Just Add Cayenne: thank you

Liebster - A German word meaning dearest or favorite. Sounds good to me!

I'd like to thank Ellie at The Boo the Bear and the goji berries for nominating me yet again for another blogging award; the Liebster Blog Award. Thank you, Ellie, for your continued support and helping to let me know people do enjoy reading my blog!

I read a few posts from past nominees and The Liebster Blog Award's origin is hard to track down, but it's obviously for up and coming, smaller blogs....like Just Add Cayenne. I'm ok with my blog being small, the kind people that do frequent my posts and comment are wonderful enough. Of course, we all dream of reaching out to the world and helping make thousands or millions of people choose a healthier lifestyle.

As a proud recipient of the Liebster Award, I have a few simple rules to follow:

1. Thank your nominator and post a link back.

2. Nominate 5 other blogs with less than 200 followers and post a comment on each blog letting them know they have been given the award.

3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.

That's it, not much to it at all, but us smaller blogs always appreciate the recognition. Seems like a perfect way to "pay it forward" in the vast blog world and I'm pleased to be a part of it. Thanks again, Ellie!

The "Fab Five" bloggers I am nominating are:

1. Teabagginit

2. A Spoonful of Sunshine

3. Broken Cookies Don't Count

4. What Would Jessica Eat

5. Chocolate Covered Diamonds

There are many blogs I read each day; some big, some small, but all entertaining. My five picks are bloggers who keep me coming back to read each day and ones that frequently read my posts too. Thank you all for your great support and informative entertainment. It's comforting to be part of an online community where others value healthy living just as I do. Keep it up, bloggers, and congrats!

Happy Friday to all! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? Maybe continued 4th of July celebrating?

Kelley and I took off Monday to, well, not go to work (duh), but also to hopefully go kayaking. I love kayaking, but Kelley's never been. So wish us luck! Have a great weekend!

Awards are pretty cool. The Versatile Blogger Award is freakin' awesome! I'm extremely pleased and honored to say that I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award, my first blog award! I am sincerely thankful to Ellie from The Boo, The Bear and the goji berries for nominating me. Thank you, Ellie! I think so much about what I can put into this blog (even at work..oops), and this means a lot to see that people actually read and enjoy it.

Ellie's blog if focused around nutritious and delicious cooking and eating for the whole family. Her Food Philosophy says it all and are ways I tend to follow as well. Check out her blog for healthy recipes she makes for all of her family for all parts of the day! Mostly vegan, mostly easy to make, and fully flavorful and healthy; her Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding is one of my favorites!

Along with the honor of receiving this award, you get to have fun performing the following actions to "pay it forward" to other deserving bloggers:

Thank the Blogger who nominated you.

Include a link to their site.

Include the award image to your post.

Include the award image on your blog.

Give 7 random facts about yourself.

Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award, including links to their sites

Let those bloggers know they have been nominated

First, here are 7 random facts about me....

1. I've run 9 marathons including Boston. My first and worst time was 4:35:xx and my PR is 2:53:17; just a small gap!! Running is what taught me a lot about food and how quality matters for performance and recovery.

2. I don't run like I used to because I lost a lot of strength and got burned out from over-training. Now I'm trying to do more strength training and eat more (but still healthy) to get stronger; this is hard since I used to be fat and do not want this to happen again.

3. I can't stand not knowing how any part of my food was prepared. For this, I try to avoid going out to eat at all costs, and if I do, I normally order an undressed salad with everything to the side. I usually make up for it by eating self-prepared food when we get home.

4. I love reptiles, specifically turtles. I have a pet box turtle with a nice outdoor herb garden home….his name is Hector. My love for reptiles is probably connected to the fact that I despise animal hair and shedding. Ask Kelley, I vacuum every day because of our two cats and dog.

5. I have a finance degree from the University of Oklahoma and work as an accountant alongside my wife. I really want to work in the food industry where I am (obviously) passionate, but my passion came as I was almost finished with college. Either way, I work hard at the job given to me.

6. My wife, Kelley, and I went to the same high school and never said a word to each other. We met after my first year of college and haven't separated since. Seriously, did you see that we work together?

7. I am proud to say I'm a minority in the food blogging world since it seems most bloggers are married females or college/high school students. All great people, might I add!

As for my 15 nominations, I do not have a particular order of preference; I enjoy reading all of these blogs and and they all have wonderful personalities behind them. Of course there are plenty more bloggers deserving of the Versatile Blogger Award, but these are the ones I frequently read.

These bloggers all deserve the title of Versatile Blogger, thank you all for the great content. Also, thank you, everyone who stops to read my blog, I hope you find my content interesting, entertaining, and useful. Please feel free to contact me with any questions any time.

Have a great day...I know mine is just a little better already!