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By kilax, October 22, 2014 5:42 am

If you’ve been reading my blog for almost any amount of time you may have noticed that I love to be Matchy McMatchersons with my friends at races. See, um, here, here, here or… most of this page. 

It’s dweeby and I love it!

With whom do you like to “match” / be twinsies?

Sigh, I am always trying to get Steven to be matchy, but he just isn’t game. What’s up wit dat?! Ha ha. 

My snister, however, is game. 

Muah ha ha. When she was packing for her recent trip to see us, she made sure to pack shirts that I also had (or bring me NEW CLOTHES!!!). So we could be twinsies. Every. Single. Day. 

And it was amazing. To us. Only. 

Hey! If you can’t be a complete goob around your family, then who can you be one around, really? (okay, okay, mostly everyone, if you’re me, apparently)

We had a really nice visit with Christina and Will! I unfortunately had events each day that kind of anchored us to the area around our house, but we were all happy to chill, eat at a few restaurants, have homemade pizza, play a game, go bowling, go on a walk, go shopping (2x!!!), get massages, visit the warehouse, go to a party at the studio I teach at… and did I mention, chill?

Ha ha. Data is already missing Christina SO MUCH. She gave him all the proper cat aunt loving, and he really enjoyed it! He hung out with her for most of their visit!

And while I mentioned it was a bit unfortunate I had a few events going on… I guess I meant mostly for them. For me, it meant my sister could do my hair and coordinate my outfits! Hee hee! I wish she could do that for me more often. Hmm, we have a empty spare bedroom…

We can’t wait to see them again! Even if it’s not until Christmastime, sniff sniff! 

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By kilax, October 21, 2014 9:20 am

Of course, I can’t ask the question in the title without asking you what kind of social media “sharer” you are!

Are you a:

• NO sharer? Are you part of the rare and elusive breed that shares nada online? You don’t even have a Facebook account? You still, gasp, share most info in person or on the phone?!??! Hee hee. 
• Do it then share it… sharer? You share things you do, and “important” news on social media, but don’t talk too much about it before, and share it after the event.
• Talk it up and share it sharer? You talk about doing something quite a bit before doing it, then share it while you’re doing it, and after. 
• Some sort of hybrid of above?

Ha ha, of course, those are just some goofy categories I came up with! But, I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I watch how people share information online. I am more of the do it then share it type. It’s odd for me to talk about something a lot (online, mind you) before doing it. In fact, it’s odd I mentioned the Milwaukee Marathon as much as I did before running it, and that I have mentioned the Dallas online so much, this far. There are certain things I try hard not to share online before it happens (or make too obvious), like travel, or work stuff.

So, anyway. 

Last week, I was talking with a friend about whether we prefer hearing something from a friend before we see it on social media. We both agreed that we’d prefer to hear “important” (of course, that is subjective) news first, rather than by discovering it on a feed or in a blog post. And of course, that made me think to ask you… have you ever been upset or hurt to find out news online, before hearing it “personally”?

Personally is in quotes, because I don’t actually mean in person, I just mean, hearing it, well, on a person-to-person basis, whether that is in person, on the phone, in a text, in an email… whatever. 

I’ve never been upset (that I recall) to read something first online (I must say though, I have been honored to know “important” information before it is announced). I just take it as one of a few things: a sign of how close I am with the person and what they want to share with me first, a sign of them not thinking the news is worth telling people before they read it online, a sign that the news is too difficult to share with everyone personally (online is easier and faster method), that they may be sensational and prefer to share things this way, that the “news” isn’t something super important that you would share with people first… you get the idea. We’re all different, we’re all going to share differently.

So, back to the original question – who do you tell before social media?

I typically share things with my family and close girlfriends before doing them, and… anyone who happens to be around and listen to me talk. I am an over-sharer at heart. And while I can can keep other people’s secrets, I get pretty excited about my own stuff and will blab away!

