there's a clog in my blog!

Now, I will admit that though I do attempt to dress in a snappy manner, I am by no means an expert-level fashionista. I'm still trying to figure out how to do that whole thing where you have an outfit that's one color and a pair of shoes that are a TOTALLY different color but it looks awesome? Know what I mean?

Well anyway...

I love shoes, for the most part. But one form of footwear for which I have a personal hatred is clogs. They are big, clunky, and totally impractical as they do not want to stay on your feet when you walk. Not to mention they don't look feminine AT ALL and they force the back of your pants to get awkwardly caught between your heel and the inside of your shoe, which is annoying. I have seen them slowly creeping back onto the shelves at shoe stores, trying to reinvent themselves as cute and versatile. But I won't be fooled. Clogs have no place in my closet.

So when I saw an advertisement for these on the sidebar of my facebook page, I was caught somewhere between amused and horrified:



And guess how much people pay to own these? $139! That's right, 139 American dollars for CLOGS!

You know what else you can buy for $139? These:



Why not invest that money a little more wisely and swap your cat clogs for some kitten heels? Please, people?!

Meow.

heel!

I have always loved wearing high heels.

I think it started when I got my first pair of high-heel tap shoes in dance class (probably at age 9 or 10). Sure, they were only about an inch tall, but oh, the glamour!!! And oh, the sounds you could make with high-heel taps!!! The dance instructors used to make us sit on the floor with our feet in the air while they gave us directions just so we would all stop tapping -- it was that much fun!

And then came junior high, when it started to become acceptable to wear heels not only in the dance studio, but in church and at school, too. That was the same point in my life that I stopped growing; at age 13 I hit 5'2" and stopped, instantly becoming one of the shortest girls in my class.

That was also the same point that flare jeans came into popularity. (Remember that?) And all of them were too long for me to wear with tennis shoes, so I had to start wearing heels if I wanted to wear my cool new jeans.

That's how it started. From there, it just kind of snowballed.

This was back in the day before everyone started cranking out those cute little ballet flats; when I was in high school you had limited shoe options; you could wear tennis shoes, boots (which back then were like hiking boots, not Uggs or anything similar), flip-flops...or heels. Tennis shoes were out of the question for me unless I was wearing my windsuit (all of us on the swim team had 'em...they were bright purple, and we always thought we looked like big grapes). I wasn't really into wearing the boots, and flip-flops were only for summer. So heels it was.

When I went to Hoosier Girls State, my mom took me shopping for some "business dress" clothes, since you spend the whole week running for office and doing interviews. I got this super-cute outfit with white pants and a pink jacket, and we went on the hunt for the perfect pink shoes to go with the ensemble. We found these adorable alligator-skin round-toe pumps with big silver buckles on the sides, and I fell in love. I still have those shoes, and they are still one of my favorite pairs of all time. Ever since then, through the rest of high school and college, I just kept collecting more and more pairs of heels.

So I wear heels whenever I can; to work, to church, to go out on the town...and I love it! Even if it makes my feet hurt a little bit more, even if it slows me down just a hair, knowing that I stand a full 5'5" or 5'6" in my adorable shoes just makes me feel good!

But some older lady always tries to spoil it. Does that ever happen to you?

It's always some lady in her late 50s or older, and she's usually a total stranger. And she usually says something to the effect of, "I don't know how you walk around in those heels all day." Or, "You've got some guts, walking around in those heels!" This happens to me a LOT. Last Sunday, I was heading down the church hallway to go work in the nursery, and some lady who I definitely don't know sort of yelled after me, "She's pretty brave to be wearing heels in the nursery!" It was clear she wanted me to hear that, but I just kept walking, because it was like being made fun in a high school hallway, only I was in church and being made fun of by a senior citizen.

I always wish I had some sort of clever zinger for these old biddies sneering at me as I hoof it across their paths in stilettos. But I always sort of feel bad about the thought of sassing older people.

I just don't get why they all have a problem with young ladies wearing high heels!

I mean, some of these ladies were my age in the 40s and 50s. I know they had high-heeled pumps back then! And others of these ladies were living it up in the 60s and 70s, when platforms came into style. So I can't help feeling like these ladies have galloped around town in heels a time or two in their day. Why do they feel like giving me a hard time about it?

I promise that when I get older, even if I have vericose veins and arthritis caused by all my high-heeled younger days, even if I can't stand to wear anything that makes me taller than 5"3 and a half, I will never give a girl in her teens or twenties a hard time about wearing heels. I might even say something lame like, "Work it, girl!" Or maybe just, "I love your shoes!"

changing clothes...and other stuff

Tonight at musical rehearsal, a couple of the girls told me they loved my clothes.

