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By kilax, May 24, 2018 7:25 am

• AHHHHH! Xaarlin brought me this Starbucks mug (and veggie candies!) back from her trip to Copenhagen!!!! What a sweetie! And BONUS: I can use the mug because I’ve been there! (I have two rules for Starbucks mugs: only buy them for locations I’ve been to, and if received as a gift, only drink out of if I’ve been there. I’m odd, yes.)

• Ugh, we’re seeing thousands of trees removed in the areas around where we live. It’s totally changing the landscape (making it worse, in my opinion) but I’m sure they’re being removed because of an invasive species, or they aren’t healthy, or to make the forest floor healthier (or to make room to build, ugh) or whatever. But still, it gives me the sads.
• Other sads – living in the forest, we have to deal with dead or almost dead animals sometimes. Sigh. As two animals lovers, it takes its toll on us.
• Weekly book update time! After I finished North, I started Station Eleven, which I am loving. It’s a novel about a swine flu that knocks out 99% of the world’s population, with some of it taking place in present time, but some of it going back before the flu. There’s several main characters, and it’s enjoyable to see how they all interrelate!
• Last month, someone asked me how I fit in running 50 miles a week with cross and strength training, and the top three bullets below are what I told them, with some extra stuff I’ve thought of later. Bottom line: working out is a priority and I am grateful for the lifestyle I have.
  • I don’t have kids
  • I work from home
  • I have a husband who works a lot and supports me working out
  • I take time off work (annual leave) to train
  • I get paid to strength train
  • I am obsessive about it
  • and most importantly: I LOVE IT

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By kilax, May 21, 2018 5:44 am

This weekend was all about birthday celebrations. Yay!

FRIDAY!

Friday was awesome from the start because:

• I had the day off work and could take a nap in the morning (I had a cold and haven’t been sleeping well… I say that like I wouldn’t have taken a nap anyway, ha!)
• I found out I won a $10 Starbucks gift card from Shelley!
• My Shitterfly magnet order came!
• I registered for Grandma’s Marathon in June in Duluth, MN!

In the evening, we met up with Jen and Troy for a late celebration of Jen’s April birthday. We ate at a local Thai place with delicious food that actually gives you appropriately sized portions. Everyone commented on how it was the right amount of food, and that they totally would have eaten more (because it was so good!), but were glad we weren’t given more so we could get movie theater treats later. (Don’t worry, I am not turning in to someone who complains about receiving “too much food”! I am all about the leftovers! I guess I appreciate a normal sized portion when I am giving an eff about what I eat?!)

Pad See Eiw is always my go-to Thai order!

After dinner we headed to the theater to see Deadpool 2!

My gosh, I laughed throughout the entire movie. Only a few jokes fell flat on me, and I was proud I understood 99% of the joke references (ha). I had so much fun, I would see it again in the theater (on $5 movie night Tuesday, of course). It reminded me of how much fun I had at Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. COMPLETELY different movies, but it’s a blast to laugh so much. Yay!

We went to a 9:50 pm showing (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so that was a late night. I was in bed after 1:00 am, up for an hour from 4:00-5:00, and out of bed just before 6:00 am, because, (I had a) cold. Sigh.

SATURDAY!

I started Saturday off with a short run and ride, then taught fitness boxing and dropped off my bike for a tune-up (I like to get one every spring before I spend more time on it outside).

We had a small lunch then were off to my favorite coworker’s son’s first birthday party in the city!

I hit my raw “I didn’t get enough sleep” breaking point on the drive but rallied through and was able to be social at the party. Phew.

The decorations were ADORABLE (homemade, of course) and my coworker had special vegan food for me, including a piece of vegan cake OH EM GEE YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

When we got home, I read and took the short nap I needed so I could make it through the evening.

We watched Mad Men with dinner, which we just started this week, and I am seeing for the first time! We tried to use a free FandangoNOW rental code to watch Black Panther, but it wouldn’t work since it’s linked to my email, and the Roku is linked to Steven’s. Sigh. If you know how to fix that, let me know (I couldn’t figure it out with my internets search).

SUNDAY!

Sunday morning was productive AF. I woke up naturally at 5:00 am (after getting seven hours of sleep!), was done running by 8:00, and did errands from 9:00 – 11:00. I found almost everything I needed and didn’t have to wait in line anywhere to check out. WINNING! (I think it helped that it was early, and raining).

