I Wear Many Shoes..... or Boots

Have you ever heard the phrase " She wears many hats"? Well that would be me I guess except I really don't like the analogy "wears many hats". With the exception of the occasional baseball cap adorning my farm logo or the riding helmet I always wear with any equestrian activity I am just not really a hat person..... Now shoes, everybody can relate to shoes... Man or woman but especially women can relate to shoes. You cannot go anywhere without the appropriate footwear. If you do people will notice. Walk into any office building in a corporate America setting with a chic two piece skirt suit, hair done and makeup applied to perfection, but you are wearing a pair of good ol barn style wellies or muck boots with your ensemble. People will notice. You have to visualize said boots with mud caked on the heel and sole to complete the picture. People will not only stare, the security will chastise you and probably guide you to the service entrance and freight elevator.  On the flip side of this if you walk into a barn any barn, doesn't matter the discipline with a pair of white wedge sandals (as if the sandal part wasn't bad enough) you will stick out like a sore thumb. People will know immediately that A- you have never been to a barn and know nothing about horses, or B- You have a sick horse that you are checking on before work and forgot to throw the afore mentioned muck boots in the car before leaving the house.

 "Where am I going with this?" you ask... WELLLLL the other day as I was straightening my mud room I realized how many pairs of shoes, boots and sandals I really own. Now lets set aside for the moment that I have a shoe and boot fetish and really look at the core (or justification) on my part as to why I need so many pairs.  The below description is only a brief insight. I didn't mention flats , flip flops, tennis shoes or tons of cowboy boots that litter the 5 shelves in my mudroom.

On any given day I change footwear no less than 3 times, it may be four or five times depending on what is planned for the day. Now my horsey friends who lead dual lives will soooooo get this, those of you who are not into horses or better yet those who know only the "Corporate America Nicole" may not understand but it will certainly give you insight as to why I sometimes come to work with the stray piece of hay on my suit or footwear that is a bit muddy around the sole. My favorite is you see me changing out of my muck boots in the parking deck to adorn the appropriate work shoes for the day.

Each morning during the week I wake up and the first thing I do, well besides the side trip to the bathroom, is go feed the horses. I do not change clothes for this particular step (how many times I change clothes a day is for a different blog). Blue Pjs with little green frogs is the attire for this activity. Footwear of choice is my calf high black muck boots. Why muck boots you ask?  I wear these for two reasons; A-you can slip them on with no effort, a must before the first cup of coffee and B- My frog pjs fit nicely inside the boots so the cuffs of my pjs don't get all dirty. I come in from the barn jump in the shower to transform from "Barn Chores Nicole" into "Corporate America Nicole" {da da tadaaaa..  insert super hero theme here}this requires some sort of suit or casual pants and top depending on if I am meeting clients, Hair neatly fixed and styled, along with makeup and the 2nd set of shoes for the day.... dress heels, sensible dress boots or wedge sandals. I go through my work day, come home to change shoes for the 3rd time and transform into "Equestrian Riding/ Instructor Nicole" {the Bonaza theme comes to mind, with the Cartwrights galloping across the open plains.} complete with the riding helmet and appropriate footwear in tow. Now these may be my paddock boots, tall boots, ariat hybrid riding tennis shoe or winter riding boots depending on the season. See just talking about the season and activity at the barn requires me to have at least 4 pairs of riding boots and a pair of muck boots. (again with the justification).  Ok now we are up to 3 times a day changing footwear and I am not done. Come Friday evening or anytime on the weekend there is at least one more changing of the shoes. This is "Bass Players Girlfriend Nicole" (For those of you who don't know me personally my Handsome Hottie boyfriend plays Bass Guitar in a band). This set of shoes generally revolves around the club/bar scene. Funky wedge heels, Platform heels or Knee high heeled boots. These are usually too funky and "out there" to be worn any where but in a club or bar. They are certainly NEVER meant to be worn on uneven ground or rocky terrain. Never Never Never go check on your horses in "Bass Player's Girlfriend" shoes. You run the true risk of twisting an ankle and there is a 100% chance you will not make it out of the barn clean. It is however amusing for everyone around you. Truth be known these shoes are only meant to be worn for a few hours at a time depending on how much dancing is involved :) This type of shoe will be taken off as soon as I cross the threshold into the mudroom if they last that long. I have been known to walk from the car to the house on a few late nights barefoot. The last shoes of the evening is the bedroom slippers which I did not add into my changing count but probably the most important of them all. These in reality are crocs with the fuzzy lining inside that can serve the dual purpose of walking around a house with hardwood floors and stepping out onto the porch without the moisture wicking up through the bottoms. This usually happens in the middle of the night when the dogs have decided chase some poor woodland creature through the front yard or the woods. This activity requires me to threaten the dogs within an inch of their furry little lives so that I can catch a few more hours of that elusive sleep I talked about in an earlier blog.

Hmmmmm... "She wears many shoes" I wonder if it will catch on?  Probably not but it still paints a better visual..