"You always look so fashionable," they said. "You could be a model!"

Now, I know that's a load of crap, but it still made me feel good. Here's the funny thing -- I have always admired people who are able to sort of "put it together." But when I was in high school and even college, I never really felt like I knew how to do it, so I usually opted for the jeans-and-t shirt look.

It wasn't until probably my junior or senior year of college that I started trying to put it all together clothes and accessory-wise. For me, a "matching outfit" meant no clashing of black/brown or black/navy. It took awhile for me to just start getting how jewelry and shoes could pull an outfit together or that layering was more interesting than just wearing a t-shirt or sweater by itself. (The whole layering thing is still kind of a puzzle to me.)

And then after college I got to the point where I decided to wear whatever I wanted, because my job description doesn't really include a dress code. That gave me an excuse to take some risks and try some things that I was too chicken to try to pull off in college.

And now apparently some people think I'm fashionable.

So it just goes to show you how new people can be a litmus test for how much you've changed over the years. And I don't just mean on the outside, but also how you've changed you're opinions or your level of acceptance or your ability to branch out and try new things. I feel like every time I meet new people, I kind of find out more about the person I've become and how my experiences have taught me and influenced me to change. It's pretty cool.

On a separate note, another comment tonight made me and a couple other people laugh. My friend Chris, another guy in the show named Jeff, and I are all in the 24-25 age range. And at one point in the rehearsal, the kids sitting behind us made some comment about the three of us, referring to us as the "cool college kids." And we all three sort of went, "Pshhh, we're not in college! We're old! We're not that cool!" I think it's really funny how much we all get over ourselves once we graduate. You sort of get smacked in the face with real life, and then it doesn't matter how good your grades were, or how many clubs you were the president of, or how many friends you had, because they are all history and now you are a little fish trying not to get eaten in a very, very large pond called The World. It is very humbling to be a twenty-something.

OK, here's my last bit -- It used to be that when I was in junior high, high school, and even college, people always thought I looked older than what I was. But starting when I graduated, people have always been surprised to find out how old I am. I'm hoping it's because I stopped looking older and not because I display a lack of maturity! And either way, I'm not complaining; I'm getting to the place in life where it's a huge compliment for people to think I'm younger than what I am, and I hope it continues. But it's weird to go to a bar and have to get that suspicious eye from the bouncer after you've been legal for three years! I was always sort of afraid that because I matured early as a kid and teenager that I'd also age quickly as an adult. And it's nice to think I won't have to worry about that just yet.

Do you remember looking in the mirror as a kid and wondering what your adult face would look like? Now I catch myself looking in the mirror sometimes and thinking, "Oh! I guess this is it!" That's so weird. I still feel like I'm waiting to turn into a grown-up. I keep forgetting I am one.

twenty-five

This came from a Facebook game, and I'm not asking anyone to play it here...although it does make for a kind of fun blog post if you want to try it! I just thought I'd post mine on here for that very reason.

(The Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, you choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.)

Here are my 25 REALLY random things:

1. I am a social networking junkie. I have a blog, two YouTube channels, a Twitter feed, and (of course) Facebook! I don't have MySpace, though. Do people still use that?

2. I wouldn't say I hate cooking, but I don't enjoy cooking just for myself. (And I don't mean making burgers in the George Foreman or scrambling up an egg omelette -- in my book it only counts as cooking if you actually measure out ingredients and stuff.)

3. I do enjoy living on my own, even if that does mean cooking (or frying, or microwaving) for one!

4. I love my job. Even on the days when things don't go well. It doesn't matter how much money I make...I just love what I do.

5. I'm left-handed. Did everybody know that?

6. I have so. Many. Shoes. Most of them are heels because...

7. I am 5'2". Just like Reese Witherspoon, Ashley Tisdale, and Amy Poehler!

8. My dream jobs include: Marci Klein's job at SNL, Gellman's job on Regis & Kelly, being a personal assistant to Tina Fey just so I could soak up her awesomeness (did you catch how that's a reference to Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey?!), producing my own TV show, performing on Broadway.

9. I'd really like to write and publish a book someday.

10. I am so proud of my friends; so many people I know from high school, church, college, and after college are incredibly talented and I can't wait to see them make it big so I can cash in on those friendships. Totally kidding. But I truly believe that so many people I know have absolute star quality!

11. I have lived without cable television for 3 and a half years. I still keep up with a lot of TV shows; I just watch them all online or buy them by the season on DVD.

