Didn't We All?

I loved this comment from Paula concerning our Cyrsti's Condo "Skirting the Issue"post for a couple of reasons.

You're right I think we have all gone through (or got stuck in) the "Leg Phase" I am tempted to say that it is all part of growing up. Since many of us didn't start going out wearing complete outfits until we are of more mature years we end up making the mistakes our daughters make in their teens in our forties. I am sure that I am not your only middle aged reader who now regrets the leather mini skirt and thigh boots, yet somehow I still find it difficult to discard them.

I so agree with the "growing up" idea and I so remember my conservative wife telling me how she passed her Mom's inspection on the way out the door to school and then proceeded to roll up her skirt to more of a mini skirt length before she got to school. Then there is Stana.  She is a role model of how a more mature transgender woman can showcase her legs.  She is tall (6' 2" I think in heels) and I vividly remember when we met. She was wearing the outfit on the left. Soon, I ended up sitting and then standing where I could see the men checking her out over her shoulder...bumping into things! 

But, the point needs to be made she is fortunate enough to be able wear that outfit.  If I had her legs-I would too. Almost all of us male structured body types though,  have some sort of redeeming feminine values, if we look for them. Example? For the most part we have the "inverted triangle figure" going on (below) and have to work around our shoulders.

Before HRT took over, my triangle wasn't quite so dramatic because I had sort of a rounded proportioned guy deal going on.  I could add a little hip foam to equal the width of my shoulders, played with my breast side and learned the hard way to make myself as presentable as I could.

Also, I can have a little fun with my legs, especially with cooler times coming up around here.  I positively love the feel and look of leggings and what you can wear them with!

Before we go, I must leave you with a classic British quote from Paula:

Remembering the famous line about "not doing it in the street and frightening the horses" I now always check myself in the mirror and ask myself the question "Will I frighten the horses?"

Cyrsti's Condo "Ya' Gotta Laugh when you Can't Cry"

I'm pretty sure she is a neighbor!

Cyrsti's Condo Pan Handling Problem?

Check this out...been pan handled by a zillion peeps...but never like this!
Looks like he is a cross dresser fulfilling a dream at a theme park he works at...
First and only time in drag...ha ha.

It's his story, and he is sticking to it!

The Top 5 Things Trans Women Wish Guys Knew!

Actually, I "borrowed" this idea from a post I ran across called the "Top Five Things Guys Wish Girls Knew" from a site called College Girl Know How.

So I decided to put a transgender girl spin on it!

1. Don't beg a guy to tell you what's on his mind unless you really want to know.  Genetic world? The guy is thinking about having sex with you.  Trans world? The guy is thinking yes he wants to have sex but does that make him gay.
2. Don't ask a guy if you are fat?  Really? I have spent my whole life wondering why genetic girls try this trap question?  Gender torture? It's just dumb.
3. He hates it when you get all weird when all he wants to do is watch the game.  Somehow genetic women turn this into some sort of ego battle and never understand why they shouldn't.  No pun intended-huge win for the trans girls here.  We understand which winning team to root for-his.
4. Guys don't want to shop with you.  Genetic and trans woman alike...if they do-someday they will end up in your clothes.
5. Guys have no sympathy for you "having nothing to wear."  No contest here, genetic or trans, we don't have anything to wear-no matter what we already have in the closet.  Guys don't understand what you do have may be out of season, not suitable for where you are going or you lack just the right accessory to pull an outfit together.  A wide gap which guys will just have to get over and they do when you find the "right thing to wear" for them.

As you can see, we share much in common with our genetic sisters and that's not so much a surprise if you look at how much we study them!

"Skirting" the Issue

From the earliest days of heading out into the world and exploring my femininity at transvestite "mixers", for whatever reason or another, I was never totally enamored with wearing dresses or skirts.  In return, I was "taken to task" for not doing so.  Very succinctly, I was told why would I wear pants to the mixer if I wear them all the time anyhow.  Of course you all know what a dim view I take of anyone telling me what I should do and women's slacks were always a staple of my very small wardrobe.  (At least my wife approved, so I was "encouraged" to have more.

I'm a believer though, that as a rule of thumb, male legs transition to a feminine look more than any other part of the body.  In fact, in my book "Stiletto's On Thin Ice" I devote several pages of why a dynamite set of legs may be the down fall for novice cross dressers.  If you happen to be like me, the very first compliments I received at Halloween parties I was cross dressing at were, "Wow! You have a great legs!"  I did - but- they were attached to a narrow butt and large feet.  Very simply, I was reacting to the compliments (and the mirror) as any guy would.  I concentrated on my legs and not the entire image.  I think it is one of the reasons you see so many terrible pictures of cross dressers on line who only want to concentrate on their legs when they could transform into pleasant looking women. (Other than the fetish freaks.)

As I said, I didn't stay in the "leg phase" long and began to concentrate on a more complete style.  More importantly I built my style on some sort of an inner voice and bits and pieces of help I could obtain.  Plus, the more I ventured out, the more I had to "blend" with the rest of the women around me-wearing pants for the most part. So here I am today.

Now it seems, I'm coming full circle.  My partner Liz wants to see me in a dress or skirt or two on occasion and even my trans woman friend has commented on why she never sees me in a skirt.  Truthfully, now I don't think my legs justify a skirt.  I did however, run across this fashion update from Fabulous after 40:

Hi Cyrsti,

Does your summer wardrobe consist of the same old pair of shorts, jeans or capris because you just don’t know what else to wear?

Casual dressing is where I see so many women get stuck in a rut - don’t let that happen to you!

A cute skirt is a great alternative - just add a comfy fitted t-shirt, cute sandals and a statement necklace and you’ve got a great casual outfit recipe.

