Live from the hospital: Kt's having a baby!

Say hello to Aunt Kelsey. Well, almost. I am currently sitting in the hospital waiting for little baby Wallace to be born. My wonderful sister (Katie)  and her wonderful husband (Brandon) are having their first baby. She's checked in and ready to go, and about to move into the labor room. I'll be keeping you posted. Right now, the waiting room is pretty mellow, however I am thoroughly impressed with the royal purple, leather seating. Claaaaaasssy.


Oh and FYI, tonight's Suns vs. Laker's game is very important since baby Kelton is coming from a torn house-- Brandon is a Laker's fan, Katie (although somewhat of a traitor lately) is  Sun's fan. So I figure, whoever wins tonight will change Kelton's destiny. If the Sun's win, he's a sun's fan. If the Laker's win, he's a Laker's fun. LETS GO SUNS!


I brought donuts for everyone. But so far, everyone is just me and my mom and we're both dieting. Soooo that's cool.


My sister and her husband-- married for three years-- are quite possibly the cutest young couple in the world, so I'm sure they're having an equally adorable baby (They are pictured above, at the baby shower, about two months ago). I am planning on achieving the "world's best aunt" award (recently given to my aunt nancy) by shamelessly spoiling Kelton throughout his darling baby and childhood. Here are the list of things I plan to do immediately with Mr. Kelton:


1. Dress him up. All the time.
2. Make Brandon babysit, leave him with some bottles and get Katie drunk (she misses the boos)
3. Buy him clothing
4. Read to him. ALOT. I just love, love, love children's books.
5. I'm going to tickle him. When he's old enough to laugh. And that will be funny.
6. I'm going to make him hang out with Calypso.
7. I'm going to come up with fun little nicknames for him. While he was still in the womb (second trimester) I called him skelator. But I don't think that's quite fitting anymore.
8. I'm going to rock him to sleep
9. When he gets a little older, I'm going to help him crawl.
10. When he spits up or throws up or poops I'm going to give him back to Kt


Well send your good thoughts and prayers our way!

Regalia: 5 Reasons why Road Runner Sports makes bad running tank tops

To: Road Runner Sports, you know I love you and I try to be loyal... but I guess nobody is perfect.


The Women's RRS Running Tank was possibly stitched with evilness and pressed with irritation. Usually, I stray away from bad reviews, but I have given these tank tops months of second chances, and I tried many different combinations of shorts and sport bras to see if things would get better. They didn't. I'd hate for any of you to waist your money, so I've provided you with a few reasons why you should avoid these tanks.


1. It rides up, and I mean all the way up. After months of looking like an athletic stripper, I have now started tucking them in, which is obviously super hip.


2. It encourages armpit chafing ...I know, gross.


3. The stitching comes undone. This may seem like a small concern, but when I pay for high quality work out gear, I expect to get it.  If I wanted to, I could run in old gym shirts but I like athletic gear, so I buy it expecting the best. I don't want my stuff looking like it belongs on orphan Annie.


4. It's hot. And I live in Phoenix, Arizona, so that is a major problem. True, it is a tank top, but it doesn't have the breathability that many of my running clothing has. It literally starts to feel like a sweater vest.


5. It's made in Thailand. And we all know that's bad. But in case you don't know, women make up 90% of the factories in Thailand where they are treated horribly, put in danger, work horrible hours and pretty much taken advantage of in all accounts. So that's bad. And don't even get me started on Nike. Maybe the RRS factory is different?


Honestly, I don't support fair trade as much as I should, and I don't know enough about it as I should, but it's kind of disgusting when you think about it: by buying this tank top I allowed that factory to stay open even longer. Ugh, heebeegeebees.


Toodles for now!

Run: Forming habits, missing training

Confession: I didn't run for four days in a row! I know, tisk, tisk. Frankly, by the last day I not only felt like Fatty Mcfaterstein, but I was also feeling anxious and uber-bummed. How many times am I going to have to remind myself that exercising makes me happy? Running = endorphins = happiness. DUH. 

Well at least I'm back on the running wagon. I did, however, realize something crucial. This running thing, it's supposed to last my entire life. This isn't something you just pick up and do for a couple seasons and then resign to a life of Nintendo and potato chips (For the record, I have nothing, and I mean NOTHING, against either of those things—in fact I rather like them both). I am attempting to develop habits that I will keep for the rest of my life. That’s quite a while. So I can’t go around moping all over the place every time I miss a few days. It’s going to happen. The important thing is that I don’t quit—that I put my Sauconeys back on and start running again. So the moral for today: Don’t even act like quitter. Keep your chin up, and keep running.

Now if only I could get myself out of bed before 7am, you guys could hear about my morning runs (which are currently nonexistent).

