Comments (45)

By kilax, March 6, 2010 9:31 am

Why is it that I can go a whole year without having any soda at all and not miss it – but I can’t seem to go through a day without craving a sugary treat? Aren’t these two items in the same category, brain? The category of things loaded with sugar that I shouldn’t eat/drink?

I suppose actually eating something is more satisfying that drinking something for me, which is why it has been easy to stay away from soda.

Now, I want it to be as easy to stay away from sugary treats. Despite telling you guys about how white sugar affects your body, I have not been able limit my intake very well, even though I want to. When I get a between-meals craving, it is for something sugary. Then if I do have something sugary, I am so overloaded with sugar, that I get a craving for something salty. Ugh. It is time for all of those sugary treats to just be fruit. I don’t feel like I can handle anything else right now.

Do you get in-between meal (“snacky”) cravings? What kinds of foods to do you crave?

I tried to write some shorter posts this week. I tend to get a bit “blah blah blah” and drag things out longer than I should. And I think that we are all pressed for time, and writing posts like that just lends to skimming, which is actually why I put my little bold question at the end of the post – so you get the gist of it. At the same time though, I would love to know more about your thoughts on blog post length, and what leads you to skimming. It’s something I have been thinking about lately as I have not had much time to read!

Please answer my polls below!

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Comments (2)

By kilax, March 3, 2010 4:27 am

Ignore the two whiny posts sandwiching this one… and check out my guest post over at Life After Bagels!

Morgan is traveling this week, so I wrote a little post talking about how I try to fit in exercise when I travel. What do you think my little trick is? You will have to click over to find out…

(Yes, I know I am being cheesy. But I am having a crappy week and writing that kind of made me laugh.)

Comments (2)

By kilax, February 25, 2010 4:54 am

Do you feel like yoga complements running?

Do you want to hear my take on it? Head on over to gemfit’s Staying on Course and read my guest post about how I have finally (!!!) embraced yoga and how I feel it helps me as a runner.

Let gemfit know your history with yoga, and if you were resistant toward it at first, like me!

Comments (23)

By kilax, February 5, 2010 5:44 am

For some reason, I am getting hit by about, oh, 10 spam comments every minute right now. Check out the peak on the right edge of the chart below! And I’ve gotten even more spam comments since then.

Anyway, I usually read through all of the spam to look for mistakes, but since I have 500+, I’m not going to. Please send me an email if your comment gets caught in spam. It most likely will not! And this will probably die down after awhile. Just a heads up.

Since I am here, I should let you know, I worked from home one day this week, and because I did not commute, am about 200+ posts behind. I will catch up! That’s me, leaving comments on posts from the past…

Comments (30)

By kilax, February 2, 2010 5:05 am

How would you feel if you found out you were destined to end up with your mother’s body? Would you be happy? Ambivalent? Hysterical?

Check out my guest post on Linz’s blog and leave your answer over there!

A few months ago I saw these Yogavive Apple Chips on Gelareh’s blog. I was intrigued that they are apple chips, but flavored like other fruits! I left a comment stating my curiosity and they sent me some to review (My first review ever! How cool!).

I received the small 35-calorie packs* in four flavors – original, peach, strawberry and caramel. Each pack contains the equivalent of one apple, and lists apples and natural flavors as ingredients. The first time I tried them, I snuck a strawberry and caramel pack into the theater – shh! The rest I ate as quick snacks in the car, or at work. Here are my likes and dislikes:

Likes:

• thin + crispy, like a potato chip
• fun to eat – a satisfying crunch
• low in calories
• a light snack
• portable
• organic
• no artificial taste

Dislikes:

• small packaging is wasteful
• not very filling

I have had apple “chips” before that were more chewy, so I was pleasantly surprised by these. If I decided to buy them in the store, I would get the large package, and put them in my own reusable containers. I think these are a fun snack for being on the go, but I am more likely to eat a real apple, which are also portable and tasty!

