Ten Shoes

My mother-in-law's 70th birthday is Saturday. We're throwing her a fancy schmancy party at a really nice hotel. It'll rival a wedding reception and should actually be pretty fun. Well, we all know what going to a big party means....new shoes!!!

Yesterday, I went shoe shopping for the hundredth time this week. Any other time, I'd have to talk myself OUT of shoes, now that I actually want to buy a pair, I can't find any. I bought this pair yesterday, but am still on the fence about taking them back. They're satin and are crazy comfy, but....the price. It hurts. I tried on about 12 others, but since it's a ten things list, I'll show you only 9.

These beauties, full out FMP's if you ask me, were a wee bit tall to wear all night. As were the slingback version.


These next ones were in the "buy" stack for awhile and I might still go get them if they go on sale....but they are a wee bit casual for the outfit I bought. The leather isn't as shiny, almost "distressed."
Loved these next ones, but I couldn't walk without looking like a duck.
One of the other salespeople threw these at me when it became obvious I couldn't walk well in any heel over 3 inches. They also aren't dressy enough. Or my toes are fat. Whatever.


I loved these next two pair, but my high arches don't much dig the strap.

These were just boring.
These are the ones I really want, if I can promise myself I won't fall. The heel is really skinny.
So, I'll likely be in and out of every single store in the city between now and Saturday. For shoes I don't really need. But don't tell Mr. Snob that, I told him I NEED them. Like a flower needs water, like all creatures need the sun, like peanut butter needs jelly....

(P.S. I'm sticking with Mr. Snob. I took his name, he can take mine in the land of the Internet.)

International Order of The Phoenix Trailer

My interview

Mrs. Chili has the best meme-y thingys! She was interviewed, then offered to interview anyone else who wanted. Of course I wanted! Now I can say I was once interviewed by the world famous Mrs. Chili. How many of you can say that?!?! On with the interview:

1. You have an appointment with the All Knowing, All Seeing. What five SPECIFIC questions do you want answered (and I'm not talking like "why is there suffering in the world?" I'm talking more like "How exactly DID those pyramids get built?")?
1. Why do you create such wonders (The Amazon for example), then teach us how to destroy it? 2. Would John F. Kennedy have been the greatest President in history had he not been assassinated? 3. Why are my legs so short? 4. Who really built Stonehenge? 5. Why do you make it rain after I wash my car? Oh, okay, after my husband washes my car? (That's why, isn't it?)

2. What part of your body WOULDN'T you change? What are you delighted with (or, failing that, what do people consistently compliment you on)?
My eyes - they have very unique coloring - green, grey, hints of blue, brown. Hazel is the official name, but they change color depending on my mood and I think that's cool.

3. What can you absolutely not stand?
The obvious answer is poor grammar. But it's true, really. Even as a child poor grammar usage would make my skin crawl. Nothing makes one sound less intelligent than spewing forth poor grammar.

4. If you were forced into the Witness Protection Program and could
live anywhere in the world, where would you ask to be relocated to?
Somewhere warm, but not too warm. Sunny, but the occasional rain shower. Metropolitan, but not too crowded. Waterfront, but no threat of earthquakes or tsunamis. Sheesh, I really am high maintenance!

5. If you could actually BE a character in a movie or television show
- if that person actually existed - with whom would you want to switch
lives?
Love this question! Donna Moss from The West Wing. She is much smarter than she first appears. She's hilariously funny, faithful and loyal to the Nth degree, both shy and confident at the same time. In the end, and after much doubt, she gets both her man AND her dream job. She is the epitome of perseverance. (And it's only a little bit weird that I talk about her like I know her or something!)

Would you like me to send you some questions? I would love to! I always thought I'd make a decent journalist.

Ten Blue Things

I feel like maybe I should leave today alone as we all gather our thoughts about the tragedy at Virginia Tech, but I will write, because writing soothes me. Then I will go right back to reading some more news.

We are all drawn to different colors. Blue is my color. It is also the color for my e-friend, O'Mama. I'm using her recent story about blue as my inspiration for this week's Ten Things. Here are ten of my favorite blue things.

1. My new cell phone.








2. Blue hooded sweatshirt with "Coca-cola" logo.
3. Fuzzy blue socks.
4. Hairsticks with blue beads.
5. Favorite blue jeans.
6. Blue Sharpie marker.
7. Toledo Mud Hens (their uniforms are blue).
8. A beautiful blue sky.
9. Some of Monet's Waterlilies paintings have wonderful blues in them.










10. Blue Coach handbag.

That mom

We all want our kids to be smart. We're not shy about that. We tend to not say the things out loud that we also want....please don't let her be ugly. Please let her teeth be relatively straight, her nose not too crooked, her feet not too flat, her eyebrows to be separate. Oh, laugh all you want, but Booger, at age 5, has a raging uni brow. So much so that I'm trying to figure out if Child Services would be called if I took her to get it waxed before she starts Kindergarten. I really don't want the other moms to look at the school composite photo and say, oh, who is that poor girl with the uni brow? Parents are brutal. Oh, she's a lovely girl, but that uni brow? Sheesh, you would think her mother would DO something about that. Maybe electrolysis would be a more efficient way to go.

