#FitReaders & General Update 6-17-16

Hello everyone. Jasprit and I have been trying to get healthier and more active lately so here is our #FitReaders update as well as what we've been reading and up to this last week.

Rachel

What I've been reading:

(click on cover for Goodreads link)



As most of you know, I've been addicted to Robyn Carr's Virgin River series and I've just finished #7 and loved it! I listen to the audio version of this and Thérèse Plummer is an amazing narrator! Highly recommended! Eva at All Books Considered turned me onto Rosalind James with this sale and I've been gobbling up her books for the last few weeks. Her writing is HOT and wonderful! She writes both contemporary romance and romantic suspense. I'm currently listening to Just This Once book one in her Escape to New Zealand series. It's super cheap to add the audio narration once you buy the book ($1.99 + $0.99 for the e-book on Amazon) Claire Bocking (the narrator) is making me want my very own hunky New Zealander with that sexy accent!

Jasprit:

What I've been reading:

(click on cover for Goodreads link)

Unfortunately there's no links for me this week as I didn't get to read any books, I got straight back into work after my family weddings and it's been two long work weeks! I'm hopefully planning to finally get some sort of reading list planned over the weekend. 

What we've been up to:

Rachel:
Not much, thank goodness! Just working and relaxing by the pool on the weekends. That's what I have planned for this weekend, maybe with some sort of frosty mango drink in hand! It looks to be a very hot weekend here in Southern California.

Jasprit:

Rachel's week sounds fantastic! It hasn't been all that hot over here in the U.K, this week has been full of rain and thunderstorms, weirdly I love this sort of weather especially when I'm indoors with a good book! Other than that I've been watching the Euro's and backing my team Germany all the way! 

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's our progress for this last week:

Rachel:

My knee pain was still giving me trouble earlier this week, but today and yesterday it finally seems like it's getting better. I think the exercises, joint supplement, and stretching are paying off.  I actually jogged a little today instead of just walking like I've been doing.

Friday:  13,899 steps

Saturday:  11,495 steps

Sunday:  11,045 steps

Monday:  16,412 steps

Tuesday:   16,268 steps 

Wednesday: 13,305 steps 

Thursday: 14,884 steps 

Total steps: 97,308 steps

Jasprit:

I hit my step goal every day this week in the workweek hustle, which I'm super proud of. And I'm planning to go back to the gym this week after four weeks off! *fingers crossed*


Friday: 17,105 steps

Saturday: 9,295 steps

Sunday: 4,483 steps 

Monday: 14,378 steps

Tuesday: 12,849 steps

Wednesday: 13,657 steps

Thursday: 12,333 steps

Total steps: 84,100 steps

#FitReaders & General Update

Hello everyone! Jasprit & I have been a little scarce lately. Both of us have had a lot going on in our lives but we thought we'd pop in and give a quick update. 

Rachel

What I've been reading:

(click on cover for Goodreads link)

 

It's no secret that I've been addicted to romantic suspense lately, and even those these two titles fall into that category they're very different. Compulsion is the 2nd Max Revere novel (loved the first), she's an investigative reporter intent on finding justice and the truth for victims and families. This is very much a procedural crime investigation with a little bit of romance thrown in. I just got to a very scary part and I'm biting my nails nervously over what's going to happen!  Fan the Flames is the 2nd in the the Search & Rescue series and I'm loving it! There's a bit more romance in this one. Ian = SWOON!


Jasprit

Hi all, I hope you all haven't forgotten me, the two back to back family weddings that I've had, have me completely swamped! I've been acting like an Uber taxi driver taking family back and forth to the wedding house (my cousins), I thought that with the two weeks off from work, I'd be able to get a lot of reading done, but nope, I read 0 books in two weeks! Honestly I don't even know what I'm in the mood for anymore, so please hit me up with your book recommendations or even buddy reads!!

