Shoe update

 Note - I can no longer contort in such a way that I can get to my feet. I have a doctor who cuts my toe nails. If something does not feel quite right, middle has to look carefully. 

My toe nail doctor told me I needed to switch my athletic shoes to a larger size and a different style. I did that, March 2025. 

Middle went with me to the shoe store. I bought 3 different styles to try. 

The Fuelcell black NB pair has now been relegated to the emergency bin in the back of my SUV. I find it very helpful to always have a pair of shoes and socks with me. If I get somewhere in sandals (or slippers) and need a closed pair of shoes, I am all set. 

I wear the blue ones on occasion. Particularly if I am going to be doing a lot of sitting. 

The white NB pair is the clear winner. I bought a second pair, black. 

These are very stable shoes with a wide base. They fit very well. The toe box is excellent for me. There is a good amount of room for my toes. 

Which leads me to the fact that the next to largest toe, on my left foot, had pain issues a number of weeks ago. Middle looked, there was a blister near the top. 

By this point I switched to mostly wearing my white pair and buying the identical shoe in black. 

Luckily, I did not realize that in addition to the  blistering, my nail was badly impacted. 

Luckily I had no idea that the nail had been damaged to the point that it was coming off and a new one was growing underneath. 

Last weekend I realized something was wrong. Middle looked, it was almost all the way disconnected, she eased it off. It did not hurt at all.

Had I known what was happening, all those weeks, it would have given me the utter creeps. 

A pair for each door

I needed something to have by the door to slip on very quickly to turn off a sprinkler or take the dogs to our yard for a pee or grab the mail. 

Actually I needed two pair, one for each door. 

I talked to youngest, about what words to use in my online search, and she suggested “recovery slides”. This was to pull up options with lots of support below for my arches and on top for my metatarsals.

In searching, I immediately recognized a name, OOFOS.

This is the company that makes my indoor house shoes, found/gifted by oldest/DIL. I love those house shoes and they work extremely well for me. 

I ordered two identical pair of slides (size 8) and they arrived quickly. 

These are perfect for me. They fit very snuggly, have great arch support below, and really support my metatarsals on top. 

Important note - these are not water shoes. In fact they get quite slippery when wet. 

Funny note - one review said it was too much arch support, like walking on a tennis ball. Another review said it was too tight, they should have gotten the kind with Velcro. Both those reviews were actually positive for me. I thought these would be perfect and they were. 

Another important note - Middle is not allowed to wear them, her foot is thicker than mine and we are afraid she might stretch them. 

Footwear

I culled my footwear this spring. I need very good support. I am careful with my back and neck, which means quality shoes. 

First, I have a pair of mud shoes that I can throw on to take the puppies out to pee in the rain or adjust the sprinkler. I do not wear these for any length of time. 

My mainstays are six pairs of shoes. 

I have three sandals which all stay clean. 

The middle pair are keens. The other two are Comfort Finns. The pair on the right are for to/from yoga, I can get them on and off while standing with my large yoga bag. 

Also in the rotation, bottom shelf from left to right, a pair of athletic shoes for gardening, clean pair to wear to a clean walking event, and my dog walking shoes.

The gardening shoes start out new each year and quickly look quite old. These have been going strong since early March at our house and our daughter’s (we are landscaping and planting grass at her house).

Very good house shoes

This was an early Christmas gift for me from my oldest and his wife. I opened it at Thanksgiving because I was in great need. After a week, I ordered a second pair to save for when the first pair wears out. 

I have arthritis, I have foot issues that require support. These come with a larger price tag than most slippers, but are well worth it. 

They offer warmth, good support and I feel very steady on my feet. I wear them in the house only. We do not wear street shoes in the house. 

I normally take an 8, I followed the directions on the website to size up, and the 8.5 fits perfectly. I have a thin but slightly wide foot. 

Cubbies in use

The basket holds dog towels (wet dogs, muddy feet). This basket used to be in the house. This spot is much more practical.

There are hooks on the wall just above the basket with all the other dog things (leashes, outside toys, plastic bags).

The vacuum is new. Works on carpet/rugs or hard flooring. I use it on garage rugs, kitchen rugs, front porch rugs, kitchen/hall floor.

Vacuum now lives right next to the backdoor. Very handy. The rugs just inside and outside the door (between the house and the garage) are my most vacuumed spots.

