Trying to Catch Up

So on Tuesday, just in time for me to have surgery and be at home recuperating for several days, I received a second shoe calendar.  At first I rolled my eyes.  Do I really need 2?  Well, no, but then I realized I could bring the 2nd one home and have one at church and one at the office.  Fun!  Today I realized I haven't posted from the calendar in over a week.  So here is a catch-up:

 

80s.  Music Themed

 

50s.  Love them.  They would be right  in style today.

70s.  Ugh

60s.  Have I ever mentioned that I have always wanted to be a go go dancer?

 

80s again

 

Blurry (darn) but gold and really cute.  I would wear these.

70s again.  Remind me also of clunky 90s shoes. I would wear them if they weren't quite so clunky.



Link

I said I would write every day and am trying to stick to that.  I had sinus surgery today, though, and while I'm feeling OK, I'm certainly not feeling terribly creative blog-wise.  So I will just send you here to look at some shoes (and other accessories) from the SAG awards.  Trust me, it is much more fun than me telling you about what is happening in my world right now...

Remembering

No pictures or shoes today, just a reflection.  My dad's oldest sister died yesterday.  It wasn't unexpected but it was sooner than expected, if that makes any sense.  She got sick in August, right before my wedding, so she wasn't able to make it.  The hubby and I were able to drive down to see her, thankfully, and we had a nice, if brief visit.  She started chemo shortly after and was actually doing really well for awhile.  She started going downhill again, though, and lost something like 50 lbs in a month.  My dad and one of his other sisters (he has 3, the third lives in Utah) arranged for hospice last week on Thursday.  I'm grateful she didn't linger and is no longer in pain, but I am sad, and my heart hurts.  Not just for me, but for my dad as well, and for all of my family.

 

I trust in the promises of the resurrection and know that she is now in a better place, but I still grieve her absense.  I will also celebrate her life, and the things that I loved about her:  She was my snuggly auntie.  As a kid I alwasy knew I could cuddle up with her whenever she was around.  She never missed birthdays or Christmas.  She would always start her cards and letters by telling me about the weather. :-)  I think she might have been a bit of a wild child, but I'm not sure.  She was the first person I knew to quit smoking.  I'm sure it was incredibly difficult for her, but I just knew that she quit and she was awesome.  She was strong and independent.  I know she had her flaws.  She was human, after all.  I didn't know her as well as I would have liked.  I hope to hear more stories of her from her siblings as they too remember and celebrate her life.

 

Rest eternal grant her, O God, and let light perpetual shine upon her.

Shoe Books

As you have probably noticed, I like shoes.  (If this is a shock to you, welcome back to the world after your time living under a rock!)  I also love books.  My mom says that when I was a kid she used to have to force me to go outside in the summer because I could easily spend the whole day curled up with a book.  Sometimes I would take my book out onto the front porch and read.  Win-win!  I was thinking of shoes and books and remembering a book I had as a child called Ballet Shoes.  So I went on Amazon to look for it and totally fell down a rabbit hole of shoe books.  I'd forgotten that there was more than one book by that author:

 

So then I just typed in shoes under the book search option and came up with all of this.  I didn't buy any.  I thought about it.  I have surgery coming up this week and need something to read while I'm recuperating, right?  But, no, I was good.  I didn't buy any.  And I won't.  Really.  Honest.  Will-power...







2 Gifts

Today at church someone handed me a tissue wrapped gift.  When I opened it I found this:

 

It's a luggage tag, and it's adorable.  Probably too adorable to actually put on my luggage since it might easily get lost in an airport adventure.  What made the experience even better was that I opened it with the help of a 4 year old who was curious as to what I got.  (Last week this same little guy told me I smelled like ice cream.)  Once we opened the tag and I read it to him he just started wandering around saying, "as a matter of fact, I DO need another pair of shoes."  I wish  you could see the facial expressions and hand gestures that went with him repeating the phrase.  Aaah...the kiddos make me smile even more than the shoes do! 



Shoe Watching

Whenever I'm out anywhere I love to people watch, especially people's shoes.  I had a memory today of being on a field trip in High School, and leaning against a wall watching all of the shoes going by in the hallway in front of me.  I didn't realize then that I was obsessed with shoes, but I probably should have.

