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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

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By kilax, May 7, 2016 5:25 am

I was a bit suspicious when I got a card in the mail addressed to “Mom.” Was Data actually thoughtful enough to remember Mother’s Day this year? And to send me a card?!

But when I saw what he wrote inside, I knew for sure, it was from him. Awww.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Comments (15)

By kilax, May 5, 2016 6:24 am

• Ha, I started looking for the MBP bracelet while my snister was here and after she left. I had a feeling she left it here! I found it Tuesday am when I went to get dressed – she had attached it to the hanger of a new shirt I got when I was with her. Ha! Good one, snis, good one…

• My second race of the year, the Wisconsin Half Marathon, is in two days! And today is my second (!!!) rest day/pre-race massage day! I put in miles, but didn’t train as hard as I could have, on the roads, or in the kitchen. Going for a PR or running “for run” will be a race day decision, depending on how I feel, and the weather. I’d rather have a solid race than go out too hard and die, as I have the last two years. I don’t want to end the spring racing season with that feeling. Again. But I’ll bring this pace band just in case. (Also, this race doesn’t have the best monthly timing for me, so there’s that.)
• Christina did a lot of research and found a house for all of us (ten people!) to rent when we’re in Alaska! I really appreciate that she did all that hard work and coordinated everything. It looks like the place will have some great views:

• It’s been so nice to use the new bathtub, but I seem to have lost my hot bath stamina – I can’t stay in there as long as I used to without getting dizzy/too hot. I’ll have to build it back up. Maybe I should write a training plan? Ha ha.

• Really random thought: I never volunteered at a race last year! I need to make sure I do that this year!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 97

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By kilax, May 4, 2016 6:16 am

I was pretty excited to see my calendar indicated the most important holiday of the year…

Ha. Of course it does. It’s a Star Wars calendar (from the Dollar Spot at Tarjayjay – score!).

I don’t have much planned for Star Wars Day! I do have my Millennium Falcon shirt on. Maybe today will be the day I finally buy The Force Awakens? I know, I know. It’s a shame I STILL don’t have it.

Oh gosh, I have to share the cutest thing – while discussing Star Wars with Luca during our Dallas trip, we found out he has a unique way of pronouncing “Millennium Falcon.”

One of our presents for Luca was this Hot Wheels Death Star case that came with an X-Wing, a Y-Wing, a TIE fighter, and the Millennium Falcon*. I think we’d actually discovered his unique take on the name before he opened his gift, but playing with the toy prompted this conversation:

“Luca, say ‘Millennium.'”

“Millennium!”

“Luca, say ‘Falcon.'”

“Falcon!”

“Luca, how do you say the name of Han Solo’s ship, the Millennium Falcon?”

“Millennium Balcony!”

Ha ha, love it. He’s too cute.

May the fourth be with you!

*Luca thought it was the Hot Wheels Millennium Falcon he already has, but alas – he has the one from The Force Awakens with the rectangular satellite and this was the one from Return of the Jedi with the circular satellite. Phew. I also explained the difference between his black TIE Fighter and the gray one we got him.

Comments (23)

By kilax, April 28, 2016 6:29 am

• Grrr. I haven’t updated on the bathroom work in awhile because work was mostly on hold while we waited for custom order bullnose (rounded) trim tile to come in. The tile finally came in. And… it was wrong. So we aren’t using it – we’ll do a metal trim piece instead. All that waiting for NOTHING. Ugh. The contractor is working on it again, and I HOPE it will be finished today* – I have house guests that arrive tonight!!!

This tile photo is pre-grout, so it will look different finished

• Lame. My work announced a steps contest yesterday, but only “walking” steps count. No running. Boooo!!! Ha.
• Sigh. They also had an announcement where they called the Chase Corporate Challenge a “marathon,” then immediately, a “5K.” It’s actually a 3.5 mile race. So… neither of those. Ha ha. Yeah, that would only bother runners.
• Odd. I ran on the Chicago Lakefront Path during lunch break yesterday. Every time I run it, I am surprised how few people make eye contact, nod, or say hello to people going the opposite way. It feels so odd to me not to!

