Happy Feet

Sometimes the cosmos just shines, the planets are in alignment, and all the lights are green. That's the way my shoeshopping expedition with Grammy was yesterday.

After lunch, we headed for Shoe Pavilion hoping to find a replacement for my old, comfy, well-loved Dexters. It's not uncommon to spend an entire kindergarten morning on my feet, moving constantly and my pedometer can prove it. So my shoes have to meet some stringent teacher-shoe standards. I'm quite capable of walking away empty-handed (or should that read bare-footed?) when I'm looking for shoes.

Instead I found four fabulous shoes that have wonderful arch support, nice leather, fit perfectly and at a reasonable price. I exercised great restraint and only bought three pair.

First, I ran across some Avia running shoes--my old runners are way past their expiration date, so these were a needed item.

Then the Clark's sandals caught my attention. I became a Shoe Pavilion fan when I found my wonderful blue Sunbeats there two years ago so I was thrilled to find these tan babies to add to the collection. I mean, the blue matches almost everything, but tan is so wonderfully neutral.

Then Grammy pointed out a brown, MaryJane-style Ecco shoe that fit wonderfully so we grabbed our shoeboxes and were waiting for the customer ahead of us, when I remembered that the front window had some shoes that caught my eye earlier. What a dilemma when I found the cute brown Dexters!

Did I need two brown pair? Not really, but how often does one find two shoes that fit and look great?

Which one felt more comfy? The Eccos were quite comfortable and the Dexters were pretty comfortable. Either would work.

Which looked better? Grammy thought the Dexters were cuter and I had to agree. I really liked the Eccos, but they might have been just a tad clunky for my admittedly teensy feet.

Which were cheaper? Sometimes a girl just has to ignore price and make a decision based on what's best for her feet.

In the end, the Dexters won and I somewhat reluctantly left the Eccos behind. I feel like I won a jackpot with my three new shoes. Just like any kid, having new shoes makes it seem easier to face going back to school!

p.s. I might have come away with three pairs of shoes, but I got my sweetie SIX pairs of socks! He really came off best. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Holy Smokes!

My baby has turned 24! Don't know how time sped by so fast that I know have to dabble in subtraction to figure out how old my kids are.

We spent 45 minutes looking for a good birthday card. I'm more likely to be drawn to the silly cards about heredity (good looks vs. intelligence), or the nutty things all moms say. It's easier than getting all weepy over the sappy verses extolling pride and love. I pretended that my allergies were acting up yet again as I wiped my eyes.

Naturally we chose the sappy (but totally true) card about loving a tiny baby, a little boy, and a tall young man. We are so blessed to have two incrediblewonderfulcaringkindhandsomeintelligent sons. Love you both!

Pins and Needles

It's the main reason that there have been no recent posts--it's hard to type when I can't feel my fingers. I have carpal tunnel in both wrists (note to self: next time you want to start distance training runs, make sure your bike is perfectly fitted to you). The doctors and therapists call it "tingling", but the truth is that my fingers have felt as though they've been asleep for close to two months now.

They are gradually feeling better, sort of half asleep. That's from a combination of therapy, wrist braces and letting the nerves rest.

Resting is pure torture when you are as active as I (usually) am. I can live with not using the shovel and pick as I re-landscape my front yard. I found that I can get Erkie to come over and he's great about taking directions from me and I'm happy with any sort of progress on the landscaping that got derailed by carpal tunnel.

Unfortunately, resting also includes a ban on fine motor activities. Just try and find something that doesn't use your hands. Can't use scissors. Can't hold a pen or pencil for any time at all. Even reading is frustrating. Paperbacks are bad enough; trying to find a comfy way to hold the last Harry Potter (all 759 pages of it) was nearly impossible. The solution turned out to recline the sofa, hold the book open on my lap and only use my hands to turn the pages.

Oddly, using the keyboard is one of the easier things for me. I can't do it for very long, but at least it doesn't make my fingers swell or my hands hurt. So...short posts. Like this one.

Over and out.