 

I've spent the last 2 days in a meeting.  I don't sit well for long periods of time so I always take something to crochet during times like this.  Thankfully I have a job where people don't get too freaked out by this.  The hubby says in his world this would never be tolerated.  I find it helps me to pay better attention, though, because it gives me something to focus on as I'm listening so I'm not fidgeting or doodling or daydreaming.  I always make sure it's a project I don't need instructions for and can just do from memory.  Anyway, we happened to be sitting at tables that were arranged in a big rectangle, so I could see almost everyone's feet.  Here are the 2 pairs of shoes I liked best.  And I only got slightly weird reactions when I asked if I could take pictures of these 2 women's feet!

 

 

I love the leaf detail, and bonus points for funky socks!

 

 

I love these.  I definitely broke the commandment about coveting as I stared at these yesterday.  They are multiple shades of my favorite color!  And see?  It's not that I only like crazy high heels.  I like shoes of all kinds.  Some day I probably won't be able to wear those crazy heels so it's good to know that there are lots of cute, practical options out there to continue my addiction.





Butterfingers

I have mentioned before that I am a klutz and not graceful, but sometimes I seem to go through phases that are worse than others.  Especially when I'm stressed.  When I first moved to California for my 2nd call the transition apparently stressed me out.  I can't remember all the injuries I managed to cause myself except for somehow closing the garage door on my right shoulder, and tripping over a crack in the sidewalk and bruising/scraping both my elbow and my knee (I still have scars from both incidents) but my sister and my mom said if I did anything else they were coming here and moving me back home where I would be wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a padded room.  Aaah, love.

 

So now it's happening again.  I'm not injuring myself so much (I'm always covered in bruises from running into things regardless of stress) but I seem to be taking my stress out on dishes.  A couple of months ago I broke a pot lid that shattered into a million pieces and then continued to pop like popcorn for a good 5 minutes while I swept it up.  A few weeks later it was the lid to a casserole dish.  And last night a jar fell out of the cupboard and broke one of the salad plates from the hubby's beloved china pattern.  Oy...I'm hoping this phase ends soon, or all of the dishes will have to be wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a padded room.

 

What does this have to do with shoes?  Well, nothing.  Although I wasn't wearing any shoes for any of the 3 occurances, and thankfully didn't manage to step on any glass.  But, since this is a shoe blog, here is a picture of the cute shoes I was wearing the day of the sidewalk incident (the shoes didn't make me fall...don't blame the shoes...it was all me!)

 

 

Nieces are Awesome

I recently got a text from my oldest niece with the following picture attached and the message "another one for your collection, Auntie!"

 

She said she found them at JC Penney and they were something like $6.  This is a girl after my own heart!  I can't believe she will be 16 in 2 months.  How the heck did that happen?!  She is turning into a beautiful young woman.  Who has delightful taste in shoes. :-)



These Boots are Made for Kicking

I don't often wear heels during the week, but there are exceptions.  Like today when I had to be "pastor-y" and wear my collar, which I then paired with my gray slacks, that are too long, and then I need heels of some sort.  Today it's my red boots.

 

 

The heel isn't high, which is why I can usually wear them all day no problem.  I like them fine with pants, but I really like wearing them with skirts.  Because they are awesome, and because I feel pretty awesome in them.

 

Sadly, the boots don't get as many comments when I'm out and about as my collar does.  This wouldn't be so bad if the collar didn't attract such, um, "interesting" comments.  Mostly I just get stared at a lot.  Sometimes people will ask me if I'm a priest, and what do people call me if they can't call me "father."  I don't mind those so much.  Questions about whether or not I'm a nun just make me roll my eyes.  It's the people who want to launch into a lecture about why women can't be pastors that get me.  Do you know what century it is, people?  And do you honestly think that stopping me in Target and using scripture poorly is going to make me suddenly realize I never should have gone to seminary in the first place?  Sheesh.  I once had to hide in the women's restroom to get away from one very persistent man in an airport.  Sometimes I just want to use my awesome red boots to kick someone...



Button Hooks and Dinosaurs

2 very different shoe pictures for you today.  The first is from the calendar.  These shoes are from the 1880s and I think they are really cool.  As a kid I had a fascination with shoes that required a button hook, so I was excited to see these.  I kind of want to try them on.

