Day 13

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

Wowzers - these are tough challenges. Anyone that knows me knows that I have SO many favorite songs/bands/artists. But I suppose if we're being true to what a favorite represents then there really is only one band that this could be.



There's a reason I have over 800 of their songs (no, not all original - most of them are live versions) and their entire discography on my computer. I just heart them. They represent so much of my youth and college experiences. And although there was a time I just couldn't listen to them (for personal reasons), I fell in love with them all over again in the last few years. They're absolutely my favorite band and probably always will be.

Day 11 & 12

Wow - I'm really slackin'! And to think - this challenge was supposed to keep me blogging everyday - oh well, such is life.

Anywho -

Day 11 Challenge: A picture of something you hate.



I hate that there are people that go without food on a daily basis. I was going to post a picture of those starving children in Africa - you know the ones, where they've got empty bowls to reflect those empty bellies they have. Sad. What I hate is that it's not JUST happening in Africa - FAO estimates that a total of 925 million people are not getting enough food to eat. (from, hungerreport.org) And no, I'm not a HUGE advocate for it - but I hate that there are so many people who wonder where their next meal comes from and I worry about frivolous things like how I can get a new pair of sneakers that undoubtedly some of these hungry people are making for pennies a day.

Day 12 - A picture of something you love.



Yup - you guessed it - my phillies :) I heart them. BIG HEART THEM. :-) They make me so happy! Can't wait til opening day!

Day 10

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most “screwed up” things with.

I've done a lot of screwed up things with a lot of people - haha - so a lot of people come to mind when I think of this challenge. I'll think about it and post it later today.

Day 9

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.




It's my dad - of course :)



This picture is from Spring Training 2007. Best St. Patty's Day :-)

A rash decision....?

After reading Bobbi's latest post on 100 days of eating clean, I've decided.........I'm going to try and give up my Splenda addition. It's not so much the coffee that I'm addicted to, because I really only have one cup a day - but it's the amount of Splenda I put in my coffee. Remember that confession I had a few posts ago "more splenda than coffee" - yeah - I need to do get off of it. I wish I could say it would be the start of getting rid of all artificial sweeteners but I just can't see myself ever saying no to a diet soda (not that I drink that much of them anyway). So starting March 1, Im going to wean myself off of Splenda and eventually just hope to drink my coffee black with a little creamer.

Day 8

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

As you can see - I'm laughing IN this picture. It reminds me of all the fun times I had at PSC last summer and how much I did laugh. Ah memories....I also like how you can almost miss Mike (second one from the left) because he painted his face black. haha.

My hiding partner - Allie - Second one from the right on the bottom row - and I hid in the open tunnels under the club. We were two of the last people found. For more on that adventure you can read about it here.

Anywho - off to another busy day.

Posts to look forward to:
An LMHS Swim Season Recap
Another NEDA post
Life as I know it...
My social life (or lack there of)
Day 9-30 of the 30 Day Challenge :-)

Day 7

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

This is a tough one for me because I don't really rank the items in my life by value. I have a lot of "things" but there really isn't one that I could honestly say is the most treasured. But from my childhood.....



This is a Baby Strawberry Shortcake Doll. To me, her name is Didi (pronounced dee dee). Along with a blanket that my grandmother gave me which was made in Appalachia, they were/are probably my most valued treasures. I used to sleep with them EVERY night. No joke.

A favorite story of mine (that my dad loves to tell too) is how one time when I was about 7 or 8, I was going to bed and Didi wasn't there. I had been playing with her outside and left her on the hill of grass next to my neighbors house. Oooooh boy was I freaking out.

Another great story - I was probably 3 or 4 at the time. I was attending the old Flanagan's Day Care (on Hector Street before it moved to Fayette). My friend Suzanne and I wanted to "ice skate" inside and we used Didi as our middle person to twirl. Soon enough our twirling came to an end because one of Didi's arms had broken off (the stitching had come undone). OHHHHH man. If you've ever heard a kid cry over a toy or something, you haven't heard me. I was DEVASTATED. They even called BOTH my parents to tell them how upset I was. Jane Flanagan duct taped Didi's arm back into place (which gave her a completely stiff right arm). Luckily my Aunt Kim bought me another Didi and all was well.

