Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

I love a good pair of shoes, I mean, what girl doesn't?? I love a good pair of shoes so much that I have quite a few pairs of good shoes. I'm sure my husband wishes I didn't have as many good pairs of shoes.

 Door rack. Stellar invention.

I've always been a shoe girl. At one point in high school I had over 40 pairs. To the math-minded person out there who is quickly calculating how much this could possibly cost, rest assured that not a single pair was bought at full price! As much as I love good shoes, I love a good bargain even more. What typically happens is I find a pair of shoes I really like and wait until they go on sale to buy them. What's the point in paying full price if in a few weeks it'll be on clearance? And if they don't have your size the chance of finding them on eBay is pretty high.

Yesterday, I posted about my new found love of running, but something I failed to mention in that post was the shoes I run with. I've tried many different running/exercise shoes and I figured out pretty darn quickly that the wrong shoes can make for a very painful workout. I tried just about every brand from cheap to superbly over-the-top expensive and my favorites by far are Reebok Runtones. I know how silly they look with their little padded bottoms, but they've outlasted all the others by months AND keep me going on a good run. I could truly care less about their "shaping techniques". They could fly me to the moon and I wouldn't care as long as got me through my runs. There's something to be said for that!

Of course they're pink. Would you expect anything else?

I spend about 95% of my day on me feet (the other 5%? That's the few precious minutes at lunch that my poor little feet get some rest!) so good shoes are a must. Some of my favorite "school shoes" are Sanita Clogs. They may not be the most beautiful things in the world, but they are about the only shoes that I can wear and not end the day in pain. I currently have three pairs of these clunkers and couldn't be happier!

Another type of shoes I have multiples of are Jack Rogers. I positively adore these precious sandals! As much as I'm into comfort in shoes, I must warn any newbies to break them in! I made the rookie of wearing mine around State's campus right after I got them and I had two heel-sized blisters for a week. They are fabulous, but do require some wearing in. The price tag can be a shocker, but my dear friend eBay has always been there for me. I've never paid full price for a pair! They look great with sundresses or shorts and a tee. Any way you wear them is going to look fab.

And finally, who could forget the timeless Rainbows? As soon as I discovered these I began building my collection. These are some of the most comfortable, durable shoes I've ever owned. I love cracking them out as soon as the weather turns warm enough to not get funny looks!

Bag of sandals (too small for door rack) with well-loved Jack Rogers on top!

As you can see shoes are kinda my thang. Though, I am proud to say it's been a while since I've bought any new pairs. I guess once you've found some good ones you really don't need much else!

I'd love to hear all about your collections!

Running (Wo)Man

I have a confession . . . I kinda, sorta, sometimes like to run. There, I said it. Whew. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hardcore, run 10 miles a day kind of gal and it's not likely that I'll ever be. I totally still scoff and groan when people admit to running 20 miles a day (really?!? Who has that kind of time/focus any way?!), but now I understand how they get going. I'm perfectly content with my few miles a day. It's exactly what I need.

I've always like staying in shape and from age six until high school I used swimming to get there. Then, my junior year I hurt my rotator cuff and quickly figured out the pool was no longer going to be my outlet. I needed something new. Our neighborhood at the time had a greenway and that became my place. I'd head out there after school or early in the morning before work in the summer (I'm a morning workout chick all the way). While at State I found Lake Johnson trail and that quickly became my new space. It was close to the sorority house, and very close to David's apartment, so I could never use the excuse of it being too far. After graduation I was forced to start using a treadmill, and I learned it wasn't so horrible. I do prefer the backdrop of outdoor running trails, but a little HGTV while running ain't too shabby either.

I'm never going to run a crazy full-on marathon, heck running an entire 5k would put me over the moon. And, please don't ask me to run with you. It's not you, it's me. Running is my me-time. I get in my zone and go. Anyone else around would put me unto uber anxiety mode. This is what I imagine my brain would be like on a group run, "do I run funny? Am I going to fast? Too slow? When are we stopping? Should I be talking? Should I shut up?" etc, etc. This completely defeats the purpose. But now I get why people do that. I get the point of it, and maybe one day I'll work up the courage to get there too. Until then, I'm happy doing my solo running thang.