Here is what I have come to realize:

I should be wearing my newest athletic shoes as my crud (painting, walking in fields) shoes, not an old pair on its last legs.



In 2012 or 2013, I bought 3-4 pair of identical athletic shoes.

This was after I broke my foot and had to switch brands/sizes. (I donated all of my former athletic shoes, so I only had 3-4 brand new ones.)

I put orthopedic inserts in all 3-4 pairs.

I labeled/used one of the brand new pairs for dirt and paint, even though they were pristine.

That was a hard thing to do! Think about putting on a new pair of shoes and painting with dark brown paint.

So those new shoes started to look old pretty quickly -

Last week those crud shoes were so tattered that they are now unwearable. The back of the heel, on the inside is too worn.

The other 2-3 pairs are still in good shape. (I wear them evenly, switching between the pairs. And most of the time I am wearing sandals, Keens, boots. It is not like I live in athletic shoes.)

So clearly I wore the crud ones a lot. A whole lot. Field, yard, painting.

And if I was smart, I would replace crud pair with new pair (and wear the pristine ones for crud again). Because they are the ones I wear the most and would have the most support.

new winter boots

New boots. I bought them last spring when my very good shoe store was having clearance on winter boots. I did not compromise. I needed wide, water proof, warm, great tread, very good support. I got all of that. Plus there is no fuss. I simply step into them and go.

These are the pair being replaced. Oh how I loved them.

 I am not sure if you can tell fully from the picture - but the tread/traction was SHOT.

I can still wear them when there is no ice or snow.

I have support inserts in every pair of boots. Huge difference.

More gift ideas from my Amazon Orders page

Yes, these are all things I have ordered in the last couple years. Some of them I have ordered many times.

WET BRUSHES. Available at Walgreens and other local stores too. My girls have two each. One stays home, one is at school with them. These work extremely well. We have given them as gifts also. They come in different sizes.  

Youngest has a set, I have a set. I just ordered a set for middle at her request after she saw youngest's. The zipper tab is behind a cover when closed so they do not come unzipped. Two sizes in each order. 

Math or science or drafting/drawing person inyour family? I have been buying these for youngest for years. We used to get them at Office Depot. Now the only place we can find them is Amazon. The whole thing is an eraser (it is a stand alone eraser). 

Have given these as gifts (several times) to math and science type families. Maybe I should be giving them to non math and science families to get them going too.

Middle has several pairs of the girl version. My husband has these. Keen Sandals are really great. 

I cook big breakfasts when I have a house full. We tend to eat two meals per day on these weekends.  I add protein powder and extra egg to my Red Mill Waffle mix. And I make waffles for my extended family, a lot.

Space saver Vacuum bags for suitcases. Do not need a vacuum, they roll. We all use these. I have ordered many sets. 

This is what I use when I travel. I think mine is the style on the top. Middle had the one on the bottom when we traveled to England/Scotland/Wales. I put it under my clothes. Not glamorous but super practical. I put my credit card, passport, driver's licence, a little cash and some wipes in there too. All flat enough, then I do not carry a purse. 

Good family game. (We also play the card version which is called Bikini.) We love the larger size tiles.

If you have a drawing kid of any age, Ed Emberley is great. I sent one of these books with youngest to college. If she has to draw something for a project, which happens a lot, she will be able to do it with this book. Everything starts with lines, circles, squares, etc. Would be extremely good gift for kid who likes to draw and is still learning how. (When someone taught middle the ratio for where to put the features on a face, it was like someone turned on the light. So if you have a drawing kid, look up a diagram on the internet of how to draw a face too. )  I think the Green Monster book might be a story book, not sure.

Middle found this for friend who loved Winnie the Pooh as a boy. He is getting it for xmas.  Really great (true) story.

My kids all had these as children. It is how they learned to skate. I bought these for 8 year old a few years ago. 

I bought this for 8 year old for xmas this year. She opened it early at Thanksgiving. It is all one piece, it does not come apart. There is some type of mechanism in the rings, it is sort of like wheel clogs as you put your pen in it and move around the wheel (It does not work with your finger, put the pen in and it it goes).  The kid has to be able to hold the red frame stationary as they work the pen. So some kids would need a holder. Good fine motor skills art practice.

