Ryan and I then headed to the gym to knock out our workouts for the day.
We started with 20 minutes on the elliptical before I completed a total-body weights workout.
| Exercise | Reps | Sets |
| Single-leg split squat with exercise ball | 15 each leg | 3 |
| Tricep pulldowns | 15 | 3 |
| Bicep curls | 3 min. straight | 1 |
| Leg extensions | 15 | 3 |
| Deadlifts | 15 | 3 |
| Dips | 15 | 3 |
| Various shoulder raises | 3 min. straight | 1 |
| Ab work on exercise ball | 50 various crunches | 2 |
| Plank | 1 min. | 1 |
I was a big fan of this combination of exercises. If Ryan didn’t need to leave the gym to have time to shower before work, I would’ve squeezed a chest and back exercise in there as well.
Breakfast
On our way home from the gym, I convinced Ryan to make a quick detour to Wal-Mart to grab some frozen strawberries and milk for smoothies for breakfast.
Once we got home, my cravings shifted and I wanted a savory breakfast.
I swear anytime I feel like I have to eat something, I don’t want it anymore. I think I felt like I had to make a smoothie since I convinced Ryan to make a pit stop for the berries at Wal-Mart (the store that Ryan calls the “eighth circle of hell”), so of course my taste buds wanted something savory when it actually came time for breakfast.
Fortunately Ryan didn’t seem to care when I started cooking up some eggs (probably because I made him breakfast, too!).
I made myself two fried eggs (one dippy egg, one not-so-dippy because I cracked the yolk) and enjoyed them with a toasted whole wheat English muffin and a banana.
A protein and fiber-packed breakfast. Oh yes!
PBF Book Club
A couple of weeks ago many of you expressed interest in a PBF book club. I’m so excited to kick it off today!
The club will work like this:
- We will select a book together from three different choices (survey style – see below)
- We will have one month to read the book
- After the month is up, I will dedicate a blog post to a review of the book and feature a bunch of questions about the book that we can all discuss in the comments section of the post
Sound good? Bueno!
Now it’s time to choose the first PBF book club novel!
Here are your choices (taken from your recommendations on the PBF Facebook page yesterday)…
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
Room:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.
Please vote for the book you would be most interested in reading. You may vote more than once if you are interested in more than one of the above novels.
[polldaddy poll=5466756]
I will announce the chosen book on Friday morning.
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Oh great, I’m so excited. I’m about to finish up The Hunger Games, so this will be perfect timing. I always miss discussing a book when I finish it since I’m not in school anymore.
I think Jenna is reading The Room, too!! Can’t wait to see what’s chosen!
I’m so excited for book club!
Excited to see whats chosen. This is a great idea!
Cool idea! I loved the book theif but haven’t read the others yet!
They all look good! Excited to see which is chosen!
This is so exciting! I’ve been looking for a blogger book club to join! Perfect timing! Can’t wait to see which one is chosen! 🙂
Room looks really good. I just saw that as Jenna on Eat Live Run’s pic for her book club too! Must be a good one.
I’m voting for The Book Thief! When I went to Europe I actually went to Dachau, the concentration camp, and it was an experience I will never forget. We visited Berlin and Munich as well and learned about the book burnings as well as how people survived during the awful times of WWII. Germany was full of so much history that I imagine a book set during WWII would be so interesting and good!! If you ever want to read a good story about two students and a professor who fought in their own way in WWII, Google The White Rose movement and read about it on Wikipedia, it’s SO interesting. I actually was able to go into the college and building where this happened, it was such an amazing experience!!
I can’t wait for the book club to start. All of the books sound like good choices, so it’ll be exciting to see which one is chosen.
Looks like good choices! I am IN!
Love a savory b-fast after weights<—feels OH so good!
Great pics! I read Room and it was great!
What a great idea, a book club! It would definitely get me reading a bit more. And ANALYZING! I haven’t done that since high school English.
I know what you mean about feeling like you HAVE to do something. That’s why I work out in the morning, because I don’t have all day to think about how I have to do it!
Room!
The book thief was definitely my first instinct! I really love world war 2 era stories.
Room is definitely very good, a little tough to get through in spots. I know that Jenna at ELR just started Room with her book club, if that makes a difference. 🙂
The Book Thief is one of my all time favorite books!!! I loved it so much that I delayed finishing it because I was so sad that I wasn’t going to have it to read anymore!!
Room!! It looks so good!
I love this idea! It’s so disappointing when you read a really good book and want so badly to discuss it…except nobody else has read it!
I totally agree with Ryan! Going to Wal Mart is always such a chore! lol. It seems like everyone in town is always there unless you try and go early on a Sunday morning! 😛
The Book Thief is one of my favorite books EVERRR! IT is so good but I would love to try something new too.
Hahaha! Walmart as the eighth circle of hell.. I agree with Ryan! So funny! 🙂
Haha Ryan’s comment about WalMart made me laugh. I totally agree with the exception of one WalMart…the one right by our house. I always hated WalMart with a passion, but I desperately had to run to the one by our house one day and was pleasantly surprised. It was brand new, clean, organized, not super packed… I hope it stays that way!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you lift weights 🙂 It makes me so happy given your audience!! Also, I love the book club idea. My selection has the least votes so far though.. oh well. I’ll still gladly accept the challenge!
I’ve heard so many great things about Book Thief, hope we go with that one!
I’ve read The Book Thief before, and it is so incredibly good! I actually have a copy of it..so if it’s chosen I don’t have to go hunting for it! Room sounds so intriguing and interesting though.
Love the book club idea! If I wasn’t already part of one that I can’t keep up with, I would totally be in yours 😉
And I agree with Ryan on Wal-Mart. Yikes, not a fan of that place!
Oh, I made your PB protein bars the other day and HOLY YUM! My hubby devoured them… will be making them again soon!!
I LOVED reading the book thief. I read Room also, and wanted it to be good, but even though I heard such rave reviews about it, I just couldn’t get into it. It still is a decent read but not one of my favorites.
I would love to read Room! Sounds so intriguing!!!
I’m a total tween fantasy book lover (hello Twilight and Hunger Games!), Graceling sounds awesome and I’ll likely read it if it’s chosen or not haha 🙂 So thanks for featuring it!!
Your breakfast sounded good– I used to exclusively crave savory food in the morning, but lately it’s switched to sweet! so weird.
ALSO– I know you don’t have to GO to work anymore in the mornings, but I miss your outfit pictures! Bring them back…? (you can always get back into comfy clothes after 😉 haha)
I am in agreement with Ryan about Walmart. I always leave feeling stressed out. Even if I only needed one thing! Have you thought about doing a round table with other bloggers for the book club? A different blogger “hosts” each month?
Dude, your breakfast looks so divine 🙂 and so colourful! love that…yummy comnbination! <3 xyx
I love your book club idea! It is so hard for me to actually sit and read a book between work and everything else, but maybe this will help me do so! Even though I did just buy Sarah’s Keys based on your recommendation and was looking forward to starting that!
Yay! Book club! I definitely plan on reading along.
I’ve been wanting to find the time to read again, and I think this is just what I need! Room sounded amazing.
I have been wanting to read The Book Thief! If that’s the book I am 100% in! 🙂
Love love love ‘dippy’ eggs… but it is nice to have the best of both world… non-dippy and dippy. Runny yolks with a jammed English muffin = <3
I alwwwayyys change my mind when my boyfriend discuss shopping for meals… I either change my mind IN the store or AT home. It drives him crazy!
Bahahaha I love Ryan’s name for Wal-Mart. I definitely have to agree with him. I only ever shop at Wal-Mart if I absolutely have to, and usually I’d rather go without than shop at Wal-Mart.
I have been thinking about reading Room for a while now, but always have second thoughts when it comes down to actually buying it. I voted for it, so if it wins I’ll definitely buy + participte!
Book Thief is absolutely incredible. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
I am totally in for this! I haven’t read a good novel in too long! This time last year I was going through a book every couple weeks! Time to get back at it! 🙂
Already read “Room”, but would love to discuss it! I think it leaves a LOT to talk about.
Oh gosh, I had the hardest time picking what to vote on in the poll. I am about half way through the Book Thief right now and I would definitely recommend it but the synopsis of Room blew me away. I’m considering biking to the book store and buying a copy right now!
Tough chocie but I did it. I’m so excited! I always start books, but then get too busy to finish them. This will keep me accountable and I’ll get in a good read! I think this is a phenomenal idea 🙂
Yay PBFingers!
P.S. I just ran out of the peanut butter granola from the fundraiser and I need to make more…now!
Hi! The book club idea is great! Ive been reading a while but never commented before just wanted to let you know how much i enjoy your blog! You and sadie and Ryan are too cute and you have such an amazing outlook on life your post always put me in a good mood!
oh dang! Room sounds really intense!!
Wow, The Book Thief really touches a nerve with me! I travelled to Munich about 10 years ago, and also got to visit Dachau concentration camp…where my Grandpa was one of the U.S. troops in Patton’s Third Army to free the remaining concentration camp victims…although once he got there, there weren’t really any left alive. He was so horrified by what he saw there that when he came home to Virginia, he told his family he would only talk about it once, and never spoke of it again.
I do the same thing! – Once I have something that I really wanted, I don’t want it anymore! lol
“The Eighth Circle of Hell” hahahaha!! And, that’s definitely true of some of the Walmarts around here :/
I own “The Book Thief” but have never read it! So I of course vote that one! 🙂
This is such a good idea! I think that reading “Room” would be really powerful, but all of them are good choices. I can’t wait to start!
I’ve heard so many good things about ‘The Book Thief’! I will definitely join you in reading it!!