Like I said, I’ve been noticing different people’s sharing patterns online, and I find it super interesting. We all have the capability to craft our own online social image, but, we can’t control how people interpret it! Or, how they feel by what you share and don’t share and what they already knew. Gawd, social media is so tricky. You could really use it to mess with people. Or purposefully piss them off. I am sure NO ONE ever does that…

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By kilax, October 17, 2014 5:05 pm

Helper cat not only assists in wrapping gifts and hair maintenance (<—that explains a lot, right?!)… he ALSO helps make the bed when we have house guests*! How helpful!

Um…

Or… not. Typical Helper Cat shenanigans. 

My snister and her husband are coming to visit! AHHHH! They haven’t stayed at our house since… geesh. 2009? No way it’s been that long (corrected – the last time was in 2012)! However long it’s been, I am really excited they are coming!

Who was your last house guest?

I like that we live close enough to a big city that people come to visit us… then we make them stay in the suburbs, mauh ha ha. JUST KIDDING! It’s fun to go to the city with guests. 

Anyway. Back to Helper Cat. If only he could help do some other prep work, like cleaning the house… sigh. At least I don’t have to get it to Grandma Level clean! Heck! Maybe my snister doesn’t mind if I clean at all?!

*unless they are allergic

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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

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By kilax, October 15, 2014 11:55 am

In April I decided I wanted to get some blood work done. I had never had it done before, and thought it would be a good idea for several reasons: to get a health baseline, because I follow a specialized diet and wanted to see how that was affecting me, and most importantly, because I had been recently been feeling very fatigued in the sun and sweating out a lot more salt than normal. 

Per my health insurance, I had to get a physical in order to do this. When I called to make the appointment, I found out my regular doctor no longer practiced at the office I go to. I decided to try a new doctor in that office, because I had liked the first one so much, and because the office location is so convenient for me. 

This ended up not working out very well. The new doctor and I did not mesh. At all. 

He teased me about my paperwork. “It says here you are divorced and remarried!” Um… what? Why would you joke about that?

He teased me about my vegan diet, and asked ignorant questions that a doctor should know the answer to. “So, you eat fish, right?” Really, dude?!

He told me I needed to lose weight – which is fine – I did. I told him I was aware of that, and that I work out a lot (running 30+ miles a week, teaching strength classes, etc.), but struggle with binge eating. He recommended walking after dinner. “Oh,” I asked, “because that would be a good distraction from sitting on the couch eating snacks?” “No,” he responded,” because Europeans do that and they’re thin. You need to exercise more.” Um… did you listen to me AT ALL?!

Sigh. I was so frustrated. I’m not a super serious person, but apparently, I don’t want a sarcastic doctor (who is not a very good listener). 

It’s not like me to put up with “service” like this and not say something. But I was really there for a means to an end – to get my blood results and to ask about the salt issue (which, by the way, I had to ask him as he was trying to leave the room – he never asked if I had any questions – and which he blew off). So I didn’t say anything. I just knew I would be looking for a different doctor, or maybe clinic, the next time I need that sort of assistance. 

Why share this now? Eh, I’ve been thinking about this since April. It’s not my intention to share this to complain, but to say that while it put a bad taste in my mouth for that particular doctor, it didn’t for the healthcare system. I know quite a few people who are anti-doctor and I don’t want to be like that… I am just anti-bad fit (and that doctor could be just the right fit for someone else!).  Finding the right fit is hard (gah, especially with therapists!), but, it’s worth it. So my pep talk is… don’t give up!

Oh! And the blood work looked good! I was just low on vitamin B12, which is very common for vegans, and treatable with a vitamin supplement. 

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By kilax, October 13, 2014 8:02 am

Yesterday I had a chance to do something small to celebrate recent marathon (and half marathon!) success and my general love of running/being active! It’s something I have been considering for a year…

I got my first tattoo!

I saw this the text “keep running” on a tattoo online over a year ago, and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I took that as a sign that I was committed to it and it was time to get inked!

A few friends gave me recommendations for local tattoo parlors and I chose to go to Good Family Tattoo in Antioch (Illinois). I am super pleased with the experience and LOVE how the tattoo turned out!

