This blog is about random things in my life, I like to talk and I like to share my opinion (whether asked for or not) and this seems like the best place for those quirky random fleeting thoughts!
The last time we visited The States my daughter discovered that the Chelsea Barbie doll had accessories just for her, like a club house & play ground. And beyond the accessories there were also other little dolls to collect. Being that she is 5 yrs old the Chelsea & Chelsea friends are right down her alley. She already had one of the friends, Kira, and a couple Chelsea's, so we bought the swing set and packed it in our suitcase. The club house was too big so my Mom was sure to buy it for Sophia's 5th birthday and ship it over. (Thanks Mom!)
Of course on the packaging they advertise the other dolls, dolls they just weren't selling here in The Netherlands. I could find Chelsea but none of the friends, and my daughter really wanted the little boy, Darrin. I asked my family in The States to start looking around but no one could find it in the stores. Strange. We started checking online and saw it for really overpriced amounts compared to the Chelsea doll, even stranger. Not wanting my family to spend over $30 for a little Barbie doll, I took it into my own hands to find one before her 5th birthday. And surprisingly enough, I found it on Amazon in Germany. Now, I don't speak German, but I do use Amazon a lot and Dutch isn't so far off, so with the combo I was able to order her one in time and didn't overpay (too much).
After that curiosity took hold and I started looking around for the Darrin doll again (not to buy but to double check the prices), and shortly after I ordered it via Germany I saw the price went up on Amazon in Germany. I checked The States again and saw some online shops are now asking over $50 for the little doll, what? Amazon in the UK wants double that! Why in the world is this doll so expensive? Was it a limited edition? Did they stop producing them? Anyway, I'm glad I found one in time! Now I just have to find the Tamika & Madison dolls before she loses interests in the little ones and moves on to playing with Skipper & Stacey more often!
It's hard to believe, but I have kept up with jogging!!! Rounding off my 4th month of jogging I feel I might be getting the hang of it, because the first few months sure didn't go as planned. One thing was for sure, I knew I wanted to do it and I was going to figure it out no matter what I had to go through. It seems so silly, it should just come naturally but it didn't for me.
In the beginning (ok, couple of months) I experienced extreme leg pains, to the point it was even affecting me when not jogging. I read every article I could find and they all seemed to provide different information. But after a while I saw the same pattern, shoes, terrain, and stance. Well, shoes (Asics Trail Tambora 3) were taken care of for my birthday, and as far as terrain, I do my best to jog in woods, asphalt, or stone paths versus the sidewalk. But this wasn't enough.
I turned to my stepdad who is an avid jogger and he said I needed to think about compression, wrapping my legs to help with the pain. Well, I unfortunately don't have time to wrap my legs, see, I squeeze jogging into my schedule twice a week and it can't take up anymore time than it already does. Then I remembered when researching shin splints and tibia pains, they kept mentioning compression socks or sleeves. They're expensive but luckily I received an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday and I knew just what to buy. Being that I order from the UK and have it shipped to The Netherlands you can't always get the exact item you want, so I ended up with men's compression socks - but hey they still do the job. I love them, from the moment I put them on I knew they were going to help. Too bad it takes 5 minutes to get them on, they are soooo tight, probably could have gone with the next size up. Besides the socks I ordered support soles for my shoes but after a couple uses took them out and never thought about them again. (BTW, I use 2XU Men's Compression Performance Run Socks.)
Now that the socks were helping I felt I could start making progress. Yet still I was experiencing pain while jogging, and I knew this just wasn't how it was supposed to be. But who is supposed to teach someone that doesn't want to spend the money for a trainer, I'm a beginner and didn't want to invest anymore money than I already had. I went back to the articles I had read about stance and thought I should just try something different, even if it was for one session. For some reason it was pounded into my head to jog heel to toe, maybe that's because it's how we walk. So when these articles said to land on the middle of my foot or even my toe, I thought they were crazy. But I tried it. Instant relief, wow!!! After this point I had already been jogging with injuries, so it took a while for the pain to go away and the muscles to properly start building. I used to ask everyone, why do I only feel it in my calves and lower legs when I jog, and no one could answer me. Now that I land midfoot instead of on my heel, I can feel my thighs and abs working, yes!
It's been a couple weeks since I adjusted my stance and I finally feel I am making progress. The only other thing I had to work on was my playlist. I had been using a couch to 5K program but since I don't have the time to jog 3 times a week it wasn't working, plus the music sucked and didn't motivate me at all. I decided I needed my own music but since I still walk & jog in intervals I couldn't just let the music play on, I wanted it to change per activity like the program I had used. So I searched out an MP3 cutter, and now adjust the songs to the amount of time I want to jog or walk. It's simple, fast peppy songs mean jog, and slow songs mean walk, I even added a warm up & cool down. It's been really motivating. And as I improve I adjust the length of the songs, I trim off walking time and build up jogging time. I hope to one day be able to jog for at least 20 minutes straight (have to set small goals and be realistic).
