Comments (20)

By kilax, April 11, 2012 5:45 am

My nail polish does not match my outfit today.

But that’s okay, because my outfit doesn’t really match my outfit today:

I seem to be getting very adventurous (for me) with my April fashion challenge… thing. I’ve been wearing some funky stuff, and today, shocker, even trying pattern mixing!

Pattern mixing scares me. When I think about it, all I can picture is models in fashion magazines mixing florals with stripes and oriental prints and that just looks so blah to me. But I can deal with mixing two patterns of black & white. And as for the nail polish thing… well, it used to really bother me when my nail polish did not exactly match my outfit. But now, I am just painting those babies to keep them out of my mouth, so whatever color is on there is perfect for me!

Have you tried pattern mixing? Do you care if your nail polish perfectly matches your outfit?

The other thing about nail polish is that if it’s done right, it should last a few days, so it would be annoying to plan a few days of outfits around them matching your polish! Ha ha. 

Comments (28)

By kilax, April 10, 2012 4:34 am

Steven acted quickly on turning our fresh milk in to homemade cheese! He spent time Saturday researching how to do it then jumped right in on Sunday. 

The way we did it is actually pretty simple!

Boil a gallon of milk and stir it occasionally. 

Right before it boils, add 1/4th cup vineager. 

Boil for a minute then turn off heat. Stir until it curdles. 

Pour over a cheesecloth in to a bowl.

Squeeze out excess water to desired moisture level. 

Season with salt. 

Make in to the shape you want.

Refrigerate it!

And enjoy!

It took about thirty minutes and Steven really liked the way it turned out (except it didn’t melt when he used it on the pizza, so he is going to work on that next)!

Have you ever made your own cheese?

Comments (43)

By kilax, April 9, 2012 4:48 am

Yesterday I decided to depress myself by digging my shorts out of my closet and trying them on. 

They still don’t fit. 

The ones I bought, oh, three summers ago?!

You know… never worn? Are these even still in style?

I haven’t worn (non-running) shorts for a few summers. I just wear these stupid capris (photo from 7/8/11). Because they fit. But they look stupid. 

I am going to wear normal shorts this summer, dammit! But now the question is… do I try to lose 15 pounds to fit in to these (not a bad idea, I need to lose weight…) or go through the pain and suffering of shopping for shorts?

What would you do – buy new shorts or try to fit in to the ones you have? Does anyone else have a shorts dilemma?

Seriously, I need to lose weight, so this is not a bad idea for motivation. It probably won’t work as motivation, but it’s a good idea. 

Also, other things that made me feel a bit sad this weekend – old photos from college. I was trying to clear some space on my external hard drive for new photos and I deleted some photos from Europe taken by my classmates (mostly random shots I am not in). I was in a few photos, looking awkward…

That’s me all the way on the left, in Barcelona, having the time of my life. Not. Seriously, I am not anti-social or shy, but I did not really connect with anyone in college. Not in that “best girlfriend” sort of way. You can tell by how I am sitting with these people that I felt like I didn’t belong. Awkward…

This whiny posts makes me sound like I had a sad weekend. I didn’t. It was quite nice! I just wanted to share these two thoughts. 

Comments (18)

By kilax, April 8, 2012 11:20 am

I’m trying out a new weekly training post format, as I mentioned I would here. The idea is to mention training highlights, have a photo collage, actual training, then lessons learned and reminders for the next week. Maybe this will be more concise? Sounds like a lot when it’s all written out… let me know what you think!

Highlight of the week: Running with friends! I ran with friends on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and it was such a “DUH!” moment when I remembered how much easier runs feel when I am running with other people… and how much faster the runs feel like they go by!

