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By kilax, September 8, 2016 6:23 am

• I was going through our mail and came across the county trail map and thought “I wonder when they’ll finish extending the Millennium Trail toward my house,” then looked at the map, and saw that more of the trail exists by me than I realized, and that it goes through a preserve with a 2.2 mile loop right by my house that I haven’t visited even though I’ve lived here seven months. AHHH!!! Must get there asap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I went the next day, ha!)

• Last year, Anne told me about a local park district that has indoor lap swim, but neither of us ever checked it out. I’ve missed swimming, so I went there Wednesday am for their open swim. It’s a nice big gym that’s close to my house (!!!!) with a 21 yard pool where you can pay a $6 drop-in fee to swim. I actually didn’t mind the shorter lanes, since I am still working on my freestyle endurance. I’ll be back! (And bonus, it’s close to Starbucks!)
• We were so eager to put holes in our newly painted walls, ha! We put up a new “smart” thermostat on Tuesday, as well as my jewelry holders. Yay! I can’t wait to put up the rest of (or most of) our art, framed prints, and my medal racks.

Steven’s “You really want me to put holes in this freshly painted wall?!” face.

• For all that mention of our house inspection approval being held up because we didn’t have attic insulation, I don’t think I ever posted a picture of it installed! Here you go! So exciting!

• All I had to do was blog about the pond being gone and we got some rain to create a bigger puddle!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 107

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By kilax, September 7, 2016 6:23 am

Well, here’s what’s left of the pond.

Or shall we call it what is really is – a puddle?

As a reminder, here is what it looked like a month ago:

And in May:

So strange.

Really, this gives us an opportunity to let it dry out then do some landscaping. Although after the big project we just finished, I am in the mood for smaller projects for a bit.

The saddest part about all of this is that we have less wildlife in the yard now. The ducks hadn’t been by for practically a month, when they flew in to the yard rapidly on Saturday!

I was so excited! I quickly ran to the garage to get food for them (yeah, I haven’t been putting food out since we were so busy with the house, and that doesn’t help the wildlife situation either). I put it out, only to have them called back to their home with a duck call. That was the first time we ever heard them called back! And that would explain why I had a dream last night that I was buying a duck call at a sports store. Hmm…

Comments (18)

By kilax, September 6, 2016 1:20 pm

You guys. I have another buying a drink in a convenience store story. This one has a nice ending, though.

It’s a million degrees here (88°, feels like 97°, dew point 74°) so I stopped at 7-Eleven after my run to buy a sports drink. I got in line at the counter, behind one other person, then got cut in line, by their friend who was all “where’d you go? I was looking all over for you!” and had their own separate stuff to buy.

Sigh. But whatever, right? No big deal.

Except I was drenched in sweat and the store was crowded, and the first person was taking forever to count out their change and I just wanted to get out of there and rehydrate and take a shower…

So when it’s the second person’s turn to pay, I am off in la la land thinking “I hope they’re paying with a credit card!” and “I am going to b*tch to Steven about getting cut in line” when that customer grabs my drink, gives it to the cashier, and tells her “it’s on me” since I was so sweet to let her cut and let them get on their way. Then she said a bunch of nice things to me and to enjoy my run (I was done but the thought was nice).

I was shocked. I was NOT expecting that.  And now I am inspired to do my own random act of kindness today… but not after cutting someone in line, ha.

Comments (13)

By kilax, September 6, 2016 5:41 am

We live upstairs again! Yay! I’ve fallen in love with our house all over again!

We need to update our master bedroom sheets and bedskirt!

After a month of work – ripping out the second floor ceilings (and some parts of walls), installing new ductwork and lighting, then getting new ceilings and having the walls repainted – it’s all complete. Ahh.

And the best part? It doesn’t smell like animals on the second floor anymore.

We’d like to buy or make a headboard for the guest bedroom.

That’s why we did this entire project – when the FHA 203k contractor took out the existing attic insulation in April, we found that the ceiling was covered in animal droppings. Flying squirrels lived up there while the house was vacant and they WENT TO TOWN. Hardly any surface was untouched. Because of this, it already sort of smelled upstairs, but with the insulation gone, and it heating up in the house (yay, summer!), you noticed the smell even more.

The contractors just wanted to cover all that in Kilz paint, but that’s gross – when the ceiling is soaked through (and not to mention, scratched through), maybe just replace it? Painting it would just seal all that nasty stuff in and keep it in the house!

Eventually we’ll redo our bathroom – replace the drywall and tile shower with a mostly glass one, get a double sink, and new tile.

So we told the contractors not to put insulation in, and our plan was to do all this work in the fall. But, when we had our inspection to pay out the rest of the FHA 203k streamlined work, the inspector didn’t approve that the insulation was never installed. Makes sense – it’s definitely something a house needs.

