Sseko Sandals

I got my 1st pair of Sseko sandals a little under 2 weeks ago & let me tell you, I am in love!  They are the most cozy pair of footwear I have ever owned & are so super cute!  Ssekos are very unique in that you can wear them an endless number of ways. With over 30 colors of straps on their website & limitless ways to tie the straps, you could wear your Ssekos every day for years & never have them look the same twice….hmm, I should try this. You would think that right there is a good enough reason to purchase a pair, but then you hear their story.  I would not do it justice, so here is the link to the story on their website: http://www.ssekodesigns.com/ourstory/. Long story short, when you purchase Ssekos, you are helping these wonderful, bright young women go to college! So, adorable shoes, infinite ways to wear them & you are helping amazing women get an education? No brainer! 

I am thrilled that I stumbled across the Sseko company & am kind of surprised as to the way it happened. It starts around 5 or so years ago. I stumbled upon & started reading the blog of a woman named Heather Hendrick (http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/). I really can’t tell you how I came about her blog, I think it must’ve been a friend of a friend of a friend sort of thing. She lived in College Station (I had recently moved from there back to Austin, TX after attending Texas A&M there) and her blog detailed hilarious stories of her family, church life, volunteer work & many other things.  I found myself coming back every few days, excited to read of the new crazy adventures she had with her 3 young boys & funny husband.  Fast forward a year or so & I had just started at a new job where I (get this) actually worked & was busy at work & was not able to browse the internet all day long (I know – the audacity of it all). I went from checking on Heather & her fam once a week, to once a month, to not at all & ended up kind of forgetting about her blog. This was about 3 years ago.  

Very recently my cousin sent out an e-mail that she was having a purse party with a company called Haitian Creations - http://haitiancreations.com/. This company is similar to Sseko, in that the money from the purses you buy go to the woman who make them. These woman live in Haiti & make purses to help support them & their families.  The invite to this party had a link to find out more: http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/2010/01/purse-party-to-help-heartline-in-haiti.html - wait a minute, that’s Heather’s blog! What a small world!  I started reading & catching up (funny how blogs are, I felt like I was catching up with an old friend when I had never met or even spoken to Heather in real life). It turns out Heather had packed up her family (hubby & now 4 boys!) & moved to Haiti to assist women & families over there & was helping out & promoting Haitian Creations. So cool!  After a few more clicks I came across this more current blog post actually guest written by Cameron Crake (who I just read today has moved from Uganda to Austin - where I live – small world indeed!) - http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/2011/07/sseko-sandals-and-chance-to-win.html. I was in awe of these shoes!  Immediately after reading about Ssekos, I went to their website http://www.ssekodesigns.com/ and bought some sandals with a 1 pair…or 2…or 3 of straps.  Then preceded to like them on Facebook & follow them on twitter…did I mention how much I am in love?  

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as they arrived the weekend before the 30 Ways in 30 Days challenge. Now I get to challenge myself to wear my sandals 30 different ways over 30 days & it has been so much fun! I've even come up with a few new ties on my own. Here are my entries so far: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellyrcoleman/sets/72157627473910346/. 

You might be asking why my pup is in every picture. What does a dog have to do with sandals? Well, besides her overall cuteness & just making every picture better (I’m not biased at all), she has a foot fetish. Yes, that’s right, a fetish with feet.  She LOVES feet, would marry them if she could.  She loves socks, shoes, a foot shaped toy that she has, pretty much anything to do with feet. She doesn’t even chew on shoes or tear through socks, she just carries them around & licks them, over and over and over again.  Here is a little video evidence of the crazy foot fetish:

So, I thought it only fitting that she would be in a ton of pictures of…you guessed it, feet.

I definitely feel like it was meant to be for me to find these shoes & I am so excited for the rest of the 30 Ways in 30 Days challenge & can’t wait to share the Sseko story over & over again. If you don’t own a pair, I would highly suggest getting your butt over to their site (http://www.ssekodesigns.com/) to buy some asap.

