@ amberwaves, Vinya, and Allison S:
Thank you ladies for your kind words.
As you most certainly know, this transitioning thing can be a rough road but I am thankful that it was well worth the journey.... (and the pain)
note: my new profile picture is the most recent, taken at Costco last week.
.... and amberwaves .... when the weather gets warmer we definitely need to plan to post bikini (or at least one-piece) swimsuit pictures.