There Are Others

Now that the snow is quickly defrosting into a muddy slush, those sheltered warm feet are crawling out from their winter haven shoes. It's refreshing to see decorated toes again wrapped in stylish sandals or plain flip flops. Flower decals are a sweet touch. I'm jealous that girls have much more fun with dressing. Not a second thought is given when their toes have flair but boy are brows raised when I wear mine. Girls, you are blessed and be glad.

Last week I was dragging feet at work when I spotted an ultra shiny set of nails in silver. Only this time they belonged to a rather manly of a man. He was dressed casual with jeans and an untucked shirt, pacing as he spoke on his cell phone. He lacked hair and looked rather intimidating. Cage fighter on the weekends? He must have been discussing the pay outs from the last brawl. I'd wet my pants if I found myself cornered against that rusty bloodied fence and his fists charging. Kudos for him

TOMS Without Shoes- Made It!

I was pleased to have gotten off work early and find that the day was super pleasant and warm, especially after a recent snowfall. I picked up my youngest daughter and brought her to the park where the TOMS crew was present. There were a group of about 40 people and as expected the majority was composed of young teens and college kids. Having come directly from work, I was the only one in (sharp) business attire walking through the downtown area to help raise awareness for the TOMS benevolent cause. Though the trek was short, this was likely the most distance I've travelled barefoot. Ever. To think that hundreds of thousands of people don't have shoes to walk with is just sad and I'm glad that I have made a small contribution. My daughter joined me hand in hand on the walk and did great. I didn't have to carry her and I'm proud. She's too young to grasp the idea behind this silly hike to the mall. We'll discuss it over dinner.

There was a local band that played and hot spiced apple cider awaiting us at the store. They've sold over 6000 pairs of TOMS shoes and therefore have directly contributed 6000+ pairs of shoes to needy children. In fact, the owner of the store has been invited to Argentina to help deliver those donations directly. Shoes and giveaways topped off the energetic event but sadly I did not win anything.

I did take advantage of this event to show off my little piggies in Sally Hansen NO CHIP 10 day Nail Color in Tenacious Ruby. It's just the perfect vivacious red to prance about and welcome the sandal season. I borrowed my wife's swirly toe ring (which annoys her to no end. Please!) and as you noticed, I no longer try to conceal my poor injured toe. I now embrace it more openly and even accent it. I feel much happier in my own pathetic way.

I hope some of you were able to also participate and I'd love to hear how other cities performed on this day. My soles are so dang dirty that I'm running off to wash them.

TOMS One Day Without Shoes

I've been on hiatus from many things besides my blog. The weather, though balmier, is still restrictively cold. I frequently receive e-mails from TOMS headquarters and this last one caught my attention. As many of you know (all handful of you from my blog), TOMS is a charity that gives shoes to needy children in developing countries. On this April 8th, they are organizing what sounds like their 2nd nationwide event to have the privileged (that's right: us) experience for themselves what it's like to be without protection for our pampered, sheltered soles. Sure, some of us are tough and choose to be barefoot all the time but I'd venture to guess that's a minority. Rain or snow, it's happening. It snowed today and skies should be clear for thursday.

If you've been waiting all winter to finally break free and show off your pretty manly toes, here's the perfect excuse to do it and help raise awareness in your community for a charitable cause. For more information, check out: www.onedaywithoutshoes.com and look for an event in or near your town.

The above picture is taken from their website. One does what one can when dire situations fall upon you. Creative way to make shoes. Bravo!

Our local event starts with a short walk at 3pm. Logistically, it's going to be hard to pull it off since I'm at work miles away. Does this make me a bad person if I'm announcing it but not making a sacrifice to participate? I'll certainly be there at heart. I'll let you know what happens. I'm a bit of a slave right now and like I've mentioned before, I'm moving on to bigger and better things this summer and hope to regain control of my life. 3pm? Who planned this? It could be because the temperature drops precipitously in the evening and no one would show up? Wasn't the point to suffer a bit?

Sad Recovering Piggies

Happy New Year to everyone! I've dragged along this winter and I'm in the middle of getting a new job. February is just around the corner and a good thing since warmer weather is near. I can only hope. This transition period has been rough and I've finally gotten out and went snowboarding this past weekend. I have a trip to Vail, Colorado soon which should be revitalizing. I was just in Anaheim near Disneyland but it rained the whole time. Good thing I didn't take the whole family with me and spent a thousand or more to fly into gloomy weather. My girls would've still gone to Disneyland in rain coats.

I haven't had lacquered toes for a while now. The very end of that nail yellowing is slowly growing out. Ever notice how toenails grow slower in the winter? I've thought about this problem and I think that maybe it's the nail remover (acetone) that damaged the nail so much. Nail polish all the time certainly doesn't help. I did purchase a non-acetone remover but didn't use it much. It was oily and dissolved the paint slower. I'll have to dig it up and show you. It might be gentler on the nail. I will also try to give my toes somewhat of a break in between colors but that's SO hard to do. Even if the weather was better, I'd be embarrassed to show my toes at this point. They are still nicely pampered and polished. Let me know your thoughts on nail polish removers and acetone vs. non-acetone.

