Last night both Ryan and I slept pretty crappy. When the alarm went off this morning we decided to forgo the gym in favor of more sleep.
I thought I might go to the gym when the alarm went off again at 7 a.m., but opted to finish up an article at home in my pajamas instead. The article and another small project took longer than anticipated this morning and before I knew it, lunchtime was approaching.
Since my activities of the day thus far included trips to and from the pantry, I figured a little walking and fresh air would be good for me in place of a workout.
I ate a quick snack of strawberry banana Greek yogurt and chia seeds to help keep my hunger at bay when I took Sadie on a quick two-mile walk.
Though no awesome animals popped up on our walk, we did stumble upon a cool plant (oxymoron?).
At first I thought someone emptied a bag of Cheetos at the base of the plant, but when I looked closer, I saw that the bright orange things were actually seeds!
I usually find plants and birds kind of boring compared to forest animals, but these seeds were pretty neat.
Clearly there wasn’t much to see on today’s walk. 
Lunch
When we arrived home, I made myself a quick lunch that included angel hair pasta with chicken and tomato sauce served with a side of green beans.
Now it’s time for a little reflection!
Your Top Posts of 2011
At the end of 2010, I did a post highlighting your top PBF posts from the year, as determined by page views.
I thought it might be fun to do something similar again this year as 2011 comes to a close. Rather than share my favorite posts (Sadie overload!), I figured you might be curious about your top posts and get a kick out of seeing what other PBF readers find somewhat intriguing.
Personal Posts:
2. Turkey Trot and a Filling Thanksgiving (Apparently you guys were quite interested in the debut of my sister’s relationship with our friend Ross!)
3. Dating Duration Before Engagement
4. The Hunger Games + Lazy Girl Workout
6. I Don’t Post Everything I Eat
7. Summer 2011 Workout Playlist
8. Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon
9. Moving in Together For the First Time
10. Times, They Are A-Changin’
Recipe Posts:
4. Banana Bread Protein Pancakes
8. Healthy Go-To Dinner Recipes
10. How to Make a Healthy Smoothie
There you have it, my friends. Your most-read PBF posts!
As I was clicking around the back end of my blog searching for statistics to compile this post, I got a pretty big kick out of the most common search terms you guys type into the PBF search bar. One of the most popular searches? “Ross.” Apparently my sister’s love life is quite intriguing… especially when it involves one of our good friends. Ha!
Also, if there’s any interest, I can compile a list of your favorite workout posts for easy access, but I didn’t want to overwhelm this post with lists. Just let me know if you’d like to see it and I’ll put it together this weekend.
loved being a reader of PBF in 2011…can’t wait for 2012 in PBF land
Also, I am obsessed with your pumpkin oatmeal muffins – so moist and delicious. Big hit over here!
Happy New Year, Julie!
Amy
thank you amy! that makes me so happy. and i’m so glad the muffins are a hit with you!
peanutbutterfingers
Kind of unrelated, but just curious how you find the stats for the search bar in your blog? I know WP shows search engine phrases but I didn’t realize I could see what people search for internally too. Is it within the WP dashboard or google analytics?
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
wordpress! in the dashboard you should be able to click on “search meter” on the lefthand side. that should lead you to it! and i didn’t even know it existed either until a few months ago!
peanutbutterfingers
Ah, just googled it (b/c I didn’t have that on my dashboard) it’s a plugin! I’ll be installing that
thanks!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
You can click on site stats from the wordpress dashboard.
Heather H. @ Run Eat Play
Love the top posts! And I love that so many of the top recipe posts included peanut butter!
Heather H. @ Run Eat Play
hahaha i noticed that, too!
peanutbutterfingers
hahaha!! i’ve actually searched “Ross” before on your blog but it was because i could not for the life of me remember his dog’s name, and i wanted to show Kona to my mom!
Sharan
i love it! believe it or not “kona” is a top search term, too!
peanutbutterfingers
Love the peanut butter cup smoothie recipe !!!!!
Kennyo
That pasta looks so delicious! Angel hair is my favorite kind but I never seem to have it!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/chia-muffins —> try these! they are delicious.
M
I really enjoyed the recap! I got to discover some posts that came up before I found your blog
Lena @ Fit on the Rocks
Loved the recap!
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
hi julie! i am such a big fan of your blog…and loved this recap! i would LOVE a favorite workout post [id kind of like to see your favorites!] I did your treadmill interval incline workout you posted a couple days ago today and LOVED it! itd be nice to have the ones you think are the best in one place!
Emily
so glad you liked it!! awesome! i’ll definitely do the recap post – hopefully tomorrow.
peanutbutterfingers
I am so happy to have found your blog and am excited to see what 2012 has in store! I would love to see your workout posts because I need some inspiration for 2012! My goal every year seems to lose weight. This year I truly want to do it! I am hoping that your blog and my own motivation will help me achieve my goal. Happy New Year Julie!
