Comments (20)

By kilax, September 16, 2014 11:55 am

My snister has great artistic vision and she is a wonderful DIYer, so I just knew her wedding was going to be full of fantastic little details. Going in to the wedding, I didn’t know what they all would be (I asked her not to tell me everything because I like to be surprised!), so part of the magic of the day for me was seeing them for the first time!

Getting Ready
I was the first one to get to the room where all of the ladies were going to get ready, and I walked in to find these cute plastic mason jars! They were used for mimosas that morning (and have since been used for piña coladas, I mean smoothies)!

Christina gifted all of the bridesmaids wooden hangers with our names engraved on them! 

And of course, had one for herself, too!

I’ve seen this trend in other wedding photos and I am excited to have one of my own! I love the font on the hanger!

Ceremony
As everyone arrived for the ceremony they were handed a beautiful program printed on double sided kraft paper as well as wand to wave when Christina and Will walked down the aisle together!

And as you already know, our dad dropped her off in our mom’s 46 Chevy. It made for some really cool photo ops!

They also had an acoustic guitarist at their ceremony, which was a detail I loved!

Reception
I wish there was a way you could all see what the reception venue (Thompson Barn) was like! The pictures don’t do it justice. It’s a barn with wooden vaulting and brick walls mixed with a new “cooler” (meaning material warmth; metal, in this case) industrial vibe. I loved the material juxtaposition. The architect inside of me was very happy. 

The lower level (which you walked in to off of street parking) had a corridor with the guest book, presents and drinks, as well as bathrooms, the kitchen and buffet (and later, s’more bar and photo booth) line. You took stairs (or elevator) to the next level where the dining tables, DJ and dance floor were. 

Lower level
There was a metal wall walking in, where all of the table assignments were pinned with magnets, as well as a collage of parents’ and grandparents’ wedding photos:

This is also where the guest book was (Christina used a project life style book), and the gift table, and a fun wedding maze/crossword!

Also downstairs (later), was the S’More Bar. Our dad made the wooden trough and set up sterno cans to toast the marshmallows. 

There were a lot of chocolate options to choose from for roasting! And my snister even got vegan marshmallows and chocolate for me! What a sweetie!

Also mentioned, downstairs, was the photo booth. This is only the second wedding that I’ve attended that has had one of these, and I think they are a blast!

Upper level
Last, but not least, the upper level! When I arrived the Wednesday night before the wedding, Christina was preparing the centerpieces. They turned out so neat! Our dad, again, made the boxes, and Christina and our mom picked out the flowers to put in them. 

You can also see the party favors that she made in this photo – wine glasses with a chalkboard paint bottom!

Christina made the numbers (and the letters in “LOVE” above using her Silhouette Cameo paper cutting machine). She bought all of the white linens, made the polka dot ones, and rented the sequins. Check out the sequins on the dessert table!

And this is crazy, but I didn’t even notice this “just married” sign at the wedding! I saw it in the photos afterward! Christina purchased it at a craft store.

I was so impressed with the entire wedding. I knew she would have fantastic ideas, but seeing them all come together was breathtaking!

Comments (18)

By kilax, August 4, 2014 6:19 am

Yay! My snister got all of her official wedding photos back! Now I can share a few more of the wedding details!

One of the traditions she incorporated in to the wedding was the four “somethings” – something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. And of course, I love how she chose to include it. 

Let’s start with new! The dress, earrings and shoes were all new. And I think I only shared this in the comments before, but Christina actually WON her dress at a bridal show. Isn’t that awesome?!

For something old and something borrowed, she used some of our deceased grandfathers’ pins, to put in her bouquet, in remembrance of them. The “UNI” on top is for our paternal grandfather, who worked at the University of Northern Iowa, which is also where Christina and Will got their degrees (Christina already had this pin). The “R” on the bottom is for our maternal grandfather, whose last name began with an r (Christina borrowed this pin). 

Seeing those really tugged at my heartstrings. And reminded me that I wanted to ask my maternal grandmother about having a certain token of my grandpa’s (she said she will keep an eye out for it, ha ha).

