tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78660939963199394722024-02-06T20:44:24.241-08:00Visiting the States, District & TerritoriesKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-33432226475018882332014-09-28T17:08:00.001-07:002014-09-28T17:08:44.654-07:00Traveling is ExhaustingThis was supposed to be my first weekend of nothingness after a whirlwind month, but I couldn't say no to an invite to go to soccer "practice" with my nephew. Chicago and Cleveland were AMAZING! I'm even considering looking for jobs in Chicago because I loved it so much. I will probably do that post next because it's important for me to highlight the conference I was at.<br />
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"What do you want Hitch?"<br />
"You."<br />
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Yep, that's where I'm at tonight. Sitting on a couch with one of my roommates watching the greatness of Will Smith as Alex Hitchens. This blog has seemed to have turned into a place I can come to when I'm feeling hopelessly single and honestly, that's how I've been feeling for a while now. It's gotten so bad that not only do I do my normal craziness of determining if a guy in single and then wondering if it could work out for us, but I'm now sizing up my imaginary competition. If there's a single woman around me, I'm wondering if she would be a better match or if she's his type. I've literally lost my grasp on reality with this one. I don't know how to get it back.<br />
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I'm so in my head with this too and it isn't fun. As a Christian, there's this idea that God calls people to a single life. Idea isn't maybe the best word as it's definitely a reality. I struggle with knowing if that's what my life is destined for and if it is, being content in that. The Bible, though, has this gem in it:<br />
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So I say to those who aren't married and to widows - it's better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can't control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It's better to marry than to burn with lust. -1 Corinthians 7:8,9<br />
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The Bible also says that God gives us the desires of our hearts and a husband is a desire of my heart. I want a partner in this life. For superficial reasons of not having to answer when people ask why I'm single, to not have to go solo to events, etc. I also want someone to share the burdens of life with and to share in the joys. I'd like to think I'm a decent friend and that I'll eventually be a pretty cool wife someday. I think I've lost sight of that. I've lost some of my faith in a God who's never failed me.<br />
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Today's sermon at church was what I needed. It was about discouragement and I can definitely say I've been discouraged in my love life recently. I need to refocus and remember who keeps this world spinning and who knows every hair on my head.<br />
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<i>I will look back and see that you are faithful</i><br />
<i>I look ahead believing you are able</i>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-40604239278316959242014-08-03T16:06:00.000-07:002014-08-03T16:06:13.464-07:00It's Not Just Our HeartsIn my last post I mentioned the psychosocial issues that adults with CHD face. According to one study, about one third of all adults with CHD have some sort of mood or anxiety disorder and most go untreated.<br />
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Anxiety is a given for many of us. We are a pioneer group. This is the first time in history that there is a solid population of adults with CHD - we used to not make it to adulthood. Many of us face repeat open heart surgeries, valve replacements, pacemaker implants and changes, and a small group faces heart transplants. Many of us have high-risk pregnancies or are told that for our health and safety, we should not attempt getting pregnant. We wonder if our babies will be a statistic like us and have CHD. We wonder if it's actually genetic and there is something we can do to stop it. Sometimes we have to go on disability because our hearts severely hinder our physical abilities. We struggle with the fear of dying too soon. We wonder how typical elderly complications will impact our hearts.<br />
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I fear that I'm a burden on my family and friends. I fear that they won't want to take on my appointments and future procedures and possibly surgeries. I fear that no man will want to be with someone who is chronically ill. I fear that even though one cardiologist has already said pregnancy will not be an issue, that my current one will not clear me. I fear having a child and going into heart failure. I fear leaving a husband as a single father. I fear that some day I will instantly drop dead. Now these aren't fears that consume my life, but they definitely come into my conscious thought stream on a fairly regular basis.<br />
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All of that fear is what I'm guessing leads to the mood disorders. My hunch is that we get bogged down with the fear and that leads us into depression. The fear can be crippling. I've watched it unnecessarily take over people's lives. Can anyone blame us though? We did absolutely nothing wrong, our parents did absolutely nothing wrong, doctors did absolutely nothing wrong, yet we are born broken.<br />
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I am a lucky one though. I don't have any diagnosable emotional disorders. I have an unbelievably supportive family and incredible friends who willingly choose to keep walking with me through months of testing and months of nothing notable with my heart. I get to support my CHD peers and walk with them through their dark times. I think that's what keeps me grounded.<br />
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<i>Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist or therapist. All of the above statements are my opinion and should not be used for psychological diagnosis or treatment. If you are struggling with your emotions, please find the courage to reach out to someone for help. There are many great resources out there.</i>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-24155155434073787652014-07-20T16:34:00.000-07:002014-07-21T07:03:25.502-07:00That Time I Published Without a Title...As a travel update, I have states 18 & 19 on the books. First up will be Chicago for a long weekend and then Cleveland for a weekend. September is going to be a great month!<br />
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There's been a lot going on for me emotionally & mentally these days. In one of my small groups at church, we're reading <u>Immunity to Change</u>. It's an intense book that challenges you to ask yourself what's the one big thing that I could change that would change my entire world. I haven't figured out my one big thing yet, but right now I'm working on improving my listening. It's proved to help change my attitude at work and I've kind of failed so far at applying it to my personal life.<br />
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I've also made some solid realizations when it comes to dating. For whatever reason, I choose to fall for and date men that I know with which I will have no future. Most of them are workaholics. When I know the guy will eventually blame work on the reason why we can't date anymore, it triggers something in my brain that says, date him. I'm not entirely sure why I self-sabotage in that manner. If I had to take a stab at it right now, I'd say it's a combination of reasons, mainly my lack of self-confidence & overall fear. I know those are things that everyone deals with so I'm not too concerned about them.<br />
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One thing I am concerned about, though, is how tongue-tied and I'm guessing bright red I was while talking to a very attractive man earlier today. It was like a throw back to middle school. Thankfully this time I could just get into my car and drive away after I spoke what could only be described as gibberish. I honestly can't recall the last time my brain froze like that. When almost all of the men I've dated I've met online, there isn't a reason for the guy to make my brain stop because we've already had some level of communication. The last guy I met organically (since that's the hip term these days) was after a few beers at an industry event and I tend to get chatty after two beers so I was chatty and therefore had no time to get tongue-tied. That leads me to the last time I met a man who left me dazed and confused and oddly enough, I met him in the same way I met the guy from this morning - in children's ministry. The last guy turned out to be a bad situation all around, so I'm cautiously optimistic about this guy.<br />
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In conclusion, since over-analyzing usually gets one nowhere, I'll just chalk up everything that's happened in my dating life to my CHD. Why you ask? Because CHDers have lots of psychosocial nonsense going on, but I'll save all of that for another post.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-15978614048844586912014-04-06T15:50:00.002-07:002014-04-06T15:50:39.121-07:00My Life's BlueprintMy church just finished up a three week series today on God's will. I can say that my prayer life has immensely changed in just that time because of week one's sermon. I believed God had a blueprint for my life. I thought He had a grand design for the major points in my life - my parent's divorce, their second marriages, college, jobs, relationships, etc. Everything I've gone through has been a small part of some cosmic great plan, right? Wrong. So so so wrong.<br />
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Everything I've gone through in my life has definitely played a part in shaping the person that I am today. I won't go into all of the lessons that I've learned along the way, but I can say that my life would look completely different had my parents stayed together or I chose a different college for example.<br />
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The one part I could never figure out was my heart. Why me? Why not my brothers? Why not one of the telemarketers who calls my office and bugs me? I always figured that there was some divine reason that I was born with TGA. I don't think about it often, but having a purpose to my different life would at least offer some comfort. I don't think God ordained for me to be born with a heart defect. I think I was just the lucky one in 100. I do know though that had I been born healthy, I would not have any reason to show God's love to the other members of my community.<br />
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This is the part where the logic starts to unravel and my brain feels like it's going to explode. I get so close to understanding a small part of God, but my human mind just can't handle it.<br />
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It's like God's plan all along was that people who love him need different circles to share his love with so that everyone can hear about it and have a chance to experience it. I'm in introvert through and through. I don't typically choose to go out of my way to meet new people. It's like he knew that I would need some help reaching others I typically wouldn't reach. Some people are given a heart for overseas missions. Some people are given a heart for domestic missions. Some people are great public speakers. Some people will reach millions through their books. I get to reach the congenital heart defect community - a community that is unique. A community that is mine, but not my family or friends'. It's an incredible burden that I'm honored to have. I get the humbling opportunity to love on spiritually broken as well as physically broken hearts. My ultimate purpose is to love those around me. I believe God has intentionally made each of us different to fulfill that purpose. It's knowing this and having the two lines below of a song we sing often at my church playing in my head that will remind me of God's plan for my life.<br />
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<i>Give me faith to trust what You say</i><br />
<i>That You're good and Your love is great</i>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-22507380149170960062014-03-02T17:39:00.000-08:002014-03-02T17:39:00.550-08:00#3 - PennsylvaniaTo be perfectly honest, I'm drawing a blank as to why I chose Pennsylvania as the third state I visited. My guess is because my other aunt and uncle currently live there so it made sense after my Virginia post. I'm racking my brain trying to recall a memory of visiting there before my aunt and uncle moved there.<br />
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I've never been to Hershey Park or Amish country or Pittsburgh or other places for which Pennsylvania is known.<br />
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I have been to Elizabethtown and Philadelphia multiple times and so I'll just write about those places.<br />
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My Aunt Janine and Uncle Tom used to live about ten minutes away from us. When I was in high school, my uncle got transferred to St. Louis (why I have been to Missouri) and then he got transferred again to Pennsylvania. Elizabethtown is adorable. It has a college in it that reminds me a lot of where I went and they have Turkey Hill stores which means yummy ice cream all the time. I haven't really explored the town too much past the college and the high school. My youngest cousin performed in "High School Musical" while I was in college so it turned into a road trip with my roommate, a friend from school, and one of my other cousins. I should probably tour that place a little more.<br />
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My favorite city in PA is Philadelphia. Cheesesteaks from South Street? Yes please. One time I went and for some reason the only outerwear I had was a Redskins hoodie. I most certainly turned it inside out and wore it around the city. The zoo in Philly is cute. You know what else is cute? The King of Prussia Mall. By cute I obviously mean humongous. While technically not actually in Philly, it's close enough that most people assume it is. One of my previous jobs held my training in King of Prussia. I spent many evenings of those 3 weeks walking around that mall.<br />
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The last city that I've spent memorable time in is Johnstown. My sister-in-law is from there so I spent a fun filled Saturday there at a winery and out to eat at hibachi. I also spent a weekend up there for the wedding.<br />
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I clearly haven't been to nearly a fraction of the places that PA has to offer. You would think with my undying love of chocolate that I would've at least gone to Hershey Park. Maybe I'll try to remedy that this year.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-27780109242972258222014-02-23T17:29:00.006-08:002014-02-23T17:29:55.578-08:00I Have a Blog?Yes, I'm a slacker. No, I haven't completely forgotten that I have a blog, I just remember it at inopportune times.<br />
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At some point I'll do my Pennsylvania entry. It should hopefully be a little more exciting than my Virginia entry, but I'm not making any promises. Spoiler alert - It won't include Hershey Park; I've never been.<br />
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Since my last update my adorable and incredibly smart nephew turned two! Last weekend at his birthday party I found out that he will be a big brother in August and I am overjoyed. My favorite role in life right now is the one of aunt. It's probably because I love my aunts so much. I love the special bond that I'm making with Owen and I love watching him grow. At Christmas he wasn't willing to give me a hug and kiss goodbye, but at the end of his party I figured I'd take my chances. I bent down and asked for a hug and he came walking over so I scooped him up. I asked him for a kiss and he gave me the cute open-mouthed toddler kiss that could melt a hardened criminal's heart.<br />
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While I'm excited, I'm guarded. My sister-in-law will once again have a level two ultrasound to make sure the baby's heart is alright. I'm praying that this baby checks out healthy just like Owen did.<br />
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Speaking of praying, life has a funny way of making us eat our words. I changed churches. I'm still adjusting and it's still not "home" to me, but I believe I made the right decision. I'm connecting each week with a great group of women and I've never been more consistent in my prayer life. Maybe I was back in high school or college at some point, but it's been years at the very least. I'm genuinely praying for a few close friends who don't go to church. I'm moving in with one of the friends and another girl we went to college with in May. I know my integrity as a Christian will come into focus and it's a challenge I'm preparing myself for. I'm praying that I have the strength to be a consistent mirror of Jesus' love in their lives.<br />
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On the health front, I will not be having surgery to repair the complication from the catheterization. It's a decision that the vascular specialist made and that my cardiologist supports and I trust my cardiologist with everything in me. Next week I have the awesome opportunity to go to Capitol Hill and speak with most likely the aides of my Senators and Representative about the Congenital Heart Futures Act. I have a chance to share my story with the people who allocate the funding for a surveillance program and research. I was telling my growth group girls about it since I will miss group this week and they all gasped when I told them that congenital heart defects are the number one birth defects in the world. Their reaction reaffirmed why I decided to become an ambassador for the Adult Congenital Heart Association and relit the fire to make sure everyone within ear shot hears about CHD.<br />
