Is there such a thing as too many shoes?

When I discovered the show "Sex and the City" I was instantly addicted.  Wow, that's a shocker isn't it?  If you haven't been living under a rock for the past ten years and happen to know even a little bit about the show, you probably know that the main character, Carrie Bradshaw, is obsessed with shoes.  And not just any shoes, but designer shoes that go for $300 and more a pair.  Not a cheap obsession. 

Of course, Carrie was also a newspaper columnist for most of her life which meant that having the liquid funds available to purchase outlandishly priced footwear was sometimes difficult, if not impossible.  But she always found a way.  Isn't fiction fun? 

When I started watching Sex and the City I wore sneakers just about every day of my life.  I can't even think of a pair of footwear I owned that didn't have shoelaces, aside from the proverbial black dress shoes that everyone's mother insisted they own until they were old enough to move out of the house.  But something happened to me once I discovered SATC.  Maybe it would have happened regardless, but this show awakened something in me that I never had thought about before. 

A love of shoes. 

A love of stilettos, and wedges, and pumps.  A love of darkly colored suede and bright, funky patterns.  Shoe shopping became a new favorite pasttime.  Zappos.com became my new favorite website.  I suddenly found myself transforming my style.  I was no longer content with my tomboy attire on a day-to-day basis, I was ready to create outfits and top those outfits off with my new favorite accessory:  fabulous shoes. 

Here's a newsflash for you.  Shoes take up a lot of room in one's closet.  Because you see, there are two of them.  So after awhile it takes a lot of creativity and superior organizational skills to make room for all those shoes.  Luckily for me, I now live in a house and have access to more than a couple closets in which to store my treasures.  

But no matter what I do, I can't get people to stop asking me the same question over and over again. 

"Don't you have enough shoes?"

Boy, that's a brain teaser.  I suppose to some people I probably do have enough shoes, more than enough, even.  But to me.....I just can't endorse the idea that the footwear I currently own is all I will ever need. 

What is it about shoes that is so wonderful?  I mean after all, these things go on your feet and inevitably get sweated in and eventually become rather smelly, dirty.....you know the deal.  Suddenly these brightly colored contraptions aren't as appealing as they once were. 

For me, certain pairs of shoes encompass different attitudes.  I have pairs that make me feel bold and in-charge, other pairs that are more subtle, others that are flashy and just scream "PARTY!"  Then I have my workout shoes, which I actually love just as much as any pair of heels I have ever owned.  With the right footwear, I can be exactly the person I want to be and convey exactly the type of persona I want to convey.  Pretty sweet, huh? 

New shoes are like new possibilities.  And, okay, they're just downright fun to buy.  And I will rationalize everything to death in order to convince myself that a new pair of shoes must be purchased.....today.....this very minute.  Closet space be damned.  

So to answer the question, no, I don't think there is such a thing as too many shoes.  I don't think it's silly to pack four pairs of shoes when I go home just for two nights, and I don't think that limited closet space will ever stand in my way of purchasing the most perfect pair of black stilettos (that I have seen this month). 

I have been told numerous times that life is all about choices.  Now wouldn't it be a shame to go through your life, making those choices, and wearing the absolutely wrong pair of shoes?

Think about it.       

Do I watch too much television?

I go home at lunch most every day to let my dogs out.  Every afternoon I walk through the front door, let the dogs out of their kennels, and then turn on the TV.  At night when I get home from work, if Dean hasn't already done so, I will turn on the TV.  When Dean and I crawl into bed at night the TV is always on until we fall asleep.  On the weekends I will usually dedicate at least a few hours to house cleaning, during which time I have the TV on.  Not necessarily being watched, but on nonetheless.

I have been watching TV since I was a little kid.  So have a lot of people in this country.  However, I feel like I watch more TV now than I ever did when I was growing up.  Does anyone else feel this way?  When I was a kid, I had so many other things to amuse me, so many other things that I spent my time doing, TV wasn't really one of my top priorities.  From a child development standpoint I guess this is a good thing, but I'm wondering why TV has become so much more a part of my life now.  Is it because I don't have as much outside stimulii?  Or am I becoming lazier?

It's true that spending hours in front of the TV is often construed as being lazy.  But TV can also provide one with a sometimes much-needed escape.  From work, from a fight with your spouse, from just about anything that might be weighing on your mind.  And let's face it, sometimes we need an escape, or at least a couple hours of distraction before we let oursleves sink back into reality.

Also, as much as I am absolutely in love with Netflix and the fact that they have hundreds and hundreds of movies and TV shows available on instand download, I admit that it has definitely contributed to my inclination to flip on the tube rather than turn on the radio.  Come on now, how awesome is it that in a matter of minutes I can access the entire first season of "Friday Night Lights" and watch it as long and as many times as I want?  (On a side note, has anyone ever noticed how much beer Tim Riggins actually drinks on that show?  The boy NEVER has a glass of water!)  