If you are interested and want to find out where to get Yogavive Apple Chips click here to find a store near you! They are also on twitter and facebook.

Do you like fruit chips and dried fruit? Do you think you would like Yogavive Apple Chips?

I definitely like the way banana and apple chips taste, and dried apricots, but I have a problem with overeating them so I stick to the fruit in its natural form.

*Yogachips™ are available in 1-apple / 10g and 5-apple / 50g packs.

Comments (20)

By kilax, January 28, 2010 5:41 pm

So, someone was a bit of a crankypants last Saturday!

I am so incredibly far-behind in my blog reading that my brilliant solution to send email comments to blogger/blogspot blogs just isn’t going to work. I don’t have the time.

I am trying to come up with a temporary solution that still allows me to leave comments on these blogs. Half of the running blogs I read are hosted by blogger/blogspot! That is a lot to miss out on.

I decided to limit reading these blogs to one computer – that way, if I get a virus, I still have the other computer to use. However, it was hard to decide which one to use. My large computer is easier for reading blogs, but too heavy to carry to work, and has too many programs on it to reinstall when reformatting. The baby computer is lightweight, has no programs and no files… but no CD drive. So when I go to reformat it, I have to borrow my neighbors 1 GB jumpdrive so I* can put Windows back on it. Wah.

So, blah blah blah… the baby computer it is. It is loaded with anti-virus and spyware software, so let’s see where this gets me. Now I will know if this software works at all.

It’s interesting that many other bloggers have had problems leaving comments on blogger/blogspot blogs, but have not had this virus issue. Only a few other people have, but think it came from Facebook, or ads. So, if I get it on the large computer, I will know it isn’t blogger/blogspot, and I can quit being a whiny baby!

Thanks for being patient!

*Meaning Steven.

Comments (53)

By kilax, January 28, 2010 5:00 am

Have you heard about Dunbar’s number – the theory that your brain can only manage “stable social relationships” with 150 people?

Robin Dunbar, a professor* at Oxford University, developed this theory in the 1990s. He theorizes that the size of our neocortex limits us to managing social circles of about 150 friends – that’s 150 friends that you contact each year and can remember how they relate to each other.

Of course, the study was in the news this week in relationship to Facebook. There are many articles out there saying even though we amass hundreds of friends on Facebook, our brains are only capable of managing that core 150. Dunbar is revisiting his study to see how it relates to Facebook. From the UK Times article:

Dunbar is now studying social networking websites to see if the “Facebook effect” has stretched the size of social groupings. Preliminary results suggest it has not.

“The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world,” said Dunbar.

“People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s.

“There is a big sex difference though… girls are much better at maintaining relationships just by talking to each other. Boys need to do physical stuff together.”

So, what do you think of his theory? How many friends do you have on Facebook? Do you know who they all are and keep in touch with them all? Do you think you stick to the core 150? Do you think he is right about the “sex difference”?

I have 112 friends on Facebook. I try to keep it limited. And I still don’t keep in touch with about 25% of my “friends.” The thing is, it doesn’t matter if you don’t keep in touch with people on Facebook. I don’t think that’s the point! It’s more for “networking.” They are not relationships you absolutely have to maintain.

I suppose I am just naive in hoping that some relationships are not ONLY maintained on Facebook.

After reading these articles, I really started to think about how the 150 rule may relate to reading blogs. I mean, how many blogs can you really keep track of? I subscribe to about 350 (and believe me, that number is WAY down!) but can only keep straight the ones I keep in my “daily read” folders, which is probably close to 150 or 200. To me, it just means so much more to read a blog and feel like you know who the person is, even if you don’t have a real life relationship with them. So, one more set of questions:

Do you think the 150 relationships theory could apply to reading blogs? How many blogs do you keep track of?** Do you think you could manage more than 150?

*Of Evolutionary Antrhopology
**As always, my apologies for the prepositions.

Comments (30)

By kilax, January 23, 2010 9:14 am

I didn’t want to talk about this, but it has become ridiculous.