And if that didn’t get me, the something blue sure did! This one was a surprise – we didn’t know about it until Christina was putting her dress on! 

So a bit of back story – our dad has something of a uniform – he always wears blue Dickies. That is what we have seen him wear probably, oh, 95% of our lives. In fact, he was going to wear that to Christina and Will’s rehearsal dinner. Ha ha ha! My mom stopped him. 

People are so used to seeing him wear that outfit, that in 2002, to be funny in our holiday card, we all wore that, and had dad “dress” up. Ha ha.

So Christina had asked Mom for some fabric from dad’s “uniform” but Mom didn’t know what it was for. We found out on the wedding day: 

Aww! Isn’t that perfect?! That really made me emotional!

And I have to add this photo of my dad at the wedding – that is pure happiness on his face! 

I love how Christina incorporated the four “somethings” tradition, with such thought and meaning. 

I am trying to remember if I did the four “somethings,” and I am thinking, since I don’t remember… I probably didn’t! I do remember my paternal grandmother giving me this at my bridal shower:

Yeah, I definitely don’t remember having a sixpence in my shoe!

Have you seen this tradition used in a memorable way? What was it?

Comments (24)

By kilax, June 26, 2014 4:19 pm

Quite a few people have asked to see video from my matron of honor speech at Christina and Will’s wedding. Unfortunately… that won’t be happening. The video is split in three parts, and one part is completely fuzzy, and parts of the speech are cut out, too. But I have it written out, so you can read it! Watching long videos is annoying anyway! Um… right?!

As I had mentioned, I was having a stupid-hard time deciding what to talk about. I just had so many thoughts swirling around in my head and couldn’t focus in on one. I didn’t want to make it all about my relationship with Christina (and not much about Will), but I did want to talk about it! Luckily, I happened to glance at a photo page I have of the two of us on the blog*, and all of these memories came flooding to me that supported a major theme I was thinking about touching on. 

So, here it is! Parts in italics were not spoken… and links and pics added for fun!

Good Evening! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Kim, Christina’s favorite (and only) sister. I have to say, I’ve been looking forward to Christina and Will’s wedding since she interrupted my sleep with an 11:30 pm phone call two years ago in January to tell me Will proposed (so thankful to have so much documented on my blog!). And I am sure all of the women here can agree – if your proposal included a wedding ring in with a box with delicious cupcakes, you are off to a wonderful future.

But in all the times I imagined how wonderful the day would be, I still couldn’t imagine it as perfect and gorgeous as it is. I can’t put into words how much it warms my heart to see so many friends and family out here, celebrating Christina and Will. It’s been amazing to get to know so many of you while we prepared for the wedding. Thank you for being here, and showing your love and support for this beautiful couple.

Now, since I am Christina’s older sister, I have an arsenal of amazing stories I could share with you. Amazingly cute… amazingly funny… amazingly embarrassing. It was hard to cut so many of them out of this speech, so if you want to hear more, come find me on the dance floor, later. Only one person asked me on the dance floor to share an embarrassing story. 

Almost every story I thought of sharing went back to one major theme – Christina’s sense of adventure and her desire to share that with other people. Now, I have to say, our “adventures” were a bit on the tame side until one of us had a pair of wheels, but after that, all bets were off.

I have very fond memories with Christina. The trips we took to Chicago together. The time she accompanied me to my college town to take care of some things and just hang out. The time that Dad let us skip school to go see a Star Wars movie in the middle of the day (cool points to my dad – he drove us and saw it, too). This mention apparently has made my oldest nephew tell his dad he is skipping the first day of school to see a movie. Oops. Also, he yelled out during this part of the speech and I mentioned Star Wars is better than  Grease which is an inside thing I should have kept to myself. Our adventures in Italy together. Countless trips to the Mississippi River on the Iowa border… and countless mischief there.

And… it was actually at the Mississippi River, that I met Will. Now, I don’t know if it’s normal to be introduced to your girlfriend’s family by spending a long weekend with them, but hey. It seemed to have worked! We all immediately hit it off with Will, and could see why Christina is so drawn to him. Maybe it had to do with his looks, too? Ha ha. 

Whenever I describe Will’s personality to other people, the first descriptor I always use is charismatic – but with the qualifier “not in a creepy sales person way!” Thankfully people laughed at that! Will is easy going, laid back, a fantastic story teller, and also, a fantastic listener. I don’t know if he’s just polite, or if he’s actually really interested in what I have to say, but anytime I share something with him, I feel like I’m talking to a true friend who has my best interest in mind.

So back to that first weekend when we met Will. It was fourth of July weekend and I had decided to run a local 5K, and everyone in the family jumped in to do the walking portion of the 5K. This is when I knew Will shared that same sense of adventure and desire to jump in and experience things, that Christina does. Also, he proved his sense of adventure by partaking in the man made waterslide… the one I used and sprained the tendons in my right wrist. 

insert awkward joke here of me stumbling on the second page of paper and promising that I am almost done with my speech

And since then, we’ve had countless adventures with Christina and Will. It really meant a lot to me when they came out to New York City in 2011 to spectate while I ran the marathon. I mean, if I didn’t know before, I truly knew then, that Will was a keeper. And I’ve always wanted to repay them for the spectating they did for me, but I never knew when to do it, until now! So can we all cheer them on?! Me and two the bridesmaids held up the signs below. There was lots of cheering, which made me happy. 

And actually, this isn’t the first chance I’ve had to cheer Will on. He didn’t think twice before answering yes when I asked if he wanted to do a half ironman relay with me and my husband’s brother. And don’t worry, we do non-exercise things too, like dress up in ridiculous costumes for Halloween! I pulled out some pirate hats to put on their heads. It was Rachel‘s idea to add the signs and bring the hats. Thank you, Rachel! That was really fun!

And it’s been so fun for me to see Christina and Will take off on adventures of their own – like the time they went to Cancun and I was oh so helpful by dropping them off at the completely wrong terminal at the airport. Oops. But really, I have LOVED hearing about what they are up to in Kansas City. It seems they are always exploring some new place, or kayaking or playing volleyball, or building something together.

I love that they share their passion for adventure with their friends and family – so, hey, if we bump in to each other on the dance floor, I may ask YOU to share a story. And I love that they share that passion, and really, their passion for life, with one another. They are the perfect partner for each other, and I don’t know about you, but I am super excited to see what their next adventure is!

So here is to Christina and Will, as they move on to the next big thing, and promise to love each other every moment of forever (I had to include something Twilight related since that’s her fave!)! Cheers!

I can’t wait to see Christina and Will next weekend and see what sort of crazy adventures we’ll have!

*That really needs to be updated!

Comments (45)

By kilax, June 20, 2014 8:28 am

I am not sure there are enough exclamation points in that title!

As expected, Christina and Will’s wedding was completely amazing, and I was sad when it was all over. WHY DO FUN THINGS EVER HAVE TO END?!?!

Thankfully, we had three amazing days of fun in Kansas City with friends and family following the wedding (I’ll recap that later!), so I was distracted from feeling sad about the wedding being over until I got home late Wednesday night. And luckily, I get to see my family in a few weeks, so the fun will continue! Phew.

I can’t really put in to words how amazing the wedding was. When people would ask me about wedding details before we went, I would always say how crafty Christina is, how she’s such a great planner, and that I couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out. I knew the wedding would be completely put together and stunning, but I was still in AWE the entire day, for how well thought out and detailed everything was.

This isn’t even the finished photo – Dad is still setting up the dance floor! But you can see the gorgeous runners and decorations on the table. And it’s just such a neat space!

And since I can’t put everything in to words, I will try to use photos! Hardly any of these photos are mine. I didn’t use my phone most of the day, except to respond to texts and phone calls, and I loved not having that silly thing with me. So, thank you, Mom, for all the pics!

We all meet in Christina’s hotel suite Saturday morning to do our hair and makeup. I walked in and saw that she had these plastic jars set up for us to use to drink Mimosas!

As if we weren’t already spoiled enough! At the rehearsal dinner, she gave each of the bridesmaids a HUGE bag of goodies, including (among many other things) custom hangers (so cool) and robes to use as we got ready!

I had such a great time having my hair done (by Will’s boss’s wife Amy aka Steven’s best friend from childhood’s wife… ha ha, got it?) and chatting with everyone. We had about four hours to get ready before we had to go to the ceremony site for photos, and I just felt so chill and calm. It was really a treat to have that time to be with Christina, the bridesmaids, my mom, the flower girls and Amy. You don’t always get a chance to have much more than a passing conversation at a wedding, and it was nice to converse without many other distractions!

It was also exciting for me to get to feel useful, in doing things such as helping tie up the back of Christina’s dress, and running special errands for her.

The ceremony was at 4:00, and we got to the venue, TimberRidge Adventure Center,  just before 2:00, so Christina and Will could do their first look photos, and we could take group shots. The ceremony was in an outdoor shelter, with a beautiful nature overlook. It was sunny and windy. Not too hot, and no RAIN!

Steven was in the wedding, too!

My dad drove Christina to the ceremony site (right to the aisle, basically!) in my mom’s 40s Chevy, opened the door for her, then walked her down the aisle. I thought that was the coolest thing ever!

(not a picture from that moment, but you get the idea)

Christina and Will had a guitarist for their ceremony, which I thought was so romantic. And their officiant was fantastic! I wish he could have come to the reception – I wanted to talk to him more! Both my mom and Will’s mom did readings, then Christina and Will exchanged vows.

My baby snister is married!

We hung around a bit after the ceremony for more photos (um, some with the professional photographers, and some goofy ones…),

then drove over to the reception venue, Thompson Barn, which I was dying to see! It’s an old barn* that was converted to a meeting space, which is so cool!

Now, I have to tell you a little story. When I got in to town on Thursday, I asked my snister if I could have a special song when I was introduced at the reception with the best man. She said no, but asked which song it would be. “Fancy,” of course! I asked her again on Friday just to be annoying, and she said no. So imagine my surprise when the best man and I are about to be announced, and the DJ says he has a special song to play and changes it from “SexyBack” to “Fancy”! I was laughing so hard! I love that my snister did that for me.

After Christina and Will entered, we soon got dinner (I was too nervous to eat), then it seemed like it was time for, gasp!, speeches!

Mine went okay! Special thanks to Rachel for proof-reading and the ideas for props!

Notice how our wine glasses are black on the bottom? Christina put chalkboard paint on them, so everyone could write on them and keep them as a favor! They also had an activity paper you could grab at the entrance that had a maze and a Christina and Will themed crossword!

The best man was being so funny, saying how nervous he was for his speech, but he nailed it. His/Will’s dad gave a great speech, too.

And the rest of the night was an awesome blur of dancing,

(Amy, the friend of mine who did my hair, was also at my wedding, and she was like “I know how you dance!” in reference to making sure my up do was secure. Ha ha.)

dessert bar (you better believe I was the first one in line),

photo booth (click to see larger),

s’mores bar,

and goofing around!

What a day! Christina and Will hosted an amazing event, and it made me so happy to see all of their loved ones there, celebrating them. I really enjoyed getting to know their friends and Will’s family (they are a hoot!) better.

And I am just so happy for them! We all love Will like a brother, and he and Christina are such a great fit! The two of them are always off of adventures together (they’re in Vail right now) and I really enjoying hearing about how their share their passion for life with one another. 

I cannot wait to see the professional photographer’s photos! Christina just looked so dang glamorous – like a 30s movie star! Everyone just looked fantastic in their suits and dresses. I loved the color scheme Christina and Will came up with! Here is another sneak peek their photographer posted:

So, fair warning – even though this is hella long, there will probably be more posts/mentions. There were just so many other details I wanted to share, like Christina’s “Something old/new/borrowed/blue,” all the desserts and who made them, how her friends helped out, and so on. Oh, and let’s not forget Dexter, who I am sure provided much moral support during planning:

And one last thing. Before the wedding, many people told me they thought I couldn’t walk in high heels. And many people told me after the wedding they were surprised I was able to walk around in them. You guys! I know how to walk around in high heels! I just don’t want to do it cause it hurts! Ha ha!

*This space was really so neat – the barn was on the top level, which is where the tables and dance floor were set up, then the lower level was where they put the bar, photo booth, and food. I can’t wait to see if the professional photographer got some good photos of it all set up!

Comments (9)

By kilax, June 7, 2014 3:26 pm

I’m feeling…

… surprised at how quickly the time has passed from the start of the year to the wedding. But I probably say that every year, about most things. 

… relieved my dress still fits. I’ve been trying it on periodically, but hey, you never know!

It’s a lovely little photoshopped number.

… panicked that I don’t have my matron of honor speech done. Lots of ideas floating around in my head (and in google doc drafts) but nothing I’m in love with yet. Have you ever given a speech at a wedding? What inspired you?

… ecstatic to see family and friends come together to support Christina and Will (and to PAR-TAY!)!

… emotional to see my little snis as a bride!

… and proud of all of the hard work and planning she has done for the wedding. 

… sad already, for when it’s all over. 

… excited to see my snister tomorrow and ask how she feels. Who gives a crap what I am thinking about!

OH! And one last feeling. Another relieved for a week from now when I can quit worrying about tan lines, mosquito bites, and getting owies. 

Comments (8)

By kilax, July 2, 2016 10:11 am

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since we were in Sterling, Alaska for Nick and Alyssa’s wedding! And we’re actually off to another wedding today!

A few people have been asking me if I was going to post some wedding pics, so here ya go!!!

Remember the story of when we went shopping for Alyssa’s wedding dress?

I don’t recall if I’ve told the story of how Nick and Alyssa met. They were both working at places that sold Michelin tires and were sent to South Carolina for Michelin training (in fall of 2013). They connected at training, but Nick didn’t get her number or anything. So when he got back to Iowa and couldn’t stop thinking about her, he emailed the places in Wasilla, AK (her home town) that sold Michelin tires and said “If a girl named Alyssa lastname works there, will you have her call this number?” And he only knew her last name because he saw it on her certificate of completion for training. Creeper! Ha!

And she obviously responded to him! I saw Nick quite a bit during this time when he was first texting and calling Alyssa, then taking trips to Alaska to see her (he’d fly through Chicago) and I had never seen him so happy. Aww.

Alyssa moved to Iowa to be with Nick in May 2014. And the rest is history! They’ll continue to live in Iowa (they actually closed on a new house right before their wedding – exciting!).

Back to that Michelin training though. Some of Alyssa’s coworkers from the shop in Wasilla were at the wedding and had some funny things to say about training – “We don’t let women go anymore!” (jokingly) and they wrote in their wedding card “that damn Michelin training.” Ha ha. I can see why a shop wouldn’t want Alyssa to go – she is a hard worker but also a lot of fun to be around!

On to the wedding! The wedding was held at a place owned by a guy Alyssa’s dad works for. I think the guy uses the places for retreats, etc., and Alyssa’s dad has helped build some of the cabins/buildings there. Alyssa’s family let ALL of my family stay in these cabins, giving us a place to stay for a few nights, for free. They also rented us a huge 15-passenger van to get around, and hauled all our luggage, separately, for us. Very, very generous. We’re so thankful to them for making things easier for us (especially when there was so many of us!).

So they gave us the cabins… and they all used campers. As did many of the other guests. Some camped in tents, too!

The ceremony was at 2:00 pm. There had been a chance of rain but there was an indoor backup plan for it. It looked like it was going to be clear so the ceremony was set up for outside, then as we sat there waiting for the start, a few drops came down… but that was it! Phew!

The ceremony was held in the space behind the cabin we stayed in (which is also where Alyssa prepped!), and overlooked the Funny River.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Alyssa was crying when she walked down the aisle, so that made me cry a bit. Ha ha.

Me and Stefano at the ceremony

They did photos after the ceremony. I am excited to see how they turn out! We’ve gotten a photo of me and my three siblings at all our weddings, and I’d like to do something with all of them. Fun fact: all four of us have had outdoor weddings!

Mom, Alyssa, Nick and Dad

Alyssa and her mom and dad

The Bridal party – Jacob (Nick’s best friend), Anthony (our brother), Nick, Alyssa, Kathi (Alyssa’s best friend) and Brittany (Alyssa’s best friend). Nick’s boys walked Chevy (Alyssa’s dog down the aisle).

View of the back of Alyssa’s dress

Alyssa’s mom’s dad is very in to cooking, so he prepped all of the wedding food, with a bit of help. Starting around 4:00 pm, trays of foods were brought out – salads and a variety of local meats (I think caught/hunted by the family) – salmon, caribou, moose, etc. It was amusing for me to see which of my family members would try the local stuff, and which passed.

The whole wedding vibe was very casual, which was fun. It was like we were all hanging out having a huge fancy picnic together… and with some adorable puppies!

Chevy, Autumn, Hooch & Moose

Main building where the food was, and tent over the dance floor.

Me, our nephew James, and Christina

They did the traditional cutting of the cake,

bouquet toss,

garter toss,

and first dance together, and groom/mother dance, and bride/father dance.

An eagle showed up at some point during the reception, which is a common sight for Alaskans, but we all gawked and thought it was cool. Must be some sort of wedding blessing, right?

The DJ played a few songs after the first dance, then I plugged my phone in (eek – there is some nutso stuff on there) for music. And there was a bit of drinking, games, and s’mores around the fire. And I think some people were even fishing? It was fun – there were lots of options for what to do!

After 10:00 pm, I took my nephews to our cabin to try to get them to sleep. Ha! Fat chance when it’s still light out until past midnight and they can hear people outside having fun. Poor guys. They tried the best they could!

I really enjoyed spending time with Alyssa’s family and getting to know them (it helps to put faces to names)! I had met her mom twice before, but felt like I really got a chance to talk to her on this trip (well, when she wasn’t running around being the wedding coordinator). I hope I’ll get more chances to see her when she visits Iowa… and I hope we’ll be back to Alaska!

And I’m so happy to officially call Alyssa my sister now! It was exciting when I tagged her in a picture on Facebook earlier this week and her last name was changed! We’ve loved her since we first met her and are thrilled to have her be part of our family.

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

Comments (23)

By kilax, October 16, 2014 6:23 am

• Woot, woot! I kind of can’t believe the Royals are going to the World Series! Rachel and I are convinced it’s because we “left” some good luck at the stadium when we were there in July. You know, I’ve been to Kansas City every year since 2002 and that was the first game I’ve ever attended (and Rachel’s first, too), so I guess the only way to test that theory would be for both of us to attend a game next year and see what happens. Ha ha. 

• Fun story – my mom’s parents owned a hotel near the Royals stadium the last time they went to the World Series (and won!). The hotel was called the “KC Stadium Inn.” My Grandma still had some of the shirts from there when I was in high school, and I was in to “vintage” stuff so I wore them all the time. Too bad I don’t have one anymore. My mom wore a hat from ’85 to the game we went to in July. WAIT! Is that what the good luck was?!

• And now so you know this is still my blog, let’s talk about running. Ha ha. Saturday’s half marathon was my 7th of the year! That is the most halves I’ve ever run in a year (I know, not many, but a fun stat for me)! I might make that 8, and run a half at the end of November to determine where I am at, pace-wise, for the Dallas Marathon. The only problem is that the half I am looking at is someplace where I have bad running juju. Ha. AND is by the same organization that hosted the half last weekend, so the course could potentially be measured wrong. 
• Don’t forget… I have a $5 off code – KIM2015 – for the Wisconsin Half and full Marathon on May 2nd! I am already signed up for the half, and thinking about going for a PR next year!

• My tattoo is healing well! The redness went down right away on Monday. It sometimes itches, and just started to scab a bit last night (I really hope it doesn’t scab much and I don’t have to get it touched up). Oh, and does the font look familiar, now?

• Data made a pretty big fashion change recently! What do you think of it? Hee hee. Soooooo sophistiCATed. 

