Cherry on Top Award

Claudia over at ...and so I ran  gave me an award a while back which was very sweet of her and perfectly describes why someone gave it to her in the first place.  So now I am supposed to answer a question and then pass the award on to others.

1. Answer the question: If you had one chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?
Claudia's answer was great.  If there is a "right" answer, hers was it.  Basically, she said that sure, she's done things she wished she hadn't at the time but they all made her who she is and brought her where she is today. 

That's hard to top. 
So I won't even try. 

I'll just be my shallow, self-centered self and talk about the one thing I would have changed about recent events.  Well, first of all, given the choice I would have opted to just plain not get Shingles.  Since I didn't have the choice, though, I'll say that I would have checked myself into the hospital on Labor Day.  I tend to appear stoic with doctors, I guess.  Even when I am in tears and obvious agony they seem to think I want to tough it out.  Don't know why, not sure what medical jargon I need to learn that will adequately translate to what the rest of us would hear as "DO SOMETHING THAT HELPS ME! NOW!!", but I'd love to learn it.  So in my present state of mind, my answer boils down to "I'd have complained enough to get IV drugs". 

In a more enlightened mood I might say something like "I would go back in time and complete all the things I promised I'd do for people but haven't yet".  I would really enjoy not having the guilt of all those unfinished projects/promises clawing at my back. I have seriously been wondering if Shingles is some kind of divine retribution.  If so, I'm sorry already!  Give it a rest!  And Do you really think that by obliterating the last month of my life you're helping me get caught up?!?!  Instead, why not slap all those terrorists out there with nasty cases of Shingles in their nether regions? Huh???  That'll teach 'em, or at least slow 'em down for a bit.

OK I think I got off topic a bit there.  I will now pass the award on to others who may or may not take it a bit more seriously and see what way better answers they provide for our mutual enlightenment/enjoyment.

2. Pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have been selected for the award.   I choose:

Emilie at One Mom in Maine, because, well, if you read my blog at ALL then this is a big DUH, but also because she's the one who made running seem less like creamed spinach and more like ice cream sundaes (you know, with cherries on top).

Kristina at Marathon Mama, because she just ran the real,-Berlin Marathon and Boston Qualified (how's that for a cherry on top?!?) and she is one funny, sassy blogger-runner-mama.

Mel at Tall Mom On The Run because she is soooooo energetic and such a great cheerleader for everyone she knows and her big beautiful smile is totally the cherry on top.  [Other bloggers please take note of how many pix Mel manages to post with herself in them.  The rest of us are pretty universally guilty of leaving ourselves out of the visual documentation.  Not only does Mel have a great record of her joys and accomplishments, but people recognize her at races all the time.  How cool is that?!?]

Alan (not my husband) at One Day at a Time because he is on an amazing weight loss journey and is smart enough to realize it (and document it) and brave enough to share it with us all.

Irene at Magazine Smiles because I love her pretty layout and how every blog entry title is also the name of a song, and because she clued me in to...

Colin at Resurrected Runner who is deliciously funny (but maybe has a little too much time on his hands?).  I love his wacky parodies: really well done and running specific (mostly).  His blog isn't necessarily "pretty" but it gets bonus points for making me laugh out loud.