These things are so comfy on my feet! They are soft and squshy and my feet literally sign with relief when I put them on. Since finding the right size, they don’t rub or cause blisters either and I wear them for 9 or 10 hours a day some days.

However, they do not keep my low back from hurting. In fact, I’m not sure they aren’t causing my back to hurt when I wear them. My back hurts pretty badly when I wear them at the end of the day or the next day.

Have I seen any improvement in my legs and butt? Probably not. If I’d cut out drinking all soda, cappuccinos and eating pasta, I’d probably see a bigger improvement.

When I wear them, I feel like I stand on my heals. I could be mistaken, but I think these shoes are supposed to cause you to activate the muscles that are used to keep you standing forward and help correct your posture. Maybe my muscles are really lazy because they don’t seem to be working harder to hold me that way.

Anyway, for foot comfort, these get a 10! For health improvements, I’m not sure they get much higher than a 7.

When the weather warms back up and I’m inclined to wear hot, suffocating socks and tennis shoes again, I’ll wear and test out the fitness toning athletic shoes I have.

What’s your take on this trend and do you have these type of sandals?

So, this new place I applied to…. I already tweet for pay for their sponsors through twitter so I figured they must value what I do to some level or I wouldn’t be getting the offers to do those. Well, I was WRONG!

I got a response to my application that said too many of my posts are for profit.

Really?

That’s what this blog is about, among other things. Cha Ching! don’t get me wrong, I don’t make bank off this blog or even pay for my cappuccino habit monthly, but it is something.

The part that bothers me, is that they really must not have looked very far down the page, there are several posts that clearly don’t have anything to do with promoting anyone’s stuff and are clearly about me. Actually, all the posts, even sponsored posts, are about me. How much more self centered do they want me to be?

I think they need to be more transparent. I don’t remember them saying that a certain percentage of posts need to be without outside links or not sponsored.

Who do you write for? How do you monetize your blogging efforts and why do you do it? I’m curious how it compares to me.

I never did much with the belly rings because I am not a flamboyant person. Okay, maybe a little. I was also a belly dancer until a car wreck back 03, but even with that, I never used the bejeweled and flashy belly rings.  At some point, I let the piercing heal up and now have a hole just above my belly button that goes nowhere.

If I can get back in shape (which I’m publicly declaring here, I guess) then maybe, just maybe, I’ll get it re-done and wear something flashy like this.

Yep, this is is also a sponsored post, but my story is true and so is my goal to get back in shape.

No hardware or tools needed to install, because it fastens to the frame with Velcro. You can slip in and out quickly, no matter what you’re carrying, simply by stepping between the overlapping panels that are held together by a magnet. 36 inches wide. Fits a 72 inch sliding glass door or regular entry door. 80 inches tall.

I’m supposed to mention that theseare easy to install. Fits all standard garages. 5% discount if “summersavings” discount is applied. Orders over $99 get free shipping.

This is a sponsored post, but I honestly thought you might find this product useful.

Yeah ther is some crap to wade through, but how about this question for starters? 

When I first started looking at their website, all I saw was log cabin style furniture which isn’t my style at all. Then, I found this.  Isn’t she gorgeous? That is what natural beauty is all about ladies and gentlemen.

“This beautiful walnut mainframe is fused together with burl maple accents creating a vivid and lush look that will make your room become one with nature. ”

Why do I have to wait til I get rich? Because it costs  $4,299.99 !  That, my friend, is more than I paid for my car.

This is a sponsored post, but the opinions about the bed and website are actually my own and I even admit it.

I’ve seen the presentations on the shopping channel and I’ve seen the infomercial. It makes me curious. Did they do some editing to make the models hair look great, or does the product really work that well? I used tobe in the hair industry and I wish it would have hit the market before I left so I’d have insider information about how well it works.

The products are some kind of hair care system – an alternative type of cleanser and conditioner along with a comb and styling type product.