Perhaps this confession will just what I need to push myself to the next level. I'm currently working on my endurance and stance. Considering I was a swimmer I have, like, negative endurance. It just ain't there. As soon as I poop out, I quit. Gotta work on not being so lame. In regards to my stance, I need to fix it, oh yesterday. I look ridiculously funny while I run, which is another reason to avoid running with other people like the plague. Any and all suggestions on these goals would be appreciated, and who knows, maybe I'll see you out running!

Little Boys Make Noise

That is a sign hanging in the room of a set of twins I just started nannying for and it couldn't be any more true! I started working as an interim nanny for a family in a nearby neighborhood and I am so grateful for the opportunity. These boys are three of the sweetest, silliest, funniest little ones I have ever been blessed enough to spend time with. Coming from a big family I have always been the babysitter. You could say I was raised to be around kiddos. Perhaps that's why I'm one of the crazy few to become a teacher, hmmmm.

I started babysitting for a family when I was only eleven years old, and was with them as an evening sitter and summertime nanny for almost seven years. From then on I booked my Friday and Saturday evenings with various jobs. It got to the point that I had to recruit some siblings to help me keep up. I have always loved kids of all ages. I would never want to teach younger than middle school because though everyone thinks middle schoolers are crazy, they've got nothin' on the elementary kids. There is something to be said for snuggling up with a little one and reading them a story, but I'll stick to my lessons filled with jokes and pop culture allusions. It hasn't always been stories and snuggles though (a crying baby in a throw-up covered crib comes to mind. . .), but the fun outweighs any bad that could ever pop up.

In all the families that I have ever been with I have never been a nanny for a family with all boys. Let me tell you boys, boys are their own characters. Girls are much more content to color and play with their dolls, while boys on the other hand are all about dirt and digging. At least these boys are. The boys I'm with for the next few weeks are definitely going to keep me on my toes with their energy and excitement, and I'm glad for that. Too much resting this summer and I'd forget how to always be on the go! If anyone has any fun activities for little boys, I'm all ears:-)

Patriotic Pie

In honor of our nation's birthday I made this yummy treat. While mine didn't turn out like the picture in the magazine it certainly did not disappoint! Give it a go for any holiday by just switching the jello colors.

1 1/2 cups of boiling water

1 package (3 oz.) blue jello

1 cup of ice cubes

1 graham cracker pie crust

1 package (3 oz.) red jello

1 cup, thawed cool whip topping

Mix 3/4 cups of the boiling water to the blue jello. Stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved.

Add 1/2 cup ice cubes. Stir until melted.

Pour into crust; Refrigerate 5-10 minutes or until set (but not firm).

Repeat to dissolve red jello in separate bowl.

Stir remaining ice cubes with red jello.

Cool 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Spread cool whip over blue jello. 

Cover with red jello.

Refrigerate 2 hours, or until set.

Enjoy!

Two Days in Heaven

Good morning all! As I write this I am enjoying a delicious cup of Vanilla Biscotti coffee (yum!) on our back "porch" (more like a mini-balcony) with the pup at my feet. Does it get much better than this?? The ridiculous humidity of July in North Carolina hasn't hit just yet so I'm soaking is as much of this beautiful morning as I can. My sweet husband is still curled up in bed enjoying his morning off from work.

The view from my seat
(She's pretending to be ferocious at the birds if you're wondering)

The reason we're both home today is because my brother is graduating from Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA this morning and we were supposed to be there. Due to some silly rule about only having five guests, we were voted off the island. Something about getting married and growing up cuts you out of family events. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I understand military protocol and not wanting swarms of people there, but what about us gigantor families?? I mean we start off with seven, add a husband (also known at the 6th Wardlet, te he he), and two girlfriends (Harrison's and TJ's) and we're automatically up to our own baseball team. I'm super bummed that we couldn't be there this morning though from the triplet reports the 5am wake up yesterday and today were nothing to miss. We will be heading to Winston this afternoon to greet them upon their arrival and celebrate TJ's accomplishments tomorrow at a cookout.

It seems that our summer schedule has us going every which way on the weekends. During the school year I am so drained on the weekends that corralling the energy to travel is quite a feat, so we're trying to make up for it this summer. Of the nine weekends between the end of school and the start of teacher workdays we have traveled/are traveling seven, but one of the off weekends doesn't really count because we will be hosting bacoodles of people at our tee-niney apartment. Yea, so we're a bit busy. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for the opportunities to see new places and visit with old favorites, but part of me is wondering if the school year will be a bit of a reprieve.

I’m thankful for the weekend
But two days in heaven just ain’t gonna do.

-James Otto