When I got home, I prepped the produce for the week, then we ate lunch and watched more Mad Men and generally had a lazy afternoon with a few chores (like programming my car), but mostly relaxing! Yay! (We had planned to do yard work but it was raining… and 40° out.)

I finished reading Scott Jurek’s new book, North, which made me want to reread his first book. I loved that this new book (about his 2015 attempt to get the fastest known time hiking the Appalachian Trail) included both his and his wife’s perspective. His wife, Jenny, was in charge of crewing for this over forty day event and it was interesting to see things from her perspective.

We watched the Netflix movie Anon with dinner (we were gonna watch Cargo but I was worried that might be too gory to watch while eating!). Meh. Oh Netflix and all your bad Netflix original films. We love watching movies (as you may have picked up on, ha!) and we’ve given a lot of Netflix ones a chance, but they’re mostly meh! (Anyone else watch The Titan?)

But anyway. Yay for a quiet Sunday! One more weekend left in May which BLOWS MY MIND. I don’t feel like summer is around the corner!

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By kilax, May 17, 2018 8:14 am

• If things go as planned, we’re busy every weekend until the end of June. Which has me kind of panicked, but also excited about all the fun things we have coming up (birthday celebrations, races, baseball, a wedding, my parents visiting, going to a cottage)! I want to keep my running mileage up during this time, which means longer week day runs and more of this sight on my runs (in theory, ha):

• As much as I complain about a certain piece of advice Runner’s World keeps posting, I still look forward to getting it in the mail because I love print media. But I can tell (for well over a year) the magazine is going down hill. It’s getting smaller, there’s no letter from the editor, every issue seems to be a re-brand attempt, etc. I don’t say these things to be mean. I can see they are struggling and trying to stay relevant! It just makes me sad and I hope the print edition doesn’t go away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
• Now that I’ve finished A Wrinkle in Time, I’m curious about seeing the movie (I’ll wait for DVD), which received poor reviews. One reviewer’s theory was that Disney strayed too far away from the religious tones of the book, which was interesting to me, because I didn’t pick up on them until the end (a few mentions of God, a lot of light vs dark talk, and a lot of focus on believing in things you can’t see). Eh. Disney can’t have 100% winners in the box office.
• After I finished A Wrinkle in Time, I started The Last Town… then realized that it was the third book in a trilogy! Oops! I requested the first two books from the library so I can read those first. I also picked up North (and two other books that came in from my hold request, eek, I have a lot of reading to do) from the library, and am reading Artemis digitally (couldn’t get the hard copy), and have the audio version for Steven to listen to. Yay, Book Club for Two!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 178

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By kilax, May 10, 2018 4:55 am

• My new car hails from Brooklyn and had some NYC parking/traffic love – a few dents on the doors and on the bumper. It also had a few slightly rusted metal pieces and needed a full detail, so right after I bought it, I took it in to the dealer for all of those things to be taken care of. I just got it back Tuesday (they had it for nine days!). They missed one rusted piece, so I’ll have to take it back, but it’s nice to have for a short while (including an upcoming road trip… although I would have been fine taking the loaner on that trip, ha)!

• I grabbed The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks from the library at the train station last week, but couldn’t get more than a few pages in, so I took it back. Ha. Now I’m reading A Wrinkle in Time, loaned to me by Bobbi. I never read this book growing up!

Photo taken before my walk to work in the rain yesterday soaked the back of this book through my backpack. Ugh, I felt like such an ass but Bobbi wasn’t upset at all. 

• I actually like my official race photos from the Wisconsin Half Marathon! I doubt I’ll order any though – I’m on a bit of a spending freeze (minus a few magnets). Thankfully, the race shared a finish line photo of me on their Facebook page, and I have photos from Steven!

• Gotta nip this weight increase in the bud! I can do eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

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By kilax, May 3, 2018 6:20 am

• These oreos. Delish. [not sponsored]

• THIS HUMMUS. Heart eyes emoji! And paired with Everything Pretzel Slims?! Cat making home alone face emoji! I’m not actually a plain Sabra hummus fan but their flavored hummuses are D-O-P-E. If anyone local EVER finds “Taco Inspired,” please let me know! Gina gets it for me when I visit her in Dallas and I can’t find it here! (Yeah, I used their locator tool but I never trust those.) [not sponsored]

• That random book I picked up at the free library at the train station, The Salt Line, is hands down my favorite novel of the year. I apparently really dig novels set in the near dystopian future, that aren’t written pompously, like that last book I read in this genre. I may check out more by this author, and the books it’s been compared to on Good Reads (Station Eleven and California).
• I tried to pick up another book yesterday at the train station, but the one I chose had a slight issue… wah. Ha.

