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By kilax, January 1, 2010 11:57 am

What was your biggest accomplishment in 2009?

I saw this question yesterday all over the blogosphere and loved reading everyone’s answers, so I would love to hear yours as well!

When I was answering this question yesterday, I kept saying that the accomplishment I was most proud of is running my first half marathon in under 2 hours and feeling great afterward.

The more I think about it though, I think maybe my biggest accomplishment was dealing with the setback of being injured and not being able to run, and coming back from that by the end of the year. And not just coming back to running, but getting myself out of a funk.

I hurt my wrist in July, which didn’t affect my running that much, but I had to keep it in a brace and I became very frustrated with doing things around the house. I stopped taking care of myself as well. I really shut myself out from my friends in August. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone – I didn’t feel like I had anything positive to say. I had to stop running completely in September, and I ended up spending two months not being very active.

I’m not telling this very well, but I was in a super funk for a few months of the summer, and finally came out of it in the fall (I think after we watched the Chicago Marathon). I learned a lot about my body and what it can and cannot handle. I learned how to be more open with my friends. I learned how to handle stress better.

I really feel like I’ve turned a corner, and made some huge accomplishments towards being more stable in my health and emotional-state. I am really hoping 2010 won’t be as bumpy of a ride! But if it is, I feel like I’ve learned some new tools on how to handle it.

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By kilax, December 18, 2009 5:35 am

How do you find new blogs to read and what makes you subscribe to a blog? Or is your feed reader maxed out with “no vacancies”?

I love having a lot of blogs to read. I spend 2.5+ hours on the train on weekdays and it keeps me entertained.

And I feel like I have been finding a lot of great ones lately! My method on finding new blogs is by reading the comments on the other blogs I subscribe to (when I have time or the topic is really something I want to see what people are saying about)… if someone is saying something I can relate to, I go check out their blog. And often, when I am there, I may find links to other blogs I may enjoy. Sometimes, I can’t even remember how I ended up at a blog in the first place!

The first thing I do when I go to a new blog is check out their “About” page. Then I usually check out their writing style and see if the topics they talk about interest me. If they do, I put their blog in a “TBD” folder in my reader to check out for awhile and see if enjoy their blog.

Of course, from time to time, I get new commenters, and I always go check out their blog as well, and often, I end up subscribing.

I go through phases where I am looking for new blogs to read, just for fun, and then I go through phases where I cannot stay caught up with reader, and am not looking at all. And of course, I continually purge – I unsubscribe to those that ended up not suiting my taste. If I didn’t do that, I would get way too overwhelmed. Reading blogs is supposed to be fun, after all!

I have been continually updating my blogroll, and may move it to its own page at some point in time. I’ll keep you posted. (Does anyone else look at blogrolls besides me?)

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By kilax, December 11, 2009 4:12 am

Tell me all about your holiday gift-giving! To whom to you give gifts? Do you make them or buy them (in stores or online)? Do you have any gift-giving traditions? Do you participate in gift exchanges? Do you share a holiday wishlist with friends and family? Does all of this STRESS YOU OUT?!

We usually buy* gifts (in stores and online) for all of our immediate family and grandparents. But we are cutting back this year. In my family, my three siblings and the three significant others all drew names. Steven is buying a gift for my older brother’s wife and I am buying a gift for my younger brother’s girlfriend. Then, we are only buying gifts for our parents and Steven’s brother. I thought I would feel sad about this, but actually, I feel RELIEVED and not stressed at all. Instead of buying a lot of gifts, I get to focus on the one specific person whose name I drew! Edited to add: Steven and I exchange gifts every year, but have not decided if we will this year or not. Not because we don’t want to, but to save money.

And I am ALL ABOUT the wishlists. I created two separate wishlists this year for me and Steven – one for my family and one for his. And we asked for them in return, especially for the people whose names we drew! I know some people think having a wishlist means you don’t get to be creative, but I just think it means you know what the person actually wants. If I am spending money, I want to make sure it’s well spent.

I am participating in Morning Runner’s gift exchange. I got paired with RunningLaur and am sending her gift off today! Here’s a sneak peak, Lauren! You’ll have to guess if you are getting the gray item or the pink item.

*I do LOVE to make people’s favorite treats and give them to them as well.

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By kilax, December 4, 2009 5:54 am

Would you rather live somewhere where the you see significant changes in the seasons throughout the year, or where it pretty much stays the same? What is your ideal daily temperature?

I’m back and forth on this. And my answer definitely varies depending on during which season you ask me! I enjoy the snow, and don’t mind the colder temperatures, but four+ months of it gets to be a bit too much for me! Ideally, I think I would like some place where each day has a decent amount of daylight, the temperature is usually above 70° (although that’s not ideal for running) and it’s not humid. Maybe we’ll get there someday. It would be great to live somewhere where I could exercise outside everyday of the year.

Ah, snow.

This morning, while I was getting ready to leave, Steven sleepily asked if it snowed. I looked outside and sure enough, it had! Good thing he asked me – I would have been pressed for time if I hadn’t known about the snow. I asked him how he knew it was going to snow (he usually doesn’t keep track of the weather) and he said he could “sense evil.” Ha ha.

So I went outside and found this

which meant I had to wear these

and do this.

Yes, I could live without snow. And also, without the hidden layer of ice underneath the snow. Very tricky, mother nature.