Erika
thank you so much, erika and best of luck in your goal in 2012 – you definitely CAN do it!!
peanutbutterfingers
so fun looking back at your posts from this year! I’m sure 2012 will be fabulous for you. Loved the turkey trot costumes btw!
Heather
Love all the posts! Question for you… if you plan on doing more Blog Talk Tuesdays could you include some info on pictures? I LOVE how you hardly ever do a blog post w/o pictures and wonder how many pix you take for each post (assuming you don’t post them all), if you have specific pictures in mind that you’d like to take, how you edit your pictures (if you do) and how you organize them on your computer (do you keep them all, or delete them?). Any other info would be great! Thanks!!
Lindsey
LOVE this idea!! i’ve been wanting to do more but was waiting until i had a few ideas before i kicked off the series again. thanks for the suggestion!
peanutbutterfingers
leslie needs her own blog
. i would be a follower for sure!!!!
carmen
Congratulations on another year of success!
Kelly
I’d love to see a workout recap post! Happy new year to you and yours!
Laura
FUN! I love seeing things like this–it brings the year together nicely
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife
I’m guilty of having searched for “Ross” lol. Couldn’t remember who he was!
Annie
Thought you would like to know that I saw you on my Pinterest homepage today. I smiled. http://pinterest.com/pin/248120260690143742/
Jillian @ DNA and Dessert
Congrats on an awesome year! Your blog has been extremely helpful to me as I continue to pursue my career as a freelance writer!
Michelle @ Blogitness
It’s fun to read through your past races as I am a runner myself. Do you have any half marathons in your future that you’re aiming for? I’m looking for a good training plan…did you use any specific ones for your halfs?
brooke
How about a post with the most popular outfits from your fashion page?
Nikki
As a brand new PBF reader, this post was a great way to get a good taste of your blog without reading every single post. As much fun as that would be, I just don’t have the time
I would love more recap posts from you, especially workouts. I’ve used a couple of your circuits to spice up my routine and love them!
Christina
haha! i’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the circuits! there will definitely be more to come. i’ve been LOVING them lately too as a great way to get in a good workout and keep boredom at bay. thanks for commenting, christina!
peanutbutterfingers
I am new to your blog and love it! Great posts and great recipes.
I think a workout post would be awesome!
Brandi @ Faith Fitness and Laughter
Those seeds look very similar to ones that my parents get in their back yard in Orlando. If the pups ever get a hold of them they end up pretty sick with throwing up and going to the bathroom loads, so be careful with lil’ Sadie getting near them
Kristin
I went back and read your “I don’t post everything I eat” post and loved it. Having an eating disorder I find myself comparing what I eat to what others Re posting. I constantly have to remind myself they’re not me they don’t have my needs and chances are they aren’t posting everything they are eating, as I don’t on mine. I have never commented saying someone doesn’t eat enough but I do find myself comparing. It was nice to see you acknowledge the fact you and probably most don’t post every little thing that goes in their mouth.
Love that I found your blog this year, you are a very positive beautiful honest person and I enjoy reading your blog! I hope you have a wonderful new years!
Debbie (accidently delish)
thank you so much for this comment, debbie. it means more to me than you know! rest assured this this blog definitely does not capture a whole day’s worth of food EVER.
peanutbutterfingers
Great recap of 2011, look forward to what you have in mind for 2012
P.S. I had a similar morning and didn’t move from the couch from the time I woke [other than to make bfast] to the time we left to go out for lunch- lazyyy morning!
Allison
Guilty of searching for Ross too! I couldn’t remember who he was!
And un-related…I can’t put down The Violets of March! It is keeping me very intrigued!
Shell
I would love to see your top workouts recap, too!
Brianna
just posted it! thanks for the interest, brianna!
peanutbutterfingers
Great roundup of 2011- looking forward to what PBF has in store for 2012!
Khushboo
That’s SO funny that one of the top search words was “Ross”!! Did you tell your sister and Ross? You should post an update about them since they are so popular
Brooke
haha yes! they get a big kick out of it, too!
peanutbutterfingers
Hey Julie! Concerning your love for body pump…a company by the name of beachbody just started selling the body pump program in the form of in home DVD workouts. You might want to check it out!
Caitlyn
i heard about that!!! i need to look into it! thanks, caitlyn!
peanutbutterfingers
I love recaps like this because I can go back and reread really good posts and discover posts that I somehow missed the first time around. I don’t comment often, but I really enjoy your blog Julie.
Amber K
Great posts indeed! I love your blog, I wish you a very happy new year 2012 and full of great posts, great moments to share and happiness!
Gen
That’s a Florida native coontie plant you stumbled upon! Its played a rich role in Florida’s history (ahem, nerd alert in 3…2…1)! Native Americans living in Florida thousands of years ago used this plant (the root and stems) to make flour and starch (Seminoles dubbed it coontie). Factories in South Florida even mass produced starch from coontie crops, so that’s quite the special native plant you spotted! I had to study this plant and other natives at Rollins for my Enviro. Studies degree – so don’t be fooled, I know squat about plants outside of Florida.
Michelle @ Yoga Health for Life