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By kilax, January 30, 2014 12:06 pm

I clearly have a scarf problem. 

Not that I have too many, though! You can never have too many scarves!

The problem is that I don’t have a good way to store them. I was keeping them all in a drawer, and besides not fitting, they were also getting wrinkly and I couldn’t find what I was looking for easily. In fact, I forgot I had some of them. 

I gifted Erin the Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizer for her birthday, and I ended up ordering two of them for myself, as well. They should arrive today, and I am anxious to get them and arrange my scarves so I can actually see them (I will keep the thicker ones in the drawer). Also, I love organizing things. Ha ha.

So! Who else needs a scarf organizer?! I am giving away one of the Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizers! Read below for entry rules (it’s a guessing game)!

Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizer Giveaway Rules

1. To enter – guess the amount of scarves I have! The reader who guesses the closest number of scarves without going over will win the Umbra Little Black Dress Scarf Organizer. If everyone guesses over, the person who guesses the lowest will win! If two people guess the same number, and it is correct, the earliest guess will win.
2. REQUIRED to enter the giveaway: leave a comment telling me how many scarves you think I have.
3. You get a BONUS GUESS (meaning you may guess again) if you have gifted me/made me a scarf (one bonus guess even if you have given me more than one, ha ha).
4. You may leave all your guesses in one comment. 
5. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Monday February 3. I will announce the winner on Tuesday February 4.
6. This giveaway is open to all US readers.
7. As always, I will announce the winner in a post and you have to email me to claim the prize, if you win!

Here is a clue picture (click it to see larger). Note, this picture does not include winter scarves, and I am not including them in the number. So you only have to guess for the amount shown in the photo. 

It seems like with all these scarves, I should do some silly scarf challenge. Like, wear them all at once! Ha ha, just kidding. I was thinking more along the lines of wear one-a-day until I run out (not including the holiday ones). That could easily be done!

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By kilax, January 30, 2014 6:23 am

• Gah! I had DOMS in my quads on Tuesday and Wednesday like I could not believe! I’m not sure if it was from running the snowshoe race or from the added lunges and squats in my Monday night class… but I am happy it’s mostly gone today, so I can get back to working out (oh, and you know, run a half marathon on Sunday). 
• I dropped off the old greeting cards at work yesterday. I am curious to see how full this box gets. It seemed like people were just putting in holiday cards that were sent to them at work… not going through their boxes of junk at home, like I did, ha ha. 

• Three friends in a row (including me!) posted pictures of the sunrise on Facebook this morning. I’m usually bored when everyone is posting about the same thing on Facebook (like an Awards show or a sports game) but nature pics? Keep them coming! I feel like there should be a trend name for this onslaught of sunrise pictures, though.  Thanks to Bobbi for giving me the heads up to go check out the sunrise today!

• Speaking of Bobbi, last week, I posted a request on her Facebook wall and… she totally made me that hat! In one day! I feel so loved! I love my bestie!

• Several people mentioned on Monday that they’d like to quit biting their nails. I have found that painting mine helps keep me from doing this. But I can’t let the paint chip, because then I pick and bite. So I do my nails about twice a week (polish doesn’t last long on me since I do so much with my hands). What are your tips to quit biting your nails?

I have tons of pictures of my nails, because I almost always send a picture of them to Kelsey, after I paint them.

• Okay, this is kind of weird. It makes me bonkers when I have gunk on my knee high (fashion, not snow/rain) boots in the winter. But I get such satisfaction from cleaning them off. The same satisfaction I get from wiping up mud spots that my shoes bring on to the tile floor in our kitchen. Yep, weird. 
• I have such a hard time waiting to post things (as you can tell, with a few doubles this week). Something funny came in the mail yesterday, and I really want to share a picture, but can’t, and it’s killing me! Patience…

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, XXXVII, XXXVI, XXXV, XXXIV, XXXIII, XXXII, XXXI, XXX, XXIX, XVIII, XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (16)

By kilax, January 29, 2014 4:49 pm

Geesh, do those two go hand in hand or something?!

Several times this week, I have stopped myself from saying certain things in person, in text/email or on Facebook… and I am so proud.

Because I was about to over-complicate or over-invite to something, and I stopped myself! Woo hoo!

