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By kilax, May 21, 2016 8:20 am

When I got up around 4:45 this morning to use the bathroom, Steven was making noises like something was wrong, so I asked him what was going on.

“Why is it this light out so early?!” he whined.

Ha ha.

“Because of the tilt of the earth and how we’re rotating around the sun,” I responded.

“Stupid tilt!” (or was it “effing tilt”?!) he exclaimed, then went back to bed.

Ha ha

I took this (blurry) photo at 6:30 am!

Yeah, the daylight hour shifts really mess with me too. I have a much harder time getting out of bed in the summer when it’s lighter so early. Counterintuitive? Maybe, but for me it makes sense – we stay up much later because it stays lighter so much later – so I have a harder time getting out of bed in the morning. I feel like the sun is mocking me. You should be running. You should be doing things. “But I’m sooooo tired.”

It’s been really bad this year. We’re doing projects most nights and intuitively keep working until it starts to get dark, then it’s “Oh crap, do we still have time for dinner and an episode of Game of Thrones before bed?”

I am wondering how it will be when we’re in Alaska – we are there right after the summer solstice, and I imagine it’ll be odd to have so much daylight (but great for sight seeing… if things stay open).

Anyway. I don’t see us putting up bedroom shades any time soon (or ever), so we’ll just have to deal!

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By kilax, May 20, 2016 7:22 am

Well, someone’s becoming a bit vain:

Ha! I don’t blame him for staring at the glass. It wasn’t very clear before:

And now it is:

That balcony is just asking for me to sit out there and read a book!

These new doors were installed as part of our FHA 203(k) work yesterday. They really change the feel of the room. The old doors were bulkier. These doors make me feel like our bedroom is part of nature! I like!

I was curious what the house would look like without any doors/windows in the bedroom, so I asked Steven to take a picture of it for me!

Do not like: that this is not how we asked for the door to be set up. We had told the contractor one door all the way to the left (from the inside) would be fine. We got two centered sliding doors. Which, in all truth, is better! Just NOT what we asked for. When Steven brought it up to the guy installing it, he said he thought it seemed different than what I told him to order.

As it is with most problems in life, the main issue with this contracted work has been poor communication (and cutting corners and quality control). I won’t get in to it, but that it’s still happening, even though it’s a “good” mistake, makes me irate. (And it doesn’t help that I’ve been gone all week and am exhausted. Blah. I hope I can recharge today because I have a packed weekend ahead of me!)

Anyway. I expect to catch Data admiring himself more and more here. What he was previously using as a magic mirror (the kitchen hood enclosure) was cut and prepped last night by Steven, and will be installed soon! Although it would NOT surprise me to see him jump on to the kitchen counter so he could catch a glimpse of himself in the nice shiny hood. Ha.

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By kilax, May 19, 2016 6:35 am

• Whoa! One hundred Random Thoughts Thursdays! I wrote the first one on July 14, 2011. I don’t write them every week, but have been on a kick with them for awhile. It’s a nice way to share little thoughts that don’t warrant a full post.
• Gah, Data is still being a turd. Steven text me on Monday to tell me Data snuck out again. Then Monday night, Data decided he didn’t get enough popcorn, and had to get some on his own. Ha ha.

(It’s not a spanking to hurt him – just a gentle tap to remind him who’s in charge.)

SO HUNGRY. (It cracks me up so much that Data doesn’t like any human foods… except popcorn.)

• My brain is so fried from my work training. But I did learn a lot, and actually enjoyed it! I liked that the class was math based, and the group activities were solving numerical problems, rather than setting up project plans, flow charts, etc. I like that it was logic based and there was basically one right answer.
• I switched out my Chicago Marathon shadow box for Dallas! I am anxious to hang it up now! I think I will put it, and one of my medal racks above my desk.

^before

^after

• Has anyone every had this weird message pop up on their iPhone – “you must change your iPhone unlock passcode within x minutes”? It showed up for me and kept popping up each minute. I didn’t find a reason online as to why this is happening (there were theories about exchange servers and VPNs but that did not apply to me) but I did try someone’s suggestion to clear my Safari cache/history and do a hard reboot and that seemed to do the trick! Other people said they did change the password and it forced them to do six digit passcode (which I think you can change back to four digits in the settings)? So strange.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 99

Comments (18)

By kilax, May 18, 2016 6:34 am

Hidden as in, I did’t notice it when I was taking the photo!

I was walking to the train and looked up and thought “that’s an interesting perspective of the Sears Tower,” so I quickly snapped the picture and kept walking. Then saw the rainbow later when I was looking at the photo! Fun surprise!

I had a classmate in high school named Rainbow. She said her mom was drowning in a lake and a Native American named Rainbow saved her. So she named her daughter after her.

Ahh, high school friendships. I was never part of a group. Or, “squad,” as people are now calling it. Do people really say squad, seriously – not to be funny? The term sounds so NOT inclusive to me. It seems like another word for a clique. Maybe that’s not how it’s intended?

Anyway, I was the same way in college – I had one or two friends who weren’t part of the same group (and those relationships quickly dissolved after college, naturally).

As an adult, I’ve belonged to bigger groups – and interaction with them has left me drained. I do best in one on one or in (VERY) small groups! I’m “squad”-less and that’s what works for me. My closest friends know or know of each other, but in no sense are we a group. Part of that may be because no one is in the same geographical area. I wonder if it would change if we were. Hmm.

And… all this thought from a rainbow! Ha! You guys know I love to talk about (and read about) relationships. And hopefully this doesn’t sound like I am knocking having a close knit group of friends that all hangs out together! I actually know several adults who have crews (<— apparently that’s the word that comes to me for it) like that, and they get a lot of joy from it!

Comments (4)

By kilax, May 17, 2016 5:31 am

Thankfully, that book is mostly appendices.