Lots of memories with that doll. LOTS of pictures with that doll. My mom even used to make us matching outfits (when she used to sew clothes for me and Kelly). I still have her. I'll always have her. The best confidant and friend a kid could ask for.

OH and if you pushed her stomach in, she blew strawberry kisses :-)

NEDA

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

Some of you are aware that I struggled with an eating disorder (anorexia/orthorexia) in college. Since my path back to normalcy (although we'll get to that), I've always taken an active approach in trying to help other girls and boys with this problem. Most of you know my story but here's the shorter version:

When I was in college, I was a swimmer (yay swimming!). My Sophomore year I got so stressed out that I got Shingles (basically the adult form of chicken pox - but WAY more painful). I was out of practice for alteast a week or two and I suppose I just kind of gave up. Sad. I think had I stuck it out I would've had a great four years of swimming but I digress. I decided to workout on my own and see if I couldn't take off some of the weight I had gained in the last year (you know, the dreaded freshman 15). So I started going to the gym and eating less. And I started weighing myself to see how I was progressing. Eventually it got away from me.

A typical day for me that Spring of my Sophomore year was: wake up, go to class(not eating anything before hand) and bring my workout clothes/gear with me, after class (which was usually from 8-11 or 12 (I liked getting them out of the way and over with so I had my afternoons to do work or workout or whathaveyou) I'd go straight to the gym for about an hour and a half to two hours. Yup. I still hadn't eaten. My roommate, Netty, had class later in the morning and was usually finished around 12 or 1 so I'd head back to our dorm room and we'd walk to lunch together (unless she had gone right to the caf and then I'd just eat popcorn in my room). Usually for lunch I'd have some kind of cereal, fruit, a salad, or just rice from the taco bar. Definitely not enough after having not eaten since dinner the night before and a two hour workout. The rest of the day I just remember being so proud of myself for not eating and having control over the situation. I remember thinking how if I just at less and less each day I'd get to my goal weight.

What was my goal weight? To be honest - I don't even know if I had one. I do remember at one point my lowest weight. 115. Now.....I'm about 5'7" and weighing 115 does not look healthy when you're that tall. Sure there are people who are that weight and that height. For me, not so much. I don't have any pictures scanned for you at the moment to show you exactly what I looked like at my worst but I will before the week is through.

So why share this with everyone? Well...I suppose it's to keep people aware that it can happen to anyone - even someone who appears to be happy and normal. My world was so topsy turvy and the only way I knew how to control it was to restrict my eating.

What I ask is for everyone to keep in mind - when you see someone who looks super skinny or has a "perfect look" - it's possible that they're hurting on the inside more than you know. I might've been a size 2 and wearing Junior's clothes on the outside but on the inside I was screaming/dying/lonely/depressed.

Day 6

Day 6 - Picture of a person you'd love to trade places with.

Why? Why you ask? No, this isn't Megan Fox (but she def looks like her).

This is none other than the wife of my most favoritest Philadelphia Phillie:

Oh Chase how I <3>

She's a lucky lady. That's all I can say.

I like them - they do a lot for the PSPCA so how could you not?

Day 5

Day 5 Challenge: A picture of ……your favorite memory.



World Series. Game 1. Me and My Dad.

A little history about this:
I was born in July of 1981. The last time the Phillies won the World Series prior to 2008 was October of 1980. You do the math ;-)

First Race of the Year! and Day 4

Race: 2011 Frostbite 5 Miler
Place	Bib Number	First Name	Last Name	Gender	Age	Chip Time	Time	Pace	Sex Tot	Sex Place	Div Tot	Div Place	Div
379	362	Katie	Fitzgerald	F	29	40:58	41:09	8:12	652	94	111	15	F2529

Awwww yeah baby!

40:58! I was hoping to go under 40 minutes (sub 8 minute miles) but it was hilly and WINDY! Holy lord was it windy. I nearly fell over twice. Srsly. No joke. But I can't be upset.

Finished 94 out of 652 women.

Finished 15 out of 111 women in my division (25-29).

Finished 379 out of nearly 1500 people.

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And now on to the second half of Central League Champs! So proud of my girls from last night. I have a good feeling about their swims tonight. Complete recap tomorrow some time.

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Day 4 Challenge - A Picture of Your Night.

