SeamlessWeb Discount & Firefly Lane Book Review

SeamlessWeb Update
Last week I reviewed my favorite food ordering site, SeamlessWeb. This site makes the process of ordering food, well, seamless!

They deliver to the following cities:

• New York City
• NY Metro Area (Rye Brook, NY & Purchase, NY & Greenwich, CT & Stamford, CT)
• Jersey City
• Boston
• Philadelphia
• Washington DC (DC & Northern VA)
• Houston
• Chicago
• San Francisco (Downtown – Embarcadero area & Menlo Park & Palo Alto)
• Los Angeles (Downtown & Century City)
• London

Live in one of these cities? Never tried SeamlessWeb? The generous people at SeamlessWeb are offering my readers a discount! You can get 20% off your first order! Go to the site, place your order and be sure to enter this discount code at checkout: m42fjsdof91b. This offer expires on June 26, 2009!

Firefly Lane Book Review
When I was nearing the end of Firefly Lane yesterday, I started to cry. On the subway. Later in the evening, I was walking on the treadmill. I was reading the last 30 pages or so. Again, I started crying. On the treadmill. With the boy and his trainer working out right near me.

I didn’t want them to notice and stop their session to see if I was okay! Luckily, they didn’t see my tears. I finished the book and as I tried to fall asleep I couldn’t stop thinking about it. That is my clearest indicator on whether a book is a favorite — if it sticks with me. If it leaves me thinking about the characters, the scenes well after I finish. If it makes me think about the path the book took, the paths it didn’t take. If it makes me go back and reread scenes throughout to read them in a new light now that I know the ending. This book did all of those things.

I devoured Firefly Lane. I picked it up as soon as I finished I Know This Much Is True and read every moment I possibly could. Of course, things  got in the way, such as eating and going outside. But I did the best I could. I even opted for longer, local subway rides that would allow me more time to read.

Firefly Lane follows the stories of two women, Kate and Tully, through their friendship that spans over 30 years. They became friends at a time in their lives where they both desperately needed one. Their personalities are drastically different but they go through everything together — the good, the bad, the everything. As the decades change, the clothes , hairstyles and music change as well. The descriptions of the clothing and hairstyles throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s were funny. Especially the 80s.  Music plays a big part as well. The friends have their songs together, and you can even view their playlist of songs mentioned in the book here. You can even download it on iTunes… which I’m kinda considering doing! Each section of the book is marked by both the decade and a song.

There is an overarching theme of jealousy, and I actually felt the jealousy at the pit of my own stomach during certain scenes. There is a lot more I want to say, but I don’t want to give anything away. I also have some serious venting to do about one of the main characters! Parts of this book made me very angry – just as I felt jealousy, I also felt heated at one of the character’s actions. Kristin Hannah has the ability to make you feel the characters’ emotions as if you were there. I particularly identified with one of the two main characters — as it is clear throughout the book that the author identified with her as well.

If you have read Firefly Lane and want to discuss it with me, please leave a comment or contact me!

I usually scour Amazon reviews both before and while reading a book, but this time I didn’t. I didn’t want anything given away! I knew going into this book that it would be a tearjerker, since my mom read it before me. I didn’t want to know a thing more. I am so glad I didn’t. Now that I looked at the reviews, I know I made the right choice. If you decide to order this book on Amazon, try not to scroll down to the reviews. Read it for yourself, take from it what you need. I am so happy that is what I did.

The end of the book kept me enthralled while walking 56 minutes on the treadmill. I didn’t feel bored once. And now I find myself on the author’s website and blog reading as much information as I can about the book! I need all the background information I can get, that is how into this I am. In case you didn’t gauge it yourself, I recommend Firefly Lane. :-) 

Currently reading: Revolutionary Road. I didn’t see the movie although I am sure I will want to once I finish the book. I always do!

Physical Therapy
If my knee gets better, I want to try a spin class here. The bikes MOVE from side to side! This helps you work harder because you have to engage your core and work your arms. Have you ever heard of such a thing?! Now I know where my instructor got the idea for the turns we did in class a few months ago — she works there!

As for my knee, PT is going well. Since I stopped spinning and running, my knee hasn’t been hurting nearly as much. I am trying to get my glutes stronger which will help my alignment and take the pressure off my knees. The PT actually gave me an exercise band (pictured here) to tie around my thighs to do the exact same butt exercises I did at the Nalini Method — the ones I loved with the round band around our thighs!

On Thursday I am bringing my spin shoes in to PT so she can get a sense of how my legs are aligned on the bike. Based on what she has seen, she is fairly certain my legs bent inwards when I am on the bike, which caused a lot of my knee pain. Next Tuesday, I am bringing in my running shoes so she can see my alignment when I  run — which I know for a fact is kooky since the boy has told me so!

PT also would like me, sometime over the next few weeks, to take a spin class so we can see if I still feel pain and get a sense of my progress. I am very happy with this physical therapist. I don’t dread going there like I did at my other places and I actually feel like she knows what she is talking about and knows what I need to do to get better.

My shoulder is another story… I have a  feeling that once my knee PT is complete, I will have to begin with my shoulder again. We will see…

Want to win a 3 day Blueprint Cleanse from FitnessNYC? I do.