A new year!  A new start!!  I welcomed 2012 in, by nursing Clara (who somehow gets away with night nursing – we’d night-weaned Henry before he was a year old – Clara is 17 months.  I blame her squishy cheeks.  …And shrill scream.)

2011 was a pretty great year for me.

• I ran my first half marathon (1:43:39) – (just signed up for my 2nd – the Georgia 1/2 Marathon – March 18th!)
• Shed all of my baby weight.
• Began this blog in July (can’t believe I’ve only been doing this for 6 months?!?!)
• Started personal training again and teaching group fitness classes.
• Started to plan BLEND!
• Became a FitFluential Ambassador.
• Celebrated 6 years of marriage!

I’ll take it!!

Some of my favorite 2011 posts/features:

• Tuesday Trainer
• My Eating Disorder Series (this post has all the links)
• Lawn Fitness Series (Push Mower Power Sculpt & Rake Away The Fat)
• Best Recipe: Chocolate P.B. Chili
• Silly – I GOT IN (My Pinterest acceptance)

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Enough about me.

I asked YOU to send me your “Best of 2011” posts so that we could celebrate the end to a great year.  I didn’t post yesterday because I had to READ all of the posts, (and, man, were there A LOT!) but it was worth it! I feel as though I know you all a little better and the posts submitted were full of rich words and take-aways.

2011 LINK LOVE (in alphabetical order)

Allie @ ColourMeHappy

Travel Tips –  I love to travel & experience new places. I am also pretty particular about food & getting in exercise, so I share how I maintain healthy habits while traveling.

Sprint Moves Workout – It is pretty full-bodied with only four bodyweight exercises broken up by a lot of sprinting. The sprinting is what kept it intense for me. Short & sweet.

Spicy Black Bean Taquitos – We made taquitos for the first time, which were so fun & easier than I expected: boil water, dip, spoon, roll, bake. Crispy & yum.

Overcoming Mental Barriers (vlog) – While out bouldering alone, I videoed a brief vlog (~4 min) about overcoming mental barriers & persevering when “failing”.

Best Photography – Our entire San Francisco trip stands out to me, because it was a turning point where I realized I was capable of taking pretty nice photos. This isn’t necessarily even my favorite, but it opened a door to a desire of pursuing black-and-white photography.

Happy Place – This is about the silly, magical moments that make my life meaningful & happy. The comments from readers’ about their magical moments make my day.

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Amy @ RunningEscapades

Rock N’ Roll Providence – My most memorable (for some self-love) running moment of 2011.

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Ashley @ MyFoodNFitnessDiaries

Strength-Cardio-Core Circuit Workout

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Protein Pizookie

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Brittany @ IttyBitsOfBalance

2011 Recap – I’m just gonna leave my 2011 compilation post link (today’s post) because it sums up all of these babies.

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Cath @ CathHasABlog

My First Christmas Without My Mom

Mango-Pepper Jelly

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Christine @ OatmealInMyBowl

Hiking in the Snow – Because I conquered a fear. Had a wonderful solitary experience. There was just an inner peace and a sense of accomplishment from this small, but mighty hike. And I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather that day.

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Harold @ VetRunner

Runneritis

The Hardest Thing About Running

You Have HOW MANY Pair of Running Shoes?

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Jen @ FoodFamilyFitness

Why Wait?

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Katie @ MarathonWiner

The Marathon – My biggest accomplishment of 2011/my life – my first ever marathon recap.

Another One Bites The Dust – A funny training post!

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Katie @ PeaceLoveAndOats

Chocolate Chip Banana Protein Cupcake – My best recipe!  And it has tons of great variations!

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Kris @ Spabettie

Spinach Pancakes – By stats/views, this is by far my most popular recipe.

Mmmm…Avocados

Raw Apple Cobbler – One of MY favorites, that has been featured a lot (print magazines and newspapers as well as online publications!) and is just… good!

Attitude – This would fall under self improvement or… rambling?  Still gets a lot of views!

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Kristin @ STUFTmama

Kitty, Kitty, Kitty – Funny- the true story about Kitty.

Peanut Butter Doughtzel Balls

Looking Back

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Lindsay @ CotterCrunch

Cotters Get Closure

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Lindsay @ InSweetnessAndInHealth

We Don’t Mix – I like this post because it talks about making sure to eat enough for your activity level. I think it’s important for girls to know that you don’t necessarily have to eat low calorie to be fit and look healthy!

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Michele @ NYCRunningMama

Treadmill Workouts – Treadmill workouts to get you through the winter months!

Lived, Ran and Learned – After a failed attempt at a 30-mile training run, I regrouped and learned from all my mistakes from the 1st.

Me Time Rambles – Dealing with the guilt of leaving my son to do things for myself.

NYC Marathon – Participating in the Foot Locker 5 Borough Challenge.

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Nicole @ MakingGoodChoices

Make Your Own Dairy Free Ice Cream Cake:  My most popular recipe of the past year was this homemade ice cream cake!

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Sam @ FitnessFoodFaith

Lime And Coconut Chicken – My favorite recipe from 2011 was my Lime and Coconut Chicken – So full of flavor and healthy.

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Samantha @ RunningAndCupcakes

Upper Body Workout – My first self created upper body workout (did it yesterday, it left me sore, it’s a good one)

Raspberry Lemon Linzer Cookies – I am now obsessed with these cookies.

Love Yourself, Be Yourself

Randomosity Galore

Fall In Central Park – I took so many pictures when I went to NYC. These are just a few of the best.

Ramblings Of A Runner’s Mind

Mad Marathon – My first marathon race report. It was the. best. thing. ever.

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Sara @ SaraLearns

Portobello Mushroom Enchiladas

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Stephanie @ LoveLifeProject

I Want To Jump Off Of Stuff – A post that I wrote about trying to do parkour at the park.

Playing At Food Blogging – Learning to take food photos (PS I am NOT a food blogger).

How To Paint A Picture – Self love, not body-related, this post is about learning to be creative again as an adult.

Photo Safari – A photo safari on the beach near my house.

What NOT to Say To Someone With An Uncooperative Uterus

I’m Sorry Justin Timberlake

Wear, Wash, Repeat – A post about reusable cloth menstrual pads that I had a lot of fun with.

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Tasha @ DineNDash

Commitment

Vegan Curry

Salmon Polenta Cakes

Black Bean & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

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Thanks to everyone for contributing!!

2011 is gone.  2012 is here.

I’m thinking it’s going to ROCK!

And that I might need to wean Clara!

**The winner of the Thimble Times Giveaway is # 3 – Chelsey!!  Congrats!  Send me an email so we can start the customization!**

splendid…lindsay