The good in the bad

It’s an ugly, rainy day today, but I just finished a two-mile run with Rudi. I love running in the rain — always have — and the reasons are two-fold. One, it keeps you cool; that’s a no brainer. The second reason is the one I fear might make me … kind of an ass.

Have you ever run in the rain and looked at the people watching you run by? It’s a whole different experience than when you run by on a beautiful day. When it’s sunny and gorgeous, people think, “Well, isn’t that nice. She’s out running and enjoying this beautiful day. Good for her.”

When you run in the rain, the people watching you are thinking more along the lines of, “Wow, she must really be dedicated to be running in this weather. She’s probably in great shape. I wish I had that kind of motivation.” And, you all, I really like when people think I’m a motivated runner who’s in great shape.

You see, they have no way of knowing that I’ve run a total of, like, SIX MILES since announcing I would be running 13.1 of them in a few months. (Well, eight miles, now, but shhh — this will be our secret!)

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To those of you who have asked, I’m alright. I know it’s been a month since I’ve posted, and I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been a really difficult month. It’s been awful. I miss Yuki everyday, but the outpouring of kind thoughts (and lovely cards and even donations made to Puppy Hill Farm in Yuki’s memory — thanks Deana!) has given me a new appreciation for the kindness of family, friends, and strangers. You know I’m not a hugger, but if I could, I would give each of you a massive bear hug (and probably make you cry, because I seem to be doing that to people lately).

Rudi is doing well, too — we’re trying to plan lots of puppy playdates with neighbors and friends, and she’s going for more walks than ever before. Plus, she’s getting spoiled as hell. Oh, you want to come up on the couch? Sure, just this once. You want another treat? I don’t see why not …

And yes, we will get another dog, one of these days. Not now, but when the time is right, we’ll know. And when that happens, I know there will be difficulties, but I have no doubt we’ll find the good in that, too.

Diagnosis: Suburbanitis

I’ve never been a city girl — really, I’ve never even lived in a big city at all, although I do enjoy visiting them. And although I spent my childhood in the country (seriously, three dirt roads to get to my house, one of which flooded — often), I don’t think of myself as terribly country. So of course, it only stands to reason that I now am a total suburbanite.

We’ve lived in our cute little house in our cute little neighborhood for about a year, and it occurred to me that we didn’t know most of our neighbors. And I suspected there were some cool people living nearby — many were friendly enough to wave or say hello without ever meeting. Shoot, I’d had conversations with plenty of them while out running or walking the dogs. But, it’s like, then what? You’re outside and don’t have your phone. Do you just stop by to say hello sometime? It’s awkward.

So I decided to throw a party.

My neighbor Blair and I passed out flyers to every house in the neighborhood (around 40 — my ‘hood ain’t huge), and told everyone to bring a drink, snack, and chair if they wanted, and come on over that Friday night. We set up a tent in the front yard, I put on my pearls, put out some nametags and markers (they were cool, dammit!), and, lo and behold, we probably had 30 or 40 neighbors come by. And I was right — they were fun! We’ve hung out with several of them since then, and seriously, I just think it’s so cool that, as I’m running by, people will wave and say, “Hey Kristen!”

This has brought about something new, though. Now that I know these people, I care what they think about us. And if you’ve ever lived in a cute little neighborhood, you know it’s all about the front yard. I’d always focused on the back yard because that’s where we really spend our time, but last weekend, I decided to do some planting in the front. Voila!

Don’t get me wrong — most of that was there already. But, I added the yellow flowers on the left, the potted plants to the right of the walk, the hanging plant to the right of that, and a bunch of small plants in between all those short little shrubs, plus the red flowers (kind of front/center, but you can’t see them very well just yet). AND, I planted a cool purple pointy shrub in the back, toward the right. Aren’t you impressed with my mad gardening skills?

Mostly, though, I just wanted to get a picture up there now before everything croaks.

