About

ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Kim!

I’m in my 40s and live in a very northern part of Lake County, Illinois, technically a suburb of Chicago, with my husband Steven and our cats, Khaleesi (Khali), Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard (Ned). I love to:

  • run
  • bike
  • fly (Steven got his private pilot license in summer 2024)
  • paint rocks
  • read
  • eat
  • pet cats
  • nap
  • go to the movies
  • spend time with family and friends
  • go to Guttenberg, IA
  • travel

Sometimes hobbies:

  • knitting
  • puzzles
  • eating healthy
  • building things with Steven


ABOUT US

Steven and I met as students at Iowa State University in August 2002. I grew up in Iowa, and he’s from Missouri. After graduating, we both ended up in Chicagoland – he moved here for work in May 2003, and I joined him after finishing school in May 2007. Later that year, we got married in September 2007.

ABOUT OUR KITTIES!!!

Khali showed up at our house in August 2016, and we officially “adopted” her in February 2017. We adopted Apollo and Starbuck from our veterinarian in August 2018. Apollo and Starbuck’s mom was a stray brought to our vet while giving birth! Eddard (Ned) showed up in September of 2021 and we adopted him in October of 2021. They are all indoor cats.

Past fur babies: we adopted Data in February of 2005, and said goodbye to him on September 4th, 2018. He had GI Lymphoma, and his body failed him fast during our last few months together.

We have a variety of outdoor fur babies that show up at our house and we take care of them until they leave us.

ABOUT MY HEALTH

I have Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS), a condition where your immune system mistakenly creates antibodies that make your blood more prone to clotting. Fun, right? I manage it by taking blood thinners – my doctor says I’ll be on them for life – and regularly getting my International Normalized Ratio (INR) checked to monitor my blood’s clotting speed and adjust my medication accordingly.

The journey to discovering I have APS began in summer 2022 when my left leg became very swollen, and an ultrasound revealed two blood clots. The vascular doctor suspected they were caused by a combination of a twisted ankle (from July 2022), being on estrogen birth control (which I no longer take), and having COVID (in August 2022). Initially, we hoped the blood clots were just a result of COVID, and that my blood work would come back normal, but the antibodies kept showing up. So, either I had APS before COVID and didn’t know, or COVID (or the vaccine) triggered it

ABOUT WORK

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, though I’m not a licensed architect. From 2007 until early 2021, I worked full-time as an “interior designer” – though it was actually interior architecture. Now, I’m an account manager. I’ve been working for the federal government since late 2008.

I became an ACE-certified personal trainer in July 2013 and taught whole-body strength classes at a home studio in Grayslake, Illinois, from March 2013 to March 2020. I loved sharing my passion for fitness and helping others reach their goals. However, the long commute took its toll, and when the pandemic hit, it felt like the perfect time to step away.

Steven is the creator and owner of FakeMeats.com – an online shop of vegetarian and vegan meats and treats! I’ve started working for him parttime in January 2023. I do social media and marketing (editing photos, writing blog posts, editing packaging, etc.).

ABOUT KIMHASTHERUNS

I started this site as ilaxstudio.com in July 2005 as a means of keeping in touch with my family and friends. Happily, it has turned into much more than that, as it has introduced me to new friends from all over the world!

In October 2007, I made the switch from hand-coding my site to using WordPress. My old site archives can be viewed under the Archive 07/2005-10/2007 link.

In November 2018, I moved to kimhastheruns.com because it’s easier to remember than ilaxstudio.com, my last name hadn’t been Ilax for a long time, my blog is no longer “design” (studio) focused, and I like running, and toilet humor!

DISCLAIMER

This site is edited in WordPress, and currently runs on the Divi theme. From January 2010 – November 2018, I ran it on Panaroma 2.0 by Themocracy. From October 2007 – January 2010, I ran it on a personalized version of the Sorrowful Skies theme.

Kimhastheruns.com was designed by Riss Blog Design. This includes the entire blog layout, header, “hello” photo, buttons, and post dividers.

All of the images on this site have been created by me, with exception to those noted otherwise. Feel free to download these images for personal, non-commercial purposes. But please DO NOT reproduce these images for commercial purposes in any way. If you would like to ask for my permission to use these images, please contact me at kim@kimhastheruns.com.

CONTACT

I would love to answer any questions you may have about the content of this site. You can email me at kim@kimhastheruns.com or leave a message in the comments sections on the home page.

I don’t allow guest bloggers/posts or ads on my website. I generally don’t promote products, events, or infographics when inquires are made to me. Please read here if you are planning on emailing me about posting about an event or product.