I think I'm blushing...

Me??  A Stylish Blogger??

I couldn't believe it when I saw my name as a highlighted link on The Studly Runner's blog the other night!  I've only been at this blog thing since January 26th so, I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to do when I saw that I'd been tagged.  And, honestly, I was so giddy just to see my name on her blog that I kinda didn't know what to do with myself.  (How dorky am I??)  It was sort of like that scene from 'A Christmas Story' when the dad finds out he's won a "major award", except this might be even cooler than a plastic leg lamp...

So, I did some research to figure out what the heck I should do.  I mean, I didn't want to screw it up or anything.  This is clearly a blogger's right of passage.  And, I've not received many "awards" in my life, so I'm milking this one for all it's worth...I'm basically famous now, right?

For those of you that don't already know, these are the rules (or, at least, the version of the rules I'm choosing to use):

1. Make this a post and link back to the person who gave the award to you (check)

2. Share 7 things about yourself (i'll get to that in a minute)

3. Award 5 great bloggers (i'm sure you're all just dying to be tagged/awarded by me)
4. Contact the bloggers and tell them they've won (got it.  will do.)

Okay, so I should probably also admit that I checked out a few other running bloggers Stylish Blogger Award posts, just to see what they were like.  I am not a person who loves to have "free reign".  While I'd really love to be more of a "free spirit", I just can't help loving parameters.  I like to have a framework to work within.  Wait, was that #1?  I guess I should just "shut up" and get to the list already (and stop putting things in "quotes").

1.  I ran my first uninterrupted mile when I was a sophomore in high school.  That was the longest 15 minutes of my life.  Seriously...I thought I was going to die.

2.  I was born and raised in Maryland, but now I live in Missouri, where my husband's from.  I really miss living near water and real trees.  The man-made lakes and "trees" around here just don't cut it.

3.  I was a vegetarian for a few years beginning my senior year of college.  That abruptly ended when I got pregnant with my daughter.  I think I literally snatched a Whopper from my husband's unsuspecting hands.

4.  I'm one of those freaks-of-nature that can get their whole fist in their mouth.  I guess you could say I've got a big mouth.

5.  I dispise talking on the phone.  It makes me uncomfortable that I can't read the other person's facial expressions and body language.  My dad feels the same way, so we usually talk on the phone about 4 times a year.  Thank goodness for email and Google chat!!

6.  I always chew gum when I run.  Extra peppermint, if you were wondering.

7.  I've given this list waaaaaaay too much thought, and I'm cutting myself off now!!!

Stylish bloggers I will be "awarding" next:

1. Kila @ Lil Surfer Girls (because she's a great friend with great ideas who's taking charge of her fitness)

2. Angie @ Kansas Runner (because she ran 20 freakin' miles on a treadmill last week, AND she only lives like 20 minutes away from me!)

3. Michael @ Slowly Tri-ing (because she has taken on the Tri--something you will never find me doing, and SHE only lives like 10 minutes away from me!)

4. Stephanie @ Thorns Have Roses (because you can tell she really pours a lot of herself into her posts and she's been so nice to kindly comment on so many of mine)

5. Tricia @ Endurance Isn't Only Physical (because her post on 'The Reset Theory' really inspired me--you'll see that I mention that again below)

It won't bother me if these stylish bloggers don't want to do the list themselves.  I just wanted to give them a shout out either way!

****************************************************************************

I haven't posted any photos lately, but have been wanting to.  Last week, Tricia over at Endurance Isn't Only Physical wrote a post called The Reset Theory.  It really hit home with me and got me thinking about what I've been putting in my body lately.  I'm a pretty healthy eater, but like Tricia, I've let things start to slide a bit lately.  So, I've been trying to pay closer attention to my food...

WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE SUBJECTED TO A FOOD PHOTO MONTAGE!

This was the beginning of my recent food downfall...my daughter won

 this dang jar of Hershey's Kisses & Hugs at her school Valentine's party. 

Yes, the jar used to be full.

So, after reading the post about 'The Reset Theory', I had this for breakfast. 

Oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts.  It was gooood.

Two of my other breakfast favorites: apple butter and fresh squeezed grapefruit and orange juice.

Okay, so I had some ice cream later that day.  At least I put strawberries on it!!

We can put away some serious salad in our house.

It was a very orange meal.  Mashed sweet potatoes and canteloupe.

My kids love pancakes for dinner.  We put any combination of chopped apples,

 sliced banana, chopped walnuts and chocolate chips in them.

There they are on the griddle.  No, the one with the chocolate chips is NOT mine! 

I had the banana nut pancake, thank you very much.

There's the flip side.

And, since today was cold and nasty (rainy, slushy, snowy) I decided to make some chicken stock.

I just thought it looked pretty in the pot.

Here's my recipe for Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes:

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, plain yogurt, or sour cream)

2 tablespoons canola oil (or you can substitute apple sauce)

• Combine the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl.
• Combine the remaining ingredients (egg through oil) in a medium bowl.
• Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until just moistened.  Add additional milk if needed to thin batter (but batter should be pretty thick).
• Pour 1/4 or 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, depending on how big you want your pancakes.

Well, tomorrow may be a p90x day for me...just got the call that we will be having SNOW DAY #10 tomorrow!!!