Running in My Rolls Royce (Shoes)

A couple of days ago, when my friend H. and I were cattily discussing somebody's questionable attire, I casually remarked that her fashion faux pas seemed especially horrific because she was around my age. "No", said H., not meaning any offense (I think!), "...she was young".

Ouch. But true, I guess. My father always believed that you're only as old as you feel - in my heart, I feel like I'm 23 (on a good day) or 30 (a bad day) - but never older. If I was alive during the cave man era, though, I suppose I'd be lucky to be alive... and perhaps considered one of the "village elders". What a thought, right? =)

So, I'm slowly coming to grips that apparently - despite my very best efforts - I'm getting old. I'm starting to wonder if the body is going out, too. Since March, I've put a few hundred miles on my running shoes. However, a couple of weeks ago, my knees and hips started screaming in pain when I ran, leading me to the conclusion that I was in dire need of new running shoes - or a new body.

Since the latter was impossible, I opted for new running shoes. We trekked over to the Nike Factory Outlet store after the fair and took a look. Now, if you're like me and have smaller-than-average feet, you're forced to shop based on what's available, not on what you like. There were only TWO styles of shoes in my size. The first pair felt W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L - like a soft velvet glove cushioning my foot. The second pair - eh, NOT! Other than the huge price gap, I wasn't sure what the difference was so we tracked down a salesperson. The first pair was, in his words, "as far as Nike is concerned, that is the 'Rolls Royce' of running shoes". The other pair, apparently, was just your basic cross-training shoe.

Oh. Despite never having spent so much on a pair of shoes E-V-E-R (and I've bought a lot of shoes!), it was a no-brainer to buy the Rolls Royce shoes. Pain... or no pain??? DOH!

I'm pleased to report that I took the Rolls Royce out this morning and they felt good! Five point five miles... no problem! =) Well, okay... so my leg joints groaned for the first half-mile, but afterwards, it was fine. Whew! Soccer season starts this Sunday so I've got to stay in shape...

And here's a girl who faithfully loves her guinea pig. Every Tuesday after school, Marika picks all visible dandelions before we come home. She'd do it on Thursday, too, but the school grounds get mowed that day during class. Daisy just LOVES the dandelions and runs to the front of the cage whenever those gifts are bestowed... now that's guinea pig love!

Supplies: patterned paper (JilliBean), diecut journaling block (JilliBean), patterned tape (Heidi Swapp), diecut flourish and scalloped flowers (Quickutz), pen (American Crafts), stamp (Technique Tuesday), ink (Memories, Inc.), epoxy sticker (Sonnets)

And here's my layout for today's "alone time"... the girls just love their new pool! I love how mature Mika looks here... perhaps a glimpse at what she'll look like as a teenager!