A shoe dilemma

Okay, so I was at Marshall's today looking for a sweater, because my office thermostat is permanently set to -15 degrees. While I was there, I couldn't help but notice that, like, 1/3 of the store was devoted to shoes. And that some of these shoes were really cute.

I did my best to stay on task, and found a sweater that would keep me warm without breaking the bank or making me look like a hobo. All the while I was doing this, though, I kept glancing over at the shoes. See, I've been looking for the perfect pair of red ballet flats for about 2 months. You wouldn't think that this would be such a tall order--they're so trendy right now that you can't throw a stick without hitting a rack of ballet flats in every imaginable color and style. Still, the perfect pair eluded me, mostly because I am insanely picky and cheap when it comes to shoes, but also because I have the same size feet as every other woman in Texas.

These are the qualifications for the perfect red flat I was seeking: 1) deep red, not fire engine, 2) no print, 3) not patent leather (or any other shiny material, thankyouverymuch), 4) rounded toes that are neither so pointy that they pinch nor so boxy that they make me look club-toed, 5) comfortable, 6) not gappy on the sides, 6) no bows, sequins, or obnoxious adornments of any kind. Simple. Red. Comfortable. And, of course, cheap and available in my size. Basically, like this, but not shiny. Or these but not quilted. Or this, only darker (and not $200!). You get the idea. Fifty pages of red casual flats on a zappos search, and only a couple pairs even get close.

So anyway, back to Marshall's. They didn't have much in the way of red, but I tried on a bunch of black shoes and some dark green(cute, but gappy on the sides). As I was just about to give up, I glanced over at the clearance rack...and saw these. In my size, even! I tried one on, and it fit wonderfully. I checked the price--$25. I think I may have heard angels singing. I dug the other shoe off the rack and bought them immediately.

You know that can't possibly be the whole story, right? Of course not, and here's where the dilemma comes in. When I put them on in the car, I noticed something odd. The shoes were quite obviously a pair--same size, same style, only ones in the entire store. However, the red of the left shoe is a shade lighter than the right. Not so much that it would be noticeable from a distance but unmistakable up close, particularly when my feet are side by side. Further inspection revealed a "display" sticker on the bottom of the lighter shoe. Apparently, one shoe had spent its early life at Marshall's fading away under the fluorescents while the other one was cozy in the box.

Now that I've been wearing them all afternoon, the color difference is making me sort of crazy. I love everything else about them and the price was right, so I don't want to take them back. I just need to figure out how to make them match. I think putting the light one in a box and setting the other one in the windowsill for a week or so should do the trick, but what if that only fades, like, half the shoe? I could store the right shoe on my kitchen counter with the big prep light on for a while...that would give the same fading effect as the store fluorescents, I would think. Only, it's kind of weird.

So, what would you do?

Song: If I Were Brave (right-click, save-as)

two quick questions, asked in utter desperation...

Okay, so I'm doing the UAR bonus quiz, and I'm paralyzed by indecision on two of the answers. So, here are my questions, for anyone who may know...

UPDATE: I went with the 1960 Volvo, which maybe I shouldn't have, because our final score was 78% (30/38 answers). This quiz was really, REALLY hard compared to last year's, though, so maybe that'll still be enough to get us into the 1st or 2nd start wave. Aw well, what's done is done...we did the best we could.

1. How can you tell the difference between a 1960 Volvo Amazon/122 model and a 1966 model? And did Volvo change their color selections from year to year in the 60s (like, did they only offer sky-blue Amazons every 3 years, or whatever)?

2. How do "points of interest" on car navigation systems work, particularly DVD-based systems? Do they include ALL business listings, or just listings that may be of some use to the traveler? I'm inclined to think the latter, or you'd need a helluva lot more than 2 DVDs to hold all of US and Canada.

So, if anyone knows the answer to either of these questions (or has better luck looking them up than I did), pleeeeease comment. After researching 20 of the most convoluted pop-culture, web-scavenger-hunt questions in the universe, my brain is dead.

MS150 angst

So, on my club ride last Saturday, everyone was talking about the BP MS150, and how they were all signed up, and it was already almost full. I've been thinking about doing it, but even with 6 months to train I'm not sure I can be ready. My longest single ride so far has been 65 miles--do I really think I could do 150 miles over two consecutive days? And then there are all the logistics issues--sleeping arrangements for the overnight in La Grange, whether to find a team, can I join a team after I sign up or does it have to be at signup, etc. (The website is absolutely no help at all in this regard.) Also, fundraising. I had a hard enough time asking for a measly $100 for the Tour de Pink. Do I have the stuff to raise the $400 required to ride? And let's not talk about the hills in Austin. I didn't think they were that bad for the Urban Assault Race, but coming in after 70 miles of riding? THAT might suck.

Still. Everyone I know who's ridden it has loved it, and they've ridden it at levels ranging from novice to race speeds. If I intend to do a 6-day tour in July (even a very easy beginner tour), maybe I should give it a shot, you know? It's also kind of a rite of passage, and I'd like to say that I've done it. There are 6 months between now and then...plenty of time for fundraising and long-distance training, right?

So, I can't seem to get off the fence about it. Since the registrations are already at 92%, though, I feel like I need to decide pretty soon, lest it be decided for me. So what do you think?

I know my pledge page has no personality, but donate anyway!

You know, ever since I signed up for the Tour de Pink, I've been racking my brain (wracking my brain?) for something to write on my donations page. Whether it's writer's block or the exhaustion, I've got nothin'. The problem is that I want it to be so good and so inspiring, and otherwise magnificent that I can't come up with even a mediocre paragraph. The 3 P's have completely taken over--perfectionism, procrastination, and performance anxiety.

However, September 11th will be here before I know it, and at the rate I'm going, I'll be my only donor. I'm not opposed to that, but I'd like to raise as much money as I can for this worthy cause.

So anyway, here's my very plain pledge page. By supporting my first metric century, you'll also be donating to an organization that sponsors breast cancer awareness programs for young women in Houston, free mammograms for "medically underserved" women, and programs for breast cancer victims and survivors. I'll sure appreciate anything you can pledge!

hair advice, once again.

I need a haircut.

It's been about...well, a long damn time since I last worked up the courage to get one, and it is now utterly out of control. I've been dealing with a frizzy mess of split ends for about 3 weeks, and I've had enough.

However. I'm having the same problem with this haircut that I have with every haircut I've ever gotten. I haven't found The Style.

You'd think that after 31 years on the planet, I would have some idea what looks good on me. I mean, I do...I have gotten a handful of good haircuts in my day. The trouble is, I rarely can keep them looking good for more than a week. A lot of women say they can't do hair, but seriously? I CANNOT DO HAIR. I have zero hair-doing prowess. None. Anything that can't be styled in a minute or two with maybe one product and a couple simple tools ends up looking like someone attacked me with a flowbee by week 3. Right now, I'm on week 16 or so, so on most days my hair bears a strong resemblance to that chick on The Ring. It's bad, is what I'm saying.

So anyway, the other day I was trolling for hairstyles on ye olde internet, and came up with a list of finalists. Keeping in mind that a) I have no patience for futzing with hair, so I need something that will look presentable with a minimum effort, and b) the only things I have in common with these models are hair color and face shape, which would you choose?

Oh, and this is me:

So, if you'd be so kind, please tell me what to do. :)

outing my guilty pleasure, again

Does anyone know where I can get an mp3 of Anw@r Robinson singing "What @ Wonderful World" on AI last night? I've googled, but everywhere I've gone so far is chock-full of pop-ups and mandatory registrations. I don't want to talk about the show or get 10 tons of spam about it, I just want the damn file. Good god, that guy can sing. :)

frivolous yuppie purchasing advice

Also, I'm thinking of buying myself one of these for my birthday. If the coffee is truly as perfect as all the reviews say it is, it seems worth the price. Hell, if it could eliminate my Starbucks habit, it would pay for itself in a few months.

Anyone used one, can give me a review? I'm particularly interested in the cheaper home-use model.

UPDATE: We bought one of the B50s. Free shipping and $20 in free coffee (besides the sampler that comes with the brewer) was a good enough deal, plus this review set my mind at ease. If it got a good review from someone who cares that much about coffee, it's bound to be good enough for a casual coffee drinker like me.

a cry for help

Okay, I need some suggestions here.

Since our formal wedding event is only 2 hours long, and at least 1/3 of our guests are flying across the country to be here for it, we didn't want to leave them with nothing to do after 1 pm on Saturday. So, the plan is to invite people back to the house from 1-6, and go to the hotel after that.

However, I am really not relishing the thought of wearing a heavy satin/organza wedding gown around the house for 4-5 hours, navigating around tables and dodging (well, probably knocking over) many glasses of beer. So what I was thinking was that I could change before the more informal party at the house.

My problem is what to change into. Since most people are coming to the house in their wedding clothes, I hate to change into a t-shirt and jeans...besides which, those wouldn't go with the formal Bride Hair that I'll still be sporting. So what I'm really lookign for is a simple spring dress, somewhere between casual and semi-formal. So far, it has been mission impossible.

Does anyone know of a good place to look for something like that in a size 16, with a price reasonable enough that I won't have to get a second mortgage to buy it?

W. W. M. M. D.

I discovered today that I'm one of those people I whine about.

I drive Noah to school every morning, and there are 5 volunteer greeters out there to get the kids out of the cars and in the door. He's been going to that school since the middle of first grade, and it's been basically the same 5 women every day for 3 school years. I don't know any of their names, but I recognize their faces and where they usually stand.

At the beginning of this school year, I started to notice that the woman on the end closest to the exit was looking smaller than she had in May. At first, I thought it was just me projecting my weight obsession onto her, but as time went on I started noticing that her clothes were too big. Then there were clothes she didn't wear anymore. Today, I noticed that the wrinkle between her chin and her neck was more pronounced. By the looks of things, she's either wearing much more flattering clothes and has had a facelift, or she's lost 30-40 lbs. Either way, she looks a lot better.

I know that she would probably enjoy a compliment on the weight loss, but I can't seem to make myself say anything. For one thing, I don't know this woman very well. I only see her for a few seconds on weekdays, and usually it's while passing her in my car. I don't know her name, and while I'm pretty sure it's the same woman as last year, I'm not 100%. She's one of two greeter women that look really similar, though the other one is still heavy. What if I said, "have you lost weight?" and got an "Um, no. And who are you?" Or what if she had a serious illness over the summer?

"Have you lost weight?"
"Yes, I spent my entire summer in the hospital with *insert life-threatening disease here*. Thanks for bringing up that painful memory, kind stranger."

Not to mention the time issue. There's a line of cars unloading kids behind me, and I hate to hold up the line by stopping to compliment her on weight loss that may or may not be my imagination.

So I don't say anything, but I feel like I should. It's gotten so that it's the same sort of guilt I feel when I'm in the front of the line at the traffic light next to the homeless guy with the "throat cancer" sign. Does he really have throat cancer? And does it matter? I don't roll down the window and give him a dollar, but I feel like a better person would.

What do you think I should do with this woman? What would Miss Manners do?

help if you can...

I figured I'd cross-post this request to both blogs, so I have the greatest chance of getting a volunteer. I need someone to send a 4th grade geography project to. More information is here, if you think you'd be interested.

question

okay, ladies--what's the proper way to measure bust? Is it under the breasts, or including them? I've been measuring under, like you would for bra size, but now I think from looking around on other sites (fitness journals and clothing sites) that I should have been including the boobage.

Any thoughts?

how do you know?

I don't think I'm working my quadriceps hard enough. They're never sore anymore.

It's odd, because at the time that I'm working out, they feel so exhausted, and I start to lose my balance by the time I get to the end of the first set of exercises. But even after doing 2 sets, there's no soreness or fatigue the next day or the day after that. Which makes me think that I'm not working them hard enough.

The same thing happens with my calves, though I haven't quite gotten to a point where I feel like I'm doing the calf exercises right. I threw away all my phone books (that's what the internet is for), so I don't have a block high enough to rest my feet on for the seated calf raises. I've tried a binder, but there's some slippage...I may have to invest in one of those aerobic step things, but it seems like such a waste to get one for just this one set of exercises. Then again, I guess these things come with a step aerobic video...I could do that on the off-workout days.

So, how do you know that you're working hard enough? At the time of the workout I feel like I am, but then I'm not sore later, which is the gauge I normally use for these sorts of things. I have heard that the soreness starts to go away if you work out more regularly, and maybe that's what's happening here. If so, I need to find something else to measure whether or not I'm working hard enough. It seems a shame to be sweating my ass off and have it turn out that I'm stopping before it's really doing any good.

to supplement, or not to supplement...

...that is the question.

Because I'm used to eating whatever I want, I took on this diet thing by the numbers only and chose not to worry about nutrition. As long as my diet stayed within my goal calorie range, I could eat whatever I wanted. If that means eating a pint of ben & jerry's in the morning and nothing else all day long, then that's the way it's gonna be.

Now that I'm about a week and a half into it, I'm beginning to wonder about nutrition. Overall, I've been good. Meals have stayed reasonably balanced, and I have felt better for it. But.

I can't help but think that I'm severely skimping on the dairy (I'm from Wisconsin for crying out loud...I'm not used to avoiding cheese), and my vitamin C is probably on the low end, too. Since I don't eat breakfast, with all its fortified cereal goodness, I don't think there's really as much "food" in my food as there could be.

I'm going to try to add a multivitamin to my morning routine, I think. Anyone have any favorites I should try, or what vitamins/percentages I should be looking for? I think I've got one-a-day at home right now, but I haven't taken one for ages.

candytime

I've been surprised that sticking to 1000 - 1200 calories hasn't been harder. Recording and looking up nutritional information on everything I eat has been time consuming, but it makes me more aware of everything I'm putting into my mouth...as well as all the stuff I used to put into it.

One of the things I'm having the hardest time with is a thing I refer to as candytime. About 3 in the afternoon, right about the time lunch starts to wear off, I get a craving for something sweet. It's not just a snack, and it's not really because I'm hungry...it's a motivator to get through those last 2 hours of work, and a needed part of the routine.

At any rate, it's an old habit, and I'm finding it hard to let it go. Yesterday, I went ahead and did candytime, but it wasted a good 280 calories that could have been eaten for dinner. I thought that maybe vegetables would do it--sugar snap peas, or carrots, both of which have about 40 calories per serving... But I don't think it's going to work that way.

I need to find something sweet that will satisfy that emotional need, but will not waste much of my calorie allotment. Fruit might work, or maybe jello. Or I suppose I could take up smoking (kidding!).

Any suggestions?