Monday | April 2, 2012: rest
Tuesday | April 3, 2012: 5.2 m run with Maggie
Loc: North Branch Trail, Temp: 52°/55°, Time: 44:25, Pace: 8:33 avg, Difficulty: medium 
Wednesday | April 4, 2012: 8 m run with club + strength class
Loc: Rollins Savanna,  Temp: 43°/43°, Time: 1:13:45, Pace: 9:11 avg, Difficulty: medium
Strength: medicine balls/core focus, Difficulty: mostly easy
Thursday | April 5, 2012: rest
Friday | April 6, 2012: strength + 6 m run
Strength: plyo box with weights, Difficulty: Brian is trying to kill me
Loc: neighborhood, Temp: 48°/44°, Time: 58:15, Pace: 9:42, Difficulty: easy/medium
Saturday | April 7, 2012: 4.16 m run with Bobbi then 6.12 m run with Bobbi, Katie and Stacy
Loc: Independence Grove, Start Temp: 30°, Time: 39:51, Pace: 9:35, Difficulty: easy
Loc: Independence Grove, End Temp: 51°, Time: 1:03:53, Pace: 10:27, Difficulty: easy 
Sunday | April 8, 2012: 14 m run (first 4+ with club)
Loc: Rollins Savanna,  Temp: 42°/53°, Time: 2:15:42, Pace: 9:41 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium

Lessons learned:

• Eat healthier to have more energy (and be more hyper, sorry, Steven) – I will work out when I eat like crap but I feel so much more energized if I eat something good for me
• Choose tunes wisely – music makes me run faster than the Jillian Michaels podcast
• Use the garmin as a stopwatch – turn off pace/distance view and just go with the flow (time view only) for a relaxing run (did this on my last three runs this week)

Comments (22)

By kilax, April 7, 2012 2:32 pm

Buying farm fresh eggs is something Steven and I have talked about many times before, but never acted on until recently. We wanted to find a farm where the chickens had an actual free range lifestyle, but also, where they were not taken to be slaughtered after their egg-laying lives were over. We found one place that met the first criteria but not the second. Then Steven remembered the chickens we met when we were searching for a Christmas Tree at Pioneer Farms. He called the farm and sure enough, they sell eggs (and met both criteria)! We went out there today to see the chickens again, and buy our first dozen (Steven also brought them a homemade loaf of bread as a thank you, because they did some other research for us too…). 

Steven also asked the lady from Pioneer Farms if she knew of anyone who sold dairy products. She recommended us to a farm right up the street. We visited them as well, and ended up with a gallon of fresh milk. Now Steven is trying to figure out how to make homemade cheese (without animal-based rennet). 

The farm where we bought the milk was fun because they had so many animals – cows, peacocks, horses, chickens, roosters, cats, dogs, donkeys… I feel like I am forgetting someone!

I think the lady there was trying to figure out what we were all about. I look like I totally belong on a farm, right? Ha ha. 

We talked some more and found out she had the same mindset as us about how animals should be treated, so that was cool. 

People think it’s lame to live in the suburbs, but I think it’s really neat that we can find these farms so close to our home! And truthfully, as we were driving out there, I was thinking, “wow, it would be nice to live far away like this and have a nice big yard…”

So… there were a ton of cats at the barn. They were all hanging out around the cow that was about to be milked… waiting for a taste of it! It was too funny. I thought maybe Data would like some fresh whole milk. Nope. Data’s a snob.

Do you have any interest in buying fresh eggs or milk from a farm (or elsewhere)? Do you do that now?

Note: the eggs and milk are for Steven. I don’t eat eggs or milk/milk products. I’ve said in the past that I would consider it if I could do it all on my own farm, or from someone we know. So. We’ll see. 

The winner of the You Bar Trail Mix Giveaway is #19, Chez Julie. Chez Julie, please email me at kilax@ilaxstudio.com so we can discuss your custom trail mix!

Comments (25)

By kilax, April 6, 2012 6:19 am

What jewelry do you keep on when you sleep/work out/do physical labor?

For everything, I take it all off, except for earrings – I will leave my diamond studs in. My hands get so swollen when I run, I have to take my rings off (I am always amazed when I see the elites wearing their rings!!!). Necklaces swinging around annoy me when I am running. Bracelets too. I thrash around so much when I sleep, I have to take my jewelry off too, so I don’t break a necklace, or hurt Steven by gouging him with my ring.

