Running for Charity Series - Voices of Ronald McDonald House Part I

Today I would like to introduce you to a childhood friend of mine, Jennifer Lentini. Jen is a great example of why I chose to run for Team Ronald McDonald House. The following is a guest post from Jen herself:


"At 13 years old I received a heart transplant. The Ronald McDonald house was a wonderful organization that offered much more then housing to families of sick kids but support. My family lived to close to use there facility. Though , they had many actives and events that they had to help with not only the child that was sick but the family as well. I remember when I was 13 after my transplant that holiday season I went there to make Christmas cards to send to sick children. They also had Halloween dances and even if you did not stay at the facility they had activities for siblings to attend. Years later , I went with the key club in my high school for a Halloween party. It was extremely special because I was able to help younger kids as I was helped when I was waiting for a heart transplant."


Jen just competed in her first ever Transplant Games of America. It is now 18 years after her first transplant, and Jen has developed complications from the medication she's had to take from the first transplant. She has been told that she will need a second heart transplant and also a kidney transplant.  Unfortunately, Insurance does not cover all the necessary treatment and travel expenses.  Therefore, in order for her to receive the most optimal level of care and treatment for her condition, Jen is depending on our support.
If you would like to donate to help Jen with her medical expenses you can do so by visiting this link: http://tinyurl.com/TEAMJEN


Jen shared her story with us today to show you just how much your donations to the Ronald McDonald House mean to the families who use their services. The Ronald McDonald House is more than just a place to spend the night. It is a place that brings hope and smiles in a time of fear and tears. 

I am running the runDisney Glass Slipper Challenge in Orlando, FL in February to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. This race series consists of a 10K (6.2 miles) on Saturday followed by a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Sunday. You can find my fundraising page by following the link below, and if you are willing to make a donation I would so appreciate it! 

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO RMHC

***As an added bonus, you will receive one entry to an online raffle for every $5 donation made to the Ronald McDonald House.
Prizes include tee shirts, Pace Bands, Compression Socks, Race Distance Decals, Disney Princess Items, and more.***

Spinning or Cycling Out of Control

So... This happened this week. 

I took a step outside of my comfort zone and went to the gym early, before work. 

A cyle/spin class was about to start so I said "why not?!" and joined in.

Whew! What a workout!! I didn't even do all of the things the instructor was telling us to do. I think that's a good thing though because 

OUCH!! Are my err ummm let's say bits, yes that works. Ouch are my bits sore!!

I couldn't sit after class and even today I am still sore. 

It was a fun experience though and I will definitely be trying it again.

Running for Charity - runDisney Glass Slipper Challenge

Well, it's official! I am a member of Team Ronald McDonald House!
I will be running the runDisney Glass Slipper Challenge during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend next February. I will be doing the Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the Princess Half Marathon on Sunday. It will be a total of 19.3 miles and it's all to help raise money for an amazing charity.

Ronald McDonald House Charity provides care and support for families of seriously ill, critically injured or medically fragile children being treated at area medical facilities.
Ronald McDonald Houses serve more than 8,000 families each day around the world, saving them over $257 million a year in hotel costs.

Guests of the RMHC pay only $15 a night, if financially able. Contributions and volunteers do all the rest.

A $15 donation sponsors a family for one night and allows them to spend time closer to their sick child.
It will also let you choose 2 songs for my running playlist to listen to while training and while doing my 19.3 miles come race weekend.

Please consider donating using the link below to help families stay together during a difficult time in their lives.
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/kerri-hill-1/2015-team-rmhc-rundisney-princess-half-marathon-we


Do you run for charity? Which one and why?

Update on my "New Normal"

"I can't sleep. That's a lie, I fell asleep but awoke startled and can't fall back asleep. I keep thinking the phone is going to ring. Worst phone call ever. You'd think I'd be able to trick my brain by now but nope. 3 years after the fact and I am still fearing it. Sometimes I forget the call came, sometimes I pick up the phone to call her. Sometimes I pick something out in the store for her bc it would make her smile but instead it makes me cry. Three years of guilt, three years of anxiety, three years of a heartache my words will never give justice to. Three years that have flown by and yet they've taken an eternity. Three years Does this ever get easier?."

This is my facebook status from last night. Or early this morning I guess is more accurate since it was posted at 4AM.

While I don't think it will ever get BETTER, I can say that my "new normal" has changed yet again and that some days have gotten easier than they were before.

Running has definitely taken my life in a new direction. It's become a type of therapy for me.
This weekend I dedicated my miles to my mom.
I wound up running my fastest mile one day and my fastest 5K the next. 

Whatever you do in life, just keep moving forward and remember that you're looking for progress, not perfection. 

These mantras have become part of my new normal, and running has too. I run for those who can't, including my mom.