Running To Do’s (these are different then goals… somehow)

1. Trail run

2. Start running in the mornings

3. Run with an ipod (which requires buying one, which is difficult)

Rest: Do Phoenix: Bikini Lounge, Mucho Gusto, Mitchell Park

Every writer needs a place to write. Duh—writers have been declaring this notion for centuries (I prefer the musings of Virginia Wolf’s A Room of One’s Own). But finding the right spot can be an arduous and agitating affair. Until now, I’ve been loyal to local coffee shops, like Cartel and Xtreme Bean, but I’m sick of running into people that I know and being forced to socialize instead of write. Don’t get me wrong, I like socializing, I like it so much that I forget that I’m trying to work. Not to mention, with all those hipsters coming and going, the longing to people watch can become an incorrigible distraction.

Now that the temperature is rising, and soon Arizona will be likened to a hell-hole, the most important criteria in finding a new spot is air-conditioning—and I mean air-conditioning on high, blasted into every corner of the room, so cooling I may need a sweater. So today, I am writing from Sucker Punch Sallys—a grungy, rockabilly diner—and I may have found a winner. With that said, here’s the weekend run down:

Friday: Jeremy’s Birthday. We had cocktails on the roof of the Clarendon Hotel with 20 to 30 other Tempe/Phoenix socialites and attendees. Then it was off to Bikini Lounge, which, once we remedied the cash-only situation, was a total blast. The highlight of the night was the unexpected dance party that occurred around 1am. I’m a great dancer when I’m drunk, promise.

Saturday: No hang over? How could this be? Spent the day at Cartel working on my resume, and ended up having a very pleasant conversation with another Cartel-goer. And this oh-so pleasant conversation lead to a new freelance gig—I’ll explain more later, but I’m thrilled! And then it was girl’s night at Mucho Gusto with my favorite ladies, Rhiannon and Lauri (my Oregonian friend).

Sunday: Although the day is not over yet, it’s jam-packed with amazingness: (1) Dog walk with Amy for 30 minutes (she woke me up by appearing at my front door at 8am-hilarious). (2) Write at Sucker Punch. (3) Thrift shopping with Lauri, I’m hoping to find something as awesome as the dress pictured below. I'm in need of some cheap, adorable vintage that I can wear to work. (4) Mitchell dog park with all the ladies while the boys play soccer (5) Spend the night with my wonderful boyfriend who just completed his last season race. He’s going to need some girlfriend TLC for sheezy.

* Picture taken from http://ramonawest.blogspot.com/

So far, May is so good. Know of any good spots I should visit next weekend? Let me know in the comment section! 

Run: The comfort zone

It's easy to get stuck in the routine, in the monotony, so for the sake of my ever-anxious soul, I am really embracing The silver lining theory.  My running goal-of-the-day on Friday was to get out of my comfort zone-- someway, somehow. So as I turned the usual corner, where I usually start to head back, I gave my self a little pep talk. One step into a new direction: Will I have enough energy or will I bonk? Two steps into a new direction: This is exhilarating, really. 
One block into the new direction: I have arrived at my second wind. Don't you just love the second wind? I continued to run two miles outside of my typical trajectory. I know that's not very far, but there's really something exciting about breaking the routine and ignoring life's little safety cushions. I have now increased my daily run to four miles. So now I am one step closer to my June 1st goal of making my daily run a 5-miler and my long run a 10-miler. This also, once again solidifies the theory that you should make small goals and find small accomplishments within every run, or hey, even with every day. I in fact challenge you to do just that.


So what was my small accomplishment for today (Tuesday)? .....


My days are extremely routine, this is harder than I thought. Okay, I downloaded a computer program to do my 2008 taxes, I met my dad for lunch, and I cleaned my boyfriends house while he was out buying beer since he is so great to me. Those are all good things that made my day a little better. I hope you all have a very happy Wednesday! And hey, if you come here often, "Follow me," it makes me smile. Big time.

Rest: Four Peaks, Postino and Mother's Day

I'm a rather proactive person. I continually am making, keeping and crossing off To-Do lists of all kinds: life to do's, education to do's, daily to do's, career to do's, etc. I enjoy getting things done. In consequence, I get upset when I don't get things done. So I think part of the reason I became so ridiculously bummed out (in the post below) was because I didn't get much done over the weekend. I did, however, have a lot of fun. I'm in much better spirits today so let's take a look at my girl's night, my Four Peaks all day binger and my Mother's Day celebration. They were all pretty darn swell!

Friday was girl's night, and although poor Lauri (my Oregonian friend) was home sick with a cold, Rhiannon and me enjoyed some direly needed girl talk over wine, bruschetta and ice cream at Postino Wine Cafe. Delish! 

 And then came Saturday. One of my favorite things to when I'm feeling lazy is to wake up and watch a movie. I typically get really emotionally involved with whatever film I'm watching and it ends up being a cathartic experience. So, after bawling my way through P.S. I Love You, I headed out to FourPeaks... which was only an innocent beginning to an entire day of drinking. Fun!

