Friday, December 31, 2010

All's well that ends well......?

Did you know that's a William Shakespeare quote? One of the most commonly used phrases, and I bet you didn't realize that was good ole Billy. Well now you know :-)

It's only appropriate that I use that as the title to this entry since it is currently 5:30 on December 31st of 2010. Yep. It's New Years Eve. WOOT. And I say that in all seriousness. I'm pretty done with this year so thankgoodness it's over in a few short hours. That's not to say that there hasn't been some awesome times this year. I mean....I definitely have some memorable moments (read: all of the summer). But, overall, I'd say that 2010 would not rank up there with one of the best years of my life. Which is okay - you know why? Because I'm on the cusp of starting my 30th year of life - which means, based on the way the life spans of women are lengthening - I've got a good 70 more years to have plenty of good ones :) (see what I did there?)

But I thought it'd be fun to look at what I had down for my 2K10 resolutions and see if I accomplished them.....and yes, I have some for 2K11 - and a nice post to come - but that's not what I'm doing here.....so....without further adieu...


2K10 Resolutions
1. Visit friends more/Be better at Keeping in Touch
I do believe I got better at keeping in touch. I visited Florida a few times this year. I reconnected with a friend from Albright that I hadn't talked to in nearly 7 years....I'd say I did above average in this department. Grade: B-

2. Take a big trip to Europe
We all know this didn't happen. I was supposed to go visit Paul in October and due to some complications - it didn't happen. HOWEVER, I do have plans for an April visit :-) YAY! Current Grade: BIG FAT F - soon to be A.

3. Finish Grad School
Turns out this wasn't so easy. Money was tight this year and since I got a new job, it took up more of my time. I did, however, set my sights on a finish line and when I'll be student teaching. Grade: B

4. Get a head coaching job
We all know this is my BIGGEST accomplishment of the year :-) YAY! I love my girls at LMHS. I'm so grateful for this job and can't wait to continue it for MANY years to come. Grade: A+

5. Read more often
I have read quite a bit, unfortunately I didn't keep track of how much I actually read. I think this year I'll actually keep a tally. Grade: B-

6. Help/Volunteer/Donate my time more
Yeaaaaa, with the exception of RTF stuff....didn't have a ton of time for this...but I would say that a lot of my extra effort was put into the time I spent at PSC this summer. Still a goal of mine for 2011. Grade: C

7. Make RTF Golf Outing awesome!
And it was! It was EXTREMELY successful! Looking forward to another one this year. Grade: A

8. Write more
Complete fail. Grade: F. Just don't have time.

(Exercise goals)
1. Eat Clean - Better but not good - Grade: D
2. Eliminate Sugar - hahaha - who am I kidding? - Never going to happen. Grade: F
3. Run a Marathon - Not this year, but on the list for 2011 and another list which I'll unveil soon.
4. Get Six Pack Abs (haha) - not. even. close. Grade: F
5. Get my Spinning Certification - see other list.
6. Get my training Certification - see other list.
7. Work with a trainer - fail.
8. Ride with a Team - Didn't do this BUT am working on this for 2011. Have a few leads.

So - Idk. I'm not disappointed because honestly, the biggest thing I wanted this year was a head coaching job and I GOT IT! So, I'd say I'm pretty happy.

I did accomplish a lot of personal records. I broke 2 hours in my half marathons and and I continue to better my time each race. I'm trying to de-clutter my life. I'm also trying to get better at dealing with guys. Still not super good with that. Eh, I'm a work in progress....right? Aren't we all....

Saturday, December 25, 2010

'Tis the season to be jolly and joyous....

With a burst of pleasure, we feel it all right
It's the season when the saints can employ us
To spread the news about peace and to keep love alive~A Muppets Christmas Carol

Yep - I went there.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope all is well with everyone on this Christmas Day!

No snow here - although there's a possibility it will tomorrow night for the Eagles game!

It's also the season to be thankful and grateful for the things that have happened or (in my case) not happened this year. But that's for a different post.

For now - enjoy my pengie :-)

Monday, December 20, 2010

"Have a seat on this.....chassey....."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahhh memories :-) Some reminiscing was done on Saturday night with my sister and her friends (who I suppose are my friends too - although they're technically my sister's first). And we were talking about old PW musicals. Both of my sister's friends have younger brothers, and I distinctly remember one of our musical auditions where Laura's brother, Tim, was doing a scene and he recited the EXACT quote I have in my subject line. Now, if you don't know....what I'm talking about...it's supposed to be a Chaise.....yup. HAHAHA - maybe you just had to be there. I was on my 3rd Stoli and Soda at that point of the night after all - and we all know when you're drinking, some things are a LOT funnier than they actually are :-)

Oh good times!

One more week til Christmas! I have half of my shopping done. I still need to get pressies for my Sister, Dad and Stepdad. I suppose I'll find time to do that on Wednesday. Thankgoodness no Cabrini this week - definitely gives me more time.

