My Feet Have A Dream

Every tootsie's gotta dream.....
You know that thing about how girls are supposed to be obsessed with shoes? Yeah. I'm not. I mean, I have a bunch of shoes but its nowhere near an obsession, I basically can't hack high heels at all and none of the shoes I own are of any value....most of them aren't even purchased new. Hello estate sale shoes! Hello Goodwill wonders!

But...BUT....then there are these shoes. *sigh* I've been thinking about them for months. They're kind of my dream shoes. Hand made, custom fit to my crazy high arch, sausage toed, super wide feet, a grassroots company where they're working with real, natural leather right here on the East Coast. I realize the shoes are 150 dollars a pair but they are far more versatile and in my opinion more romantic than any runway Leboutins. I waffle back and forth between wistfully daydreaming about a pair of West Indians or a set of New Chinese in that rich, classic brown color. They may be most the ideal, perfect, crunchy chick shoe ever conceived.... forget Birkenstocks and Dansko clogs!

I see a visit to their workshop in my future. Aurora, New York...I'm coming sometime soon!

Guilty Pleasures!

List time!

Today: Guilty Pleasures

All those rotten little ways I shamelessly indulge and never tell anyone except for....um...all of you. Shhhh.......

1. I love Kentucky Fried Chicken's popcorn chicken with "honey" mustard dipping sauce....it makes everything okay again. Not every branch has it and no single restaurant seems to carry it with regularity which makes it a maddening sort of addiction, never mind that its totally non-healthy fast food to boot. Heh.
2. I read People.com sometimes and *wince wince wince* even Star.com from time to time. Totally dumb, totally superficial and sooooo not my thing really but, I can't help it. Somehow, it is a fluffy little distraction that makes me feel better on days when my own hectic life is too overwhelming. Lets all spend a little time reading about the latest wacky moves of Tom Cruise, shall we? 
3. I like to occasionally buy pre-forced, almost blooming potted bulbs in the spring and plop them in my garden like I actually grew them....then they bloom and I feel cool and the garden is insta-pretty. 
4. I sometimes plan out houses that I would like to have go up for sale in certain neighborhoods and then I stalk them to see if it worked yet. Once in a while it does. So far nothing has been the right size or price but, its a fun little hobby.
5. I like to read juvenile literature. Not perpetually, that gets mind numbing...but, from time to time, pretty regularly I pick one up because it puts my mind in a simpler, cozier place.
6. I don't shower often (mommyhood and all) but I'm afraid when I do, I take looooooong showers. I used to be a very quick shower girl...kinda prided myself on it. Not so much anymore. When showers happen, I dwell on them.
7. I use my laptop in bed....every day.
8. I buy Quilted Northern Ultra toilet paper which is a ridiculous indulgence but, its not the most expensive brand in existence and it makes me feel luxurious. I like soft tp, I could never buy Scott unless our budget demanded it for survival. 
9. I send my ironing out whenever I get in over my head and life seems like too much. I've been sending it out for the past month and I'm not sure when I'll be ready to take it on again.
10. I have gotten quite accustomed to always having ice in my water glass, now that we have one of those fancy fridges with an ice machine implanted in the door....crushed ice, mind you.
11. If KFC has no popcorn chicken...or if I am too teary to make it all the way to KFC or remember where the nearest one is...french fries from McDonald's with extra ketchup will make it all okay again too.
12. Peonies are a very expensive cut flower but, they are worth the money. I will almost always buy some if I see them...unless they're really sad looking. I'm a sucker for that sweet, lemony scent.
13. I will overspend (if allowed) on local produce.
14. I have an alarming number of cookbooks. I haven't the room to store them all...this is one of the reasons why I need a bigger kitchen...room for the culinary library.
15. I sometimes use A's electric razor to shave my legs to make up for the fact that I don't have time for a full up shower. It works so beautifully! I try to be contentious about cleaning it and putting it away afterwords! (I hope that's okay, Honey!)

