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Fit for Me 42/52

How are we at 10 weeks left until the end of the year? That just doesn’t seem possible.

What I did last week:

Wednesday-During the Royals game, I did a leg workout. In the commercial breaks, I would do one exercise until the game was back on. I rotated between squats, lunges, and calf raises. Commercials are really long…

Saturday-George and I explored a couple trails this weekend. We found some beautiful places, and I walked 5 miles pushing the stroller (which with George is probably around 30 lbs when you add the stroller and diaper bag weight).

Impressed by:

Missouri. Seriously it is beautiful here right now.

Struggled with:

I really cannot get myself to work out consistently. My motivation goes down with the sun…

Did I meet my goal from last week?

FINALLY! I did! We rocked two trails! One was part of the Katy Trail.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to do three workouts next week. Perfectly attainable right?

Fitness Thoughts:

Finding time in our schedules to work out can be really difficult, but I know that it is so good for me. I can just feel it in my legs lately. They need to move! I think I get bogged down when there isn’t really a whole lot of wiggle room in our schedule, and I am also a type of person who needs down time to re-focus. So I think trying to do more workouts while I am watching TV will help give me a balance.

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Fit for Me 41/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on a bike.

Weekend-We were out an about most of the weekend. So most of the weekend was spent chasing a toddler. It is fair to say that I was too exhausted to go out for another workout. Prime example is spending a quarter of a football game walking up and down stadium steps to ensure George didn’t bust his head on the concrete because “he knows how to do stairs.”

Tuesday-30 minutes on the elliptical.

Impressed by:

George’s energy and my ability to somewhat keep up.

Struggled with:

This past week was a mess with life stuff so doing things for me was not much of an option.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

Nope…no run in my schedule.

What is my goal for next week?

Take George out on the Katy Trail and explore. This is our first and last free weekend in a long while so I want to soak up some outdoor exploring with Gman since Tom works all weekend.

Fitness Thoughts:

I wish I could run outside and watch Netflix at the same time.

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What workouts did you do this week?

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Who Does George Look Like?

Ok, so am I alone in selfishly wanting your kid to look somewhat like you?

Anyone?

I am admitting that I want my kids to resemble me in some way. Call it narcissistic or self-preservation, but there it is.

All three

Tom, George, and Me all around 3 months

So it hurts my heart just a little when EVERYONE says that they only see Tom in George. (Ok everyone is a slight exaggeration, but honestly it is very rare that anyone thinks that this kid looks like me.)

For real, the other day I went to a police wife event, and before I even introduced myself, people asked if we were Tom’s family because George was a spitting image of Tom.

I will admit that George definitely looks like his daddy, which is great because he is a good looking fella.

But I want to get some different opinions to support my thought that while yes George does look like Adult Tom, he does not look as much like Baby Tom. He looks like Baby Stephanie. I know that sounds weird that George looks like me as a baby and Tom as a grown-up, but there it is.

Anyway.

Here is my evidence.

Me and GeorgeGeorge and I. (And apparently showing that the 80s didn’t have the same views on baby bedding. Put all the things in the crib)

HeadphonesTom and I both have the same blue eyes that we passed along to Gman, but I feel that I get discounted a lot because I wear glasses all the time. George and StephI mean really, do you agree with me? Stroke my ego my friends.

This face below is apparently hereditary. Fortunately that fringe shirt is not.

Scruncy FaceThis is Tom and George, respectively, doing some tummy time.

Tummy TImeOnce Tom got out of the baby stage though, I totally see George in every picture. Case in point. George is definitely a mini-Tom most of the time (in looks and disposition).

Tom and GeorgePretty cute babies. Our families have some good genes.

Baby CollageTop: Me, George, Me   Middle: George   Bottom: Tom, George, Tom

If this post seems like I am whining, it is because I am. I just needed some validation that George does resemble me some times! Is that too much to ask?

Honesty though, I understand that it can be hard for people to see the resemblance to me when he looks SO MUCH like his dad right now, and it’s not like I carry baby pictures of myself all the time. And fortunately for me, I lost some of the baby chubs so I don’t look like my baby self. I would agree that a majority of the time he does look just like Tom, but I am here to say not all the time.

All in all, Tom and I made the cutest baby ever who just takes my breath away every time I look at him.

What do you think? Do you agree that he looks like Baby Stephanie and Adult Tom? Do you hope that your kids resemble you too?

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35 Before 35 September

Life is seriously moving way too fast. I didn’t really get a lot accomplished off the list this time around.

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

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

6. Become a “professional” photographer

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

  • I ran the Plaza 10K earlier this month.

09131509018. 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

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • Crockpot Cheesy Enchilada Quinoa-seriously this is like a drug. It is addicting. You need to make this.
  • Meatball Parmesan Casserole-We just made some spaghetti noodles to go along with it. Tom loved this because it was a lot of meatballs. He would be a carnivore if that were the healthy thing to do.
  • Chicken Parmesan Casserole-Basically the same recipe as the one above just with chicken.
  • My grandma made all us grandkids a Betty Crocker cook book where she added her own recipes along with it. It is one of my treasures now that she is gone. I made a couple things from this book this past month. Her corn casserole and glazed carrots. Both great! I would make that corn casserole every day if I had time.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

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)

  • A friend and I tried El Rancho downtown, which is within walking distance of our office. It was pretty good going down and really cheap, however both of us did not have happy bellies by the middle of the afternoon. Very greasy!

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 an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

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Book Review: The Methuselah Project

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

Methuselah-Project

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I will give this book a 4/5.

I liked it, but it wasn’t a love love for me. It was a fun quick read though that a put a different spin on historical fiction. That element is why it gets a 4 instead of a 3. I like to see something new!

The plot follows two main characters:  Captain Roger Greene who is an American pilot in WWII, and Katherine Mueller who is part of present day. The chapters bounce back and forth between Greene and Mueller. I thought this was a unique perspective to have two different time periods telling this story.

And part of that is because of an experiment that Captain Greene is part of, well captured for. The experiment was conducted by the Nazis to create a Methuselah man, or someone who would live MUCH longer than the average. The experiment is deemed a success with Greene, but then he is kept in a cage (not aging) for over 70 years while they try to figure out why and how after the creator of the project died in a bombing. The first half is the build up of his captivity, and then you hit the climax of the book where he manages to escape but he is now in a world that is so foreign to him since he hasn’t seen daylight in 70 years. Not to mention that his captors had been lying to him that the war was still waging between the Nazis and the rest of the world. Katherine’s twist on the story is that she is connected to the group that has been holding Greene captive, but she has had some doubts of her own destiny within the organization. So when their stories collide it is an intriguing plot line.

I have done a lot of research on WWII, and crazy medical experiments ran rampant during that era since the Nazis felt that they had “lab rats” at their disposal. They did things to humans that were despicably inhumane. So this story of keeping someone captive for 70 years is something, while seemingly far-fetched, is believable if the fountain of youth were actually possible. I think the Nazis would have done anything in the name of Hitler if given the means.

This book is really fast paced. The chapters are rarely more than a few pages long, and as I said you are jumping back and forth between Greene and Katherine. There is a lot of action on each page that keeps you enthralled in the story.

I am generally not a fan of science fiction, but the way that Barry wove other elements into the story, I was sucked in. It’s like Jason Bourne meets time travel meets historical fiction, definitely a different way to tell a story. It doesn’t really fit into any typical type of genre. You want to cheer Captain Greene on from page one, so you keep coming back to see what his fate is as a Methuselah man.

I recommend this book if you want something a little different and fun to read. It’s a page turner which in my book is always a good thing!

You can purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1GcsGbS

Are you into science fiction? Do you have any historical fiction books to recommend?