My cousin and I 

What I've been up to:

Rachel:
I've been on a lot of trips lately and while they were fun I'm happy to been home for a while! I won't bore you with details but here are a few pictures:

 Golden Gate Bridge

 

 Hawaii

 Southern California Coast

Jasprit

I didn't get to visit all the pretty places like Rachel did, I didn't even get to visit my gym in two weeks :( but the last month has been a manic but great one. The lovely Allie came to visit and we attended a wonderful chocolate making workshop, where we made our own truffles and chocolates, we stuffed our faces the entire day and then we got to revel in Leicester becoming Premier League champions!

Allie and I at the Leicester parade

It's been a celebrity sighting month for me too, I bumped into one of the Leicester players just before the parade in town, and an incredible DJ and Punjabi singer who I've been a fan of since ages! Of course like usual I was a mouse when meeting the Leicester player and DJ, but was able to squeak out some words when talking to the singer JK, one day I will be able to formulate a coherent sentence next time I'm with someone famous!

DJ AJD and JK 

Although I haven't been reading much, I was able to watch two amazing films back to back last week; Me Before You and X-Men: Apocalypse. Me Before You was everything I could have imagined it to be, the book to film adaptation was done wonderfully, the cast for me was spot on and I was delighted to see Brax from Home and Away cast as Nathan. Of course I was an emotional mess in the end, but the film was definitely worth it! And X-Men: Apocalypse reignited my passion for the X-Men comics and cartoons I had as a child, I wasn't  huge fan of the last X-Men film, but seriously this film went all out, that I had to go an order the box set of the films just so that I can watch them all over, also I can never resist Michael Fassbender! ;)

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's our progress for the last week:

Rachel:

I've been experiencing some knee pain so I took it a little easy with running. I looked up this article with exercises developed to strengthen areas of the body to take pressure off the knees and have been doing the exercises. I've also been taking a supplement to help with joints. Taking a rest has helped and I'm hoping the exercises will, too, because I've become addicted to running!

Friday:  21,267 steps

Saturday:  10,248 steps

Sunday:   5,960 steps

Monday:  12,989 steps

Tuesday:   17,025 steps 

Wednesday: 10,188 steps 

Thursday: 14,208 steps 

Total steps: 91,885 steps

Jasprit:

I barely hit my daily goal these last two weeks (except for the days of the reception hall party, where I smashed it with all the dancing!). But work decided to get busy straight after my break, but with two workweek hustles this week, they really pushed me to hitting more steps again!

Friday: 20,296 steps

Saturday: 8,227 steps

Sunday: 8,282 steps 

Monday: 15,513 steps

Tuesday: 19,282 steps

Wednesday: 16,969 steps

Thursday: 20,023 steps

Total steps: 108,592 steps

Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts #5

Hosted by Bookishly Boisterious

Both Jasprit and I are trying to get a little healthier, and more active so we're tracking our progress through #FitReaders down below. It's a check in that helps keep us motivated to keep active. But also we wanted to share what we're reading and a little of what's going on in our lives by participating in Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts hosted by Bookishly Boisterious.  So here we go!

 Rachel:

What I've been reading:

(click on title for Goodreads link)

I finished Happiness For Beginners, and while I loved the audio narration, the story, although funny,  was a little frustrating to me.  The romance was lacking as the couple was at odds for most of the book, and there was a third wheel/red herring in the mix. I personally like more couple time in a romance, and any hint at a love triangle gives me hives. So, yeah, not what I was hoping for. I loved A Virgin River Christmas, and I want to see more of Marcie and Ian in the future. I'll be starting Worth It All next week and I'm completely looking forward to it as I LOVED the first two books in the series.

Jasprit:

Once again I've either not had much time to read or not been feeling any books, so the reason I've only read the above two books in the last two weeks! Dream of Gods and Monsters was a mammoth of a book, but it was such a brilliant read, the world that Taylor created was exquisite, I can't wait to read what Taylor comes up with next!