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As much as I have a passion for speaking about CHD, I should have an even larger passion about sharing Jesus. Jesus is love and love is symbolized by the heart so I think there's a connection I can make somewhere in there. I feel like I'm coming out of a fog of confusion and I can clearly see my purposes in life. I'm meant to fight for people to know they are loved by a God who is big enough to create galaxies and small enough to know every hair on their head. I'm meant to fight for people who are born with heart defects to make sure they get the care they need and deserve while measures are taken to provide answers to questions previously unanswered. I'm meant to fight for the education system to ensure that every student is getting the best education for them to prepare them to do great things in this world. I'm truly happy these days and I love the passions that God has placed inside of me.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-81749685723527806552014-01-01T09:50:00.001-08:002014-01-01T09:50:50.161-08:002013 = The Year of the TeaseI know I haven't written in a while. Since I last updated I crossed another state off of my list. I went to Texas near the end of October to train for a volunteer position for an organization that I love. I can't wait to see all of the people I met at the training this year and to welcome in the new people selected to join our group. Since it is a worldwide day of reflection though, I thought I would look back at this year.<br />
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In 2013 I found a perfect condo well within my price range, but was outbid on it. Then it came back onto the market for like a split second and was dashed from my within my reach again.<br />
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I was supposed to have a final surgical procedure before Christmas and finally close the saga of tests and procedures since I switched to an adult clinic, but surgery is now tentative for February/March so that case is still open.<br />
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A year ago this month I ended things mutually with a good guy then went a looooooong part of the year not dating anyone. I met the guy from the last post, but he and I are destined for friendship. I met another guy and things were going okay until red flag after red flag crowded my vision of him and I ended things.<br />
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As soon as I ended things with him I reconnected with a guy I talked to almost 2 years ago and went out on a date with once. He didn't remember the date which was fine with me because I remember that I was super awkward. We had an intense few weeks of dating which involved meeting his parents, his next door neighbors that he adores, and having brief conversations with him discussing money and the next step in his career. Things were going really well and then he told me that he didn't have time for me. I found a great guy who supported my moral standing on things, was willing to go to church with me sometimes, and had dreams and ambitions with the motivation to achieve them. His dog loved me. It was easy to spend time together and I never felt worried if he didn't get back to me right away. I had an incredible guy within my reach and all of a sudden, he removed himself from the situation.<br />
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When he walked away I was devastated. I felt hurt and betrayed. I don't fall for many guys and I threw caution to the wind and fell hard for him. I try to view these things that happen in my life as having a purpose because that's what a good Christian girl does. She looks at the bad in her life and moves on because God has something better in store for her. The only time she is supposed to look back is to find the lessons and meaning behind what she went through.<br />
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God and I have had it out over the past couple of weeks. There's been pleading and reasoning of my disbelief that he would be okay with seeing his little girl cry. If he hurts when I hurt, why didn't he just take the pain away and bring him back to me? I'm not sure what grand lesson I'm supposed to take from this year. It seems like the obvious answer is to stay faithful to God, but I've been faithful for 12 years. I think I've learned that lesson. Maybe I'm supposed to learn how to tune out that evil voice in my head that is trying to make me feel inadequate and broken. Unfortunately, that voice still wins most of the time.<br />
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If there's one thing I've learned from having CHD, it's that life is uncertain and can change instantly, for better or worse. CHDers, especially those of us who have known since we were little, adjust because we have to even if we don't like it. I know I don't handle adjustments well especially when I have no control over them, but I've learned to just keep going. It's the only option available. Thankfully there are glimpses along the way that remind you why you kept going. I'm living for those glimpses these days because after a year of disappointment, they're a bright spot that I know I can count on.<br />
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Here's to hoping this year is full of fulfilled expectations! Happy 2014!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-47063789736824907432013-09-24T19:05:00.000-07:002013-09-24T19:05:18.686-07:00Roller Coasters and Deal BreakersI like to keep my dating life private except for a few of my close friends. Sometimes my family doesn't even know that I'm dating someone. Two days into this week and a guy that I've been on one date with has become my boyfriend to my coworkers. Oh the industry I work in. It's a funny little one. The problem with my coworkers teasing assessment is that I don't think I'm making it to date two with my "boyfriend." Part of me is sad, but a bigger part is relieved.<div>
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Dating is such a roller coaster of emotions. My roommate and I were talking about it today because I had a rough day (not all dating related) and so I needed to unload a little bit. I've been perfectly content not dating anyone, but then I met someone in a place that I never wanted to meet a guy and of course my hopes got built up and now we've been on a date and there were signs that things were going to progress, but now? Now I think it's done. It gets better though. See now that I've written him off in a sense, I'm sure he'll make an appearance back in my life tomorrow. It's how my dating life has always worked. I try to not go to extremes, but it's hard for me. I'm a commitment type of person. I stick by people through thick and thin. Once I've decided to let you in, I'll give you anything. I'm just not sure I'd ever be able to let this guy in though. CHD makes up a small part of why.</div>
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I try to hold off on telling guys about my CHD. My roommate says that any guy who is scared by it is an idiot. That was encouraging to hear, but I know I can't get mad if a guy doesn't want to live a life with a partner with a chronic condition. It's a lot to ask someone. It's a commitment to at least yearly doctor appointments, genetic counseling to make sure it's safe for me to get pregnant, extra care during a pregnancy, being asked to make my health decisions for me if I can't, a lifetime of uncertainty, and many other things. It would be easy not to bring it up with a guy I meet right now and the guy I just went out with doesn't know about my health. Ask me again after I've trained to be an ambassador for the Adult Congenital Heart Association. Do I just leave out my volunteering when he asks what I do in my free time? What about in December when I'm facing a minor surgical procedure? If he wants to go out near my surgery, I either have to lie or tell him I'm having surgery and then explain why and about my condition and so on.</div>
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I'm also a total hypocrite. I don't want to be with someone with a chronic illness. One chronic illness is enough for me. A beautiful woman I look up to is married to a wonderful man and both of them have chronic illnesses. It doesn't phase their relationship one bit. I don't think I could handle it though. I go through enough emotions over me. Please don't make me add the emotions and worry over someone else's medical problems. I'm on an emotional roller coaster on a daily basis as is and am not looking to add in extra loops or drops. I know people in general look at me and don't see the label "sick" and it's a label I prefer not to use, but in an essence, I am. While I'm capable and ready to navigate this CHD road on my own, I have faith that a co-pilot is going to come along someday and help smooth out the roller coaster it is. All I have to do is get past the first date...</div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-29030880894680155372013-08-04T17:24:00.000-07:002013-08-04T17:24:39.018-07:00Feeling LostMy best friend and her husband went to Boston this weekend. I was extremely jealous and all I could think about as she and I texted was the trip I took in the fall. Usually, I have a pretty good sense of direction, but something about that city completely threw me for a loop. I had to use Google Maps on my phone to give me walking directions and even then I still ended up walking in circles trying to find the nearest T station. At one point I remember just busting out laughing because it seemed so ridiculous - I'm a fairly smart person who rarely gets lost driving places so why is walking around a city so incredibly difficult? I was in an unfamiliar place with an excellent guide, but something wasn't clicking in my brain.<br />