And thankfully, the training is only three days long!

I’ve been taking a lot of training courses at work this year. It can be a nice change of pace… as long as your projects aren’t on fire while you’re in training. Luckily, they aren’t too bad, for this session! Which is good, because this session has A LOT of math in it. Which I enjoy, but really need to pay close attention to (read: I can’t constantly be checking my work phone to take care of things!)!

Comments (19)

By kilax, May 16, 2016 5:51 am

Yay! It’s finally in my house!

Now, to set aside enough time to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens all the way through! Maybe I’ll start with the deleted scenes and special features.

Although Data said I’d be much better off using that time feeding him, because it takes a lot of work to break in to his food container, and I could save him the trouble.

Although I doubt that would make him stop breaking in to it. I took these photos of him immediately after he finished his dinner.

What a turd!

Comments (1)

By kilax, May 15, 2016 7:18 pm

Highlight of the Week: Having the energy to run after teaching.

Monday | May 9, 2016: 5 m run + 10 m ride + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 53°/52°, Time: 46:55, Pace: 9:23 avg, Difficulty:easy, Felt: good, legs a bit stiff
Indoor Ride Time: 38:19, Pace: 15.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, need to work on getting the sit bone comfortable
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | May 10, 2016: rest
Wednesday | May 11, 2016: 5 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 61°/61°, Time: 44:54, Pace: 8:59 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, legs still stiff
Thursday | May 12, 2016: 7 m run
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 69°/70°, Time: 1:02:05, Pace: 8:52 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but legs still off
Friday | May 13, 2016: teaching strength class + 2.8 m run
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 47°/48°, Time: 26:17, Pace: 9:23, Difficulty: easy then hard, Felt: fine then NO ENERGY
Saturday | May 14, 2016: teaching fitness boxing + 5 m run (incl. 2×800 4×400)
Strength: Boxing and body weight moves, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 45°/45°, Time: 43:40, Pace: 8:44 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good
Sunday | May 15, 2016: SMA Walk

Notes:

• This is the first week in awhile I’ve thought “speedwork sounds fun!” (That’s usually what happens when I’m off plan, like I am now.) But the two days I wanted to do it (Wednesday and Thursday) my body said no. Gotta respect the recovery. Luckily I felt ready on Saturday.
• I had plans on Friday to do a double. I felt great after teaching and went out for just under three miles and bonked at mile 1.5. Of a less than three mile run. What. The. Eff. I was out of energy and felt DEPLETED. It was so odd. I ate enough Thursday… but maybe not enough after class?! I felt thirsty on the run, and this is a good reminder that it’s the time of year to start carrying water and a gel on all runs. No matter the length.
• We had some high winds on Thursday and Saturday that were giving me flashbacks to the half marathon! Ha, during my Thursday run, I actually saw someone wearing an old Wisconsin Marathon shirt and asked if he did the race last week and when he said yes, I told him the winds were giving me horrible flashbacks… he didn’t laugh. Maybe he did the full marathon and it was too soon to joke about it. Ha ha ha.
• When I complain about my monthly mileage being so low at the end of May, remind me of this weekend where I decided to sleep in (until 7:00 on Saturday and 6:00 on Sunday, ha ha!) instead of getting up and running before our weekend morning commitments. Eh, based on how my body was acting this week, I needed it!

Link to Training Week 342

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By kilax, May 14, 2016 7:38 am

We haven’t seen Denali in quite awhile, then he/she shows up, looking all sassy in new boots!

Ha ha.

I was worried about what would happen when Data saw Denali (he hasn’t see him/her since February!) but it was no big deal – Data went up to the window and hissed at Denali, and Denali kept walking. Guess our house isn’t as interesting as it used to be – which I think is a good thing! I hope Denali got a bath last night… and had a warm place to sleep.

Comments (10)

By kilax, May 13, 2016 12:19 pm

Every spring, as soon as I see the geese come back, I’m all “WHEN WILL THE GOSLINGS SHOW UP?!?!?!” to Steven. He loves hearing it. Over, and over, and over.

Then once I see them, I move on to “The trees are NEVER going to grow leaves. NEVER!!!”

(pano of our backyard)

Ha ha.

At least I am consistent in my spring related whining?

(I think we are both hoping, that one year, I will finally remember when these things happen and quit mentioning it all the damn time.)

Comments (32)

By kilax, May 12, 2016 6:23 am

• We haven’t been to a wedding since my snister’s in June 2014! And this year we’ve been invited to three!
• Do you use the phrases “on point” and “clutch”- like, the trendy versions of them? In one week, I saw the phrase “on point” in five or more articles. So odd. These phrases are not part of my vocabulary. I hear clutch and think of a car. I hear on point and think of ballet (with an “e” at the end of “point”). Get with the times, Kim!
• I took leave at work yesterday for my Alaska trip and it felt soooooooooooo good!
• Yesterday the Dallas Marathon announced a new title sponsor – BMW – and opened early, limited, discounted registration! Funny, Gina and I were just talking about when registration would open earlier this week! I’d like to run that marathon again, but I’ll wait and do late registration if I do. I want to focus on getting in 5K shape (read: lean and strong) and see what happens from there. (The new logo is hella schweet though.)

• I don’t think I’ll be updating my “Raced in / Run in Map” with any new states raced in this year, but I do think I will add some new states run in – Alaska, and maybe Ohio.

• Data has taken to going outside on his own now. Sigh. He waits at the door and escapes! He never did this at the old house! Steven took this pic of him yesterday – Steven opened the front door to grab a package and Data jumped out through the gate! Luckily, Data doesn’t run when he gets out. Little turd.

• A little crowdsourcing – any favorite, not-horrible bridal shower games you’ve played?

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 98