About

ABOUT ME

Hi, I’m Kim!

I’m thirty-nine years old, and live in very northern Lake County, Illinois (technically, in 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 is working on getting his private pilot’s certificate)
  • 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’m from Iowa and he’s from Missouri. We ended up in Chicagoland because he came here for work in May 2003, and I came out when I graduated in May 2007. 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.

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. Our outdoor cat Jon Snow (Snow) lived “with us” starting September 30, 2016 and passed away (was hit by a car) on February 1, 2018. 2018 kind of sucked.

Starting in 2023, we have two outdoor cats that showed up at our house – Snow Jr (black) and Tywin (tabby). Snow Jr and appears to be neutered (he has a clipped ear) and we got Tywin neutered in December 2023 and found out he has FIV.

ABOUT MY HEALTH

I have Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) which is when your immune system mistakenly creates antibodies that make your blood more likely to clot. I manage this by taking blood thinners (my doctor says I will take them for the rest of my life) and getting my International Normalized Ratio (INR – how fast your blood clots) regularly checked and meds adjusted accordingly.

I found out I had this because my left leg was very swollen in summer of 2022 and an ultrasound revealed 2 blood clots. The vascular doctor guessed I got them due to twisting my leg ankle (in July 2022), being on estrogen birth control (which I no longer am), and getting COVID (in August 2022). We hoped that the blood clots were caused by COVID and my bloodwork would come back normal, but those antibodies kept showing up in it. Womp womp. So I either had APS before COVID and didn’t know, or COVID activated it (or getting vaccinated).

ABOUT WORK

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture (I’m not a licensed architect). From 2007 until early 2021 my full time job was “interior designer” (really, interior architecture). I’m now an account manager. I work for the federal government (and have since late 2008).

I used to be an ACE certified personal trainer (since July 2013) and taught whole body strength classes at a home studio in Grayslake, Illinois (from March 2013 – March 2020).  I loved sharing my passion for fitness with others.

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.