Welcome to this week’s edition of Fun Fact Friday!

(Just a reminder that I completely stole this and can take no credit for anything other than the shitty writing and complete randomness…name stolen from Tessie via TNG. I kind of feel like I should tell you that every week so you don’t think I’m a dirty rotten scoundrel. Will you? Or should I stop now?)

-I figure skated from the age of 2 to 16. I was in my first performance when I was 3 and skated it beautifully…with my hands covering my face the entire time.

-I played on volleyball teams from grade 4 through grade 12 and a little bit of club after that. I am short so am definitely not a hitter, but I set decently and have a killer serve. Or, I used to. I was vice-captain for at least one season - maybe more - but never made captain because my nemesis was always on my team. Bitch.

-I was the fastest runner in my age category in track and field until I got boobs. My nemesis and I always either tied for first place or alternated first and second. I still remember all of my red and blue ribbons. My nemesis never got boobs so she continued to win races even after I started running holding on to my shirt thinking that nobody could see them moving if I did that. Man, I was a moron.

-I played on badminton teams from grade 4 through grade 9. Girls singles was my favorite, and mixed doubles second. I hated sharing my court with another girl - they always got in the way.

-I cannot play baseball to save my life. I both throw and catch with my left hand and even when I played on a ball team I had to catch the ball, remove my glove, throw the ball and put the glove back on. That? Is slightly embarrassing.

-I am perhaps the worst golfer to ever have walked a course. We sold my clubs, bag and cart last month because I’m just that bad. I once swung at that damn little white ball no less than twenty times and didn’t even make contact. It was then that I became the official cart driver and cold beer drinker.

-I was lucky enough to grow up on a military base (my dad was Air Force) and go to a combination public/D.N.D. funded school, meaning we got to do pretty much everything and pay pretty much nothing. I went canoeing, on week long adventure camps, climbed up mountains, rappelled down mountains (my fave!), hiked, biked, took fencing courses, rode zip lines, played capture the flag in actual woods, competed in a log rolling competition and more. My parents probably paid less than $500 for sports my entire life. (Correct me if I’m wrong, Mom…) I can hardly believe it. Particularly since my 2 year old son’s sports are going to cost us over $300 just for the upcoming fall/winter season.

-I swam my whole life and was a nationally certified lifeguard and water safety instructor until college. I let my certifications all lapse, which was really stupid.

-I played Nerf Soccer (yes, they actually called it that) as a child. I don’t remember if I liked it or not. In university I joined a co-curricular soccer team and hated it. I invested in cleats, socks, and cute shorts and ended up pretending I was busy on soccer nights.

-I have been a certified fitness instructor for over ten years and have taught everything under the sun…step aerobics, multi-step, hi-lo aerobics, boot camp, spinning, yoga, pilates, kickboxing, swing dance, hip hop, latin dance and more. If you just put on music, I can’t dance to save my life but give me a few hours to choreograph something and I can teach YOU to dance and we’ll both have fun. I haven’t taught many classes since having kids because I don’t trust the gym’s childcare to care for my children. I have continued to do workshops though, teaching other people how to teach children to enjoy fitness. That’s where my fitness passion really lies.

-I love to run, but am slow as molasses. I am NOT built for running and will never be good at it, but I still enjoy it.

-I love to bike, but am a great big chicken. I am afraid of hills, paths that are too narrow, and going up and down curbs. If you’re adventurous, I’m not much fun to bike with.

-I am a certified personal trainer and love to weight train. I am incredibly picky about form so if you don’t want help you may not want to work out with me. I’ll help you whether you want it or not.

-My mom was never into organized sports much herself (she prefers walking, running, weight training etc.) but encouraged me to do anything I wanted to do. If it was a sport and I wanted to do it, she registered me. I feel really lucky to have done all of these things…thanks Mom!

How ’bout you folks? What are your favourite and least favourite athletic pursuits? What did you try when you were growing up? Do you still do those things?

Aside: God, but I love summer!

This is us, last week, at a national park in the Canadian Rockies. We were walking the shoreline throwing rocks in the lake with my mom, sister in law and nieces. About that black stripe down the left side? Just pretend it’s not there because I’m too tired to fix it. Okay? Okaybye.

Oh, and Happy 4th of July to my friends south of the border!