Waiting on Shoes and Rodeo Fashion

A month ago I announced that this would soon be turning into a true shoe blog. And by that I don't mean just blogs about the awesome Nike quotes and the ad copy writers who created that awesome ad campaign. Yes, you know the one. The one with all the awesome quotes for women, about women, about topics that women could totally connect with. Example:

This is definitely one of my favorites. I still love this even though I'm past 40 now.

 

So my new blog will be ALL about shoes, even Nikes. I feel like I have a lot to say about shoes. I was a the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo today and I was checking out all the different shoes people wear, especially the cowboy boots.

 

The two most popular styles at the Rodeo were: cowboy boots with short shorts, especially denim shorts and cowboy boots with little girly floral or eyelet lace dresses. These were all very cute combinations but am I weird because I found the very short denim shorts with cowboy boots combo inappropriate on little girls? Yeah, it kind of made me uncomfortable to see these little 8-10 year olds in very short denim shorts. Even my daughter said they looked "cute" but too grown up.

 

To give you an update on what is going on with my blog. I'm just waiting on some technical details to get worked out. As soon as all that is worked out I should start my new and improved Shoegirl Corner blog. Hope to see you there.

 

I hope to be in business very soon. So tell me, short shorts on little girls with cowboy boots? Am I being overly conservative? Sometimes it does come out in me.

Last Nike Quote Ad

OK, not really THE last Nike Quote. I'm sure I will find other awesome ones I'll want to share. This is the last one I could find of the original print ads that I quoted in my very first blog post about Nike Quotes. 

I couldn't find the one that started, "You don't stand in front of a mirror before a run and wonder what the road will think of your outfit." I also couldn't find an image of the original Nike T-shirt that said, "I am woman, watch me score." I would have loved to have one of those.

So here is the Barry Sanders quote ad.

I'm Just Going to Rename My Blog "Nike Quotes"

Seriously! I can not believe how many visits I get to this blog via Nike Quotes. It's always been a lot but just lately it seems like even more. Just today out of my 13 visits, 8 came in through that page. Some days I get close to 50 visits and the majority come in that route. So yes, it should be called "Nike Quotes."

I had no idea when I first wrote that blog entry in 2007 that I would get that many click-throughs or that I would move up so high on Google. Now that I know more about how searching works I realize that you move up in relevance based on how much someone searches for those key words and how often they click to your website.

Everyone just loves Nike. I love Nike. I really do absolutely love their quotes. They are so inspiring and I should probably update my blog to include more. Here's another good one.

But I realized something very interesting today. Amelia Earhart was the original author of the "Just Do It" saying. She said, "The best way to do it, is to do it!"  Isn't that interesting?

I have so many things that I need to DO right now. Starting with remodeling the house. Then there's entering a novel writing contest and sticking to a regular work out schedule. I can't say "Later!" like the procrastinator in me wants to do. I have to do it.

Just doing it is always the hardest part. We want to do other things that aren't the one thing we should be doing. We want for everything to come easy when it doesn't. So my goal for the rest of this year is to just do the things I should be doing.

I'm also thinking of revamping my blog. What I'm thinking specifically is that I should stick to a list of subjects that interest me. I don't want for this to be just like any other "mommy" blog. I want it to be a mommy blog with a twist. I've always written about just random things that pop into my head or things I'm passionate about.

I want to write about things of substance too. At the top of my blog I say I'm passionate about reading, writing, blogging, newspapers, NPR, traveling, art museums, spirituality, learning, self-discovery, public education, living in the city, fashion, parenting, and cupcakes. I'm going to make it a point to choose one of those topics each time I write. That will also mean doing a little more research on my theme and I think it will make for a more interesting blog. So watch out for those upcoming changes soon!

Skating and All Kinds of Crazy

I've been thinking a lot about craziness and specifically the crazy in my life. I blogged about it over on my skirt! blog when I talked about Emma on Glee, my new favorite show and my new favorite girl crush. I figured out that what fuels my girl crushes is the clothes. I am in love with Emma's wardrobe the way I was in love with Carrie Bradshaw's.

I want her clothes! I realize that I can't have the real ones, but I can always search for similar outifits. This website that I found will make it easier! If nothing else I can always mimic the look with other similar pieces. I love the way she wears very bright colors and mixes two colors you wouldn't expect together.

