Happy Feet

An alternate title to this post could be: "How I Justify Spending More Than My Monthly Car Payment on a Pair of Shoes."

Ack!

So, I've been looking for a pair of boots for the fall/winter. And I'm INSANELY picky when it comes to what I wear (that is not to say that I'm fashion-conscious... it's more to say that I know what I DON'T like, which is a lot).

I've essentially been scouring the internet for a pair of lace-up combat(ish)/workboot(ish) brown boots. And again, that's not to say that I knew exactly what I wanted, but I certainly knew what I didn't want. This does not make it easy to find good boots, folks. And I started reading reviews of some that I liked the look of that were reasonably-priced, but most of the reviews said things like "cheaply-made," "the soles starting falling apart after two weeks," etc. Plus, the idea of buying shoes without trying them on makes me want to vomit a little- it's too risky.

The other thing about me is that I expect a lot out of my clothing. I envisioned this pair of boots as wearing many different hats (ha!). I wanted to be able to wear them to work under my flared jeans, and I wanted to be able to wear them with skinny jeans and skirts/dresses for gigs. I also wanted something that would keep my little toes warm when it's cold, and I wanted something that would hold up in inclement weather. I also wanted to be able to try on a pair before taking the plunge. And I wanted all of this for around $50.

Well, I was walking around the shopping area near where I work on Tuesday before dinner with a girlfriend, and then I saw them: THE boots, in the window of a local shoe boutique. They were beautiful, and they looked like the boots of my feet's dreams. But, I was sure the local boutique was expensive (they all are around here), so after several minutes of drooling, I walked on my way, in my boring, cheapy shoes. But, I passed them again on Wednesday, and I contemplated walking in to try them on, but, I knew I needed to get home to workout, shower, and eat before heading to band practice. So, once again, I left them.

On Thursday, while out for a walk on lunch, I meandered my way towards the boutique, and, to my horror, the boots were no longer in the window.

That got my butt through the door. And there, on the shelf, were THE boots. I picked up the one on display and noticed that they were lined with wool (mmmm, toasty toes!), that they were waterproofed (wearable in inclement weather), and that they looked killer. Plus, they were made well (something I'm not always used to, as I'm cheap). I spoke with the sales lady, and she went back to get a pair for me to try on (only two pairs in my size were left!). And I put my foot in the right one and laced it up, and good lord, it was comfortable. And you can either wear them all the way laced up or fold the top part down (apparently, this is stylish). I spoke with the saleswoman about how they would last for years, and then I looked at the (ack!) pricetag. Ack! These boots were worth a pretty penny (although, I noticed that there were boots in the store twice as expensive!). So, I told the woman about how I got paid on Friday and I left the boots there.

Today (Friday), I went by after having asked for my mom's advice (she said to spend the money if I will wear them for at least two seasons), my sister's advice (she reminded me of the Friends episode where Monica HAS to have a pair of boots and then they are so uncomfortable she can barely walk, but then encouraged me to treat myself), and pretty much anyone else who would listen to me (I did not have one person advise me not to buy them!) and bought them! Yay payday! Yay new boots! I'm very happy with my decision, to say the least. Talk about a pick-me-up after a long week! These boots are Scrumtrulescent!

Check 'em out:

So, the top layer folds down and can snap into place...

And the lining can fold down too, if you want!

Did I mention that my feet will be very warm this winter?

On.

I think I may have mentioned this before, too: I'm excited for my new boots!

Well-Rounded

You know how "They (yes, the all-knowing Capital T people!)" tell you that it is important to be "well-rounded" in high school? "They" say that you need to be good at all of the subjects in academics, play an instrument, join a sports team, volunteer, participate in your family, work a part time job, and somehow find the time and energy to develop your social skills among your peers. "They" want you to be able to show that you are proficient at many things, and that you are able to juggle.

