The Unofficial Prose of Soludos

Dear fans and fanettes of the Soludos' world (and this also applies to unconverted fans), I have worn and I have swooned and above all I have praised. As you know I purchased my Soludos from Vanessa V Boutique in Lafayette and I am in the market for more... from Vanessa of course (I shall be on her like white on rice on a paper plate in a snow storm 'til she gets them). The shoes have a wonderfully soft denim dark stripped upper with a dynamic change in stitching pattern at the throat line with hemp welt and out soul outfitted with a rubber bottom. I particularly like the gum rubber bottom as hemp has a tendency to soften when under high temps (i.e. against hot pavements). It will absorb rocks if not protected and Soludos has taken the initiative to protect the shoe for durability. I have a pair of leather Pierre Cardin's of a similar nature that are suffering miserably from this oversight in their design.

The first recommendation Vanessa or Viki will give you in purchasing these shoes is to get them 1 size smaller as I can confirm they will stretch. Vanessa made me privy to this the day before so all was well, also, they are sized via a European size chart which you can view here . So do the ladies a favor, know your size before you go. I am a true 9.5 (Soludos doesn't offer half sizes) so I purchased a 42 as a 43 is the most common size 10 although it has been known to be a 9.5 in some other parts of Europe.  Happy shopping and good luck. I hope to see the lot of you in Soludos before long.

Soludos, Soludos To You Too

It came in its own sack cloth...

     I have been eying a pair of Tom's for a while now but have never really decided to pull the trigger on an over priced pair of cotton blended shoes that will deteriorate over a short period of time. Then I was introduced to Soludos. This past weekend I was invited to a 4 year old birthday party... well Eden was invited, Ashley and I facilitated the transportation. It was for our good friend Vanessa Vicari, owner of Vanessa V (follow them here on Facebook or here on Twitter, ok I'm projecting sorry) but she's a close friend and I am very proud and impressed by her dedication to her establishment. She only carries the most amazing women's fashion, but more recently she acquired this men's line of shoes, Soludos as they are called, and for only $28.00 they are perfectly delightful. I love everything about them. Vanessa has created an amazing atmosphere in the Lafayette Women's Fashion Arena, and for that she is well noted and praised. Upon her acquisition of more colors, so I will be in possession of more colors... If you get the chance stop in and try them on, they stretch over time so get one size smaller fortunately they only come in whole sizes it makes selection easy. I would recommend bringing the significant other, but I may make enemies of my friends in a very short time frame. I'm always up for a shopping trip...

The Horse's Stole the Show

Took Eden to a birthday party yesterday and they had a horse back riding guide. I didn't think she would be so open to the idea... boy was I wrong.

Being British

Classic!

Eden's Last Day of School

It was Cowgirl and Cowboy day.

Conversation

Me: Eden, it's time to get out of the tub baby?
Eden: Seriously Daddy? I'll be damn!
Me: Excuse me! What did you say?
Eden: Ummm... you said we need to get out of the tub.. so, uh, so I said, "I'll be damn..."
Me: Baby we can't speak that way it's not polite to use that word, where did you hear that?
Eden: Granna says that when she watches TV all the time! Okay Daddy!
Me: Well not really ok but I understand.

Something New

This past soccer season I decided to try a new GK glove, I wanted to go with a brand I was unfamiliar with. My quandary led to many different options. Upon careful consideration I landed on these brilliantly price pointed Sells. With no qualified position on the ability of these gloves I was happy to try them. Turns out I loved them, still do. They're incredibly comfortable and the latex is astounding. Well, I have developed a tear in the finger area so they must be replaced. I've found the perfect replacement already.

Aftermath

I spent the day today doing something that I am not use to doing, nor do I enjoy doing... I worked in my yard. Not the, "Oh, I planted some flowers today" or "I manicured my garden". No, I cut down more than a dozen trees and weed-eated (I just realized I have never had to spell that word, it's a miserable word, I officially don't like it. It's officially as worthless as the task it represents). Allow me to elaborate, I am not the alpha male who's testosterone is inundated with the elements of the outdoors. I don't hunt, I don't fish, I don't skeet shoot with my buddies whilst drinking a 12 pack of Fatty Natty's. I read poetry and enjoy shoe shopping... Despite all of that I was/am very proud of myself and my days accomplishments. I have more to do tomorrow, and I think I am looking forward to it. While searching for an old Chinese Kung Fu (poorly dubbed) movie to watch, I have quite the collection, I stumbled on a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow book of poetry. The first poem was Aftermath. Enjoy.

When the summer fields are mown, 

When the birds are fledged and flown, 

And the dry leaves strew the path; 

With the falling of the snow, 

With the cawing of the crow, 

Once again the fields we mow 

And gather in the aftermath. 

Not the sweet, new grass with flowers  

Is this harvesting of ours; 

Not the upland clover bloom; 

But the rowen mixed with weeds, 

Tangled tufts from marsh and meads, 

Where the poppy drops its seeds 

In the silence and the gloom. 

Tough Mudder

Recently I have been discussing with my good friend and running partner Jeremy Z. about doing this insane race called the Tough Mudder. It's a 10-12 mile hardcore race that defies the perimeters of a normal mud run or Warrior Dash. In fact, the website issues this disclaimer: WARNING: Tough Mudder is 3-4 times longer and MUCH TOUGHER than a typical mud run such as Warrior Dash. On average, only 78% of participants finish a Tough Mudder event. Only those in strong physical condition should enter. I have been looking for something other than another half marathon or 10k. I am not interested in running a full mararthon so I had considered a few trail runs around the area, and surrounding states, and then I heard about this race. There is one being held in Texas in October, that is the projected date and location of our first Tough Mudder. All are welcome, it will certainly be a race to remember.

