Gorgeous Sunshine

I've added some more bling to my sidebar, thanks to Susan at Family Formula who gave me the Gorgeous blogger award, and to Tara at Colorado Runner and AJH at Age Groups Rock who gave me the Sunshine Award! Thanks chickies!

For the gorgeous award, I'm supposed to list six things about myself. I've gotten some new followers recently, so I thought I would just write about why I started this blog.....

I used to work in advertising sales for a newspaper in NYC, and I loved it. It was nice to be living back where I grew up, with my family and friends around me. I worked with great people, and I surprised myself at how successful I was at sales. I've always been active, I played field hockey in high school, was a cheerleader, and love tennis and riding my bike. You can read the story of how I became a runner here.

After Luke was born, I went back to work, and something changed in me. I didn't have the drive I once had, I was 32 and wanted to take a break and raise my son. So when he was a year old, Mike and I moved upstate, to his hometown. We bought a house that we had only seen on the internet, an ice storm prevented us from driving up for the open house, we knew if we didn't bid on it we would lose it. We saw it for the first time after the closing! I absolutely love my house and neighborhood, it worked out so well I truly think it was meant to be.

After I had Eliza, and as she grew, I started to feel a little unsettled. It's hard being a stay at home mom, and it's hard to adjust from running around to meetings and having a big social life, to days where the highlight might be to play in the basement instead of the family room. I would remind myself that I would go back to work at some point, and that I was lucky to be with the kids during these formative years.

When Eliza was five months old, I started training for the Boilermaker 15k. I was so happy to get back into running. Fast forward a year and a half later, and I developed tendonitis in my hamstring. That sidelined me for a good seven months, I had to go to physical therapy, and I gained weight. Which sucked.

I love to cook, and I love to eat. Always have, I thought about going to culinary school and still think about opening a restaurant. I love everything about food, shopping for it, reading about it, cooking for others, going out to eat. I plan my days around it. That can be a dangerous thing, so I try to find balance in what I eat and drink. I eat fruit and veggies, but I also eat cookies. I drink milk in smoothies, water when I'm thirsty, and wine or beer or a dirty martini when I want it. I'm a meat eater, but never order steak when I'm out because I think Mike grills them the best. I'm happy to eat vegetarian meals, which I do often. My mantra is Balance. I can't be extreme in one direction or the other, because it would drive me nuts.

Now I'm vigilant about stretching before and after runs, and icing my hamstring. I've run the Boilermaker three times, have a half marathon under my belt, and have my marathon plan set. I'm getting closer and closer to my "wedding weight" which is my ideal size, but I'm getting stronger overall. I still struggle at times with motherhood, but I think everyone does. I still miss my family and friends and NYC, but I'm grateful for where I am now. I started my blog as an outlet for all that goes on in my head on a daily basis. Like the top of my blog reads, I'm just trying to figure it all out.

Back to the awards, I'm going to pass these both along to these blog friends of mine, and I know some of you have received them, but I'm doing it anyway:

Brad at Eat n Listen
Tara at Colorado Runner
Kelly at My Life as a Trimommy

Susan at Family Formula
Nicole at Wanna Be WAHM

Girl with the Flour in her Hair at Peeling an Orange with a Screwdriver

Felice at The Happy Runner

Katie at Fit to Wed

AJH at Age Groups Rock

Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical

Mel at Tall Mom on the Run

Suzy at Running on My Time

Janie B at Life not wasted or lost

Kristin at Will Run for Wine

J at Morning Runner

Stacy at Weight Loss Mama

Erika at The Girl Next Door Grows Up

Yonca at Yonca Is Cooking

Teri at Mighty M Family

Blue Violet at Nut in a Nutshell