At the right you see Deborah Boland modeling an outfit she was talking about.

Even though there isn't a whole lot of summer yet to come...just maybe I may start "skirting" the issue-next spring?

I know what you are thinking, does Cyrsti even have legs? Yes, I do have legs and to prove it ...to the left is an ancient selfie of me when I had legs.

Deborah did make another really good point which can be strongly applied to cross dressers or transgender women new to the world.  We really don't have much of an idea of dressing causal without looking like "Honey Boo-Boo's" Mom. 

                                                                                                

Another Look

"Lotso" comments (thanks) about my Cyrsti's Condo "Is that all There Is" post.  I really appreciated all of your inputs because I was so torn on the subject myself.

Essentially, the topic was built around the day I had Sunday, doing everyday errands locally in some stores I had received a really poor reception in my past.  I have had days of course when I thought I was very close to achieving "stealth".  Sunday, I felt I was there and when I did-what exactly did that mean to me.

In no particular order, lets take a look at the comments:  (First from Paula)

1. I do wonder about this whole "going stealth" thing, after all I never wanted to be a Trans Woman, I want to be a Woman. If I should ever achieve that then I am not going to wear a badge that says trans, I hope I won't forget how I got there and those who helped me along the way though.
2. On occasion, I get lost in the written word...Paula came very close to saying what I meant to - in at least one forth of the words.  She is British, has very unique interests and you can follow the link above to check out her blog.

Billie commented : One way or another, indeed! I tend to agree, Cyrsti. Thanks Billie, this whole new chapter of my life still has a long way to go!  It's still very exciting and scary too!

Jen added: Sounds like you conquered and overcame your prior bad experiences at those 3 shops - WhoHooo!  I did indeed Jen, and I can't remember another time in my life, I was so euphoric but had to mainly keep it to myself.  I soooo love revenge!

And Pat:  The goal of a comedian is to "Leave them laughing when you go". I suggest that you simply go out and about as who you are and how you are comfortable and you will do well. It is a win/win situation all the way with you either getting along as just another face in the crowd or perhaps you will "Leave them wondering when you go".

I suppose Pat, I'm getting more and more tired of leaving them wondering at all.  I feel that gender is but a mirror anyhow, so if with a lot of help I'm finally achieving the correct reflection, then my final solution is close at hand.

Thanks so much to all of you who cared enough to comment.  I do my best to not deal in what I call trans paranoia and just live my life.  It is tough though to not look over my shoulder to see who or what is chasing me.  I did it for so many years and it's difficult to put an end to.

I Never Met a Toilet I Didn't Like.

If my mind serves me correct (or at all) I have passed along the fact here in Cyrsti's Condo that I was actually taking a half of the dosage prescribed to me of "Spiro" by my endocrinologist.  Spiro is designed for several uses and one of it's by-products is lowering a guys testosterone.

Of course, the idea of "how low can I go" in the "T" department caught my interest.  BUT-let me say over and over again, I am under a doc's supervision- actually two.

Spiro is also designed to lower your blood pressure by getting rid of fluids in your body and I thought I peed a lot before!!  Now I can almost set my clock and my itinerary to finding the nearest restroom.

Perhaps you are wondering, just where has all this medication taken me?  Well, I was too.

I'm always humored by the decreasing number of "Low-T" commercials for men I hear on the radio around here.  After a couple of men who didn't have Low T began to add extra to their bodies and died-now I'm hearing the lawyers commercials wanting to take their lawsuits.

Age	# Subjects	Total Test.	Stand. Dev.	Free Test.	Stand. Dev.	SHBG	Stand. Dev.
25-34	45	617	170	12.3	2.8	35.5	8.8
35-44	22	668	212	10.3	1.2	40.1	7.9
45-54	23	606	213	9.1	2.2	44.6	8.2
55-64	43	562	195	8.3	2.1	45.5	8.8
65-74	47	524	197	6.9	2.3	48.7	14.2
75-84	48	471	169	6.0	2.3	51.0	22.7
85-100	21	376	134	5.4	2.3	65.9	22.8

I'm passing along this chart I found which illustrates the natural decline of "T" as a man ages.  Please be aware I'm notoriously bad at reading charts and won't be a medical person in my life, but it "seems" at my age, I should be at around a 500 T level.

If I attempt to refer this chart to my latest VA blood tests, I can see how much lower my "low T" has become.  In fact, if I'm reading it right, I'm in the sub 100 range.

Before I increased my dosage!

Good news-bad news kids.  Of course the good news are the bodily changes which continue to amaze me. I'm literally euphoric.

The bad news (you know there always is some) is, if you have heard any of the dire prophesies about "low T"-no energy, strength, sex drive etc.  Are all true with me.  Don't pass me the pickle jar to open!  That's as about as bad as calling me sir! Just can't do it!

I'm writing this from an informational viewpoint.  It's written for any of you who are considering HRT.  I know I had a huge amount of questions-many of which went unanswered. On the other hand, those of you who have gone down this path will most likely have your own information to share.

It's such as personal topic with so many twists and turns!  If you have experiences you want to share, by all means send them to me here!

In the meantime, excuse me-have to go potty!

Don't You JUST Hate This?

Your commute is destroyed by...a pissed off rampaging drag queen?  Just imagine what your local traffic reporter would say?  Don't go that way!  Stay back and you don't have to tip the queen to get through!

I'm fairly sure I've seen a few drag queens who looked like they were close to that tall in their heels!

I saw a queen do a back flip in heels one night and about swallowed my beer bottle!

Not real feminine!

Victoria's First?

Cyrsti's Condo "Poll Question of the Day"

Which transgender model will be "Victoria Secret's" first?

Carmen Carerra  left or....


Andreja Pejic 

right: