Stylish Blogger, That's Me!!

Moi???

So, Julie at You Just Have to Tri awarded me with the Stylish Blogger award, and I am so excited!  I think the rules say that the Stylish Blogger must share seven items about herself and then pass it on to a couple other bloggers that she deems worthy! I wish I could pass it right back to Julie, because I love reading her blog so much, but it just doesn't work that way, however, you should check out her blog.  She does tons of races and trains really hard and is basically one of the nicest people I have "met" in blogland.  For her SB award, she shared seven outfits from her past, and they were great.  The 80's get people all the time.  I don't have a bunch of old photos uploaded, so I will try to share seven interesting things about myself.

1. My husband is an engineer-math-genius-type and I am a writer.  We ALWAYS come at things from completely different perspectives.  Because of that, we are constantly debating on everything from how to organize the tupperware drawer to how we will raise children.  It can be frustrating sometimes, but it is actually really refreshing to live with someone who complements me so well.  We are constantly helping each other out with stuff and work together from a really great happy medium most of the time.  It only took us six years to figure it out!

2. I get the hiccups almost every day.  I get them when I take too big of a bite of something, or when I laugh (I try to do the latter every day, and the former a little less) My sister even gave a toast at my wedding saying that because of my propensity to get the hiccups when I laugh, she wished us a "lifetime of hiccups"  It was very sweet.

3. Most people think I am an extrovert, but I am actually really shy.  I talk so much when I'm nervous that I feel like I come off as a bit obnoxious and annoying.  And then I get so embarrassed for being obnoxious and annoying that I get more nervous and start babbling even more.  I seriously wonder how I have any friends sometimes. Given the choice, I would pick staying in with a book over going out almost every chance I get.

4. Speaking of friends, my best friend, Katy is one of the most important people in my life.  She is amazing, and also, she gets me in spite of number 3.

5. We have two dogs, Blue and Bex.  Blue is named after his one blue eye and is my baby, and Bex is more-recently adopted and her name is short for Bechler, which is the name of the wilderness area where Mike and I backpacked in Yellowstone. When she does something bad, I yell "Bechler Wilderness Area Volle-Schaarschmidt!"  She just bats her eyelashes and continues being adorable.

6. I used to smoke.  After three years without, I can't even stand to be around it.  I also wake up every single day so happy that I feel this good.  I had forgotten for so long that it was possible to breathe in and out and feel like a million bucks.  I also never thought I would be able run a mile because of it.  Who's got the last laugh now?  I wish I could travel around to high schools and walk up to groups of kids outside smoking and explain to them that quitting will be so hard later, and they will probably gain weight when they do it.  And that most grownups whom they might want to date or marry later in life think it's disgusting.  And that, one day, even though it sounds stupid now, they might want to run as far as they can make themselves run, just to see, and that smoking will hinder this.  These are the things I want to say to those kids, who would surely look at me and think, what a crazy old lady.

7. I have been working as a writer and editor for almost ten years, but started blogging only after I lost my mom.  It was a way to dump some stories that I didn't want to forget on paper and a way to share without really putting it out there.  I ended up making a lot of friends with other writers and bloggers and also discovered the weight-loss and racing communities that exist.  It has been a great way to share this journey I am on and such a big part in healing.   Also, just because I am an editor by day, don't judge my blog for grammar and commas.  I seem to go crazy when I'm blogging and decided a while ago to try to let it be.  I do enough correcting at work. :)

That's it.  That is my Stylish Blogger Seven.  Now I would like to pass on the award to some of my faves:

Kristina at Ditch the Tiara, who is my friend and an amazing inspiration.  (48 marathons and 4 Ironmans and counting!)

Christi at Pedestrian Runner who is a great support and who is a pro at keeping to her workouts.  She makes me want to try harder!

And to Maggie at Team Ladybug.  Team Ladybug consists of Maggie and her aunt, a breast cancer survivor and their journey to the next breast cancer 3-Day.  Maggie a great writer and a really cool friend!

I highly suggest visiting all of these super stylish blogs!  Thanks, Julie!