Comments (50)

By kilax, February 14, 2013 4:38 am

• For Christmas I told Steven I would like (as a gift from him) for my car to get detailed. He thought this was not a great gift idea. I was like, “Come on, this is the type of thing husbands get for their wife in a sitcom, then get in trouble for it… and I’m ASKING you for it!” Ha ha. He saw my point and got me a gift card and we were able to have the detail (and paint buff) done this Sunday. My car is so fresh and so clean clean! I’m so happy with how it turned out! Have you ever had your car detailed?

• At the club “A Half with Heart” on Saturday, Riyanti immediately asked if I was okay when she saw me, because I wasn’t my normal “bubbly” self (I have to confirm she said “bubbly,” lol). Damn! She was spot on with assessing me. I was still struggling with my cold, had a raspy voice and was DRAINED. It’s nice to have friends notice how you’re feeling. I can always count on Riyanti, and Bobbi for that! So cool that some of my blogging buddies are in the club*. Who are your friends that notice (and note!) your character changes immediately? I am lucky to have quite a few who know me well enough to know right away if something is “off.” 

• Have you noticed how some blogs just get a lot of “WTG!” and “Your xyz food looks great!” comments, and not many comments with substance? I have always tried to write the types of posts** that encourage dialogue  and I want to leave comments that have something to them. But I notice that a lot of the comments I leave are “I’m happy you got to xyz…,” “I’m happy met your goal,” “i’m happy blah blah blah…” It kind of feels like the same thing as “WTG!” to me. Makes me feel kind of lame. I mean what I say, but, yeah. Lame. 
• I got a few sweet Valentine’s Day cards, and gifts from my parents and snister! And since I am so cool, I posted a picture of the gifts on Facebook… then realized that my sister made the schweet chalkboard frame for other people too and I ruined the surprise. Valentine’s Day Fail! Sorry, snis! Anyone else make any other Facebook blunders lately? If you follow me on there, or are friends with me, you probably see I get a bit overzealous with the posting. 

 *Well, one was blogger first, then club member, one was club member, then blogger!!!
**Except my training posts, where there is really not much to say. Those are more for me, and I appreciate ANY comment on them. 

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 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 (48)

By kilax, January 31, 2013 6:29 am

• Check out this Vegan “Chicken” Noodle Soup how-to video that Steven made for FakeMeats.com (share it from our facebook page if you’d like)! This is one of our favorite recipes to make, and is super simple. All you need is water, Seitenbacher Vegetable Broth and Seasoning, veggies, noodles and soy curls (oh, and salt and pepper if you want it)! Also, see the image below the video for a behind-the-scenes look at the filming process. 

• We went to the movies last night…

• Steven just figured out we can watch Downton Abbey season 3 on Demand through our cable provider! Hells yes! We just have to finish the rewatching the last two episodes of season 2 then we can start!!!
• Steven’s been loving his new camera. He just got a new lens (50 1.8) and hood that really blurs out the background. He’ll mostly use it for taking food pics, but here are some examples of Data (click to see larger). And don’t worry guys. I will continue to take crappy iPhone pics for the blog. I won’t get all fancy pants on ya. 

• I made one of those images as the background for my phone and it dissected Data! Scary!!! Sorry, Data!

• Awhile ago I wanted to see how many blogs I typically comment on in a day so I started keeping track on a notepad. YES, I am that lame. The first day, it was over 50. It seems to average between 20-30 a day though. How many blogs do you think you comment on in a day?

• Also, speaking of blogging, I have been trying to reply to comments here more often, rather than all at once. I think it encourages more conversation. Do you care/notice when I reply to your comments?
• How’s your memory recall? I am excellent at remembering dates, when people tell me what their favorite flavor of ice cream is, where they are from… all those little personal facts. But I don’t have much of a memory recall of things I was supposed to learn in school, like the real name of the collar bone (clavicle). Steven, however, has excellent recall for that sort of thing.  

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: 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 (31)

By kilax, December 15, 2012 6:30 pm

I really have my priorities straight when it comes to packing – presents* and running shoes.

Funny (creepy?) story about the shoes packed in the pink bag. I haven’t worn them since October when I went out in a muddy cornfield in them… when I got them to pack, there was a piece of corn stuck in the shoe tread. The corn had mold growing on it.

I know. I know. I should’ve taken a picture. Sigh. Blogger FAIL.

Where am I going?! NYC of course! To run my last race of the year with Gina, and do some shopping and cuddling.

But! First things first! It wouldn’t be December if my schedule was not crazy busy**, so this morning we had the Chicago Running Bloggers party at Erin‘s house!

We did a run in the rain***, had a huge chili bar and appetizers potluck, did a Yankee Swap and even had voting for the best “holiday-themed” dressed.

