the pressures of "summer ready"

(If you look closely, that Louboutin is PAINTED on the model's foot, as are the all the "shoes" accompanying the article!)

Despite the heed of the NYmag article above, the shallow in me is slowly preparing to wear some cute (and uncomfortable) sandals come summer. Good friends from Seattle just visited this past weekend (prior to my strep.) In comparing the people of the Puget Sound and the Hudson River, they came to the following conclusion: "In New York, folks' shoe and bag games be SUUUURRRIOUS." I had to agree. NYC, being a pedestrian city, is not the best of terrains to rock your minimum 3inchers, but folks do it anyway, because you know...Yeah. The majority don't drive between work and home. So, for many women, the discomfort is almost a badge of honor accepted, I hate to say it, easpecially post-Sex and teh City (ew!)

Figured some research was due, as it was time to break in a couple of new pairs of shoes myself, resulting in an itty-bitty blister. Upon googling proper treatment for said affliction, OMG, EW, my life changed! I never understood the severity of a blister, what it is, and what it could possibly become in yaww body! Imagine my mortification when I discovered that a blister is a STAGE 2 ULCER?! Ew, nasty! If you google it yourself, you'll run into lots of info for diabetics and ways for them to avoid losing healthy tissue. So, I'll share some of the foot care sites I've found which might be helpful to you as you also get "Summer Ready."

A blister is basically a patch of dead tissue where circulation's been cut off. This can happen due to shoes that pinch, rub against you the wrong way due to disproportionate weight distribution, or shoes that just plain hate your ass, etc.

Great info on how to immediately treat blisters (scroll down) in order not to exacerbate your condition. Also some additional info regarding foot conditioning and protection which you can apply to your other non-hiking shoes.

Apparently, breaking in your shoes is super important (I missed the memo on this!) Teere are many methods available on the webbernetz, just pick the one which best suits your needs and your shoe's material: 1, 2, 3, etc.

Part of prevention and maintenance is keeping your feet clean. So, please take the time to STFU and do whatchooneeds2do.

Learn how to massage your feet, and do it often to increase circulation after a jacked up walking day. Also, there's a lot of emphasis on keeping your feet well moisturized to decrease friction. Figured you can combine these steps!

Moisturized feet to prevent the formation of tough-tough skin is good, but sweatyfeets is not! This makes your foot a swamp buffet for germs! Linked site is full of instructions for methods and soaks to keep your feets from becoming a SLip-N-Slide.

Given that, here are some ways to treat and prevent corns and calluses. Do that so that I am not horribly distracted by your pinkie toe while we are both on line for Batman the Ride at Six Flags.

Not that familiar with my diseases, so I finally looked up Athletes Foot. Oh, you poor souls! But it seems like a lot of people recommend the natural anti-fungal qualities of tea tree oil. SO, you should get some of that if necessary.

Not so random: there is an offish FOOTBLOG. yeah. Careful, there are some NASTY photos up in there.

Again, these may seem some like some shallow tidbits, but to be real, your feet can be indicators of larger medical problems such as aggressive ulcers, bacterial infections, and fungus growth, among others. These all require professional treatment if you don't take the time with teh footcare. I'll be real. Some of the photos I found required some nasty amputation. So, this is article is my gift to you: MERRY CHRISTMAS! <3 I saved your life! You're welcome <3

Ok, that's all I got! See your toes soon!