A Weekend to Remember...

I am so thankful for this weekend. It was without the doubt the most fun I have had in a long, long time. My soul and spirit feel refreshed and renewed. It has also given me that push and desire to dive back into work, my book, training hard, and get back to the dedication I need to exude to get this last bit of weight off. I firmly believe in a work/life and work/social balance; thus it was nice to take 3 1/2 days off from work, blogging, and writing, to laugh, make memories, and have fun.

Friday morning I was up early to get 40 minutes of fasted cardio in. I can't believe I actually got up and did it! After, I got ready and went to work. As my Friday's always seem to be, it was nonstop, but at noon, I was out of the door to start my weekend. 

I went home to shower and get ready. Once I was ready, I went to Kels house so we could take off to the Blake Shelton concert. She, her boyfriend Drew, and I, met our friends Traci and David there. We all tailgated, drank, and played cornhole until time for the concert. It was a lot of fun, but unbelievably hot. We were all soaked in sweat -- so much for my curls and cute makeup. That was dunzo fast.

The concert was an amazing time. Dan and Shay and The Band Perry opened for Blake. We all brought blankets and chairs, and danced, sang every song, and totally let loose. I had two of the most delicious, yet filled with sugar Margarita type drinks. It was so hot though, that I did not care. I had a good buzz too.

I slept in late on Saturday and felt like crap when I woke up. I was not hungover because I only had two drinks at the show, but I had a sore throat and killer headache. I spent the morning laying around and managed to get in a couple of loads of laundry. By late afternoon I took a shower, got ready, went by Ulta since I lost my sunglasses and translucent powder (so random) at the concert, then I picked up my girlfriend Alexis. She and I went to Monroe, NC to "Treehouse Vineyards" for a winery tour and tasting.

The winery was so cute. They have actual tree houses you can rent for special occasions. We were surrounded by beautiful scenery, delicious wine, and it was fun hearing the stories behind all of the wines names. We had a great time, but again, it was miserably hot. Before we left, Alexis and I split a bottle of our favorite wine from the tasting; "Crystal Creek" a light, white wine. 

Sunday I enjoyed another lazy morning, did my grocery shopping, then got ready and went to church. It was week 2 of our "Meant to Be" series and I enjoyed my pastor's focus on embracing singleness. That has been something I have been diligently working on for 10 months now, so it definitely spoke to me. After church, I went uptown to meet my friend Jay. We had the most delicious Italian dinner at a popular restaurant called "Mama Ricotta's". He and I were both craving Italian and my taste buds were absolutely satisfied. We ended up talking for a long time, so as we were finally leaving, we decided to go across the street to my favorite place ever "The Melting Pot" for dessert. It was such a fun time.

Today I was up bright and early to put my big splurge from Sunday night to use!

My agenda was to go to the mountains for a long 10 mile hike. For the first 90 minutes, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I was bloated but I felt strong and I was pushing very hard - I speed walk basically the entire time now. However, the last 3/4 of a mile to the very top pushed me over the edge. I guess between the distance I had already walked and the extreme heat we have had this week, it was really getting to me. 

Going up those 300+ steps to the top, I did not think I was going to make it. I was almost in tears because it was hurting so much and it was that hard. Slowly but surely I made it. I sat down for just enough time to chug water and inhale a pack of plain almonds and walnuts. I was ready to finish and get the hike over with. If you read my blog, you know that hiking is one of my favorite activities in the world to do, but today it was awful. 

Going down the mountain and hiking back to my car proved to be worse than going up the mountain. I was exhausted and so over it. I thought the trail was NEVER going to end. My heals and glutes were hurting, and my knees... I cannot even tell you guys the pain my knees were feeling. It felt like I was 90 years old. I am very glad I pushed so hard, but I have never been happier to finish a workout.

Once my hike was finally done, I came back to Charlotte and went by Target to pick up a crockpot. I had been talking about getting one on Instagram, and after getting everyone's feedback and comments, I knew I had to scoop one up. When I arrived home, I watched the new Kardashian's episode in hopes that I could come back to life. The rest helped and gave me the strength to prep all of my food for the week and give my apartment a deep cleaning. Now that everything is finished, I am off to take a shower then cuddle up on the couch and find a movie

Happy Belated Birthday Kerry! You are one of my longest and closest blog friends and I hope you had the most fantastic birthday. You deserve it.