So, I'm still recovering from the tree planting.  I'm doing lots of sleeping and I'm trying to be gentle on my revved up metabolism (aka, replace bucket loads of cake with bucket loads of carrots).  The bug bites are healing, my sleeping bag has dried out, and I've almost washed that funky smell out of my rain jacket.

The only things that are a bit slow to recover are my feet.  They look disgusting.  I thought about taking a photo to show you, but then I got worried that you might puke.  I decided to draw a picture instead (in paint.  It was fun). 

Now, before you get all shocked and decide never to walk again so you can avoid a similar fate, remember that these feet were earned after planting 9 hours a day in rubber boots.

They are a bit delicate right now.

Which gave me the perfect excuse to rush out and buy new, good for the feet, shoes.   They have all of the "padding" and "support structures" I need to go back to my ever walking ways.   They cost me a whopping $60  (that's 600 trees!).  But they're really comfortable...

Anyways, I can't afford a pedicure, but I'm thinking that I'll try to do one myself.  After all, my feet are very important!  They get me from A to B!   They support my whole body!  They want to look sexy again in a pair of sandals!

So I typed "pedicure" into Google and found this website: http://beauty.about.com/od/perfectnails/ss/pedicure101.htm

It looks pretty informative.  I'll try and do it tonight and then let you know how it goes. 

Although a pedicure does seem like a lot of work... maybe I'll just moisturize the heck out of my feet and sleep in a pair of socks.  That's kind of the same right?

 

Would anyone bet me grocery money to walk like this tomorrow? 

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you are all having a great holiday.

Guess what I got for Christmas?  Boots!  They're nice woolen ones with big buttons on them.  I'm a big fan of footwear, although my personal shoe collection is not quite brag worthy.  It's all rather utilitarian: a pair of hiking boots, running shoes, work shoes, and a crappy set of "yah, these look okay, and I'll wear them everyday, but they probably aren't so good for the knees" shoes.  I have a secret wish for red high heels.  

I'm excited because my new boots are going to replace my crappy everyday shoes.  Shoes are important if you are going to walk everywhere.  "You gotta invest in the proper support!" orders my dad.  Back when he was my age, he used to run miles in work boots and now his knees and feet are kicking him in the butt for it.

Hey, if you have any foot related pain, this website looks pretty helpful: http://www.foot-pain-explained.com/shoe_fitting.html 
It even talks about foot odor - important for people who own hiking boots and go into hostels and stink up the entire room so that everyone else can hardly sleep without gagging (It wasn't me!  It was ... yah, it was me).

Goodness!  I bet you didn't expect to hear about foot odor on Christmas!  This is a very un-Christmasy blog entry.  Santa.  Snow.  Blinky lights.  Eggnogg.  Carols.  Jingle bells!