October 12, 2011

Although Wednesday nights have been reserved for flag football for the past few weeks, I could not resist forgoing our pre-playoffs scrimmage in favor of spending the evening with Campbell at a Halloween carnival.  I challenge you to say "no" to any one of this child's entreaties; should you prevail, I'll buy you dinner.  Thus, when Campbell, through my sister-in-law, asked me to come with her, the only available answer was "of course!"  Saving her pink cowgirl costume for Halloween weekend, Campbell opted for a Halloween headband, pigtails, a Hello Kitty Halloween shirt, butterfly wings, a pink tutu, Halloween socks, and pink Converse; in other words, the picture of adorable.  I tried not to allow my heart to melt when I heard her say, "now I can fly everywhere," emphasis on "everywhere," once she slipped on her butterfly wings.  It was nearly impossible, I can assure you.  By the end of the evening, Campbell was nearly visibly buzzing from all of the excitement (and sugar), having played every single game, winning a pumpkin pie at the cake walk, and hiding in her daddy's shoulder out of fear of the life-sized Scooby Doo and unpredictable bunnies and ducklings in the petting zoo. 

October 11, 2011

New Balance has won my heart and devotion over the last year; its performance today only solidified that love.  I'm on my third pair of New Balance shoes, two of which are the same model (WT 101s).  Having gotten over my wistful hope for a pair of running shoes that doesn't make my feet look like they belong to a clown, I succumbed to the notion of buying a pair of shoes for their utility and whatnot.  New Balance really has excelled in this area and, as a fantastic bonus, the WT 101s don't make my feet look at all like a clown's.  Before lacing up today, I found a rock embedded in the sole of one of my shoes.  Expecting it to pop out easily, I was surprised it was hard pressed (pun intended?) to even budge, as if it had been cemented (again, pun intended?) in place.  After prying it out with some office supplies, I found it was actually a rock about a half inch long, sharply pointed at the end, lodged deep into my shoe.  I'm not sure where I picked up this clinger, but I'm glad New Balance was there to save my heel from some serious pain.