 

The next picture is from a friend on facebook who tagged me in it this morning. These are hilarious.  I would totally wear these just to see how many people noticed!



Non-Sequiter

It's Inauguration Day and MLK Day, which means lots of people have the day off.  Mondays are my normal day off, so it's business as usual.  We haven't watched the inauguration, yet, but it's in the DVR for viewing later.  Many people focus more on what the First Lady and the first daughters wore for the day, and while I like to check it out, I think there are many more important things to focus on on days like this.  These women are much more than their (admittedly) adorable coats.  I was a history major in college, so I'm fascinated by the process and the decisions that go into the details of a day like today.  I'm not a political junkie, though, so some of those aspects just annoy me to no end.  The one attire comment I will make (this is, after all, a shoe blog) is that as much as I love heels, I'm still impressed and slightly horrified when I watch Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden walk the parade route in heels.  Ouch!

 

I am once again in my comfy outfit of pants and a Beatles shirt.  This time they are yoga pants instead of sweats, and the shirt is a thermal instead of a t-shirt.  I know you were dying to know this information!  But hey, Mondays are the day I do laundry, go grocery shopping, cook, and whatever else needs to be done for the week or caught up from the week before.  I might get really crazy later and clean the guest bathroom.  Watch out, world, this girl is on fire!  And possibly loopy...  So let's look at some shoes, shall we?

 

 

You can probably guess that these are from the 70s.  I actually like the shape (I'm a big fan of an ankle strap), but these definitely belong to a by-gone era.  Which probably means they'll be coming back in about 5 minutes.

 

 

Today's shoes are ones I would totally wear.  They would be great for Lent.  If I could reach in and grab these I would.  I did buy a pair of purple shoes for Lent.  They are AWESOME.  But you will just have to wait another couple of weeks to see those...





Only in my Dreams

Generally I plan my outfits for Sunday morning from the feet up.  It's a sign of how icky I've been feeling that last night I couldn't muster up even a little enthusiasm for which shoes I should wear today.  After perusing my collection, though, I settled in these burgundy t-straps.

 

They aren't the fanciest or highest shoes I own, but I love them because they remind me of dancing shoes in a musical.  Sometimes I like to fantasize that my life is a musical.  There would be fabulous shoes, and I would spontaneously burst into song and perfectly coordinated dance numbers.  Of course, it would be the 50s so I would be wearing crinolines a lot.  Since it is my fantasy, I of course would sing like Rosemary Clooney and dance like Vera Ellen.  (although I can never quite decide if I would want Rosemary's curves or Vera's LEGS)



 

I can't dance. If you have ever seen my wedding video and the first dance with my husband, you will know this is true. I am a klutz and would probably break something. But when I wear these shoes I can pretend, and sometimes that's enough.

No Shoes For Me

Today is a no-shoe kind of day.  It's a hang around the house in sweats and a Beatles t-shirt, rest, read, and maybe do some housework kind of day.  If I actually work up the energy to leave the house, then I will find some shoes.  But for now my bare feet are enjoying being unconfined.  I wish I could say it's just a lazy day, but unfortunately I have a cold now on top of the lingering sinus infection.  I have nothing positive to say about this.  I have been sick for 5 1/2 months and while I've tried to be stoic about it I know I've whined way more than anyone needed to hear.  It's annoying and frustrating for not just me but for those around me, and I know more than one person who thinks I have been faking most of the being sick.  Melodramatic I definitely can be, but please believe me when I say this is not something I would choose to fake.  Hopefully a day of rest will help the cold and the upcoming sinus surgery will help the chronic sinusitis.  What these boots help, though, I'm just not sure...

 

 

Yay blue!  I love the color!  Insulated boots are good this time of year; you don't want frostbitten toes.  A zipper?  A pocket maybe?  OK, that might come in handy for a key or some lip balm?  It's the heel that gets me.  I love heels.  But insulated boots make me think snow and ice and snow and ice do not lend themselves to high heel boots, regardless of fashion ideals.



