They're ankle *protection,* man! From the cats that dart out from under the coffee table and attack your helpless exposed ankles!

Just say no to the ankle gongs.

Dude. That coat rocks. It does need to be shorter, though.

I love the hazard pay story! I love it when companies are people.

Today I was feeling lonely and sorry for myself with the SO out of town for the week. So I put on my big stompy Doc boots and went marching through the snow to my corner bakery. I had a cup of coffee and an apple blintz and watched the neighborhood old people come in for early lunches. Then I bought chocolate drizzled baklava for myself for later in the day. On my way home, my black velvet coat billowed quite satisfyingly and I feel much better now. Yay for corner bakeries.

I think I'm in trouble once I get my new credit card. Silhouettes is the only one of those sites that ships outside the US. But that's probably a good thing.

I can recommend Silhouettes, since they're my go-to clothes supplier. Spending an extra $5 on their T-shirts is so worth it since they last more than one summer and can be dried in the dryer without shrinking, which is the usual result from most t-shirts I get from Lane Bryant or the Avenue.

I have to:

• shower
• study
• do laundry
• work out
• have a phone interview

Aside from shower...I'm just not feeling the motivation.

Those red-soled shoes I just bought are 4" heels. I hope I'll be able to walk in them well enough. You know, so they're still hot.

Hee--from today's Daily Kos:

If George W. Bush played Deal or No Deal:

Howie: Mr. President, you have picked every case in numerical order from one through 23. Each successive case you chose contained the highest dollar amount on the board. And every time the banker offered you a deal you shouted...
Bush: No deal! Stay the course! HehHehHeh!
Howie: So now we're down to three cases. The one dollar case, the five dollar case, and the ten dollar case. If you like, you can talk over your next choice with the Iraq Study Group...
Iraq Study Group: Mr. President, we think that the situation is dire and we...
Bush: Hey, I'm the decider, not you! And what I decide is I want lucky number 24!
Howie: Condi...open the case.
Condi: I hope it's a million dollars for my husb...er, the president!
[Zzzzzing!]
Howie: Oh, what a surprise. You picked the ten dollar case.
Bush: Hell yeah! Did I win a million dollars?
Howie: No. You really should've done some planning before you came on the show...
[Brrreep! Brrreep!]
Howie: Hello banker. Yes. Yes. No, I can't say that to his face, he's the president. Okay. Mr. President, the banker is offering you a deal: three dollars and 12 cents.
Bush: Whaddya think, Dick?
Cheney: Well, uh, I think, uh, the banker's in his last throes, if you will.
Bush: Rummy?
Rumsfeld: Gosh, I still think the million dollars will be located. It's in Burbank and parts north, east, south and west somewhat.
Bush: We will not cut and run until the mission is accomplished. No deal, Kojak!
Howie: Unbelievable. Okay, the last case on the stage is number 25. Karen Hughes...open the damn thing.
[Zzzzzing!]
Howie: There it is---five dollars. That means your case, Mr. President, contains the sum of...one dollar.
Bush: I win! Get my flight suit...it's time to party!

There's no way I could ever walk in 4" heels. Those shoes, though? Totally hot.

I've been looking at Zappos for three hours, and I'm still not bored, but I already knew that I had a shoe problem. Shopping is a lot less aggravating when there are no people around making me want to stab them with a spiked heel.

I have a shoe problem, but it's a different kind. I need a cobbler.

The back of my heel is apparently lower than everyone else's. The part where it starts to bend, you know? So I can only wear shoes that have a low back or a padded collar. Which pretty much rules out every womens' shoe ever.

That's why all through my school years I wore shoes with no support whatsoever, because they were soft enough to bend where I needed them to bend. These days I stick an insole in there, but it's not great.

There's this place in Santa Fe or Phoenix or somewhere that has you stand on this weird pad and little nodules come up and take the contour of your foot and they sell you shoes based on that. That's what I need, but I'm sure it's ridiculously expensive.

What about an orthotic insert, Liese?