By CELIA RIVENBARK, freelance columnist

Every woman I know is obsessed with Ped Egg, an egg-shaped device used to shave dead skin and smooth calluses on the feet.

I don't know what eggs have to do with feet. If you order Ped Egg, it comes with a tube of foot lotion that I am sincerely hoping doesn't smell like bacon.

Ped Egg is one of those "as seen on TV" products and the commercial is a hoot.

"Don't use potato peeling tools to clean your feet!" says the unseen narrator as various kitchen utensils pop up on the screen with slash marks through them.

Oh, I haven't done that in forever. Stopped doing it along the same time I stopped parting my hair with kebob skewers and cleaning my ears with the bottle brush.

My friend Belma was so overjoyed with the results of her Ped Egg that she was fairly bubbling.

"I swear I think I went down at least one shoe size," she said. "If I keep Ped Egging, I'll be able to wear a 5 by next spring and me and little Belma can share shoes."

OK, first, Ped Egg as a verb is weird. I have only recently gotten used to "yard saling" as a verb. And I'm assuming Belma's kidding about wanting to file her feet down so she can wear light-up sneakers.

One friend confided that she had become addicted to her Ped Egg. In a hushed voice she said, "I can't stop. Every night I think, tonight's the night I'm not going to do it but it's just sitting there on the dresser looking so cute and I think, well, just five minutes wouldn't hurt anything. And then, next thing I know, I've got an egg full of shavings and I can't remember the last hour."

Now that Ped Egg is available in stores, you don't have to wait longer than a drive to Walgreen's. The display was impressive: There was Ped Egg (regular), Ped Egg with handle and even a pale pink Ped Egg with a portion of proceeds going toward breast cancer research. You can even join the Ped Egg Club and upgrade to "platinum" status.

Driving home, Ped Egg safely nestled beside me, I could hear the TV announcer's voice in my head: "Reveal sexy skin!" (On my heels?) And, "Use Ped Egg anywhere!" (Really? Anywhere? How about the PTA meeting?)

I ripped into Ped Egg after reading instructions that warned me not to use it if it got rusty or bent. That might reveal skin that was less sexy than tetanusy, I suppose.

Long story short: I used Ped Egg, it works great, and I can quit anytime I want. I think.

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