I asked my artist, Elisa, if she had any tips for a first-timer and she said “just remember to breathe.” Basic, but it was a good tip! And it made me laugh, since I say that a lot in the strength classes I teach. 

Of course, the tattoo is tiny, so it only took 10-15 minutes*! It didn’t hurt much at all – just felt like a bit of pinching. I was surprised by how quickly it was over (twss)!

I can see how people get addicted to getting these. They’re fun and easy. I already have another style in mind that I like…

I will probably think that one over for a year or two, as well though! Ha ha. 

*When I called to ask about getting this, they recommended just coming in as a walk-in (right when they open at noon) since my tattoo was so small and simple, and I had a font in mind (BONUS POINTS to anyone who remembers where that font is from!). So the whole experience was around fifty minutes long – getting there, signing paperwork, showing the design, then having Elisa recreate it using the font online and getting the stencil ready, putting it on, going over care instructions, paying, etc. Elisa actually told me that most people get tattoos on top of their shoulder blade or on top of their shoulder, so we looked at those spots too, but Steven and I both really liked it in this area. I’m happy Steven came with me and helped me pick out just the right spot!

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By kilax, October 9, 2014 6:22 am

• If you missed the lunar eclipse and blood moon yesterday, and live in the right parts of the world, you’ll have two more opportunities to see it happen next year – on April 4, 2015 and September 28, 2015. Mark your calendars (ha ha, apparently, I was dorky enough to mark my calendar for yesterday’s)! According to this article, it’s rare to have so many of these happening in a row, as well as for them to be visible in all of the US. Here’s some of the awesome (ha, ha ha, not) pictures I got of yesterday’s:

• Gina asked me to help Luca out with something very special… learning about Star Wars! Ahhhhhh! I am so excited to teach him about my favorite movies (IV-VI, obvs) and talk with him about it! I wanted to send him a book so he could start getting familiar with the story line and it took me forever to find one that just told the stories of the movies and not some side story. But! There was success yesterday on my lunch break! Yay! I can’t wait to read this to him when I see him in December. I also must find some good Star Wars toys to send, too…

• I am feeling kind of bummed about Halloween this year. For the past four years we’ve gone to Iowa and celebrated with my family, but I am not sure if I can do that this year because of a work committment. I still have some hope that we will somehow be able to make it out there! We just have such a good time!
• Just for fun, here is an interesting article about how people have been wrongly depicting what running form looks like, for many, many years. 

And a few more random post marathon thoughts:

• The official photos came out, and my form was not as good as I thought it was at the finish (cause, derr, I was tired?). So, while I am getting better with form, I still really need to focus on it… maybe forever?
• I stopped running with music in December 2012, and am thinking about adding it back in to some workouts, maybe to help with speed. Do you listen to music when you workout? I play music when I teach strength class, for sure. But on the run, it’s either my thoughts, or conversation with a friend. 
• I used the Glympse app so Steven could see where I was at any moment while I was running. The app lasts four hours, so I reset it just after midway point. I really like that I can do that for a marathon and it doesn’t completely drain my battery. 
• We haven’t really had a post race celebration. My sleeping and eating have been really off since Sunday. But I finally slept through the night last night (instead of waking up at 2:00 am full of energy). Yay!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 65

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By kilax, October 8, 2014 6:44 am

You guys know I get a kick out of made-up words! Here is a new one, and it perfectly describes me – satisficer. A satisficer is someone who, when making a decision, “would rather be fast than thorough; they prefer to quickly choose the option that fills the minimum criteria (the word “satisfice” blends “satisfy” and “suffice”).”

I have long been interested in the process of how people make buying decisions, because I know many people who enjoy doing a lot of research, and spend muchos time analyzing options and coming to the “best” conclusion – and I’ve wondered why I am not like that! This article (pdf here) calls those people “maximizers.” “‘Maximizers’ like to take their time and weigh a wide range of options—sometimes every possible one—before choosing.”

Interestingly, I clicked on this article to read in my newsfeed because the title was “How You Make Decisions Says a Lot About How Happy You Are.” I wasn’t expecting the article to focus on this topic that I’ve always wondered about! Exciting discovery (… for me, ha ha)!