Needless to say, I enjoy jogging and pushing myself. Telling my body to just hold out and keep running because the song will eventually end, ha-ha! (I'm only up to 3 minutes at a time.) And besides everything I mentioned above, I still tote my dog along for company and use Endomondo to track my results.
I need your help deciding on which winter boots to buy... this isn't the first time I've turned to my readers when it comes to shoes. I've narrowed the choice down to two boots, both biker style & both with skulls. I don't usually dress this way, but I wouldn't mind expanding my wardrobe with some unique pieces.
Do I dare go with the large rhinestone skull on the side or the inconspicuous small studs that are shaped liked skulls? Keep in mind, standing out is not an issue for me but I don't want to scare off the moms & kids at my daughters' new elementary school.
Which ones should I order?
(I need replies today, because the boots have to be ordered by tomorrow - they're running out of stock!)
I love Crocs, there is no denying that. I'm an adult who has a small collection of Crocs, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. I've mentioned some of my Crocs throughout this blog, like my rain boots and ballet flats. There were of course my 1st slip-ons but they're so worn out I only use them for street parties & festivals. And now, I've added to my collection again.
These are called Duet Sport Ballet
Flats, and yes I bought the raspberry pink ones!!! I love the way they look, a sporty mary jane shoe that goes with at least half of my spring/summer wardrobe. They have the usual Croc comfort and as always they're handy... light weight, easy to clean, & effortless to put on. But I must admit, there is one negative aspect of the shoe, there are no holes for ventilation. For me it is not so much the fact the shoes don't vent (I never noticed stinky or sweaty feet afterward) the problem is that water can't escape. You probably look confused right now! See the beauty of Crocs is you can get them wet and keep going, and during the summer I have a lot of run-ins with water. At the zoo, I actually had to take my shoes off to dump the water out and then when I put them back on there was no air for my feet to dry (not really sure how I got wet at the zoo??) But like most women it's vanity over sanity for me and I love the way they look and feel too much to care about this issue. The ballet flats / boat shoes also did not have holes but the shoes were loose enough for air to get in and the duet sport flats basically conform perfectly to your feet.
Anyway, I'm happy with my new Crocs (thanks Dad for the b-day gift) and really enjoyed them this summer. Too bad the Rocket Dog cowboy boots I ordered along with them from Amazon.co.uk didn't work out... so the search continues for new my fall/winter boots!
Since I live far from my family, my Dad & I often send each other gift certificates for the holidays. Many years for my birthday I get an Amazon.co.uk gift certificate and I use it to buy shoes. I can usually get Crocs or Converse cheaper in the UK than here in NL. Here it is September and I've been holding on to my gift certificate for a couple months now. At first I was too busy to sit down and find the time to search the hundreds of shoe options, but now that I have a bit more time I just can't decide which shoes I want.
Do I replace shoes I already have? I mean literally buy the same style and color because I love them and I'm wearing my current shoes out. Do I buy something completely different? Do I buy out of need, because my winter boots are too old? Do I buy out of want, there are shoes that aren't practical but I like them? What do you all think of the shoes I am considering? (Keep in mind I am not fashion forward and I walk everywhere, so comfort is the key!)
The last time we visited The States my daughter discovered that the Chelsea Barbie doll had accessories just for her, like a club house & play ground. And beyond the accessories there were also other little dolls to collect. Being that she is 5 yrs old the Chelsea & Chelsea friends are right down her alley. She already had one of the friends, Kira, and a couple Chelsea's, so we bought the swing set and packed it in our suitcase. The club house was too big so my Mom was sure to buy it for Sophia's 5th birthday and ship it over. (Thanks Mom!)
Of course on the packaging they advertise the other dolls, dolls they just weren't selling here in The Netherlands. I could find Chelsea but none of the friends, and my daughter really wanted the little boy, Darrin. I asked my family in The States to start looking around but no one could find it in the stores. Strange. We started checking online and saw it for really overpriced amounts compared to the Chelsea doll, even stranger. Not wanting my family to spend over $30 for a little Barbie doll, I took it into my own hands to find one before her 5th birthday. And surprisingly enough, I found it on Amazon in Germany. Now, I don't speak German, but I do use Amazon a lot and Dutch isn't so far off, so with the combo I was able to order her one in time and didn't overpay (too much).
After that curiosity took hold and I started looking around for the Darrin doll again (not to buy but to double check the prices), and shortly after I ordered it via Germany I saw the price went up on Amazon in Germany. I checked The States again and saw some online shops are now asking over $50 for the little doll, what? Amazon in the UK wants double that! Why in the world is this doll so expensive? Was it a limited edition? Did they stop producing them? Anyway, I'm glad I found one in time! Now I just have to find the Tamika & Madison dolls before she loses interests in the little ones and moves on to playing with Skipper & Stacey more often!
