Shoe fetish? Me?

What's up for me?

Shoes.

I'm not quite one of those girls with 50+ pairs of heels (though I do like shoes).  And I don't typically ogle the latest trends in footwear, but

...the hobbies I am beginning to L-O-V-E require rather specific footwear.

First new hobby, ballroom dancing:

Latin dancing shoes. They're gorgeous.

Ballroom dancing is one of those things that I've wanted to learn. I'd love to be able to say I can do the cha-cha, rumba, east-coast swing, west-coast swing, blues, shag, salsa, meringue, waltz, etc (and I actually can do the basic for all of those named dances now! Super exciting)
I'm learning stuff, and it is addictive.

It doesn't hurt that one gets to wear pretty dresses and fancy shoes to do it either... 

It's one of the best destressers, AND it's a workout.
Pretty magical.



My next shoe purchase were these:

CLIMBING SHOES.

These are shoes that I have wanted since I first was introduced to the world of rock climbing as a kid, going to the gym with my parents.
These are leather and comfy and wonderful.

It helped that REI gave me my member dividends and I had a 20% off coupon. These babies weren't cheap.

Good shoes make a HUGE difference in climbing ability. I am quickly progressing my climbing level, as soon as my arms heal from over-use (I was a little over-exuberant...) 

The "downside" of climbing a lot (besides sore arms) is that EVERYTHING starts to look like a potential climb.
It could get dangerous...
My climbing professor, T-dash, thinks I have potential to be a professional climber. OooOOooh.

Like, you know, travel around to competitions, live in my old van down by the river, never have money, and live off of rice and beans.
I love T-dash. He's a hoot.


Anywho, both of these activities/hobbies I've picked up are amazing de-stressers.
They're also helping out with my social life (as if I need more of that. I have a tendency to be overly social...my schoolwork isn't always happy about it), as both require partners to complete.

They give a source of accomplishment, whether it's completing a climbing crux I've been working on or figuring out a new dance move.