12. I do not, and probably never will, like the taste of coffee. I think it smells good, but tastes gross.

13. I don't remember a moment in my life where I stopped believing in Santa Claus. Most people can tell a story about how they found out, but I have no recollection of that happening...which makes me think I probably still believe in Santa Claus.

14. I also don't remember a point in my life where I started believing in God and in Jesus. Most people have a story to tell about that moment, too. But for me, the belief has just always been there, although that belief has definitely evolved and been challenged and dissected throughout my lifetime.

15. Back to accessories...I also love handbags and hats. I think my love of hats is what gets me through the winter.

16. I think it'd be really cool to live in the South, but I love-love-love the change in seasons that we get here in the Midwest. I would have a hard time giving that up.

17. I want a dog, really really a lot. I think everyone knows that. Hopefully I'll have one by this summer!

18. A lot of people ask me this, so in case you're wondering, here's what my work/sleep schedule is like: I go into work around midnight. I stay until 8 AM (give or take, depending on how much other work I need to do), then I go home and go to bed, usually from 8 or 9 AM until 4 or 5 PM. I don't have black curtains or heavy shades to block out the daylight. I'm just nocturnal, like an owl or a vampire.

19. My all-time, hands-down, no-contest favorite song in the world is "More Than Words" by Extreme for three reasons: (1) it reminds me of being at the lake (I don't know why), (2) the harmonies are beautiful, and (3) I love the lyrics and I think they have an awesome meaning. YouTube it and listen.

20. $20 bills are the worst. It seems like most bank machines and cash-back options always start at $20, which annoys me because usually I just need 5 bucks to put on my laundry card and I don't want to spend money just to break the 20, and I feel like a jerk just walking up to a random cashier and saying, "Hi, I'm not gonna buy anything, but will you just break this for me?" And it's hard for me to actually go to the bank and get cash in the amount that I want because I'm usually asleep during bank hours.

21. There's an episode of "The Office" where everyone was naming the five movies they'd bring with them if they were going to be on a desert island (the game is called "Desert Island" and it's supposed to be books, but I guess everyone was mildly illiterate, so they did movies). So anyway, here are my Desert Island 5: Big Fish, Singin' in the Rain, The Wizard of Oz, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I think. I'm never completely sure; I like a lot of movies!

22. My favorite color is pink. I feel like everyone knew that one too. My dad actually ordered me a pink phone without me having to ask. Isn't that awesome?!

23. On your 23rd birthday, you go off your parents' insurance. When I turned 23 I was working two part-time jobs, so I didn't have any insurance. It was that way for a few months until I got hired full-time at the TV station. Luckily, nothing bad happened.

24. I have a lot of fake foliage in my apartment. Fake flower vines around my kitchen, fake lilies in a vase on my counter, fake ferns on my window sill, a sconce with a fake bouqet on my wall, a vase of fake flowers in my bathroom, and a big fake flower sitting on my dresser in my bedroom. Low maintenance beauty, folks. That's what it's all about. Although I do enjoy real flowers too.

25. My favorite magazine is "Lucky." (I just bought one today, so that's what made me think of it.) I like it because you don't have to see any stories like "most embarrassing moments" or "101 sex tips." It's just all about clothes, which is my only reason for reading fashion magazines anyway.

And that's it! You might give it a try...just start at one and write about the first 25 things that sort of just pop into your head!

Have a great weekend :) Until later!

New Shoes

Hey, I put some new shoes on
And suddenly everything is right
I said hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling
It's so inviting
Oh, short on money
But long on time
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine
And I'm running late and I don't need an excuse to wear in my brand new shoes
~"New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini

I heard that song yesterday morning and decided it pretty much sums up my life right now.

I can't believe the way things have turned around in about...well, just about exactly three months. I went from being all sad and lonely to being happy just being on my own, which was good because it reminded me of all the confidence and pride I have in myself. And then once I had gotten back to my old self, one by one God kind of placed these people around me in different parts of my life to help me move forward.

And yesterday it was in the 50s outside, which is really warm for this time of year and the beast of a winter we've been having, and I heard birds chirping outside my window when I got home from work, and the sun shone through the windows during my exercise class, I got to drive around with the windows down, I didn't have to wear a coat, and I saw a pair of geese waddling by the side of the road on my way back from the gym, and I had a conversation about food and dream jobs...chalk it up a great day!

And as for new shoes, I actually did buy some recently. They are the exact same as my favorite old pair of shoes, which were starting to fall apart...probably because they were my favorites! I just got another pair just like 'em...and I'm wearing them right now!

So I really do have my new shoes on...and suddenly everything is right.