All of this, of course, is so that you can trick "Them" into letting you into a good college (because you were never really truly interested in all those activities you poured yourself into), where you are supposed to forget that well-rounded Bull-Patuckey (yes, that is the Scientific term) and immediately jump head-first into one, single subject. You're supposed to drink lots and lots of coffee while contemplating things related to that subject. You're supposed to spend your energy becoming proficient in that one thing (and not in many things, as in high school). And you're supposed to love it. Once you're done with majoring in that one, single subject, you are then expected to get a job related to your "field of expertise" and spend the rest of your waking days obsessing over, and making money from, that one, single subject. Who knows? You may even make a lasting contribution to that one, single subject, as you spent so much of your precious time, energy, and passion on it.

Well, I've recently figured out that I do not fit in to this grand scheme that society has steered me towards, and you know why? I'm not happy only focusing on one thing. In fact, I'm miserable that way. Perhaps this means I'm somehow stuck in high school. But, I want to do a zillion-million things all at once, and I don't care if it means that I'll never be an expert at any of them. Sorry Society, I won't be one of those truly useful people you were trying to make me. Shucks. I guess someone else will be propelling you ahead of other societies with their contributions.

Seriously though! I don't get these people who are able to focus all their energy onto one thing! Maybe I'm ADD or something, I dunno. I need to do all the things I'm doing, even if it's so much that I'm often overwhelmed. I need to be working a full-time job, writing freelance, playing in a band, exercising regularly, taking an online class, traveling, learning a new instrument, learning to sail, enjoying girls' nights out with my girlfriends, all while working hard at being a good girlfriend, friend, and family-member and a loving, responsible pet-owner. I mean, as soon as one thing on the list goes away, my brain automatically starts trying to find something else to add. And the "hobbies" I've gone through are a little ridiculous: Jewelry-making, painting, growing herbs, learning the fiddle... the list goes on. One of the only few that has stuck, actually, is blogging (You lucky, lucky readers you...)!

And I've decided that I'm ok being this way. I'm not amazingly good at any one thing, but I'm Well-Rounded and proud of it!

I Shrugged

I think I've mentioned more than once that I've been watching the show Ally McBeal lately. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's essentially a show about a law firm. But not just any law firm. A cool, fun, sometimes musical law firm. The main character is a little self-centered, and slightly insane, and she dances and sings off her frustrations. And she randomly hears Al Green and Gladys Knight, and characters hear and dance to Barry White, and it's awesome (not to gush!).

Anyways, it's one of those things that comes along that makes you (me) look at life in a slightly different way. It makes me want to dance (which I never, never, never, never (soberly) do). It makes me want to buy every Motown album I can find and spend hours dancing in my living room singing into my hairbrush. It makes me want to be a little more optimistic than I am. It makes me want to make a concious effort to enjoy life more.

It sounds silly, but, sometimes something little like a movie or a book can really profoundly influence me.

When I was at the height (or depth?) of the depression I experienced, I happened to pick up Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I had actually started my own little project to get in as many "must-reads" on my own time (on top of the reading I was doing for class) as I could. Plus, I love big, fat novels that seem like they will never end. And Atlas Shrugged is 1,069 pages long... Anyways, the point is, I read the book at the exact moment in my life when I needed to. And by that I mean this: I was feeling worthless- like there was nothing anyone could possibly see in me that was positive. I felt weak and helpless. I felt alone and misunderstood. I needed help.

Dagny Taggart, the main character in the book, is a strong, confident woman who derives her self worth from within- from her own abilities and intelligence. She knows that she deserves good things out of life. I found a role model of sorts... someone (though fictional) who felt about herself what I wanted so desperately to feel about myself. And you know what? It helped me. No, I wasn't "cured" by it, but, I was able to get a little upward momentum that I needed. And that, my friends, is really something.

So, I know Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand in particular tend to spark controversy (especially by people who've never read her!), but, all I'm saying is that I needed to find something to latch on to at the time, and this characater in this book was it. She inspired me to be a little better than I was.