So, the takeaways:

• “Maximizers are people who want the very best. Satisficers are people who want good enough.”
• A small (aren’t they all?) study was done on college students graduating and getting jobs. The maximizers in the group got “better” jobs with higher salaries than the satisficers, but felt worse about their jobs. 
• “Maximizers make good decisions and end up feeling bad about them. Satisficers make good decisions and end up feeling good.”
• “Satisficers also have high standards, but they are happier than maximizers. Maximizers tend to be more depressed and to report a lower satisfaction with life, research found.”
• “The older you are, the less likely you are to be a maximizer—which helps explain why studies show people get happier as they get older.” Some people get happier as they get older, ha ha.
• “One of the things that life teaches you is that ‘good enough’ is almost always good enough. You learn that you can get satisfaction out of perfectly wonderful but not perfect outcomes.”

Geesh! They really make maximizers out to be miserable folk! There are definitely people out there who have too high of standards for most things, but I doubt everyone who enjoys doing research during the decision making process feel “bad” about the decisions they make! Or hates life. 

However, I do see the point made that satisficers are generally happier because they aren’t torturing themselves, wondering if they made the right decision, or getting so stressed during the decision making process. 

A lot of the end of the article focused on being in a relationship where one person is a maximizer and the other is a satisficer. The article recommended letting the person who the outcome was most important to make the decision. 

That is the kind of relationship we have – Steven loves to research options before making a decision, and I just dive right in! I’ve gotten better over the years though – now I read the Amazon reviews before purchasing something. Ha ha. 

Are you a maximizer or a satisficer?

The article included this quiz to help you figure it out, in case you don’t know off the top of your head!

Ha ha. Um, the only ones I don’t disagree with are #2 and #12. And #12… who doesn’t fantasize from time to time?

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By kilax, September 17, 2014 6:52 am

What a fantastic idea – a local teenager is programming an add-on (pdf of the article here) for Google Chrome called “Rethink.” It provides a pop-up warning whenever someone tries to post a potentially harmful or offensive message on social media. 

Rethink is intended for teenagers, with the intention of cutting back on cyberbullying. The programmer, Trisha Prabhu, started the project after reading about a cyberbullyed teenager who committed suicide. Prabhu noticed that the more social media accounts someone has, the more likely they are to post offensive comments. She also made an interesting connection between brain development and age – the area of your brain that helps control impulses and consider outcomes is not fully developed until age 25. So younger people may post something cruel without thinking through the consequences. Rethink adds a step that allows you to, yeah, rethink, before posting. It simply asks, did you really want to post that potentially offensive comment?!

Prabhu tested Rethink on a group of 300 students and the results were successful – originally, 71% were willing to post the offensive message, but after they saw the pop-up warning, they decided not to post it, 93% of the time (the phrases used that trigger the pop-up are from the Cyberbullying Research Center). Next steps for Rethink – present it at the Google Science Fair!

Reading this article made me think about so many things:

1. I hope none of the young people (or people, period) in my life have to deal with cyeberbullying. Or are cyberbullies. 
2. Gosh, I am happy social media did not exist to the extent it does now, when I was in high school. It causes so much drama for adults; I can’t imagine what it’s like for kids. 
3. I think this add-on is a great idea for teenagers… and could think of some adults who could use it, too. 
4. I “rethink” a lot on my own – draft whole posts, never post them. Draft emails, never send them. Don’t comment on something. Highly edit comments. Add emoji to try to convey if I am joking or whatever. It’s so easy to misread online! Because of all that rethinking though, I never regret when I hit “send,” “post,” “comment” or whatever. 
5. The brain development point is interesting – I am a highly compulsive person by nature, and I do think that my compulsiveness have improved a bit in some areas as I’ve gotten older. Ha. I hope. 
6. These cyberbullying comments seem to be more directly insulting – “you’re ugly,” “that’s stupid,” etc. How about an add-on for the indirect judgy comments that adults throw at each other?

Do you think this add-on is a good idea? Do you feel like you are good at thinking things through before you post/comment?

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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!