Small Faults and Foibles

List time! This time a short catalog of some of my smaller, sillier flaws.

33 Things I Still Screw Up All The Time

1. I still can't remember my own brother's birthday. Its either the 22nd of July or the 25th...I think. I remember what year he was born! What can I say.
2. I can't remember what blood pressure numbers mean without looking them up. My midwife says, "Great! 112 over...something-or-other!" and I look at her blankly. EVERY SINGLE APPOINTMENT. Blast. 
3. I am interested in government, I care about politics, I vote contentiously and I even enjoy watching West Wing in my spare time but I have no idea who the real-life Secretary of State is or the the current Chief of Staff. *wince*
4. I am still, almost always perpetually late to appointments...even though I try really hard now, have worn watches, own a cell with reminder system and built in clock, keep lists and carry a personal calendar. A's great bane.
5. I try to eat well but, wow do I still love KFC's popcorn chicken. Totally addicting.
6. I don't exercise. I hate exercise. I hate myself for hating exercise but I do. I hate my muscles hurting, I hate that ache in my side, I hate being around ultra-fit gym rats, I hate sweating. I do like yoga.
7. I can't work combination locks. I carried all of my books all the way through my public high school years rather than ever try to learn how to use my locker combination. I am also a wimp about humiliation.
8. I have a terrible ear. I have good tone and I really love music but, I have a hard time hearing what "in tune" is and my pitch wobbles all over the place. I'm totally mortified by this and I'm pretty embarrassed actually to sing in front of people because I feel powerless to even know when I'm making a fool out of myself. (and other reasons why I'll never make it on Broadway)
9. I never change the sheets often enough. I always mean to but, yeah. 
10. I have very, very low tolerance for road rage. I think its completely intolerable. How's that for slightly absurd?
11. My husband works in software and honestly, I have a hard time remembering if its Silicone or Silicon Valley. I try to avoid that word. 
12. I don't really know all of my times tables.
13. I buy brown rice, ready-made and frozen in boxes at Trader Joe's and almost never make it from scratch. Its so much quicker and easier and so versatile...plus its a convenience food I feel fairly moral about eating.
14. I can't keep its and it's straight in my head. A hates this one too.
15. I never remember to lock the door, turn off the thermostat when opening windows or check to make sure all the burners on the stove are off.
16. I buy magazines newsstand. And I even realize its a humongous waste of money. *wince wince wince*
17. I want to live organically, I am leaning towards earth mother chic and purposely buy the lowest chemical shampoos and conditioners I can find for my family but, I bleach my hair.
18. I basically never exfoliate my feet and they're pretty dry and calloused.
19. I let my sons get dirt under their fingernails and hardly ever comb their hair.
20. I bathe but once a week myself...if I'm lucky.
21. I am a genuine college graduate (bachelor's degree anyhow) and I have never made myself a real resume.
22. I always take out my earrings before bed but sometimes I leave on my make-up.
23. I hate prioritizing To Do Lists. I just refuse. 
24. I don't like much in the way of Christian style writing despite being committedly Christian myself.
25. I think lavender is stinky.
26. I don't know how to make fudge. I've tried a million times but, it always is horrible. My mother-in-law makes amazing fudge. This is very handy for A.
27. I can't pull off khakis decently. They make me look frumpy, fat or just dorky.
28. I don't understand football or baseball beyond the basic, "both teams try to make points by kicking/hitting ball in the appropriate direction."
29. I never really "got" U2 or The Dave Matthews Band.
30. I rarely go to bed with a shining sink, empty of all dirty dishes. 
31. I can't be bothered to learn or even write down my own sisters addresses. I call them from the Post Office a lot ("So, Foxy....here I am with a Sharpie, at the Post Office drop box and I'm wondering if I can get your address.")
32. I can never remember to air-dry our underwear or bathing suits, yeah they all end up in the dryer tumbling around on high heat just like everything else...every single time.
33. I have always been a lousy swimmer. I can swim but, I'll never go Olympic, that's for sure.

So, there you have it. I'm just that human.