Comments (19)

By kilax, April 5, 2012 6:20 am

Mostly running related… er… oops. 

• The new winner for the 13.1 Chicago [Half] Marathon is Cary! Cary, please send me an email (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) and I will send you the info on signing up.
• Also! If you have not already registered for the 13.1 Chicago [Half] Marathon or accompanying Karhu 5K, here is a $5 off registration code – 131BLG5. Register here! The code expires 4/22.
• I really liked Erin’s post on Tuesday about making running FUN. This post came at the perfect time, as that is my goal with running right now. And I plan on accomplishing it by being more of a social runner, and actually using my running club membership. So far I am off to a good start. I ran with Maggie Tuesday night (had a blast!) and some club members Wednesday am. I’ll run with Katie on Saturday. What makes running fun for you?

Photo from Maggie – don’t we look like Runner’s World cover models?

• Of course, my other goal with being more of a social runner is to forget about pace (which I generally don’t worry about too much anyway) and just run the pace of the group. But! I do plan on signing up to run with some fasties too. So we’ll see what that does. 
• Guys, I need your input. I am not sure what to do with my Sunday Training posts. I’ve been keeping them for a few years, as I like to use them as a log of what I am doing, and also for reference (What should I wear when it’s 19°F? How much water will I need when it’s 85°F?). BUT – they are getting so damn boring. I enjoy writing them as the week goes by, but I don’t even feel like proof-reading them. They’re too long! I have a few ideas on how to shorten the training posts. What information would you want me to keep in them? Photos, pace, weather, how the run felt…? Something else? Nothing? 
• Last April I tried doing the monthly fashion challenge but lost interest in it after we had a death in the family and I got kind of depressed. Er… anyway, I am trying it again! I have been taking pictures of my outfits each day to post one large “30 Days of April Outfits” post at the end of the month. I wasn’t going to mention it because I though that would make it not happen (see goals post). Hmm, but I guess I just did. So, the goal with this is to wear something different every day. And my personal goal is not to look like a slob on the days I don’t have to go in to the office. 

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (26)

By kilax, April 4, 2012 9:12 am

Really, Data, really? Is that where you want to sit today? Right in front of my laptop?

FWP.

Total FWP – I really need three monitors to do my work today. But I only have two. I know someone who has three and isn’t home right now…

Don’t Steven’s three monitors suit me well?! Too bad I can’t hook up to them.

You probably think it’s ridiculous that I say I need three monitors. But I need at least three programs open right now – Google Docs, AutoCAD and Excel, and it’s nice to have them full screen. And I hate switching back and forth between windows. BARF. Unproductive and inefficient. If I’m gonna go paperless, I need more monitors. Yeah, FWP.

How many monitors do you feel like you need to do your job most efficiently (if you have a job that uses a computer)?

Comments (20)

By kilax, April 4, 2012 6:36 am

This is the longest review ever. I do promise there is a (self-sponsored) giveaway at the end though!

You Bar was kind enough to send me some sample premade bars, mixes and shake mixes to review!

You Bar is a neat company – you get to choose and create your own protein bar! What goes in, how big it is, even the protein bar name. They make it fresh and ship it to you. You can also make your own shake and trail mix!

I was initially interested in the trail mix, when Jen recommended You Bar to me after I wrote about making my own trail mix in the beginning of February.

I think it’s pretty cool that they have so many options on what to put in your trail mix on their site, and you can even say you want more or less of a certain type of item (less nuts, normal nuts, more nuts, etc.). They have a lot of options for the bars and shakes too (and even call out what is “most popular” and “recommended”). But I think I would feel more comfortable making a trail mix – if it goes wrong I can always pick out the things I don’t like, ha ha. 

Anyway, I digress. Let’s get on with the review. 

Only one of the bars sent to me was almost vegan (the Cookie Dough bar which actually had honey in it so it’s not technically vegan), and there were things I could pick out of the mixes to try, but all of the bars and shakes had dairy products in them. So, I recruited some people to help me review the products!!! Thank you, reviewers!

