Thursday, March 19, 2009

Ooosh! Balkie! And Results!

Oh hey there. ... What am I doing, you ask? Oh, I'm just putting on my ooosh so I can go on my balkie, perhaps my fifth balkie today even.

What now? Who? What you ask? ... you know, Balkie! Get the stroller out, put my little Darlin in it, and go on our balkie after we put our ooosh on ...

All day long, starting from the time she wakes up, Taya says 'Ooosh! Ooosh!'and brings us various pairs of *shoes* to put on her. She then either proceeds to take them off & asks to put them (or another pair) on again anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes later .... OR ... she asks us to take her on a 'Balkie Balkie Balkie' - adding up to about a dozen requests per day to go on these *walks*. And if she's really lucky, we'll go en route to the park, where from 100 feet away, she starts saying 'Wee Wee Wee!' to ask to go on the slides. Well unfortunately for Taya, I can only drop everything in an instant and take her on a walk so many times a day (1-2 times right now - some are itty bitty walks). She makes sure to finalize her hints (pretty much demands) by bringing me my shoes, even if it is first thing in the morning & I'm still in my bathrobe.
I'm proud of this girl; this says A)She's got an interest in style B)She balances her passion for fashion with an interest in the outdoors C)She likes to stay active (sometimes she walks instead of riding in the stroller) & D)She's striving to fill big shoes (half the time she puts our shoes on).
DaDa's shoes will do just fine.

It's not always just shoes that Taya brings us to put on her; she loves the layered clothing look as well. See here? She definitely thinks she is ready for our walk. And me on the other side of the camera probably in pajamas or bath robe attire however, am NOT ready for our walk.
Enjoying her BalkieBalkieBalkie
Here's the WeeWeeWee!

While we're on the topic of shoes, how many pairs of shoes do you think the average woman has? How many do you have? And how many husbands do you think are under the impression that their wives' shoe amounts are gaspingly excessive? (yes, I'm making 'gaspingly' a word). I see this over and over again on my closet design work appointments: I tell the couple that after I measure the size of the closet, I will be tallying amounts of rod space needed, etc. & counting pairs of shoes for a basis for my upcoming custom design. The wife always immediately looks embarrassed or smug while husband & wife simultaneously tell me how the husband thinks the wife has waaaay too many shoes. Then as I go on to tell them the average female shoe totals I encounter, the wife dramatically sighs with relief of the validation she's been searching for her entire marriage, maybe even her entire life! And I smile, feeling a bit validated myself.

So how many do you think? I have my mental totals for what's a little for a woman, a lot, and just about average. After I get your votes, or even juicier - your confessions (if you're embarrassed, you could always comment anonymously), I'll add my totals and maybe find some official sources to compare against (since I know you're all dying to know womens' shoe total averages)!

Based on Taya's 'Ooosh' interest, I'm afraid she might be on her way to the gaspingly excessive end! (except probably not under our roof!)
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Post Edition just for you!
So as for shoe pair averages?  Here are my mental tallies according to my closet designing appointments:  
Women:  Low = 5-20, Average = 20-40 (especially 25-35), Pretty High End = 40-60, Really High End = 100 +/-
Men:  Low = 7 or less, Average = 8-15, Above average = 15-25
BUT, the highest tally of shoes I've ever counted in a closet was for a MAN!  He was a sports reporter & had dozens of suits & over 150 pairs of shoes.  
My internet search didn't turn up much, but the one main result I found said the average woman owns 19 pairs of shoes; do you believe it?  Are my demographics that off?  It's ok, just throw that number out the window if you want so that next time your husband rolls his eyes at your amount of shoes, you can say, 'Breanne counts shoes in her job & says this is normal!  I'm normal!  And my shoes need me like the desert needs rain!' - that last part is optional
So I started this original post one night; couldn't think of one of the parts of it that I wanted to write; well I put it to rest, then finished it the next morning, still forgetting the last part I wanted to include:  then in the comments Francesca took care of it for me - wonderful woman she is!  The real D) that Taya's 'Ooosh & Balkie' obsession says about her is that she adores Balki from Perfect Strangers and wants her first full sentence to be something like 'Don't be reedikoolus'.  C'mon, you remember Perfect Strangers right?  See our dear Balki friend here?  So that's the real meaning of this all I guess.   (?)

Man, I wish Paul wore red silk shirts like Balki. If only ...

19 comments:

Lauren said...

It's amazing how much our girls are alike. Aubrey asks for her shoes and the asks to go outside in out backyard all the time.

As far as shoes go, I think I have somewhere between 30-40 (half being my flip flops). It may be more or even less but I'm too lazy to count right now. I think the big difference between men and women is that men usually have only one or two pairs of shoes for each occasion (casual, dress, sport, etc). They also wear them out before buying a new pair. I still have shoes I bought in High School. I don't think I buy more shoes than Adam, but I'm also not as hard on them. I'm probably at the low end. I know my sister has a ton of shoes. Somewhere between 60-80.

Now you have to fess up. How many pairs do you have?

Marie said...