Ha ha, really, this is a good thing for me. I tend to react from my gut on most actions. And sometimes it misleads me “Ooo, Kim! Tell her you’ll be in her area this week, maybe she can meet up!” (Even thought that would make things really stressful with my schedule.) “Ooo, Kim! Since you’re with this person at this moment, mention your upcoming party, maybe they’d like to come!” (Even though they don’t have an interest in what the party is about and I don’t have room in my house.) “Ooo, Kim, you should totally do that thing even though it means a hellish commute!” (Sometimes this is worth it, ha ha, and it’s made me very confident in getting around, but man, I make things complicated for myself.)

So, my inner voice is very nice (sometimes!) but I just can’t listen to it in every instance. Besides making things complicated for me, I make them complicated for others, if I set up some ridiculous schedule for myself to follow. I don’t want to be known as the friend who is difficult to schedule with or who over complicates things… even though I think I may have earned that reputation from some. I’m working on it!

Do you have friends who over complicate things? Or do you? Do you ever get bummed when you have a date with a friend and they invite others to join?

Updated to add: sorry to be so unclear, it’s not that I am saying yes to things I don’t want to do. I am very good at saying no to things I don’t want to do. It’s that I see opportunities for things, and want to do them, even though it will overcomplicate my schedule (like I am traveling somewhere and try to set up a million dates). Or I want to invite all the people to do all the things, even though the people don’t mesh. I just get overexcited, ha ha. I am actually remembering to stop and think this week. Bravo!

Comments (41)

By kilax, January 29, 2014 6:47 am

Ooo, I may have found my first official cycling event with my road bike!

Awesome pick-up line! (???)

Do you guys know what RAGBRAI is?

Ha, if you do, don’t worry – I am not thinking of cycling the whole thing!

RAGBRAI is an acronym for the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It’s a non competitive biking event that started in 1973 when two writers for the Des Moines Register decided to bike across Iowa, invited readers to join them, and wrote about it during the event. It’s grown each year, and now it’s a week long event, that includes a start point (at the Missouri River) and an end point (at the Mississippi River) and six overnight stops in between. It maxes out at 8,500 week riders and 1,500 day riders (but so many ride without registering).  The total route varies between 400-500 miles each year, with varying distances between stops, and a different route each year.

And, oh man, it is not all about exercise and health for everyone – this article (pdf here) from last year still cracks me up, about cyclists gaining weight due to all the yummy foods at the stops! If there is a RAGBRAI stop in your town, tons of money is coming in, and the communities set up for the cyclists! Check out this quote from that article:

Every 10 miles or so, cyclists pass through a small Iowa town, where churches, restaurants and ad hoc vendors line the streets to tempt bikers with homemade pie, buttered corn on the cob and pork chops. Those three delicacies comprise the “Holy Grail of Ragbrai,” says T.J. Juskiewicz, the event’s director.

Ha ha, sounds awesome, right?! Um, well, maybe some dry corn for me! 

RAGBRAI is a paaaaaaaaaaaaaaar-tay. Yep, worth all those extra As. I have heard some crazy stories about the overnight stops. 

But! I am thinking of just doing one day of the ride (no overnight stops). 

My mom texted me this weekend to tell me the end point is in Guttenberg this year, where her mother lives! That is the spot of my first RAGBRAI experience, back in 2005! I remember thinking how neat it was to watch all the cyclists come in, and I especially enjoyed their funny team names!

I am soooooo in this year. I am just working on convincing my sister’s fiancé, Will, to ride it with me (and maybe some other family members, too?), then I am registering us! I hope we get in. It’s lottery based for the week long event, but I think day passes are first come first serve. 

Ha ha, just kidding. Will just got his trainer as an early birthday gift on Monday! We need those trainers for winter riding. 

We are looking at the last leg, from Independence to Guttenberg. Only 68 miles. HA! Some will be hilly… we can do eeeet!

Have you done RAGBRAI? Would you do a week long cycling event?! Maybe just a day?

Comments (37)

By kilax, January 28, 2014 6:13 am

Do you ever think about how many issues stem from people believing their preferences are the right way to do things and trying to get others to follow suit?