What we've been up to:

Rachel:

I had an eventful weekend and my diet was less than perfect. I kind of ate just about anything I wanted.  On the plus side, I did walk a lot.  Look at the beautiful fish from this weekend! The California Science Center had an amazing aquarium complete with colorful, and then downright bizarre looking fish! Had a great time! 

Jasprit:

In trying to keep up with healthy snacking I discovered Pumpkin Tree Toasted Oat crush, its a mix of oats and fruit snacks, perfect for on the go and healthy with no added sugar, the lovely team at Pumpkin Tree were generous enough to send me some samples below, and let me just say they were delicious! I'm trying to make the most of these healthy weeks, as I'll be going to a chocolate making workshop in a few weeks with Allie and I can't wait!

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's our progress for the last week:

Rachel:

Kris invited Jasprit and I into a Workweek Challenge along with several other Fitbit users and I've been busting my butt to keep up! It's great because I really splurged and ate whatever I wanted this last weekend so the challenge has made me work off all those extra calories!

Thursday: 14,570  steps

Friday:   11,443 steps

Saturday:  13,206 steps

Sunday:  10,051 steps

Monday:  18,624 steps 

Tuesday:  21,745 steps 

Wednesday: 17,539 steps 

Total steps:   107,178 steps

Jasprit:

I took part in my first workweek hustle this week and let me just say it was a killer! It was great in pushing myself to hit my step goal (every day so far), but with going to the gym too, I've been dead on my feet by the evening, plus these ladies in the challenge are killing it with the steps! I also decided to buy some more gym related things, so that I could do more at home, I bought some weights, resistance bands, a slam ball and a foam roller, the foam roller has been great to use so far. Who would have thought that I would get so excited gym goodies!


Thursday: 7,866 steps

Friday: 9,807 steps

Saturday: 7,432 steps 

Sunday: 6,702 steps

Monday: 11,813 steps (when the weekday hustle kicked off!)

Tuesday: 12,609 steps

Wednesday: 18,289  steps

Total steps: 74,518 steps

Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts #4

Both Jasprit and I are trying to get a little healthier, and more active so we're tracking our progress through #FitReaders down below. It's a check in that helps keep us motivated to keep active. But also we wanted to share what we're reading and a little of what's going on in our lives by participating in Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts hosted by Bookishly Boisterious.  So here we go!

 Rachel:

What I've been reading:

(click on title for Goodreads link)

 

I'm continuing with two author obsessions: Robyn Carr and Linda Howard.  I completed the third book in the Virgin River series, Whispering Rock and loved it! The audio narration by Therese Plummer is fabulous! She narrators the whole series from what I can tell and also What We Find. I'll be starting that soon. Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard was orginally published in 1986. Thirty years ago, pre cell phones and internet! Linda Howard's romantic suspense stories are thrilling, addictive, and hilarious never mind the year written, and Midnight Rainbow was no exception!


Jasprit: 


I thought that continuing with Contreras' series would help me out of my funk, but unfortunately I didn't end up enjoying it as much as the previous books, I did like getting Victor's story, but just needed more from this book it just came across as a repetition of the previous books. The Distance Between Us was a cute read, I didn't enjoy it as much as West's other books, but that could just be down to the reading mood I'm in. I started You yesterday and honestly 100 pages in I'm already creeped out!


What we've been up to:

Rachel:

I had an uneventful weekend which was nice considering I was just in San Francisco the weekend prior.  All the back and forth gets a bit tiring, even if it is an awesome city.  I made chicken soup with mashed potatoes for a sick family member and enjoyed the non-stop rain three days straight (an uncommon occurrence for Southern California!).  I had to do the spin bike for my exercise Friday and Saturday to stay dry. Since the rain is gone I've been enjoying the spring flowers on my walks. The smell of honeysuckle is so wonderful (see pictures below)!

 

Honeysuckle carpeting the landscape

Spring flowers!

Jasprit

I haven't been up to much other than working and trying to fit gym time in around it, hence I've been hardly feeling up for reading. The circuits class at the gym has become one of my favourite sessions, I'm absolutely knackered after my Monday session, but I'm sort of tempted to go to the Tuesday session too! And with trying to keep up with my healthy eating (I had two fillings the other day and after that decided enough was enough) I subscribed to Sourced Box, a U.K. based monthly subscription service which provide you with healthy snacks, I was so impressed with their box that I signed up for the year! I also found some artisan raw chocolate bars from Raw Halo, which are 100% natural, organic and refined sugar free, so that should keep my sweet tooth going! 

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's our progress for the last week:

Rachel:

The rain didn't stop me from exercising, but I did the spin bike (my steps don't register when I'm sitting. :/) on Friday and Saturday to stay dry. I've been walking/jogging my legs off every other day.  Makes me feel less guilty when I have that glass of wine with dinner.

Thursday:  10,339 steps

Friday:  11,331 steps 60 minutes spin bike

Saturday: 10,262 steps 60 minutes spin bike

Sunday: 13,217 steps walk/jog 1.5 hours

Monday: 14,655 steps walk/jog 35 min

Tuesday: 13,716 steps walk/jog 35 min

Wednesday:   13,031 steps walk/jog 35min

Total steps:  86,551 steps

Jasprit:

I was meant to go for more runs this week, but its been super cold, so I've been using the excuse to stay in bed that bit longer! My biggest steps days are of course when I go to circuits class! And I finally took part in my first challenge with Rachel and Kris, and although they totally out-stepped me, I had a lot of fun! 

Thursday: 8,574  steps

Friday: 9,214 steps

Saturday: 8,827 steps 

Sunday: 6,130 steps

Monday: 16,358 steps (inlcuding circuits class)

Tuesday: 6,834 steps

Wednesday: 9,110 steps

Total steps: 65,047 steps

Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts #3

Hosted by Bookishly Boisterious 

Both Jasprit and I are trying to get a little healthier, and more active so we're tracking our progress through #FitReaders down below. It's a check in that helps keep us motivated to keep active. But also we wanted to share what we're reading and a little of what's going on in our lives by participating in Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts hosted by Bookishly Boisterious.  So here we go!

What we've been reading:

(click on title for Goodreads link)

Rachel:

(Click on title for Goodreads link)

 
 

Staked and Chase Me were amazing! Both 5
star reads for me.  Luke Daniels, once again makes The Iron Druid Chronicles come alive! There were times I seriously worried for the fate of our characters, and there were moments of sadness, for a lot of the book I laughed my ass off!  Staked ended on a very good note, I can't help but worry.  I was left a little uncertain, like Atticus at the end. Chase Me (my review) was utterly delightful, and pure perfection! Lake of Dreams, a novella, was different from the normal Linda Howard's I've read in that it was a paranormal romance. Short, sensual, and eerie! Loved it. Fool Me Twice has been wonderful! Another book on my radar thanks to Keertana! I'm almost done.  I'm starting The Visitor very soon. Hopefully the romance won't be too frustrating. This is one series where the romance drives me bonkers, but I can't help but keep reading! Go figure.

Jasprit:



My last three reads have been a mixed batch, I was thoroughly excited for my copy of Summer Skin  being a huge fan of Eagar's work, but I just didn't end up clicking with this book. However I may be the black sheep when it comes to this book, as a lot of bloggers and readers I know really enjoyed it. Contreras has been my go to author this month, who would have thought I would be reading back to back NA books? And actually wanting more? Seems like this and fantasy are the only genres working for me right now. Also I found out just the other day that Contreras has new book released in this series from Victor's perspective, its like all my wishes are coming true! And Undecided was another NA book I ended up loving, the characters were such a fun bunch, look out for my review sometime next week. 

What we've been up to:

 Rachel:

I went wine tasting last Friday and then went onto San Francisco the next day, coming home on Sunday. It was a busy weekend, but I had fun. The weather was perfect and sunny, and so many things were in bloom. I forget how gorgeous California can be in the spring! 

