Changing My Life, One Step at a Time

Hello My Pretties.  I have missed you so much!  I know it doesn’t count for much, but I have several reviews (and pairs of shoes to get rid of!) already written up.  I am just waiting on my photographer to stop hijacking my blog and start taking pictures.  I may have to take photos of the shoes by themselves.  I know you will miss pictures of my feet and ankles, right?

But this post has nothing to do with shoes.  It is all me.  Raw and exposed.  No, not that kind of exposed!

I have been overweight for as long as I can remember.  My weight has fluctuated and I have lost weight here and there, but it never stuck.  I have been very careful with what my daughter eats so she doesn’t end up like me.  Recently, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  The best way to have her not end up like me, is to not be this way anymore.  So for my 30th birthday I requested money to officially join Weight Watchers.  Since that time I have consistently lost weight each week and am feeling incredibly motivated and positive.  Also, I find some great inspiration on Pinterest, (visit me by clicking here) which I will share with you throughout this post.

About two and a half weeks ago I decided to challenge myself even more.  I have always been terrified of running.  I was never good, in school I was always the slowest.  I developed early and was large chested.  This made running an even bigger challenge requiring at least two sports bras, often three.  When I was 21, I had breast reduction surgery.  I swore that the ability to move more easily and the reduction in back pain would mean I would be more active and eventually a runner.  That never happened.  Until now.  I made the decision to start the Couch to 5 K program.  My husband started at the same time and has been incredible.  I started religiously and gave it my all.  I put together a great mix on my iPhone with the help of my friends, downloaded the C25K app, and got my ass off the couch.  The program is designed to take participants from the couch to running a 5K marathon in around 9 weeks.  The first week wasn’t easy and I experienced horrible shin splits.  With great advice from friends, I stretched and iced and did everything I could to help with the pain.  Then 2/3 through week 2 the knee pain started.  My family has a history of knee issues, but I am young enough that I know building muscles will be a huge help and losing the weight is the best thing I can do.  I don’t want to injure myself so I took a few days off.  My knees are feeling better and I am getting ready to get back to it.

I know it will take me longer than the allotted time.  I am planning on restarting week 2 this week.  I have tried to do this quickly in the past and either injure myself, burn myself out or get frustrated and quit.  This is why I know things are different.  I am positive, I am dedicated, I am not discouraged and I am unstoppable.  It will take more than shin splints and sore knees to stop me.  I am on this journey for the long haul.  I will cross the finish line of a 5K race.  I have a great support sytem around me.  I have more faith in myself than I ever have had.  I just have to keep telling myself..

Shoe Challenge Hijack #2

Well, I noticed Rachel hasn’t posted lately, so my guess is you were all missing her parade of shoes.  I’m not really missing it because I see it daily, but I don’t want her to lose followers because her shoe challenge has stalled.  The reality is, I’m probably the reason for the stall as I have not been a very good cameraman….but the more I hijack her, the more I can post here.  So, it’s win win because, as you all know, I’m hilarious!  Well, I know Rachel isn’t around right now (she’s currently out jogging), so I’ve got some time to post this.  What fun would it be if she knew I was posting.  Finding these gems is half the fun, although I will admit I got sick of waiting her to notice the last one so I spilled the beans.  Not this time, I promise my pretties.  Speaking of pretties, I need a word for all of you, since we’re all in this together, are we all saboteurs?  Ninjas?  Awesomes?  I’ll take suggestions in the comment section.

So, last time, I showed you a pair of my ratty Sonoma shoes from Kohl’s.  After you see this next pair, you’ll learn that ratty may just be a common thread throughout most of my shoes.

So, without further ado, here’s my next pair of shoes!

The best Crocs in the world!

Shoe Challenge Hijack #1

Hello to Rachel’s pretties!  It is I, Rachel’s husband Dane.  I think my blog is listed somewhere in the blogroll – check it out!  ::shameless plug::

So, yesterday, Rachel shared her dirty secret with you regarding her 117 pairs of shoes (she almost bought another pair today FYI), so I thought I would share my dirty secret as well!  I just thought it would be a little bit of fun to come on here and show everyone a pair of my shoes since Rachel has been running through her shoes as well.  This is all in good-spirited fun (hopefully, Rachel will think this is as funny as I do when she wakes up in the morning).

So, without further delay, I offer you one of the pairs of shoes I wear the most!

Aerial View of My Dirty Little Secret

My dirty not so little secret….and the magic number is

I did it.  Finally did it.  I sucked it up, gathered all my shoes from three rooms throughout the house and lined them up in my living room.  This is the result.  Don’t mind Milo, he loves shoes too.  And yes, I do need lessons on how to properly use my fancy camera.  Any volunteers?

I started out with the goal of arranging them by style and color in pretty little lines.  I quickly started to have a mini panic attack.  Facing your demons head on is not easy my friends.  Laying out my addiction for all to see was overwhelming.  Admitting I may have a few too many pairs of shoes may not seem like a big deal to many, but it was a huge deal for me.  I may have gotten a little emotional and muttered things like “don’t judge me” and “I don’t want to get rid of my friends, we have such memories” and “stop staring at me with your mouth open, you married me!” to my incredulous husband.  Not to mention bending to pick up each pair of shoes and put them down and move them around and then bending to pick them back up and bending to put them back down meant I did several hundred squats.  Sad to say that my thighs still hurt from it days later.

So, you want to  know the magic number?  The magic number is….

