Who Knew Laundry Was So Tiring?

I am so very far behind on so very many things in life right now. Some days I feel like I'm so far behind eventually I'm going to come around and encounter myself. So, of course I'm writing a blog post instead of actually accomplishing things. Tonight I'm blaming this stupid cold that's continuing to hang around. In good news, it's not affecting my lungs as much, which is good, but I've blown my nose so many times I think it might fall off at some point. The hubby is also sick and has spent the entire day in bed. I managed to get up and go to the store earlier, but have spent a good chunk of the day in bed as well. In the last hour I folded laundry and cleaned the kitchen and now I'm exhausted. This cold is no joke. 

I figured looking at shoes would cheer me up and wouldn't involve a lot of energy, and I was right. I typed in "laundry shoes" and found a brand called Chinese Laundry. I really like these two pairs:

They're all the things I like: Blue! Stripes! Wedges! Ankle strap! I rarely wear heels anymore, but I still very much like to look at them.

Well, it's 8:30 and time to sleep, or at least read for awhile and then sleep.

Birthday Shoes

It's been a minute since I've posted. OK...it's been more than a year and a half. There were a lot of reasons I stopped posting, and I don't know how often I'll post now, but I've been having the urge to do so for awhile and figured I'd give it another go. Plus, my mama gave me some money for my birthday and I got new sandals, so clearly this is a reason to post!

They aren't anything fancy, but they're comfortable and they'll be great for summer (which is already here...it's been almost 90 the last 2 days). I also learned something interesting with these shoes: You know how I HATE the thing between my toes on flip flops. Welllll...apparently the heel strap helps mitigate the annoyance. Who knew?

In other news, I have a post-Easter cold. I got a nasty sore throat on Tuesday and now I'm coughing gunk out of my lungs. I used to almost always get sick after Christmas and Holy Week when I was a pastor, but maybe my body just doesn't like high holy days, even as a lay person. 😄

I'm Probably Crazy

I am so behind on posting.  I've missed birthdays:  Mom, The Bean, The PF, The BFF.  I missed Flower's Gotcha Day and 4th of July.  I have a new job that I haven't posted about.  I have dramadramadrama that you're probably glad I haven't had time to post about.  And there are kajillions of shoes in the world not being ogled!

Finding time to actually post has been difficult, so I decided to try something a different.  I will still try to post here, but in the meantime, in case you need a shoe fix, I've set up Instagram and Facebook Accounts.  Come friend/follow ShoeTopia!  Or not.  No pressure. I'll cry for a year, but whatever. But, I'm actually back to wearing fun shoes and I've decided to try and post them on a regular basis.  Is this a good idea?  I don't have a clue, it could fail miserably!  Or it could be fun.  Or something.  

Here are today's shoes:

I don't know how I lucked out, but my cubicle is in the corner which means I have 2 windows.  This window was perfect for watching the eclipse today!  It was fun because I didn't have to go anywhere, and I had coworkers wandering in and out for over an hour.  My manager's manager's brother works for NASA and sent her eclipse glasses for the whole department.  We weren't in the path for the total eclipse, but I'd say we saw about 90% of it.

Anyhoo, let me know what you think, yay or nay, on the new approach.  If yay, come follow me on social media!

Stripes

On Sunday I went outside to clip the dogs' toenails.  While I was out the hubby joined me and decided we should clean the grill.  30 minutes later and:

Yeah.  I even SAID, I'm going to burn, I should go put on sunscreen.  But did I?  Noooo.  Because I am a dork like that.  The hubby, who isn't as pigmentationally challenged as I am keeps saying, "but you were only out for 30 minutes!  How is it possible to burn that fast?"  Oh, it's possible.  Welcome to the land of Pasty-ville, hubby!

Tonight's shoes are red and white striped in honor of my silliness.

I'll take a pair of each, please and thank you.

Now, let's talk about my less than stellar landlord, OK?  In February we had a storm that blew down part of the fence in the backyard, so we called the landlord.  He told us we needed to go talk to the neighbors so they could share the cost.  It turns out that they were in India for 2 weeks, but we spoke with their 20ish year old son who said he would pass the message on to his parents when he talked to them.  The landlord then started (all in phone calls and emails to us) demanding updates, complaining that they should be able to authorize repairs from India, berating their parenting skills that they didn't raise their kid better, and finally telling us we had to call India and get their authorization.  Um sure, I'll just pick up the phone and call and entire country to find one couple who are just trying to visit their family.  Eventually they came home and we got things sorted out.

