Foot Fetish

The blog is going to be quiet for a few days. While I'm gone, let me encourage you to go shoe shopping! (And vote in the new poll in the left sidebar.)

First, let me say that I do not have a lot of shoes. Maybe 25 pairs - total - including dress shoes. I am the type where I would rather have a few pairs of really nice shoes than a million random pairs. (Go count your shoes. How many pairs do you have? See, I think 25 is very reasonable. Especially considering a lot of them are many years old and still in good condition.)



1. Personalized Nikes - These are currently my favorite shoes! I actually heard about this site from one of my yearbook girls. On the site you are able to custom design the shoe and have your name put on the back. I drooled over them for about a month before I finally purchased them - they are my birthday present to myself! I designed them with school colors and they match my stroller too. They've been perfect for our morning walks. We've actually been walking EVERY morning since the end of school. These shoes are the ultimate motivator! You can definitely see the Tom-Boy in me. My top shoes are tennis shoes... meh!

2. Fit Flops - These are actually my second favorite pair of shoes right now. Mandy convinced me to buy them and I find them very comfortable. I don't really think I'm getting any fitness benefits, but who I am to squash their advertising. They are my go-to shoe when I'm running out the door to run errands. I also wear them when I'm working in the kitchen since it's just too hot for my slippers right now.

3. Acorn Pillowwalk Slippers - Speaking of slippers -- these are my kitchen shoes in the winter. We have ceramic tile in our kitchen which is just too hard to be barefoot on for long periods of time. Needless to say, I always try to wear something when I'm cooking. These are soooo comfortable. A bit pricey for slippers, but totally worth it. I'm on my second pair!

4. Merrells - My teaching shoe of choice has to be Merrells. I have several styles of sandals and dress shoes, a pair of hiking shoes, and even a sneaker pair. They are very comfortable for walking or when you're on your feet all day. Certain friends tease me about my old lady shoes but they are so comfortable, I don't care! I bought my first pair of Merrells (black sandals) on our honeymoon in Hawaii when my Birkenstocks were killing my feet from all the walking. Birki's use to be my shoe of choice but after that it became Merrell's. (Although I will be sporting my flag Birki's on my birthday -- I think they are 10 years old now. Wow. I'm old. Even my shoes are old...)

I do have some heels and dressy shoes to go with various dresses and outfits but it is rare that I wear them. My queenly days rid me of any desire to wear heels and I definitely don't think I need heels to look nice or have fun. I'm happy being short and I'm happy in my comfortable shoes. :)

This weekend, indulge yourself. Buy a new pair of shoes!

Digital Scrapbooking

It's hard to see but I actually left Bo's eyes blue in the photograph.

I received numerous comments and emails regarding the digital layouts that I posted so I thought I would share a little more about this new hobby of mine.

One of my friends started digital scrapbooking last summer and has gone gung-ho with it. She even began her own business, so if you don't want to learn to scrapbook yourself you can always pay her to do it for you!

I originally wanted to start digital scrapbooking last summer but I had my wedding album to finish which was a handmade scrapbook. I finally finished it towards the end of the summer (3.5 years after the wedding... but who's counting...) and by then school started and I just never had time to devote to digital.

Since Bo was born I've been well... busy. I've taken tons of pictures but then the question becomes, what do I want to do with them? Finally, at the advice of Skygirl, I signed up for a digital scrapbooking class online.

I've really enjoyed the class and because it is an actual class it forces me to make time to devote to it. Needless to say, Bo's scrapbook is started, which is farther than I was a month ago. I'm using Photoshop Elements 6.0 (my new computer came with it). We use Photoshop CS2 at school (for the yearbook) and I love it but we have Macs at school and I'm too cheap to buy the full version for my PC at home. Elements works well and I can do everything I need to do.

The page above is one that is completed in the first digital scrapbooking class offered by Jessica Sprague - Up and Running with Photoshop. I don't think the next beginners class is until fall but on the site you can sign up to be notified about when the registration will be. The layouts for the class really aren't my style but it is still fun and has motivated me!

I hope this helps all of you out there who are wanting to start digital scrapbooking!