Amendement to #11

On my drive down to the city last night - for a play for my english class (ugh! required) - I realized that there is possibly something I hate MORE than world hunger.

No matter how good of a mood I am in to begin with - it always pisses me off and has me declaring, "ugh, I'm gonna need a drink after this" - I recall saying this on several occasions.



TRAFFIC! No matter how happy (and last night I was not happy to begin with) I am - it makes me irritable, unfriendly, and anxious. I could just feel the tension mount in my body. I was upset at the thought that it should only take me 20 minutes to get downtown and yet at 7:30 on a Friday night, I was sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. WTF people. DON'T SLOW DOWN - EVERYONE MOVE AT THE SAME RATE AND THERE WILL BE NO ISSUES.

Oh, and the worst? Is when there is traffic with NO ACCIDENTS or CONSTRUCTION. Like, are you kidding me? So many bad drivers out there - SO MANY. UGH.

Ok - rant over. Real post coming.

Day 24

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.



The distance separating my friends and me. :-(

Day 23

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

Nonsensical - Fluff


Fascinating Stories/Real Life (I must've read this book atleast 10 times)


Favorite from High School


Shakespeare


Steinbeck (yes, I know it's depressing - but still a great read)



I have too many books I like - these are just a few.

p.s. - I'd never get a kindle or nook - I love the way a book feels in my hands and holding it.

Day 22

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.



Getting from the Friend Zone to the Relationship Level.....and obviously knowing which guy is actually interested too.

Day 21

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.



Ryan Howard striking out to lose the NLCS in 2010 :-/



Chelsea losing the Champions League Final vs. Man U in 2009



:-(



BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (stupid wanker's)

Day 19 & 20

You'll have to excuse my absence from the blog yesterday - I had a little TOO much fun Saturday night ;-) Stories are appropriate for certain friends...you know who you are...I'll call you :-) hehe but back to the 30 day challenge.....

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.

Me and Fur - I believe I'm like 5 or 6 here

and


Me and my sister - this was taken in 1982 - I'm not even a year old yet. Look at that big bald head!


Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.


Aussie Aussie Aussie! OY OY OY! Sydney Australia :-)

Day 18

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.



With the exception of the fact that this model doesn't have to hold her arm in front of her tummy - and since I do - my biggest insecurity is my body when I'm wearing a bikini. I am, however, working to change that and working hard.

My workout regime of running, bootcamp, spinning, swimming and ab work seems to be paying off. Now if only I could get that stingy last 10 lbs off, we'd be all set :-)

But I would imagine I'm not along in my insecurity in walking around half naked amongst total strangers. When I'm with friends, no problem...because they accept me for who I am. But normally I'm all about the coverups and/or shorts and a t-shirt.

Day 17

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

You guessed it! My swim team a la Lower Merion High School :-) I'm so proud of them! And can't believe how quickly my first season as coach went by! We have Districts today and tomorrow! I'm nervous and didn't sleep a whole lot last night. I have a good feeling about their swims today :-) Keep good thoughts in your head for them today! They've been working so hard for this.





Marina


Kathleen


(Left to Right) Arielle, Kathleen, Julie(on ground), Maddie, Nadia, Leah, Duranya


(Left to Right) Arielle, Kathleen, Julie(on ground), Maddie, Nadia, Frances & Leah, Duranya

Day 16

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.







How can you not be inspired by one of the best come back stories?

Day 15

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.



If all goes well, I'll be skydiving this summer! It's on my 30 in 30 list :-)

Day 14

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.



My seeeeeeeestar. Almost lost her a few times. So glad I didn't. I know we aren't the closest of siblings but I still couldn't imagine not having her in my life. Although I suppose this goes without saying that really all of my family would be listed here. I don't have a picture of my entire family though so....this is the one :-) And of course we're at a Phillies Game :-)

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 :-)

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 :-)

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.