Accoutrements

As often happens in community when one has a well-known like of something particular, I get a lot of shoe-related gifts.  I've started a shrine of sorts in my office with all of the presents I have gotten from presents.  Wait, not all.  I've gotten several Christmas ornaments which are now put away in the garage, but many of the gifts live in my office.  This is the most recent:

 

Yep.  It's a cell phone holder in the shape of a red high heel.  Doesn't my phone look so comfy and stylish in its shoe?  Next we have the shoe table in my office:

 

 

The back row contains a bank to save money for shoes, Christmas shoe-themed napkins, and a shoe book that seems to be from the same place as my shoe calendar.  The middle row is 4 different shoe shaped tape dispensers.  The front is the cell phone holder, a pen and notepad holder, a bank in the shape of a shoe, and a doorstop.  Awesome.  Do I need 4 tape dispensers shaped like shoes?  Of course not, but I love the thought behind the gifts.  I appreciate that people see something that reminds them of me and they are kind enough to brighten my day with their thoughtfulness.  Sometimes community can be really hard and frustrating, but sometimes it is just lovely.

 

If you would like to see shoes on actual feet, check out this slideshow of accessories from the Golden Globes.



Blah

This shoe calendar is starting to depress me, y'all.  It's a year's worth of shoes so I understand that not every pair is going to be to my taste, but I was hoping for more that made me have an...um...moment.  A shoegasm, if you will.  There are some shoes I see that just make my whole being light up.  Breath gets sucked in, eyes go wide, and I'm going to stop this description now in case it starts sounding dirty, and this is NOT that kind of blog!  So, here are the last 2 days on the calendar.  Honestly, I thought the preschoolers boots from yesterday were more fun.

 

 

Preschool Shoes

One of my favorite parts of my job is Preschool Chapel.  The kiddos come to the sanctuary twice a week for a brief talk about how much God loves them, and then we sing and pray.  It's not long, they are usually goofy and crazy, and I have no idea how much, if anything, they retain.  But I love to see their adorable faces every week, and to watch them grow and mature during the school year.  I love them.  And I never know what they are going to say, sometimes it's just so random and hilarious I have trouble not laughing at them.  Apparently today was little-girl boot day at preschool, because the front row was full of them.  They are a bit blurry because I was taking pictures with my phone while they were singing (and wiggling!) during choir, but I couldn't resist sharing the cuteness.

 



Shoes as Conversation Piece

One of the blogs I read periodically had a post today about how we see ourselves.  She writes about a conversation she had recently with a friend of hers who didn't think there was much interesting about her life.  When the blogger listed all of the things she thought were interesting about her friend the friend had a counter-point to each.  I resonate with this a lot.  It's a lot easier for others to see my good points than for me to see them myself.  When people pay me a compliment I tend to deflect it.  Part of it is natural shyness.  I don't like the attention on me.  Which means I'm kind of in an odd profession.  This is part of the reason for my shoes, my stripey socks, or the wild colors I used to paint my toenails.  I find now as a pastor that it usually gives me enough of a feeling of identity to start conversations with people I don't know, but I still struggle with thinking I'm any good at engaging people in conversation.  The shoes can be an entry into that conversation.  People notice and comment, and then we go on to talk about other stuff.  I know I'm more interesting than just my shoes.  In ministry we are always being asked to assess our gifts and growing edges.  I know I have both, and I know I should focus more on my gifts and try to be more aware of, and out front with, them.  In them meantime I fall back on the shoe ploy.

 

Here are the latest calendar entries:

 

 

None of them do much for me, frankly.  I like the middle pair best for their metallic shininess but could do without the detail on the toe.  What I do appreciate about the last pair is that they say they are made from a recycled linen cash bag.  I appreciate that approach, and the effort to reuse something and make it into something else functional.  I just think they are ugly. :-)

 



Stream of Consciousness

Some days are harder than others to come up with ideas for what to write about here.  I am committed to writing every day, but that means I have to have a subject.  So here is an insight into how that works on days I'm not sure what I'm going to talk about:

 

Oh, right, I need to write the blog.  Shoot, I'm not at the office, so no calendar pic to fall back on.  Should I go with something from Shoe Box Porn?  Do I have pictures of my own shoes I want to share?  Regardless, what will I write about.? Do I have any actual thoughts today?  Wait, I thought I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself about this thing?  I wonder if anyone even reads it?  Clearly someone is reading it, the page views keep going up  No one comments.  Hmmm...do they like it?  Wait, you almost never comment when you read blogs, either!  Oh right.  Should I be funnier?  Deeper?  Write more personally?  Post more pictures?  Do more to promote it?  Stop!  No pressure, remember?  It's supposed to be FUN!  Oh right, fun.  Well, shoes are fun, that's why I started it.  So...shoes.  Which shoes?  What pictures do I have to share?  Should I try to write one of the posts that has been sort of swirling around in my brain half-formed?...