I will try to make better efforts to write. I will reveal something that will likely shock most of you but I'll save it until March or April, when I start painting my toes again and showing those piggies off in a new way.

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays to all of you! These are cool nail designs from the Nail Art Gallery. I hope this season was well spent in the company of friends and family. I'm taking a break as well as my piggies. I just actually 'clipped' (OMG) my toenails very short as they had grown weary and looked rather nasty. They had discolored from the continuous polish wear and became dry. Ugh! Fortunately, this only involved the last third and the more proximal portion looks healthy pink. I do file the fine ridges away and keep them shiny. No product. For now. I can't wait for liberating spring to come. Be safe out there and to those who are wise and spend the winter in warm outdoor weather proudly displaying their love for colored toesies, YOU SUCK! Maybe you could show me what you're wearing and I'll post it for us poor snow bound creatures.

TOMS for Fashion and Charity

I first noticed these shoes on my most recent trip to L.A., strolling through the shoe department at Neiman Marcus. Among the $1000+ leathers, there were these simple cloth shoes in a variety of colors. TOMS. I never heard of it but they are cute and fashionable shoes. Of course, the offerings at NM were pricier than the usual set, having exclusive NM versions. These shoes really reminded me of the classic black kung fu cloth shoes so I naturally took a liking to them. I had a pair as a kid. I think all Asian boys had them at some point, to wear with their traditional silk outfits on holidays.

TOMS is a rising corporation now who's being recognized internationally. Blake Mycoskie is the founder. During a visit to Argentina, he came across many poor children who ran around barefooted. Something in him sparked his kind heart and he set out to make a difference by starting this One for One Movement. To those who have never been outside of the U.S. and have visited a third world country, there is poverty in this world that is unimaginable. Sure, there are also kids here that are poor and starving and I don't want to undercut that fact, but poverty is a whole level worse. TOMS shoes has already delivered hundreds of thousands of shoes to needy kids around the world. It all began in 2006. Their goal for 2009 is to reach 300,000 donations. I've spotted young people wearing these shoes around town.

As you can see, I have joined in the movement and purchased a black pair. I have another one being shipped and also got my wife a girly pair. I bought the T-shirt and sweatshirt as gifts too. That amounts to five pairs of shoes that will be given to those in need. I certainly love its philanthropic angle but won't deny that I also love the shoes. They are super light, comfy and casual, and it makes a personal statement. I do hope they hold up to frequent wear. They come in a simple box with instructions on how to direct the shoe donation. There is a unique code on each box that you can use online to assign which country you want to ship your donation. These delightful treats cost $44 and up. I got mine at Nordstrom for $48. They recommend staying true to size but I found that they ran small. I ended up with a M8.5. Children's sizes are also available.

Check out their website at www.tomsshoes.com and join the cause to improve a child's life.

Marine Blue over Soft Soles in Winter

It snowed for the better part of the day though the chill didn't bite as sharply as it did a week ago. I had gone bare for longer than usual and my piggies were sadly devoid of color. I know that others report that polish will make your natural nail discolor and yellow, especially if the nail isn't given time to "breathe" between coats of lacquer. It's been many months since I started this craze and truly haven't let them air too much. I'm guilty. My nail doesn't flake or change in contour or thickness so I don't think that I have any infectious problems. I should have posted a picture of them bare but I couldn't resist dressing them.

I came across this color because my compulsive self saw this Sally Hansen gift set with mystery colors inside at the supermarket. Somehow going out to get bread, ham, chocolate syrup, and tea became another opportunity to pick up a fetish-related item. One or two 'mystery' colors were far out there. I will post them later as I'm sure to give it a chance, especially since my cold toes will spend life sheltered.

Sally Hansen Marine Scene turned out to be quite a surprising and cheerful color for this time of year. It's a metallic swirl polish in baby blue with fine silver specks. In the sunlight, it's so shimmery and mesmerizing. I wish it was summer already. My daughters really liked it when they saw me change socks this morning. It's a lighter blue than the image depicts.

My feet and their soles continue to be pampered. It's become a habit now to slather them with the lotion(s) of the day and it's no bother. It only takes a few minutes. I crave the daily foot soaks which have fallen off precipitously due to time constraints. I did treat them to new foot bamboo files for the shower. Again, fetish items brought home with the bread. Honey wheat. I'm proud to say I have no calluses or cracked skin. The pressure points of my feet are obviously mildly thickened but soft. I don't think I can or even want them to be thin because a barefoot walk on my stone flooring would be painful.