Jesus Christ, Superstar (now featuring Ted Nugent)

There’s a commercial running in our area for the current run of Jesus Christ, Superstar, which features a man who I believe is named Ted Neeley (or something). But, when they start saying his last name, the music comes in and it totally sounds like Nugent. And I would totally go see JCS if it featured Ted Nugent.

This is one of the many, many random things Jared and I laugh about together. We celebrated our fifth anniversary yesterday (whoa! does time fly or what?), and the thing that strikes me is that we honestly just get along better and better every year. You have to admit that the definition of a perfect relationship is probably one in which I can yell, “Nugent!” from the living room and he cracks up in the office.

Also, he’s a great kisser, and that always helps.

I’m not gonna lie, it turns me on a little

I’m chronically messy. I hate being a slob, and I get very frustrated very quickly when I can’t find something … especially when I can’t find it because I didn’t put it back where it needed to go. Which is generally the case.

That being said, I think one of the most beautiful things in the world is a well organized closet. And our home now has three of them. Well, four if you count the one that we completely emptied out for other things that we don’t have yet.

My shoes are no longer jumbled together in two giant Rubbermaid tubs. Now, I have 10 or 12 of them in a lovely hanging organizer, and the rest are sectioned off in one of those cool under-the-bed organizers (but it’s still in the closet — if they’re under the bed and I can’t see them, I’ll  never wear them.). All of my purses are also in a swell hanging organizer. All. Of. Them. Oh, and scarves and wraps and pashminas and cardigans (basically, anything I might want to grab right before heading out the door to a sure-to-be-freezing restaurant)? Neatly folded and in the same cubby. Hey, I even moved all the jeans that don’t fit (or are currently out of style but sure to be cool again … one day) into a drawer in the other room so I don’t have to feel like such a bum every time I look at them! Woo!

Where’s my crafty stuff? Oh, it’s in the office closet, all together in a tub. Likewise, all of the Christmas decorations and wrapping paper/bags/bows are in the same area. The nostalgic crap that our parents refuse to keep schlepping around and we can’t bear to part with is all in one section of the closet, and costumes/bridesmaids dresses/wigs/other fun stuff is on the other side of that closet. Seriously. Quiz me. I know where it is.

Now, don’t be too impressed — the rest of the house is not looking so good. So, if you come over, probably I’ll show you my closets right away, and then try to get you drunk enough so you don’t notice the random bottle of nail polish in the kitchen, or the laundry basket (empty!) on the couch, or our overnight bags from this weekend that are still sitting by the front door. Because, y’all, I am done with the cleaning and organizing for today. Possibly for all of 2009.

Remember, I don’t like kids OR science

You will NOT believe what I spent my morning doing. Really, try guessing the last place you’d imagine me going willingly. Is it a middle school gym full of sweaty science nerds? Because, if so, DING DING DING! We have a winner!

Yes, it’s true. I volunteered to judge a middle school science fair. The only excuse I can give is that the idea was broached to me during a really cool wine tasting, and I was a few drinks in, and the idea of the poor science fair being short, like, 10 judges made me feel, like, bad and stuff. Gah. Freakin’ conscience.

It wasn’t so bad, other than apparently science fair judges are supposed to be familiar with Scientific Method. I’m familiar with it in the sense that I have heard of it and I am aware that it exists. Beyond that … isn’t there, like, a hypothesis or something? I dunno. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask any of the scientists who were there, because I felt stupid enough.

Honestly, it was interesting, because not only had I never judged a science fair, but I’d never actually seen one, or known one existed in real life. Since the kids doing science fair projects tend to be some of the good kids, I didn’t have to throw anybody down or make them run laps (I used to coach volleyball in that very gym, so I was kind of tempted, just for shits and giggles).

And what else has been going on, you ask? Jared had a birthday, the Gators are going to the National Championship, Rudi has a new prong collar (because OH MY GOD DOG WHY CAN’T YOU JUST WALK LIKE A REAL DOG), I was the big loser in a cardio class at the gym (and not in the weight-loss way), and … a million other things that I will totally do a better job of telling you about, starting … tomorrow.