Friday Five - 2

Haven't done this in a while...thought it would be fun & trying to post more often:


1. What’s in need of a good cleaning?
- My bathroom.  I mop regularly, but my tub & all the small places need a good scrubbing.


2. What’s your idea of good, clean fun?
- Dinner & movie...or just hanging out at the apartment with friends/Ellie


3. How clean is your driving record?
- Not too bad, I haven't had a ticket in over a year & before that it was 2 years.  I guess I've had a few here & there, but luckily all major accidents have been someone else's fault.


4. When did you last make a clean escape?
- My last job. Just walked out...and it felt great!


5. What are your feelings about dirty language?
- I don't mind it, I try not to use it often, but sometimes I can't help it (especially at work when things/people are frustrating).

Lent - 17 days left

I only have 17-ish (not quite sure what day it ends) days of Lent left.  I can't believe four weeks have already gone by with only two & a half remaining!  The no sugar hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, I think I will give up something tougher next year.  I haven't had many real temptations for it though, people have been trying not to eat sugary things around me, but I keep telling them to, it's supposed to be tempting, it's supposed to be hard.  Caleb's 1st birthday party is this Saturday, and I know there will be cake...I'm kind of excited for a real temptation!

I am looking forward to a lot of things about Lent being over though:

1. Flavored creamer in my coffee

2. Frozen Yogurt (a new place just opened next to the yoga studio I go to & looks so good!)

3. Sweet snacks after lunch at work

4. Vanilla flavored soy-yogurt & granola

5. Most importantly...the Eucharist & being baptized - can't wait!!!

Make a Joyful Noise

I'm at a spring retreat for Life Teen, the theme is "Joyful Noise".  I feel so at peace & close to God on retreats & always pray that the feeling will continue after I return home & to the stress of work.

This weekend, we have been talking about the Psalms.  One of the Psalms that I really like is Psalm 139.  We had a session on Psalm 139 last night. I loved that it spoke of Him knowing everything you were going to do, before you even did it.  Even before you were born, he knew what your life would entail.   That's so powerful!   I had no clue even a year ago that I would be here, on a retreat with the teens, 3 weeks away from being baptized in the Catholic Church - but He knew before I was even born?  So awesome!

Another part of Psalm 39 that I really like is Psalm 139:14 - "I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

1st Lent

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday & the start of my 1st lent in the Catholic Church. I found out today in my RCIA session, that lent was created for people such as myself (catechumens), preparing to enter the church through baptism, 6 weeks later.  I never knew that was the 1st purpose of lent.  It is really cool & almost a powerful feeling, that such a special time in the church, was started so many years ago, for people in the same shoes I'm in.


I decided for lent this year, I am giving sweets, and wine.  I know it will be a challenge, but every time I want a sugary snack in the afternoon as work, I'll be grateful I have food at all, and when I want a glass of wine, I'll say a prayer of thanks, that I have water & can drink when I am thirsty, when many people in the world can't.


This lent I am nearing the end of this intense & amazing journey I began last June, and I can't believe the Easter Vigil is less than 6 weeks away!  This morning we had the Rite of Sending during mass & were each called up by name to the front of the church.  Once up there, our sponsors spoke for us, that they believed we were ready to enter the church next month & then we each signed our names into a book that the Bishop will sign later tonight at the Rite of Election.  There will be around 1,100 people there tonight from all over the Austin Diocese! I am very excited & can't want to look around at all my fellow RCIA members & their sponsors.  I am so grateful for this journey.

Cleanse - Part 2

I am trying another cleanse...don't worry, it's not going to be like the first time I tried a cleanse.  This came about in part because of the ADHD issues I've been having.  I know diet is a part of those issues, and I have been eating so poorly lately, not exercising at all.  So, I am going to try & eat healthier; not so many sweets, more veggies, etc.  To kick it off, I wanted to do a longer (but healthier) cleanse.  I went to Sprouts & got a bunch of really good creamy soups

a container of Odwalla Superfood (which I love)

and some fruits to make juices.

My goal is to keep it liquid for the next 3 days & then from there, eat healthier meals & little to no sweets!


