OMG. Shoes.

Shoe companies would have you think that you need special athletic shoes to run. I thought that all you really needed were feet and legs that were operational. Being in Northern Ohio during the winter, it would be advised to put on some sort of shoe before going outside to do anything and I have a pair of shoes that would work. Thing is, the pair is separated by 178 miles.

I packed quickly to move to Northern Ohio to live with family since they were offering help with my son so that I could get back to work. (I work online, which is awesome...) In my haste to get back to work, I hurriedly packed up the room where I had been staying. Under my bed, I had kicked my two pairs of shoes; one for tromping around in the yard, one for running or working out. I grabbed a pair of shoes and packed them in my duffel bag. The other pair went into a box bound for my storage unit.

A week after I arrived here at my aunt and uncle's house (A/U), I unpacked my shoes to go for a walk in the frigid 20 degree weather only to discover that I had grabbed one shoe from each pair and they were both the lefts. Curses.

A week after the week I arrived here I had a week long trip planned for Los Angeles, so off I went with no comfy shoes...because I left the key to the storage unit in Cleveland as I headed to Columbus to get on my flight. Its a long story about why I was flying out of Columbus if I was living in Cleveland. My mother asked my aunt to send the key to her so that I could get my shoe upon my return from Los Angeles. Perfect!

I get back from LA and saddle up to go to the storage unit. I get there and the big metal gate is broken. Now, I can get out of my car and walk through the gate that was propped open enough to get a person through but not a car. The problem with this is that I have my child in the car and I do not feel comfortable parking it, leaving it running for him to have heat and walk to my storage unit which would be out of sight of the car. I couldn't take him with me, it was only 12 degrees outside and my unit isn't heated. I didn't know exactly where the shoe was in storage and it could have taken quite a while for me to find it. Also, calling the number for the management company of the facility resulted in a constant busy signal. (Who gets a busy signal these days?) As it turns out, I reached the manager after I made it back to Cleveland, someone slid down the driveway that was covered with ice and broke the gate. The new gate would be there in two days. I was already gone...with no shoe. Curses.

Another week goes by and I realize that my baby's pediatrician's appointment is coming up, which is in Columbus. (Most of my life is in Columbus, I'm just squatting in Cleveland until I'm on my feet again. Another long story.) So, I plan a trip to C-bus to see the doc and get my damned shoe. Meanwhile, its been frigid and dangerously cold in Cleveland so I'm not missing much in the way of being outside... Off I go to C-bus, I've got things to put in storage, things to get out of storage including the shoe only to realize that I left the stupid lock key in Cleveland again. All I could say to myself was, "Really, Holly? Really?" Apparently, yes. Curses, again.

My mom, tired of the shoe drama, gives me a $20 gift certificate from DSW Shoes that she earned for being such a good customer and tells me to go buy a new pair of shoes. Okay. Twist my arm. Once back in Cleveland, Brookpark actually, I go over to DSW and head straight for the clearance racks. I find, in short order, a pair of cross trainers that are decent, no-frills, just enough to get the job done on sale for 30% off the lowest ticketed price which is $29.95. So, a $50 pair of shoes marked down to $29.95, 30% off of that would take them to just about $20 and change, after the coupon and tax, I owed $1.03 for a new pair of cross trainers. PERFECT!