What would you call me? (Keep it clean, please)

As some of you may know, I have The World’s Cutest Goddaughter. Seriously. See for yourself — meet Jorie:

Can you imagine a cuter little kid? Try, I dare you.

I love her to pieces, and she mostly loves me, too. Although she kind of prefers Jared. I can’t say that I blame her. He’s a lot of fun.

One of the few times during our trip to MI that I wasn’t eating her delicious baby cheeks

But, we have a problem. She’s my cousin’s (well, second cousin — that as close to a cousin as I have) daughter, and she already has an Aunt Kristin, so obviously, I can’t be Aunt Kristen. Even though I’m the one who spells it correctly.

Jorie and her mom (my cousin), Jen

So, the question is, what should she call me? You know, once she’s talking and calling me something with more than one syllable? Godmother Kristen sounds just a tad too formal, and I’m guessing that shortening it to “God” is probably a little confusing. GM sounds too much like BM, and I don’t ever want to be associated with poo, so, what do we do?

Don’t fail me, Internet. Help. What should my sweet, cute, wonderful goddaughter call me? Please, keep your suggestions clean. Whatever you can come up with, I’m sure I’ve been called worse. And remember, there are children involved this time.

What it means

As we neared November 4, I had a hard time even watching TV because I was so sick of hearing all of the negative political ads — not just the presidential ads, although they were a big part of it, but all of the local candidates as well. And I was so ready for it to be over, that all of a sudden, come November 4, I didn’t know how to act.

I was NERVOUS. I ate all day and started drinking too early (I was drinking for you, Barack). When the announcement came at 11 pm, WELL. Like many Americans, I was simply overjoyed. But that doesn’t even begin to explain how I started to feel the next day.

My friend Susan, who has two small children, said something really though-provoking — her kids will grow up never imagining that an African-American couldn’t be president in the same way that I grew up never truly understanding what it was like when schools were segregated.

And of course, this got me thinking about children. Several years ago, before Jared came along, I could have very adamantly and truthfully told you that I didn’t want them. Since we’ve been married (coming up on five years! yikes!), we’ve definitely talked about having them (at some point in the undefined future), but I have to say, I’m scared. Not just about, you know, the HAVING of them, but about bringing a child into this world. There’s so much negativity and corruption in the world, and it’s so much harder to be a child now than it was when I was little. How can I purposefully expose a child to that?

I don’t think our new president will solve all of these problems, but I have some faith that our world is going to be a slightly better place. Not only because of him, but because of the people he has inspired, and because, all of a sudden, people believe in the possibility of change again.

My kids will grow up in a world where anyone can grow up to be president (although, god help me if I have a child who wants to be a politician), and hopefully, where they’re surrounded by people who believe in making a difference in the world.

Dog Days

This weekend, in addition to the Gators’ big win over Georgia (Go, Gators!), I had a race. Although, nobody was drinking cocktails or tailgating for my event, so you probably didn’t hear about it. But, my friend Meredith and I did the Dog Days 5k, which benefitted the UF Vet School (I think).

And we did really well — we finished the whole thing in 30:15, so I know, not fast by “real” runners’ standards, but good for us, especially considering the course, which consisted of one GIANT hill and a bunch of smaller ones. I’m super proud to say that, while we might have had people passing us on the flat portions, we did all the passing on the uphill portions. Because we are badasses.

Afterward, Meredith’s husband ran the one mile fun run with their adorable pooch, Mya (also a Puppy Hill Farm baby). My husband would have run with Yuki, I’m sure, only he was in Jacksonville at The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

Believe it or not, this picture was taken almost immediately after the race, which is why Meredith and I are stricking superhero poses. Don’t we look like we could totally do it again?

(I’m so glad we didn’t have to do it again.)

She works HARD for the money

I know, I know, it’s been a while. Longer than I would like, and I’m sorry. But I’ve been working really, really hard. Like, the other day, I got a pair of fancy jeans in the mail that I had to try on to review.  And then today, I got some makeup, so I had to play around with that. You know, to make sure it all works.

