Comments (35)

By kilax, April 12, 2013 10:04 am

Do you feel like you get less enjoyment out of eating food if it’s broken?

Maybe chocolate is a bad example…

Muah ha ha. That question makes no sense. Let me (try to) explain. 

We were shopping last Saturday and I had a chocolate bar in the cart. Steven was putting things on top of it, and I said to him “Be careful not to smash my chocolate bar! It’s not as much fun to eat if it’s broken.”

He rolled his eyes at me. And told me that most people get over caring about their food being broken after adolescence. So I told him I was going to ask a Friday Question about it and PROVE. HIM. WRONG.

I have to say, that chocolate bar did end up getting broken, and I still got the same enjoyment out of it, because I was going to break it up anyway. Crap! Did I just disprove my whole argument?! No – I do get a bit sad if other things are broken – Luna bars, graham crackers, candy bars… basically, things I want to eat whole. And if a bag of chips has a clear part on the front to see in, I always try to get the bag with the most “whole” chips. 

The winner of the Myo-Release Ball Giveaway is Alyssa! Alyssa, please email me (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) your mailing address and I will send the ball your way!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Comments (52)

By kilax, April 5, 2013 6:55 am

Given the choice in a restaurant – would you go with a booth or table (or bar!!!) for seating?

Booth! Every time. Even if I am in sweaty workout clothes. Booth booth booth. 

Side note: the waitress last night told me I picked the drink with the highest amount of alcohol in it. GOOD. Is the work week over yet?! 

Comments (34)

By kilax, March 29, 2013 7:25 am

What safety precautions do you take so you’ll feel safe when you are out (exercising or whatever) by yourself in the dark?

Hey! This is my first ever reader-submitted Friday Question! Do you think I should ask for some reader suggested Friday Questions?

Jess from Three Men and a Mommy just had her second son and is already training for a half marathon – the Chicago Women’s Half Marathon on June 23 – the same one I am running with Anne – woot woot, blogger meetup!

Oops. Got a bit off track there. 

Jess emailed me saying that with a new schedule with two kids, she finds herself running very late or very early, in the dark. And she doesn’t feel 100% safe despite telling her husband her exact route, and when she’ll be back. So! She asked what I do to feel feel safe running in the dark (which I have actually come to strangely prefer). What about you?

What I do to feel safe running in the dark

• Always run with my cell phone
• Use a tracking app on my phone so my husband knows where I am at any exact moment. I use Glympse, which Erin recommended to me last year. 
• Wear a form of ID – I wear a ROAD ID
• Be as reflective as hell – reflective hat, vest, tights, bracelets

• Wear a headlamp and other lights
• Stick with well-lit courses
• Run by homes – not on trails
• Run on the sidewalk if possible
• Don’t wear headphones
• Run with someone (if possible)!
• Have ninja skills

Things I don’t do but know other people do to feel safe running in the dark

• Carry pepper spray
• Know self defense
• Run loops that keep you close to home (if it won’t make you crazy)

Comments (30)

By kilax, March 22, 2013 12:13 pm

Are you a good proofreader (for any media)? What is your proofreading protocol?

So, I like to think I am a good proofreader for this blog. I write posts then usually read through them a few times (and spell check). I even send them to friends to review too!

But sometimes things slip through the cracks. 

Then I get the email. 

Edited to add – I edited this image after I posted! I sometimes mess up the images, too. I did a few weeks ago and no one caught it. 

Sigh. He even edits the comments!!!

Ha ha ha. It makes me happy my dad looks at my blog. But every time I get that email with the subject line “site” I think “DAMMIT!” before I even open it. 

I really liked editing/reviewing things. That is a huge chunk of my job at work, and I think it suits me well. 

And just for fun… do you ever notice mistakes in other people’s posts (grammar, spelling, etc.) and want to tell them but feel like it would be über mean?

Um, yes.

And on that note, feel free to point them out to me. Before my dad gets to them.  Good luck with THAT. 

Thanks to Mica for the post inspiration!

Comments (23)

By kilax, March 15, 2013 6:39 am

How’s your penmanship? Has anyone ever told you that they can’t read your handwriting?

Ugh. My penmanship is… no bueno. Since I am taking so many notes to study for the ACE personal trainer exam, it just keeps getting worse and worse. 

Sometimes, it’s so bad, that Steven can’t read what I write on the grocery list. I think he’s just being stubborn though. Ha!

You know who has awesome penmanship? My snister, Christina. Her normal handwriting looks nice, and she does really cool fancy print on cards and stuff. 

A sample of Christina’s work

Even her cat has nice penmanship. 

Damn, Data. We need to step up our game!

Comments (57)

By kilax, March 1, 2013 5:51 am

Not your typical fluffy FQ!!!

