The ABC’s of Me!

My readers are always telling me to include more information about myself into my posts.  Lucky for you guys, today is the day!  Today’s post is going to be something that I saw on Maryann’s blog:  The ABC’s of Me!

(A) Age:  14 years old, but I’ll be 15 on April 11th

(B) Bed Size:  Full

(C) Chore You Hate:  I’m not really a fan of any cleaning duty, but I really despise washing the floor.  Something about having to move all the chairs, stools, etc., washing the floor, drying the floor, and putting everything back again isn’t too appealing.  I’d rather bake!

(D) Dogs:  I have an 8-year-old American Eskimo Cockapoo named Fluffy!

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item:  I’m sure I’ve mentioned it on the blog before, but I am a coffee junkie!  Seriously, I need my coffee first thing in the morning or else I’ll be tired and grumpy all day!

(F) Favorite Color:  Either blue or purple.

(G) Gold or Silver:  SILVER!!!  I love how regal gold jewelry looks, but can never bring myself to wear it. 

(H) Height:  5 foot 4½ inches (½ an inch taller than my Mom!)

(I) Instrument You Play:  None as of right now, but I played the clarinet and piano for 2-3 years when I was younger.

(J) Job Title:  Student.  But I’d like to be a Nutritionist/Dietician/Personal Trainer/Baker one day!

(K) Kids:  Eventually

(L) Live:  New Jersey!  Believe me, it’s nothing like Jersey Shore.

(M) Mom’s Name:  Lydia

(N) Nicknames:  Eri, Kiki, Phika, and E

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays:  Only 1 – when I was about 4 years old I choked on a slice of Pizza Hut pizza.  The people at the hospital actually thought I had a seizure so I was there for much longer than I should have been.

(P) Pet Peeve:  I don’t really have that many “pet peeves,” but I guess you could say obnoxiously stupid behavior in general just annoys me. 

(Q) Quote From a Movie: I honestly have no memory of movie quotes.

(R) Right or Left Handed?  It depends on what I’m doing.  I hold a tennis racket and a golf club with my left hand, but I write with my right hand.

(S) Siblings:  a 10-year-old brother named Philip

(T) Time You Wake Up:  6:30 on school days and 9:00 on weekends

(U) Underwear:  Of course!

(V) Vegetable You Dislike:  This is tough.  I like almost all veggies except pumpkin, I can not stand that stuff plain!

(W) What Makes You Late:  Deciding on an outfit to wear and my parents.

(X) X-Rays You’ve Had Done:  Well, I’ve had an MRI, a Bone Density Test, and a bunch of back x-rays for my stress fracture and scoliosis when I was younger.

(Y) Yummy Food You Make:  Is that even a question?! I make lots of yummy foods like Carrot Cake Scones, Buffalo Bean Dip, and Chewy Nutella Cookies!

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal:  I love watching the monkeys – they’re so funny!

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Hope you liked! 

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you have any nicknames?
2. How tall are you?
3. What household chore do you hate?

Alrighty, now I have to go and wash the kitchen floor…ugh.

Have a great night!

Stress Fracture Update

I actually have a pretty serious post to share with you today due to the overwhelming amount of emails I received regarding the condition of my back and when I will be running again. I really appreciate your interest and figured you deserve to be filled in, so here we go!

Philip and I running through the neighborhood (2/2011)

 In December 2010, while running Winter Track, I started noticing pains in my lower left back.  At first I thought I just didn’t stretch enough that day and shrugged it off.  It kept coming back and after a week of practices and my Black Belt Test, I realized that it needed some attention.  Immediately my Mom called an Orthopedic and I got X-Rays, a MRI, and it was confirmed that I had a stress fracture on my sacrum (where my back connects to my pelvis.)

Running my first 5K – The Flying Pig

The Orthopedic informed me that I would not be able to do Winter Track and had to take a minimum of 2 months off from running.  Let me tell you, it sucked.  I always took the ability to run for granted and didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I was unable to do it anymore.  I was (literally) counting down the days until I could run again.

Sam and I after our first XC Meet

So naturally, when the first week of February rolled around, I hit the pavement and went for my first run in 2 months.  I did a mile (the maximum distance I’m allowed to do for now) and felt wonderful and pain-free.  The time wasn’t too great – 9:08 – but I figured I could improve it when I got back into consistent running.  The next few times I went running I did improve by an entire minute!  I thought my stress fracture was gone for good, but it wasn’t.

Phil and I before the Turkey Trot 5K - My Current PR

A few days ago I noticed a pain in my lower back, right above the tailbone.  Once again, I am gave my body a few days to rest, in hopes that it was just a lack of stretching or something minor like that.   I think it was, considering Phil and I went for a 1 mile run yesterday and it felt fine.  Yay!

