I have a shoe problem

I never, ever thought I would say I have a shoe problem.

 I am the LAST person in the world to collect shoes. In the past I have seriously found a pair of shoes I liked and worn them to death, owning just a few other specialty shoes as needed (like sneakers, rain and snow boots).

However, about 2 years ago when I began having foot problems (anyone remember angry ankle and arch?), I discovered Danskos. 

After I got out of my ankle boot cast, I started wearing these because they had excellent arch support and I could fit my foot into them with my arch support wrap (that has an air bladder under the arch to keep it in place).

And wow, were they comfy!

But then winter came and I needed something more shoe-like, so i decided to get a pair with a covered back. I really wanted the cherry red ones but I was too timid to get them so I got copper instead. 

And I wanted purple but they didn't have them in stock at the store I like to buy them at (Skinny Raven, for anyone wanting to shop in Anchorage), so I got blue. And I realized that having multiple pairs of Danskos was like having a favorite pair of shoes i wore to death, but in various colors, because they all feel the same and sooo comfy!

So, a year or so passed, and I was just browsing the Danskos site (as one does), and found these sweet babies:

And then, when I was at the store buying them, they happened to have purple in stock, so I got them too.

And then I realized as the warmer weather approached that I had no decent looking sandals for the summer, so the other day I got these:

(which look like salmon skin, or dinosaur skin, depending on your age and perspective) and are OHMYGAH comfy, they feel just like regular Danskos but are sandals.

And when i was checking out I realized that if I bought juuuust one more pair, I'd get a pair free, since my frequency card at Skinny Raven would be full. so how could I not, right??

So I bought these amazing puppies:

(limited edition, if I didn't get them now, they would be gone)

and finally felt confident enough to get these:

(which I am wearing today).

So, that's that then. 

Except I still have a wish list.

 
Help! Somebody call Candy Finnigan, I think I need an intervention.

Such is my life

The husband is away for a few days on business and I was feeling a bit low yesterday, so when the boy suggested Applebees for dinner (which he does almost every night and I say no almost every night), I said yes. It was 5:00 so I knew we would get a cheap meal by eating off the 1/2 price appetizers menu (indeed, we both ate and brought home leftovers for lunch today for $18).

I should have known not to go on a Tuesday. Our favorite waiter, Darrin, works Wed.-Sun.(we've been going to Applebees with the boy and sitting in Darrin's section since the day the boy got out of the NICU in 2005, so yeah, we're regulars. and Darrin treats us well because he was once a "guest' of the husband's when the husband worked in community corrections and says the husband was a nice, fair warden).

So, we had a guy I had never seen before, who was obviously new. it was not busy, and he only had three tables, but he took forever to come to us in the beginning then always looked rushed and disappeared for long periods of time.

When my food arrived it was cold and I had to flag down the manager to get it reheated. And then when it came back it was so hot I burned my mouth. That was not bad waiter's fault, but the next part was. Because the boy finished his soda! Darrin never lets us finish a soda without another one appearing. You only have to think "Gee, I'm almost finished this soda," and Darrin appears with a replacement. He's magic.

So, the boy finished his soda, and reached across the table for mine, and promptly knocked it over into my lap. And since the useless waiter had again disappeared, I was left to clean up the mess and wring out my jeans all alone (not that I wanted his help with the jeans part, but anyway).

All that to say, We should have just gone home and ordered pizza. (except I can't eat pizza these days because I have gone gluten free. But that's a story for another day.)

Well. It's been a while.

I've been at my new job 4 months now, and still love it. I spend my days designing ads and brochures and marketing displays and learning how to use software (indesign! photoshop! wordpress!). The people I work with and for are truly caring people and value my skills and experience and that makes all the difference in the world. I felt that way when I first arrived at Alaska magazine, but it slipped away as corporate took over and the good people left.

This was definitely a good move. Now I just have to figure out how to make those moves in my life without needing to be at crisis/breaking point. I need to recognize the signs and value my self enough to move on from situations before they take such a toll on my mental and physical health. (As I typed that I thought "Oh dear noodles, I've become my mother!" ha. But that's OK, I like my mom and I am learning the same lessons, just a bit faster than she did because I can see what she knows.).

