Shoes

Spicin' Up Saturdays with Joni

This next weekend my mom, my sisters, and I are getting together to enjoy some time off together. I am very excited for this. One thing we are planning on doing is going shopping. This sounds so fun to me. My dilemma is I am five months pregnant and really not interested in buying any clothes. I have already grown out of my smaller maternity clothes and am happily moving into the tent stage. I love pregnancy! Who knows how long it will be till I am back to my regular size, so buying clothes isn't too enticing for me. I do need a new wallet and purse, so those are on my shopping list. I was talking to my sister Stalee about this and she said to buy shoes. She said that it doesn't matter if your midsection is growing, shoes will always fit. That may be true for many, but not for me, especially when I am due in August. I normally wear an 8 or 8 1/2 shoe but when I was pregnant with Vienna, who was born in September, I wore a 9 1/2. I totally lost my ankles and feet. I was so happy after she was born that my feet and ankles went to their regular size.

This topic has gotten me thinking about shoes. When I was young and hip, (that seems so long ago!) I used to always have cute shoes. The shoes made the outfit. I remember thinking I would never become the mother in mom jeans (you know the ones, high waistline, high pockets, tapered ankle and floods) who wears jogging shoes all of the time. Thank goodness there are now more options for women jeans so I can still have style with my new motherly shape. But I have also realized why jogging shoes were and are the shoe of choice for mothers. In those shoes, you are ready for anything. You can chase your runaway two year old in the grocery store. You are always ready for a walk. You can jump, skip, clean, carry and so much more in these shoes. I feel more productive when I put my jogging shoes on. They say marathon runners' metabolisms rise when they put on their running shoes. I feel my energy level rises when I put on my jogging shoes, even if I am only going to vacuum. So I am now the mom who can be caught wearing jeans (stylish ones, I hope) and running shoes. And I like that style. I don't wear them to nice restaurants or to parties, but I definitely wear them to the park. I wonder what young teens are promising to never look like me :)

Last month Jaron and I went to Disneyland. Because our days were spent walking and walking, I wore my jeans and jogging shoes every day. By the end of the night, my feet ached. I would waddle home even though I was only 16 weeks pregnant. There was so much pain after a long day of walking. As I was waddling back to our hotel, I noticed the shoes that others had chosen to wear to Disneyland. I saw a lot of sandals with no cushion or support. I saw a lot of TOMS which looked comfy but no cushion between the foot and the ground. The shoes I couldn't believe I saw were the heels and platforms. There were quite a few women, who might be from a different culture or country than me, wearing nice dresses and skirts and fancy shoes. How in the world were they walking. I could barely take a step and they were tiptoeing around in those shoes! I finally decided that they must not have speed walked to every ride, climbed Tarzan's tree house multiple times, and stood in lines to ride the rides. If they did, they are more of a woman than I am. Personally, I was happy to be comfortable in my jogging shoes!

So as I go shopping next week for some summer sandals, my criteria is they must be cute. They must allow for much swelling. And most important, they must be comfy, because beauty is not worth sacrificing comfort!

Recipe of the Week: Jello (Gluten Free)

I love Jello. I think it adds a yummy dish to almost any meal. I have found that Great Value Brand is Gluten Free. Jello is so easy to make, but must be done by lunch time if you want it for dinner.

For One Box of Jello, add 1 cup of boiling water. Mix well. When disolved, add 1 cup of cold water and put in the fridge. Allow atleast 4 hours to set.

Variations:

-Add whipping cream to the set Jello and blend.

-Cut up bananas into slices and add when still liquid. They usually float to the top to make a pretty dish.