Middle and youngest each have a set of the straight ones and the round ones. 

Boye Long Loom Set and Boye Round Loom Set which Amazon does carry.

I also called the company and got extra pegs proactively. 

They have been used and used and used. I just bought another set (Good Will) of the round ones for our eight year old who will be able to do it with youngest or middle helping her. 
An artistic boy might like these too.
We buy THICK YARN so it goes faster and takes less skeins. 

Gift ideas

Footwear
Youngest has these boots and loves them. I got them for her birthday last year. I was lucky. She has other pairs of Rockports, so I knew the size. And I was confident of the style. I had to order because she is an odd size. I ordered, she loved them, it was a surprise, I think. (She wears an insert for added support. We all wear inserts or have cookies added to almost all our shoes for more support.)

Middle is considering these same boots for her birthday. They are great.

If you have a teen or young adult where shopping for them is now really hard, consider taking them shoe shopping. It works very well for my kids. But you have to be okay spending $$$ because it is going to cost. I did this for oldest for the last two years. His birthday and xmas are close. It is extremely hard to guess what he might like. Shoe shopping worked great. And he needed the shoes. I think he got new running shoes both years. Plus two pairs of work shoes the first year. Plus a pair of casual shoes the second. So, yes, major $$$ but he needed them and it worked.

FitBit
Last year middle wanted boots for her birthday all year. There was a lot of boot talk. I got a lot of boot pictures. I got a lot of boot links.  I just kept saying - that is fine, we will buy when it gets closer. Then when we were a week or two out from her actual birthday, she switched to fitbit and that is what she got. I bought the insurance. It has already been replaced once. The insurance started over the moment it was replaced. No extra fee. Best Buy. She really uses her FitBit - sleep and steps mostly. Her

On Black Friday, I bought a FitBit for youngest for this Christmas. Target. I bought the insurance. I did it online and they held it at customer service. I knew the size (small) because middle had one. I picked it up on Saturday when we were back in town. No crowd, no wait. I gave it to youngest early (now) because she will be gone for xmas. And with finals coming, she can use it. We buy the ones that track sleep and monitor heart rate (plus all the other stuff).



OTTLite
If you have someone who does a lot of handwork of any kind, an OTTLite is wonderful.
http://www.joann.com/ottlite/
JoAnns carries a variety of styles. They go on sale often. JoAnns has coupons available all the time. Our local JoAnns also accepts the 40% coupon from Hobby Lobby.
I bought one for my mother for Mother's Day. I bought one for myself for xmas. Both of ours are floor lamps. We both also have short ones too.





HAIR
Bed Bath and Beyond for these first two. If you register online, they will send you coupons regularly.
(The Hair Turban does not work for people with really, really, really thick manes of hair. It works well for both of my girls.) Youngest has three Hair Turbans, two at college, one at home. She has two Turbie Bands (one at home, one at school). Middle has a Turbie Band for herself and buys for the gift bags she assembles for high school graduation gifts. (She has two graduating this spring and she has her bags filled and ready. Painted letters, Turbie Bands and manicure sets.)

A close friend swears by the Wahl Peanut. She cuts hair regularly, the boys go thru beard phases. Sometimes they arrive for family functions, she takes one look and gets out the peanut. Groom two days before wedding, for example. I do not cut hair. But middle cuts her boy's. And we have beards here too. So I have one of these on hand. As you can see, it has not been used yet. But it will save the day on some future occasion. So this is a good gift option too, in my opinion. I bought mine on sale at beauty supply place.

Naot, dress shoes for middle

 Middle has to be in supportive shoes. And she loves shoes, especially unusual ones.

We discovered Naot a while ago.

They are not quite supportive enough for me for every day  (I have to have major metatarsal support on the top in addition to arch support on the bottom), but for middle they are perfect.

This first pair are flats, she got them about a year ago. They are her go to pair of shoes for many things.  She has worn them to church, to events like an outdoor summer wedding, and just running around town. No high heels to sink in grass/lawn. They are extremely comfortable. Perfect amount of support for her. They go with her slightly unusual dresses. In fact, they go with most anything. 

Once upon a time, about sixth grade for both girls, they each got black, strappy heels.  

They wore them each time they got dressed up. 