117 pairs

Yes, my friends, I own 117 pairs of shoes, or 234 individual shoes.  And I love them all.  Each and every pair.  They may not all be stylish and they may not all be comfortable, but they are mine.  They carried me to events, vacations, bumming around, to work, to school, on dates with my boyfriend who later became my husband and the father of the world’s most adorable baby girl.  They are there with me through weddings, birthdays, and funerals and one lucky pair got to walk right along next to my girl as she took her first steps.  So yes, I have a lot of shoes and yes, I will get rid of some of them.  But know that nothing about this process is easy.  But I trudge on wearing one of my fabulous 117 pairs of shoes.

How do I love Pinterest? Let Me Count The Ways….

I have heard so many great things about Pinterest that I knew I had to check it out.  I ended up thinking it is a great idea and just had to sign up.  It is as great as they say it is.  It is a way to mark all of those ideas that you see online and to store them using an image essentially as the link so you can have it handy for future reference.

Here are some of the great things I have found on Pinterest.

By the way, if we don’t make a photo similar to the photo immediately above, I will most definitely cry!

Random, yet awesome.  Right?

Click her to see my Pinterest.  After signing up it took about a week for me to get my signup details and now I am in LOVE!

Shellac and Shoe Challenge Update

Hello there.  I wanted to quickly stop by to give you a down and dirty, no pretty picture, quick update on two things.

1-My shellac is on day 11 and looks great.  I have one teeny tiny little chip that I can file down and my nails are growing out a bit, but the polish itself looks great.  I tried to snap a photo, but my iPhone doesn’t do them justice.

2-I promised to make the shoe challenge more of a challenge this week and I will.  I just need to catch up on photos and I will be back on track.  Stay tuned!

Sorry about the lag in posting.  Have a great day!

Do you know Ruche? My first style boards!

Do you ever find something that makes you think, “How did I not know this existed?”  Maybe a website that is just so spectacular that you spend and afternoon looking at every single thing on the page?  Maybe a site for a store where you browse every sing item offered?

I had one of those moments today when I discovered Ruche.  Do you know Ruche?  If not, please allow me to introduce you.

Ruche is “a modern boutique with a vintage touch.”  You can find awesome clothes (they even have non frumpy plus sizes), shoes, jewelry, purses and home and office accessories.  Let me share with you some of my favorites.

First up Jewelry

next stop clothes and purses

Check it out for yourselves.  Go to Ruche. And my plus size ladies, some of those clothing items above are indeed plus.  Cute, right?

Shoe Challenge Pair #9

Hello!  I’d like to start out by apologizing for today’s practical and slightly frumpy post.  I will make up for it by posting an amazingly gorgeous, fashionable post not related to the shoe challenge immediately following.

Meet the newest member of the Finding Pretty Shoe Challenge.  My Dansko sandals.

Before I had my daughter I decided to try again with getting a grip on my plantar fasciitis.  I went to a podiatrist.  The result of that visit was a bit of scolding and these sandals.  I was told that I needed to get rid of my idea of pretty shoes and go for comfort.  Lot of good that talk did.  I ended up selecting these Dansko sandals which I tend to wear with black pants and cute toenail polish.  They aren’t the cutest, but they are comfortable and basically prescribed by my doctor.  I wear these when my feet need a break.  They have served me well.

Sorry for the basic, boring post, but everyone has their basics, right?  These are mine.  And they are sticking around.  Ugly or not, a girls gotta take care of her feet!

CONCLUSION: My keeper collection is now 9  pairs strong.

Stay tuned.  Next week I am going to try and dig to the back of the closet to try and put the challenge in full effect.  I need to start trying on the shoes that need to be cleared out.  More details to come.

Shoe Challenge Pair #8

Hello Friends.  I am happy to have old faithful as a part of the shoe challenge.  Several years ago, I tried on my mother in laws sandals and really liked them.

That is how met my now longtime friend, Gizeh.

Now I know what you are thinking.  Birkenstocks are for hippies, they aren’t incredibly attractive, blah blah.  And I do agree that they can look incredibly frumpy with boring, unpainted toenails.  But let me tell you, I have plantar fasciitis and I need to mix it up with shoes that are somewhat comfortable/good for my feet on occasion.  I have had several pairs of these and always keep a fresh pair handy.  If you aren’t careful and the cork gets soaking wet, it can be icky.

I think that the patent leather makes these fun and they look cute with pants.

These are my go to sandals when I will be walking a lot, have sore or tired feet and need something that I know feels good on my feet.  That is why these are my old faithful sandals.  These will definitely stay and be a part of my shoe army, along with their unworn friend still in the box.

CONCLUSION: My keeper collection is now 8  pairs strong.

Shoe Challenge Pair #7

Hello My Pretties.  I hope you are all doing well.  Spring as been in effect for a bit here.  Finally.  Although the temperature is warmer, currently it is a bit dreary.  At the tail end of our lonnnnng winter, I picked up the next pair of shoes I’d like to introduce you to.

Ladies and gentlemen, please meet my Bailey flats.  Bailey, welcome to the shoe challenge.

I saw these shoes online and they were sold out of my size.  So sad.  Fast forward to the following week as I visited the Grand Opening of a DSW a few cities over (Note: I did not make a special trip for the grand opening, I was already in town on other business) and saw they had these in stock.  I quickly snatched them up.

It didn’t take me long to fall in love.

I happen to think they are incredibly adorable.

Bailey is very comfortable and can really punch up an outfit.  These are definitely keepers.

CONCLUSION: My keeper collection is now 7  pairs strong.

Maybe my keeper collection is slowly turning into my shoe army?