the greatest and best shoes in the world

A tribute. To Chacos.

I'm sure you remember how excited I was when I first bought my Chacos. I knew they were great, but I never expected what they would do for me. See, I got my Chacos in that blissful ante-pregnancy state of ignorance, just wanting a comfortable sandal.

But now, many months later, my feet have way more needs. They still need to be cool and supported-- the two original reasons for buying the Chacos-- but at a greater magnitude than I ever imagined. I've been hot since March 1st, and I tend to put my Chacos on like slippers for cooking or cleaning because they help me last longer while standing.

But what I didn't anticipate, was how my feet are slowly expanding. Any pregnant woman's do, but I just didn't think about it. I'm tying my laces a little looser these days. A few pairs of my shoes are getting snug, and at the end of a walk, I can't wait to get my Asics off.

And here is where the Chaco's shine. As my feet expand, SO DOES THE SHOE! That's right, I just adjust the straps (which are laced through the base of the sandal) and voila! a perfectly fitting pair of supportive shoes. It doesn't matter how wide my feet decide to go, these puppies will go right on with them.

So thank you to the Chaco company for solving a problem I didn't even know I was going to have.

off to the far east

Sam left this morning to spend two weeks in China (a week in Shanghai and a week in Suzho) at a conference for work. We got him all packed up last night, hopefully with enough books and multi-media to keep him occupied while he travels for the next 24 hours. I'm not too worried about him, though. He gets to fly business class, so he should be relatively comfortable on that 13 hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo.

Needless to say, I'm a little jealous, and sad to have him gone for two weeks. One of his co-workers asked if I was going with him, and when Sam said I wasn't, the man was shocked. Sam explained that I was 32 weeks pregnant and said, "I think she'd like to go to China, but I don't think she wants to travel to China right now." And that's exactly how I feel.

So, I'm trying to fill these next two weeks with good activities. Some plans are: do plenty of subbing, work on sewing the bedding for the crib, get some visiting teaching done, watch some girlie movies, read a lot, cook very little, and of course, try to get over this horrible cold that has plagued me for the last ten days.

Any other suggestions for making this time FLY by?

a little r and r

I think I've made a breakthrough. I'm sitting in my bed at 9:23 in the morning with my PJs still on perusing the internet on the lap top, and I feel no guilt whatsoever. I canceled the substituting job I had scheduled and planted a roll of toilet paper and bottle of Powerade on the bookshelf next to the bed. I've succumbed to my sick-with-a-cold, aching-from-viral-infection-and-pregnancy body and intend to take a nap after having done nothing this morning aside from eating breakfast and reading a magazine (and all that internet perusal). And no guilt. I love it.