Let's be silly and superficial now. How about shoes?

Before I go further, I know you guys mean well telling me what exercise to try and what you did that worked for you. I just find myself feeling defensive and I don't want to feel defensive. I have a few ideas to get my body moving more than it currently is. My friend Chrissy has a neighbor who teaches pilates so we're going to do that one morning while our kids are at school. I'm debating a couple other things, like dropping the gym membership and doing a Curves-ish place. Max and I go on long walks but they can't be too long since he's not worried about his weight and has legs which are one half the length of mine. I put him in the wagon yesterday and we walked all over for about 45 minutes. It was a better work out than our usual walks which are decidedly slow and leisurely.

I really, seriously, do NOT EAT BADLY! We just don't keep junk in our house, so I don't eat junk. If anything I don't eat enough, at least that's what I found when I lost weight last year. When I started keeping a steady flow of healthy food in my mouth I lost weight much quicker than when I was eating about 200-300 calories during the day, eating real food only for dinner.

See I'm getting defensive. The biggest problem in my lifestyle is the Bells Oberon and the Sierra Nevada, heavy yet delicious beers I enjoy drinking. I've cut my intake as summer has come to a close but still, that's where the bulk of my added calories come from.

The only thing I really need to change is my activity level. In order to do that I'm just going to have to try things until I find the thing that I enjoy and that doesn't cut into my writing for Flogging Baby and the rest of my life.

Also I'm going to have to try a new medication because I do think the medication I'm taking is factoring into the rapid and large amount of weight I've gained since May.

So we were going to be superficial and 'light'.

What shoes are people wearing this year? Every fall I struggle to find a pair of shoes which are comfortable, not frumpy, a bit trendy but not overly so, give me a little lift so I don't feel so casual everyday.

So what are the kids wearing these days. What are they wearing with their Mom Asses? Well what would they be wearing if they had Mom Asses? I wear boot cut jeans or corduroys almost everyday with either a v-neck ribbed sweater, cardigan or t shirt....what shoes should I be saving my pennies for this year?

Comments

[pinky]

I've always wanted Dansko closed-back clogs, but I was afraid of the break-in period. I recently bought these in black:

http://www.eastlandshoe.com/eshop/product.asp?dept%5Fid=4&pf%5Fid=026

they look very similar - are so comfortable that I wore them through two airports with nary a blister. and they looked very cute with jeans. I bet they would look cute with cords, too.

[research freak]

If you eat 5 to 6 times a day consuming 200 to 300 calories each time consisting of equal ratios of carb/protien and maybe get a GOOD multi-vitamin.......

your body will then trust that you are not going to STARVE it anymore (causing the organs within the body to strive at being healthy, operating at a low nutrient level) and in turn will STOP storing the fat which it does in fear that you might not feed it anytime soon.

Once I started applying this advice my body changed. Stop counting calories instead count every three hours and EAT!!! Healthy low fat stuff but EAT!!!

Oh Yeah...I love shoes...I just bought some dollhouse tonight that are adorable...brown leather and suede,6 inch heal, mary jane look...

[Sarah]

I love love love the knee-high boots. I found some black leather ones on sale with a buckle across the instep, and wearing them goes a long way toward making me feel less pale and frumpy during a Maine winter (which lasts for about 11.5 months of the year).

My boots make me feel like I can kick butt and take names -- AND they have excellent traction, which is key because I walk to work most days.

[JT]

Am I the only person in the world who couldn't break in a pair of Clarks? And the only one who has a serious relationship with Merrells? Their cuteness factor depends mightily on your shoe size (at a size 11, the daintier, cuter styles are not my friends), but damn it all they're so comfy. They run in the $65-90 range, generally -- not too bad for extremely well-built shoes. Dunno about the cool factor.

For cute, I'm-broke-so-I-need-cheap-shit shoes, I go to Payless. I have occasionally hit upon something that I will wear for months (last year, ankle-length black pointy-toed boots that were just high enough for long slinky pants and just comfy enough to wear almost every day).

Ah, shoes. Guess what I'll be looking for this weekend?

[Sarah]

I like Merrells too! I have (nearly) flat, size 8.5/9 feet that greatly resemble flippers, and although the Merrells don't do anything to make my dogs look more diminutive, the brand doesn't squeeze my bunions either. Which is one of my top three requirements of my footwear, these days.

[Amy]

I have one word for you: Keen

These are hands-down the most comfortable, practical, yet stylish (well, moderately stylish) shoes you will ever buy. Plus they come in about 15,000 styles and colors. I have this pair and LOVE them:

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/6147161/c/31480.html

My husband, a bit of an Imelda, discovered this brand first (he owns multiple pairs now) and badgered me for months to go try them on. I have to begrudgingly admit that he was right: these shoes rock.

[dolly]

high wedgy heels, green, round toe, killer for the knees, rock for the legs and *ss

dolly