liebster award

last week i was tagged by jen at running with the girls and michelle from average girl doing average things who gave me the Liebster Award! thanks ladies!!

apparently this Liebster Award is for up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers. liebster is a german word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

rules for receiving this award (which i rarely follow but ill try):

1. each person must post 11 things about themselves (hmmm, what dont you know about me already?!)

2. answer the questions the tagger asked, then come up with 11 questions for the bloggers youre tagging

3. choose 11 people and tag them in your post

4. notify the people you have tagged

5. no tag backs

11 things about ME! (that im sure youre all dyyyyyying to know...)

1. despite my sheer ignorance to use capital letters or proper punctuation, it still drives me crazy when people misuse your, youre, to, too, lose, loose, etc etc etc...
2. its been years since i havent talked to my mother at least once a day, especially now that shes learned to text (welcome to the 21st century mom!)
3. my calves are quite large, theres no denying that... but my right calf is an inch bigger than the left

yes, we got bored at work one day

4. my left foot is a half size bigger than my right foot. wtf is up with my body?
5. i have 5 tattoos, and plan on at least one more
6. having a really awesome training/running buddy has made all the difference in this years training
7. i think i might like to write a book someday
8. last weekend i went on a 50 mile bike ride. i feel like this makes me an official "bike rider". i dont know why but i just decided that. i guess it probably means i should invest in my own bike, and give back the one i stole borrowed from a friend.
9. i also decided (on that same bike ride) that if/when i do a 70.3, my bike nutrition will be cheez-its.
10. i am on a huge home improvement kick as of lately... i want to paint everything. so far ty has been agreeable (bathroom, kitchen wall, third bedroom/office), except on the whole "lets paint the kitchen cabinets white" thing.
11. i somehow found out where the gym was on sunday... its been hiding from me for at least 6 months. surprisingly i had an amazing workout and am actually looking forward to going back. im just as confused as you are right now.

jens questions

1. what is your favorite olympic event? swimming, any and all of it (which is funny cuz i hate swimming myself), and any track/running event. i get nervous watching the gymnastics and diving.
2. have you lost a toenail? do you just leave it or paint over it? ive lost many. sometimes i paint on the skin, sometimes i paint the other toenails a dark purple or black to match, other times i just leave the awful looking toes as they are. toes are stupid anyway.
3. running skirt or shorts? i have recently become a huge fan of skirts (i have two from www.runningskirts.com)
4. what is your favorite pizza combination? the matinicus pizza from portland pie co... red sauce, thin sliced prosciutto, chunks of cream cheese, pepperochinis, and a three cheese blend. on beer crust. heaven.
5. do you write a menu for the week? what meals do you have on the menu this week? ha. no. menu this week consists of a lot of ice cream, and whatever ty has waiting for me when i get home from work.
6. what are you training for right now? mount desert island marathon, october 14th
7. what do you look for in a running shoe? do you have a favorite brand? first and foremost they have to look good, obviously. ive worn brooks for the past 6 pairs (3 adrenaline, 3 ravenna) and am looking to perhaps move towards the pure flows...
8. dream race? the bermuda triangle challenge
9. do you like to run the same race year after year or do you like to try new races? there are a few races that i love love love and will do over and over - b2b and mdi are two of my faves
10. do you listen to music on your runs? what are some of your favorite tunes? i listen to music more often than not when im alone, but also enjoy conversation with my training buddy. my music varies all over the place... acapella and christmas music, boston pops and britney spears, eminem and enrique. you name it, i probably have it.
11. if you had your own garden, what would you grow in it? cucumbers. and money.

michelles questions

1. if you could live somewhere else, either in the us or out of the country, where would it be? boston or ireland
2. would you rather have wealth or fame? why? i think i would rather have wealth, that way i could hopefully still maintain my privacy.
3. would you rather be able to race really fast but be hurt afterward, or be slow but never hurt? slow and never hurt. ill still finish, despite the time.
4. what is your favorite drink? water. and pina coladas. or coffee. maybe bud light. ahhhh too many to pick a fave.
5. what is your dream job? wedding photographer.
6. lake or ocean? ocean.
7. do you have a bad habit like chewing your fingernails? what is it? i rub the strings of my hooded sweatshirts on my lips to the point where they sometimes bleed. i know thats so gross, but i honestly dont even know i am doing it half the time. (they bleed if they are dry and cracked... i have a bad habit of always forgetting my chap stick, then wearing hoodies... its a vicious cycle)
8. i am a little nutso about recycling. our transfer station recycles everything so i do too. paper, all plastic, newspaper, cardboard, cans. do you recycle? is it easy to recycle where you live? we DO recycle, everything. our town gives us big trash bins and recycle bins and pick them up every tuesday. our recycling is always full. it baffles me when i am in places that dont recycle.
9. what race are you most proud of? hmmm, all of them? its hard to pick just one.
10. what chore do you hate the most around the house? washing the kitchen floor
11. do you love a disney vacation or somewhere less crazy? id rather go sightseeing or on an adventure of some kind other than disney. just lying around on the beach for a week doesnt really entertain me enough either.

my 11 people to pass this on to...

suz- cows and lasers and everything in between

heather- 365 days of awesome

jessie- kissing frogs

crystal- carpe diem crystal

maureen- i heart pikermis

jeri- jerbear shares

sara- middle aged runner

julia- double D athlete

christy- 25 before 25

amy- that pink girl

ally- the shabby princess

and here are your questions to answer!

1. what is your favorite blog to read (other than mine, obvs)
2. if you could have a $5,000 gift card to anywhere, what would it be/how would you use it?
3. how do you like your coffee/tea?
4. iphone? droid? other?
5. if you could relive one time/day in your life, would you choose to do so? would you do it the same or do something different?
6. is there a race that you have never done that you would pay anything/travel anywhere to do? i guess this is similar to a whats your dream race sort of question...
7. what is your favorite brand of jeans (selfish question, need new clothes here haha)
8. what is your go to breakfast?
9. what 3 books would you take with you to a deserted island?
10. what are your 3 current favorite tunes?
11. is there anything you still keep that you have from your childhood?

a few other side items (to help support others):

-suz and allen from cows and lasers and everything in between are soon running the wounded warrior project 8k to support their friends and family who are serving or have served for our country, and they are putting on a virtual race until this friday! there are some great prizes and its for a great cause so go check it out (at the link above)

- my friends jessie and julia are both raising money for their upcoming races as well... julia is doing the timberman half ironman in support of make a wish foundation, jessie is participating in the multiple myeloma research foundation race for research 5k. please consider helping them reach their fundraising goals!
 (donation pages):
julia- make a wish foundation
jessie- MMRF race for research

- i also wanted to give a long overdue thank you to Treadmill Review Guru, for awarding me with the "get up and move blogger award"

happy tuesday everyone!