This weekend was busier than I expected. Friday, we had a meet - we lost - but the girls were still in good spirits. I've now had two different league officials tell me that it's a joy to officiate our team. Apparently my girls are treats! They are splendid to say the least. Boy-crazy and all :-) It was a slow pool - so none of them swam their fastest times. I think it might have discouraged them a lot - but I told them not to worry - we'll be swimming Haverford on Tuesday - it'll give them the opportunity to get some of their best times so far. I have two girls that are () this close (that's me holding my fingers as if they were pinching), to qualifying for districts in the 100 fly. I think they might be able to do it at the next meet.

Saturday I coached at Baldwin in the morning and then went shopping for some Christmas presents at KOP. [[On a related note, Kelly and I went into the Lucky Brand Jeans Store and I tried on a pair of Zoe Bootleg Jeans. Ah May Zing! They srsly made my legs look killer! But. They were $119 and since I was only there to buy presents for people and not myself...no dice. But at least I know what kind of Lucky's to buy myself.]] Met up with Kelly's friends at Bahama Breeze where I started my dinner with a nice appetizer of Raspberry Stoli and Soda :-) Delicious. I think the waiter liked me too because when I ordered my third, he brought me a double - even though I only ordered a single. How kind of him! Lots of laughs and good times on Saturday.

Sunday I went to spin class and then met up with one of my swimmers' parents. We a LONG chat about her daughter and the season. It was an important meeting and I'm glad we did it. Just long. After that I was so mentally exhausted. I had to turn Jeremy down for soccer stuff. We're going to get together tomorrow (Tuesday) to work on some things. The rest of the afternoon I spent putting my meet stuff in from Friday, emailing my girls, tweaking a few things for the week....talking to Paul on skype :-) HE COMES HOME IN FIVE DAYS! YEAH!!!!!

The Eagles had AN AMAZING COME FROM BEHIND WIN YESTERDAY. It's official. The city of Philly's sports teams - pwned NYC yesterday. PWNED!

Oh yeah, and Cliff Lee is STILL a phillie :-) hehehehehehe.

This week - well although it's technically less busy, it's still jam packed.

Today:
-Running
-Call Montco about my class
-Make tomorrow's meet lineup
-Practice from 2-5
-Possible Spirit Dinner

Tuesday:
-Spin Class
-Soccer w/ Jeremy
-Swim Meet

Wednesday:
-Running
-Shopping
-Drop off cookies at Cabrini
-Drop off cookies at Baldwin
-Practice 2-4:30, team Secret Santa
-Dinner with Brian?

Thursday:
-Morning Practice 5:30 - 7
-Gym 7:30-9
-Shopping (if not finished on Wednesday)
-Practice 2-5
-Coach Baldwin 5:30-8

Friday:
Christmas Eve
-Spin Class
-Over to Dad's for the afternoon/evening festivities


Leave it to me to turn my latest post into a series of lists....hey, it's what I do :-)

Hope everyone has a splendid week! (wow, that's twice I've pulled that one out....geez, how old am I? 87?)

It's gonna be a whirlwind week!


P.S. If You're bored...my new favorite website to waste time with is When Parents Text. Trust me - you'll laugh.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I make lists...it's what I do.

A little while ago, I wrote this post about things of which I am certain.

Yesterday as I was getting my five miles in on the treadmill, I started to think about the things I believe:

I believe you can will yourself happy or sad....same goes for being healthy and sick.
I believe, sometimes, life is a lot less complicated than we think it is.
Sometimes, I really believe, I'm adopted.
Despite not being super religious - I truly believe God only gives us obstacles in which he knows we can overcome. He knows a strength in us that no one else does.
I believe in people...and their faith in each other. Despite how many people do bad things to each other - I still genuinely believe people can be good at heart.

As another mental thought I've been having in the last few weeks - since I've started coaching - I'm learning a LOT about myself and the girls. To name a few:

-I thought I was outgoing in high school....these girls I have on my team put me to shame.
-My swimmers are definitely NOT afraid to be themselves - no matter where they are.
-Being myself goes a long way with them.
-Having them understand that they should be proud of themselves is actually happening! I'm so excited about this.
-They want to gossip with me about everything, including boys....and why I am single or what kind of guy I want to marry. ha!
[[Sidenote: Yesterday, one of my girls actually asked me if I was related to the Harriton Head Coach. I told her, um, no...why? do we look alike? And she said,...no, I was just wondering. And she then proceeded to say, Are you dating him? You should date him? Do you like him? We'll work on that for you? - all in one fair swoop. I was like...ummm, no we're not dating...and if you think you can do that...go for it. I just couldn't help but laugh. Apparently she thinks we'd be cute together. Haha]]
-Swimming in high school is a BLAST!
-All my girls are top notch ladies - I'm so lucky to have them!


So there's a few lists this morning - nothing huge...but wanted to share them. I'm sure they'll continue to grow as the weeks/months/years go on...but I'll be sure to update the Swim Team List :-)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I find, sometimes it's easy to be myself.....