 

You get the idea.  This can go on for quite awhile, or it can take a matter of seconds to have all of these thoughts.  At any rate, today I am saved by my facebook friends who recently posted pictures to my timeline:

 

 

Sharks!  Not anatomically correct, maybe, but funny.  I wonder who wears shark shoes?  Just think of the comments I'd get on a Sunday morning if I wore these!

 

 

Dog shoes!  I like the collar detail.  I do wonder if anyone actually wears either of these silly pairs of shoes.  They are definitely folks with a quirky personality if they do.  In theory I'd like to think I'm fun and quirky, but in reality not so much.

 

 

***Edited:  And here is how the universe is funny all of the time.  I posted this entry, then went to read another blog, written by someone I went seminary with, and found this post on shoes.  This invariably happens, usually after I've worried and over-thought.  At any rate, in case you were wondering, I'm not the only pastor who thinks about shoes.  Even if this pastor does it in a much more elegant and better-written way than I do.





I am NOT Old...Or am I?

Yesterday's post got me thinking along the lines of comments people make about my shoes.  I often get comments like, "Oh, I can't wear shoes like that anymore, it's nice to be young like you."  And I often reply with something along the lines of, "I know I won't be able to wear them forever, so I'm enjoying them now."  Which then led me to think about when that might be.  I'm 37, which sometimes seems surreal.  Yes, I know I'm not old per se, but it definitely gets me to thinking.

 

I recently joined a group called the Young Clergy Women Project and the requirements are that you have to be a woman, between the ages of 20 and 40, ordained before 35.  So, I fit.  But wait...I'll be 40 in just a little over 2 years.  Do they kick me out, then?  Does this mean I'm now on the old side of young?  Is there another group for Middle Aged Clergy Women?

 

 

Baby after my own heart...adorable shoes!

 

I've also been thinking about babies.  (No, I AM NOT PREGNANT!)  The hubby and I have only been married 4 1/2 months, but I'm not getting younger.  Dr's appointments can be depressing when we have to talk about my advanced age in terms of getting pregnant.  And yes, I happen to have many friends who have delivered happy, healthy babies when they (the mommies) were in the area of 40 and above.  But let's just say that hearing the phrase, "your eggs are old" come out of my Ob/Gyn's mouth was not the greatest day.  I mean, come on, lady, I didn't think there was a way to make those appointments worse!

 

When I was younger I always thought I wanted a really big family.  4-10 kids was the range.  That has changed as I've gotten older.  Part of it now is that it's too late to be having that many kiddos.  The bigger part would be my mom's day-care, and my experience taking care of wonderful, adorable, amazing children.  I'm not being sarcastic.  I've loved them all.  But the day I found myself with 2 in the stroller and 1 walking as we went to pick up nieces and their friends from the 1st day of school was the day I realized I'm not cut out for having a large family.  I think I ended up with 8 kids to walk back to my mom's house that day, and it was like herding cats.  Except that cats aren't all trying to talk/tattle/cry at the same time.

 

Some posts meander.  Welcome to my brain.

 





