I hope your week is off to a good start!
My Monday morning began with a four mile run around the neighborhood.
My booty was still feeling a bit sore from the 100 jumping lunges I did the other day when I completed one of Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp workouts. Yes, 100 jumping lunges. Clearly my body isn’t used to doing 100 jumping lunges and while today’s run wasn’t the best thanks to some lingering soreness, the post-run stretch felt pretty fantastic.
When I arrived home, it was time for breakfast and I dug into the overnight oats I prepped last night. Topped with banana slices this morning!
A little prep work makes breakfast a breeze!
Harry & David Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to…
- Sarah: “I would love to give this basket to my Grandma. It’s so cold and dreary where she lives, and I think this basket would really brighten her day!”
Please email me with your grandma’s mailing address and we’ll get the fresh fruit basket to her right away!
February Book Club
It’s time to pick the February book for the PBF Book Club!
The PBF Book Club is an online book club that is open to anyone! We simply vote for a book to read from the three books listed below (taken from your suggestions on the PBF Facebook page) and on Tuesday, March 5, I will post my review along with discussion questions for book club participants to answer in the comments section of the post.
If you are a blogger and post a review of the selected book on your blog, you can email me a link to your review post (pbfingers@gmail.com) before March 5 and I will include a link to your post in the roundup of blogger book review links.
Please vote for the book you would like to read below. I will announce the winning book tomorrow afternoon.
- Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator’s.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 “blackberry winter” storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways…
- Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Somer’s life is everything she imagined it would be—she’s newly married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco—until she makes the devastating discovery she never will be able to have children. The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter’s life by giving her away. It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.
Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha’s journey of self-discovery leads her back to India. Compulsively readable and deeply touching, Secret Daughter is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families affect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms.
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle–and people in general–has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence–creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.
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I’ve already read Secret Daughter, and it is amazing! I’d highly recommend it 🙂
I just finished Blackberry Winter last night. Best book I’ve read in a long time. It was so riveting and the writing is incredible. You won’t be sorry if you choose that one. 🙂
i’ve loved the two books by sarah jio that i’ve read, so this one definitely intrigues me!
I’ve only read Blackberry Winter so far and loved it too! Can’t wait to read her other ones.
So much Seattle love in this selection – I can definitely get behind that 🙂 Haven’t read Blackberry Winter, but I hear it’s wonderful.
My thoughts exactly about Seattle!
Woot! Representing the PNW! Love it!
Can’t wait to see what this month’s selection is!
I picked Where’d You Go, Bernadette — purely for selfish reasons, because I’ve had Blackberry Winter on my hold list at the library for about 1.5 months now and it STILL hasn’t come in! Today (before I even saw this post), I picked Where’d You Go, Bernadette right off the shelf. Haha!
Can’t wait to read Blackberry Winter! All 3 sound good though!!
I’ve read Blackberry Winter and I didn’t like it near as much as the other Sarah Jio books that I’ve read. However, I’ve already written up a review, so that’s a plus. 😉
Just a suggestion… I’d love to see youtube videos to help understand your work outs. For example, I don’t know exactly what a jumping lunge is.
There’s a new website called Google that might be able to help!
Really Courtney? That’s pretty rude. It was just a suggestion to Julie in case she was looking for more content.
Relax! It was just a joke! Jeeeeez.
1 Stand straight up, with your feet shoulder-width apart, but with one stationed about a foot and a half in front of the other. Your back leg should stand directly under your body, and your forward knee should sit at a ninety degree angle. Hold your arms straight out in front of you.
2 Jump up off the ground slightly, and quickly switch the position of your feet in mid-air. Keep your torso straight, now and throughout the exercise.
3 Land in the mirror-image of your original position – your forward leg bent at ninety degrees at the knee and hip, and your back leg directly underneath your body. Bend your knees to absorb the impact – but keep your feet and knees facing straight forward.
4 Jump back off the ground, switching your feet to your original position.
They’re killer!
Thanks for the idea, Danielle! I’ll also try to link to exercises like this in the future if I don’t explain them. 🙂
All 3 sound super good!! I’m excited for any of ’em that are chosen 🙂
Overnight oats! I finallyyy went to TJ’s yesterday that opened in town almost a year ago and finallly got chia seeds (and cookie butter and lots of other goodies every other fitblogger raves about). Can’t wait to have OOIAJ!
This is unusual! Usually one of the books is always a clear stand out for me, but not so with these three. They all sound intriguing! I have heard really interesting things about Where’d You Go, Bernadette, though!
Where’d You Go, Bernadette, is AWESOME. I definitely recommend that one!
Jumping lunges kill me every time! They are one of those exercises I’ll never get used to. Excited to see what book you pick, I’m looking for some new reads!
Oh, MAN! I’d be sore from doing 100 jumping lunges, too! That’s quite a tall order. Great 4-mile shake-out run!