This isn't exactly MY OWN picture. It's my friend Paul's :-) But it's a pretty good description of what I would consider a Night for me. I wasn't quite sure what this particular challenge meant - I'll probably have another picture available in regards to this particular evening. But if I had to describe a perfect night - I think this picture is a good description - although I doubt it does that actual evening justice. This was taken on his Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Day 03

A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Disclaimer - I like a LOT of TV shows. So...I figured I'd pick one from each day of the week :-)

Monday:
OMG I love Cappie!



Tuesday:
PUCK!!!


Wednesday:
JUST HILARIOUS!


Thursday:
I know there is a Jim out there for me.....


AND

Because, DUH....



Friday:
OMG JOSH JACKSON!


Bonuses:
Bear Grylls = AWESOME


Used to be Three Sheets, now it equals MORE DRINKING and AWESOMENESS.

Day 2

Day 02 - A picture of you and the friend you have been closest with the longest.

Without a doubt - Jackie, Jack's, Jackster, Bestest - has been my friend that I've been closest too for the longest. Since Junior year in HS. Whew! 14 years! Love you chica :-)

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A real post? What's that you ask? A real one? Well....to be honest there isn't much going on in my life right now other than work, work, and work.

A typical day for me is:
Gym 7:30-9ish
Work @ Cabrini 10:30-2ish
Coach 3-5
Coach 5-8 or Class 7-10 or Meetings (foundation or otherwise).

My weekends generally consist of catching up on homework. Of course, this weekend will be interesting since Friday and Saturday evenings we have Central League Champs. I'm running a 5 miler Saturday morning and teaching a spin class on Sunday morning at 8am. Yep. I am officially a spin instructor!

Today the girls have an early dismissal so we're having practice from 1-3 and then hopefully I'll be able to take them to get pizza afterwards but I have to coach at 5:30 so we'll see how that works out. I'm also supposed to go out with a friend from Cabrini after coaching but I might have to postpone it.

Also - I watched the Grammy's the other night and discovered Mumford and Sons (did anyone see their performance with Bob Dylan? No? You're missing out). I know, I know, I'm probably late on this...but I just downloaded their first album. I'm really digging The Cave and Little Lion Man. I'd love to know what y'all think!

Day 1

A picture of me and 15 facts:
Fact 1 - I am currently attending my 4th college in just under a decade. What? I like to learn.

Fact 2 - I am very OCD when it comes to scheduling and knowing what is happening in my life. No joke - I will write out my schedule three times (and then again for good measure).

Fact 3 - I wear a size 11 women's sneaker but a size 9 dress shoe.

Fact 4 - I have a SLIGHT crush on my current English professor. What does he look like? Think of The Daily Show's John Oliver combined with a little bit of Stephen Colbert thrown in for good measure. If you don't know who those people are - GOOGLE does wonders.

Fact 5 - My favorite Old School Disney Movie is Pete's Dragon....okay okay AND Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Shame on you if you have never heard nor seen these movies.

Fact 6 - I have an uncanny ability to remember movie and television show quotes as well as songs that I haven't heard in years.

Fact 7 - When I was little, I used to mix up the way you say my birthday date - July 11th was "Julevenaly" - pronounced: jew leven a lie. Yup.

Fact 8 - I used to cry ALL THE TIME when I was little (ask my neighbors if you don't believe me). Now, I hardly ever do because I feel like it shows that I'm weak. How dumb am I?

Fact 9 - If I didn't think it would totally mess up my life, I would leave it all behind and use up everything I've saved to travel.

Fact 10 - I currently own 7 pairs of sneakers (3 are being donated on Saturday).

Fact 11 - I've only started buying designer clothes because I feel as though I'm worthy to wear them. And I've realized that they last longer (esp the jeans).

Fact 12 - I still expect Rachel and Troy to walk through our front door every so often. I miss them.

Fact 13 - I watch entirely too much TV. I should read a book or something.

Fact 14 - I. LOVE. SPORTS. Everything about them, everything about the information about them, everything about the aspect of them, the intensity, the competition. EVERYTHING.

Fact 15 - I'm still waiting for my Prince Charming - and I do believe he: Likes Soccer, Loves to learn, Likes all sports, Is Smart, Has a good heart, knows how to treat a woman, has a good relationship with his family, balances me out, is perfect for me, and is out there.

