Comfortable Shoes? Check.

Today was the first day of freedom after a very long two weeks. Summer school toward the end kind of kicked my butt. I forgot how tiring class can be and how insanely disruptive it is to the day to day schedule. Since mid-July, my life Monday-Thursday has consisted of getting up, eating breakfast, reading/note taking, class, and totally spacing out before bed. I learned a lot, but whooo doggies, I don't think I'll do summer school again. Class two days a week is much more my speed.

Maybe I wouldn't have minded as much, but my parents were in town last week, just as class was getting stressful. Their visit wasn't stressful to me, just the fact that I hated having to break up the day for school. I wish I could have suspended classes for a few days so I could maximize my time, but unfortunately I haven't perfected time travel. If I could warp time (Star Trek style), I would go back to Thursday afternoon when I skipped a trip to Multnomah Falls to study for the exam that turned out to be open book/notes. Whatever, I don't want to talk about it. I'm thinking happy thoughts.

The weather during my parents' visit was grey and rainy, which quite literally was the first time that happened in about two months. Mt. Hood stayed hidden behind the clouds their entire stay. However, the clouds kept things cool, which was really nice for walking around the city. This was my Mom's first time visiting Portland, and my Dad's second (his first was in the early 1980s) and he somehow remembered that Beaverton was a lot closer to Eugene. It's a good thing he came back to clear things up! While I am always happy to see my parents, this trip was particularly exciting, because this is the first time we were all together in our new city. It was great showing them around our neighborhood and introducing them to our favorite happy hour spots. We also toured around the east side of Portland quite a bit to show them the areas where we're interested in living someday. I think I have my Dad all but convinced that they need to retire here, but that's several years in the distance. They're playing into my nefarious plans to get all of our friends and family to relocate here. Watch out! You're next.

Anyway, with most of July and half of August consumed with school, I've had very little time to plan for our trip to Belgium and Germany. I looked at the calendar today and realized that it's just 17 days away! I have so many things to do to prepare, so I decided to head out to the dreaded mall and do a little shopping. First thing on the agenda was finding a bathing suit (not for Europe, but a rafting trip we're taking next weekend) and pair of comfortable walking shoes. I'm trying not to remember the bathing suit shopping. Why do department stores insist on putting such unflattering lights in the dressing rooms? I looked like myself in 15 years if I developed a gnarly case of jaundice. In bathing suit terms, that's just about the worst thing possible.

Luckily, my shoe mission was a lot more enjoyable. I did a little research online and found that comfortable no longer equals hideous (or sneakers). In addition to comfort and cuteness, I determined that I need a strap so I don't lose them when riding my bike (like the day that my ballet-style shoe flew off on a commute home from school and barely missed a moving vehicle). So, I stopped by a local shoe store with a great variety -- they even measured my feet and arches to determine just the right size. The perfect shoe, the Naot Primrose, turned out to be one of the most expensive in the store -- naturally. They feel like heaven, as they should, given that they cost more than our weekly grocery budget. However, Jesse reminded me that I wear through shoes much less frequently than he does and having comfortable (cute) shoes is important. I've been wearing them around the house this evening and can't wait to put them to the test on the town. I have quite a few more (non-car related) errands to run tomorrow.