I have gotten viruses from visiting websites hosted by blogger/blogspot on December 20th, January 20th, and again this morning, January 23rd.

I am reading the blogger/blogspot site in google reader, then click on the post title to leave a comment, and when then post opens in a separate tab, a “virus scan” pops up that is actually the virus.

My sweet and patient husband has had to reformat both my large laptop and baby laptop already and now will have to do it again.

NO MORE.

This is extremely infuriating.

If you have a blog hosted by blogger/blogspot*, I will not be leaving comments on your site anymore (unfortunately, half the blogs I read are hosted by blogger/blogspot). I will be reading, and maybe send you an email with my comments.

Until I figure out what the hell is going on.

I should not be getting a virus just from clicking over to leave a comment on someone’s post.

Comments (54)

By kilax, January 11, 2010 5:06 am

I feel like I am having a bit of a blogger identity crisis.

I am passionate about what I am writing, and I really enjoy writing, receiving comments and interacting with all of you. It’s so fun. And I like the style I’ve developed and the blogging schedule I am following.

But… I have this itching feeling that I could be more personal here. I just worry about doing that without comprising my “in real life” relationships.

I suppose most bloggers struggle with this.

Have you ever felt like you were having a blogger identity crisis?

Maybe I will work on a “FAQ” page or update my About page in the meantime. Do you have any questions for me? Is there anything you would like to know about me? Me, me, me, me, me. It felt weird asking you guys that. But I have always wondered!

I have a non-traditional giveaway for you. It is more of a “pay it forward” giveaway, but I didn’t just want to say “whoever comments first gets it!” So I will do a traditional giveaway and draw a name.

Have you heard of the book Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster? The book is about Lancaster’s weight loss journey (warning: if you have/had an eating disorder, this book may be triggering). She tells her story with a sense of humor and does not apologize for who she is. And bonus! The story is set in Chicago. Leah wrote about the book a few weeks ago, saying how much it made her laugh, and I thought, “Jeez, instead of letting this book sit on my shelf never to be read again, I should pass it on!”

So, I decided to. Let me know if you like this idea, because I used to have a book purchasing problem and could probably find a few more to pass on!

If you are interesting in having my meticulously well taken care of copy of Such a Pretty Fat, you’ll be excited to find out there are three entry possibilities! And, I decided to throw in some LastLine bookmarks for fun!

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below recommending a fiction or non-fiction book to me.
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. And for the bonus extra entry, related to the first half of this post, leave me another comment below telling me something you like or dislike about this blog. Example? I dislike how RIDICULOUSLY long my posts have been lately. (And while I do write for me, but would love some feedback.)
4. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, January 17th. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening. I will announce the winner on Monday, January 18th.
5. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Comments (43)

By kilax, January 4, 2010 5:19 am

Ha. I had two posts written for today. The first one was a rant on some article I read yesterday and it made me sound crazy. I decided not to use that one and wrote another semi-rant that made me sound bitchy.

Pause.

I must have been in a weird mood yesterday morning. I decided to table those for another day when I have more time to think and am not writing in the “heat of the moment.”

Do you write your posts ahead of time? Or are you more likely to write and immediately hit “publish”? What’s your blogging style? When do you blog?

I generally write all of my posts ahead of time (except for the random “spur of the moment” posts) and schedule them to be published in the morning. I even work on my Sunday training recap post throughout the week so I can publish it after my last workout on Sunday.

During the week, I write posts in the morning or evening train ride. Sometimes I write 2 or 3 at a time. Sometimes I just write them the night before. On the weekends, it’s more sporadic.

And I usually DON’T censor myself! But I have a hard enough time communicating as it is, and if I go back and read something and it doesn’t make sense… then it is not ready to publish! We’ll have to see if I ever use those!

We figured out what to do with the leftover Vegan “Meatloaf” – Vegan “Meatloaf” tacos! I kept joking to Steven that we should make them, but he kept saying no. Then he was too sick to argue so I made them and he LOVED them. Ha!