The problem is that we were at the end of our six-month period to get all the work done when we found out we didn’t pass inspection (our mortgage was sold twice since we got it, and I had a REALLY difficult/frustrating time figuring out which bank would do the inspection/pay the contractors – so this inspection was delayed months that we could have been working, grrrrr). So we had to get an extension then move fast to get it done!

Looking from the master bedroom door, down the hallway toward the bathroom and guest room.

Which is why we spent all of August working on this (truthfully, whenever we did this, it hopefully would have gone at this pace, because I can’t imagine leaving the upstairs of the house such a mess, and living on another floor, for much longer). We had our inspection yesterday, and I’m positive we’ll pass this time.

Most importantly, Data seems happy!

And just so I have it all in one spot, here’s a compiled list of posts about our work, and what the contractors did.

Posts about the work we did:
Click here to see our work list through August 24

• Moving everything out of the second floor
• Ceiling demo
• More demo and surprises
• New wood joists and beams and Kilz painting
• More Kilz painting
• Joist repair
• New ductwork (and more demo and surprises)
• New lights, insulating the ductwork
• Lighting/electrical, taping the ducts, subfloor blocking, installing the catwalk
• Finishing the catwalk
• Prepped the rooms to be painted
• There’s no post, but we spend the week of August 29 installing lights, vents covers, electrical face plates, fans and doors

The work contractors did:

• installed new baffles
• installed new insulation and subfloor over dining room
• installed new ceilings entire second floor, partial dining room, taped, mudded and sanded
• installed attic insulation
• (a different contractor) painted the entire space

We actually do have a few things left to do related to this project – install new linen closet shelves, cover a hole in the basement, etc. But, they’re small things compared to all this!

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By kilax, September 5, 2016 12:37 pm

During my run today, I stopped at a gas station to buy something to drink. As I was walking toward the counter to checkout, I went by a store employee and smiled. They stopped, looked me up and down and said “You sweat a lot.”

I responded right away, “that’s because I ran five miles to get here.”

Other appropriate responses:

• Well, it’s midday and 85°, why wouldn’t I?”
• I sure do!
• GFY.
• I hadn’t noticed (then brush a sweaty arm against them).

Ugh. What a weird thing to say. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

Comments (4)

By kilax, September 5, 2016 9:23 am

I’m not sure if I am pooped from my Saturday long run,

moving back upstairs Saturday,

or my whirlwind Sunday trip to Iowa for my nephew’s birthday party (including LOTS of time in the bounce house),

but I sure am happy it’s a holiday!!!

The move on Saturday went well! Data was excited to assist:

Anne and Terry came over to help, (yay, so thankful!), and our new mattresses were delivered!

I’ll post “finished” pictures tomorrow!

Since we completed the move on Saturday, I was able to make a day trip to Iowa on Sunday for my nephew’s 8th birthday, and to see my dad’s mom, whose 80th is today!

It was such a treat to see them all!

And to have a lazy, lazy day after such an exhausting weekend!

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By kilax, September 4, 2016 9:48 pm

Highlight of the Week: Hitting my mileage goal for the second week in a row! Doing a double!

Monday | August 29, 2016: 10 m ride + teaching strength class
Indoor Ride Time: 42:30, Pace: 14.1 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: Kettlebells and Lebert Equalizer, Difficulty: easy, Felt: surprisingly good (just so sleepy lately!)
Tuesday | August 30, 2016: 7 m run + 10 m ride
Loc: Van Patten loop, Temp: 79°/81°, Time: 1:12:31, Pace: 10:21 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: so hot, so tired
Indoor Ride Time: 39:05, Pace: 15.4 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, sore butt
Wednesday | August 31, 2016: 3 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 77°/75°, Time: 29:16, Pace: 9:44 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: windy, but enjoyed the breeze
Thursday | September 1, 2016: 6 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 69°/69°, Time: 57:58, Pace: 9:39 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (right knee a still bit tender at start)
Friday | September 2, 2016: teaching strength class + 4 m run (incl. 4×400) + 5 m run
Strength: Kettlebells and Lebert Equalizer, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 70°/71°, Time: 38:48, Pace: 9:42, Difficulty: easy-ish, Felt: best during the intervals!
Loc: hood, Temp: 71°/71°, Time: 51:13, Pace: 10:14 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, minus almost bathroom emergency
Saturday | September 3, 2016: 15 m run
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 54°/69°, Time: 2:45:26, Pace: 11:01 avg, Difficulty: hard, Felt: low on energy (hungry), tired (legs)
Sunday | September 4, 2016: 7 m ride
Indoor Ride Time: 28:19, Pace: 14.8 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good on the legs!

