10 Day "You" Challenge: Day 10

As I was doing a blog hop, I came across this 10 Day You Challenge at Spilled Milkshake; and really enjoyed getting to know her.  She came across this post by Dayna of Great Beauty Buys who got the idea from Mom-A-Logues and Laura at Cocoons 2 Butterflies, so it seems it is spreading. While I don't know all these ladies (I should say "yet" as I plan to go back and read their 10 day challenges). 

I thought this was an awesome way to get to know each other better! So I'm going to do it - starting with 10 and working my way back.  I might not post every day but I'll add it to the topics so you can find them if you want.  If you decide to participate, leave a comment with your blog so I can get to know you too!

1. I love my heels but my feet really hurt when I wear them - I suffer for "beauty".
2. I'm a pharmacist by training but I don't want to work as one because the fear of making a mistake (a med error) that could hurt or kill someone freaks me out!
3. I feel like I'm a big imposter and one day, someone will look "behind the curtain" and see that I'm not "as good", "as smart", or "enough of" anything people think I am - and then everything will fall apart.
4. I've never felt pretty.
5. My dad died when I was 14, and I miss him - I hope he's proud of me.
6. I've had some amazing ideas in the past (such as Preggo Products - a line of inexpensive humorous novelty gifts for pregnant women) but I wasn't able to bring them to market and later saw "less than" versions done by others.  I regret letting go, and I'm so afraid the same thing could happen with If The Shoe Doesn't Fit if I can't make it successful.
7. I was hit by a truck walking across the street with my dog in 1989 and essentially had to learn to walk and talk again.
8. I've had 6 dogs (3 beautiful golden retrievers now) and love them all.  My first dog, Suddy, a golden, was special; she was with me when I had my accident and all during my recovery.  She was more human than dog.  I lost her in 2000 and I still miss her every day.
9. I'm envious of my friends who are such awesome dancers - I love ballroom dancing and work soooo hard at it - but I dance from my head and wish I knew how to dance from my heart like they do.  I really want to.
10. I care what people think; I want them to like me.  I'm working on getting to a place where I can let that go - but I've spent my life as a people pleaser and it's a hard thing to break.  

Ok - so brutally honest and a little more serious than I planned - but hey - you'll get to know me.  I'll keep a lot of the others lighter.  I think the topics lend themselves to different material.  But 10 real secrets - well - if it was the fluff stuff everyone knew, it wouldn't be  a secret now would it...


~Ellen

Ode to Crocs

If you thought that crocs are large, wide plastic shoes that are full of holes, you must think again. The Crocs range involves all kinds of awesome shoes for all seasons and generic brands are following suit. I thought I'd share some interesting facts about one of my favorite shoe brands / styles with you.

The company Crocs Inc. was founded by three friends, George Boedecker, Jr.,Scott Seamans and Lyndon "Duke" Hanson. Initially they were distributors of  the foam shoe was first designed as a spa shoe by Foam Creations. Crocs bought Foam Creations in 2004 along with the exclusive rights to the foam resin, known as Croslite.


By 2006 the company filed eleven complaints against companies that manufacture, distribute or import croc-offs (fake Crocs).


A number of podiatrists the foam used in geniune Crocs is great for the wearer as it shapes itself around the feet. The U.S. Ergonomics company,  American Podiatric Medical Association and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved one of the styles as approved diabetic footwear. Crocs, Inc. also offers a range of therapeutic shoes, known as Crocs Rx.


According to a number of orthopedic specialists, pediatricians and podiatrists interviewed by WebMD, Crocs are supportive for kids to wear. They are also comfortable and the holes allow air to circulate around the feet, keeping them cool and fresh. The antimicrobial properties of the foam help to prevent infections.  However, they should not be worn all day long and they are unsuitable for certain activities, such as for sports practice, hiking and on cold days. 


As for adults, a surgeon said that he always suggests them to his patients and said that he wears Crocs all the time too, particularly when he is operating. He said that when it gets warmer and everyone puts on their flip-flops, he reaches for his Crocs, as they offer more arch support and more protection in case you stub your toe.

Some other experts are skeptical, but hey, the floor is mine now - so take a look at the styles below and grab a pair (of each). You can alternate them with your favorite flip-flops every other day. With delicious names like Custard and Berry-licious, be sure to remember they should be stored in your shoe closet and not in the refrigeration!

Back to School!

I wrote this as an article for a site last year but as I looked at it - it made me smile - so I updated the stats, and I'm posting it here.  Hope it makes you smile as well!  ~ Ellen

 A kid’s foot grows a full shoe size nearly every 6 months... which is kind of ridiculous because it means they barely put on a pair of shoes before they’ve outgrown them!  As they grow, most kids also partake in a multitude of activities: soccer, t-ball, ballet, basketball, etc… meaning they continually need new shoes for each sport, season, size and so on.  Let’s not even talk about the fact that it’s in most children’s natures to whirl though everything in their path: Grandma’s antique heirloom vase, hamsters, goldfish, Dad’s glasses and the latest fads and fashions; at times they really are just one step up from puppies.  As a result, their footwear needs change in an instant; something fashionable one day, is freakish the next.  

    

Because of these truths, it’s safe to say that a kid goes through shoes like Lindsay Lohan goes through court dates. Basically, this means that around at least once a month their bedraggled mothers and bewildered fathers are stuck dragging Little Susie and Baby Billy to the shoe store, putting up with their wiggling, patiently dealing with kicks to the shins during fittings, to pick out new shoes AGAIN, and footing the ever growing bill (pun most definitely intended).      

Raising a child has always been expensive; and the cost of raising a child TODAY is frightening. According to the National Retail Federation, parents will spend an average of $603 on back to school supplies and $104 on shoes alone this year. Kids want the coolest clothes, the newest iPhone; they want to play on travel tournament teams and text until their thumbs fall off.  Not to mention the cost of that brand new, and very safe SUV to tote said kids around, the gas to fill it, food and grocery costs. Dad can kiss his once a week golf habit goodbye and Mom’s just gonna have to deal with her gray roots growing in, cause a pricey professional dye job just isn’t in the cards.  

Being a parent today is starting to sound grim…but parents can stop pulling their hair out and shop for shoes online at an auction site like If The Shoe Doesn't Fit an online auction site dedicated to shoes and shoe related items only. A website like this can give Moms and Dads a way to save on that never-ending expense of shoes.  It has a continually changing selection of children’s shoes at affordable prices AND help Mom avoid the dreaded trip to the shoe store (trying to get a seven year old boy to sit still while attempting to fit shoes on him is straight misery).   

Moms and Dads can also make extra money by selling those outgrown, barely or never worn shoes online as well.  So parents have options when Target won’t return that pair of pink Mary Janes that their daughter never got to wear. So while back to school can be code for "how much does that cost?" it can now be a time to start clearing out closets and making cash!  It's all how you look at it!