Liebster Award Tag

I was tagged for the Liebster Award by the amazing Petra Run, which is given out to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. I really don't have anything close to this...like at all.  I wished I had a picture of us like she had with the person that tagged her, but maybe in time.

The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

Rules for receiving this award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Then answer the questions the tagger sent for them, plus create 11 questions for the people they’ve tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Notify the people you have tagged.

5. No tag backs. ;)

Here are 11 things about me (I had to come up with new and creative things about me since Petra had a few on her list that match me):

1. I have several things going on at once. I have lots of ideas. I want to travel everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. However, it doesn't always pan out the way I want. More or less, I just don't sit down to do it. Let's call it the Gemini in me (and I'm going with the old zodiac).  I think my boyfriend rolls his eyes when he gets an email from me (sadly sometimes every week) with a "Hey, look. I want to go here. Take me."
2. I like being busy all the time at my full-time job. I think it keeps my mind settled. And I especially love to complain about how busy I am. I personally don't like lots of busy all at once that comes unexpected and then long periods of downtime. This is how I lose stuff.
3. I'm trying to reduce the amount of time I crack my knuckles. This is a long and bad habit of mine that I'm working on for the time being. Hey, I quit caffeine, I think I can do this.
4. After watching the Olympics, I really don't understand why Jessie J (English artist) has a career. Her songs aren't even that catchy and she was not a good live singer. I can't believe she's a judge on a singing competition show.
5. I want to have my own garden eventually and use the herbs, veggies, and fruits from it in my meals. Although, I can see myself getting lazy about actually tending to the garden and eventually killing everything I just planted. My parents had a green thumb; therefore, I have a green thumb (I think). I just have to learn how to use it.
6. I want to take a professional cooking class really bad either to learn how to make a sushi roll, mexican food, or real authentic Italian food.
7. I'm worried that this mysterious foot injury is going to turn in to something big, something that will have me out for 6 weeks (and possibly more) and maybe force me to cancel my marathon. I have had so many injuries these past couple of years and I just want to make it to end of this year without a "couch me" new type of injury.
8. My marathon training scares me more than the actual marathon (granted that will change when it's the night before). I'm going to be hitting long distances (more than 9 miles) as soon as it gets dark early. Without someone to run with me, Im nervous about what to expect or me getting lazy. Seriously.
9. My guilty pleasure is My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It's the last remaining reality show that I watch. I know it's a trainwreck, but I can't turn it away. And I don't like the My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. I think it's stupid and I don't see how they are different from rednecks. 
10. I'm excited about getting a chance to run near Mt. Rushmore when I go visit there with my parents and my grandmother next month. I'm also hoping for a chance to take a picture of the three generations of the Sykes women.
11. I am able to admit that I am an Adrenaline Junkie. I even took a test to see what type of exercise training is me. This was my answer. Wow! And he even has a parachute.
    http://innovationforendurance.msn.com/summary/adrenaline

Questions from Run Petra Run:

1. What is your next big goal / challenge?
   My goal is to complete my first ever marathon called the Day After End of the World Marathon on December 22. My challenge right now is to run a 5K event within 30 minutes.
2. What language would you like to learn to speak? I would have to say Spanish since I was well on my way to learning it and using it in my everyday life/job. However, I quit that job and stopped listening to the CDs. So, I really forgot a lot of things. I would like to get back in to it. I would love to also pick up German again.
3. Which book has most inspired you? This one was easy even though it's a clique'. Eat, Pray, Love has inspired me the most. It helped me realized what I was going through in my own marriage, helped ground me during my divorce, and inspired me to go backpacking by myself for the first time ever in England. I only went for two weeks instead of a full year to three different countries. And I met the man of my dreams even if he's English.
4. What is the one thing you'd like to do but are afraid to try? Well, I've been dabbling with the notion of triathlons. So, I have sort of been thinking about Half Ironman as one of those off in the distance things I may try some day (maybe), but I just don't think I have that in me. It scares me, but Ironmans absolutely and positively frighten me to no end. Also, one of my bucketlist item is too go deep sea fishing. I'm afraid of it, because it will be physically and mentally draining. I'm not sure how I will react, because this is something my dad and I should have done together before he died. I'm afraid I might ball in front of a bunch of guys in the middle of the ocean or maybe just not catch anything.
5. Best moment in the 2012 Olympics? Watching my step cousin Jessica Hardy win the Bronze in the 4X100 freestyle relay and a Gold in 4 X100 Medley Relay (although, she didn't swim in the final) was by far the best thing about the 2012 Olympics. I would have LOVED to see her win a medal in the 50m or 100m freestyle, but it was still awesome to cheer her on and send her my support.
6. Favorite cuisine? SUSHI is my favorite ever, because I can eat it several times a week. Plus, majority of it is super healthy.
7. To what extent is your lifestyle shaped by the exercise / sport you do? I am antsy when I don't run. I am now also modifying my life schedule to fit my marathon training. This will naturally change in the Fall when we lose lots of daylight. I will probably have to wake up earlier in the morning or run with mace. Also, running and cycling (and even hiking) have provided me new ways to enjoy a vacation. I get excited when I see that you can do a cycle trip in Florence Italy with the Toscano professional cycle team. This would have never crossed my mind before. Speaking of vacations, I always have to wrestle now with bringing my running shoes or my hiking shoes when packing. It sometimes stresses me out.
8. Has your exercise / sport affected your diet? I'm actually eating better, paying attention to what goes in to my body since I really started getting serious about running. I eat way more vegetables than I have ever in my life. I'm not sure if running got me to want to do that or just wanting to lose the weight after my January surgery. I do know that when I had a good run, I don't want to fill my body up with crap food. I want something healthy to eat. I also bought Runner's World Athlete's Palate Cookbook recently. It's about chefs creating recipes who are also runners. So, I'm trying that out. I won't turn vegan like most runners, because I just love meat too much. 
9. What is your favourite post-race treat - food or otherwise? Pachuigo apparently has become my Memorial Park run treat (as long as I'm with friends, because then, I'm just some girl getting gelato by myself all the time).  It is Italian gelato and it's so good. They have sorbet type ice cream, with has less fat in it.
10. Which bloggers inspire you? I am so inspired by Leslie Carter's blog, because her blog is about her very large bucketlist that she has checked off. I also love that one of her bucketlist items was to help five people reach their bucketlist dream. I think that was amazing and was sad that we just couldn't make it work. I read Shut Up and Run's blog. She's funny and not afraid to talk about bowel movents on the run. Plus, she just finished an Ironman. I think that's amazing. I love the Traveling Gypsy. She up and quit her job to travel the world. And she's not just traveling. She's volunteering. She's giving out free hugs. She's making videos and she always has time to respond to me. Plus, she's a skydiver. I have to have a bond with fellow skydiver girls. There's not that many of us.
11. If you're not my FB friend, will you friend me now? I would love to be one as soon as I figure out how to friend request on FB. I'm so awful at finding people.

My questions for the tagged ones are listed below (sorry, but Petra's questions were too good not to include some).  I'm sorry if this is weird for you, but it's a great way to get to know my fellow bloggers and maybe bring in more traffic for all of our sites.

1. Why did you create a blog in the first place?
2. What is your next big goal?
3. How do you handle challenges in your [insert reason for your blog]?
4. Which book has inspired you the most?
5. What is the one thing you'd like to do but are afraid to try?
6. What is the number one thing on your list that you would like to do?
7. What is your guilty pleasure?  See mine above.
8. Which bloggers inspire you?
9. What is your favorite post-run (if you don't run, than hike) treat, snack, or meal?
10. Have you gone to a blogger-related conference?
11. What is your favourite healthy recipe that you care share with all of us?

The following people have been tagged. I know that some of you have more than 200 followers, but I thought it would be nice to hear about you anyways. Plus, I don't have that many people I follow less than 200 followers. I hope you take the time.

1. Suzana
2. Morgan
3. Kandace
4. Dawn
5. Leslie Carter
6. Traveling Gypsy
7. Shut Up and Run
8. Daily Nibbles
9. Texas Runner Girl
10. The Adventures of Mother Nature
11. Powered by Tofu