How Fast Do We Grow

     Took last weekend to spend all the time I had with the family, and with the question, "so, what do you want to do today?" There was a glorious and joyous, "Let's go swimming" that came from a little person in the backseat. So I did the Daddy thing, I caved. 

And Then They Grow To This...

Ashley and Eden surprised me at work this evening, I was just beginning to wind down and this little diddy took place. Apparently she has an unwavering opinion of my sweating and then entering my office. 

The British Are Coming

Okay, so it's not actually the British, but it is a little baby that will one day, hopefully, speak English, an intelligible form of English, not the English that is most common in the southern parts of Louisiana. My wife is a staggering 7.5 months pregnant, the time is approaching and all too quickly. When she was pregnant for Eden we were in a much different state in our lives. Now, with Ashley being in school and me working ridiculous hours at my job, I think we were a bit more detached from each other than we are willing to admit. Unfortunately I have to take sole blame for that attribute as I have had the displeasure of convincing myself that I needed to work this hard to provide for my family, not realizing that when I worked less at my previous employment we made it just fine, perhaps better than now. Luckily I have 2 weeks vacation that I have not used, I fully intend to use them all when the baby arrives. I remember the first day I went back to work after Eden was born, I took 5 days off from work and not one time did I realize how hard it would be to return. The first day I went back I probably stalker texted my wife all day querying the most ridiculous things, as though I expected our 1 week old to start walking or speaking full sentences. Looking back I knew it were preposterous notions, but the thought of my daughter growing up and only knowing me as a daddy that worked all the time was very scary then, and now that she is smart enough to read situations, it's most frightening. Being a parent for the first is intimidating, you think you'll get use to it but with every age comes new fears, excitements and challenges. It is quite possibly the most rewarding and the most difficult thing I have ever done, and most likely ever will do. Although kids have a way of making it all worthy of existence itself. We trudge through our daily routines day in and day out caring very little for the things that go unseen in our lives only focusing on what we think we need to accomplish to somehow or another qualify the essence of our definitions of success. Only to have our quest for success passed by a journey we hadn't noticed we were on. "Success is a journey, not a destination," yet we treat our lives as though we are one day arriving at the finale marquis de puissance. Dare I compare my life to Hermes, or my quest to Job's or relate to the "Council of Mad Youth" as Antoine De La Sale wrote in his book Petit Jehan de Saintre on reason to  climb to the crater of a volcano in the Lipari Islands. It is Life's longing for itself that leads to our desire to conquer the "Council of Mad Youth" we dwell in years beyond our invitation. Is it this that insists on who we are? Or does the same subsist on who we are not?

Dammit, I've rambled again... Ah well! My thoughts, horribly translated.

Insanity Day 1 Photos

  As I am uploading a select few photos, note that the photos displayed were taken Sunday 5-1-2011. I have successfully started week 2 of Insanity and upon completion will attempt The Asylum with Shaun T. Insanity fitness has been pushing my body to the limits, I hope to see some of the great gains in my results as some of the test groups have. I suppose this will put to rest the questions surrounding these home work outs. Here goes the beginning to a first hand experience!

I will do my best to take the future photos in the same position although the same clothes is not guaranteed. The goal is to take photos every 14 days, which are the days we are scheduled to redo our fit tests to track our aerobic progression. 

Hiatus Relatus

Hello all, my apologies for my absence things have been a bit disarray for us here at the Sharlow establishment. Most notably we have not had internet for a while, in fact, even now I am posting from work.With the end of my soccer season and my unofficial retirement from LHS athletics I have found a great deal of time about me in the afternoon. Thusly, I have begun Insanity by Shaun T Fitness from Beach Body.com. I intend to keep myself honest in my endeavors and hope to forgo injury for the remainder of the workouts as there are 60 and I am 5 days in. I started Sunday night this past week and have been diligent thus far, but again, I only started this week so it's easy to be committed. I will be posting progression photos this weekend. I have my day one photos taken and need to sort through them and see which are most appropriate for the viewing private. My goal is to update photos every two weeks and hopefully we will see some progress. The hardest part for me is the eating, I don't have to eat anything in particular, I just have to consume 3000 calories of relatively healthy foods all day long. That gets tedious and cumbersome after about day 2.

Some time ago I posted a short expose entitled "We the Runners of Tomorrow". My running has note been very sharp lately as my job is most demanding of my morning and I am quite exhausted come the evenings so I have, in consequence, allowed my life to become more and more taxed by situations and circumstances that very well should not tax me a bit. Although I have kept my whits about me and that helps a great deal with coping.

Baby number 2 will be here before we know it, and that is putting a bit of pressure on the family, Ashley will be graduating soon and hopefully my poor wife will be able to rest... (if you know my wife you know that will not happen) but I seem like a good husband if I wish it for her. We are well excited to have another little monster in the house. Eden is getting so big she is most excited about the matter as well. So things are great for us, I will post my photos soon. If at the end of my 60 workout be sure and ask yourself what were you doing for 5 hrs per week over the last 60 days, then ask yourself if you can accomplish this? I'm not even sure if I can.