Kelly Trepp, Author

And like a phoenix, I rise from the ashes... or something like that. This blog is more similarly aligned with "Not Dead Fred" from Monty Python's Spamalot . If you're still around, thank you for not removing me from your blog roll during my extended absence from writing. It has been a busy month for me, and there are a lot of changes in my life. Mostly for the better, as far as I can see. I told you mid-May about my husband and I embarking on a paleolithic adventure . The 30-Day Paleo Challenge has ended at our gym, and proven to be much easier than we originally thought it would be. I did not win the challenge officially among the contestants in the gym (I got a little crazy at a wedding towards the end of the challenge and gave up my running for third), but both my husband and I consider ourselves winners in that we have discovered this new, amazing and healthy lifestyle of living. Shh... he's taking a nap because he is sleepy from eating wheat. Neve...

The quarter-life crisis is the new mid-life crisis , and I am starting to feel like I am facing one. I have been waxing poetic a lot lately about the idea of going back to school. Unfortunately, we live in an area where there are not a whole lot of options in the way of continuing education. Second problem: since I have my degree in Journalism (a Bachelor of Arts) and I work in the engineering field, I would have to take a bunch of undergraduate courses before beginning any Masters programs in Engineering or Computer Science. Third, and most importantly, I am tired of sitting at a desk all day. Possible solutions I have brainstormed include taking courses online to complete a degree, staying with my parents during the week while taking classes at a state school and coming home on the weekends , taking a lesser paying job wherein my bank account would be less full, but I would feel fulfilled in my work and have a lesser commute. This last option is also ideal for starting a family ...

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." -- Robert Burns No matter how much planning we do, it's a law of science that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Trust me, it's science . But seriously, all of these idioms exist for a reason. No matter how much planning we do, we cannot account for all events that come our way. As such, my best laid plans to train for this half marathon have already gone of the track. Staying late for work, traffic on my afternoon commute, calling financial institutions to change my legal name, and the lack of day light have all conspired against me to cause me to miss my training for the first time. Three for four isn't bad, right? There are so many things that can conspire against us to keep us from attaining our fitness goals. But even if you don't have time to get to the gym or don't make it for your evening run, here's a few ways that you can burn a few extra calories throughout the day: 1. P...