Blah

as in, things are...

State of Things

The conference I helped plan took place last week in Knoxville and seemed to be a success. It was a difficult week and I'm glad it's over. The two worst parts were the lack of sleep and the fact that I ran out of clean undergarments on Thursday night. I smelled pretty rank by Saturday afternoon! I still have a fair bit of cleanup work to do on the conference.

They're a trifle large, but I bought some nude pumps to wear last week. Mission accomplished.

After agonizing about it for months, I cleaned out my Goodreads "currently reading" shelf. I moved eight items to "may finish someday" or to a new shelf called "read most of it." I feel much better now that the three books I'm actively reading are the only items on the currently reading shelf.

The weeds and fall pruning I should have done are OUT OF CONTROL at my house. I fear I'll never get ahead of them, particularly since it's already too hot for yardwork, in my opinion.

I haven't baked in ages, but last night I made banana bread and almond-anise biscotti. I overbaked the biscotti a tad, and it's a bit crunchier than I hoped, but all in all it was a success and is a decent substitute for Nonni's original biscotti. Next time I will bake it for less time, chop the almonds finer, and perhaps crush some of the anise seeds, all of which may make it more acceptable for sharing.

The Impossible Dream--A Shoe Story

Like my eternal quest for the perfect foundation makeup, I am also on a quest for a pair of neutral colored comfortable heels I can wear with bare legs. I would say the color I'm looking for is camel, though the names are all over the spectrum. The idea is a close-to-skin-color shade that will elongate the leg.

This is quite a feat, considering I have very wide feet and bunions, and that I also find most heels unbearably uncomfortable. I recently renewed my search efforts in light of my upcoming work commitments.

Here is what I have learned:

1. I should have kept a list of the shoes I've already tried and returned. If I had, I wouldn't have ordered the exact same pair of VANELi pumps two years apart (these are actually a lovely color, though not quite what I want, and I'm kind of sad to have to return them. And they are quite a bit cheaper than they were two years ago).

2. Just because I tried a pair of Stuart Weitzmans in the store doesn't mean the same size in another SW style will remotely compare in fit. Yes, I should have shelled out the $325 two years ago for the exact pair I wanted when they were available, because that size and color and style appears not to be had now at any price.*  Thankfully, I was able to quickly return the $600 order of SW shoes I tried last week (Zappos is the best thing ever invented). Of course, after I made that purchase my credit card company put a security hold on my card!

3. See lesson 1 above. I've ordered so many different combinations of styles and sizes that I'm no longer even being logical about what I try.

For those who care (that is, if you're still reading this), I'm currently holding on to two pairs of Naturalizers, one of which could work (but I'm disappointed in the quality and they maybe aren't comfortable enough), still have the VANELis mentioned above, though they ought to go back, and am waiting on yet another pair of SW to arrive Monday (I'm guessing they won't work either, but I can't stop trying).

Two questions:

• Will I ever succeed?
• Will Zappos cut me off soon for buying and returning SO MANY shoes?

*Yes, even I am a bit shocked at paying so much money for a pair of shoes, but this is an extraordinary case and if I can find exactly what I want, I'm willing to pay that much. My problem is that I usually end up settling, and we all know that often backfires in the end.


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photo: [Three young children sitting and one standing in a grassy area on Shoe Day, with the standing child holding a new, large shoe]. 1908.  DN-0006513, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum. Available from American Memory at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cdn:@field(NUMBER+@band(ichicdn+n006513))

Moderation or Cold Turkey; or, She Got up off the Bed

The reality of talking in front of people and being in photos at a conference five weeks from now has finally struck. I don't know if that's why, but after an uncharacteristically brief after-work nap yesterday, I managed to rouse myself and do some real house work, starting with breaking down all the cardboard that's accumulated since Christmas, followed by cleaning out one drawer in the bathroom (yeah, odd places to start, I know). (Though first I had to visit Wal-Mart to replace the half-gallon of milk I left on the counter top the night before.)

I'm also about to start the Mayo Clinic Diet, the first two weeks of which is based on the premise of starting 5 habits, breaking 5 habits, and adding 5 "optional" habits. The two weeks are supposed to jump start the weight loss and then you can ease up a bit for the remainder of the plan (the rest of your life).

New Habits 

• Eat a healthy breakfast every day, sort of an issue.
• Eat whole grains, no problem.
• Eat a minimum four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit per day, HUGE deal.
• Get thirty minutes of exercise a day, pretty big change also.
• Eat "good" fats. Whatever.

But the real kicker is the list of habits to be broken, which includes NO snacking on anything (except maybe fruits or vegetables?) and NO added sugar. And, no more time spent watching TV than is spent exercising.

So, if I break the NO sugar rule, can the two weeks still be a success? That is, can I start some better habits, lose a few pounds, and not revert later to my normal slobby, gluttonous self?

A Few Complaints

1. I'm suffering from a moderately severe cold* that makes me cough and gives me a headache.
2. There's a painful blister on the side of my tongue.

Any complaints on your end?

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*I must say, however, that the cold is (so far) NOTHING compared to the miserable malady of nearly 11 months ago, which began a solid month of sickness followed by weeks of coughing, struck the week of TN Library Association conference, and during which I lost my favorite purple cardigan (I've bought two others since then, but neither is a satisfactory substitute for the original). And I'm glad this cold struck now instead of six weeks from now, in the middle of another conference, during which I most certainly will NOT be able to spend any time at home in bed.