Barefoot Day wrap-up

“When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there.” —Zig Ziglar

As I mentioned earlier I participated with Miss Kelly from Sole Obsession in One Day Without Shoes (I am almost positive that we were the only people plus a nice pedicurist at Mane Styles who were doing this!). What an experience it was.

So what did I learn? How did it go?

*Shoe are good. I like shoes. A lot.
*Wet pavement is very cold and slimy and just plain icky!
*Floors in public places are questionable.

(with Kelly at Starbucks where they totally didn't even notice, or didn't care - one or the other, that we were shoeless)

*My feet got very cold. Even in my house.
*I love my slippers.
*Wrapping ones feet in a blanket is NOT the same thing as wearing socks or slippers!

(going into the grocery store. these feet were cold. it was wet. YUCK!)

*Having the put my feet outside was the hugest first step. One I dreaded.
*Driving a clutch requires shoes. REQUIRES!
*I do NOT have tough feet!
*Walking a mile(ish) barefoot is painful (pavement is hard - how is that for an observation?) and one has to be very careful to watch for broken glass, dog poop (ick people clean it up! I did not step in this but dang I would have been MAD), rocks...

One of the best things I did today was go on my walk. I was going to put on shoes because, well, duh I was going on a WALK, but my family said something about "talking the talk and walking the walk" so I headed out sans shoes. First of all, it made me slow down, way down, and I got to actually SEE a more than if I'd walked by fast. Second, people actually stopped and asked me why I didn't have shoes on. I got to talk to 5 different people (3 different stops) about what I was doing and why. It was good. I'm glad all of those people at first looked at me like I was crazy (I might be) and that they chose to ask me why the heck I'd leave my shoes at home. It's what I was after.

(finally some sun for my feet. It was still cold though!)

*Shoes are essential. We need them. Everyone needs them. So if you have old shoes donate them. You won't be sorry.

And a big thanks to Kelly for bringing this to my attention. While the long walk was a bit painful and I spent the day with cold toes I am glad I did (and I'd do it again!).

Now it's time to get ready for the day and I shall be wearing shoes and LOVING it!

Happy shoes people!

“The soul was never put in the body to stand still.” - John Webster

The tree is up. Finally. I delayed the set up because I thought Tik would destroy it. However, it hasn't happened. Thankfully.
However, Spazzy Jazzy has tried bringing the tree down a few times. Go here and check out her first Christmas tree experience. She is trying to recreate it, yet she can't because she is 'slightly' larger than she was three years ago. Notice in the photo above she looks very concerned about what Troy may be doing to "her" tree.
Perfect weekend - movies, baking, decorating, being lazy yet getting *stuff* done, "talking" to a dear friend for a bit (you know who you are!)...Love these low key weekends!

And...a big Happy Birthday to Tami in the Stone House! Hope your day was as wonderful as you are...and by the way the snow was my present to you (haha)!

Just updated over at the book blog here. I haven't actually read a book lately, but...you should go visit anyway. I posed a question and would LOVE to read your answer.

Happy Friday!

just a thought...

I am not a political person (I really don't like blog posts that start like that...but bear with me). I am not vocal, I don't watch political shows, I tend to shy away from political conversations. I don't like the words - Democrat, Republican, Independent, conservative, liberal, middle of the road. I just don't. I am educated. I read, I talk to a few people regarding issues, I watch the news sometimes (however I do not find that a good forum to receive information).

That being said, I do believe in politics. That is a strange statement I know...how do you not believe in politics they are everywhere? I also believe in education. I think we need to think about and be aware of the founding principles of our great country.

So, where am I going with this? My friend Pete is awesome. Oh. Wait. Sorry. Start over.
My friend Pete and his friend Mark, started a website LibertyBands that is dedicated to education of the founding principles of Republic, Liberty and Justice. The site is filled with tons of information. What I appreciate is I can read through it and be reminded of what I learned in my high school American Citizenship class. I also appreciate that the information is not party based. It is education based. If you are Democrat, Republican or fall anywhere in-between you will find useful information on this site.

So, take a moment and give the site a read. Take a break and go back again. Lots of information there...you will have plenty to read!

If you enjoy the site and want to "support the cause" on facebook go here and become a member.

Those sites one more time:
LibertyBands site
facebook site

Enjoy!

Ravings of a Mad House Wife, who is pretty funny...but that is beside the point, is having a Fiesta Ware give away! Fun stuff. So, go here and enter! Good luck!

green up

In an effort to "green-up" a little more I have been trying to educate myself some more. As I have mentioned our family has always been pretty environmentally sound, however there is always more that can be done. Simple things mostly. I have increased the recycling effort by calling the disposal company. Amazing what one phone call can do. Anyway...I have listed some of my favorite "green" sites in the left hand column. Check 'em out and I will add as I learn more! :)

edited (for Tami): I called our local disposal company regarding the recycling pick-up of plastics. There is a whole lot of plastic confusion so I decided to just call. And I called multiple times. I would say "Hi it is me again. Can...such and such be recycled too?" The girl was really nice.

Anyway the result - in Lynden, if NV Disposal picks up your recycling, you can put in almost ALL plastics (not PVC - PVC is BAD). (Remember this is what I was told on the phone). Besides just water bottles and milk jugs they will take almost all your kitchen (i.e. yogurt, cottage cheese containers), cleaning (shampoo bottles, soap), and other plastics. Just remember to take the lids off including the dispensers on things like lotion, soap AND clean things out. That can be a problem, but take the extra step, use the water, clean out the stuff. Don't send any of that plastic to a landfill, please. :)

check it out!

One of my favorite blogs on my reader is this one:

Check it out. It is fun and has a different creative blog featured everyday. 

enjoy!

This is what happens...

If you want to see what has happened to us after thirteen years go here. Uh, yikes! :) hehe