Barefoot and Loving It

I've really gotten into the whole barefoot running thing lately. (Although, I mostly just walk around.) I never liked wearing shoes. I've had terrible bunions since I was a kid and they often caused me a great deal of pain. The surgery to repair them involved a frightening amount of bone breaking and screw insertion, and I decided it just wasn't worth the risks. My feet held up just fine on the Appalachian Trail and I don't seem to have any of the degenerative knee or hip pain that the podiatrist told me I would get as I aged. And in the past few months I have had absolutely no discomfort, swelling, inflammation or pain. I chalk it up to going, essentially, barefoot, and letting my goofy feet fall where they want to when I walk. Of course, I live in a city, so wearing something to protect my feet from hot pavement and broken glass is prudent. Therefore, I have a pair of $5 old navy flip flops and a pair of these Merrell wonder glove shoes. So much for orthotics and shoes with support and all that.

I can be barefoot a whole lot longer than just this summer, because....drum roll, please! I just quit my job. Yup. More to follow on that, but I'm not a public school teacher anymore.

One more way I'm getting barefoot, is by selling Barefoot Books. I discovered this fabulous catalog of books after my aunts bought a few Barefoot Books for Laurel. As a reading specialist and as a mom, I'm pretty much in love with each selection they offer. So many pretty illustrations and lovely rhythmic text. I'm a sucker for poetic prose, especially when I'm reading out loud and have a two year old snuggled up next to me. Laurel has recently become rather obsessed with princesses, which means she's bringing a lot of Disney books home from the library. It's not just that the Disney books are poorly written, but the Disney princesses are used to push all kinds of products to kids....everything from toothbrushes to shoes to snack foods. But Barefoot has its own collection of princess and fairy tale books that have well written stories and whimsical pictures. (And you will not see these images on cheap plastic toys at the Walgreens.)

Anyway, if you are so inclined to buy books for the little ones in your life, consider clicking on my marketplace link http://Katy-Frey.barefootbooks.com and then I can earn some money from your purchase. I can also host story time parties for a small group of kids and sponsor fundraising drives, and I have some great, big, dreamy goals for a literacy-based business I'll be launching later this summer.