Don’t worry – I’m not trying to get deep on you! I’ve just been thinking about this a lot lately. It all kind of (re)started when Rachel and I were talking about people who diss treadmills and imply you’re less of a runner if you use one. Sigh. No. It’s just a preference! Just because someone doesn’t prefer the same things you do, doesn’t mean their preference is bad or wrong. It just means you are different from one another. Variety is the spice of life, right? Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same?! I thought everyone wanted to be a special little snowflake?!?! (ha ha)

So what if Data prefers the treadmill? (JK, he loves to run outside)

And yeah, that’s an oversimplified example. But that conversation got me thinking about so much more. Like, why do people judge if someone prefers something different from them/has different interests? Something’s not invalid because it doesn’t interest you, yet… some act as if it is. Of what are people afraid? Change? That they might find something different that they like? That they have to listen to someone talk about something they are not interested in?

I’ve actually been brewing on this post for a few weeks and mentioned it in comments on other blogs. Ha ha. So, I think Maggie started to answer my question above when I brought it up on Kelly‘s blog:

Well said – I bet that is a huge part of it. If someone picks a different interest (or what we were talking about – makes a different life decision) does that mean I made the wrong one? Am I missing out on something?! Why does everyone like this thing that I don’t?

There are lots of things that don’t interest me – sports, alcohol, shopping, beauty, television, religion, and so on – but I know other people care a lot about some of those things. And you know what? Talking to people about their interests can be quite fun! Even if I don’t share it. And I know there are things I care about that others don’t have an interest in, as well. And I don’t try to push my interests on others (I am so not a pusher).

Anyway. Nothing in particular has me up in arms about this. It’s just been on my mind. And since I think about it so much… I have probably written about it before.

Lately, I am just wishing others would show some respect. And quit pushing people to like the same things as them*. Suggest and invite? Sure. Hard sales pitch? No thanks.

*This likely stems from my struggles with being told what to do. I respect that you have different interests and I want to hear about them but please stop telling me to do them! 

Comments (36)

By kilax, January 27, 2014 4:56 pm

… finishing other people’s sentences.

… saying “know what I mean?” so much. It’s okay every once in awhile, but if I keep saying it over and over, it’s probably a sign that I am reaching for affirmation. So I should stop talking. See:

… over sharing, in person, when the other party clearly doesn’t care. Ha! You are stuck with it, here! (and I feel like I’ve gotten better at this, but I find myself doing it a bit again)

… using my phone when someone is talking to me. I am way better at this than I used to be, but I still need to break the habit. 

… jamming my fingers/limbs in to things. My skin is so dry and I keep banging in to things and getting all these cuts! Wah wah wah. 

… getting irritated with myself for putting effort in to things I should let go, and not enough effort in to other things. 

… thinking things will be easy the first time I try them, then getting frustrated when they aren’t. I got a curling iron, thinking maybe I could make my hair look nice,  like Christina did. Nope. 

… overscheduling. This is highly unlikely.

… picking my nose.

… getting so frustrated with iTunes (and my webhost and other computer things) if I’m not going to take the time to figure them out. 

… letting people dump on me but feeling like I can never dump on them. (Not everyone, I totally have friends I dump on). 

… posting mopey stuff like this. Ha ha, just kidding!

I am doing a bunch of things right, but today definitely highlighted all the not-so-right things. Oh well. I am off to teach then have drinks with a friend! The day can only get better!

What’s on your “I’ve really got to stop… list?

Comments (37)

By kilax, January 27, 2014 6:31 am

Yay! First race of 2014!

And, yep yep! Still the hardest race to date. Ha ha. 

The Frozen Zucchini Snowshoe Adventure is aptly named. And not just because of the “frozen” part! I mostly mean the adventure part! Snowshoeing is a lot of fun, and I find it really relaxing. Running in snowshoes… um… yes, adventurous!

I did this inaugural race in 2011 and have wanted to do it again. Not really sure why, because I find it so challenging. Maybe because I love the snow and don’t mind the cold! Or I’m just crazy. 

Would you run a snowshoe 5K?

Anyway, I told Erin she needed to do this race, too! And for some reason, she listened to me! Woo hoo!

We went to packet pickup on Saturday and I was really impressed by the goodie bag – not only did it have stuff I could use (check out that schweet neck gaiter, AND! I got to choose which color I wanted) – but it had vegan treats, too!

And we were quite lucky for race day, because it snowed a few inches overnight! YAY! Fresh powder to run on! I shall note, that there was no snow for this race in 2012 and 2013, and I find that very sad. 