Notes:

• I’ve been lazy with water on my runs, choosing to run with my handheld and running by fountains or places where I can buy water. My 7/8 mile loop has a fountain, but the water tastes so bad – like iron. On Tuesday’s run, I stopped there to fill it up, and it tasted even worse – like iron, but rotting. I took three sips then dumped my water bottle out (with 2.5 miles to go) to make sure I didn’t drink anymore. And I survived!
• Other stories from my runs this week:
  • It cracks me up when I run by fenced in dogs and they get all excited and run “with” me. I much prefer this to loose dogs!
    
  • During my Thursday run, I was leaving our neighborhood and someone was pulling out of their driveway, then stopped, and reversed when I ran by, to let me go by. I thought that was nice. Then he pulls up to me as I am running down the street and says “Did you see how I pulled back for you back there?” “Yeah, thanks!” I responded. “You know why I did that?” Oh geesh. Where is this going? “Why?” “Because people who exercise are A-OK with me!” Phew. Ha ha. Then he asked if I wanted to be a “skinny kid” and we had a short convo about how much we like food.
  • I was doing a u-turn in the grass on my second Friday run and almost stepped right on a snake (like this one in the picture)! I felt bad that I almost did!
    
  • I hate that some of the cyclists are so rude on the trails out here – mostly coming from behind and not calling out, then coming WAY to close to me (when I am running). During my run on Saturday, I had something new happen – I was running over on the right side of the trail, and a group of cyclists came toward, me around a corner, and decided to swarm on either side of me, instead of all go to my left – where there was PLENTY of space. They were all wearing matching jerseys and going FAST. That was a dick move. No other word for it.
• Time for the August recap! In August I ran 107 miles, cycled 88.7 miles (8 indoor rides, 1 outdoor ride) and swam laps 4 times. My coldest outdoor run was 58°F and my warmest was 89°F. I taught 8 strength classes, and did 1 strength session at home. This was the first month of the year I didn’t teach any weekend classes (and with good timing, with all our house work). I’ll be back at it in September.

Link to Training Week 358

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By kilax, September 3, 2016 6:44 am

(part ii!)

Lucky me, I never have to set an alarm clock to wake up for my weekend long run (or anything else, any day of the week), because Data is kind enough to make sure I always get out of bed.

Thanks so much for having my back, Data!

Comments (19)

By kilax, September 2, 2016 6:53 am

1. Moving back upstairs! Getting our new mattresses! Hanging up artwork!
2. Both of my grandmas turning 80! And maybe (hopefully!) seeing them this month.
   
   Grandma Pete (Mom’s mom), me and Grandma Tiger (Dad’s mom)
3. Skamp!
   
   Skamp 2015!
4. Teaching fitness boxing again.
5. Getting hot chai lattes at Starbucks.
6. Socktember – it’s the month to start learning to knit socks! Actually, I have two other projects that kind of got bumped in front of the socks. Maybe I will still have time to try socks though! It’s really time to start knitting holiday gifts… is it bad I’ve been listening to some holiday music already?! And that it started in late August?!
7. Whatever house project Steven and I start next.
8. Having our final house inspection (for the FHA 203k streamlined work) and getting that off our shoulders!
9. Double dates with friends!
10. Eating healthier than we did in August.

What’s on your list?

Comments (25)

By kilax, September 1, 2016 6:26 am

Happy nine year wedding anniversary to Steven!

Last year we spent the evening of our wedding anniversary packing up the bookshelves in our office (and we went out for dinner). It was the first place we started to pack up to get the townhome ready to put on the market.

Now, a year later, we’ve gone through two moves AND LOTS of home renovations (at both the townhome and our forever home). It’s been a busy year! And it’s been a stressful year that could have really “rocked the boat,” but it actually made our relationship stronger, because we’ve had the same goal, and have been working together to achieve it. It feels good to work so hard on what is best for us.

And that’s one of the great reassurances about being in a partnership – that the other person always has your back, and your best interest in mind. That they’re there for you to lean on and take the lead (from time to time, or a lot of the time, in my instance!). That their strengths complement your weaknesses, or, if it’s a weakness you both have, you’ll work on getting better, together.

I feel very grateful to have such a driven, take charge partner, with a “I can figure anything out” attitude. Those are NOT my strong qualities, but it doesn’t matter because my partner has them and I have 100% confidence in him.

Awww.

(By the way, those boxes we packed up on our anniversary last year are STILL in storage. Ha! Everything else we’ve brought to the house, we’ve unpacked, but our books, a few kitchen things, and a lot of garage stuff remain in storage. Winter project?!)