Here I Go Again! (review)

I was totally sucked into Here I Go Again, a new book by Jen Lancaster.

And that's not a bad thing. I needed a light, fun book because I've been all running books, all the time around here and sometimes you just need to shake it up.

Here I Go Again takes the ultimate high school mean girl, Lissy Ryder, and gives her a chance to right her (many, many) wrongs. But not before having her life come crashing down around her and being completely shown-up at her 20th reunion. Lissy travels back in time, thanks to a hippie classmate, and is a little less mean her second time around. Only, by doing so, she screws up the future of a lot of people who were spurred to greatness by her mean high school ways. So, she goes back again and fixes the changes to make things better once again.

As she travels back and forth, she learns about herself and why she was such a teen meanie.

Of course, at the end, it all ties up nicely and things end up all hunky-dory. But that's the nature of the book and, as I said, it was light and fun and I enjoyed it.

My one main problem with the book is that the narration (Lissy) was pretty annoying but that was probably the point. All in all, it was fun and I thought it would make a great vacation beach book.

Have you read Here I Go Again? 

Any of Jen Lancaster's other books? What did you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Injinji socks winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my Injinji socks giveaway. I seriously love these socks and now one of you will get the fun of running in them, too.

Lucky!

And who is this lucky runner? Using random.org I picked one winner and it is . . .


mrsr1n1


Congratulations!! Send me an email (felicehalf at yahoo dot com) with your mailing address so I can get your socks sent off to you!

Thanks again to Injinji for the giveaway.

Have a great day, everyone!

** My policy is that winners have 48 hours to contact me -- if I don't hear by then I'll select a new winner. 

Ups and downs of sugar-free living.

I'm well into my third week of sugar-free (flour-free, most-white-stuff-free) living and as I look back over my second week, I see that this process has not been without its ups and downs.

Among the downs . . .

• Faliled attempts to make "paleo" bread, like the pathetic inedible eggy coconut mess that I made last night
• Post-run calf cramps 
• Pizza cravings
• Potato chip cravings
• Well, pretty much any sugary/starchy/cheesy craving!

And among the ups . . 

• Starting to get the pantry and fridge stocked with the right foods
• No headaches (WOO!)
• Regaining my energy
• Figuring out how to fuel for my runs

Downs and ups. 

What I would like right now is some kind of awesome flourless, sugar-free bread. Does that exist? Dunno. If you know of one, hook a happy runner up and leave a comment about it!

Have a great week, everyone!

My new favorite.

Watch out, friends. I've fallen in love with almond milk. (And regular ol' almonds. And coconut. But I'll have to share my love for those another day.)

For real, I love the stuff. I've always been a fan of almonds and now I've taken it to a whole new level.

Since I can no longer make my smoothies using my beloved yogurt, I've switched to almond milk. This:

Unsweetened vanilla. It is so good. 

From a yogurt-based smoothie to an almond milk-based one -- sounds like it wouldn't be the same, right? Right. It isn't. It is better. To me, it is just so much better. I didn't think it would be and yet it is. My smoothies are lighter since they aren't weighed down by dairy anymore. 

Now I'm working on getting the family switched over to almond milk so I can stop buying cow's milk (which, admittedly, I am against). Owen is already on-board and using almond milk in his morning cereal. I'm working on the kids!

They've enjoyed their almond milk smoothies so far, so that is a start. Slowly but surely, I'll try to win them over!

(Interested in trying Silk Almond Milk? You can download a coupon from their web site. And, by the way: No, I wasn't asked to review this almond milk. I just love it. And had to share my love!)

Today's smoothie

1 green-tipped banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

1/2 cup water

1 tbs chia seeds

Blend it up! And enjoy.

I'm experimenting with new recipes and new ingredients. Some have worked better than others but it is kind of fun trying to find new ways to do things. I'll be sure to share some of the better recipes that I come across and make!

Have you switched from cow's milk to almond (or coconut or other) milk? 

How did it work for you? 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice