We are coming up on the end of the year. Seriously?

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minute run on the treadmill

Saturday-30 minute run on our driveway. This ended up being more endurance and strength training since we have a massive hill.

Sunday-30 minutes of yoga.

Monday-Ab workout! I did it.

Tuesday-30 minute run on the treadmill

Impressed by:

I am really proud of myself for pushing to the end of this year.

Struggled with:

I didn’t really have any issues this week.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did it. I really need to focus on my core, so I really need to make this a priority.

What is my goal for next week?

CORE.

Fitness Thoughts:

One ab workout down…

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I didn’t do so great this month besides my cooking. Oh well, here’s to living!

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

2. Do a photography challenge (Took pictures once a week George’s first year)

• I have been trying to take more candid shots of George, but I do have some staged shots planned for Christmas. I will admit that I haven’t gotten the camera out too much this month because he doesn’t like to sit still for me so I get frustrated with him more than it is worth.

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (7/5)

4. Tour at least one a winery, brewery, or distillery

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

• I actually got this month done with all the Christmas cards.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (5/10)

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

• I finished several book reviews lately, but I told myself that I needed to focus on my personal reading list for this month.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

• Peach Pie Oatmeal Cookies-these were ok. I have the hardest time making oatmeal cookies. They always come out spongey.
• Oreo Cheescake Brownies-These were great! They are super rich though, so if you aren’t making it for a function, it may take you awhile to get through.
• Ravioli Bake-This was super easy! It’s like lazy lasagna.
• Oven Fajitas-These were really good and quick to make for a weekly meal.
• Unstuffed Peppers-Our neighbor gave us a whole bunch of sweet peppers, so the last two recipes were sought out to use all of them. This recipe tasted really good, however it made our house smell awful for an entire week. So we may make this again when we can have all the windows open.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

• Clemson is still at #1!!!!

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (29/20)

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Do something unique and new for my birthdays

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (2/10); Documentaries (7/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host a NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

Do you have a bucket list? How do you figure out the big items and make them a reality?

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minute run on the treadmill

Saturday-30 minute run pushing my 25 lb baby in a stroller on a trail. It was such a nice day that I couldn’t pass running outside in December. However pushing George was a struggle since the trail was this gravel sand. Ridiculous.

Sunday-30 minutes of yoga.

Monday-2 hours of volleyball. I am so happy to be playing again! The last few games were a workout. We played a really stellar team where we had to bring our A game. I skinned my elbows, and I have a huge bruise from some diving.

Tuesday-I didn’t have time to go to the gym due to some timely errands. Instead I did my training run by running in place in my kitchen at 8:45. You do what you gotta do.

Impressed by:

This is the first time in months where I had FIVE days of workouts. Ending this year strong.

Struggled with:

Running in place is surprisingly a really good workout when you do it for 30 minutes. It hit my calves really hard!

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I apparently want to avoid a core workout because I didn’t do it again. No excuse this time. I was just being lazy. I did get at least 4 workouts in!

What is my goal for next week?

CORE.

Fitness Thoughts:

I have been watching Glee while I run. Watching TV on the treadmill is the greatest thing for me. I am totally distracted by the plot line to count the times. Plus watching Glee is like I am listening to music too so I can jam out at the same time.

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Do you have any good ab workouts?

There is also a give away with this review people! Who doesn’t love to win something?

I did receive this book complimentary from Litfuse Publicity Group for my review. These thoughts are my own.

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 As you know, I love historical fiction. And my favorite time period is the Civil War. So naturally when this review presented itself, I hopped on that band wagon right away!

I am going to give this book a 4/5 rating.

At first, I will be honest I was not into this book. I had just come off of reading I Shall Be Near to You, which is about a woman impersonating a man in the war. This book, started very similarly with another woman impersonating a man during the war. The motives were different, but the similarities had me going really slowly at the beginning.

About 9 chapters in though I was hooked. I read from there to the end in 3 days. People when you have a toddler, reading an entire book in a week is a really big deal!

The book follows a spirited young woman, Carrie Ann, on her quest to find her sister who had run away. In order to do so Carrie Ann left her southern home to infiltrate Northern territory (and troops) during the Civil War. After being captured, she befriends her captor, who is a Yankee Colonel.

I don’t want to give to much more away because beyond that information is where I got hooked.

There were definitely parts that I thought were predictable, but Andrea put in twists that had me guessing. Is Carrie Ann going to help her childhood friend who is a Rebel fighter, or her new confidant in the Yankee Colonel? This is the underlying struggle during the whole book. You also get to see how each character has evolved from the war and how they have to develop new relationships with old acquaintances because so much has changed from the war.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that it was funny. I don’t know how many times I caught myself laughing out loud with the reaction of the characters. The humor was refreshing for this period piece. A lot of historical fiction has that old time romantic “Gone With the Wind” feel to it. While it had the romantic element, it was a little more down to earth so that was nice.

So why not a 5 rating? That slow start really got me good, so it may be a five if I hadn’t just read another Civil War historical fiction.

There are plans for this to be a series, but I am bummed that the next book doesn’t come out until next fall. Way to tease!

This is definitely a good read my friends.

Andrea is celebrating the release of A Thousand Shall Fall with a Kindle Fire giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of A Thousand Shall Fall
• A Kindle Fire HD 6

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 10th. The winner will be announced December 11th on Andrea’s blog.

Have a good weekend! On to the next book!

What I did last week:

Sunday-30 minutes of yoga. I wish I could have videotaped this because George was trying to do it with me. He thought cobra pose and downward dog where the best. I became a moving jungle gym.

Monday-2 hours of volleyball. We won both matches. 6 games is a lot to play on a Monday night too!

Tuesday-I have started a Couch To 5K program just to have some type of plan. I did my first walk run yesterday for 30 minutes. I found a plan that was geared towards treadmill runs since this will all be done in the winter months where running isn’t an option.

Impressed by:

I was impressed with how easy it was to run yesterday after not being on the treadmill for a long time. Granted, I only ran for a minute before I walked again, but you gotta start somewhere!

Struggled with:

Holiday traveling. I just can’t get into working out when we are on the road.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did do yoga, but I didn’t do a core workout. I had high hopes but I started catching up on Scandal both Monday and Tuesday and my abs were the farthest thing from my mind.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to do at least four workouts and one of them to be a core workout.

Fitness Thoughts:

Not sure where I found this but I saved it ages ago because I am a really slow runner. This is a really good reminder that it doesn’t matter how fast I go, I am still going the same distance.

Are you able to keep your workouts up during the holidays?