Taya sports the layered look well. So cute!
I would guess 15 low end, 30 average, 75 tons.
I know when I was first married, I had tons of shoes. But we have a big closet, so Alan didn't ever protest:)
Then I got my chacos, and all of my flip flops were ignored and eventually donated. So now, I think I'm on the low shoe end, which is fine. Although, shall I confess that I have 2 pairs of "new" running shoes in there, some cross trainers, and 2 pairs of "old running shoes? There's something about parting with an good ol' pair of running shoes. It's tough. We've been through a lot together. I'm proud of myself for only having 2 "old" pairs.

Breanne said...

Nice confessions, very nice. I'll fess up soon.

The pairs of shoes I count in closets includes flip flops, slippers, everything.

Keep the numbers comin girls :)

Oh... and Taya does say 'Shoes' instead of 'Ooosh' half the time now (she's growing up! tear, sniff, tear)

R said...

LOL.
This is a great post. I love it!
There's something about the kids and outdoors. B can't get enough of them--even if it's freezing. Luckily S hasn't caught the hunger yet.
I'd say I have 15--which I don't think is a lot--but Eric does of course. Considering that includes basketball shoes; soccer shoes; boots; flip flops; etc. I usually wear tennis shoes and I have several pairs of those--but seriously I don't think that's a lot. I wish I had more cute comfy non-tennis shoes.
I've been thinking about you (and Lauren and Missy!) lately and we REALLY need to talk soon.
Love ya!

The Ericksons said...

Ha ha, seth says ooosh too. It has since improved to shoosh. Its so cute to watch them communicate.

The Ericksons said...

ps, that last comment was jenika, not brittany

Kara Forristall said...

funny little girl! umm, shoes, yeah, I have too many to count, I would say roughly 50 including everything... my collection of converse, boots, flip flops, slippers, and luckily, I'm not into heels or that number would at least 50% higher, granted I can't throw out any pair of shoes, so, it's taken a while to acquire so many. I'm waiting for the tally =)

Elise said...

What a cute little adorable lady! What girl doesnt love a good pair of shoes? So CUTE!!

Bianca said...

I have probably some where over 50 but less than 60. And I just did a big clean out 6 months ago. That's ridiculous isn't it? We have so much more clothes than shoes tho.... ugh. And let me say, Michael has A LOT of shoes (and clothes) too. So it's not just me.
And funny about Taya and shoes because James does the same thing. His shoes, my shoes, Michael's shoes.... It's cute and annoying sometimes.

paula said...

30
Me I didn't have that many until the last several years I have aquired about 25 pairs. Some, truthfully, I never wear.
Men, 4 pairs: sandals, dress, tennis, okay maybe 3.

3 Bay B Chicks said...

I think there is another option that you should be considering. Perhaps the lovely Taya is simply making a reference to Balki. You remember, right? Balki Bartokomous from Perfect Strangers.

Maybe she just wants to watch a bit of TV.

-Francesca

Claire said...

Hahahahahaha! I love Francesca's comment. Ok, first of all, don't you think Perfect Strangers was a weird show? I forget the other dude's name, but he weirded me out with his almost geri-curl (sp?) hair.
As far as my shoe count goes, I am at about 30 pairs. The thing about me, is that I don't form an attachment to my shoes, so I'm getting rid of old and buying new ALL THE TIME (Thank you, Nordstrom Women's Shoe Department for creating this crazy obsession...). Just think how many I'd have if I kept them!
You should come to Missouri sometime again---Come visit me. OR it would be fun to have some sort of roommate reunion. I miss all of you girls! Maybe we should go to Education Week together?
Bre, Taya is adorable!

Janalee said...

there was nothing in the almanac about shoes.

I have about 15 pairs - 6-8 of which I actually wear. low end, I guess.

Breanne said...

Oh yes, and for confessions sake; I counted how many pairs of shoes I have tonight: ready? 37! (5 or more of which I just need to donate like to-mor-row!) That includes slippers, hiking, work out, camping/house work shoes, everything :)

... So how many of you quote 'Don't be reedikoolus'? I know I do - love it :)

Claire said...

BTW: You remember my brother Paul? Yeah, so he has more shoes than any girl I know. Seriously. I think when he last counted, it was around 40 or 42, or something. He loves him some shoes. And clothes. He should have been a woman.

Cheryl said...

Hey Breanne! This is Cheryl - Shannon's friend. Can I just say that I LOVE your blog?! You do such a great job making it fun and entertaining!!! I love your writing style, your cool photos, and your captions for photos! Your sense of humor is awesome! Taya is absolutely adorable!! I love the stories about her. Oh, and I am one of the few women on the low end for shoes. I counted mine and I have 12 pairs total! I have purged a whole lot in the last 5 years or so and definitely don't buy shoes very much. Perfect Strangers...such good memories! Oh, and your husband's feature article in Architect magazine was so well-done. I hope some really neat things come about from that! Have a wonderful day!

The Higham Family said...

I loved Perfect Strangers! I dont really remember anything about it- just that I watched it allll the time.

Larry and Karri said...

Loved the bit about Taya's talking and her wardrobe choices. :) I think I'm at around 25 pairs of ooshes. :) And I LOVED Balki from Perfect Strangers!!!

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