I’ve kept a low profile this past month. I haven’t had too many opportunities to dress up in November. One, November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo, and I took up the challenge to write a fifty-thousand word novel in thirty days. I won the challenge, as I have every year I have participated since 2011.

Also, tis the season once again! I work retail, and the past couple of weeks meant getting ready for Black Friday! Last week I put in a lot of overtime, losing a whole day off in the process. It was all for naught since an ice storm blew in Thanksgiving night and ruined the whole weekend. Our store is saddled with a lot of unsold Black Friday merchandise.

The good news is that since the storm blew in, and since I live an hour from work, I decided to stay with a friend for the duration of the storm. It’s at her place where Stefani emerges, and I had ample opportunity to take advantage of that freedom to be me. The Sunday before, I bought a pink number, which I wasn’t too keen on, but which my friend assured me would look great. She was right.

Thanksgiving, I dressed up, but only took one photo of that. I should have taken a few more. But Sunday, the last night I spent in town, I went shopping for channel locks – long story – and I had no choice but to head to Walmart. While there, I decided to meander through the women’s department, just to look. I found a cute sweater that I simply had to buy.

I went back to the apartment, replaced a shower head for my friend, – ergo the channel locks – and then underwent the metamorphosis and became Stefani. It felt good to be me, and although brief, the transformation took away the stresses of my everyday existence.

The only downside is that my wig, which I have had for maybe half a year, is looking ragged. I want to look into buying a natural hair wig, one that’s shorter and more manageable. I can’t wait for the next opportunity to buy something new, another dress perhaps, but until then, I have my pictures to remind me how great I feel when I’m me.