And I don't feel too weird about admitting that these fictional items have had such an influence on my life outlook, mainly because all art is created by real human beings with something to say (and offer).

Appeasing the Wind Gods

Chris and I went sailing on Sunday. Well, I say "sailing," but what I mostly mean is floating... we had very little wind to work with. In fact, we spent most of the time sitting still and baking in the afternoon sun. Chris mentioned that, when he used to go sailing with his uncle as a kid, they used to sing songs to try to convince the wind to start blowing. So, we started singing a little. I tried the song "Annabel Lee" was named after, and Chris sang a sea shanty. And... it didn't work. I also tried blowing on the jib, but that didn't work either (and I almost passed out).

At one point, we saw lots of Cat's Paws in the middle of the lake, and we knew we had to get over to them in order to get our boat butts moving (I had never heard the term "Cat's Paws" until Chris informed me that it refers to the small rippled look the water gets when a breeze is moving over top of it). It's like there are a bunch of invisible kitties tip-toeing across the water.

So, I grabbed the kayak paddle and tried to get us over to them kitties.

But, once we got there, we sort of sailed back-and-forth (the wind kept shifting) a little, and that was it. So, we did our best to get to the marina. At this point, Chris was very sunburned, and I was attractively bronzed.

And, of course, as soon as we got to the marina and tied up the boat, etc, those Cat's Paws turned into Lion's Paws. Oh well, hopefully someone took advantage of the good wind (although, it rained a little bit later in the afternoon).

Between my two times out on the boat, I now have experience on scary, high winds and on boring, zero wind. I decided that I'd take Terror over Boredom any day!

Lawn Games, Shopping, and Beers- Oh My!

Well, I don't know about you folks, but my three-day weekend was jam-packed! And it flew by... sigh.

Friday night, Chris took me on a date. We got pizza and then went to a concert, as Chris won tickets (second time this summer!). The headliner was The Hold Steady, and boy, did they suck. I know I'm a music snob and all, but I'm talkin' for serious here, people- the band was AWFUL. We walked out after three songs. And three beers...

Saturday, we drove up to my dad's house for a lawn games party, which was a lot of fun. I don't know if you all remember my post on the game Kubb, but, I finally got to play again! The first game I played, I came back from behind and beat Chris. Cuz I'm awesome. Then, I played a game of horseshoes with my dad. I lost, but, I got a ringer! THEN, we played a game of bocce on the gigantic bocce court that my dad built for the party. It was pretty amazing. Then we played a game of Corn Hole. I can't say "corn hole" without flinching...

We got back late from the lawn games party and then collapsed into bed.

On Sunday, my mom and her partner came to town. They took Chris and I out to lunch at an AMAZING(!) Mediterranean restaurant, and we had a nice, long, leisurely lunch. Then, we dropped Chris off at the house so we could go shopping! I got a really nice dress from J. Crew (new favorite store!), which I'm quite excited about. My mom also brought down some goodies from the grocery store (woo!).

That night, Chris cooked the flank steak my mom brought, and we threw some leeks on the grill as well. It was probably the best steak Chris has ever made.

Monday, we got up and drove to Fredericksburg. One of Chris's friends was there for the day, so we decided (on a whim... how spontaneous of us!) to drive there for the day. We walked around the historical part of town and then went to a place called the Capital Ale House. This place has 300 beers, 60 of which are on tap. AND, their bar has this big strip of ice that you can place your beer on between gulps so that it stays cold- pretty cool. Needless to say, I drank a few.

THEN (yes, there's a "then!"), Chris and I went to a concert at a local venue. This time, the show was unbelievably good. Everyone should check out Gary Clark, Jr. He's like Smokey Robinson, Jimi Hendrix, and Chuck Berry all rolled into one. We had so much fun, despite the exhausting weekend.

After that, I collapsed (again) into bed and then got up to go to work in what seemed like the blink of eye.

Oh my!

How were your Labor Day weekends?