In April when the World Traveler was here she said the toilet in the guest bathroom was running.  We turned off the water and called the landlord. The handyman he uses came out and fixed it, so no drama, really, except that now every time we talk to the landlord he reminds us that the toiled cost him $100 to fix.

Last week when it was super hot our ac went on the fritz.  It kind of works, but if it gets over 95 it basically stops and we have to turn it off for several hours and then it will kind of work again.  So we called the landlord.  He told us to call 3 ac people to get quotes.  We got a guy to come out who said that basically it's an old unit and it's also too small for the size of the house.  His recommendation was to replace it.  The landlord informed us that no other tenant has complained about the ac in 20 years and he isn't going to spend the money to replace it.  He told us to buy fans and "go to the mall when it gets really hot."

On Sunday this past weekend our water heater died.  Monday we called the landlord.  He told us to call a plumber (noticing a theme here?) and then proceeded to tell the hubby that he really doesn't have time for this, that we are becoming a nuisance to him and we are giving him a headache.  We had PG&E come out on Tuesday to see if they could light the pilot light, but they couldn't and the guy said he thought it was the thermal coupler.  So we called the handyman again, who came out yesterday to replace the part.  Turns out that wasn't it, that he needed to get parts.  He let us know today that he had to order the parts and the won't be in until Monday or later.  He's also worried because he can't get in touch with the landlord who is currently in Canada and has turned his phone off.  

Really, the man is a peach, don't you think?

On the plus side, when it gets really hot at least I can take a cold shower...

Smurfy

Here's a thought.  Let's not talk about me tonight, mmmkay?  After the last 2 nights I think it's time for a break from my blah blah blah.  The Holidays Calendar tells me that today is Global Smurfs Day!  Why?  I don't know!  But the link says it's always celebrated on the Saturday closest to June 25th.  Any of you Smurf aficionados out there know if there is significance to that date?  I haven't seen any of the new Smurf movies, but I used to watch The Smurfs on Saturday morning cartoons (in black and white for part of my childhood, thank you very much).  I had Smurf books and at least one little smurf figurine.  Which one?  I don't remember.  It was a boy.  That's all I can tell you.  But not Papa Smurf.  Let's look at shoes!

I think I could do with out Gargamel on the tongue but I appreciate the thoroughness of this shoe.

Is this Smurf running away?  Why is he so happy about it?  Maybe he's just going for a picnic?

I know there are women out there who love this style of shoe, but I am just not one of them.  I like the material, though.  Papa Smurf looks so happy!

Ooh, I love the red!

I love Mary Janes, you know this.  So I love the shape of this shoe, but the Smurfs + the pink + the polka dots + the black straps, heels, and soles are just too much.

I love the yellow shoelaces!  You know, when I was a kid Smurfette was the only girl Smurf.  Which was weird.  And a little creepy.  Oh wait, let me try that again:  In MY day we didn't have all of these high falutin girl Smurfs!  We had one!  Her name was Smurfette, and she was just Smurfy, thank you very much!  Heehee..I feel better now.

I'm off to bed with a book, I think.  TTYL!

PS - I THOUGHT I'd already done a Smurfs post!  At least I have a tiny bit of memory left.  And I only duplicated 2 of the pictures.

Happy

After last night's wallowing session I promised to do a happier post tonight, so here it is.  Today was actually a really good day.  A dear friend/angel called me this morning to ask about the storage unit and see if she could help.  I'm dreadfully tired of asking people for help, but she was so sweet and somewhat insistent.  We went to the storage unit place and found out that they screwed up with their advertising and aren't having an auction in June, so we actually had another month.  Notice they didn't let us know that particular bit of information.  But the good news remains that the storage unit is safe.  We are going to get our stuff out of there and close out our contract.  They have raised the rates 4 times in the last 2 years and our monthly fee has doubled, so we need to just to find room at home for everything.

Anyhoo, I was going to write tonight about my awesome friends anyway, this awesome friend just gave me one more reason.  I've been thinking that for all of it's crazy stressfullness, 2017 had been lovely in terms of catching up with friends.  I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the Camp/Author Friend being here for a visit and how wonderful it was to see her. I hadn't seen her in a couple of years.  In fact, we tend to hang out in June:  The last time she visited was in June, and the only time I have been to her house was in June.