On top of this, I did find a supplement I am going to try out called "Attend".  After some research, I found out that going to a psychiatrist and getting ADHD medication is going to be EXPENSIVE!  So, I am going to try taking this for a few months, along with other vitamins, better foods, and exercise, and hope it works!

UPDATE: Well, I made it almost two days, but my headache got so bad on day 2, that I had to have a grilled chicken salad for dinner.  I do feel much better though & am going to definitely limit sugar, alcohol & eat healthier to see if it helps!

ADHD

I am having a severe ADD day….which in reality I think (according to Dr. Google), is actually ADHD.  I have never been formally diagnosed with this & have never even seen anyone about it, but I’m 99% sure this is what I have.  I am finally going to take the steps to see if I can get on some medication to help, because it is really starting to affect my productivity at work, and in life.  That sounded deep.  Anything with the word “life” to me sounds deep, unless you are talking about the cereal, and then, not so much.  I would like to start keeping track of some of the ways ADHD has made me feel as though I’m insane, and then maybe also keep track of how these things change on meds….if I go on meds….and if it changes things.  I do understand this is exposing a lot of my carefully hidden “crazy” to the world…or the 2 people that might read this including my mom.


First off, mostly because it’s the 1st thing that popped into my head…and I did in fact just stop typing for a second to laugh that popped looks like it has the word poop in it… ANYWAY, I’m going to talk about how me + church + ADHD = extreme frustration.


CHURCH


Every Sunday at church, a war goes on, it’s me vs. my brain…and my brain usually wins.  I’m all good until the priest gets up to do the homily, which for all the non-Catholics, is the talk given by the priest, that ties in to the readings for that day.  When the homily is going on, this is a rough summary of what goes on in my head (warning: if run-on sentences bother you, you might want to stop here).

Ok, he is starting the homily, you can do this, and you can pay attention the WHOLE time!  It’s going to be easy, just listen & don’t think about anything else. Oh crap, I already missed the beginning, what did I miss?  If I start off missing the very 1st words, I will have failed at hearing it all. Oh, did I just say crap at church? I don’t think that’s a good thing to do, well, it was in my head & not out loud. STILL, that’s not what I should be thinking in church…but really, how much trouble would I be in for saying crap, I mean, I don’t think I’m going to die & standing at the pearly gates being told “remember that time you thought the word crap in church….sorry sinner…no entry for you”.  Crap is not even that bad of a word, it’s not like I said shit…SHIT, I said shit…and I’m saying it again.  Dammit. Ah, now I’ve said like 3 bad words multiple times, I’m really not getting into heaven now. Stop saying bad words, no more bad words…only good words like kittens and puppies…ah puppies….like Ellie, she’s a puppy.  Ellie is so cute; I should take her on a walk later.  Unless I come home & something has happened to her, like she chocked on something.  She might have, she does tend to eat anything she can get into her mouth. That’s going to be so sad if she dies while I was at church.  I wonder if my boss will be mad if I don’t go into work tomorrow because my dog died.  I wonder how many days you get off if your dog dies.  Oh man, I’m missing the whole homily. I’m lost, what is he talking about? Ah, everyone is looking at me; they know I have no clue what he’s been saying. I’ll look over & smile at my mom, give her a look like “he’s so right, I agree with everything he’s been saying”.  I don’t think she’ll know I was just thinking about dead puppies. Why is that baby crying? Was he talking about something that makes babies cry? Please take the child outside, I can’t hear over the crying.  Oh, please stop the crying…stop…crying…stop…crying...seriously…stop…crying!  Why is the baby not in the church nursery, don’t the parents know the crying is driving everyone crazy. Or maybe it’s just driving me crazy; no one else seems bothered by the crying except me.  Oh why does that baby hate me, WHY WON’T IT STOP? It stopped, IT STOPPED! Yay, now I can listen to what Fr. James is talking about. Oh wait, he’s wrapping up, oh no, I didn’t hear anything he said. I have no idea what he talked about. Crap! Ah!!

ADHD affects many more aspects of my life; this is just one of them.  For instance, I just wrote all of this at work, so yeah, it affects work A LOT.  More on that later.