• If the weather is decent for my half marathon on Saturday, I’ll be wearing this guy! I have an old (2013) half marathon PR of 1:51:15. However, summer has arrived here, and I’ve been running in the 70s/80s this week, so we’ll see!

• Des trademarked “Keep Showing Up” (pdf here). I wonder how soon we’ll see that now iconic phrase on apparel! I bet a piece will find its way to my closet!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 176

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By kilax, April 19, 2018 8:26 am

• Thank you for the supportive comments on my last post! My week has actually gotten worse (ha!) but I am feeling okay!
• Data and Khaleesi finished their roundworm medication, and to make sure it worked, we had to take in poop samples to the vet to be tested. The cats have two litter boxes, but while Khali only uses one, Data uses both. Sigh. So to make sure I knew whose poop I was scooping, I was super diligent about cleaning the litter boxes every time they were used, and watching to see who did what. I felt like the Poop Police. I didn’t think that was going to work, but I got a sample I know is from both of them! I was so excited and proud of myself. Ha. It’s the small (smell?) things, right? (Still waiting to hear back from the vet on the results.) Update: the vet called and said they’re both healthy and clear of worms!

• I finished First Ladies of Running, and am now reading The Salt Line (which I picked up at the free library in the train station), a dystopian novel set in the future, where the world is segmented in to safe “zones” away from killer ticks. Ha, great description! The story is about some people who pay to go on an adventure outside of the safe zones. The book is an uncorrected advance proof copy, and says to check the final copy before reviewing or quoting it. Interesting – I wonder if much changed!

• Runner’s World is still pushing advice to swish a sports drink and spit it out in their latest issue. Sigh. This time though, it’s not to avoid calories, but to get you mentally going for a run, OR if you don’t like the taste of it, but want to trick your brain in to thinking more carbs are on the way. WHY DOES THIS DUMB TIP MAKE ME SO ANGRY EACH TIME I SEE IT?!
• I bought one of the new Starbucks mugs! I wanted to get the Iowa one, and finally found a location that was not sold out (even though they said that they were at first, then decided to check while we waited for our chai lattes, and found some)! We tried to buy them in Iowa two weekends ago but every Starbucks we checked (about six of them) didn’t have any! Nuts!

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By kilax, April 12, 2018 12:29 pm

• I know you guys are DYING to see which Grease OPI nail polish color I got! I went with “You’re The Shade That I Want.” I think I am going to get “Tell Me About It Stud” on my toes. (Don’t worry, I will NOT be sharing a photo of my toes, ha!)

• I finished Immortal Life and am now reading First Ladies of Running. I felt like I was on the wire to Immortal Life the day before it was due! Oopsie! First Ladies of Running is a much faster read. I want to read Deena Kastor’s new book, but doubt I will be able to get it from the library any time soon!

• I was looking at the race director’s Facebook page for some information the day after the race, and came across the post that announced cash prizes, and it showed that I liked it! Huh, so why was I so surprised when I won a cash prize? That would be because of the part of the post I highlighted in yellow. I did more than 15 to 17 minutes of work, ha! Anyway, thanks, Ermin!

• We have so much (fun stuff!) going on in May and June… eek. I am already feeling a bit overwhelmed, and making sure I am planning out quiet time, too! Summer will be here and over before we know it!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 174

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By kilax, April 5, 2018 5:53 am

• AHHHHH the Grease OPI line!!!! I’m definitely choosing my next nail color from there!

Christina had sent this pic of me listening to the Grease album a few days before I saw the new colors! Ha! 

• I saw those colors when I was at the salon getting at touch-up on my 5K nails. I hope it’s not an omen that one peeled so early!!! Eek! (At this rate, it seems I’ll have gloves on for the race anyway – my mom said it’s supposed to be really cold there.)
• I finished reading The French Girl, and started reading Immortal Life. Immortal Life is a sci-fi novel set in the future, about a 127 year old man who is transferring his consciousness to a younger host, because his original body is so decayed, and he wants to live forever. It’s interesting, but the writing style is difficult for me to read – long descriptions with lots of “fancy” (read: “I’m going to show off my vocabulary”) words. Eh. I will keep at it, and keep using my dictionary.com app.

