Saturday Morning Coffee Break - Let's Talk Shoe Shopping!!

Dear Diary...

I'll admit, I've already had a couple cups of coffee this morning.  But, I'm still drinking it - so I can write while drinking the cup I'm drinking right now.  I've got quite a lot to say, this morning, so you might want to grab that big mug of coffee before you start reading.  Or maybe you'll need to take a refill break half way through - totally up to you.  I'll still be here, waiting for you.

I'm a little miffed this morning.  Miffed is a word, because it didn't highlight when I typed it.  My definition of miffed is a little upset.  Not enough to be pissed, but on the verge of being disgruntled.  I just checked the actual definition of "miffed" and came back with the same results.  Wow, I'm a pretty good walking dictionary.

Anywho, when you read my blog, you probably notice those ads that pop up under each post - and the Amazon ads that appear on the side bar.  There's a reason I have those ads.  Cause I thought it might earn me a couple of bucks once or twice a year. 

Well, this morning, I decided to have a looksy at how effective those ads are.  If anyone actually clicks on them - and if I've actually earned any money.  Well, I was quite surprised to see that I have, in fact, earned some money.  So, I decided to click the Adsense button that would lead me to my account so that I could have a check issued.  And guess what happened?  I get a message that my account has been disabled due to "term violation".  That's it.  No explanation of what violation I apparently violated.  No explanation of how I can fix the problem.  And absolutely no way to contact them to find out what the heck is going on.  How very convenient. 

So, then I visit the Amazon site that manages the money I've made from those ads.  What do my eyes see before me?  My account has been disabled because residents of Arkansas are no longer permitted to participate in the program.  Urm.  When did that happen?  I don't remember ever seeing an email letting me know this tidbit of information.  I don't remember ever being contacted by someone saying "we're sorry, but you live in a state that no longer allows us to pay you for advertising our products - so you can go ahead and remove the ads if you want".  Why would they do that?  Not being able to pay me means they're getting free advertising, right?  The whole thing has ticked me off, so I'm now happy to report that you won't be bothered by those ads anymore.  I've removed them.  If I'm going to allow space on my blog to be taken up by billion dollar companies, then I expect a couple of bucks thrown my way. If not, well, then I'll do my own advertising of the products I think are worthy of being advertised - for free.

Speaking of which - let's advertise right now, shall we?

Yesterday, I did something I never thought I'd do.  I bought something I have been saying for over a year that I would never buy.  In fact, I bought two of those somethings.  Wanna know what it was?  Toms.  The shoes.

If you don't know what Toms are, you've either been living under a rock - or you are living in a place that haven't jumped aboard the Toms Train.  It seems like, in my neck of the woods, Toms are the new Nike's.  Everyone has them.  Kids.  Adults.  Pretty much every teacher I've ever met or work with.  There's nothing fantastically amazing about the look of Toms.  They are canvas shoes that are supposed to be extremely comfortable.  That's it.  BUT, for every pair of Toms sold, the company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.  So, even though the shoes are pretty expensive - for what they are - they are for a good cause.

This is the style that I ordered yesterday:

Don't they just SCREAM me?  Pink and sparkly.  My two middle names.  These would normally run you about $60... but I managed to snag a pair from an authorized Toms seller for $40.  So, if I figure that's $20 for my shoes and $20 for the shoes that will be donated to a child - it's not such a bad deal.  But, ordering them online means that I will have to wait a week or two to get them.  Blah.  That stinks.

That was, until I found out there was an authorized seller in my area.  A shoe store that actually sells them?  Where I could get a pair right there on the spot?  I just had to go.  And I did.  And I found a pair that I loved - and I could wear right out of the store!!

Just the night before, I had gone to a department store that sells their own version of Toms.  They don't look exactly the same, but they were 1/3 of the price.  I wore a pair of them yesterday, and I was in more pain from wearing them than I would have been wearing 6" heels to work.  When I got to the Toms store, and was able to put on a real pair of Toms - my feet felt like they were being wrapped in little clouds.  They were soft, comfy, and even the blisters that had formed on my feet from the knock-offs were telling me how grateful they were that I'd freed them from the torture from the other shoes.

Thankfully, I bought the other shoes from a store that allows returns on shoes that have been worn - so I will be returning the death shoes today.  The money I'll get back from the 3 pairs that I bought will make up for one pair of the Toms...and I'm totally OK with that!

I've never been one to spend more than $20 on a pair of shoes.  Even my new training shoes were only $35 - which I considered to be a splurge buy.  I'm pretty thrifty when it comes to my shoes - even though I have TONS of them.  I'm also not one to jump on a big band wagon and buy shoes just because everyone else has them.  But this is one time that I'm glad I did both.  I spent a lot of money on a pair of shoes (actually two pairs) and I jumped on a band wagon.  BUT, I can honestly say I now know why so many people wear them.  If they stay as comfortable as they were last night - having two feet that felt like they were put in vice grips all day long and the pain instantly disappearing once the Toms were placed on my feet - then they are definitely worth every penny.

OK, coffee break over.  You can now get back to doing what you were doing.  I would like to know, though, do you own a pair of Toms?  What do you think of them?

Before I go - here are my goals for today:

• Stay under my calorie limit
• Go for a walk for at least 30 minutes
• Try and jog some of that 30 minutes

Till next time. ;)