Currently my plan is to ease back into running and do approximately 2-3 miles a week.  After a few weeks increase it to 5-6 miles and so on.  Hopefully, I’ll be back to running 30 miles a week in no time!

As for Spring Track,  I’m hoping my body will be ready by the time practices start, but I’m not going to push myself.  I think healing definitely takes priority over sports now.  Plus, I’d hate to injure it again and miss Cross Country – my all-time favorite sport.

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Questions of the Day:

1. Have you every been sidelined due to an injury?
2. Do you like to run?  How many miles do you run in a week?

Phew!  It feels so good to get all of my thoughts on paper the internet.  I hope it wasn’t too wordy for you – I tried to break all the writing up with some pictures.  Hope they helped.

Have a great Thursday and Friday!

Gotta Have It

Hello Everyone!  Happy Friday!

I have a really cool post for you today inspired my Carrie from Moves ‘N’ Munchies, but first let me show you some favorite meals and snacks from the past week!

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Paola’s Apple and Swiss Egg-White Cake made with Egg Beaters, cheddar, spinach, and a gala apple

2 scoops of Breyer’s Slow-Churned French Vanilla Ice Cream sprinkled with crushed Oreos

Greek yogurt topped with peanut flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, and a sliced kiwi

Fiber Gourmet Lite Brownie and Breyers Slow-Churned French Vanilla Ice Cream

Scrambled Egg Beaters with spinach and cheddar

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Okay, now that I’ve got you drooling (I hope!) I’m going to share some of my must-have items.  They include hair styling tools, clothing items, shoes, and (of course) food!

Let’s begin…

My Chi Flat Iron

                                           (source)

As I mentioned in my Stylish Blogger Award post, I have extremely curly hair.  I’ve been straightening my hair since the 4th grade and the Chi is the only flat iron that can tame my crazy hair. Plus it’s really durable – I’ve had it for 4 years already!

Chesnut-Colored Ugg Boots

                                (source)

I probably wear my Ugg boots everyday.  They’re so comfortable and warm – perfect in the cold winter weather.  It actually hit 15 degrees Fahrenheit today.  Brrrrr! 

Sweatpants

                              (source)

I’m a comfort girl.  I’d pick comfort over style anyday, so naturally sweatpants are my go-to pants.  I wear fitted sweatpants when I go shopping and hang out with friends and baggy sweatpants when I’m cleaning, baking, or working out.  Yeah, I wear sweatpants a lot…

Nut Butters

                               (source)

I think I’ve professed my love for nut butters enough on this blog.  I’m addicted to them after all!

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That’s all for now folks!  Have a great weekend!

Questions of the Day:

1. What are your must-haves?
2. Are you doing any weekend baking? If so, what

Technology Woes

Don’t you hate it when your wireless router randomly decides not to work?  I do.

That’s what would explain my random disappearances this past week.  Some days the router would work fine, some days the router wouldn’t work at all, and some days it would work for Philip’s laptop and not mine!  It was frustrating.  The only good thing that came out of that fiasco was some inspiration for my next blog post.  I’m doing a Three Things Thursday post on a Tuesday.

According to Melissa Three Things Thursday is…

“…a post where I list three things that are annoying me this week. Basically, I whine about my problems. You get your chance in the comments.”

She’s hilarious isn’t she?

Three Things Tuesday

1. Technology  I know I’ve already talked about my wireless router problems at the beginning of this post, but believe it or not, I’ve had more technology issues in the past week.   Take my phone for example, at any given time my phone will say that I have 2 unread messages.  I don’t actually have 2 unread messages – it’s just a glitch.  I just have 2 random messages that my phone won’t allow me to mark as read.  Another example would be WordPress.  I love WordPress, but lately I’ve been noticing a lot of glitches.  The other day it wouldn’t even let me insert links or add pictures into my post!  Thankfully it’s gotten fixed, but still…
2. Slow Drivers  I can’t even drive and slow drivers get on my nerves.  I am a very go-go-go type of person so anyone who slows me down automatically annoys me, especially when I am trying to get somewhere.  Speaking of getting somewhere, slow driving was one of the main reasons I got a detention a few weeks ago…
3. Packers Fans Who Keep Pointing Out The Obvious  Yes, I am a Steelers fan.  Yes, I know they lost the Superbowl.  Yes, I am willing to accept that, so why must you keep rubbing it in?  Seriously, you’d think I lived in Wisconsin with all the supposed Packers fans in my area.  Frontrunners… 

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So there you have it – my 3 things.  Can you relate?  Any interesting things to share that are getting on your nerves?  Comment!

Question of the Day:

1. What are your 3 things?

Thanks!  I can’t wait to hear your cool/weird/funny/strange/awesome responses!!!!