Sometimes, I find it's better to be somebody else ~ Dave

So....MAYBE I jumped the gun on the whole guy thing - but...despite the hiccup I seemed to have experienced this past weekend, all is well :-)

But that is not what this post will be about.

It's coming up on that time of year....Christmas, New Years....Kwanzaa. And that means it's about time for a 'Year in Review'! Awesomeness.

Seriously you guys - this is where my OCDedness is perfection. Because I write EVERYTHING down that happens in my schedule I have a legit way of looking back on my year and telling you all how the month/week/day went. Yup. I am THAT OCD. Oh well, you love me.

SIDE NOTE I JUST FOUND OUT CLIFF LEE IS A PHILLIE AGAIN! OMGOMGOMGOMOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! :-D I'm SO PUMPED! HAHAHAHA - now, I have to work on tickets for opening day and night!

anyway - just a brief update.

We had our first meet yesterday. It was kind of a cluster ef. BUT we made it through, the girls seemed to have a good time regardless of the loss. They swam their hearts out and I am/was so proud of them! There were a bunch of technical difficulties and some minor DQ's but overall, it was alright. It's all a learning process, yes? Our very first relay, however, NEARLY qualified for districts with the very first race - just .5 off....so here's hoping they do it on Friday because THEY ARE SO CLOSE! I was seriously so pumped when I thought they got it. I have two more people who are VERY close to qualifying in district times for individual events. I think I'll have a half dozen girls make it this year and possibly one state qualifier....that is, if they listen to me :-) haha

Our next meet is away at Conestoga on Friday - apparently they're MUCH better than Radnor - so - I guess we'll go Oh-fer for the first three meets - but after the holidays we should pick it back up - so here's hoping - regardless - the other teams in our league are killer so I think the girls did amazing yesterday regardless of the loss. I just hope they realize it.

Anywho - I'm off to read EVERYTHING ABOUT CLIFF LEE AND THE 2011 PHILLIES! SO EXCITED!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

There you go making my heart beat again,

Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo

I'm stuck on you
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue
~Sugarland

It's been a bit of time since I've updated so I supposed now would be a good time since it's pretty much the only free time I have until the weekend (eek!)

So some of you might be wondering what the lyrics to the Sugarland song mean? :-) Hehe....well....it's VERY new....but...there's a guy:-) and let's just say those lyrics are very representative of how I feel and I'm pretty sure of how he feels too. And the biggest difference between this one and all the others is that it just feels right. It's so hard to explain that but, when you know - you know. That's all I'm going to say about that...but just know...I'm VERY happy these days and not just because of him :-) (but he plays a part in it).

SCHEDULES
My schedule for the new few months is going to be crazy - if the first half of this week is an evidence to that - this is how every week will look until the end of March:
Monday
-Gym
-Cabrini 11-2
-Coach 3-5:30
-Class 7:15 (starting in January)

Tuesday
-Morning Practice 5:30-7am
-Gym
-Cabrini 11-2
-Coach 3-5:30
-Baldwin Coaching 5:30-8

Wednesday
-Gym
-Coach 3-5:30

Thursday
-Morning Practice 5:30-7am
-Gym
-Cabrini 11-2
-Coach 3-5:30
-Baldwin Coach 5:30-8

Friday
-Gym
-Coach 3-5
-Baldwin Coach 5:30-8

Saturday (sometimes)
Coach 8:30-11
Private Lessons 11-12

Sundays
Nothing (aka school work)

In addition to this schedule - there are days when I'll have meets. I'm also taking an online class at Montco (that is, if they didn't mess up my payment).

Yes, I'm busy. It's wonderful though. This swim season is going to go FAST! I still can't believe it's December already!

SWIM TEAM
The girls are great. There have been some snafu's, as there will be in anything new...but for the most part, I'm still loving it! No matter how terrible my day is going, whenever I see them, it just makes me so much happier. I seriously heart them. They're all wonderful people. They make me miss high school swimming!

Our first meet is Monday against a big rival team - Radnor. I've been telling the girls we can win this meet and I genuinely think we can, but they have to "show up" for the meet. Of course, that being said, it's on a Monday, so hopefully we'll be able to start our week off right. Wish us luck!

RUNNING
Lately, despite colder weather and wind, I've been running outside - it's kind of refreshing to do it. I honestly don't mind the cold once I start running because I get hot so quickly. If only I have cold weather riding clothes, I'd probably take my bike out every other day. Next year maybe.....

I've lessened my miles for the month already BUT I'm about 70ish miles away from reaching my goal for the year - 1000 miles on foot. If I do the right miles for the next four weeks, I'll reach it! Yeah! I'd say next year I'll go for 2000 but that's a LOT more running...maybe just increase it by 200 miles a year...I think I could do that. I just like setting goals for myself.

Speaking of setting goals...running goals for next year...just one...complete a marathon. The rest is just gravy. I really want to be in that less than 1% of American's who've completed a Marathon. Yep. That's it. I'd like to be in that elite group.