A few weeks before that a friend from seminary was here for an overnight visit.  (Oh dear, she needs a nickname, and I've already used Seminary Friend...)  This particular friend is possibly one of the coolest people I know.  She's hilarious, smart, engaged, passionate, and since I've known her has lived in:  California, Washington, Ohio, New Mexico, England, Boston, Washington DC (twice), Niger, and is soon to move to Belgium.  Oh!  I will call her the World Traveler!  On a side note, I am from Montana and married a man from Ohio.  The World Traveler is from Ohio and married a man from Montana!  Really, it's just another reason to love her. I actually wrote a post about her visit, which I just now remembered.

In March (I think?  Hooray for Swiss Cheese Brain!) The Texas Friend was in the Bay Area with her significant other who was on a business trip.  I hadn't seen her in almost 7 years, since I went to Dallas for a visit in 2010.  She was the happiest I had ever seen her, which was really really great, and was a balm to my own heart.

Last week, I had a lovely Skype chat with The Coffee Friend who very sweetly agreed to be on my Bible Study Podcast.  I haven't seen her in person since 2006 when I was driving home from internship and spent the night with her and her husband in Wisconsin.  I'm so glad I got to chat with her and catch up.  It was the Sunday after that her beloved Labradoodle died, and I'm glad I got to talk to her before that.

I've said before that I have amazing friends, and 2017 has simply been more proof of that.  I am grateful to all of you who have loved and supported me even when I'm grumpy, depressed, freaking out, wallowing, whatever. 

Now, on to shoes!  I went to my handy-dandy ideas folder tonight and just chose a bunch that made me happy:

Today was Bring Your Dog to Work Day, so I had to include these.  They're Mary Janes!  Also, it's much easier to bring my dogs to work when I'm working from the home office...

I want a skirt in this fabric.  How could you not smile wearing this?

Dragonflies!!!

Those are mermaids, how funny and cute are these?

Overall these shoes are kind of scary, but I love the colors and the stripes.

I will also take a skirt out of this material, please.

Look!  A garden for your feet!

Thank you, my friends, for helping contribute to my happiness.  I hope I can do the same for you.

Wallowing

Let me start this post out on a positive note:  we had a bright moment of hope in our day today that I absolutely needed, and for which I am super grateful.  Before that happened I spent my morning pondering the question, "when is it acceptable to give up?"  And yes, I know that the answer to that is "it's not.  Keep going."  Also, I want to be clear that I don't mean giving up in any sort of permanent sense.  It's more that I just want to crawl into my blanket fort for 1-3 months.  I could nap, eat chocolate, and read, and when I emerged, rather than having transformed into a butterfly the world around me will have transformed.  The hubby will be healthy, our finances will be in hand, we won't be struggling to keep our heads above water all the damn time.  Sigh, that's called denial.  I understand this.  But the daydream is nice sometimes.  We do keep having bright spots, and those are the things that are keeping me going right now, but the things that are dragging me down are numerous:

• We're still in limbo about the hubby's health
• This is the week for me that the migraine hits.  Tuesday was the worst, but the darn thing has been lingering ever since
• My blood sugar has been up, which freaks out the hubby and makes him worry that I'm going to get diabetes and die (yes, this is a bit of a trigger for him)
• I HATE the job search process.  I'm qualified!  I'm educated!  I show up on time, I'm professional, and I'm nice, dammit.  Someone should want to hire me.
• It is 9 billion degrees this week
• We are about to lose our storage unit.  There have been several times in the past week or so when we though things would work out so we'd be able to pay our past-due balance, but they've all fallen through.  All of our stuff goes up for auction on Saturday.  90% of it really is just stuff that I'm mostly OK with being without.  The other 10% has me heartbroken, though, as it's irreplaceable.  I should have found time before it reached this point to go get that stuff out, but I didn't.  Because I suck.  And now I feel stupid.
• I have numerous friends who are hurting right now for various reasons and I can't do a thing to help any of them.  This makes me feel like a horrible person.  I love them, I should be able to help them in some tangible way.
• There are a bunch of other things that combine to make me feel like a giant, stupid, loser-failure.

OK, I'm done.  I just needed to wallow for a bit.  Tomorrow I will try to do a post about happy, positive things in my life, because they do exist.

Since this post is about wallowing, what's more appropriate than piggy shoes?

Oh my goodness.  It's a pig in a tutu and teeny tiny high tops!  This is ridiculous.  Or maybe it's repigulous!  And adorable.

I actually knew a kid who had these shoes.  The piggy bum cracks me up.

They are soooo happy!

I would like this better if the shoe wasn't pink so the piggies would pop a little better.

I think I need green boots for wallowing days.  And a teeny tiny boot wearing pig to accompany me.  Now, will someone PLEASE make me a magical blanket fort to to which I can escape?