Shoes are what carry you through your day. They alter your posture, your walk, your stance, your silhouette. You must pay attention to what you put on your feet if you care about the impression you leave.
Stature is more than a stiletto
Of course, stature is more than what a pair of shoes, or stilettos, can give you. A self confident woman can take the world on barefoot if need be. It is that unmistakable self esteem, confidence and awareness that truly elevates. A great pair of stilettos simply nails it.
Don’t let your shoes, or anything sabotage what you do. I start most mornings on the beach at 5:00 am running with my friend Andrea and then I begin my day. Believe me, it is not easy getting out of bed at 4:30 am and heading out in the dark cold morning to do this. This is why I wear those funny looking Vibram five finger shoes. They make me feel like I am running barefoot on the sand. They make my running experience great.
Running the world takes an equally focused mindset. It requires the same in thoughtful footwear. You must feel good, look invincible and be comfortable in your own skin. That is a lot for a pair of shoes to deliver. If you get a handful of these in your lifetime, you are lucky.
Touch the earth with care
The soles of your shoes are the only thing between you and this earth. They carry you forward as well as the secret of stature. I am so consumed by the nuanced changes in my posture and movement that I actually decide what I am going to wear each day beginning with my shoes. How I carry myself is infinitely more important than what I am wearing.
To do what I do requires a lot of thinking on my feet. To be nimble and successful, this nonprofit ninja needs shoes and is looking around for another shoe making class. This time, I have my eyes on designing a pair of killer boots.
Watch out!
What do you put on your feet to make you feel Wow?
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Oh God! I am sick of working so hard to stay healthy!
Watch my calories, exercise every day, cut out the fat, the sugar, all the fun stuff…
And for what?
To keep my endocrinologist happy because all of my funny little numbers are in range. To keep me between a size 6 and 8. To keep my weight below Seth’s. That’s right. Seth, Son of Mildred, is so slim that we are almost the same weight. Out of sheer pride I kill myself to lose weight.
Pill Thrills
Do you have high cholesterol? I do. And I run five miles almost every day, barefoot. Runners are not typical candidates for high cholesterol. I know in my case it is hereditary.
I take Levoxyl everyday for hypothyroidism. I don’t want to take any more medication so what I do is take red yeast rice extract. A lot of it. And I take psyillium husk powder and eat oatmeal. What’s next? RotoRooter?
It doesn’t stop there. I take stuff for metabolism, Omega 3, calcium, vitamin D and more. It becomes 29 pills that I take 3 times a day.
Does it work?
Hmmm.
I don’t lose weight easily. My cholesterol is stubbornly high. Osteoporosis runs in my family. Not a great trio to start out with. I know that I feel great whenever I get to do my five mile run, pop my pills and eat wisely. It seems to me that my 29 pills help my wellbeing in a holistic and preventive way. I would rather take a lion’s share of vitamins and other natural supplements than over the counter prescription drugs.
Here’s what I suggest:
I have been a volume pill popper for over a decade. This regimen is something I work on with my endocrinologist. I also do liver and colon cleanses – not my favorite thing, but again, I feel unbelievably great afterwards. So do yourself a favor and see an endocrinologist if you are feeling that you could be feeling better.
Try and find one that works with a team that includes a nutritionist. My nutritionist monitors my weight loss, diet and invites me to his static trapeze recitals in Brooklyn.
Good for upper body strength. Great for cool factor.
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The first thing people see, or the last thing they remember?
For my birthday, I received a present in a bag that shouted, “Expensive Present”. Naturally, I was delighted and threw my arms around my darling, generous husband. How could he miss once he got me into this frame of mind?
Luckily for him, I loved the present he got me. And what I will remember about it is that bag.
Smart man.
my Vibram running shoes
You Don’t Want to See What My Feet Look Like in the Morning
They say these are becoming much more popular. So far, the only ones I see wearing these odd looking shoes are me and Andrea. At 5:30 am, on a dark beach, they don’t look so strange. We are probably the only webfooted women out there and I suppose the first impression of us you might get is that we are slightly fanatic about running barefoot on the beach.
The shoes leave weird impressions in the sand.
I wear them first thing in the morning so I can really enjoy my run, get my mind and body going, and give people a reason to give me a second look.
my Chanel shoes
Could You Believe I Only Paid $100 for These?
Sigh! As soon as I promised myself I would not buy another pair of shoes – ever, I saw this pair of vintage Chanel shoes in a boutique in Nolita and they were screaming at me, I swear, I had no choice, I had to go in and try them on. Of course, they were my size. Of course, I have nothing to wear with them so I will have to go out and get something fabulous. And of course, I will have to find a stunning event to go to so I can wear my new outfit. As my friend Donna said, when I confessed my entire escapade,
“You made the right choice.”
All this to say that these are shoes you wear for a second look.
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The book is about organizational change and told through headbangingly funny aha! stories that make you laugh as they drive home the point about the phenomenon of change.
Speaking of change, I am proud to say that I have made the switch from drawing on paper to drawing on my iPad with a stylus. Not easy, or comfortable mind you, but I truly enjoy exploring the potential of this kind of artmaking as well as the tools at my fingertips. I use the Sketchbook Pro app and it works quite well as long as I remember not to lean on the screen with my drawing hand.
Dan says change is sparked by feeling, not information. Our first instinct is to give people information. People will change if they feel something. We think it happens like this:
Analyze, Think, Change
It rarely happens that way. It is more likely to look like this:
See, Feel, Change
In my example, I saw an exciting tool – the iPad. Creating sketches, emailing them, inserting them into my blogs made me feel like a visual diva. That was it. I wanted to change, and I did.
We were out on the town for a night of flamenco and a Greek dinner. Seth, me and my mom. A triple date.
The American Bolero Dance Company presented a Tablao Flamenco in a packed auditorium in Astoria. Disclaimer: This group received a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts and we were invited to the performance as site auditors. My mother loves to dance and if you haven’t seen my little video of her cha cha class, here it is. She was delighted to have the chance to sit knee to knee among flamenco lovers at cafe tables to watch this passionate group of dancers. In fact, she has volunteered to do more of these performance audits.
“I could bring my dance class. They would love to see other dancers. And in Queens!”
Why Look Outside Your Own Backyard?
What did Dorothy discover at the end of the Wizard of Oz?
That’s right. There’s no place like home.
And if you live in Queens like I do, boy is that ever true. Not only is it home for me, it is home for people from over 147 different countries.
Do the math. That is 147 different types of cuisines, culture, music, art …
What a moveable feast!
Here’s What You Do
Gus and his brother Chris buy the wine and beer for Sanfords in Astoria. They have one of the most intriguing menus and drinks to go with it. You can usually find Gus holding court with local impresarios and characters in the back booth from the late afternoon to evening. When his dad, the original proprietor of the original Sanfords in its black and white photo days, is not cruising around Greece, he is also part of the character set of this very eclectic and uniquely Astoria establishment.
Check out Sanfords after work. Have a seat at the bar in the back and order a glass of Tres Picos. That’s what Gus put in my hands the last time we were there.
Delicioso!
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photo by @njee
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