And that leaves us with Mother's Day. My brother, his girlfriend and her kids (twins- adorable) came over, and we all drank, cooked and told stories while the kids played in the swimming pool. Midway through the afternoon I realized that I should probably be nice to my future nieces, even though at that point I couldn't even remember their names. 

My yummy vegetarian feist

Our epic salad bar

Dad squaring off with the dog. I'm not sure which one of them is more stubborn...

Me and Momma!

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day! 

Rate: My life, confused

** DISCLAIMER: If you have never been to my blog before, don't start here! I usually don't go off on personal rants like I'm about to below. Start somewhere else like here or here. So really, you can skip this post. In fact, everyone can skip this post :)




I try not to make this thing too uber-personal. But I've got something on my mind that I probably won't say to anyone else, so I guess I'll just say it here.


Ever since I can remember I've kind of been the odd ball out. I tried to hang out with the popular kids in middle school, and they would let me into their huddle, but I wouldn't get their jokes and I would say something awkward-- my face would get warm and I'd soon walk away. It's not so much that I was nerd growing up, I was just never quite cool enough either. Story of my life.   My comedic timing has never been very punctual, and I always seem to get lost in my thoughts when I should be listening to the world tick around me. I don't think it's a bad thing-- God forbid I became another plain Jane more concerned with being pretty and likeable than being an individual.


The problem is, I was never quite one of the artsy kids either. I wanted to be artsy. I wanted to be creative, witty and idiosyncratic. But I never lived up to the other kids' genius creativity-- at least in my opinion. However as I've grown older, I've managed to just stick with the "do you" mindset and be content with my slightly out of sink habits. You are what you are so embrace it, right?


Well the point of all this is, I feel like I'm once again in that limbo. The career world brings me closer to the popular people-- the cool huddle-- and I am dying to find success. I know this sounds horrible, but I want to make money, I want to buy cute clothes, I want to make my parents proud and not have to ask them for another dime ever again. I want to buy them a vacation around the world. I want to have a cute house and buy another dog and lay Wii on a big flat screen. Oh God .... I sound like every other typical American. And that is what scares me.


And then there's the other side of the pendulum. My friends and acquaintances write in journals, they find (or take) the best photography, they know all the best bands, they have cute vintage clothing and amazing tattoos, they have houses filled with cheap artwork and magazines. They go to political rallies and concert and live impulsively and passionately.  I want to be like that again, but I don't want to serve tables either. And no, I don't think that this is just a part of growing up, so please don't tell me that. I've heard way too many middle aged men and women contemplate what happened to who they used to be. I don't want to be like them. I guess I just don't feel like myself lately. There's got to be some balance. But balancing takes time, and time is something I don't have. I wish I had more time.  So I've got to figure out how to make both sides of my divided personality happy, and I just don't know how.  I guess this is an oh-so-typical gripe, but life is often pretty typical and trite.


Alright, I'm done complaining. If you made it this far, thank you. I promise I won't bore you with my complaints again for a very, very long time.

Run: The silver-lining theory

I can't help but be an optimist. I've read and heard that it's smart to have little goals and little accomplishments before and after every run. It sounds like a trivial practice, but I am finding more and more that it's extremely rewarding. For instance, this week has been a little disheartening. I felt extremely motivated last time we spoke, and I was determined to begin increasing my mileage. However, I must remind you (and myself) that I am still getting used to my new work schedule, and am therefore feeling extremely busy and exhausted. Lo and behold, so far this week, my work outs have been extremely short.


So that's a bummer.


And then, enter silver-lining theory. I think I am finally becoming a habitual runner. Definition of habitual runner: Some one who can't stand missing a work out, who rarely makes excuses that actually stick, and who runs even when she's extremely tired, anxious, busy or apathetic. Although I may not be nearing my long-distance goals quite as quickly as I was hoping, I am proud of the fact that running has become something that I love more and more each day. Even though there's times when I dread putting on my Sauconys, the dread comes less and less. I no longer look at running as my newest form of exercise, but rather as something I cannot live without. I never thought I'd say this without a slight scoff, laugh or shrug, but yes, I am a runner.

Rest: May fever

What a great weekend. I do hate having every minute scheduled out, but you either embrace it or bust. So I had a great weekend. Saturday was filled with a SheKnows casting call and then babysitting for my other boss. Saturday was the AZ State Champ Crit which took place in Old Town, so we drank beers while cheering and taking pictures. Below or a few of the best moments. There's going to be some changes around here at theblondebullet, but until I get that all figured out, I leave you with these pics:

Just seconds before I dump my bloody mary all over my and Lauri's lap... sadly, I was still sober. Gooo Bike Haus!

 Mmm... Men in Spandex: AZ State Champ Criterium

Just testing out the photoshoot equipment

SheKnows casting call for a reality show on our website!