Do you ever feel like you are being judged for how you spend your time? Do you ever catch yourself judging others for how they spend their time?!

Yes and yes.

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I hope this post doesn’t come off as offensive, but I’ve gotta say it.

I am young, married, with no children and a somewhat flexible work schedule, and I often find myself feeling that my day is “not my own.” That I don’t get to do what I please, as much as I’d like.

I really think it’s mostly* okay to feel this way sometimes. I’m sure we all have a list of daily “to-dos” that we’re kind of meh about.

But I think that because I fit in a lot of workouts and make time to travel/see my friends/have fun, it appears that I have a ton of free time to do whatever I want. I don’t. I am busy too. Even though I don’t have kids/have to commute every day/only work three jobs/etc., I am a person with a very busy day. And a person who doesn’t know how to relax, and fills up their free time.

Today’s schedule – 5:00 am train to city for run date, study on train ride home, errands, appointments, Fake Meats work, more studying… blah blah blah.

I really liked Jillian’s post earlier this week about making time to workout. Jillian works her arse off at two jobs and still makes the time to exercise. She does seize the day to make it work for her. She doesn’t whine about her lack of free time – she figures it out.

Why am I bringing Jillian’s example up? Well, with how dang busy she is, she is a prime candidate for bemoaning her lack of free time and that of others, and just giving up. But she doesn’t.

And it’s not just about making time for exercise! I’m not that short-sighted, ha ha. It’s about making time for what you need/want. We all have different interests we want to pursue, and thats how it should be.

How it should NOT be is with all the outside judgement of what you do and how much time you spend doing it.** You don’t have to work to be busy. You don’t have to have children. You don’t have to be married. You don’t have to commute. You get the idea!

We’re all in charge of our time, even though we have unwanted obligations in there. Maybe we could focus making our time work for us instead of thinking so much about how others spend theirs?

*I really want to write more about my bad attitude when I’m doing things I don’t want to do, but I’ll have to get in to that another day. This is already too long!
**Unless harmful to your health, making you lose all your money, harmful to others, and so on.

Comments (33)

By kilax, February 22, 2013 6:26 am

How do you share your calendar/schedule with your family… if at all?

Gosh, I swear I have asked this before! It’s a very interesting topic to me. I put a lot on my schedule and want Steven to know where I am and what I am doing. 

We have a dry erase board in our kitchen. I am the only one who uses it. Ha ha. 

So we rely on google calendar. We both are big google fans, and use google for work and personal use, so I have shared calendars that Steven can see – Exercise and Social Appointments. And we also send each other invites for appointments as well. Are we super dorky? Or do other people do this too?

Work items in light blue, exercise in dark blue, social appointments in red, regular appointments/reminders in yellow. 

Comments (34)

By kilax, February 15, 2013 2:32 pm

Have you had CPR/AED (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/automated external defibrillator) training? Would you be comfortable performing CPR on someone?

Confession! I have a whole list of Friday Questions to choose from, but sometimes I’m feeling kind of meh about them… so I let my day play out a bit and see if anything pops in to my head. Hence this question…

I took a CPR/AED certification course today. And what perfect timing! Steven told me this morning he is pretty sure he is going to have a heart attack during his leg of the relay this Sunday. Okay, that is really morbid and offensive*. I hope he feels well enough** to participate/run the course… and if not, he can walk or someone else can sub in for his spot!

*But apparently not enough for me to delete
**He got the nasty cold I had last week, only a nastier version. 

Comments (26)

By kilax, February 8, 2013 6:50 am

Do you do the whole Valentine’s Day thing? Are you romantic?

I have never been big on it. But I do like to send cards,

eat my favorite (and stupidly hard to find) candy,

and secretly hope Steven makes me this (or a heart shaped pizza).

I do think it’s silly to have holidays (this one and the many others) that remind us to show love and affection – because I try to do that year round. But the truth is, I am not very romantic, so Valentine’s Day may be a good reminder for me to continue to try to be more so!

Comments (29)

By kilax, February 1, 2013 7:50 am

What position do you tend to sleep in? Do you fall asleep one way and wake up another? Does it depend on the night?

Data advises that as long as you get 18 hours of sleep a day, it doesn’t really matter how or where.

As I continue with a whole month of restless nights (due to vivid dreams) I am looking more in to the way I sleep. I found this article with a cool infographic explaining the benefits and disadvantages of certain sleeping positions (sleeping on your stomach can constrain your neck, sleeping on the back is bad for snoring, you shouldn’t sleep on a side that you have shoulder issues with, etc.). 

According to the article (which surveyed a very small amount of people), it is most common to start on the side, then the back is next most common, then the stomach. But, people change positions between 3 and 36 times a night (with the average person changing 12 times). 

I can contribute to those “findings” – I prefer to start sleeping on my right side. But I know I move a lot, and usually wake up on my back!