Shoes and salads

Guys, do you know about Tom’s Shoes? I’m sure by now you’ve heard of this amazing company.  If you haven’t, go check out their website and read up on their mission, because they can tell you about themselves so much better than I ever will.  When I first heard of Tom’s, I was in shock and awe, because never before has a business managed to so eloquently combine things I am passionate about into one brilliant product.  Hello.  Shoes made and sold through a sustainable business model with the intention of donating shoes to underprivileged children in developing countries.

I traveled to Nicaragua in January 2009 with fourteen of my peers to volunteer and aid in the construction of a pre-school in a rural community.  I had some beautiful experiences there, but the crushing reality of the conditions under which these communities live has stuck with me as well.  During our short stay, we would walk from the schoolyard, where we were living, to a family home in a community who cooked for us.  Our walk took us fifteen minutes over a hilly and rocky path, and at night we would need to use flashlights for fear of hurting ourselves.  That house was relatively close to the school, many children have to walk nearly an hour or more to make it to school.  The community I stayed with falls under the label of “poverty” but not “dire poverty,” according to the World Bank method of rating poverty and inequality based on income and consumption.  The wealthier families in the communities had a daily income of about $2 per day, and most of the children had at least one pair of shoes.  I have not been to Africa or other direly impoverished communities in the Eastern Hemisphere, but I can imagine the necessity for shoes in these rural areas and fully support the Tom’s mission to place a pair of shoes on the feet of every child.

SO, of course, I have a pair of my very own.  I love them quite a bit.

And here I am rocking these babies on a hike in Thailand.  Yes, I went to Asia and I didn’t bring a proper pair of sneakers.

They’re amazing shoes because they are comfortable, light, easy to wear, and travel exceptionally well.  I don’t wear them as much as I should.  I love them.  They also make great gifts! I bought a pair of brown corduroy Tom’s for my dad on Father’s Day last year, and he LOVED them!  I get my shoe love from my father.

Also, yesterday was “One Day Without Shoes,” a call to action from Tom’s encouraging people to go barefoot to raise awareness of the necessity for shoes.  I am a commuter in dirty dirty New York but I managed to get in some barefoot time on the quad…

Yep, Tom’s Shoes owns my heart.

You know what else owns my heart?  Salad.  Yep.  I said it.  I know, I used to hate salads but now I like – even love – them.  Today’s was AWESOME.

A bed of shredded lettuce, cabbage, and carrots topped with steamed broccoli, string beans, enoki mushrooms, and marinated olives, drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper.

All part of a bangin’ lunch, ginger tea and an apple rounding it out.  I was cold and I wanted something warm so basically I said, “What can I throw into a steamer basket?”

First I did the broccoli, then tossed the beans in, then the enokis at the end for a quick steam.  Bangin’ indeed.

Shabbat is coming in soon and I have a messy kitchen to take care of right now, so I’m off, but before you go please tell me: What is your favorite pair of shoes? You know you have a pair.  I have a hundred (ish…okay fifty plus) pairs of shoes, and my favorite pair is…a pair of Havianas flip flops that traveled all over Thailand with me.  They endured beautifully and I still wear them all the time.  I’m the type to wear a pair of flops until they have holes straight through the bottom, and these are no exception.  What are yours?

Later, gators.

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