I've had my nose stuck in a book pretty much my entire life. I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't reading for pleasure. My summers as a kid were not spent outside running around, instead up in my room reading everything I could get my hands on. I was at the library nearly every day in the summer. My mom is a reader as was her mom. Now, my mom and I are both only children, so I'm sure that explains some of it. But, I think, when raised to appreciate the written word, it rubs off on you. In this electronic age we live in, I make an extra effort to share the written word with Booger. We head to the bookstore at least once a month and Mr. Snob takes her to the library after he picks her up from preschool at least twice a month. She is already a born reader. I knew she knew many of her "sight words" as the teachers call them....a, an, the, good, dog, etc. But today, she picked up a book and just started reading it out loud. It wasn't Tolstoy or anything, but Green Eggs and Ham is sure as hell a good place to start. I was so proud of her I almost cried. I'm afraid I'm turning into that mom...you know the one - the one who never shuts the hell up about her kid. Being proud is one thing, and you know that I am...I'm just trying not to cross the line, you know? So, sure she's reading, but I can't teach her to somehow keep from using her knees as brakes - damn near every pair of jeans have holes in the knees.

On another note, Mr. Snob doesn't much dig his name here on the ol' blog. To be honest, I didn't really think he read it all that often, but seems like I was mistaken. I'll be working on another name for him, I guess - SuperHusband seems a bit much, no?

Ten Things

I know I've been neglecting you, my friends. I seem to be suffering a bit of...well, not writer's block, because there are many stories to tell. I just can't put my thoughts into proper sentences or something. Anyway, it doesn't matter because I get to do a ten things list!

This week, I think I'll go literary since I spent an hour or so yesterday purging my bookshelves. 2 large boxes are by the door for a trip to the used bookstore. It is funny how there are some books that I simply can't and won't part with.

Instead of listing 10 favorites, which I don't think I can do....I'm going to list 10 I found on the shelves that I still need to read. In no particular order.

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Nightime - Mark Haddon
2. Eragon - Christopher Paolini
3. Eldest - Christopher Paolini
4. The Constant Gardener - John LeCarre
5. The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
6. The Hours - Michael Cunningham
7. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (I think I read it in High School, but can't remember)
8. Tell No One - Harlan Coben
9. A Map of the World - Jane Hamilton
10. Moneyball - Michael Lewis

These are just the first ones I came to that I haven't read. Have you read them? Are they great or snoozers? Many are old that were shoved in the back and all dusty!

Mrs. Chili, is it proper to simply italicize the title, or should it be underlined?

Ten Things

I have always loved musicals, so this week I'm going to list 10 of my favorite songs from musicals. They're not in any special order, just writing them as they come to mind. I'm limiting myself to one song per musical, just to add some variety!

1. Maybe~Annie
2. My Favorite Things~Sound of Music
3. For Good~Wicked
4. Almost Like Being In Love~Brigadoon
5. Do You Love Me~Fiddler on the Roof
6. All I Ask of You~Phantom of the Opera
7. You Won't Succeed On Broadway~Spamalot
8. On My Own~Les Miserables
9. Oh What A Beautiful Morning~Oklahoma
10. Camelot~Camelot

What are your favorites?

Perspective

Funny how losing your job helps you adjust your focus. My last day isn't for awhile yet, but I'm choosing to be be positive about this. At least mostly. So, I'm focusing my energy on the house. Cleaning, purging, organizing...I'm a whirling dervish. So far I've emptied 3 large garbage bags of trash from the office, 1 from my bedroom, and 4 from the garage. I've sorted and organized the hutch in the dining room and gathered long-lost laundry off my closet floor. I've cleaned out my car and rearranged the furniture in the living room. Wow - now that I'm writing it out, I feel even more productive! I'm working on a list of "to do's" while I'm off. I refuse to allow myself to slump into a funk - I WILL use this time to get things done I've needed/wanted to do for ages and just not had the time. In order to be less likely to not do them, I think I'll share some with you. So you can nag me and remind me to be productive. Here are a few, in no particular order.

~Remove wallpaper border and paint the kitchen.
~Completely sort through my closet and donate clothes that don't fit/aren't in style.
~Paint bathroom.
~Buy boxes of all the same size, rebox/sort/pitch things in the garage.
~Create filing system more useful for household finances.
~Sort bookshelves and boxes and boxes and BOXES of books - donate the ones I'm not attached to - do you think Hospice will take them? I remember seeing a "lending library" when I was there last.
~Repair wall/paint the dining room
~Consider painting all the hodge podge/mis-matched dressers in the bedroom to match each other.

This is just the beginning. I should feel tired and overwhelmed, but so far, I'm excited.