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Today was the fourth Sunday that I've gone to another church in my area. My roommate and a bunch of people I went to church with in high school go there. It is a church that markets itself as a place for people who don't go to church. You can become as connected as you want or stay as anonymous as you want. It's up to you. They use some gimmicks to lure people in like free Dunkin Donuts coffee and first time visitors get a free t-shirt and a sticker. Side note - the shirt is literally the softest shirt I've ever owned in my life. I told my roommate that I wanted all of my clothes to be as soft and comfy as that t-shirt. The gimmicks are great selling points. For Easter, they encouraged their regular attenders to invite people by giving out gift cards to food places that they could use to take whoever they wanted to invite and show love through a simple cup of coffee or a lunch. They're clearly doing something right to bring new people in. Besides holidays, they had a new high in attendance one of the earlier Sundays of the current series. I can't speak on the individual and personal growth of the people who go there as I won't be switching churches, but they have programs in place to help people grow as much as they want.<br />
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The pastor has been preaching a series on our stories as Christians. He's basing it out of John 9 in the Bible which is the story of the man who was blind, but could see after Jesus spit in the dirt, made mud, rubbed it on the man's eyes, and told him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam. The pastor spoke on spiritual blindness and encouraged us to ask God to reveal where we've been blind and God hit me with a ton of bricks on that one. While I love the church I go to, it is not remotely close to being unchurched friendly.<br />
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I've had the opportunity to sit and look at my church through a new set of eyes. When I became a Christian, I was in a church that was very focused on outreach and I felt comfortable inviting my unchurched friends to it. The thought of inviting my unchurched friends to the church I currently go to makes me incredibly uncomfortable. That feeling has trickled so deep into who I am as a Christian that I realized I barely even share the story of Jesus with those closest to me. I want to, but what if they want to know more and ask to come to my church? I don't want my church to scare them away with all of the Christian talk, the forced socialization, and the length of the service. My church is definitely a church for those who go to church or have a background in it. There are many things in place to help us grow personally in our walks. I am a testament to that. One of the ways God wants us to grow is by sharing our stories with those who don't know Jesus and frankly, I'm failing. I'm afraid if I invite my unchurched friends to my church, they'll be in an excellent place with a great guide in me and in the Bible, but something won't click because everything will be so unfamiliar.<br />
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It's created a dilemma in my heart. Do I jump ship on the church home I've had for almost 6 years to go to a new place where I would have the tools to grow in an area that I desperately need to grow in? Not to mention, the amount of young men there - yeah...my church can't touch that. Or do I stay and fight for my church to open its eyes to what I see? Unfortunately for my love life, I think it's best for me to stay and fight. I can't be the only one who feels like I'm starving in this area. I already know where part of the issue stems from, but I haven't figured out a tangible place to start. How do you help change the culture of the church you go to? My church has a heart to reach the community - we're in a building phase right now and leadership is trusting God to fill the spaces with people, but in order to do that, we have to become a place that's open and receptive and comfortable for people who have never gone to church to feel right at home. It starts with me and my actions. I don't know where it goes after that, but I know God wants his churches to be places where prostitutes and tax collectors can feel the love that Jesus showed to those same types of people back when he was alive. It's time to put aside my fears and insecurities because a man died on a cross to save my life and that's too good of a story not to share.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-270522565190965452013-06-28T08:22:00.001-07:002013-06-28T08:22:16.669-07:00#2 - VirginiaI'm going to say it's safe to assume that the second state I ever visited was Virginia. If it wasn't, let's just pretend so.<br />
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One of my first memories is of my Aunt Joan and Uncle Dave's apartment in Virginia Beach. He was in the Navy at the time and before he left, or maybe when he got back, my family went to go and have dinner on the ship that he was leaving on for Operation Desert Storm. One of the guys offered me bug juice to have with my dinner and I completely freaked out until my uncle explained to me that it was just fruit punch. My dad and brothers got to go in the cockpit of one of the planes and wear a pilot's helmet. While my uncle was gone, my mom took my brothers and I to visit my aunt and keep her company. He brought us back pretty cool presents. There's an epitome of the 90s picture somewhere of the three of us with our gifts. I'll try to find it for you guys.<br />
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They also lived in Ashburn, VA and that house holds a lot of memories. We used to play football like we were the Kennedys. Apparently a story goes that my brother slammed my uncle into the side of the house one time. We haven't played much football since that incident. We switched to playing soccer, but my youngest cousin is extra fragile and has injured/broken one too many things in her body because of the games. We haven't played a family game since my 21st birthday. The youngest sat out that one and the game ended with my other female cousin throwing her flip-flops at my brother. None of us will be quitting our day jobs to play sports anytime soon.<br />
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Currently, my aunt and uncle live all the way down in Fredericksburg. I visited a few summers ago when I was between jobs and got to go to Lake Anna which is beautiful. Once my beautiful cousin graduates college, they will probably move again (my aunt blames the Navy for not staying in one place even though my uncle has been out for a while). I really hope they move closer to MD. They're just too far away for my liking right now. Fredericksburg has some pretty yummy restaurants though. It's such a cute small town despite having a college in it. William & Mary seems to respect the coziness of what Fredericksburg has to offer and I really liked that. Granted, I visited when school was out, so it might be a rowdy mess during the school year.<br />
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Some other favorite memories from VA include seeing my favorite musician at a coffee house after I drove the wrong way on the Capitol Beltway and ended up driving the entire loop just to get to my destination. I spent my 19th birthday at then what was called Nissan Pavilion to see Mat Kearney, John Mayer, and Sheryl Crow. I've shopped the outlets in Williamsburg and rumor has it I went to Busch Gardens when I was a wee one. I've also been to Kings Dominion several times. I went once in high school with friends from youth group to go to Fright Fest. I somehow ended up at the end of the group and went right on the defense against the actors so that I wouldn't get scared. We got to a girl who was pretend slitting her wrists and I told her that Jesus loved her and life wasn't that bad. It really drove the actors insane that they weren't scaring me, but I had a great time laughing through the whole thing.<br />
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I don't spend too much time in Virginia even though it's not that far from me. I'm usually there for family functions and while I love my family and sometimes think we should pitch a TV show idea from our shenanigans, I know that most people won't find my family as entertaining as I do. This is also another one of those states that wasn't a one hit visit so putting together an album of pictures will be a little difficult. Check back though, I have some quiet and free time coming up so I might just endeavor to create an album.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-15945567746818714122013-06-16T17:49:00.003-07:002013-06-16T17:49:46.351-07:00#1a - Washington, DC - Part 2Labor Day weekend 2007.<br />
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That weekend was also known as the weekend I turned 20. I had just finished my last summer at YCamp, started my junior year of college, and had moved in with a new roommate, Emily. I tossed around the idea of visiting the monuments in DC for a while. I had the opportunity several years prior to tour the World War II Memorial before its official opening to the public because of the job my dad had at the time. That trip reawakened my desire to truly tour the monuments that I lived within an hour of my entire life. I got a few friends together, we drove to the closest Metro station, and made our way down to DC.<br />
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We stopped at a few monuments and took the traditional pictures. I stood where Martin Luther King, Jr. stood and let myself dream of what it must have been like for him to stand on that spot and deliver the speech for which he would forever be remembered and would inspire millions of people. I stood in awe of the size of Abraham Lincoln and thought of how what he fought for would resonate in MLK's speech. It was humbling to read the words of the Gettysburg Address which really put into perspective the magical history of the United States. I felt incredibly patriotic reading the words of the Declaration of Independence at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.<br />
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After the history lesson, we headed over to the Smithsonian Museums. We trekked past The White House and admired it from far away. We ended up only making it to the National Museum of American History, but that was honestly probably all the museum time I could take. We checked out all of the fabulous jewels and realized we could fake try them on using the reflections of the jewelry on their glass enclosures. Then we headed over to an exhibit of photographs. There were beautiful pictures of animals that I could only dream of capturing on my own.<br />
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I've been back to the monuments since and never get tired of visiting them. I tend to take for granted that I'm a $5 dollar ride from so many iconic buildings and that some people plan entire vacations around visiting them. There are plenty of museums left for me to visit. I think a day trip will need to be planned for this summer.<br />
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Per usual, you can click on the link to the side to view my album of pictures. I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures of the expensive jewels. My camera is not the best one out there and even though I took a photography class in high school, I never really got the hang of taking great pictures. I'd also like to warn you that I look terrible in the pictures. My summer camp job left me with horrendous and multiple levels of tan lines, plus that birthday was around my heaviest weight. My roommate Emily was a big motivation for me to lose weight because as you'll see, she's tiny.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-68937195280264456422013-05-23T12:12:00.000-07:002013-05-23T12:12:55.020-07:00My LobstersI promise I'll get back to the travel stuff. Maybe I will this weekend when my plan is to play a round of golf, do my normal church thing, and spend as much as possible of the rest of the weekend on my bottom on my couch. I am beyond excited about the three day weekend in my future. For now though, I want to talk about lobsters. Specifically two of them, that I claim possessively as mine.<br />
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You've seen the episode of <i>Friends</i> when Phoebe talks about lobsters choosing a mate, locking claws, and then never letting go, right? It's a pretty memorable monologue for her from the show. It's also an idea that Glennon over at Momastery uses. She uses it to describe her sister. When I met her at a book signing, I was with one of my lobsters and since we're both on budgets, we have joint custody of the book so Glennon made out the inscription to us and then just wrote the word, "lobsters."<br />
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I'm blessed to have two lobsters who are better known as my best friends. A guy I dated pointed out that I can't have two best friends because it negates the superlative and while I agree, I told him he was a boy and didn't understand. My best friends are Amy and Sabrina.<br />
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I have theoretically known Amy since the second I was born. She is 5.5 months older than me. Our moms met in 7th grade and became best friends. They then happened to have little girls within 6 months of each other. I think God had a plan for that. Amy and I grew up 30 minutes from each other so it was a big deal to get together. We'd pass the time between play dates by corresponding through letters. They usually contained "homework" for each of us to do since we both wanted to become teachers. Amy fulfilled that goal. I did not. Every time we talk about work I am again reassured of my decision. She, however, loves it.<br />
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Amy and I are alike in many ways. We both tend to follow the rules. We both have brown hair and blue eyes, though hers are both lighter shades than mine. We have freckles. We each have two brothers. We like and are good at working with children. We both have serious medical conditions. Amy has a peanut allergy. It's a bummer. Some of our play dates growing up included me going with her to get allergy shots and watching her do her inhaler treatments. I still remember her light blue inhaler spacer. I thought it was pretty cool. It did not phase or alarm me one bit that I never ate peanuts around Amy. It didn't really cross my conscious realm - it was just a part of life.<br />
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Due to her own chronic medical fun, Amy doesn't shy away from mine. She can empathize. She can relate to missing out on really random things (Reese's peanut butter cups for her) because of something outside of her control. It makes our health conversations super detailed which probably freaks out those around us, but it also makes them so incredibly normal. She doesn't have any sort of surprised or worried reaction when I tell her things. She asks follow up questions as if she was asking me more details on why my day is going well. I have taken for granted how much of a blessing that has been in my life.<br />
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My second lobster is Sabrina. I'm sure we met sometime in 6th grade since we went to middle school together, but our lives didn't really cross until 8th grade when we both dated the same boy. I started dating him shortly after they broke up so of course I was the enemy. We didn't become friends until she invited me to go to the high school service at the church we both attended. We had a class together our freshman year of high school and the rest is history.<br />
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Sabrina and I talk so much it's freaky. We also can have entire conversations in just sounds. We speak our own language and we drive her husband insane with it. We also send such a ridiculous amount of texts to each other that trying to find something we talked about through text yesterday is pointless. She's my accountability for exercising and eating well. She's also my motivation to keep moving. The girl is racking up half-marathon medals like it's her job. Sabrina is also a worrier, which I tend to think for the most part, I'm not.<br />
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When it comes to my health, she is my balancer of emotions. She has on more than occasion expressed her interest in coming to my doctor's appointments so that she can learn and hear first hand. I guess I don't do a good enough job on my reports. She asks follow up questions because she is preparing herself for the worst case scenario. This has been one of the biggest contributors to me finally getting a handle on the seriousness of my condition. It's one of the reasons why I finally wrote down my health information and always make sure I have it with me. She is the one to whom I take my fears. She lets me feel them and feels them with me and then when I think I'm going to go over the cliff of the enormity of what's going on, she reels me back to safety.<br />
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My lobsters are my life line. They didn't meet until we were all in college so while we are not the three best friends that anyone can have (I can't believe a 3rd movie was made...), they are friends through the common bond of me. I am beyond blessed that God has put them in my life to walk through it with me. They both have paved the way for me in marriage and Amy in buying a house. They both are outgoing which brings me out of my shell. My life would have a void if they weren't in it. I would say the cliche that you should get to know them, but I'll pass. I don't share well.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-34619866390494973622013-04-23T19:34:00.000-07:002013-04-23T19:34:10.027-07:00Life ChangingThe events that transpired last week involving Boston hurt my heart.<br />