Those strappy heels were fine for 6 through maybe 8th grade. They started grating on me about 9th grade. As soon as middle graduated from high school, I could not stand to see her in those shoes. Not enough support, not sophisticated enough. Just ridiculous.

Her pair went to Good Will. 

I just went to look for youngest's to take a picture.

No luck.

They might have gone to Good Will too. . .

Yea!


So on the day we were cleaning out middle's closet and the hated black heels were circling the Good Will bag, we went shoe shopping for great dress shoes WITH support. A tough combination.

We went to our shoe store for ideas. They did not have what she finally ended up liking in stock, we had to order. We confirmed the correct size and then ordered through the store. 

She got two pairs -

The shoe store carried other versions by this same company, so she was able to confirm the size. We were 100% sure the shoes would fit and she would like them when we placed our order (I can't remember if there was a restocking fee or a no return policy, but I remember we had to be sure. In fact, we went home and thought about it, compared styles/colors from their on line site, and then went back and ordered the next day.)

When she saw the similar shoes in the store, the first day we were just looking, she thought these were old lady shoes. Mostly because of the heel. However, when she put them on, she thought they were very chic and modern. And they are. Very sophisticated. 

If I had someone getting married, or was attending weddings, and really needed a dress up shoe, our shoe guy and I would be combing through this company's catalog looking for shoes with enough metatarsal support to hold me. I think he could add a slight arch cookie to give me a little extra support with no problem. And if I chose carefully enough, I would only ever need the one pair to get me through many events. 

Middle has worn her two pair several times now and really loves them. 

My new bike

My former bike was a garage sale find.

We got a new seat and handle bars.

The additions allowed me to sit up straight which was easiest on my lower back.





The last time I was on that bike was 2011.

In 2012 I broke my foot/was in a boot for the summer and was having equilibrium problems.

In 2013 I did not get on my bike nor in the pool (for whatever reason).





My family rides bikes to and from the pool all season.

Even if I was not getting in (the water and weather is WAY to cold for me so far) the pool, I at least wanted to go with them this year.





My husband has not liked the narrow tires on my garage sale bike since the beginning. He is afraid of ruts and holes in the street, crevices between grass and sidewalk in many lawns, space between planks on wooden walking bridges.





We bike shopped last week. We went to each bike shop in town saying - we need wide tires, peddles slightly forward of seat, handlebars which would allow me to sit upright, broad seat, 3 speed, back peddle style brakes.

These were beach cruiser style bikes.

I really just had to ride each one to see what I liked.

Yes, expensive.






I ended up with a Brownie.

I have ridden it to the pool and back, several times now.

It is very comfortable, easy to ride, steer, stop, balance.

I like it very much.

It was worth the money.





I honestly thought middle would immediately want one, but surprisingly she did not. She actually prefers a boy, cross country type of bike. That is good. My husband was not buying another one.  .  .





Here is a borrowed picture of the light lavender color brownie I got -

Here are 2 borrowed pictures of the basket my husband got for me -

Basket detaches from the bike with the push of a button and can then be carried by its handle. So I can put my pool things in it, and then carry the whole basket into the pool area. I can't carry anything heavy (like 5 water bottles or script for youngest's next show in a big binder) or it messes with the steering. But my towel, phone, drink, etc is fine.

Shoe closet (tons of pictures)

I have challenging feet.

I do not self sabotage my body, including my feet/knees/hips/lower back/neck.

I broke a metatarsal in college. I broke a second one in the same (left) foot in 2012. I now have to have a broader, flat shoe which allows my foot bones to spread easily. So it is a bit like needing a wide shoe without having a wide foot. And I must have metatarsal support. So I need a closed shoe that presses down on the top of my feet. I need arch support pressing up too as that aligns my bones to protect my whole skeletal structure. The arch support protects my knees and hips and lower back. I am in pain almost immediately if I am not in the right shoes. In the right shoes, I have no pain. 

My feet are very slender (from the floor up). If my feet were a steak, it would be a very thin cut. My shoe guy has to pad many of my shoes. These are pads under the tongue. This helps. But I also (usually) need shoes that adjust (buckle, Velcro, tie) so I can get them tight enough.  Often we put layers under the shoe's insert to raise my foot in the shoe. Aetrex brand actually sends multiple, very thin, inserts to give fit options for each shoe.