Outfit from http://www.wwepw.com/

On another crazy note, I took up skating again! Yes, like the old fashioned four wheel roller skating. My first day out, last Tuesday was very strange. I expected to just go out there and to start skating like before. Forget that it had been about twenty years since the last time I really went roller skating. I was actually shocked when I couldn't. I refused to believe it.

I even posted about it on Facebook.  "I refuse to believe that I don't remember how to skate any more!" I know that sounds crazy and unrealistic, but I guess I thought it was like riding a bike. I thought I could jump right into it again. Wrong. I had to take it very slow at first.
The second time out I did a lot better. I told myself to let go of the fear. It was the fear that was holding me back. At the same time I couldn't get too confident because I didn't want to fall. I had to strike a delicate balance between those two.

I headed off the sidewalk next to my house and on to the street and I found that I could skate. The sidewalk is built in sections and each block is separated by a little wooden line or ridge, so it was actually harder to skate there, because my skates would hit the ridge and slow me down or I'd lose my flow and then my balance. When I got out on the street it was a lot smoother. It was such a great feeling to remember how to skate with the wind in my hair.

When I first posted that I had to let go of the fear in order to skate a friend of mine reminded me that she never learned to skate after she fell when we were kids and broke her wrist. I pondered on that. I also fell and broke my arm skating when I was in first grade. Yet I never let that hold me back from getting back on skates and learning.

Skating is a lot like life. I know the falling down and getting up cliche has been used so many times, but I as I thought about it, I realized that I really have had that "when you fall down, get up and keep going" attitude since I was a kid. I fell down and broke my arm, but I didn't let that scare me. I went right back to roller skating. And my parents never told me not to either. I don't remember them ever telling me that I shouldn't skate again because I had broken my arm. It was just considered part of the deal, part of life.

I feel that way now with my own kids and with me. I'm scared when I watch them skate, but I know that I can't be. This is part of letting go and letting them fly. They are wearing their helmets and pads, not like when we were kids, so I've protected them as best I can. Actually I can't wait for them to be ready so I can take them to the park where we can skate faster and better than we can on the sidewalk next to our house or on the rough street.

I want to be active so that I'm a good example. I love going to they gym while they are taken care of in the Kids' Club, but when I really thought about it, they aren't getting the same physcial exercise that I am when we're there. I want to be out there with them, showing them that I can skate or run with them too. Hopefully when this summer is all said and done I'll look even better in my new Emma Pillsbury look.

My Blog Is Trying to Guess My Surgery

I realize I haven't been completely clear about what kind of surgery I had in December. It was a feminine surgery so yes, I was vague on purpose. Meanwhile my blogger ads have been desperately trying to guess what it was.

http://www.annetaintor.com/

The ads you see on the right hand side show up according to key words in my blog. So you've seen ads for catheters, surgeries gone bad, laproscopic surgery, sleeve vs. LapGastric and so on. The ads have actually been cracking me up. I always like to see what's shown up next and I arrow through the different ones. It will be interesting to see what will show up after today's post.

Speaking of my blog and how it tracks activity. I've mentioned before that according to Sitemeter my most popular post ever was the one about my favorite Nike quotes. That page gets more visits than whatever current blog is up. For example today alone, from what I can tell, out of 38 visits that I've had, 19 of them were from a Nike quotes search. Go ahead, do it. Go to Google and type in "Nike quotes" and see if ShoeGirl Corner comes up towards the very top.

I decided to take advantage of all the traffic that I get from this one page so I added a little introduction asking readers to bookmark my page and to come by to visit often. I even added a link to my skirt blog. I figured that if that many people come in through that page that I should use it as an ad for my blogs. So yes, now I'm pimping my Nike quotes blog.

Just in case you're wondering, the second most popular blog is Every Princess Deserves a Tea Party!  and third is Super Cool Stationary. Apparently a lot of people are planning princess parties and buying stationary, after finding the best Nike quotes to motivate them.

So now speaking of favorite quotes, I'll end with one of my favorite quotes, from Sam Phillips in Walk the Line.