And please, readers, keep in mind that there are a variety of opinions since there were a variety of reviewers!

Honey Cashew Bar – reviewed by Julie (my mom)
Ingredients: Cashew Butter, Honey, Whey Protein, Crunchy Rice Cereal. 

Pros: Easy to open, smells good and tastes good. High source of protein (10g per bar).
Cons:  Crumbly, lots of calories for a “snack” (220 per bar) and for not being delicious, sticks in your teeth.

Chocolate Trails Trail Mix – reviewed by Julie (and some bits by me)
Ingredients: Pecans, Dried Cherries, Peanuts, Milk Chocolate Raisins, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, Mini Pretzels. 

Pros: Easy to open, everything had great flavor, especially the chocolate chips (which were vegan). 
Cons: The pretzels were a bit stale, but still had great flavor.

Mix Up Your Day Trail Mix –  reviewed by Julie (and some bits by me)
Ingredients: Oat Bran Sesame Sticks, Organic Cashews, Almonds, Dried Pineapple, Goji Berries, Shredded Coconut. 

Pros: Easy to open, the nuts were good quality, everything was tasty.
Cons: Some things were a bit stale and not crisp – maybe from the moisture of the mix?
Wondering: About the dried pineapple vs. chunks. Maybe chunks would have been better! 

Training 33 Bar – reviewed by Erin
Ingredients: Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Dates, Almond Butter, Walnuts, Organic Black Mission Figs, Organic Clover Honey, Organic Goji Berries, Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Flaxseed, All One Vitamin Infusion, Oat Bran, Cinnamon
I feel bad for giving this one to Erin. It did not turn out to be so good and she said she only finished it because she was so hungry and that was all she brought to work! I just copied and pasted what she sent to me because I thought her passionate review was very honest. 

The ingredients sounded amazing.  Dates?  Almond Butter?  Figs?  Honey?  YUM!  Don’t really know what Goji berries are but, hey, berries are berries, right?  Well, when I opened the bar I noticed right away that it didn’t look that appetizing.  There was kind of this gray/white film and the ingredients didn’t seem evenly disbursed. 

I like to break off pieces of bars and eat them bits at a time.  When I did that with this bar it was kind of crumbly yet it stuck to my fingers and felt kind of slimy/oily. 

And the taste?  It tasted like chemicals!  I’m not sure what it was but it tasted kind of fermented.  Not quite bitter but definitely not sweet.  And it kept getting stuck in my teeth.  I was trying to eat it in a meeting and I’m pretty sure I was unconsciously digging bits of bar out of my molars with my fingernail. 

It left a pretty nasty aftertaste in my mouth, too.    I’m not sure if it was one of the ingredients that I didn’t like or if it was the combination of one or more things.  Overall, NOT a fan even though the ingredient list showed promise.

Vanilla Dream Shake Mix – reviewed by Erin 
Ingredients: Soy Protein, Organic Cane Juice, Organic Vanilla Powder. 

Pros: Okay flavor – not too sweet and not too bland. 
Cons:  A bit gritty – may taste better in a smoothie mixed with other flavors to offset it. 
Recommendation: Would probably be great with Soymilk.  

The Breakfast Shake Shake Mix – reviewed by Erin 
Ingredients: Whey Protein, Egg White Powder, Organic Cane Juice, Cocoa Powder, Organic Bananas. 

From Erin: 

After drinking the Vanilla Dream shake “pure” I decided to add a few things to the Breakfast Shake.  I made it into a smoothie with one frozen banana, one cup of baby spinach leaves, and about half a cup of cow milk.  It dissolved much better in the shake and mostly just became a protein powder additive with a hint of chocolate flavor.  The chocolate flavor wasn’t very strong, though.  And even though it claimed to have banana in it I didn’t notice any “extra” banana taste on top of the banana I added.

I liked that it had additional egg protein in it and it didn’t taste any different from my regular protein powder.  That’s a plus!  Also, the calorie content was decent for the amount of powder  and the ingredient list was all things I recognized. However, I’d rather just buy a can of protein powder and get more for my money since I didn’t think this tasted all that different.   But, if you’re really into no extraneous ingredients then maybe this shake mix is for you. 