I found the park with ease, we had enough time for Erin to work out some bib/sock issues and use the restroom, then it was time to put the snowshoes on and take off (after a beautifully sung National Anthem, I must add)!

Running in snowshoes is challenging, in my opinion. Heck, it’s challenging not to trip in them, when you are not running. Right at the start, I felt the burn in my hip flexors, as I focused on bringing my knees up a bit higher and widening my stance as to not trip myself! I knew this race would really work me, and it did. I had that upset stomach you get (or maybe just me?) from doing speedwork when I was done. And I wore my heart rate monitor for S&G – I was in the 180s the whole time. WITH walk breaks! Ha!

Still, I had fun. I tried to smile. I enjoyed feeling cozy and warm in my new Efit jacket. I did not enjoy cold snow flying up at my crotch. Hee hee. 

Erin and I started together, but I ran most of the race by myself. A goal was not to fall, and that didn’t happen, because I got overly excited when I saw a fellow snowshoer with an Iowa State hat on and wanted to give him a fist bump, and completely forgot to focus on what my legs were doing (you kind of have to, the whole time) and tripped myself! Ha ha! I got a good laugh from it, and gave me a fist bump after the race!

The course was two loops. It was interesting, we were more toward the front (of 180 runners (pdf here)) of the pack in the beginning, which made the terrain more challenging on the first loop, because it was not as “stomped” down! On the second loop, it was much better (but I had used so much energy on the first loop that it didn’t help me too much, ha ha!). 

I remembered when I ran this race in 2011, I was third in my age group, and they only did first and second age group placements. So I tried not to get passed too much. But dang, it’s so tiring! I really kicked it up for the last tenth of a mile and there was definitely a thought of “This is hard work. No way in hell I am doing a marathon this year. Working hard suxxxxxx.” as I approached the finish. 

I finished in 44:21 (only a little slower than my 44:09 2011 finish) which was good enough for second in the 30 and under (huh?) age group (out of 14 people). Unfortunately, I missed the age group awards because I was changing, but Erin picked up my award (a $25 Erewhon gift card) and got an award, too!

I am happy that Erin tried this race! I think being outdoors in the winter can be a lot of fun (and we had a great day – mid teens for the temp, a little bit of sun, and 15mph winds with gusts (<— last part is sarcasm)), and I like to share that with people. The race director mentioned this too – beside promoting their local farming/sustainable mission – that there are outdoor, healthy, fun winter activities. I really hope to use my snowshoes a few more times this winter, I mean, we have the snow! I told Erin she should come visit again and rent snowshoes so we can go out… for a walk! Ha! It’ll take a few days to recover from this race!

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By kilax, January 26, 2014 3:28 pm

Highlight of the Week: Having almost every workout be with friends or family! 

Monday | January 20, 2014: 7 m run (w/Dad) + teaching strength class
Loc: Waterloo Young Arena, Time: 1:15:40, Pace: 10:48 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: really good! wanted to keep going!
Strength: Lebert Bars & Dumbbell + Boxing, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: sooooo hyper! 
Tuesday | January 21, 2014: 35 min cycling intervals
Time: 35:00, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good – wishing I could go longer
Wednesday | January 22, 2014: 3 m run (w/Anne)
Loc: Vernon Hills, Temp: 9°/6°, Time: 44:57, Pace: 15:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good to be out, despite frozen lashes!
Thursday | January 23, 2014: rest
Friday | January 24, 2014: teaching strength class
Strength: Lebert Bars & Dumbbell + Boxing, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: super hyper again
Saturday | January 25, 2014: 8 m run (w/Erin) + teaching blogger & friends strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 21°/17°, Time: 1:24:39, Pace: 10:35 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: challenged (running on snow in to high winds)
Strength: Plyo Boxes & Kettlebells + Boxing, Difficulty: medium (high anaerobic), Felt: excited!
Sunday | January 26, 2014: Frozen Zucchini 5K Snowshoe Adventure
Loc: Citizens Park, Barrington, Temp: 13°/19°, Time: 44:21, Pace: 14:34 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: challenged

Notes:

• My dad has been doing some of his miles on a track at the local ice arena, and I met him there Monday morning. I don’t remember the last time I ran on an indoor track (really, this was polished concrete) and it was actually – I hate saying this – nice to wear shorts and a tank and not be trudging through the snow and ice! Ha ha. It felt so easy, like I could go forever (minus a weird inside pain on my right ankle). It makes me think maybe my low mileage lately has something to do with struggling with running on the snow, too… and not just that stupid cough. Ha. 
• ANYWAY, my dad set a new PDR (personal distance record) – 7 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally think he could do a half in the fall, if he wanted to. And there happens to be one in our hometown. Hmm, that I emailed him about and he NEVER responded!!! Ha ha ha. I am not going to force him. He should do what he wants. I am just super proud of him! 
• I am really happy I could do most of my runs with company this week! What a treat. I have been getting sick of the solo runs. And the outdoor ones were in challenging conditions, so the companionship really helps. Anne and I were running in super cold temps on Wednesday. I felt fine, except for frozen eyelashes. Erin and I battled the snow/slush/and crazy high winds on Saturday. That 8 miler left me feeling like I ran 20!
• Saturday was my third opportunity to teach a blogger & friends class at Essential Fitness (Efit for short).  I’m not sure if I will ever stop feeling blessed that my friends drive from all over to take a 1-hour class (and grab a bite to eat, after) (in attendance (L to R in photo above) Lauren, Britt, Kelly, Amy, Erin, Sara, Valerie and not pictured: Judy, Bobbi and Chris). We did a challenging plyo box and kettlebell workout, with some boxing thrown in to truly get to the exhaustion point. Hmm. Maybe I should have planned a different workout for the day before a race! Ha ha. I can’t wait for the next class!
• And the race! Erin and I both ran the Frozen Zucchini Snowshoe Adventure. You can see below that I didn’t make my goal for the race. Ha ha! I’ll tell you all about it later this week. 

Plans from last week (√ if I did it, X if I didn’t):

• √  Run with Dad on Monday! (Ha ha, at first, I wrote “Data” instead of “Dad.”)
• √ Back to 6 days a week of working out. 
• √ An 8 or 10 mile long run.
• √ Plan a super fun strength workout for the Saturday blogger & friends session.
• √  Cycling during the week. 
• X Don’t fall during the snowshoe 5K. <— Buah ha ha, probably the least likely one I will meet.

Link to Training Week 222

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By kilax, January 25, 2014 7:07 am

What do you do with all the greeting cards you receive?

I love getting cards and truly appreciate the thought behind them. And I keep a lot of them! Steven and I have three “sentimental” boxes each that we keep cards, letters, travel brochures and other things in. 

I don’t think I will ever get rid of this one from Anne. What could be better than several Henrys congratulating me?

But I can’t hold on to all of my cards, forever. Three years ago, I went through them all (and blogged about it, of course) and it was a really fun memory exercise. It’s time to do that again! 

Only this time, I actually know what I am going to do with the cards I pitch! We got an email at work this week, asking for donations of old cards for St. Jude: 

The name removed Team is collecting used holiday and other greeting cards through the end of February for the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program. The program removes the card fronts, recycles them into new cards, and resells them. Deposit your cards in the collection bins on floors location removed.  Only the front of the card will be used, 5×7″ cards or smaller are preferred, and Hallmark, Disney, and American Greeting cards are not eligible.

It’s dorky, but I am kind of excited to go through the cards and take some in to work, to donate. I’ve also been thinking about starting to scan the ones I like but don’t want to hold on to (for whatever reason). Might as well have a digital sentimental “box” too!

Comments (30)

By kilax, January 24, 2014 12:39 pm

That last post was too serious to leave up on a Friday. Ha ha. Thank you for all your thoughtful comments!

Do you have an eclectic mug collection, or is your stuff all matchy matchy?

I used to not be a very frequent user of mugs. I don’t drink coffee, and I carry a bottle around the house for drinking water (so I rarely use glasses, too).

But once I started drinking tea, I was really happy I had a few random mugs along with our boring black ones and white ones. The random mugs just make it so much more fun to drink hot stuff. AND EVERYTHING MUST BE ABOUT FUN! But, really, that yellow cup with the cat in the bottom? Ha ha, I don’t think it’s sealed properly, so it sends up little, um, “fart” bubbles while I drink. Tell me that is NOT fun. 

Anyway. We got a few more mugs for Christmas and I was just thinking about stupidly happy it makes me to use all our random mugs (especially since many of them are gifts that remind me of certain people). And how happy I will be to ditch the boring ones! Adios, “complimentary” mugs Steven received for buying the house!