The Shoe Challenge

My friend Cathy challenged me to this – take a picture of your newest shoes and your oldest shoes, and tell a little story of each.

On the left, we have Ol' Faithfuls. I bought these loafers in California when we were living there, at least a year before Ethan was born. They were a fancy brand name but I don't remember which as all identification has been rubbed off. These shoes have really held up well; I wore them to work all through my pregnancy with Ethan. The next time I needed to use work shoes was after I had Jack, so I pulled these out of storage and crammed my feet inside. The first few times back at work they hurt me, since my feet went up a size with my pregnancies (thanks boys). But the miracle of these shoes is that they have grown with me. They are the only ones that have survived my childbearing years; thus they are my oldest pair. Since they are "loafers" I only wear them with "slacks". It's only right.

On the right, my cutest newest pair of flats. I bought them only a month ago to go with a brown dress Chantal handed-me-down. I don't normally do brown, but the dress was cute and I needed brown shoes all of a sudden! Also, I'm happy that flats are still fashionable this year. I don't need the extra height (although when I tried on a pair of 4 inch heels - hoo boy I felt pretty powerful. But in a hookerish way) and I love the comfort. Also, flats are great to take with you to parties as your "indoor" shoes. More fashionable than slippers, yet just as comfy.

So there you have it. Interesting, no? Then tag you're it!

Reading is Sexy

I got tagged in a meme, so I hereby present to you: Reading is Sexy

Rules: Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 46. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The closest book, not the coolest, or the one you think will sound the best. THE CLOSEST.

So I honestly did this and grabbed the closest book – a book I really enjoyed called Water For Elephants. Turns out that sentences 5 – 10 of page 46 are kind of dirty birdie and I simply cannot reproduce them here. It’s the only part of the whole book that is like that! So instead I opened the book at random and here are sentences 5-10 from page 179:

She has learned to follow August from the elephant car to the menagerie tent, and in return for this he has stopped beating the hell out of her. Instead, she trudges alongside him, and he walks with the bull hook snagged firmly in the flesh behind her front leg. Once in the menagerie, she stands behind her rope, happily charming the crowds and accepting candy. Uncle Al hasn’t actually said so, but there don’t appear to be any immediate plans to attempt another elephant act.
As the days pass I grow more anxious about Marlena. Each time I approach the cookhouse I hope that I’ll find her there. And each time I don’t, my heart sinks.

From Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

Picture Tag

The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture


I had to go a little deeper - 4th subfolder of 4th subfolder of 4th folder, etc. That's our filing system for you - man, we have a LOT of photos. Anyway, here is an adorable picture of Jack from April 4th, 2005. He was just over 1 year old. He was new to walking and so would use my legs to pull himself up, or to steady himself. I was washing dishes (SO Cinderella, I know) at the sink and it was pretty common for Jack and Ethan to gravitate towards me. They were always convinced I was doing something interesting and of course would bring me helping objects such as toys, twist ties, lint, or really, anything useful like that. I'm glad it was picture #4, and not others in the series - the rest are all total ass shots of me. It is cute, though, the other pictures have Ethan on the other leg. Ethan is wearing clothes at age 2-1/2 that Jack wears now at 4-1/2, and I only just realized that now in looking at that photo. And speaking of outfits, the one Jack is wearing here was one of my absolute favourites. The hood on the sweatshirt had little ears and there was a Pooh logo on the front. Awwww!

White Eyes

This morning when I looked in the mirror, I saw this: Old. And Tired.

Both of which were confirmed by Jack as I lifted him up to his stool for breakfast. He said, "Mummy are you tired?" and I said Yes. He said, "I know, I see red lines all over your white eyes"!!!

Thanks bud. I appreciate the support. I'm off to put some cold spoons on my red-lined white eyes.

Scaling Back for Christmas

My friend Linda sent me this as an email. I laughed for half an hour.

Christmas is tight this year, so I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

Materials Needed:

* 4 Maxi-Pads (more for super-plush models)
* Tape or Glue
* Items to Embellish

Instructions:
You need four maxi pads to make a pair of slippers. Two of them get laid out flat in front of you, for the sole of the foot. The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top of the slipper. Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Now you have a pair of slippers you can embellish. Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, charms, beads, silk flowers, etc.

You can attach a gift card to your slippers with these descriptions:

* Slippers for the descrete woman (or man who is comfortable with his masculinity).
* Soft and hygenic.
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles.
* Built in deodorant feature to keep feet smelling fresh.
* No more bending over to mop up spills.
* Disposable, biodegradable, and environmentally safe.
* Comes in 3 convenient sizes: Regular, Light day, and SUPER Absorbent.

By the way, because of their absorbent nature, these are not especially good to use at the Y or other shower areas. Home use only is recommended.

Friday Fill-Ins #15

1. Snow is awesome and I hope we get some soon.

2. I'm looking forward to - duh - Christmas!

3. Cheese is the best food ever!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is Friends.

5. I'm done with Shopping. Already.

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is shortbread.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing the boys with Santa, tomorrow my plans include the annual Christmas par-tay with our good friends and Sunday, I want to try to sort through the piles of stuff in my closet to see what I have actually bought already!

Why I am Evil

The boys and I drew two stockings out of the pile at Jack's preschool to fill up for underprivileged children - specifically, for two 11-year-old boys. They are kind of difficult to buy for at that age, but I felt so bad seeing that whole pile of empty stockings that I had to take two to fill.

I went to the mall and got a pile of stuff for each of them...

...but here is my confession.

I ate the chocolate bars that I bought for these poor boys' stockings. In the car before I even made it home. Both of them. I am going straight to Hell.