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One of the victims who was seriously injured and needed a partial leg amputation is a woman named Erika. She and I went to the same youth group in high school and I looked up to her as one of the cool upperclassmen. She is a genuinely beautiful person both inside and out. What was her first concern after coming out of sedation? The students she teaches.<br />
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The second thing that got me was that Boston was my first trip after I decided to conquer all 50 states. I didn't decide to blog until after my second trip which is why I haven't written about it. That city captured my heart though and if its winters weren't so cold, I would move there without hesitation. "Boston Strong" isn't just a cute slogan to unite people after the tragedy, it is a truth that I experienced during my 12 hours there. That city is magical in the best way possible. It's rich in United States history, has breathtaking buildings, and the locals I enjoyed at the sports bar were friendly and proud and a lot of fun to be around. They even welcomed a rival Orioles fan while the O's were taking on the Red Sox at Fenway.<br />
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While Erika and I were never close friends, I've thought a lot this week on how I would react if one of my close friends was ever in a situation like hers. Her life forever changed in an instant. She will have to relearn how to walk and do many different things. Her "typical" life is no more. I can't relate to life changing so quickly.<br />
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My typical life has never been typical. I'm not a CHD patient who was diagnosed as an adult. My life stopped being typical the moment I was born. I never fully participated in PE classes in school. I've never played on a sports team. I can only ride one roller coaster at amusement parks. I only lived a few hours without scars all over my body. I see a cardiologist on a regular basis. I never leave home without my health passport that includes my doctor's phone number and my health information. I don't consume caffeine (not including decaf coffee and chocolate). I can't take medicines with decongestants in them. I have an advanced directive. I challenge you to name another 25 year old in your life that lives like I do.<br />
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I don't point these things out for pity. I am fiercely in love with my life. My CHD has shaped the person that I am today. It continually challenges me and teaches me. It opened up my world to wonderful people I would have never met if my life was typical. While I don't have experience living like a normal person, I'm grateful that I don't know differently. I don't understand what I'm missing out on besides caffeine and let me tell you, some days I'm willing to risk the side effects just for the jolt of energy. I'm thankful that my life is the way that it is. I wouldn't trade it for a normal life. I don't live my days longing for the "better" times. I still live in my better times. They just look different than yours.<br />
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From what I know about Erika, she will soldier through adapting to her new life and she'll do it with a smile. If you would like to financially help her create her new typical, please visit <a href="http://www.thebrannockfund.com/">www.thebrannockfund.com</a>.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-41787024165843408842012-11-29T19:55:00.001-08:002012-11-29T19:55:21.872-08:00#1a - Washington, DC - Part 1My birthday.<br />
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No, that isn't a typo. My first visit outside of Maryland came just a few hours after I was born. That's what happens when your parents are told throughout the entire pregnancy that their baby is healthy and has a strong heart beat and when she's born, she's blue. I try not to think about what it must have been like for my parents during that time. My mom was obviously stuck at the hospital where I was born and my dad was caught between his wife and his new baby girl that had a complex heart defect and was being transported by ambulance to a different hospital.<br />
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Obviously everything turned out fine since I'm here today writing this blog. I spent the next month living in DC at Children's National Medical Center and then had to go back for appointments every few months after that until I was four or five. I thought the hospital was the only thing DC had to offer. I had no grasp on everything it had and still has to offer me.<br />
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I'm grateful that this post is happening at this time. It gives me an opportunity to bring together two very important parts of my life and allows me to open the door to write about things besides my travels. While I realize that I set this up to be a travel blog, there won't always be a post for me to write about my travels and writing about my life with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) will fill those empty travel times. As I reflect on the name of my blog, 50some, it rings true with my CHD as well. The cardiologists predicted when I was a baby that I would live well into my fifties without needing any sort of additional medical intervention. I'm at a crossroads right now that is almost certainly going to end in a change of direction and a need for intervention.<br />
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Since this summer I've been making pretty frequent trips to the beautiful district. It moves me every single time I drive down there as I take Capitol Street and get to see the Capitol Building for a few brief moments. While driving into DC isn't my favorite thing to do, it's a necessity these days.<br />
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I don't want to overload the health information as it's a lot of medical terms and each new test my cardiologist has me do is revealing a new problem with my heart. The basics are that I was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries and had an arterial switch done at one week old. Up until this summer I was seeing a pediatric cardiologist and a scare with heart palpitations ushered in my transition to the Adult Congenital Heart Clinic at Children's National Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center. I now see a cardiologist who specializes in adults with CHD and he's been finding some not so up to snuff things going on with my heart. It isn't working like it should and right now he's trying to find out everything that isn't working correctly so that he can design a plan to make things work better than they are now. I will be having a procedure done sometime in the coming month that will gather some more information and possibly correct one of the issues that's been found.<br />
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So there's the story of my first visit to DC and a lot more about why I now go to DC on a fairly regular basis. I'm going to do another post about my first tourist visit. That was a lot more fun and not nearly as intense as my first visit.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-29718844957066827032012-11-21T06:52:00.000-08:002012-11-21T06:52:09.815-08:00100 Things I'm Thankful ForIn light of some recent medical stuff going on for me, I'm very thankful that tomorrow is a day dedicated to being thankful. I'm being proactive this time around and not letting myself go through the roller coaster of emotions I've been on lately so that means creating a nice long list of just a fraction of the things for which I am grateful.<br />
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You may have noticed that I changed my biography for this blog as I'll be expanding it to include my health stuff since day by day that's becoming more an active part of my daily life. I'll still be including my travels. My next post will actually combine both as I talk about my first visit to this great nation's capital city. For now though, here's a list, in no particular order, of what I am grateful for this Thanksgiving.<br />
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1. My faith in a God that I believe is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present<br />
2. My mom, my dad, and my dad's wife<br />
3. My brothers, sister-in-law, and almost sister-in-law<br />
4. My two best friends and their husbands<br />
5. Ice cream<br />
6. My job and coworkers<br />
7. My nephew (he's the cutest almost 10 month old on the planet)<br />
8. My mom's dogs<br />
9. My iPhone<br />
10. My college diploma<br />
11. My friends from college<br />
12. The young adult small group at my church<br />
13. My Sunday school kids<br />
14. The color pink<br />
15. Popcorn<br />
16. Netflix<br />
17. Pandora radio<br />
18. Humidifiers<br />
19. Cassie the Corolla<br />
20. Rewards points on credit cards<br />
21. Cream of wheat not tasting like oatmeal<br />
22. Reese's peanut butter cups in any size or shape<br />
23. Decaf coffee<br />
24. The Wizard of Oz<br />
25. On Demand on cable<br />
26. All things pumpkin flavored<br />
27. USA Today's daily crossword puzzle<br />
28. My one boss' black lab that comes to work with him on a pretty regular basis<br />
