Spell Check does not like baba ghanoush, but I do!

Yesterday, I made the unfortunate mistake of wearing "lunch" shoes to the grocery store. These are shoes that might also be referred to as "standing" shoes. Or "five minute" shoes. These are the shoes that are so deeply discounted that they cannot HELP but hop into my arms and closet, but spell BLOODY DEATH when worn for more than "five minutes" ... or anywhere walking is required ... or to do anything other than lunch on Mediterranean food and the best baba ghanoush I've ever tasted. I believe baba ghanoush is ground-up eggplant, with some other spices, sauces and ingredients thrown in for flavor. "Ground-up" is what the backs of my heels now resemble after grocery shopping in my lunch shoes. And I guess you could call the raw flesh and dead skin that is still too fresh to peel off the "flavor."

I will be in flip flops or Band-Aids for the foreseeable future. The pain and the wounds were so monumental that I pushed my cart thru dairy and into the parking lot barefooted and bleeding. My mother knows I've done this before. My husband knows on date nights that he must walk slowly because I am likely wearing shoes too loose to keep on or too uncomfortable to walk effectively. But, he also knows I look good. And the shoes were probably on sale.

So, I'm in the shower and the hot water and soap and grime are running into my open heel wounds and I'm alternately balancing on one foot and then the other so as to only endure one painful, raw heel at a time, and it's not working and that makes me think I should do an equally painful task and call up the phone company to see where we might cut and paste a little savings into our plan. And it WORKS. A big THUMBS UP to AT &T for acting HUMAN and saving me money w/o trying to sell me anything. And we're not talking nickels and dimes. We're talking really real money!

A big THUMBS DOWN to the Austin American-Statesman for not trying even a little bit to keep me as a daily customer when I called to reduce our subscription to Sundays only. And then, when they called back to CONFIRM the cancellation, no attempt to woo me then either. I probably would've caved to a better deal. They just uncontestedly divorced me.

A huge THUMBS UP to La Madeleine bakery and restaurant for giving me and two friends chocolate croissants yesterday. For a birthday breakfast. GAVE them to us. No charge. And they're HUGE. Have you ever had a chocolate croissant? Aye caramba!

A big ol' THUMBS DOWN to Blogger for arbitrarily wiping out my blog posts from my home page and giving me a heart attack. They can be restored by reloading the template, but then all the pretty formatting is gone. And IT GIVES MAMA A HEART ATTACK!

My two BIGGEST THUMBS UP to two sweet, lovely and loyal Nearest and Dearest Friends for their generous support of the big bike ride. I told Nearest and Dearest Friend Whose Name Starts w/ a "J" that I would "disguise" her in my thanks. She says no thanks are required. Said she wants to help cuz she wants to help and that's that. She's modest like that. No nonsense. Could ride this ride w/ her THUMBS UP tied behind her back. And she will KICK YOUR TAIL playing Guitar Hero (but I think she uses her thumbs for that) and she takes care of me and my kids without question or fail. She's TRULY a Nearest and Dearest and all of you need one of her. So, run right out and get one. Oops. Sold out? Too bad for you.

But Katie Lou is a Nearest and Dearest who won't mind if I call her by name and say "Thanks so much, Hon." She sent the the funniest email when she contributed to the ride in 06 saying how there's no way she could ride that many miles on a bike and how, unless, someone was chasing her something or other ... blah blah blah ... anyway, sold herself WAY short because this is a Nearest and Dearest who can do ANYTHING. She's one of toughest people I know. And I don't mean "tough" like "rough and tough," I mean smart and capable and loyal and quick-witted and tackles a project and doesn't let go 'til it's done well and right. And she can COOK! And she's a sweet mommy. And, don't bother, they're sold out of her, too. One-of-a-kind friends, I'm telling ya!

And LASTLY since I was talking "wounded and bloody"earlier, MAN, the people in my world are in a tizzy over Monday night's Bachelor episode. I long ago (actually two years ago when my sis-in-law WORE ME DOWN) made American Idol my only reality TV (and my sis-in-law and her reality TV love is fairly addicting and I'd probably watch whatever she'd watch with me), and the depth of my love for those Idols is ... trust me ... all I can and should handle! But I stay current enough with who's dancing and dating and amazing-racing and picking spouses on TV, be they nerds or men or women or gay or straight, to know what's going on. So, if I'm ever faced w/ a social setting that DEMANDS I speak to the likes of Andrew Firestone or Trista and Ryan, I can hang. With confidence. From the beginning, I've had a teeny issue w/ the fact that this current Bachelor is a dad. And we're still calling him a "bachelor." Yes, he's single. Yes, he's unmarried. But, there's something very unfettered-sounding about calling him a "bachelor." And I have the teeniest issue with the girls LOVING the fact that this guy is a dad. Babies and puppies, right? And this son isn't THAT old. So, Mommy and Daddy AREN'T that far gone from one another. And he's looking for a wife on the tee vee. In front of his son. And I guess I felt that in some way the son was being used as a pawn to earn his dad a wife. But, those are just the teensiest of issues and I KNOW ... I KNOW how we come to love our reality Superheroes, so I mean your guy no harm ... really. But, evidently you all think he's a jerk now anyway. A jerk who cries too much.

My killer shoes are in the trash. Not even the donation sack. No one deserves second-hand shoes that make one bleed. THUMBS WAY UP!