My baby boy is getting ready to turn 7 and that is a bit shocking for me. He's lost both his front teeth and looks like a real kid now, not a baby at all any more. It's sad and cool at the same time.

I know some of you used to enjoy my Freelancing tips posts, and today, as I dealt with two different printing companies who surprised and exasperated me in turn, I discovered a whole new area of advice I can share:

Dear "professional" printing companies: Neither losing an estimate request nor ignoring the word "estimate" and telling me you misunderstood and it's already on the press schedule but you "might" be able to pull it, are good business models. Just sayin'.

Hi!

Wow, I haven't posted in a long time! i didn;t have the mental energy.

Things got really, really bad at work. Then they got worse. Then I quit.

I'm working now as the marketing and communications manager for a non-profit that provides before and after-school programming and summer camps. The same program the boy has been going to after school since his first day of kindergarten.

And. I. Love. It.

Everyone is nice and caring and the whole point is to provide quality programming for kids, whereas the whole point of my last job was to make money for an already filthy rich family. People here assume you know what you are doing until proven optherwise, which is the opposite of where I was. And we have a budget and are expected to spend it wisely, and not constantly asked to do more with less, and all profits go into improving services. Unlike...well, you get it.

I'm not sure how often I will post but I can feel my head rising above the water line.

So, HI!

sigh

I had a big, work-related disappointment on Friday and while I was OK all weekend, Monday morning is sitting on my chest like a lead weight. I am sad and angry and disillusioned.

How are you?

Wherein I become a gumpy 85-year-old woman and yell at kids to get off my lawn wiht their fancy "shoes"

OK, I admit haven't gone show shopping in a while and when I have it's been for Danskos and other angry-ankle/arch-friendly footwear.

Well, I might (might, might, just might) need to dress up in a real live business suit in the near future, so I am looking for more appropriate footwear (and clothes that actually fit, but that's another post). And I am shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED!!! by the "choices."

Somehow, while I was getting old, I mean "resting my ankle in bed," someone decided women needed to be wearing platform hooker shoes with 4-inch heels!

Examples:

(these ones are actually named "Promiscucous", yes, really.)

(ooh, look, they rolled these ones in peanuts, like a Dairy Queen cone!)

I'm going back to bed.

Relief

I suck at math.

I suck at money management.

I like to shop, especially when I am depressed.

That combination has been deadly for my family's budget (or lack thereof) over the years. And money is always a source of stress for me. We are never in danger of repossession or foreclosure or anything serious like that, but there are always bills that are 15 or 30 days late, overdraft fees, late fees, forgotten bills, etc.

Several times I have decided (and even told the husband) I was going to hand it all over to him to handle, or we would do it all together, and then for whatever reason (embarrassment over the pickle we were currently in, pride, a new resolve to be better at it) I didn't do it, and continued being the family's horribly bad money handler.

But yesterday I finally did it. I collected it all up, wrote down all the pertinent information, passwords, account numbers etc., and gave it all to the husband.

It's all on him now.

And it feels so good!!!!

Corporate stupidity

The husband changed jobs last sumer and cashed out his 401(k). For the last six months or so he's been getting letters from the old employer and the old 401(k) company telling him there was a discrepancy in his favor and they were auditing his account and likely owed him a small amount of money.

Well, this weekend the check finally arrived.

A check for 1 cent.

YES, seriously.

BRAINS!!!!!!!!

The Johnsons commented that all my new car needs is a vinyl sticker family on the back window. We both hate them and have laughed about them a few times on our blogs.

Well, I just ordered the perfect one! I'm getting these in lime green:

Yay for me!

Turned out it was my alternator that was kaput, so I had the choice of fixing it (for $723) or getting a new vehicle.

Since I already had plans to trade it in for something with better gas mileage, and it was in the shop at the Ford dealership, I decided to get a new car.

And new it was! It had 29 miles on it when I drove it off the lot, and 9 of those were my test drive.

It's pretty and fun.