This is the week that Amy and I have off from going through entries over at i heart faces (yay for weeks off!) I plan to spend my time attending a ton of end-of-the-year school activities for my kids, getting ready for another day when I turn “Forever 29” again and preparing everything for the IHF photo walk I’ll be leading in Columbus this Saturday.
Instead of our typical photo challenge, we are instead participating in “Barefoot Week” to help bring recognition to an awesome charity called Soles 4 Souls. If you have a few seconds, be sure to pop over to the Soles 4 Souls website to learn more about how they are helping others across the world with shoes that people have donated to them. Then head over to IHF to add your foot or shoe related post which will also help spread the word about this amazing organization.
I have a confession to make. I’m a little bit obsessed with shoes. Okay, maybe a lot obsessed with shoes.
I’ve always been able to justify my obsession because 1) I keep my shoes forever and 2) I rarely spend very much money on my shoe collection. I’m very satisfied with the cheaper, non-designer shoes that might catch my fancy.
During most days, I will just run around in a pair of flats or casual shoes.
But, on any occasion that calls for a bit of dressing up…I pull out my pretties that make me oh-so-happy.
Anything from basic black…
To my shiny dancing shoes that I first wore at Blissdom…
To my more summery brown heels that look great with jeans…
To my springy purple shoes (I heart these a bunch!)
These shoes remind me of the summer vacation my siblings and I took to Puerto Rico one year…
And these make me extra happy that warm weather is finally here!
There are several things that my dressy shoes always have in common though.
-They are usually pretty high heeled (we short people have to find our height somewhere):
And,
-They are always open-toed.
Which I learned is a problem if you are going to be involved in a Prison Ministry like I am.
You see, every 3 months or so, I travel with a bunch of other musicians to a prison in central Ohio where we participate in their Sunday worship service and lead part of the worship service for them.
There are a whole lotta rules if you want to be involved in a prison ministry. Things like…no jeans can be worn, skirts must go below the knee, no cleavage can be showing, you must wear hose or socks, you usually can’t have a prison record or have a relative in that prison…and many, many others.
One of the rules is that you can’t wear any open-toed shoes. Apparently toes, of all things, can put the prisoners over the edge?!
Of all the rules we have to follow, that one irks me the most because all of my dress shoes are open-toed!! And my pants are usually so long that my open-toed shoes won’t even be showing!! So please let me wear my open-toed shoes!!
But, you can’t. If you wear open-toed shoes, you will have to sit out in the open area with the prison guards watching you for three hours while everyone else is back worshipping together. Not my idea of a good time.
So, right after I became involved in this ministry I went “Prison Shoes Shopping” one night and ended up with these serviceable (and, in my opinion, extremely ugly) closed-toed shoes that I could “legally” wear to prison each time we were scheduled to be there.
Man oh man, I hate these shoes.
Unfortunately for me, our puppy liked those shoes. As in LOVED-liked those shoes.
And one day I walked into my bedroom to find my prison shoes looking a bit worse for the wear…
Dratted, rotten puppy!
And yet…
I have to admit that deep down I am extremely relieved that she didn’t ruin my purple pretties instead.
Even if it means I have to go “Prison Shoes Shopping” again. Ugh.
Show off your shoes and feet photos over at IHF this week!