Transformation Tuesday - Week 1

My friends and family know that I LOVE social media. I love it. It gives me a chance to show the world the me that I see. I get to edit my life into a story that reflects what I want the world to see while allowing me to see the world of others that they want me to see. It's all very carefully crafted whether most people wish to admit it or not. This is not to say that I only show my good side, far from it. Some days I am overly dramatic because I need the internet to give me a big old hug and tell me that I'm special. It happens. If I didn't want attention I wouldn't have a facebook, twitter, instagram, or this blog. 

The thing is though over the past few months I have realized that the editing I've been doing hasn't been because I don't want the rest of the world to see me a certain way. It's because I didn't like seeing me a certain way. I was embarassed, or despressed, or something... I don't know. But I wasn't hiding from YOU. I was hiding from me. 

I've been using the transformation Tuesday hashtag for months now. "Well then Lady Hill," you may ask,  "why are you calling this post Week 1?"

This is week one of my mental and emotional transformation not just the physical.
As the weight came off you'd think I would be able to see it. You'd think that I felt good or sexy or at least empowered. I haven't. I still see the same "fat girl" I've been seeing for the past few years. 

I took a chance. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and purchase a new bathing suit. It's the first 2 piece bathing suit I have owned since I was 21 years old.
It's cute right??

While I may not be at the point of being comfortable enough to post photos of me in it on the internet, I was comfortable enough to wear it out of the fitting room and into the middle of Nordstrom to show Lord Hill how it fit. I took that as a sign to mean it was meant to be and realized just how far I had come physically and emotionally over the last 6 months. 

We were cleaning out our bedroom and donating clothes and it was so amazing to be able to donate clothing that didn't fit because it was too big. I decided to hold on to 2 pairs of shorts because I don't really own others and they had fit in Disney back in January. Well, it was hot the other day so I decided to put a pair on. It fell right off! I tried on the second pair and they were huge too.

I couldn't find a photo of me wearing them in January since I spent most of that trip in bed with the Flu (blech) but this is me wearing the shorts in 2011 next to a photo of me wearing them this week.

This is the photo from my previous blog post. I know not all of you follow me on instagram.

If you don't already follow me on instagram, you should. Go find @ladyhill and show me some love.

Progress

This is a side by side of January 2009 and January 2014.

I have been on and off the weightloss bandwagon since 2006. I never really tried anything serious and always have up.

Being depressed makes it hard to follow through with things and being over weight makes me depressed. The cycle felt never ending.

To be honest, I've been sick since sometime in 2013. A few ER visits, CT scans, blood tests, ultra sounds, and a recent hospital stay over New Year's Eve with biopsies, surgical procedures etc and I still don't know what I'm sick with.

It's depressing. 

So instead of laying in bed and being miserable I decided to "look on the sunny side" and use this mystery illness as a jump point for my weight loss journey. 

I will find some photos that are a bit more recent to show you the real current progress with the weight but these photos serve a different purpose. 

Look at me on the left. I'm in Disney for the first time in over a decade and while I was ecstatic to be there Inhated having my picture taken. I think it shows. 

Look at me on the right. I look like a totally different person. 

I feel like a different person. 

I am on my way to being the LADY I've always wanted to be, MYSELF. 

Finding comfort in my skin

I posted a photo on Instagram last night. I was feeling pretty good about the fact that a pair of shorts I've had for years had to be donated because they didn't fit. They were huge. I took a photo in the style of those weight loss ads. "then vs now" 

I felt good. I was proud. I posted it.

All day long I have felt anxious about it being up there. I have been embarrassed and felt like I shouldn't have posted it.

The photo only got 5 "likes" all but one of which were from strangers. This did not help my anxiety or self esteem. Sure, the time of the post could have had something to do with it. The day of the week. Whatever. But in my head it's because I am fat/ugly/scarred/ and just unpleasant to look at. No one "favorites" "likes" or "double taps" the ugly, fat, scarred chick. 

When I got home I contemplated deleting the image. I had every intention of doing so. Then I saw an image of someone larger than me doing almost the exact same thing as me. You know what? I double tapped that photo so fast my thumb almost blistered. I was so proud of her! She looked amazing. I got sad and hoped that she didn't look at herself the way I look at MYself. I hope she sees the progress, the determination, the hope, and the beauty that I see when I look at her photo. 

Then I realized that maybe she (or someone like her) was thinking the same thing about me. Even if just one of those 5 people who took the time to "like" my photo felt that way... What would it mean if I took it down?

So I left it up. For the world to see. For the world to judge. It's there. The before photo was from 2011 but the shorts for last summer. They were a size 11. I said goodbye to them yesterday. Today I said goodbye to the fear.

Follow me on Instagram @ladyhill to see the photo.