My outfit and shoes for the gala

My working overtime on Saturday kind of worked out nicely. I get Monday off. Later on tonight, I will be heading to a formal gala.

I have my outfit. It consists of a nice black sweater with gold buttons on the shoulders. It brings a nice, classy touch. It's also a comfortable sweater. I have never worn this one before, but I did get a grey one at the same time and have worn it for years.

My brown palazzo pants are still a go. I like the contrast of colours, rather than dressing all in black and feeling like I am at a funeral.

I am going with black socks and a pair of brown suede lace-up shoes. I have a pair of black leather dress shoes with chunky heels. The downside is that the temperature is supposed to dip down to -11°C. My brown suede shoes will keep me warm. The black ones will not. We also have snow and ice on the ground. Warmth and traction trump everything here. I don't care if my footwear may look odd to some. I need my feet to stay warm and I need to be safe.

I'm ready. Here's hoping that being a finalist turns into some sort of acknowledgement of the work that I did last year.

What top goes well with palazzo pants for a black tie gala?

On Tuesday, I was asked to be a part of a black tie gala. The main reason? I am a finalist for at least one award.

Here's the weird thing. Apparently, I'm not eligible for this award if I don't go. It's odd to me. I would like to think that it was worded this way because it would look weird to win the award fair and square, and not be in attendance.

Anyway, there is never a guarantee to win anything. I should just go, have free food and booze, and be thankful to have been nominated. However, I have a good feeling that my hard work all last year has paid off.

The bigger concern is what to wear. I don't go to such formal events.

I have two items of clothing that are chiffon and look fancy: a black skirt and a pair of dark brown palazzo pants.

The black skirt is too large on me. I have lost weight since I last wore it a good eight years ago. The palazzo pants fit perfectly and I like how it flows on me.

Here's my question: What top to I wear with palazzo pants? A nice, slightly fitted black sweater? A cap-sleeved sweater with a blouse underneath? I haven't got a clue.

It's the main reason why I didn't jump on being a part of this event. I am not fancy. I like wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I like staying at home, in my pajamas, snacking and drinking pop.

It's only for a couple of hours. I will be okay.

Timing and a timely award

I briefly mentioned that my guy isn't the type who enjoys going to company Christmas parties. He joined the company several months before I did. I have been to one. My guy has yet to go.

Well, that all changed.

Last week, he was approached twice by two different human resources folks. My guy talked about the whole situation with me last Thursday. My thought was that he was going to receive some recognition. This notion had also crossed my guy's mind.

My guy said yes to going late Wednesday night. He wanted me to go with him. I didn't have a dress and thought that we would spend a quiet night together on Friday. Frankly, I am just not ready to go to such a large function. It's a combination of my losing sixty pounds, my trying to cope with this accomplishment mentally, and my recovering from a pinched nerve. Baby steps.

It's weird how timing can make a world of difference. Unfortunately, I had missed taking pictures of my guy receiving his award and probably tearing up at the function.

My guy told me that he sat at a table with a bunch of executives. He sat alone, with an empty chair next to him.

Tonight, we were cuddling after we had some quality time. My guy told me that there was a slide show happening throughout the evening. A number of pictures were taken from various company events.

We had a Halloween potluck. My guy saw my picture appear. He told me that he stood there, looking up at my picture, loving my smile and admiring my cute chin, and was missing me a lot.

My guy is genuinely sweet. He was amazed that I knew exactly what I was wearing in that photo. He remembered my outfit, too.

Perhaps I should have crashed the party by showing up in regular clothes. I felt bad about not being there, but my guy understood.

He told me that I'd win that award next year, as I have carried the documentation department on my own for a year. I am not sure if it'll happen. He wished that colleagues could vote. I am fortunate to have someone who has so much confidence in me.

I'm off to bed with a sore bottom. More about that in another post!

Unicorns

Renee Rose has nominated my blog for the Meta Awesomest Blog Unicorn award! Thank you so much!

It has taken me a bit of time to write a post about it, but I'd rather be late than to completely forget about it. Sometimes, life gets busy, so being a bit late is okay!

So, the award rules are as follows:

1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog
2. Answer 10 questions you have about yourself.
3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.
5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the bloggers who nominated you.

 Here are ten random tidbits about me that you may have already figured out from reading my blog:

1. I like to give and receive spankings. With the ex-husband, we were both switches, although he seemed to like to get spanked than spank me towards the end (no pun intended) of our marriage. My guy spanks me these days. He is open to receiving a spanking, but I have not pressured him into it. When he is ready, I will be, too. For now, I enjoy being spanked by him, so all is good.
2. I have lived in two Canadian provinces and spent two years working in the United States. I am Canadian and never expected to move to a different country for employment, but am certainly glad that I had that opportunity.
3. I am a writer by trade. However, the professional writing that I do has a completely different style than how I write in this blog. I also write in this blog in the wee hours of the morning, so expect typos that will get fixed when I am more alert down the road!
4. Growing up, I was a tomboy. I still feel that I am. My guy is extremely supportive and encouraging. These days, I am comfortable with wearing sexy underwear and short skirts for him. They were his suggestions, but he has never forced them on me. I just want to make things fun for us and I like feeling good in them.
5. I was never spanked as a child. I was always a goody-goody. I was the geeky girl who never did anything wrong. I suppose that is one reason why I enjoy being spanked. It turns me on when my guy tells me that I have been naughty, simply because it is not the case in real life. I enjoy being bad. It's kind of my "dark side," according to my guy. He likes that side of me.
6. The thought of having anal sex both intrigues and scares me. My guy and I are novices. For the past few months, he has been fingering my butt, which we both enjoy. So, we are taking baby steps. I like the idea of being spanked and then engaging in anal sex. I wonder how it would feel for have his balls rubbing against my backside as I am pleasured from behind. What scares me is the pain that I may experience, for my guy's member isn't exactly tiny. Again, we're taking baby steps.
7. It's related to point 3, but I tend to blog after midnight. I tend to shower late at night. After I'm done, I feel relaxed and am in a blogging mood.
8. I am a music enthusiast. I have over 19,000 songs on my iPod. My guy likes music, but he isn't a fanatic like I am!
9. My guy is the first guy I have dated who is taller than I am. He is 6'. I am 5'10".
10. I can't stand listening to my recorded voice. When I pick up my voicemail and hear my voice recording, I have to immediately skip over it. It's strange, but I have been told that I have a nice voice. I just can't stand having it played back. I literally cover my ears and want to curl up in the fetal position until the pain subsides.

I would love to nominate someone for this cool award, but I am horrible at having so many great options to choose from. Seriously, anyone on my blogroll is worthy of this award. So, if you're on my blog, please feel free to participate. I would enjoy reading your answers and being in your award company!