

Wearing Robert Rodriguez.

Womanless Weekend

Part 2 of Our Weekend of Womanless Events


Starla sent me another 101 images of femulations that appeared in online high school yearbooks.

She selected the two girl students (above left) from Valliant (Oklahoma) High School as the winners of the High School Femulator Most Likely To Still Be Femulating Today (HSFMLTSBFT) Award. Also, Starla and I agreed that the teacher (above right) from Colorado Springs' Wasson High School should receive an Honorable HSFMLTSBFT Mention Award.

I uploaded the 101 images to flickr anf you may view them in two ways:

Method 1: Open one of the Yearbooks sets (A through Z) and you will find the newest uploads at the end/bottom of the set. (The oldest uploads appear at the beginning/top of the set.)

Method 2: Open my photostream and you will find the newest uploads at the top of page 1. The uploads get older as the page numbers get higher with the oldest uploads on the last page.

By the way, the contents of the Yearbook A through Z sets are organized according to school name, for example, the photos from Hard Knox High School would be in the Yearbooks H set.



Actor Reiley McClendon playing fraternal twins in television’s Law & Order Special Victims Unit, 2005.

Wearing Elie Saab.