UGH

I have always thought UGG boots were overrated. After years of watching suburban wannabe Aspen, Colorado ski-bunnies bound about the mall the the local high schools, I began to equate UGG boots with Lindsey Lohan style idiocy--i.e. UGG boots in balmy 60 degree Beverly Hills. Hello--we live in Oregon--rainy, overcast Oregon. Why do you need a pair of UGG boots? It's not like they're rainproof! Get yourself a decent pair of wellies you fool.

Last week I ordered a pair of UGG boots for myself. I am so embarrassed that I have succumbed to the trend but the cold made me do it.

The first week of November, I attended my International Women's Club architecture group. We took a walk around a southwest section of Moscow noted for its constructivist architecture. I wore my usual early winter clothes--long coat, gloves, wool socks, hat and clogs. I wear my Dansko clogs everywhere and have never had a problem keeping my feet warm. On this particular day, the sky was clear blue, the sun that cold, steely yellow that slices through the trees and fails to warm you. I didn't bother to check the thermometer before I left Rosinka assuming that it would be like every other November day.

The pain came on slowly. At first I just stamped my feet to keep them warm. After an hour, the bones in my feet started to ache, my toes--to burn. I began to wonder if it was possible for frostbite to set in under the circumstances. By the time we reached Donski Monastery, I couldn't feel my feet. Visions of necrotic, white clumps of toe flesh falling off the bones flashed before my eyes. I don't know how I made it back to the Metro only that I had never welcomed its body odor drenched aroma and sauna-like environs as much as I did that day. I kept stamping my feet, hoping the circulation would return and it did--about 24 hours later. And the pain! Oi the pain! (The horror! The horror! to quote "Heart of Darkness").

This is what drove me to the UGGS. I found a pair that wasn't floppy, sheepskin that, while adorable, isn't practical for walking around looking at constructivist architecture. Rachel and Allyson do not approve of the style. It is "okay," they have said. I however, find them cute in an Aussie in the Outback kind of way--a little rugged, a little bit country as opposed to a little rock-n-roll. I ordered sheepskin insoles from Amazon to make sure I have the benefit of all that snugly sheepskin warmth. I am a wimp. I embrace my wimpiness and I have bought the UGGS. Lindsey Lohan has no excuse for her poser, wannabe ski-bunny footwear but I certainly do.