Dump

Concerning thoughts:

• I said it last year, and I’ll repeat it again – it isn’t really any fun living where it snows all the damn time. You’d think we would’ve taken action on this by now, and moved south – but we are nothing if not stubborn. Cities I think I could live in, where the climate is more moderate: Nashville, Savannah, San Francisco, New Orleans. I’m open to all other options where the winter weather is such that standing water does not freeze by November.
• January and February bring the usual round of SAD, with doses of general malaise. Not knowing what to do with my life, feelings of restlessness, mild depression, pasty pale skin and serial lack of excitement are the recognizable symptoms. In order to combat this development, travel to warmer and more scenic locales has been planned. By March, I’ll have crossed Georgia, Arizona and continental Europe off the list. I suppose I’ll also be going to Chicago as well, but plan to stay mostly inside to combat winter fatigue.
• We had a very successful MLK weekend in northern Michigan, which was surprisingly fun despite the fact that it never stopped snowing. We dabbled in skiing, sledding, euchre and happy hour. Next year, we’ll be competing for the Sno-Blast Winter Festival King and Queen titles.
• I bought the J.Crew Quoddy boots, and found them for a better deal on eBay. I know you were wondering.
• I’m also not sure what it says about my life that I spent several hours over the past few days selecting…..throw pillows. Which are really way more expensive than you would imagine. Same can be said of the light fixtures we’ve upgraded recently. At least those have been installed, which has not been the fate of our new bathroom accessories, which sit strewn about our counters. Their day will come, just not too soon given how lazy I’ve been.
• I’ve been doing a good amount of reading lately. Since Christmas, I’ve finished: “Decoded” by Jay-Z, “Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine” by George Dohrmann and “The Romantics” by Galt Niederhoffer. I’m mid-way through “Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook” at the moment, and looking for my next read. Any suggestions?
• My new hobby involves spending hours staring off into space while I imagine my life as a lottery winner.
• I’m working on learning French with Rosetta Stone. I believe it will be very helpful as I am now able to say words like horse and car. Hopefully the next unit will teach me the phrases I’ll actually need: “Where the hell is a clean, public restroom?” and “Can you direct me to Dior?”

That is all.

Upgrade for Christmas

Like thousands of other very lucky children this holiday season, Santa left an iPad under our tree. Santa actually brought two iPads to our little home, but that’s another story for another time.

This small device has become the center of our universe. We take turns fighting over who gets to play addictive games. We’re convinced that since we’ll be taking it on vacations with us, we should also plan said vacations on it. We’ve downloaded all sorts of apps and games and books that we have absolutely no need for. I’ve even spent time searching for a new purse that would better fit the iPad inside. If I knew how to blog from the darn thing, I’d post every day. This is only if I can pry my husband away from “Words with Friends.”

I can’t wait to complete the brainwashing when the iPhone comes to Verizon this year. Oh yeah.

Problemo

I’m typically a very decisive person, but I have recently reached an epic stumbling block. I’m looking for a comfortable, cute shoe – which is functional for excessive walking. Previous Google searches for “best walking shoe” and “comfortable shoes that are fashionable” have shockingly yielded no promising results. Does no one else want to travel, walk around and look good doing it? Pshaw.

Ideally, I think this type of shoe would be perfect:

Unfortunately, it is manufactured for J.Crew. This means my husband is predisposed to hate them. While they might be somewhat cost prohibitive, they also come with shearling lining. Yum.

Other options appear to be rather limited. And/or geriatric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help? I’d love to hear any possible suggestions from more seasoned travelers – who are also concerned about comfort while not looking like a frump. Even requesting this assistance  is embarrassing, but it is far better than suffering the pain of walking for days on end in horrible shoes, while having my wonderful husband verbally harass me about my poor choice the entire time. This is simple preparation.