• I confirmed at my local Starbucks Tuesday that they are phasing out the “You Are Here” mugs. But the “Been There” mugs sign says they will have a mug for all fifty states (and some destinations) so that’s cool – Iowa never had one before, and now it will! Woot!

• And now for some super random ish:
  • I like it when an e-commerce site uses Amazon Pay and I don’t have to re-enter all my info to order – I just log in to my Amazon account and the site grabs it from there. It’s especially convenient when I am ordering from my phone. This will probably bite me in the a$$, as I bet Amazon Pay gives those sites more info than they need. But man, it’s so convenient.
  • I’ve recently started adding raisins to my salads (ha, after Steven’s been suggesting it for a year) and WHOA does it make a world of difference! Yum! (A few people suggested cranberries, when I told them I like raisins. I tried them and didn’t care for them as much. Shrug.)
  • I bought this eucalyptus mint soap to try and the scent of it takes me and Steven back to when we first moved in to our home, two years ago. Neither of us remembers why we had this scent at the house before though (it’s not one of the usual scents we use), and it’s making me crazy that I can’t recall (since one of my jobs at home is sentiment/scent manager). But at the same time, each time I use it, I’m like “aww, we’ve lived here two years!”

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By kilax, March 29, 2018 6:25 am

• It came to my attention yesterday when chatting with some coworkers, that my experience of searching for a hidden Easter basket, left by the Easter Bunny, may be a bit of an anomaly. Most people I talked to said their basket was left out in plain sight! The Easter Bunny always hid ours. How about you (if you got one)? Poll below!

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Last year’s basket

• I finished Hanna Who Fell from the Sky. Man, the whole second half of the book, I was just dying to know whether or not she was going to leave that horrible town! It definitely kept my interest! There was an interesting story at the end, from the author, about writing the book. He got the idea for it back in 2004 and wrote out a draft. Many years later, he got a concussion and couldn’t speak or read for almost a year. When he finally could again, he would work on the book, for an hour or so each day, as much as his head could handle, until he finished it (it was published in late 2017). The author is fully recovered now. And he was so inspired by Hanna’s character, he named his daughter Hanna – well before the book was published!
• Now I’m reading The French Girl. Yep, definitely addicted to going to the library. I love having something to read. It feels like such an indulgent treat!

• Cape Horn Illustrations made us some note cards and envelope labels with our house illustration on them! I love stuff like this and can’t wait to use them!

• I feel like I’ve just been going through the motions at work for some time, and subsequently, that feeling is leaking over to the rest of life. Blah. My silly 5K training is giving me something to focus on and work toward outside of work, but I need more than that. I’m working on it!

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By kilax, March 8, 2018 6:27 am

• I finished Into the Wild, then rewatched the movie version of it this week (I wrote about the movie when I first watched it – my thoughts in that post are still true!). I enjoyed the book, and took a quick break after reading it to read the fiction book Friendship, then started The Wild Truth last night. I can already tell The Wild Truth is going to give a lot more insight in to the McCandless childrens’ actual relationship with their parents.
• I did a quick day trip to Cincinnati yesterday, for work. I was with coworkers I like, but man, being around the same people all day and not getting any time to myself is VERY challenging for me. Situations like that don’t help this feeling! I found myself cherishing alone time in the bathroom, and being excited when they all went to the Pre✓ line in the airport and I stood in regular security “by myself.” I’ll be traveling more for work (my team now inspects some of the new furniture installations in our six state region, although, yesterday’s meeting was for a construction project) so I’ll likely get Pre✓ soon.
• I got myself a treat at the airport (and used a Starbucks giftcard from my snis)! I typically only get Starbucks mugs for places I’ve been to, and I’ve been to Kentucky so many times for work. It’s not a state in my region, but I’ve flown there to get to Indiana and Ohio, and spent time there.

• Ha. Xaarlin specifically wrote a comment on my Sunday training post to be careful NOT to give myself frostbite while icing my leg, and what did I do that exact night?! Doh.

• DST starts this Sunday! I wish we’d just stay on it the whole year. Losing that hour of sleep messes me up for more than a week to come! Prepare for more withdrawn, quiet Kim!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 170