My future sister in law, Angela, tried the products from a local beauty supply store that are a knock off of the WEN brand. She wasn’t impressed and said it left her hair looking like it does when you haven’t washed it for a few days. Greasy and heavy and somewhat limp. I don’t know how long she gave it or if she used it right. It could be that the nock off just doesn’t work as well either.

I’d love to hear if anyone has any experience with the real products though.

This is a sponsored post, but the story is true and my curiosity is authentic.

It was black leather – like material. Low to the ground and quilted. I guess that’s the right term.  It was certainly way more hip than the plaid green and brown truly 70’s style furniture set we had at home. You know, the kind with the wooden arms and feet, maybe even the wooden shoulder wings? Ick.

I wish I had a photo of the furniture set I’m talking about but it’s not in our photos here and all the photos at my grandparents house were blown away by a tornado a few years ago. So, I guess for now, I’ll just look at these photos of  this cool leather sofa  and remember a time from my childhood.

This is a sponsored post and this leather sofa is cool too , but the story is true and I did really love that furniture set of my grandparent’s.

But, my potential weakness comes in the form of a shoe that says it can help work the legs and but even harder than the same excersize performed using typical shoes. Is it true? Well, I’m testing it out and I’ll let you know when I’ve tried them over a period of time.

Before that happens though, I thought I’d share how hard it is for someone with short toes to get a good fit out of this shoe!

I started by trying on the Payless brand version which was much too long in the toe area. In order to get my arch and heel in the right place of the foot bed, the toe post was about half way up my toe, instead of being in the pit of my toes. Uncomfortable!

I then went to try on Sketchers brand at a department store to see how they felt. The size 6 felt better on my toes, but still worried me.  These cost nearly $50 and that is simply out of the question right now for something that may not fit well. So, I looked on ebay and amazon. While they both had sketchers brand, what I found in my size and the particular color I want, was nearly retail price. I only shop ebay to find rare items or true bargain prices. But, I found a knock off and decided to try it.

Here’s what I got. LA Gear Trim Step The seller was awesome. I had them in 2 days. However, when I wore them last night for a short walk and at a slower pace than normal thanks to my ancient basset hound, they left me with blisters on the insides of my toes! The part of the shoe that goes over the top of my foot (the top of where my arch is) was very tight and rubbed almost to the point of blistering also.

Today I went to Target to get something completely unrelated. Guess what? They have a version called TrimStep. It looks exactly like the LA Gear version. Here’s the difference. They had a size 5 and it is the right fit.

So, four pair of shoes later and about $30 used, I have a size that is 1.5 – 2 sizes smaller than I ever wear!

Tonight I took the new pair for a walk. I walked fast on gravel and pavement and they felt good. In fact, I felt propelled forward and while these are not a soft cushy type of rubber, they felt bouncy while I walked. I felt something in my calves. Something like being worked out! My left calf was kind of yelling at me at one point so maybe they really do work?

 I plan on wearing them to work at a 9 hour a day job tomorrow to see if they also help my back which is another proposed benefit of this style of shoe.

We’ll see, and I’ll let you know.

“Meshkinshahr usually makes very long runners, with patterns that are strictly simple and geometric, often with diamond-shaped central medallions”

I love this one and it has the colors to match my living room! It’s probably longer than I could fit, but it’s lovely, don’t you think?

This site has a crazy number of rugs! 600 plus pages of them in all shapes, sizes and patterns.

We had a square one that sat under our furniture, but the darn dog kept peeing on the corner of it. Dang dog anyway!

Take this one for instance. Can you even look at it? It hurts my eyes to look for long, but it’s a cool pattern!

So, maybe you wonder why anyone would want a rug? Let me tell you, wood and laminate flooring in the middle of a Kansas winter is COLD! Even with slippers on, the cold radiates up through your feet.

So, a rug under your feet anywhere you sit or stand is very nice to have.