Great Date with Chocolate Bar – reviewed by Steven
Ingredients: Organic Dates, Whey Protein Isolate, Organic Honey, Cocoa.

Pros: Decent flavor.
Cons: Like eating a bar of clay. A bit too dense and chewy.

Cookie Dough Bar – reviewed by ME!
Ingredients: Organic Dates, Cashew Butter, Cashews, Clover Honey, Semisweet Chocola Chips, Vanilla Extract.

Pros: Actually tastes like cookie dough! Well, a healthy version of it.
Cons: A bit crumbly.

Thank you You Bar, for sending me these items to review!!! (I still have one bar left, but I wanted to get this review out!)

Since I was originally interested in You Bar for their custom mix, I would like to sponsor a custom mix giveaway!

You Bar Trail Mix Giveaway Rules

1. One reader will receive one custom trail mix (13 packages per box) from You Bar.
2. Required to enter the giveaway: go to the site and tell me what you are going to put in your mix!  
3. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Friday April 6. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will announce the winner on Saturday April 7. 
4. This giveaway is open to readers in the US. 

Comments (29)

By kilax, April 3, 2012 4:17 am

I am going to try a First World Problems (FWP) post, inspired by Run Gingerfoxxx, Run (Sara), of course. Sara – let me know how bad this is and I will never do one again. Whereas you are cute and funny, I am obnoxious.

FYI: this is supposed to be funny. Please humor my attempt at humor.

1. I wasted 10 minutes yesterday trying on 10 different jackets/sweaters over this dress so I could wear it to the office. Nothing worked. How can my closet be so full of clothes yet so empty?

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

2. My brother keeps coming to town on business and we meet him for dinner he pays for appetizers on the company tab. We are all getting fatter.*

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

3. Katie recommended this book to me. I ordered it “gently used” for $3 on Amazon Prime and it came in one business day. But is has someone else’s writing in it!!!

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS (actually, that doesn’t bother me, I think it’s funny)

4. I have so many new magazines and books I don’t know what to read.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

5. I had a delicious glass of wine at dinner last night and have NO idea what is was. I just asked the waitress to bring me something fruity. Now I am upset I have no idea what I was drinking, because I loved it.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

6. I have been using pixlr.com on my (husband’s old) laptop to edit photos since I broke my laptop in December of 2011 and it had Photoshop on it. My husband bought me a new laptop at the end of January and set it up with Photoshop in the middle of March and I still have not turned it on to use it. Because I am lazy.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

7. I don’t have a picture for items #6, and now this one (and #14) and that bothers me. I’m all about consistency!!!

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

8. I have a Canon Point and Shoot that takes wonderful photos but I continue to subject you all to these awful iPhone photos. Barf! And they are not even edited in Photoshop!

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

9. I reached 99 turns in DrawSomething with Steven. What is going to happen now?!!??!? The anxiety is making me cray cray!!! Also, I am playing with so many people I bet my NOT unlimited data is through the roof. Oopsie.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

10. People don’t get my “That shit cray” reference. I must be hanging out with the wrong people.

From here

FIRST WORLD GANGSTA PROBLEMS

11. Gas is expensive and we only put premium in my car.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

12. In the middle of writing this post, my website stopped working. My host (powweb) is a piece of crap. I had to waste 20 minutes with them just to find out my site would be down for a few hours.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS (but seriously, this crap pisses me off)

13. I went to bed after 11:00 pm last night since I was working on this stupid post and the stupid host problem. I had to get up at 4:00 am. Now I think #1 is going to happen all over again, but with a different outfit. And yeah. I am tired.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS

14. I have to work all five days this week (instead of four).

THAT JUST SUCKS

Alright, tell me your first world problems!!!

Wow, I could have kept going with this list. That is scary. If you want to read an actual useful list, read this, which my sister sent to me!

*Actually, we paid for this appetizer, but we talked about this during dinner and I thought it was funny.