Military Ball

There is nothing quite like a Military Ball. Buying dresses, shoes and purses. Getting your hair done, make up and tanning if need be. Oh it is so much FUN! /end sarcasm!!!

This Friday evening I will venture out of my house looking more feminine then some will ever believe. I am going to be wearing a dress and heels, will have gotten my hair done and even gone so far as to get a spray tan. Yep! A spray tan! Ugh.

These Balls follow the Customs of Old World. They are Black Tie events and Formal. Soldiers come in their Dress Greens, or their Dress Blues, and their Dates come dressed to the Nines. The Chain of Command will give speeches, some Soldiers may be given a recognition, a Grog will certainly be held. A delicate meal will be served and then the Ball will proceed. Of course, by this point, most the men will surely be feeling their spirits. ;) Music will play, some will dance, some will leave, but for the most part, quite a few will enjoy themselves.

Ok, now for my point of view. I started this post out with sarcasm, but not because I do not enjoy the Ball... I just don't enjoy being so feminine! I am hoping though that I may have remedied this situation. I have found a dress that I am completely in love with, that I truly believe suits me to a tee!

I love almost everything 17th and 18th Century. I love the idea of Duke's and Lord's, of the Ton, of Etiquette and Propriety. I love the Empire waistlines and Victorian Class. I love the idea of Bowery Street Men, of hiring a Hackney and Petticoats and Pelisses... My dress is similar to this Era.

My dress is why I am very excited about this Ball.

Now look at the femininity coming out of me! Haha! Ridiculous really. However, when I first spied my dress, I was leery. It didn't have the sleeves I was looking for, nor did it have the bodice coverage I wanted. But the color was magnificent and it held every single thing else that I wanted it to have. I fought with myself about the dress, even left the store in search of something else, only to end up back at the store, trying the dress on again. In the end I bought the dress and have been in love with it ever since. I also bought a shrug to wear over top of it, because to me, the shrug completes the Victorian look I am striving to attain.

Alright, so dress complete. Well, almost. I am waiting to get it back from Alterations. Yep, I am a short little sucker! Now, on Wednesday I have an appointment to get a spray tan. Now before you think I am completely weird... I don't go to tanning beds and I don't worship the sun in the summer. I tan but it is mostly a farmer's tan, and would not look right at all in this dress. So I am spray tanning the farmer's tan away and hopefully giving myself a bit of a warm glow. Ugh. I better not come out looking like a carrot!!!

After that, all that is left is to get my hair done on Friday afternoon. I am going for a partial up-do, I think. I want the up-do with the thick spirals and baby's breath from the Victorian Era. Not too much to ask right? lol

So there you have it - I don't like being made up over feminine, but for once I think I am going to enjoy it... because I am actually wearing what I want, and not what current fashion dictates.



For those who want to know:
Grog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grog

Emotional Storm

It appears that I am not a good blogger. If I were then this would not be posted four months after my last one. Ugh. One good thing though, no complaints from people about why I haven't kept up or what adventures they have missed out on hearing! lol

I did ride my bike for a while after my last post. Even rode it one night with the Hubby, half drunk that he was; with his seat raping him! (It had become loose and decided that it wanted to slant backwards the entire ride home!) I rode it a few more times as well, however it ended up in my friends garage for about a month because I rode it there but Hubby picked me up. Funny how fast the time went by before I realized it.

I did ride my bike the other day. I left the house fully intent on meeting a friend for lunch at the PX, however he had to work through his lunch with barely anytime afterwards for him to eat... He apparently hates Rear D!!

So here I now sit, contemplating what to write about. I have so much in my brain but like normal, the words are eluding me. That is not to say that I won't write at all... I just need to calm my thoughts before running off on a tangent.

I have some fat that I have been chewing on, yet I don't know if I can actually put the words to paper in order for everyone to read. Not that they can't or shouldn't know, I am not sure I can do myself justice with words. Most who know me, know that I am an emotional soul. I cry at movies, I cry at cartoons, I cry at commercials, heck I cry. I also make attachments that cannot be easily broken. If I have accepted someone as a friend, I tie myself to them and fight for the relationship. No amount of distance or separation deters me from keeping that friend in my heart. I am a sappy, devoted friend to the end. I am not adverse to showing this side of me.

But lately it feels like being the person to do all the work isn't working for me anymore. I can put out all of the offers and lifelines I want, but when they aren't being accepted or even recognized...

At what point do I give up and let go?

I realize that I am but one person, and that not everyone is the same as me. I understand that I sometimes come across as harsh and brash, but being forthright is how I have managed to survive as an Army wife, and so I will not apologize for that or change it. That being said, I am having the hardest time being frank with one friend in particular. It isn't as if my life depends on him or anything, but from initial contact he became an instant part of my family. (Now I do know that I can also be a bit overbearing, but a simple word can make me catch sight of what I am doing, and I alter my course.)  I don't know what happened, if I did something wrong, if I offended... I have no clue but I feel like I should be guilt ridden, because I don't know. And to be completely honest, I wish I didn't care so much, because then this wouldn't be eating away at my heart.

I haven't really talked about it with hubby, because knowing him the way I do, he would likely tell me to not worry about it and let it go. Easier for him. Me? Not so much.

Actually, I wish I could just walk away from it and not blink twice... but I don't know how to and don't know if I am strong enough to. I guess this is my current task - figuring out when to cut the ties that bind. Ugh! I sometimes wish I weren't as emotional as I am. It would make things much easier. But... I am my Mother's Daughter, and I am thankful to be a lot like her. I wouldn't change it for the world.