A Shoe Secret Revealed

"How do you walk in those?  I would break an ankle!"  I get these comments a lot.  Sometimes they follow a statement of love or admiration for whatever shoes I'm wearing that day, sometimes they stand on their own.  Here's the thing:  I'm NOT graceful.  I'm constantly covered in bruises from lacking depth perception or not paying attention to what I'm doing and running into stuff.  If there is something to trip over, chances are good I will find it.  In high school my mom told me I walked like a football coach, and now the hubby likes to tease me about how I'm bow legged, pigeon toed, and "walk weird."  I'm not some graceful woman with the deep, dark secret of how to walk in high heels.  Heck, on tile floors sometimes I feel like I'm definitely going to break my ankle.  Or my neck.  Here's another thing:  I don't actually wear them that much.  I always wear heels on Sunday, but I don't drive to work in them.  I always wear a pair of "running around shoes" until right before service starts, and then I put on the heels.  I take the shoes off during the sermon, whether I'm preaching or the other pastor is preaching.  I frequently don't wear them between services, depending on what's going on.  I see women who wear these kinds of shoes to the office, and I have those same thoughts:  How do they walk in those shoes all day?  I see women wearing heels in the aiport and I think they're crazy!  I like to be a little girly when it comes to shoes, but it turns out I'm a lot more practical than girly when it comes to the heels.



Random Question of the Week

These are...interesting.  They are described as folk-style pointed-toe slipper from the 1960s.  I appreciate the detail, but they don't do much for me.  Some shoes make me squee with excitement, some shoes cause me to make sounds of horror, but these are just meh.  I don't have any strong feelings toward them whatsoever.

 

In non-shoe related news, I saw my ENT today and I am being scheduled for sinus surgery.  It has to be approved by insurance first, but it sounds like it should happen sometime in the next 2 weeks.  I'm relieved in some ways, and definitely nervous.  I just want to feel better.  Having had a sinus infection for the better part of 5 months is making me extremely annoyed.  Now I guess the only question left (besides the 8 million I have about the procedure itself) is, what shoes will I wear for sinus surgery? :-)

Fond Memories

 

When I first saw these my thoughts were negative.  Then I read that the are from the late 80s/early 90s and I realized that I totally would have worn these back then.  The color doesn't show up terribly well here, as they are a lot brighter and more irridescent.  I had a purple and green wool suit that I probably would have paired these with and thought it was fabulous (don't judge...we all lived through our own weird fashion phases).

 

 

In fact, I had 2 pairs of shoes very similar to these (this was the closest picture I could find) during the same time period.  I loved the first pair so much I bought a second pair almost exactly the same.  The shoes I had were in these same jewel tones and were also patchwork suede, but they were lace ups and they were AWESOME.  I kind of wish I still had them...



Calendar Catch-up

I mentioned in a recent post about being sick off and on since August.  Well, it's an on again time.  I have chronic sinusitus, but yesterday in addition to the lovely and constant sinus pressure I also started coughing again.  Hopefully it's just a cold and not another round of bronchitis.  At any rate, I spent most of the day in bed, which means I didn't get to see yesterday's calendar offering.  Dang, maybe the calendar should start traveling with me!  OK, maybe not.  So, here is a catch-up of the last several days.

 

 

These are vintage, from the 30's.  I like them.  Not so fond of the braid around the top, but I like the look of them.  They make me feel like if I should wear them in a musical. (some day I will do a post on how I wish my life was a musical...)  They would also be another option to wear with my gold chasuble, which would be awesome.

 

 

Conceptually I actually like these.  Don't think I would wear them, but I like the idea.

 





Um...no.  I love color, and these certainly have that, but eesh.  I've never been a big fan of the bootie style of boots.

 

 

A world of no.  They are from the 80's which explains a lot, but yuck to the nth degree.



Shoe Box P---

So my brother posted a picture on my facebook timeline recently from a site called Shoe Box P---.*

 

My first thought was "How did I not know about this site?" followed closely by, "How the heck did my BROTHER know about this site?"  Anyhoodle, I headed on over and checked it out.  Shoes!  More shoes!  Some of the pictures are deliberately attempting to be provocative in ways they don't need to be, but I try to just focus on the shoes.  Some of which are fabulous, some of which look like they are on the feet of hookers.  And sometimes it's a fine line indeed between the 2.

 

So, my facebook newsfeed is now filled with pictures of shoes.  Which is awesome.  And today a lot of them are blue.  Which is even more awesome!  Here is a sampling:

 

 

Love these! Want both pairs!

 

Sparkly!

Shiny! (in both a literal, and a Firefly kind of way...)

Not my usual style, but quirky and fun!

These hang out right on that line, and yet I kind of like them.

 

*Edited:  I changed the name and parts of this post because I was getting a little tired of deleting some crazy @$$ comments.  We'll see if it helps.