• Oops. It was windy during my run yesterday, so I ran in to the wind for the start, with the wind at my back on the return. I wonder if I am going to regret doing this on race day – I almost always try to run in to the wind first, but it’s not like you can control that at a race! Maybe I should have done more of a purposeful mix to work on mental training (believe me though, I had plenty of runs that were all windy, or where the wind shifted to in my face on the way back, or there was no way avoiding it on the way back, etc.).
• Aww. Dad’s kitten pics are getting cuter and cuter!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 96

*highly unlikely

Comments (9)

By kilax, April 25, 2016 6:09 pm

A special dessert…

to celebrate a special fifth birthday!

We’ve had such a fun trip in Texas with our otra familia! More to come… when I am not eating fruit pizza, nom nom nom.

Comments (20)

By kilax, April 21, 2016 6:40 am

• A stray cat has been hanging at my parent’s place since the summer (first living in their garage, then in the house when it got cold), and they noticed she was getting a bit chunky this winter. Guess what? She was PREGGERS! Now my parents have kittens at their house. They’ll find homes for them, and get the mother cat spayed. My dad has been sending us daily pictures of the kittenz and I love it!

• Speaking of cats… I love the idea of this “business cats” article (pdf here) – a shelter in Florida is placing cats in pet-friendly businesses to increase their visibility and chance of adoption. I hope the program is successful! And of course, “business cat” makes me think of this meme! Data hopes the potential adoptees are wearing their best ties to the office!

• You may have noticed when I post a link to an online article, I also provide a pdf version of it. The reason is twofold – in case you’d rather read the pdf, and for down the road, when the links don’t work anymore. I’m happy I’ve been doing this, because I was just referencing an old post I wrote about flow and the link to the article was super messed up – I was glad to still have the pdf!
• Speaking of blogging… is anyone else getting tons of spam comments caught in their WordPress Akismet spam filter? I have comments on posts automatically close when the post is 30 days old, to help with this, but some robot is hitting my site hard. I went from a few spam comments a day, to hundreds of them. Just lots of deleting from the spam folder. Hopefully I am not deleting any real comments!
• When we first visited our home in August of last year, the mosquitoes were so bad we couldn’t spend much time in the yard. If you know me, you know mosquitoes LOVE me, and will choose to bite me through bug spray, even if someone else is standing right next to me without any on. Ha ha. That we bought the house, with the mosquito problem, is a huge sign of how much we love it! Now, to take care of the mosquitoes. They started biting me in March, and I probably have ten bites on my legs from last weekend! Cleaning up the pond will help, and we think we’ll get the yard fogged, too.
• I did my duty and tried all of the Ben & Jerry’s vegan ice creams. I am surprised to report that Coffee Caramel Fudge is my favorite! (I was surprised since I don’t drink coffee!) The other three flavors (Chunky Monkey, P.B. & Cookies, and Fudge Brownie) are so so – the flavor is good – just not what I go for in ice cream.

• Mica and her husband will be here in May and we’ll get to see them! I am stoked! It’s been way too long since we’ve all been together! Steven and I need to make it a priority to visit them in San Francisco, too. I should start putting money away to get tickets to go out in the fall or next year.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 95

Comments (13)

By kilax, April 19, 2016 4:20 am

Quick witted, I am not.

I was running loops in a preserve recently and passed a guy who was walking. We said hello.

Eventually, I passed him again and he said something to me. I couldn’t hear him and asked him to repeat himself.

“I saw your twin out here, too!”

Quick, Kim, think! What is he talking about?

Oh! He must have seen someone who looks like me, wearing shorts and a tank, and a hydration pack.

“I’ll have to look for her!”

And I run on. A few seconds pass and it hits me – duh, he was referring to seeing me the first time. To me lapping him. He was making a joke.

Gawd, I am so slow to get some jokes. Ugh.

So I had a mile or so to work on a response when I saw him the next time. “We must be triplets!”

Of course, I never saw him again. Sigh.

And unfortunately, I can’t blame this on runner brain. I am like this most of the time. Sigh, again.

The deer returned yesterday and Steven took real photos of them! Awwwwwww.

I need to come up with a bird (also: squirrel, duck, deer, and so on) seed budget. They clean me out pretty fast!