Girly Girl!

I'm not quite sure what's happened to me lately. I have a new hobby/obsession. It's nail polish and nail art. I've turned into such a girly girl. For the last week I've looked forward to payday, so I could go and buy new polish. In the last year, I went from having 2 polishes total to having probably over 30. My favorites are glitters and metallics. I very rarely use creams. Anyway, I happily went shopping last night for my very first OPI polish purchase. I ended up with one from OPI's Katy Perry collection called Teenage Dream and another called Princesses Rule. I'm in the mood for spring, so pink was the color of the day. Since I swim constantly, I've discovered that the OPI polish really stands up to the beating. I can wear it for practice all week, and it still looks good!

Here's the photos of the colors:

Katy Perry's Teenage Dream

Princesses Rule

Both very pretty pinks. The Princesses Rule is shimmery with pink and gold tones. It's very sheer, so it really suits my swimming schedule. It's very forgiving, when it does chip. The Teenage Dream is LOADED with glitter, and I just LOVE it! I tried my very first gradient manicure last night. Not a total success, but it's pretty anyway. Here are some shots.

This was made in lamplight only.

This in the bright sunlight.

As you can see, it has high sparkle in any kind of light, and I absolutely love it! Now, I can't wait to try the blue in the Katy Perry collection, Last Friday Night! I'm officially and addict! Now if you all will excuse me, I have some gummy bears to eat!!

I'm Swimming 100 Miles to Support the MS Assoc.

I love to swim and participate on my local United States Masters Team, the MTSU Blue Wave Raiders. I want to swim for all of those affected by MS and their families, but especially for one of my closest friends, Linda. Linda is in the advanced stages of MS, and uses a power chair for her mobility. I have watched her battle and struggle with this devastating disease, and I want to help find a cure for her.

Since 2012 is an Olympic year my goal is to swim 100 miles, before the start of the London games on Friday, July 27, 2012. Help me reach my goal and support the fight for MS!  Please consider making a donation to my cause!!

http://support.msassociation.org/site/TR?type=fr_tribute_fund&fr_id=1050&pxfid=9090&post_id=13930&bpg=rlist&pg=fund

Spring Season

The Spring season is well underway. We've got our practices going and on schedule. I'm enjoying getting back to the routine of it all and being with my team. Coach Katie is back, and we're having a great time! I just wanna get faster! I'm working really hard in practice. I'm even doing fly and IMs voluntarily this semester!!
 Here's two viral vids that pertain to swimming that made me laugh out loud this week!

WKU Meet Wrap Up

Saturday's meet was an absolute BLAST!! I still had a small case of the nerves, beforehand, but I managed quite well (thanks to Katie's good humor)! I am disappointed that the video camera had a SNAFU, so we didn't get any footage. I think I may have figured out the problem, and hopefully it's not broken. I'm proud to say that I swam faster than I ever have at this meet! I ended up taking 2 first place events (200 medley relay, I was backstroke leg, and 50 Breaststroke) and 2 second place events (50 Freestyle and 50 Backstroke). I am the most proud of my 50 Backstroke! I'm still dropping time! The entire team did REALLY well too! We all had a great time!

Another boost on Saturday was the local paper had an article on the team. They decided to take the pictures last week, and everyone is still on winter break. So, I was the lucky photo subject. The article and the pictures both turned out really nice, and I'm really proud of them. Here's the shot that was included in the article.

Here's the link to the article, written by my really good friend, Nancy DeJennaro.

Swim into shape | The Daily News Journal | dnj.com:

'via Blog this'

Catching Up!

WOW!! I can't believe that I didn't post once throughout the Christmas season! It WAS really crazy. We had a death in the family the weekend before Christmas, so that week was just jam packed with relatives and visitors. It was great to see everyone, but I wish that it had been under different circumstances.

Now, let's see..the Christmas wrapup. We had a GREAT Christmas! Mine actually started the weekend before in Atlanta. Casey had bought me tickets to USA Swimming's Duel In the Pool. The entire Olympic Team was there competing against Team Europe! It was SO much fun! It was really nice to see them all in person. I managed to get Rebecca Soni's autograph and also Chloe Sutton's! Casey also bought me an event t-shirt to wear! I couldn't have asked for a better gift! Here's some shots that I made at the meet.

Team Europe(In Blue) and Team USA (Red)

Missy Franklin getting ready for her event.

The closest I could get to Ryan Lochte! HAHA!

As you can tell, I had a GREAT time!

The rest of Christmas was wonderful too! All spent with friends and family. Casey gifted me with a really pretty swimming themed bracelet, which I LOVE!

The dogs even had a big Christmas! They received a HUGE box and many more Christmas cards than me in the blog holiday exchange! They were so cute opening their presents. I'll post those in the next few days.

The next big thing on the agenda is this Saturday's swim meet at Western Kentucky University! This was by far one of my favorite meets last year. It didn't hurt that I took home my first swimming ribbons there too! I've registered for 3 events, the 50 Backstroke, the 50 Freestyle, and the 50 Breaststroke. All of my practice pools have been closed over the holidays, so it's definitely going to be a "wing it" meet. I'll post later on how it all goes!

Home Meet Wrap Up

Well, I survived the home swim meet!! I stuck it out, and swam every event I entered. I also overcame a HUGE obstacle. I did my 50 Breaststroke off the block!! I've had a big mental thing with the blocks, since I've never really learned to use them. Coaches Erica and Katie gave me a crash course last Wednesday and Thursday night. I felt comfortable enough, after that, to use it on Saturday. I can't wait to get up there and go again. I can't wait until the next meet in Knoxville this December. So much that I can do now!! I'm happy to report, that I took first in all my events and dropped all my times!! I'm not terribly fast, but I sure do put a lot of effort in it. Counting the 200 mixed medley relay that I did, I swam a total of 5 events. Last year, that would have ensured a trip to the hospital. The bootcamp has been wonderful! I can tell SUCH a difference. I bettered my time in the 200 Back with so much less effort than I put in it last year. Bootcamp is one investment that certainly has paid off. I'll make sure that I'm there in that class, every time I get a chance. It's back to regular practice tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm just waiting to see what Coaches Erica and Katie have planned for me now!

Fall Home Swim Meet

Every time, I let the time get away from me. I ended up finishing the summer very strong. I feel so much more comfortable in the water now. The fall semester has started, and I'm doing a juggling act this year. I'm back in school, heading the swim club, training for a new job position, on the vestry at church, and several other things. So to say I'm busy is an understatement. Club recruitment went extremely well this year. We've gained a lot of good, active members. I'm happy to see so much enthusiasm. Our fall practices have been scattered, due to meetings and football games, but we are doing the best we can with what we've got!

Our home meet is this coming Saturday. I've signed up for the 200 Back, 100 Back, 50 Back, and the 50 Breast. I'm the most worried about the 200 Back. We haven't had a chance to do a lot of sprint training, so I'm nervy. I guess it will work out just fine. Turns out, I'm the only one, out of the whole meet, to sign up for that event. It's going to get lonely out there. I think I'm more nervous about swimming in front of everyone alone, but it looks like I can just make it a really good warm up. Hope I don't regret it later. Everyone cross their fingers!