(And holy cow, just wait until you read my review on the Lip Venom. Just. You. Wait.)

Okay, aside from all that hard work, I’ve been doing a little something else — AOL is launching a new (and temporary) holiday blog, called Holidash, and guess who is the copy and line editor! No, not Natalie Portman — ME!

Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to use a red pen (total bummer), but I still get to go through and make changes. I’ll be doing a little writing for the site, too, but not as much as I do at StyleList or That’s Fit. Anyway, I’ll be sure to tell you when it goes live (hint: sometime in November). It’s gonna be great — fun, snarky, informative, and seriously festive. We have some brilliant and really funny writers participating, and I can’t wait to share what they’ve done with you.

How it is that I do what I do

My friend Kyle (who also writes at StyleList and Tonic with me, along with several other places) recently wrote a post on how she started blogging for a living, and asked me to join in the discussion. And, to be honest, she was pretty much right on the money — there’s a lot of luck involved in getting started.

My story is pretty simple. My trainer, Fitz, wrote for AOL’s health and fitness blog, That’s Fit, and knowing I was a writer, kept bugging me to submit samples. I held off because, while I’m athletic and try to stay fit, I don’t have a degree in health or fitness, and at that point I didn’t have anything published, and I just didn’t see how they would want to hire me — what did I have to offer, you know?

Then, last fall, Fitz got an email about a new wedding blog at AOL, and it needed writers. She threatened to really beat me up at our next session if I didn’t submit samples, and since I have LOADS of experience with weddings (more on that another day), I was more than happy to oblige. I sent them in and was hired immediately. Like I said, luck.

From there, it was just a matter of letting those above me know that, should other writing opportunities come up, I was open to them, which is how I landed jobs at That’s Fit and StyleDash (which is now StyleList). My site lead at AisleDash, Susan, was involved in the startup of Chatterbox, so I got in there through her, and she also recruited me for BeautyHacks. And, my friend Cat, from StyleList, recommended me for Tonic.

I landed these jobs through contacts who are willing to help me out because they know I write well and consistantly meet deadlines. And, I’m always happy to step up when the occasion rises, often on a moment’s notice. Such is the glamorous life of a blogger.

Speaking of the glamor, let me break down a bit of what I do. I get up in the morning and start writing. Sometimes I start with ideas I formed in my own brain, but usually, I scour the Internet for hot ideas or products. Some days I work five or six hours, and sometimes it’s closer to 10. Some days I just can’t come up with much, so I walk away — I don’t want to burn myself out. But, that means the next day I have to kick it into gear, or else give up a day off.

The great thing is that I have immense flexibility in my schedule — I can have lunch with a friend or go on vacation when I want, no problem. However, I don’t get paid if I don’t work, and there’s no guarantee that the blogs I write for will be around forever (as I learned with Aisledash).

Some people expressed concern that I’d be alone, but I’m surprised at how not alone I feel. I’ve made some fantastic friends through work, and while they don’t live close enough to visit in person, we email and chat most days of the week. And, the beauty of that is, when I’m feeling antisocial, I can just wait to respond instead of closing my office door and starting a bunch of gossip. I like being alone a lot of the time (although I do find myself carrying on conversations with the dogs on occasion).

I love what I do. I don’t make a ton of money, but it’s better than what I’ve made at other jobs that caused me more stress and had far less flexibility (plus, they required the wearing of pants, to which I am somewhat morally opposed). I mean, I am a writer. Like, that’s my job, you know? It still blows my mind a little that I can say that. But I love my job because I love to write — if I didn’t, it would be incredibly difficult to get up and stare at my laptop every morning.

My best advice, if you want to start blogging for a living (or just as a side job) is to leave witty and well-written comments at the blogs you like. Find blogs you enjoy reading — they’ll be easier to write for — and submit samples with a short, smart cover letter to the editors, asking if they’re looking for contributers. Be friendly, remember names, and don’t be afraid to put something out there. Kyle has some other great suggestions in her post, but if you have any specific questions, leave a comment. I’ll do my best to help you out!