A Thirty Day Challenge

So I was perusing a friend's facebook pictures and found her latest and greatest....it's a Thirty Day Challenge. And not in the sense of a weight-loss project but in a sense of pictures/people/emotions, etc. I think it's pretty interesting and rather than share it on Facebook with my 700+ "friends" when only about 100 of them are truly my friends...I thought I'd share it with the select few who happen to read my blog :-) Awww, aren't you lucky?!

So here's the list:

Thirty Days

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the friend you have been closest with the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your night.
Day 05 - A picture of ……your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most “screwed up” things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you’re afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

I'll be back tomorrow to start. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Do what you can with what you have, where you are....

Whew! Wasn't I supposed to update just a day or two after my last post? Hah - sorry! Things got kind of hectic around here - and it doesn't seem like they're going to slow down one bit...a good and bad thing.

The Good:
It's keeping me out of my house.
I'm making money and saving it.
I'm staying sane.

The Bad:
Lack of social life and seeing my friends.
I'm tired by the time the weekend comes which effects the previous statement.

So what exactly have I been up to? Well I won't bore you with the details but for the most part it's been:
Coaching
School
Work at Cabrini
Doing homework for school
Reading for school

The first real break I had was this past Saturday and you know what I did? I sat on my mom's recliner and watched College Basketball ALL DAY! 'Twas glorious and I didn't feel guilty in the least. Ok, ok...I did do some homework in between games and I did go to the gym for a run.

Speaking of running - I was actually going to run outside this morning and then I checked the temperature....12! Yikes! Yeah - I guess I'll be going to the gym again. I just want to run outside again so badly! The streets are mostly clear of snow now so I figured it'd be a good day but 12 is too cold. Maybe I should've just gone and not looked at the temps. Ah well...Hindsight is 20/20, right? But I definitely need to run outside at least once before the 19th! I'm running the Frostbite Five Miler! And yes those are penguins! Bethany convinced me to run it. It's my first race of 2011! Plenty more to come after that:
March - Phillies 5K
May - Broad Street and ODDessey Half Marathon
June - Possibly the KOP 10 Miler and Philly Tri (Olympic)
September - Rock n' Roll Half
October - Hershey Half Marathon!
November - Philly Marathon (eek!)

I'm sure there will be other shorter races thrown in there somewhere/somehow! I'm also trying to do more cross training this year to prevent injury. I've been spinning more and am going to start working out with a group on Tuesday and Thursday Mornings to keep things interesting. As of right now I'm averaging about 23-27 miles a week - a definite increase since last year. Although this week I've only run 4 miles so far! Ha :-) Hopefully I'll get 8 in today - 6 tomorrow and 6 or 7 in on Saturday with a few junk miles on Friday.

The regular swim season is over (tear) but today is actually the Silver Meet (kind of like B champs) and Presidents Day weekend is Central League Champs. March 3rd and 4th is Districts at La Salle! Yeah baby! My alma mater! And then States (which I don't think any of my girls will qualify for) is March 18th and 19th (but I'm still going anyway!). I was actually asked to help coach Lacrosse at LMHS this spring. We'll see if I get that job. The money would be great! If not, I'll just work at Baldwin 5 days a week.

I have some feelers out there for a summer job. Please think good thoughts for me. If I get it I'd be coaching and managing a pool. Which would mean I can move out! I've been looking at some apartments near Havertown and the Main Line. It'd be such a quicker commute for all of my things - Cabrini, Baldwin, LMHS Swim/Lax - and I'd be able to walk a lot of places and save on gas. Here's hoping!

Oh! I almost forgot - I am auditioning to teach spinning this week (my first class would be Sunday the 20th at 8:15AM at the LAF Collegeville - a little far but won't be much traffic on Sunday mornings). Yay for another way of making money and staying fit! Here's hoping I can start doing those on a more regular basis. No it's not a ton of money but I've missed teaching those classes and making spinning mixes. I think they're going to like my first class music list!

As for other things - I've been out of my house for most of the days in the last few weeks or so - with the exception of the snow days we've had (ugh, I'm so over winter!) - I like always having something to do. I feel badly that I'm slacking in some areas of my life over others but I guess that's what happens. There's only so much I can do - unless the days were made to be 36 hours instead of 24 and the weekends were 5 days instead of two - then I'd get everything done!

Until the next time...which I won't promise will be tomorrow....adieu my lovelies