I almost voted for Blackberry Winter, but it sounded so much like The Secret Keeper, which I still haven’t finished yet!
First off, can I just say what an inspiration your blog has been to me? I look forward to reading it every day! It has inspired me to start my own blog and it would be super cool if you could check it out! Second, I would love to see Blackberry Winter for the February book club!
check out my post today about my 5 mile hike in the rockies
http://runningathousandmiles.blogspot.com/2013/02/weekend-in-rockies.html
Where’d You Go, Bernadette is FABULOUS. I was actually kind of sad when it ended. Someone recently recommended Secret Daughter, so it would be fun to read it as part of the “club.”
I workout regularly but I dont usually do jumping lunges. I did The Fitnessista’s winter shapeup on Saturday and my legs and booty are STILL SUUUUUPER sore! Im still walking like an 80 year old woman 🙂
ooooh, i would love to join in on this! get me reading something other than urban fantasy and sci fi 🙂
Yay! I’m excited to do this round of book club since last month was an epic library book fail. I think my copy of The Secret Keeper is still on hold… I should probably cancel that now – although I still want to read it!
I think Secret Daughter sounds most interesting, but all of these books are appealing to me. Hope I can get it checked out in time this time 😉
I haven’t participated in a PBF book club yet (because I usually forget about it! oops!) but these all sound great, I’m definitely in this time around! 🙂
I think Secret Daughter sounds the best to me. Whatever book works though!
I can’t wait for the next book!! All of these sound great 🙂
All those books look fun to read! I think I’ll see if my library has the winning book! And you’re overnight oats look quite scrumptious! I got in 3 miles today…good recovery from my trial run of 13 miles. 13 days til half marathon race!
I noticed the pic for your Garmin Forerunner 305, what do you think of it? Any issues with Garmin Connect for tracking? I bought my husband a Nike Fuel band for Christmas and the band records his runs, but we’ve had issues when you plug it into the computer to sync with Nike+ to track and record your progress, many times it says no new runs found. Very disappointing for a new runner, training for his first 5K. I want to get him a device that will track and sync his progress with no issues.
soo excited to join the book club!! I love this idea & reading — all 3 of these books look fabulous :]
These all sound fantastic!! Whichever wins will be a great read. I’ve never read any from any author, so I am interested in seeing if these authors are my new favs! 🙂
I had overnight oats this morning too! Love how easy and tasty it is! Looking forward to the next book!
Blackberry Winter, all the way! It was amazing and Sarah Jio has a new book coming out later this year. Can’t wait!
I’ve been meaning to start a new book in forever and I think Secret Daughter sounds like the one to get me back to reading- what a great storyline!
So glad Sarah’s Grandma got the fruit. The thought of this sweet little lady opening her fruit made me smile!
I have heard great things about Blackberry Winter. It is definitely on my “to read” book list!
Julie-
I just want to say I freakin’ love your site! Your workouts are amazing and my muscles are jelly after. Your site is my go to for all my workouts and ideas for healthy meals. In fact, I’ve started putting Chobani’s greek yogurt in my oatmeal thanks to you. I was skeptical at first but it is so yummy.
I’m a 30 year old mom of four boys and have 30 lbs to lose. In two months I will do my first Sprint Tri and you are helping me get in shape. 🙂 Any suggestions you have would be awesome.
You Rock!
Every time I see you had overnight oats, I feel like such a failure because I keep forgetting to make/try them. Argh!
Definitely Blackberry Winter! I love Sarah’s other books & have yet to get to this one – it’ll give me ‘an excuse’ to read it 😉
My sister got me Where’d You Go Bernadette for Christmas and I really enjoyed it!
I’m glad she won, what a lovely girl 🙂 They should send one to her and her grandma!
I have to confess I am a little behind on the book club! I’m still alternating reading The Happiness Project and What Alice Forgot, but I love the Seattle representation in this month’s selections! I’ve heard great things about Where’d You Go Bernadette, and will now add it to my ever growing stack of PBFingers inspired reads!
I’ve heard amazing things about Blackberry Winter! I hope it wins!
I always try to make breakfast ahead of time that way I am not frantically trying to throw something together the next morning! Your oats look deeeelicious 🙂
I loved Blackberry Winter!! Especially being a mom, it really hit home!!
I opted out of the 100 jumping lunges for that workout and did the full stationary lunges instead! Yep, I’m a wuss 😉
And all 3 of these books sound so good! Blackberry Winter sounds great, but I get kind of freaked out reading books about child abductions, etc. since I have two little ones. I can never seem to get “what if he was mine?” out of my mind!
I read Where’d You Go Bernadette a couple of months ago and LOVED it! It is definitely one of my favorite books of all time. So unexpected and relatable. I would definitely recommend it.
I’m currently reading “Drop Dead Healthy” after seeing it on your blog! Loving it so far and look forward to this months book club read 🙂