"nobody cares about your pustulus toe"

Last summer I bought these really beautiful lime green and light grey trail runners from Merrill. I bought them in the amazing village of Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado which hovers around 10,000 feet above sea level. I think I must have been suffering from altitude sickness because I completely misjudged how monstrous my feet are and merely scoffed at the $130 price tag.

Now I have beautiful, too-small sneakers that cost more than my coffee table.

For the past 5 months or so, I've been trying to break them in and have suffered on and off from blisters and aching arches. Two weekends ago, though, we jumped straight into foot abuse territory after a 10 mile hike in the desert.

I've now got a blister forming an accurate outline of my second-to-big toe, making a horseshoe-shaped pustule on the left side of my left thumb toe. In addition, I got a bruised toe nail and two bloody heels. My feet weren't exactly pretty before the toe abuse incurred, but now they're in desperate need of help. I really should think about upchucking the moola for a pedicure and a new pair of sneakers, not that anybody cares.