29. Facebook<br />
30. Writing this blog<br />
31. Reading Rants from Mommyland, The Bloggess, and Momastery<br />
32. Emery boards<br />
33. Chapstick<br />
34. Tervis tumblers<br />
35. Drinking straws<br />
36. Old coworkers that turned into friends<br />
37. The ability to walk/jog 3.2 miles on a consistent basis<br />
38. Flannel sheets<br />
39. Books, books, and more books<br />
40. The used book store near me<br />
41. My church<br />
42. Short work weeks<br />
43. My cardiologist and the ACHD clinic at Children's<br />
44. Belts<br />
45. American Eagle jeans<br />
46. Sperry Top-siders<br />
47. Google<br />
48. My watch<br />
49. Sunday afternoon naps<br />
50. Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Capitals, the US Men's National Soccer Team<br />
51. The Flow game on my phone<br />
52. My Disney pillow I've had since I was a baby<br />
53. Envelope moistener with adhesive<br />
54. The ability to hit golf balls at a driving range<br />
55. Twitter<br />
56. Paychecks<br />
57. Letter openers<br />
58. Sweat pants<br />
59. My aunts, uncles, and cousins<br />
60. TV shows on DVD<br />
61. YouTube<br />
62. Hoodies<br />
63. Laughing<br />
64. Living within walking distance of my dad's house<br />
65. The Bible<br />
66. Jillian Michaels' workouts<br />
67. The time I had with my grandparents<br />
68. The advances in medicine in my lifetime<br />
69. The beach<br />
70. Southwest airlines<br />
71. Spontaneous dance parties<br />
72. Breakfast sandwiches with hot sauce<br />
73. Dunkin Donuts<br />
74. Live music<br />
75. Live theater<br />
76. Musicals<br />
77. My college experience<br />
78. Waking up this morning<br />
79. A roof over my head each night<br />
80. Living in Maryland<br />
81. Phones breaking within the warranty period<br />
82. Health insurance<br />
83. Family get togethers<br />
84. Coupons<br />
85. My allergies not attacking me this fall<br />
86. Text messaging<br />
87. EZ Pass<br />
88. Having braces straighten out my teeth<br />
89. Car insurance<br />
90. Pictures<br />
91. Christmas music and movies after Thanksgiving<br />
92. Tissues<br />
93. Purpose face moisturizer<br />
94. Other people who are knowledgeable in things which I am not<br />
95. Amazon wish lists<br />
96. GPS<br />
97. Caffeine free soda<br />
98. Friendly and helpful customer service people<br />
99. Board games<br />
100. You for reading this blog :)<br />
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So there's my list. There's plenty that I left off of it. Actually there's probably more that I left off of it than actually wrote. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-60635617522200395402012-11-05T18:30:00.000-08:002012-11-05T18:30:19.538-08:00#16 - Rhode IslandNovember 3, 2012<div>
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This trip had an early and unusual start. I knew my flights were going to be funny when I got the 'A' group for both of them. Shout out to Southwest for always creating an enjoyable flight. Anyways, there were only seven people who purchased tickets for my flight to Providence and only four of us showed up. It was the first and probably only time I'll be the first passenger to board the plane. After a delay due to some software glitches, we were off and I was sound asleep like a baby. We landed a little late, but that was fine with me.</div>
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The airport in Providence is the largest in which I've ever been. I walked the long walk over to get my rental. Enterprise hooked me up with a new (~2,000 miles) Chevy Sonic. Besides a few weird things like having trouble with my blind spots, it was a sweet ride. It was also dark gray. My rental in Connecticut was dark gray. I own a dark gray car. Coincidence much? I headed off to get breakfast and then went to the Roger Williams Zoo.</div>
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How cute is he? She? This was in the Australasian house. I saw some animals at the zoo that I had never seen before and some old favorites of mine. The zoo also was hosting a jack-o-lantern type exhibit and they had a bunch of pumpkins all over and even some hanging in the trees. I actually spent a good bit of time at the zoo because there were so many animals to see. As I was heading through one of the last groups of animals, a bird pooped on my backpack strap. Lucky me. The zoo also had two bald eagles. They were rescued and are unable to fly well so they don't have any sort of netting over them. I only got a picture of one of them as the second one seemed to be laying down. I've been telling myself that it was just sleeping. After the zoo, I headed back into the downtown area to park at the mall and walk around before a special event at Macy's in the largest mall I've ever been, Providence Place.</div>
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Oh hey, Clinton Kelly! He was there for his Makeover America tour. I watched him critique a few women then the fashion show started and I left to walk around more. I then came back just as he was walking out to do his book signing. He's really tall and very funny. His quote of the day was definitely, "The higher the boobs, the closer to God." Ladies, go get your professional bra fitting if you haven't in the past year. I saw some beautiful buildings while I was walking around and a random group of what I assume to be military reenactors marching down the street. Providence has a weird clash of the artsy students of Rhode Island School of Design and the ivy league students of Brown. It was very apparent in the city that both schools consider Providence their home. It also is a modernized city that still has historical routes. I loved seeing the different eras come together in the city.</div>
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Providence was a great way to end my little tour of parts of the northeast. I currently don't have any plans to travel to new states so I need to get back to the drawing board and figure out where to go next. I've had a few friends express interest in coming with me on trips so hopefully some of those can work out. In the meantime, I'll continue retracting my steps through the states I've visited. Don't forget to check out all of my pictures from this trip via the link on the sidebar.</div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-32412630619870499702012-10-30T17:30:00.001-07:002012-10-30T17:30:33.446-07:00Planning for ProvidenceIt looks like as long as my local airport gets its act together that I'll be heading to Providence. Sandy didn't do much damage in the city of Providence for which I'm grateful. Part of me didn't want to do this trip this week, but now that I've started making my schedule for the day, it's shaping up to look like a fun day reminiscent of Boston. Tonight as I planned, I learned the two cities are apparently only an hour apart.<br />
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I don't know yet what order I'll be visiting these places and I'm not sure I'll make it to all of them due to monetary restrictions on my part, but here's the list of where I'm looking to go:<br />
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-Museum of Art at Rhode Island School of Design<br />
-Roger Williams Park Zoo<br />
-Rhode Island State House (just a quick stop for pictures since it will be closed)<br />
-Providence Athenaeum<br />
-Benefit Street<br />
-Macy's (Clinton Kelly will be there doing his makeover tour)<br />
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I'll have about eight hours in the city which is a good time frame since there's so much I want to do. I'd love to find a history museum to learn more about the state. I'm enjoying seeing the state houses of where I'm going and I know that I won't always be traveling to the city where they are so I think I'll be making sure I visit the state houses as often as it's feasible.<br />
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After trying to decipher the schedules for the trains, planes, helicopters, taxis, and whatever else you can think of, I'm leaning towards getting a rental again. It will depend on traveling within the city once I look at a map of Providence and a phone call to a taxi company up there that works with the airport.<br />
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It can get tedious planning these trips, but it makes it totally worth it when I get to see some really cool stuff and get some awesome pictures. Many thanks to the city of Providence for having a website listing all of the fun stuff to do and see in the city.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-25159468153098878442012-10-25T17:54:00.002-07:002012-10-25T17:54:53.312-07:00#1 - MarylandMy birthday.<br />
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I'm totally not putting that out here for total strangers to see, but let's just say it was in 1987. Maryland is the wonderful place that I was lucky to be born in, grow up in, go to college in, and currently live in. It has some drawbacks to it, but overall I can't imagine spending my life anywhere else. There's mountains in the west, the ocean in the east, and cities, suburbs, and farms in between. We theoretically get all four seasons although most years the seasons are out of order and/or at least one is abbreviated. You can drive from where I live in MD all the way down to the end of Florida on Route 95 and not pay one toll. Unfortunately, to even go through the city of Baltimore which is just north of me, you have to pay a toll and many thereafter to head north. Thank goodness for the invention of the EZPass.<br />