There was a HUGE turnout (20+ people), and I was excited to catch up with bloggers I already know, and meet a few I hadn’t met in person yet!

From L to R, starting in the back:
Back Row: Anne, Katie, Emily, Cary, Lauren, Maggie, Bobbi, Charlyn
Second Row: Amanda, Katie, Kelly, Amy, Marcia, me
Front Row: Riyanti, Emily, Lindsay, Sara, Erica, Erin
By herself: Kelsey
Not pictured: Christina

The Yankee Swap was fun! I am too anxious to choose a new gift to open when I play, so I usually steal one. So I stole the Philosophy Bubble Bath that Emily won. Hee hee hee.

Are you doing any gift swaps this year? Do you usually open a new gift or “steal” one in a Yankee Swap?

I had a lot of fun at the party, and am really excited that I have met such a huge amount of new (to me), local bloggers this year (and gotten closer to the ones I already knew)! It’s so much fun to have a huge network of friends all over Chicagoland. And I love that many of us share similar interests and can hang out outside of running events too! Now if only we could hang out ALL the time and silly work… and other commitments didn’t get in the way… one can dream!

*Prezzies, as I usually call them.
**Ha ha, this makes it sound like I had no control over this, when in fact, me and Maggie picked this morning for the party.
***I am on team SNOW!!!

Comments (34)

By kilax, December 3, 2012 12:31 pm

Heh heh heh.

Which of these citations are you guilty of? And which are your biggest social media pet peeves?

Gina gave me these citations. To issue? I hope?! Ha ha ha. I am definitely guilty of a few:

• Constant profile-photo swapping – I do it all the time on Facebook, and am constantly changing my masthead here.
• “Liking” stupid things – I may be a bit of an over “liker” on Facebook.
• Lurking – Sometimes!
• Acroynm abuse – when it comes to running jargon, and Kim-speak, yes.
• Oversharing – Hey! That’s what I am all about!

And for my write-ins (that I am guilty of):

• Posting just to post (similar to overposting) – feeling compelled to post something… hey, where do you think today’s post’s inspiration came from anyway?!
• Posting too quickly – I like to write my race reports and get them up right away. A few people I know wait for the official photos. I am too anxious for that.
• Social media purist (snob?) – I stick to my blog and Facebook. I am still not on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest*… Tumblr… what else is there? It sounds fun, but I have a hard time keeping up with blogs and Facebook! I think I am missing out on a lot, but oh wells.
• Made up words – I have a few words that I use that are not real words, like schweet, snister, Fanksgiving, momo… that is surely not annoying at all…

*Well, I have an account but do not use it. Oops.

Comments (41)

By kilax, October 10, 2012 4:59 am

Guess what? I was a little bit woozy from Scrubbing Bubbles fumes when writing this. Please excuse any incoherent-ness.

Time to help me out… by sharing your weekly/monthly cleaning schedule. Our house is mostly tidy (except my closet until yesterday and my side of the bed) and mostly clean (but no where NEAR Grandma level clean), but I feel like I could do a lot better on keeping up with things. So tell me – what is your cleaning routine like?  J – I expect you to have some good tips for me.

I am wearing a new Ultra Runner RokBAND from Gina! It’s for running, not cleaning, but the first one sent from the company had a little mistake on it, so I got another one. So… mistake-one for cleaning, new one for running!

My biggest annoyance is that we cook so much that we ALWAYS have pots and pans out drying on the counter (on towels). So the kitchen counters always seem a bit cluttered. Do you guys hand dry all your pots and pans? Meh.

I have been thinking about stamping my photos for this site with my blog url. I did it on Monday… then promptly forgot with Tuesday’s post. Ha ha. What do you guys think about stamping blog photos? Do you do it? Why or why not?

Comments (32)

By kilax, October 3, 2012 6:56 am

Did you guys see the Wall Street Journal article yesterday, Why We Are So Rude Online?

Data is rude irl. Come on Data, enjoy that Candy Corn Oreo!

I was expecting the article to be all about the perceived anonymity of online presences, but it actually only briefly touched on that, and mostly covered Facebook.

According to soon-to-be-published research from professors at Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh, browsing Facebook lowers our self control.

So apparently, when we present an “enhanced” version of ourselves on Facebook, and get a lot of “likes,” it boosts our self-esteem, which then lowers our self-control. So in order to protect our online image, we may be more likely to lash out (and be rude) online.

Also, according to the article:

• “People who spent more time online and who had a high percentage of close ties in their network were more likely to engage in binge eating and to have a greater body mass index, as well as to have more credit-card debt and a lower credit score.”
• “”They found people who spent more time on Facebook were more likely to give up on difficult tasks more quickly” (giving up on an IQ test).

So Facebook is making us RUDE and FAT and POOR and STUPID.

Hmm.

I did find it interesting, in the last part of the article, where a person interviewed said he purposefully tries to start fights on his Facebook wall, and will even go out of his way and message friends to join in on the fight… all for his entertainment. That is messed up. I think (I hope), most people are not doing it purposefully, and it’s just the fact that you do not see someone’s reaction when you post:

We’re less inhibited online because we don’t have to see the reaction of the person we’re addressing, says Sherry Turkle, psychologist and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of the social studies of science and technology. Because it’s harder to see and focus on what we have in common, we tend to dehumanize each other, she says.

Personally, I have said a few things in blog comments and then gone back and thought “Geesh, that really could come off the wrong way.” I have even typed out comments… only to delete them, because I don’t know how people will read in to something I wrote. Teasing someone (or trying to be funny) online is hard, especially if your sense of humor is kind of weird (like mine is).

Why do you think people are rude online? Have you had any rude encounters online?

Comments (36)

By kilax, October 2, 2012 7:15 am

For all the minutiae I make you all suffer through on this blog, there is a lot that I leave out. Since my posts are usually focused on a certain topic, and are less diary style, there is a lot of things I do that don’t get blogged. Like, going to VeganMania with Steven,

attending my friend’s wedding,

exploring the Quad Cities…

And there is just a lot going on that I don’t mention – because it’s inappropriate, would unintentionally hurt someone’s feelings, is not my story to tell, shows you how awful I really am, etc.

I have been thinking about what I leave out on my blog, and what other bloggers leave out too. Because as you get to know bloggers in person, then read their blog, you notice what they told you, and what they wrote about something… or what they didn’t write about at all.

So, this sounds weird, but it’s fun to read someone’s blog, but know more of the back story to something they are talking about, or know that they are not posting because they are busy doing something they didn’t tell everyone about, and so on. Does that make any sense?

What do you leave out on your blog? Do you ever read an irl friend’s blog and think about the “back story” or what they left out… or aren’t saying, that they said to you?

Comments (19)

By kilax, July 11, 2012 6:13 am

This ended up being long, but I promise there is some good stuff in here!

All about ilaxSTUDIO

• Don’t forget to enter the Crazy Tan Lines Contest/Giveaway for a chance to win a prize of your choice! Entries are due Friday the 13th by 5:00 pm cst. It’s okay if your tan is not “exercise” related – I love a crazy tan no matter how you got it!
• On Monday someone from Runner’s World contacted me about potentially using photos of mine and Steven’s from the Corn Maze 5K (2011, 2010) for the Races+Places section of the October issue. Fun! I hope they use one.
• If you do not already “like” ilaxSTUDIO on Facebook, you can here! I post a bit more there… ha ha. Maybe that is a reason not to like the page.

All about ZOOMA

• I wrote a post about body image and how I got in to running for ZOOMA this week. Check it out here!
• The training kickoff for the ZOOMA Great Lakes training is next Thursday the 19th from 6:30-8:00 at Fleet Feet Chicago (1620 N Wells). RSVP to come! There will be yoga, massages and fooooooood.
• You can meet the other ZOOMA Great Lakes Ambassadors in this post. I’ve met a few of the ambassadors and am super excited about meeting the rest:  Amy of SecondCityRandomness.wordpress.com, Courtney of RunCourtRun.com, Marcia of MarciasHealthySlice.com, Kimberly of OutsideMyHead.com, Jess of RunWithJess.com, Laima of Women’s Endurance Gear, Meghan of The Perfect Compilation Tape, Bobbi of ZeroTo26Point2.blogspot.com, and Maggie of MagMileRunner.com.
• Don’t forget to use code GLAMB8 for $10 off the half marathon and $5 off the 5K!
• Another blogger friend, Kelly the Culinarian, just registered! Yay!

All about FakeMeats.com

• Like FakeMeats.com on Facebook if you don’t already! I am a Facebook admin for Fake Meats, which means I post lots of fun pictures, like this one…

Fake Meat “Chicken” Shish Kabobs

• And we are starting a fun new contest on Facebook – Fake Meats in Famous Places. We are posting photos of Fake Meats in Famous places (obvious) and asking a trivia question. A winner will randomly be selected from someone with the correct (or a correct) answer and win the Fake Meats in the photo! Today’s photo is below. Look at Fake Meats on Facebook later for the question!

• If you want to help take some Fake Meats in Famous places photos, let me know and I will send you some Fake Meats! We’ll credit your name on Facebook when we post your picture!

Phew. I need a breather from all these links. Here is a picture of the grill master. Just kidding! I just hold the utensils and food.