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 66

Comments (21)

By kilax, July 3, 2014 6:27 am

• Today I am thankful for internal alarm clocks! I taught my “Friday” 5:00 am class this morning since tomorrow is a holiday, and thought I had set my alarm… nope! Gah! Good thing I woke up in time! I would have felt like a total ass if I slept through a class I was supposed to teach (and especially after moving it to another day of the week!). Do you have an internal alarm clock? For what time is it set?
• Last week I was talking with an engineer who works for the company that designs OFF! bug spray, and he reminded me that mosquitoes are attracted (among other things) to the CO2 we exhale. Of course, my brain immediately started thinking about the increased amount of CO2 we exhale when we start to reach ventilatory thresholds during exercise… and made me wonder if there is any correlation to mosquitoes being more attracted to people who work out. I mean, it helps if you are outside to start, where the mosquitoes are. But I wonder if the higher amount of CO2 makes much of a difference. Hmm. Let me know if you run across a study on that. Ha ha. 
• Despite whining about growing my toenails out for a pedicure for my snister’s wedding, I actually really liked the pedicure (it was my first ever!) and have been enjoying having polish on my toes, since then. Maybe this is something I will do more often! (Or maybe I will get my bike shoes on and have to trim the nails <— that may be more likely)

• Ha! After I scratched myself up so badly attempting to slide at a softball game before the wedding, I was careful not to get dinged up anymore. But now that the wedding is over, all bets are off! Ha ha. I “slid” in to a base at the next game, and dove for a ball at the game after that. Who needs pretty legs (I have my pretty toes… and legs that are covered in mosquito bite scars anyway)?

• Does anyone else have the habit of listening to half on song on their music player before skipping to the next one? I notice myself doing this lately, whether I’m in the car or riding the train… I listen to part of a song, sing along, decide I’ve had enough and skip ahead. Ha ha. 
• I never got that tattoo I talked about last October. Not that I was planning to. But I am still thinking about getting one, and have a design, location and someone to do it with (not the artist, but someone to get a tattoo, as well), in mind!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 63

Comments (38)

By kilax, May 15, 2014 6:28 am

• Yesterday, I found out completely by accident, that a coworker who sits right next to me is running the same half marathon I am on Sunday. It makes me sad that we sit right next to each other and never talk about what’s going on in our lives. But eh, it’s a two-way street, and I tend to not share much about myself in the office. Are you close with your coworkers?
• OMG I realized I have less than a month to write a matron of honor speech for Christina’s wedding. Ahh!
• I’ve been wearing the Asics Gel Cumulus shoes since mid October 2010 and have had great success with them. I love the gel cushioning system! In fact, when it was time to get trail shoes for my 50K, I didn’t even try a pair on… I just read about an Asics shoe that fit just like the Cumulus and bought them (and they work fantastically). Anyway! I am a huge supinator, and I heard the Asics Gel Nimbus has a bit more support in the lateral front of the shoe for that, so I got a pair to try. We shall see what happens! If nothing else, I will have a super spiffy new pair of street shoes. 

• I was reading this story (pdf here) about 24 year-old Garth Watson, who is running from California to New York in 150 days to raise money for Stand Up 2 Cancer, thinking “I want to do something like that someday – run a bunch of miles and fundraise!” (and “Man, it sucks that the people who said they would support him on the run bailed on him.”). Then I was like… derp. I am doing that with team Running to Remember for The Longest Day, fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association. From sunrise to sunset, someone from the team is running on a track, and last year, they ran a combined 300 miles! I am excited to see how many miles we get in this year! Please visit my personal page if you’d like to donate – no amount is too small!
• Are any other Soldier Field 10 Miler registrants wondering what is up with the corral system? It seems like some people are placed completely randomly in the corrals, even though Fleet Feet said they corrals are based on estimated pace. For example… I am in the middle corral, 9, and Gina and her husband, who are coming from Texas to run the race with me, are in the last corral, 18. Even though we registered at the exact same time (she registered for me) and all put the same pace. Seems odd, but… I get super annoyed when people obsess over corrals so I am trying not to. Emphasis on trying. Ha. It’ll all work out on race day. 

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 62