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Maryland is right next to the beautiful Washington, DC. There are so many things to do there, but more on that later when I talk about my first visit to it.<br />
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I am beyond blessed to live in this area. It's one of the most prosperous in the nation and while that can prove quite entertaining and frustrating, it has also allowed me to have many opportunities that I would have never had if I grew up somewhere else. I will go ahead and say that we are some of the worst drivers. I'm sorry if I've offended my fellow Marylanders, but seriously? We slam on the brakes in the pouring down rain, we basically come to a stop just to look at an accident scene, we fly up the right lane next to a merge just because the lane was open, and signals are optional. I will say though that most of us can properly use a traffic circle.<br />
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In keeping with the topic of ridiculous things we like to do in our state, I have to talk about when the cold weather hits here. This is especially relevant because of the crazy storm that they're predicting might take place this weekend into next week. The weathermen are usually incredibly wrong with their predictions of how much or lack there of snow we're going to get which has caused this paranoia in all of us. If we're told there's a 0.00000001% chance that ONE flake of snow is going to fall from the sky, we flock to the nearest place that sells food and stock up as if we have to feed the entire state for a year off of only the supplies in our house. There have only been a few horrendous snow storms that I can remember and even then, we only needed supplies for a few days before we were able to make it to the grocery store.<br />
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I'm sorry I don't really have any pictures for this visit, but my whole life involves this state so in reality that would be a lot of pictures to look through. It will take a lot for me to move from this area. I love visiting other places in this great nation, but Maryland will forever and always be my home. It's where my heart will always be and I wouldn't have it any other way.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-72667347858288747532012-10-20T19:13:00.001-07:002012-10-20T19:13:49.347-07:00#15 - ConnecticutOctober 13, 2012<br />
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My trip to Connecticut was a short one. My plane landed at Bradley International Airport at 8:45 and I took off for home at 4:45. After doing some research about where I wanted to go, Hartford, I was glad that it was my short day. I just went to Boston three weeks prior and that city is very tourist friendly with great public transportation and so many free things to do and see. Hartford really wasn't like that. There wasn't a good option for me to get twenty minutes south of the airport down into the city so I decided to rent a car. It was the first time I was happy that I was twenty-five.<br />
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I took the free shuttle over to Budget and a nice man named Danny helped me out there. We got to talking about my goal to see all fifty states after he confirmed that I was only renting my car for one day. He asked me if I was writing a blog about my travels and then asked if I was going to include the territories after he started listing the states he had been to and included Puerto Rico. I told him I hadn't thought about either of those things and we started talking about what I was going to do that day. He suggested I make the trek down to New Haven to look at the shore line. I told him I'd think about it and went outside to find my 2012 Jeep Liberty which was nothing like the compact car I had requested. It was beautiful.<br />
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I still hadn't decided whether to go to New Haven so I decided to plug in my GPS and at least get to Hartford. I didn't know where I was going in the city so I naturally chose the closest Marshall's. Once I got there I made the decision to just go for it down to New Haven so I searched for points of interest on my GPS and chose Lighthouse Park. The picture above was taken at the park and was my first attempt at parking that beast. As you can see, I failed miserably. I have a hard enough time parking my little Corolla on a daily basis. Lighthouse park was beautiful.<br />
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I then headed back up to Hartford to go to the one place I planned on visiting, the Connecticut Historical Society Museum. The helpful woman behind the front desk suggested I write a book about my travels and one of the other guys working there said that my dream was crazy, but in a good way. He seemed genuine about that. I learned about the history of Connecticut as well as dogs and cats and stamps. The museum had a lot of interactive opportunities so I left my mark in as many places as possible. After the museum I decided to head into the city and go to Bushnell Park. The ING marathon was still going on so I went in circles trying to find a place to park. I ended up right near the finish line for the marathon and cheered for some people as they finished. I then walked up a really big hill to see the Connecticut State House. I'm sorry Maryland, but their state house is way cooler than ours.</div>
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Isn't it beautiful? After that I walked around the city. I was way underdressed for the restaurants and the one clothing store I found had me imagining the scene in "Pretty Woman" when Julia Roberts first goes into that one clothing boutique while she's dressed how Richard Gere met her. You all know which scene I'm talking about. The clothing in there probably cost more than my car. The other stores in the city were closed already which seemed odd to me, but maybe I was just in the wrong part of the city. I decided to just head back to the rental place. Danny was still working so I got to tell him I drove down to New Haven and he wished me luck in my travels. I took the shuttle back to the airport and flew back home to the great state of Maryland where I was greeted by my best friend who was nice enough to pick me up and drive me home. Shout out to my dad for taking me to the airport in the morning and dropping me off and picking me up when I went to Boston.</div>
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Next up is Providence, RI so if you have any suggestions on where to go, leave them in the comments for me.</div>
Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7866093996319939472.post-2904683103198073922012-10-20T18:59:00.001-07:002012-10-20T18:59:15.443-07:00The ChallengeIt all started this summer while I was sitting in church one Sunday morning. The senior pastor at church was on a sabbatical for the summer so the other pastors in the church were taking turns speaking on the topic of dreams. My friend and the youth pastor at the church, Mandy, preached a sermon titled, "Where is the Dreamer in You?"<br />
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She told a story of her dream to write a novel so she decided to participate in National Novel Writing month. It's November if you're wanting to participate. She talked about how accomplished she felt even though it's a story that will never be published. She had written a novel. As I sat there and listened to her speak and watched the excitement she felt talking about what she did, something stirred within me. I was finally able to articulate my dream. It's a dream that I had been vaguely tossing around in my head for a while, but was never quite able to put a label on.<br />
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I want to travel to all fifty states.<br />
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Dreams have been a tough subject for me ever since college when I decided to let go of a dream I'd had since I was seven years old. Ever since I gave up pursuing being a teacher, I partly felt like a failure and partly felt a lot of pressure to find my purpose in life. Since then though I've learned that no person has one single great purpose in life besides my religious views to love God and love people.<br />
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So I set off on my quest. I listed out the states and crossed off the ones I've been to for something besides passing through. My total was a sad and pathetic thirteen. One of my bosses told me about a special Southwest was running so I looked at my calendar and booked three trips. This blog will be the stories of my travels. I'm not traveling to new places all the time so that will give me time to go back and retrace the steps that got me to where I'm at. Come along for the ride - planes, trains, and automobiles are all included.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18259418619378450905noreply@blogger.com0