All about smartphones

• I’ve been playing Zynga’s Swipeout sometimes on my phone. It’s like fruit ninja, but you are killing zombies instead of fruit. I don’t quit understand how the coins add up, or what the object of the game is… but it’s fun.
• Another interesting game that Steven plays is Temple Run. You are being chased by monkeys and have to run, jump, slide under things, and collect coins.
• I really love the PicFrame app for making fun collages. And it has a ton of settings to change things up. Check it out!

• Erin told me about Foap, an app where you can try to sell your smartphone images as stock photos. I doubt any of mine will ever sell, but I have uploaded a few! After you upload them, they review them and may or may not accept them. I was surprised they did not accept my sunrise/sunset photos. I wonder if they will accept this one I took last night (below). Note: if you use this app, turn off email notifications for ratings and new followers – I woke up to 130 emails Tuesday morning from Foap.

Random Random Random

• Check out and like my trainer’s Facebook page – Essential Fitness LLC. He posts good articles and videos and pictures from class. I bet you wanted to see me jumping on to a step with a kettlebell? No?
• The Girl Scouts asked me to tell you about their Cookie Classic 5K on September 8th in Grant Park (in Chicago). Every participant gets a t-shirt and a box of cookies! NOM.
• And lastly, a good infographic on how to foam roll like a pro.

Yay! You made it to the end!

Comments (20)

By kilax, June 19, 2012 5:16 am

I created a Facebook page for my blog about a week ago. 

This is something I never thought I would do for two reasons:

1. I am not trying to create a brand or make money off my blog. ilaxSTUDIO is just a (creative?) outlet for me and a good way for me to meet people. 
2. I didn’t think I would have time for it. I tried Twitter a few summers ago and felt too overwhelmed. I had been feeling overwhelmed with keeping up with blogs lately. 

So why did I? Well, in short, because I am a sell-out. 

The long story is that someone contacted me about maybe being a race ambassador for a half marathon I have wanted to do for a few years (but it never worked with my marathon schedule). They asked about Facebook and Twitter and I said I had neither and asked if that reduced my chances of getting the ambassador position. They said it may.* So I thought about it for a few days and decided to see how difficult it was to set up a page for my blog. Then I started to play with it and decided to give it a try, that maybe it would be fun…

And immediately I decided it was a lot of fun… and that I might stick with it. We’ll see. 

It’s funny, I feel like with a Facebook page for my blog I can be more obnoxious on that about running and exercise and whatever else in real life than I can on normal Facebook. I don’t think that is the mindset I am supposed to have behind having a page for my blog, but I just feel I can be more myself there than on my Facebook wall. I think that because people voluntarily like it after knowing my blog**, they know what to expect… so I can be me. Hard to explain. And maybe in a few weeks I will decide I am not that in to it anymore.

Anyway, right now I am just posting my posts with intros and some other pictures (that sometimes are related to posts but are mostly just random) and enjoying it. I do think posting there may actually drive traffic away from my blog***, but we’ll see how that pans out. 

Do you have a Facebook page for your blog? Why or why not?  

*I still do not know if I will be a race ambassador for this race. 
**I realize this does not even make sense since the people who “like” the page are all Facebook friends anyway. 
***Because people see it on Facebook and comment there, which actually creates another place for dialogue, so that is neat!

Comments (46)

By kilax, April 20, 2012 4:35 am

Do you often subscribe to new comments/replies on blogs? Or do you manually go back to see if someone has responded to what you wrote?

I never remember to go back, so I subscribe to a lot of comments. I have been searching for years for a plug-in that does this for my blog, but to no avail. Despite ilaxSTUDIO being a wordpress blog, because it is self-hosted, that feature is not included. 

BUT! I think I finally FINALLY FINALLY found a plug-in that will do this. So if you hit “Notify me of follow-up comments by email” before you submit your comment, you should get an email when someone else posts a comment. 

If this is the truth, this will save me SO MUCH TIME in responding to comments. Because right now, I respond on my blog, then copy and paste that response in to an email. 

Yeah. 

Time consuming. 

Also, this will let all of you interact with one another. A few times people have commented on other people’s comments… and there is no way for that person to see the response unless they come back to the blog. 

So do me a favor and let me know (in a comment in this post) if you are going to check “Notify me of follow-up comments by email” and I will respond and you can let me know if it works. If you check this button, you will probably get an email confirming you are subscribing, which takes you to the wordpress subscription page, then you will get comment emails. 

If I find out this does work, I will probably quit manually replying to comments via email. You will be able to subscribe if you want to see my reply/other people’s comments. 

I also added a sidebar for email subscriptions. I think most people use Reader, or some other RSS aggregate, but someone was asking me about this awhile ago… maybe this is what they were looking for.