"Bring... bring it home? All right, let's bring it home. If you was hit by a truck and you was lying out there in that gutter dying, and you had time to sing *one* song. Huh? One song that people would remember before you're dirt. One song that would let God know how you felt about your time here on Earth. One song that would sum you up. You tellin' me that's the song you'd sing? That same Jimmy Davis tune we hear on the radio all day, about your peace within, and how it's real, and how you're gonna shout it? Or... would you sing somethin' different. Somethin' real. Somethin' *you* felt. Cause I'm telling you right now, that's the kind of song people want to hear. That's the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain't got nothin to do with believin' in God, Mr. Cash. It has to do with believin' in yourself."

That's what I think about sometimes. What "song" would I sing? Not a literal song, but what would be the song of my life? I leave you with that thought.

Favorite Nike Quotes

(If you've happened upon my blog for the Nike quotes THANK YOU for stopping by. Bookmark my blog and come back often to visit. I write about a variety of subjects. You can follow me on Twitter @Shoegirl1970. Several of these Nike ads are also on my Pinterest board @Shoegirl1970.)

Original Blog starts here: I've been so delinquent in posting anything interesting to read that I've compiled a bunch of my favorite Nike quotes from past ad campaigns. I love these!!

"You don't stand in front of a mirror before a run and wonder what the road will think of your outfit. you don't have to listen to its jokes and pretend they're funny in order to run on it. It will not be easier to run if you dress sexier. The road doesn't notice when you're not wearing make up. It does not care how old you are. And you don't feel uncomfortable if you make more money than it. The only thing the road cares about is that you pay it a visit once in a while." - NIKE Goddess

"I am a woman, watch me score." - Shirt Slogan

"You were born a daughter. You looked up to your mother. You looked up to your father. You looked up at everyone. You wanted to be a princess. You thought you were a princess. You wanted to own a horse. You wanted to be a horse. You wanted your brother to be a horse. You wanted to wear pink. You never wanted to wear pink. You wanted to be a Veterinarian. You wanted to be President. You wanted to be the President's Veterinarian. You were picked last for the team. You were the best one on the team. You refused to be on the team. You wanted to be good in algebra. You hid during algebra. You wanted the boys to notice you. You were afraid the boys would notice you. You started to get acne. You started to get breasts. You started to get acne that was bigger than your breasts. You wouldn't wear a bra. You couldn't wait to wear a bra. You couldn't fit into a bra. You didn't like the way you looked. You didn't like the way your parents looked. You didn't want to grow up. You had your first best friend. You had your first date. You had your second best friend. You had your second first date. You spent hours on the telephone. You got kissed. You got to kiss back. You went to the prom. You didn't go to the prom. You went to the prom with the wrong person. You spent hours on the telephone. You fell in love. You fell in love. You fell in love. You lost your best friend. You lost your other best friend. You really fell in love. You became a steady girlfriend. You became a significant other. YOU BECAME SIGNIFICANT TO YOURSELF. Sooner or later, you start taking yourself seriously. You know when you need a break. You know when you need a rest. You know what to get worked up about and what to get rid of. And you know when it's time to take care of yourself, for yourself. To do something that makes you stronger, faster, more complete. Because you know it's never too late to have a life. And never too late to change one. JUST DO IT." - 1999
(Update: Actual ad can be found here on this post.)

"A WOMAN IS OFTEN MEASURED by the things she cannot control. She is measured by the way her body curves or doesn't curve, by where she is flat or straight or round. She is measured by 36-24-26 and inches and ages and numbers, by all the outside things that don't ever add up to who she is on the inside. And so if a woman is to be measured, let her be measured by the things she can control, by who she is and who she is trying to become. Because every woman knows measurements are only statistics and STATISTICS LIE." - 1994

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough, they'll say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. They will tell you no. And YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." - Unknown

"Too often we are scared. Scared of what we might not be able to do. Scared of what people might think if we tried. We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes. We say no when we want to say yes. We sit quietly when we want to scream. And we shout with the others, when we should keep our mouths shut. Why? After all,we do only go around once. There's really no time to be afraid. So stop. Try something you've never tried. Risk it. Enter a triathlon. Write a letter to the editor. Demand a raise. Call winners at the toughest court. Throw away your television. Bicycle across the United States. Try bobsledding. Try anything. Speak out against the designated hitter. Travel to a country where you don't speak the language. Patent something. You have nothing to lose and everything everything everything to gain. JUST DO IT." - 1992: Barry Sanders