About

I thought it was about time I rewrote my about me section. The last time I edited and added sections was three years ago.

Edit 1 2010: Creation of LOLZ blog
Edit 2: 2012: College Graduation
Edit 3: 2013: Post graduation and work in the public health field for a year
Edit 4: 2015: Move in with a boyfriend then move two more times. Get married and working at a local running store.
Edit 5: 2017: Still married and enjoying life.
Edit 6: 2020: Moving from New Jersey to Napa, California.

This is my typical demenor. — This is my typical demeanor.

Hello, my name is Hollie, and I started this blog in my junior year of college (2010).

The Early Years:

I was a military child, and now I’m a military spouse! My dad was in the Navy, and we lived in incredible places. I was born in California, moved to Japan, England, and my parents currently reside in Southern Virginia (where I went to high school). Chesapeake is still my “hometown” at this point, and I make an effort to go back frequently.

When I lived in England, I attended a British school. It caused me to pick up a thick British accent. Due to living in multiple areas, my accent is unique. Think British girl moved to Virginia and then became Canadian.

Now on to sports:

This one time, I played soccer. I sat there and picked flowers while skipping across the soccer field. My dad told me I wasn’t aggressive enough, and that was the end of soccer. He said if I stuck to it, I would get better, but I didn’t stick to it and quit…so I never got better.

The other sport I played was tennis. At age 6, I threw my racket at an opposing girl and gave her a pretty severe knot on her forehead. If I were a little older, when that happened, this blog would be called LOLZinJail.

Swimming:

My mom signed me up for swimming because it was clear I needed a sport that others did not depend on me for. She thought it would be a good idea since I spent most of my time on the computer playing roller coaster and zoo tycoon.

But not this computer... — But not on this computer…

I was overweight in middle school, but my parents never bluntly said it. When I started swimming, I was by no means the fastest swimmer and by no means motivated. I swam because it was fun, social, and it kept me busy. I would pull on those lane lines during backstroke or freestyle…I would goof off.

Something clicked during my ninth grade year of high school. I fell in love with the pool. I enjoyed going to practice. I wanted to better myself. I finally started to enjoy swimming!

Throughout high school, I swim distance events such as the 500. In college, I began to hate the 500 and began to love events such as the mile and 1000. I’m the type of person who can stare at the bottom of the pool for countless hours and not get bored.

Swimming from Point A back to Point A 100 times doesn’t bother me. You still had to be there for 2 hours for practice, no matter what set you’re doing.

I did not choose my college for swimming and wasn’t even planning to swim until my roommate asked if I wanted to go to the swimming meeting how ironic-I ended up rooming with a former swimmer. I met some of my closest friends through swimming and will never regret that time.

So why did I quit swimming midway through college?

I was mentally retired and exhausted from swimming, and I wanted to focus on running. I wasn’t enjoying swim practice or swim meets, and I was burnt out. It was time for me to go.

During my junior year of college, I went through a lot of changes (which is how I started this blog):

I quit competitive swimming, which I had been doing my entire life.
I ended a relationship with someone I dated throughout most of college.
I completely changed majors from math and education to public health.

My entire running story has its own page because it’s that special.

At the time, they were the hardest but best decisions I made for myself. If I wasn’t happy then, I sure as hell wouldn’t be happy now a decade later.

Fast forward through college. I finished my public health major at SUNY Potsdam and graduated in 2012. I interned and worked in the health promotions office at SUNY Oswego from 2012-2013. SUNY Oswego was a job a truly enjoyed. I liked helping students and being immersed in the public health field. However, due to seeing someone long term, I moved at the end of the school year in 2013.

*I am not a nutritionist, and my health degree does not give me credentials to tell you what to eat and how to exercise.

I have many hours in nutrition classes, exercise science, and all that jazz, but I’m not certified in anything but the LOLZ. I love working in the community and organizing in the health field, but I’m not a dietitian counselor.

This blog is my life, my journey, and LOLZ blog is meant to be taken with a grain of salt.

With that being said, I do not post everything I eat because that is boring and who cares if I had 12 apples throughout the day. Please don’t email me telling me to eat more because I might back sass you.

Weight isn’t a touchy subject for me; it’s just an objective number. I’m 130 pounds and 5’7. I have no issues discussing my weight publicly because the stigma with weight is dumb.

Would you like me or not more if I weighed 129.9…who cares? So don’t use my “diet” as your own because you can probably create a better one anyways.

So What Happened After I left SUNY Oswego?

My boyfriend (now husband) was stationed in the middle of nowhere, Texas. I decided to move in with him and see where life went. Due to the military, we moved shortly after to New Jersey in October of 2013. We were atypical about military moves and were lucky enough to stay in NJ until July 2020. I loved living in Southern New Jersey and being a few miles away from Philadelphia.

Visiting Philadelphia with my brother Matt.

Taking a risk and moving in with my husband was the best post-college decision I have made for myself. I had so many unknowns and variables, but life worked out. We got married in 2015, back in my hometown area of Virginia Beach.

From 2015-2018, life was fairly normal. I continued to live and assimilate in New Jersey. I worked at a local running store, which I truly enjoyed. We also spent a couple of months living in Montgomery, Alabama, while my husband went to school.

The highlight of 2019 was adopting my two cats, Frick and Frack. Frick and Frack were in shelters for 5 years before we found them. They were scared and didn’t show well to potential adopters because they hid. As someone who is awkward and picks the awkward or forgotten things, I fell in love with them. I had cats growing up, but due to moving frequently and renting, they weren’t an option for me until 2019.

In February 2020, we found out we were moving to Northern California. I spent more of my twenties in New Jersey, so it was a HUGE change! I never expected to stay in New Jersey that long, nor did I expect to love it as much as I did.

Due to the Pandemic, our move was delayed until July 2020, but we safely made it across the country. As we get settled in Northern California, I’ve begun assimilated into the community and enjoying what this state has to offer.

So, in short, if you just wanted to scroll to the bottom because I just rambled for about 1000 words, here is a quick summary and a few fun facts:

Cliff notes: