Masai feet

I thought I'd post a quick update on the Magic Shoes_TM (and for the record, no, I don't really think they will eliminate cellulite, in case anyone is worried that I might be that gullible). ;)

But after trying out the shoes (and reeling from the sticker shock), I just had to buy them! They feel really cool, almost like you are rocking slightly when standing. The thing that impressed me the most (besides the fact that they are remarkably lightweight) was that after walking only a short distance around the store, I could already feel it in my calves. The sales person cautioned me to start out wearing them only a couple of hours per day so as to not get sore leg muscles (and in my mind I scoffed a little at this), but after wearing them for only a short time this evening, I can see what she means. (Not that my legs are sore, but I can definitely "feel" that the muscles in my legs and feet have been working.) Anyway, I'm really glad that I decided to go check them out. Even though the price is way more than I would generally be willing to pay for a pair of sneakers, this is almost like a whole new experience in wearing shoes!

Gotta take my thrills where I can get them these days, you know. ;)

"Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere."

As I've mentioned before, I am so not a girl when it comes to the matter of shoes. This was reaffirmed to me this weekend as I spent one long, miserable hour in the shoe department at Macy's, struggling to find shoes to match the dress that I will be wearing to a friend's upcoming wedding. From my observation, every other woman in the shoe department seemed to be absolutely giddy with excitement over the prospect of buying a new pair of shoes, while I sat there practically paralyzed with fear and discomfort over the same issue. Thankfully I did manage to find some (by watching what the woman next to me was buying, seeing that they looked cute on her feet, and then buying the same... hee).

So last night I was thumbing through a magazine, and I ran across a small blurb about a sport shoe called the MBT Sport Trainer (short for Masai Barefoot Technology). Have you heard about these shoes? (Perhaps they've been around a while, but it's the first I've heard of them.) Their concept is:

"Inspired by the Masai Tribe, MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) is a range of footwear which reestablishes our natural conditions of standing and walking. Establishing these natural conditions with MBT offers high potential for health, beauty, sports, fitness, and therapeutic applications. Using a multi layered sole, MBT® transforms flat, hard, artificial surfaces into natural, uneven ground. Much like walking in sand, the unique uplifting lever spring action of the MBT® sole challenges the core strengthening muscles to be more active. This reactive, more supportive muscle action creates good posture and increases shock absorption for all the joints, significantly reducing muscular-skeletal compression."

The article I was reading mentioned that a couple of the cast members of Grey's Anatomy -- Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) and Katherine Heigl (Izzie) -- wear these shoes while on the set filming. Not that this fact alone would encourage me to go out and buy shoes, but it did make me curious enough to read up on them, plus hey--the shoes look pretty cute in the picture. (I personally like my sneakers big and clunky...really!) And besides, these shoes are supposed to be Anti-Cellulite shoes!! MAGIC SHOES!!! Woo-hooo!! Even the price (a whopping $245!) hasn't completely deterred me, this coming from a girl who cares not about shoes...WOW! (I have, in fact, paid $250 *twice* in my lifetime for shoes, but they were Mephisto and still look like brand new years later...those Europeans certainly know how to make shoes that will last.)

So guess what? I have an appointment this afternoon at a place called Foot Solutions to actually try on a pair of these shoes. I'm very excited (and a little fearful that I will like them)!

So perhaps I do have a little bit of the shoe-gene after all. :)

smoooth as the day you were born

I have yet to figure out how Amazon.com derives some of its "suggestions" for me, but I just had to watch the video for this one. ;)

"Bodygroom for Men: Shave Everywhere
Grooming from the neck up only is so 2005. Watch the clever (and slightly shocking) video and join the man-scaping trend with the brand-new Philips Norelco BG2020 Men's Bodygroom. It's available now in the Amazon.com Health & Personal Care Store."

Man-scaping. I love that! tee hee :)

goodbye Nim, we hardly knew you

Sigh. Sadly, it appears that my fears have come to pass and neither NBC's Surface nor ABC's Invasion will be returning next season (at least not in the currently-announced Fall line-ups). Ironic that tonight's season finale of Invasion is entitled "The Last Wave Goodbye". Just knowing that it isn't scheduled to return will make watching the final episode all the more poignant to me. *sob* I find it irritating that so many of the reality shows and crime dramas continue to thrive, while good shows like these are just cast aside.









Oh, and btw, while I'm ranting about the PTB, I read this little snippet (not a spoiler) about the upcoming Season 3 of Lost:

"Lost Repeats Voted Off the Island

Are the castaways pulling a Prison Break? Scheduling-wise, it looks that way. In a Tuesday-morning conference call, ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson announced that Lost will launch its third season with seven consecutive new episodes, temporarily cede its time slot to the Taye Diggs mid-season thriller Day Break, and then return for an uninterrupted run in January or early February, Variety reports. On your mark, get set... "

How annoying!

you're FIRED!

Eek! I fired my lawn guy today. I am an extremely non-confrontational sort of person, so telling someone that I am no longer in need of their services is soooo difficult for me (well, that and my big-giant-sense-of-Empathy_TM). I'm proud of myself though. I held my ground and didn't give in when he tried to persuade me to give him a second chance, and I was honest with him about the reasons why I was unhappy with the service he had been providing. (Of course I was really, really nice about it, but he still sounded a bit disappointed.) When I hung up the phone my hands were all shaky and my heart was racing. Blech. I am so not good at this.