My car has a “snow” switch (and AWD) which I think splits the power between the front and rear of the car (Steven, help)? I turned it on for shits and giggles this morning. I only slipped once on my way to the train station. Hooray! Snow!

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By kilax, November 27, 2009 7:51 am

What do you think of those airblown holiday decorations that people put in their yards? Cute or tacky? Would you put one in your yard?

I’ll admit – I think one, or even two, can be pretty cute.

But sometimes, people go a bit… overboard. I wish I had a picture of this place by Steven’s parent’s house, but I don’t. Anyway, year-round, they have 20-30 of these inflatable things in their yards. It’s ridiculous! I wonder if they ruin the grass by sitting there for so long.

It’s amazing how much these inflatable decorations have gained in popularity over the past few years. We definitely have quite a few of them in our neighborhood. I would put one up. Ha! I know Steven never would though.

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By kilax, November 20, 2009 5:12 am

What’s your morning routine? How long does it take you to get ready for work or a day at home?

I am guilty of being lazy and tired in the morning, and my routine time has cut down drastically. I shower at night. I wake up 30 minutes before I have to leave each morning (usually wake up between 4:30 – 5:30 am) – 10 minutes for makeup/hair, 10 minutes for clothes, 10 minutes for packing lunch. Yeah, I don’t always look so… polished. I don’t think I look sloppy, but I don’t look put together! I just DO NOT KNOW what to do with my hair. I know how to use a hair straightener and that’s about it!

I am actually more likely to spend more time getting ready on the weekends because I do not feel rushed and tired.

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By kilax, November 13, 2009 4:45 am

What’s your take on leftovers? Love them? Hate them? Won’t eat them?

Steven and I typically make a few big meals each week, then have the opportunity to enjoy the leftovers as part of lunch, or as dinner on a busy (running) night if we so choose. We eat them hot or cold and rarely throw anything out. Sometimes we (meaning Steven) get creative and the leftovers become an entirely new dish!

I ask this question because I know people who refuse to eat leftovers. And I’m curious. Is it because they get sick of eating the same thing more than once? Is it because they think the food isn’t fresh? Is it because they don’t know how to heat leftovers up to make them taste good (hint: it’s probably not in the microwave*)? Enlighten me.

Of course, leftovers from a restaurant are an entirely different story. Ha! I don’t always make it home with leftovers, i.e., I am a little piggy and eat my entire dish there. I am getting better at that though! And we usually eat those leftovers too. If it’s a restaurant I went to without Steven, I am more likely to just let him finish it, so he can try the dish as well.

*Fun fact – we don’t have a microwave. We never saw a need for one.

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By kilax, November 6, 2009 9:11 am

If rain could fall in any scent, what scent would you want it to be?

How about… buttered popcorn?! What can I say, I guess I’ve woken up in a silly mood today.

We had a lot of rain in the Chicagoland area in October. I’ll admit, I’ve said the dreaded, “I wish it would just snow already,” a few times. There are only so many times you can sit on the train ride home with shoes soaked through to your socks, and not be a little bit annoyed.

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By kilax, October 30, 2009 7:33 am

What are your Halloween plans this year? Dressing up and going out – what as? Trick-or-treating with the kids – what are they going as? Handing out candy – what kind? Not doing anything?

We are doing the same thing we have the past two years – handing out candy. Well, not candy, but animal crackers! We usually don’t have many kids come to our door; I think it’s because we live in a townhome. Two years ago we had 35 kids visit, and I think last year we had between 20-25.

Two years ago, we handed out little Darth Vader helmets (from inside of that big helmet) that were full of candy.

This year the trick-or-treating in our neighborhood is from 1:00-7:00 pm. Doesn’t that seem like a long-ass time?! When I was a kid, it was from 5:00-7:00, and we were hauling ass going from house to house.* We had so much fun though. We always went to my grandma’s neighborhood, and hit almost every house. Then we immediately went back to her house to sort our candy and make any trades. My grandma really got into Halloween. She always had this scary dummy she put on the bench on her front porch. One year, we arrived, and walked right past it, and it jumped out at us! She had dressed up as they dummy to freak us out. Well, she did. Hmm, that must be where my mom got that. Ha, I’ll have to tell a funny story about that sometime.

Oops, got off tangent. I hope we have more trick-or-treaters since they have a six-hour window to trick-or-treat. Our only other plans this weekend are to paint the guest bathroom. Woo-hoo! Not. I hate to paint. But this was my idea. We have paint, might as well use it!

*I apologize for the use of the word “ass” twice in one sentence.

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By kilax, October 23, 2009 8:40 am

If you could open your own store, what merchandise or service would  you sell?

I’ve always thought it would be neat to be a tour guide. So, maybe it would be neat to have my own little tour guide company. Here, or anywhere! I love learning things about the city I live in and sharing it with visitors. I had a lot of fun when Steven and my family came to visit me in Italy. We traveled all over, to cities I had never visited, but I did a lot of research so we would know where to go. And when we came back to Rome, I gave them a tour of the city, based on all of the favorite places I had discovered living there, and of course, the very popular tourist spots as well.

A must visit in Rome is Giolitti, the famous Gelateria! You can read more about our Italy adventures on this page, the 3/13-3/24 entries.

Have you heard about City Running Tours? I just read about it on Melanie’s blog, because she won one in Chicago! She got to go on a guided running tour of Chicago, at the pace she preferred! What a neat idea! I think that would be a fun job.