One of the wineries I visited

With all that said, I didn't have much time for exercise over the weekend, but I did force myself to do my usual 35 minute neighborhood walk/jog on Sunday when I got back. 

Jasprit:

So the wedding season has finally kicked off in my family, we had one this weekend, but it wasn't that close, I have three close ones coming up over the next few months, which I'm super excited about and I've finally got my shopping for the weddings done! That's only my Indian clothes, I still need to buy all the jewellery and accessories to match. I'll leave you with a video of Kudos the DJ on Sunday night, they did a nice mash up of Happy by Pharell Williams and an Indian beat with dhols! (a double headed drum!)

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's our progress for the last week:

Rachel:

I spent a lot of hours in the car Saturday and Sunday so I'm amazed I even made my goal! I'm tired this week, but I'm still making time to exercise.  Having a few friends on Fitbit helped motivate me even when I just wanted to sit down and do nothing.

Thursday:  13,585 steps

Friday:  9,371 steps-wine tasting, so it's a wonder I got this many steps!

Saturday: 10,428 steps 

Sunday: 10,091 steps-walk/jog 35 min

Monday: 15,593 steps walk/jog 35 min

Tuesday: 13,643 steps walk/jog 35 min

Wednesday:  13,577 steps-Spin Bike for 60 min

Total steps: 86,288 steps

Jasprit:

I was quite proud of myself this last week, despite being tempted to scoff all the Easter eggs, I ended up going to the gym twice, plus with two classes too! I decided to try a different circuits class this week with a different teacher and about died, this guy so knew how to mix it up well during the session that I was ready for my bed as soon as I got home! But I've also been off from week this week that I counted my steps, so I'm pleased I'm able to fit so many steps in. I got my new Fitbit Surge last week and I'm a little obsessed, it definitely gives me the extra motivation to work that much harder. Also I'm looking forward to starting these challenges on there, so if you have a Fitbit let me know I'd love to add you on there! 

Thursday: 10,960 steps

Friday: 8,414 steps

Saturday: 7,468 steps 

Sunday: 5,317 steps

Monday: 8,347 steps

Tuesday: 18,411 steps (includes my circuit class)

Wednesday: 11,344 steps

Total steps: 70,258 steps

Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts #2

Hosted by Bookishly Boisterious

What I've been reading:
(click on title for Goodreads link)

I finished Shelter Mountain, the second book in Robyn Carr's Virgin River series and loved it. I got a lot of the previous couples, and hinting at a new romance! I wish I lived in Virgin River! Can't wait to pick up book three.  Staked by Kevin Hearne is so darn funny! I'm laughing myself silly over Owen's chapters! I'm listening to the audio book which I cannot recommend more! Luke Daniels' narration is amazing! The series wouldn't be the same for me without his narration. I've just started Chase Me by Laura Florand.  I'm already cracking up and loving it! She is one of my all-time favorite romance novelists.  Her writing is just beyond beautiful!

I had two days where my diet sort of went out the window, this last weekend, because I had two dinner parties to attend.  I stop logging after lunch on both nights.  There may or may not have been a small slice of red velvet bundt cake with cream cheese frosting, but I didn't go all out so I didn't do too much damage, thankfully. 

I didn't try any new recipes except for Oven Roasted Asparagus I found on Allrecipes.com.  There doesn't seem like many ways to fix asparagus, to me anyhow, but this recipe is really tasty.  

#FitReaders is hosted by Jen @That's What I'm Talking About and Felicia @TheGeekyBlogger.

Here's my progress for the last week:

Thursday: 13,593 steps

Friday: 10,175 steps

Saturday: 7,237 steps 

Sunday: 13,647 steps (did an almost 4mile walk/jog 79 minutes)

Monday:  12,678 steps (walk/jog 55 minutes)

Tuesday:14,519 steps (walk/jog 43 minutes)

Wednesday: 11,598 steps
Total steps: 83,447 steps