Spinning, Book Review, Upcoming Easter

So I'm LOVING your spinach uses and grilled cheese ideas - awesome. And i'm SO glad to know i'm not the only one who has had to toss out some spinach. I really like the idea of throwing spinach in a smoothie (yes - I've STILL never had a green monster) and using it as salad greens. I also liked the idea of freezing it to use for soups later- SMART!

So Yesterday my alarm woke me up at 5:30 a.m. again for my 6 a.m. spin class. I think I love it but my body is still... let's go with adjusting. haha I spun for 42 minutes, then hopped on a treadmill for a mile (1/2 mile at 6.3 mph and 1/2 mile at 7 mph). I'm loving these little bursts of energy! I think I might slowly start adding time on to these mile runs, so long as my foot continues to cooperate! HRM said: 55 minutes, 436 calories; 9 fat-burning minutes; 46 fitness minutes; Average HR: 150; Max HR: 194. Great workout! Then it was just work, working through lunch, working more and then driving straight home to make some new recipes - fun! More on that later - YUM!!

I also finished Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall. It’s about a mean teenage girl, Samantha, and her mean friends. Truly, I hated the main character in the beginning. She was selfish, self-centered and downright mean. But within a page or two you know she dies. The book relives the day she dies multiple times. Each time she tries different things to avoid her death, altering events trying to save herself. But is she already dead? Is she meant to save herself or to impact someone else’s life? I really liked it. I liked the themes such as being happy with what you have, not taking advantage of your family and friends, being a good person and treating others how you want to be treated. It was a really good book and I flew through it. Long though, 460+ pages, but worth it and a quick read. I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Samantha and it definitely kept me in suspense as each time she relived her day things turned out differently. I give it a 4/5. It would have been a 5 if the repeat of days had been a bit shorter (truly – the book should have been 400 pages max) and if they hadn’t introduced characters at such rapid pace. At times I was like who was that again? That mention was relevant? Dang – I’ll go back and check it out. Also, I wasn’t sure how she knew which day was her last, and how she knew there were no consequences to some of her days –maybe I missed it but I felt like whoa, risky – this could be real! haha

Q: Read any good books lately?

Q: Do you celebrate Easter? If so, what are your plans? I'm excited - we're having Austin's mom, dad, brothers and my mom, sister and bro-in-law (and baby Dane!) over for lunch. It was a bit impromptu but I can't wait to visit with everyone!