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The Chronicles of Nani On Video

I am overcoming my inability to type with my ability to talk (and talk and talk and talk) I'll be posting a video every week on my YouTube channel. I'll be posting those videos here too along with an occasional regular blog in the mix. (As long as my hands are up to doing the extra typing.)

You'll be able to watch the videos here, but I encourage you to stop by my channel at YouTube once I'm up and running to follow me and get my numbers started!


Welcome to my coffee shop in Cyber Space
Try the latte with a slice of black forest cake!


Contact Nani at
chroniclesofnani@gmail.com

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Scrappy Day & Nani’s New Shoes

It’s my reward for getting all of my school work done and turned in yesterday, it’s due tomorrow night. David is at work, so I got to scrap with a big bowl of popcorn and a huge mug of my own blended sugar free dark chocolate English Toffee latte. I love Ron and Frank’s drink mixes! The Dark Chocolate cocoa is sweetened with Splenda and the English Toffee cappuccino is unsweetened, so if I blend them I get perfect sweetness! I added a spoon of Coffeemate to make it creamier and a spoon of instant espresso for stronger flavor and it is positively decadent!

While I have another project I’m working on right now, the project that’s the reason why I probably won’t finish 2008 this year, I’m still slowly but surely keeping up with the 2011 pages…slowly. I finished this page from our May into June vacation today.


Credits: Kit- Wrapped In Chocolate by Heartfelt Perfections
Flowers from various other kits
Chocolate Word Art by Digitalegacies Designs

That piece of fudge cake deserves its own page! It was the best, and I mean the best dessert of 2011 so far. That bottom level is fudge, not fudge cream or fudge cake, but actual fud,ge with a couple of chocolate cream layers on top all on a chocolate cookie crumb crust. I started the layout last night and woke up this morning craving chocolate. Hmmm…


We went out this morning to get me some new shoes. We did well! I got shoes for me, David found a pair in his size, special in itself, but on sale and the second pair of shoes was half off! Then the socks packs were buy two get one free, so I got four packs for me and David got two packs free. I’m not shy about the fact that I am not a woman who has a shoe fetish. In fact, I have a shoe aversion. I can’t stand shoes and if I could be barefoot or sockfoot all the time, I would be.

There are a number of reasons for that I guess. My Mom was an insane shoe woman. When Dad and I cleaned out her side of their closet, we never ran out of shoes. She had so many different kinds, some to match only one specific outfit and some never worn, but she had to have her shoes. I think it disappointed her a little that I was not a shoe shopping companion for her. I did go out shoe shopping with her, but I went for her company and enjoyed coffee after shopping much more than the stores, especially the shoe stores!

Mom finally understood why I hated shoes when I was in my 20s. When she commented on my funny walk and the shoes didn’t look right, I was in 2” pumps at the time. My heels are narrow. Medium width foot with AA narrow heels, duck feet! So shoes don’t fit right. The heels always slosh around when I walk and dress shoes flop off the heel when I step. Scrunched up toes keep them on my feet, but oh, they hurt!

I guess I’d have to say that’s the greatest thing, a good thing, about using a walker or wheelchair. Nobody ever, ever, expects me to wear dress shoes! I can wear comfy ballet-style slippers with a dress in the chair and I’m stylin’! Tennis shoes with the walker are fine no matter what. I’d look plumb insane if I was wearing slippery hard-sole shoes with any kind of heel with the walker. And I am NOT insane. I’m not crazy at all. I’m especially not crazy about shoes!

Ah, but today I had to get new shoes before Monday because I have physical therapy on Monday. Monday I’ll learn how to wear and walk with an AFO!

I had the AFO made not long ago. AFO is an Ankle Foot Orthosis. It’s a plastic brace that helps with foot-drop, the biggest reason I won’t be taking ballet back up. Well, there are several reasons I don’t dance the ballet anymore, but foot-drop is also a big part of why I fall. A hopeful good additional effect is that it will control the hyperextension in my knee. Right now I’ve put it on and tried to walk. It terrifies me! I need my PT to show me how to do it! That comes Monday!

It is, however, why I had to get new shoes. I have a comfy pair of size 9-1/2 Reeboks. I’ve worn Reeboks for years and years. It was the best walking shoe I found when I used to walk at the park every day. Now that I’m not walking for exercise and enjoyment anymore, I’m still true to the Reeboks because they fit. I can order them off the Internet and they’ll fit because the size is true to my feet. Unfortunately the supports that make them great walking shoes, the padding in back that make the fit my skinny heels right and the tapered toes that form supportively around my medium width feet, don’t fit in the least over the AFO!

Keep the shoes! Give me dots and stripes
and plaids in my favorite colors of SOCKS!


The orthotist who made my AFO suggested New Balance because they don’t have the tapered toes that Reeboks do. So, we went to Shoe Carnival, which has always been my shoe store of choice because they are inexpensive, have good sales and a nice selection of socks. As much as I hate shoes, I love socks. A saleswoman assisted me in finding the right pair and size to fit over the AFO, which I brought with me to try on shoes. She asked me if I had a color preference. Yanno, I am I fairly well endowed woman. I haven’t seen my shoes in many years. I didn’t tell her that, but I told her it didn’t matter as long as they fit over the AFO.

I ended up bringing home a pair of gray and silver New Balance with white trim and little pink accents. It’s a good thing the accents are pink so I can tell them apart from David’s. My shoes aren’t quite as comparatively small anymore! These are a size 11 D wide! Hopefully, it means that come Monday, I’ll start walking a little better with the walker. 11D, Yeesh!

My HUGE new shoes

Okay, a last note, as a thank you for reading my tale of shoe-woe, I have a scrapbooking freebie for you! I was so pleased with the word art I did on my chocolate layout that I want to share! Yeah, keep the silver; I want my clouds to have a chocolate lining!



Click on the preview to go to 4Shared.

Well, while I’ve been typing, I finished my big mug of Nani’s cheat-a-ccino blend. Man, that instant espresso is one of my favorite cooking pals! My layout is still making me crave chocolate, so maybe one more before David gets home. Speaking of yummy coffee, I’ll be back to talk about that clickable banner in the bulletin board. A coffee sponsor? I could weep with joy!



Links

2 comments:

Edna B said...

Nani, I hope you get this comment. The last two were eaten by the google fairy! About your new shoes, I wouldn't even be able to move around in them. I used to wear a 5, then in time, my resplendent form worked it's way up to a size 7 wide. I have ankle braces that will fit into my sneakers only after I have worn the sneakers a while and loosened them up. However, after that, I can't use them again without my braces. If I had to buy my sneakers any bigger than maybe one size up, I doubt I could pick my feet up to walk. My favorites are my flip flops and slippers.

I wish you much luck with your new shoes and I hope the therapy goes well. Keep smiling. Your sense of humor is wonderful. Have a great day, hugs, Edna B.

CBH said...

Thank you so much for this post. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 4 post on Oct. 23, 2011. Thanks again.