I guess the one thing that confounds me more than anything is my habit of having the TV on even if I am not watching it.  For instance, during my weekend house cleaning I am upstairs, downstairs, running the vacuum, doing dishes, all sorts of activities that do not involve sitting on the couch and paying attention to a particular program.  And yet the TV is on, the volume is up, and I in turn am wasting electricity all for the sake of background noise.  

Even in the mornings when I sit on the couch and read.  I am engrossed in a book, paying attention only to the words on the page, and the TV is still on.  Some people might find this a distraction, but I'm very good at tuning things out.  That and multi-tasking....perhaps this is an example of both.

Here's my question.  Why are we (because I'm sure I'm not the only one) so inclined to watch TV even when we aren't watching TV?  What is it about that box with the startingly clear picture that keeps us coming back for more, even when we should be doing other things?  Is it more than wanting an escape.....are we all addicted to TV?

I will sometimes force myself to not watch TV.  To sit and read a book in total silence.  To turn on my iPod when I am cleaning.  I find it refreshing to take a break from TV, to force myself to become creative again in the ways of entertaining myself.  It's like I want to prove to myself that I still got it, that I don't need TV in order to be occupied.   

Of course, this can only last so long.  Because when I see those new episodes of "Glee" scheduled for Tuesday nights you will find me right back on the couch. 

Life is short....turn on some Christmas lights

Perhaps you have noticed the new look that "In My Words" is sporting.  Yes?  No?  First time visiting?  In any case, I was feeling restless with the old look and decided with the new year fast approaching an aesthetic layout change was in order.

Today Christmas is on my mind.....and all the things that go hand-in-hand with the holiday.  Not just the shopping and the giving of gifts, but more specifically the decorating.  Think of all the things we do for Christmas.  We run out and buy live trees to disply in our living rooms, we cover these trees with ornaments of every size, shape, and color, we hang up string of lights in our windows and outside our houses, then on top of everything else we buy all sorts of other decorations to display inside our homes.  Decorating for Christmas alone can sometimes last from the day after Thanksgiving right up until Christmas Eve.  And for some people that still isn't enough time.

Before I get too much further along let me say that I love decorating for all holidays.  I may not have the largest decoration collection, but I make do with what is available.  Of course I am also extremely cheap, which is probably a good thing in some respects, but it also means that it will take me awhile to grow my various decoration collections.

My husband doesn't quite get into the spirit of all-out decorating.  Especially when it comes to the Christmas lights.  He argues that it isn't worth a more expensive electricity bill just to have some colored lights on our house.  Okay, so in realist terms that is probably true.  But I can't buy into it.  For me, Christmas lights, tree, decorations, and everything else are essential. 

Decorating is an element that helps make any holiday more than average.  It sets the scene and amazingly enough can set your mood.  Once all my decorations for Christmas were appropriately displayed, the tree assembled (yes, it's fake) and decorated, the lights hung and plugged in, I felt darn good.  Every night when I come home at 5:00 and it's already pitch black outside, I see my Christmas lights shining bright and feel a little happier inside.  When I'm in my house with my candles burning and illuminating the nativity scene, I can't help but instantly relax.  Sure, part of it is probably the essence of the season, but there is something to be said for WSU Santas and fat snowmen smiling down from the TV stand. 

Is all-out decorating what Christmas is all about?  No.  Is it essential to having the perfect Christmas?  Probably not.  But for some, and for others who might not like to admit it, decorating in any way shape or form just has a way of elevating spirits. 

Would I trade these happy feelings for a lower electricity bill?  Nope.  Sometimes it's worth it to plug in some Christmas lights.    

Monday's OMG Moment.....

The OMG moment of Monday came when my sister and I were strolling through the WSU Bookie, searching the new release book tables for potential Christmas presents.  And that's when I saw it staring up at me.  The book that made me stop dead in my tracks and say, "Oh. My. God."

In case you haven't heard of this upstanding young man before, it is none other than Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from Jersey Shore.  That's right kids, The Situation has infiltrated your local bookstore to regale you with advice on the following topics:

• How to creep on chicks
• How to avoid gernades (FYI: not the ones that explode when you pull the pin and throw them)
• How to get your GTL on in the Jersey Shore

I think I died a little inside seeing this book on the same table as a biography on George Washington.

Of course, as the saying goes, everyone and their dog has a book out these days.  Literally every reality TV star eventually makes their way into a Barnes and Noble store, and the majority of those "stars" probably had someone ghost write their book while all they had to do was pose for the cover photo.  Let's face it, if they let The Situation actually write his own book one would probably need a translator to decipher all the crude, obscure references.  

So as I sit here and ponder my own future in the land of writing, I can't decide if this book bodes well for my chances of one day being published, or if it represents the low I will have to sink to in order to see my words in print. 

Perhaps that is a question best pondered on another day.