Military Ball

My unit had it's annual Military Ball yesterday evening. Yes, that made the Ball on a Thursday. Attendance at the Ball earned you a day off the next day. But I don't work for the unit-- I am borrowed military manpower (BMM) and they still had daily operations to conduct on Friday. No biggie. I asked for a late start (0900) so I could try to sleep off the copious amount of booze I knew I would consume at the Ball.

And I did not disappoint. 

I am glad that we took our photo before I got completely hammered. But I wish someone would have told me I looks 105 years old with my shawl on. I would have removed it for the photo. Since no one informed me, I absolutely hate the photo and I won't make the Internet look at it. 

Look at this instead!

Completely hammered I did get though. I made it through the receiving line to greet my Battalion Commander and Battalion Command Sergeant Major sober enough. The grog ceremony was memorable. But after I drank the grog, it was all down hill. I sort of recall dinner. James had ham on his plate and the mashed potatoes were off the hook. That's really all I can say about dinner. 

Me and my battle, Tracy

We had to leave before 2130 (9:30 pm). I told James it was time to go because it was time to vomit and I did not want to vomit at the event venue in a $200 dress. I would much prefer to vomit in the privacy of my own home in Nike shorts and a hoodie. Which is exactly what I did. Oh there was so much vomiting, 

And so much working the next day. 0900 was not late enough. I was pretty much worthless at work today. The Ball was fun though (from my booze hazed recollection). 

Wedding Hair

The only occasions I have ever had my hair done professionally have been for my two weddings. And I don't even count the first time anymore since this second updo kicked my old updo's ass all over the place. Hands down.

 

My wedding dress was a reproduction 50's vintage style tea length dress. So I wanted to keep my little retro theme when it came to hair and makeup. I know I do not have any ability to do this. (See my Military Ball photo for the high end of my hair styling skillz.) So I paid an arm and a leg to have a professional at the Planet Hollywood Spa make me beautiful for the day.

 

 

 

I couldn't have asked for a better updo. And my makeup was fabulous. I felt like a movie star.

 

This would be me as a movie star acting with a dinosaur:

 

 

Having this beautiful wedding hair made it an easy decision to ALWAYS have a professional do my hair whenever my dress costs more than $100. That's a special occasion dress price. Since I'm all done with getting married from here on out, that means Military Balls. I can't wait for the next Ball so I can be a beautiful movie star again... but without the dinosaur. Dinosaurs freak me out.

Ball Photo

 

I got my Ball picture in my work email today. I chose to have it digitally sent to me so I could have whatever prints I wanted made up rather than conform to a "package".

 

It's not the best picture. But my dress looks beautiful, and James looks handsome and its all we have.

 

Don't worry, Mom, I already had a 5x7 made for you.

My Ball

Yesterday was my Battalion Military Ball. It was themed Masquerade. Even though I was part of the Ball committee, there were just some things we could not get vetoed and the theme was one of them. Oh well, lets not dwell on that. I was in charge of making all 25 of the center pieces. Aren't they just neat?

 

They probably aren't neat, but I made them, so I'm calling them neat.

 

The Ball was held in Nashville at the Renaissance Hotel. It was a really upscale venue. James and I got a room in the hotel, too, so we could go out downtown after the event. James cleaned up really nice. I was really proud to have such a handsome date. Also, he wore his jump boots with his uniform since he's in 101st and looked way cooler than all the CSH dudes in their low quarters.

 

What a handsome Soldier!

 

I'm sure I cleaned up well but I didn't take a picture of myself. We took a professional picture (like a prom picture) that showcased my dress, but I don't have those pictures yet. I will post them as soon as I do. One thing I can say, I was complimented many times on my dress. And the curls in my hair turned out super fancy.

 

You can kinda see how fancy my hair is.

 

The Ball was fine. It wasn't something to jump up and down about and get really excited over. But it was neat, and nice to see people out in their finest. Not too bad for my first Ball. But I would have liked to have seen more tradition and less unorthodox mumbo-jumbo. For instance, next time, I pray there will not be a "surprise" Harlem Shake. Although the theme was Masquerade, I did not wear a mask. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But, I'll go to another Ball for sure. I like to support the unit any way I can, even when it's not exactly my scene.

Curlers

Tomorrow is my Battalion's Military Ball. This will be the first Military Ball I have ever attended, even though I have 8 years time in service. Last year I attempted to go to my Ball, but James decided to have last minute extensive oral surgery the day before. (I was so happy.) Needless to say, I had to give those tickets away. This year, there will be no unexpected surgeries and I will get to go... or there will be a homicide on my hands.

Although I want to support my organization, mostly I want an excuse up get all prettied up. And I want to show off how handsome James will look in his dress uniform to all the people I work with. With those 2 desires, comes quite the expense. The tickets, the hotel room, the dress, the shoes, the makeup... all an expense. So I decided to cut 1 expense and do my own hair.

 

Sweet rollers!

I figure curly = fancy. That math sounds about right. Well, after I leave these curlers in my hair over night I will have crazy curly (fancy) hair.

I used to put my hair in rollers like this all the time for school when I was in 7th and 8th grade. Middle school was a weird time for me. I noticed a few big differences between putting my hair in rollers then and now:

1) My hair is incredibly longer.

2) My arms do not fatigue as quickly. Thank you Army.

3) Now I can drink beer while I do this lengthy task.

Here's to hoping everything turns out well when I unroll all 49 of these suckers tomorrow morning!