My shoes are expensive. I have slowly built a shoe wardrobe over the last several years. EVERY pair of shoes I own is self protective. I do not have any self sabotage footwear.

I have custom inserts which I wear in some shoes (athletic and all my Aetrex). 

I have a couple pairs of store bought inserts which work in some boots and shoes also. These are not inserts from Walmart. These are inserts from my good quality shoe store.

Some of my brands can be worn with the inserts that come in the shoes. Comfort Finns for example. I LOVE Comfort Finns. I can wear a few Finns as they are made. Other Finns require my shoe guy to add an arch cookie under the insert that comes in the shoe. Finns also sell different inserts separately. So I have one pair of Finns where the inserts that came with the shoes did not work, but a different pair of Finn inserts did work beautifully.

I have a shoe guy who is MY GUY. You can see from what I said that it takes a bit of time to shop for shoes. We are looking for fit, which sometimes requires a special order. Then we have to work with each pair of shoes to see if anything needs to be customized (padding, arch cookies, extra layer of insert to make shoe more snug, etc). So, I buy shoes from (pretty much) one shoe store in town.

All three of my kids have challenging feet. They have thick feet (they would be a thick cut steak). Middle and oldest need a lot of arch support because they have flat feet. If either are in the wrong shoes, they have knee issues immediately. Youngest has high arches and needs support to have her feet actually touching the shoe. She also has tiny feet (size 4-6 depending on shoe) which are wide. We have to special order for her a lot. But all three of these kids KNOW how to shop for shoes. They wear self protective shoes also. And they have great shoe wardrobes. Seriously great. But it takes time and care (and money) to find the right shoes.

These are my newest pair of shoes. These are Finns (Comfort Finns from Germany). Really like 

them. There is a pad under the tongue to make these shoes snug enough for me (metatarsal support, you can see it in the second picture, you can't see it in real life). The inserts that came with the shoe is enough support for me. 

These (next ones) are from Naot.

Shoe store had to special order a couple sizes for me to try. I must be a common size because every time I was in, they were out of my size. Shoe guy finally said - let's just order. It was European sizing, which I have never understood, so not sure what sizes they ordered. The smaller of the two is the size that fit. The larger of the two made me look as if I were a two year old wearing dad's boots (according to middle), I was swimming in the calves and ankles. These also zip and are nice and slim through the foot, ankle and calf. Really love these. Shoe guy needed to add arch cookie under insert which came in boot and then they were good for me. I wear these a lot with leggings and dresses/skirts. Middle was with me twice (trying on the special orders) with these boots. The first time my guy was gone and another clerk did not know what to do with me when I said I needed more support. My guy (second trip) figured out how to put cookie in these boots and we were good to go. My guy is also THE GUY for both girls. He really understands all of our feet.

I have been wearing these (below) with dresses and skirts this winter. They are new also. They are some type of soft suede by Merrell. Really love them. Notice how slim fitting they are. They zip up the inside. I have to have a zip boot. Anything that is made to be slip on (for the rest of the world) is way too big on my ankles and calves.

These are Finn Comforts. I actually bought them at a shoe store in the depths of Mayo in Rochester, MN (December of 2011). These are the shoes I mentioned (above) where we had to switch out on the insert that came in the shoe to another style made by Comfort Finns. The first insert was slightly too hard and inflexible. I tried wearing them (with the insert that came with them) for a few hours a day, thinking I would get used to them. But every time I increased the time, I had foot pain. So, I packed up all my Finn Comforts and went to my local shoe store and my shoe guy (fall of 2013 I think). I said - all of these are wonderful for me, what is different about this one (new) pair? And he said it was the insert. So, he put in new insert (also made by Finn) and an arch cookie (extra support under the arch). And I was able to wear them (successfully) for any length of time just like my other shoes.

Aetrex brand. Somehow I never seem to have occasion to wear these. I bought them thinking 'dressy skirts or dresses in shade of brown'. Honestly, with my surgery this winter, I didn't wear much of anything, so next year, will do.

Also Aetrex brand. Pads under both tongues and extra thin insert under my custom inserts.

I wear and wear and wear these. Aetrex Brand, black.

These are Aravon. They are foolers, in my opinion, because they look slender, but are not. I have plenty of width room in them. Yes, suede.