The ALA Shoe Conundrum

Every year when I attend a conference, I have shoe anxiety. I have blogged about it numerous times, and usually it has to do with fashion versus function. But now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom, I think I care a little less about all this. Plus, I found a pair of gym shoes I totally love, which I'll get to in a minute. I have told you about these shoes,

which are great and bright and I still run in, but I find that they are a little bulky for my summer styles. I prefer the look of Converse All-Stars or Vans without socks with my shorts, but who am I kidding? A 37 year-old with any real sense can't wear shoes like that anymore. The fact is, and maybe it's because I run, my hips can't take such flat shoes. I actually recently threw out my favorite pair of florescent pink Chucks (the ones featured in my original GET WELL SOON promo video:

Huge mistake, I know! But my hips hurt so badly after I wore them, I had to do it before I wore them again). I just discovered these babies, and I'm in love:

They are less bulky than a traditional running shoe, and they claim to be "barefoot running shoes," like, I guess there's a movement of running barefoot. I can't imagine running in these shoes, as comfortable as they seem. I still like a little bounce. I do, however, love wearing them without socks (for no reason other than I am too lazy to put on socks). One warning: they have some sort of magic power that supposedly makes them not smell, and the shoes themselves do not, but when my feet come out of the shoes after a day of wearing them, let's just say they aren't as fresh as when I do wear socks. And I'm not usually a smelly foot person. I don't think. Someone else would have to verify that fact. Who's down?

Hopefully I'll see some of you at ALA in Anaheim next week while I am wearing my stinky shoes! I'll be signing ARCs of HAVE A NICE DAY, the highly anticipated (hee hee) sequel to GET WELL SOON, along with my other books, on Friday, June 22 from 6:30 - 7:00 at the MacKids Booth #2534-2535. I'll have postcards and HAVE A NICE DAY buttons! I'll also be at the YALSA Coffee Klatch on Sunday morning. Always a fun, frenetic time! And the rest of the time I'll pretend I'm doing authorly things while I'm actually waiting in line for the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland.

The Buttons are Here!

I bet you didn't even know there were buttons! I always get this last minute panic before a conference that I need something cool to give out to get the buzz going on my books. So, like I did with my first two books (I guess I flubbed it on the last one), I had buttons made. I love these little buttons. I suppose you can tell that from looking at my website. Although, truthfully, I don't wear a lot of buttons myself. Whenever I have them on my coats I end up sticking myself and then losing them. But you don't have to! So, here is a sneak peak at the brand spanking new HAVE A NICE DAY buttons!

And here's a close-up.

It's on my cat's back. I think his fur is more in focus than the button.

Would you like one of these buttons, but you won't be at ALA? Email me at julie@juliehalpern.com. Soon I'll post info on how you can get your very own buttons (I have to go to the post office and see how many stamps they want. They're weird with a bumpy envelope). Now to clean up my floor.