An Allergy and Light Headed Filled Weekend Recap

Well, this weekend wasn't great, but that happens. I could feel myself feeling some type of way on Friday. I was beginning to feel a little burned out. Then work was a freaking whirlwind; clients were visiting and I had my obligated duties of being hostest with the mostest. Normally I immensely enjoy this, but Friday it just exhausted me. Hell called and wanted it's weather back as well. 

When I left the office, I had a heavy leg workout on my training agenda. Honestly, I push myself to the brink of throwing up when I train legs. I don't know why, but I love training my legs until I cannot walk. I only do legs once every 7-10 days; sometimes even less because of how much I hike. Thus when I have my leg workouts, I make sure they count. I need to be in a good frame of mind for these workouts. Friday, I was not. However, I made myself go, and the second I walked through the gym doors, I was in total masochist mode. I tortured myself and Kelly, and we ended up having a great workout. I was exhausted after so the rest of the evening was spent binging on True Blood and ice-cream. 

I slept 10 hours Friday night and woke up late on Saturday; barely able to walk. Friday's training goal was definitely attained. I planned on getting in good writing time but I could not concentrate to save my life; my ADHD was in full affect. Kelly came over and we went to a local tavern for a bottle of Champagne and hummus. We were having fun until I got sick. That little allergy I have to alcohol surfaced bad; I suppose it is because I do not drink a lot anymore so when I do, it shocks my body or something. I spent the rest of the evening laying down. I was miserable.

Sunday, I woke up early and still felt sore and fatigued; but since I was up early, I got ready and went to church. I usually go Sunday night's so this was a fun change of pace. It was the start of our new series "Meant to Be: The Bible's Best Kept Secret of Sex, Marriage, and Being Single", My soul needed this more than words can describe. That was another reason why I decided to go to church in the morning. I was so excited!

I am not a very religious person; I ask a LOT of questions and I am not going to "believe something" because a book tells me too. I have to fully understand something before I can make the stance that I believe in it. I believe in logic and reasoning; just like teachers, parents, and other mentors have always taught me too. However, there is something about faith and God that heals me in a way that I can't really explain.

Writing is my passion. Writing is what heals me. At times I feel God come through my writing and take over my keyboard. I felt this significantly when I was writing this letter to myself. Finding God... or him finding me these past 7 weeks has been pretty incredible. Sometimes I feel like a pile mush throwing myself at his mercy and he always heals me. 

I am veering off of the subject, but Sunday was a strong, passionate, and honestly raw service, which is why I love going there. Steven Furtick is absolutely amazing: he preaches in a way that is so easy to understand and make sense of. You can take his message and apply it to your daily life. I cling to every word. When I was forced to go to church as a child and teen, I scribbled on the program counting down the minutes until it was over. It is not like that anymore. 

The most incredible part was all of the healing you could physically see and emotionally feel. Steven preached of how hard marriage is, how much it work it takes, the grace of being single, loving yourself -- he preached from 1st Corinthians in a beautifully and brutally honest way; a way that I feel so many people desperately need to hear. Slowly you could see couples all throughout the church holding hands, humbling before their partners, acknowledging their wrongdoings, making promises, and taking a leap of faith that had been void for a long time. Though my happy ass was there alone, it was incredible to see. I am so glad that I was so weak at the beginning of July that it forced me to start going to church. I was at a breaking point and in so much despair. I was desperate for my soul to be healed and a change. I feel right where I belong.

This series is powerful. It is for mature audiences, and Steven is not afraid to make you uncomfortable. This message gravely need to be said. He is preaching from 1st Corinthians; a chapter sometimes churches glide over because of the content. If you are single, married, or in relationship, you will benefit tremendously from this sermon. Watch it online here. 

After church, I went home and took a nap and did some writing for "Pretty, Lies". I then decided I needed to get out and get some fresh air. I did not feel like training so I went to the movies to see "If I Stay". I had a free ticket so I thought it would be a good movie to use it on. I have not read the book "If I Stay" but I have been seeing the preview for the movie so long that it looked intrigued me to go see it. My verdict? Disappointed is an understatement. I like the idea of the movie and the story is good; but the execution of the movie was awful. It was so boring. I could not wait for it to be over. To me, it lacked so many things. The only part I was "touched" at was when the grandfather was beside of Mia's hospital bed when she was unconscious. I am glad I did not pay to see it, and if you want to watch it, wait for Redbox.

After the movies I ran some errands then once I was home, I vegged out watching the VMA's and the series finale of "True Blood". I can't talk about "True Blood" right now because I am so heartbroken. I am just trying to pretend this isn't real. My heart cannot deal with this showing ending. It is my favorite show of all time and there was so much more that needed to happen before the network pulled the show.

Today, I enjoyed my last Monday off for summer hours. It is back to a normal 5 day work week next week. Oh wait, no it isn't because of Labor Day! Whoo hoo! I slept in, and felt back to normal. I went to the gym for cardio and an upper body weight circuit. After I went the bank and grocery store, then came back and prepped all of my food for the week and scrubbed my apartment from top to bottom.

Now I am fresh out of the shower, have the windows open because it such a beautiful evening, and candles burning. Throwing myself into catching up on blogs, get a chapter done in my book, and a turkey meatloaf going in the oven. 

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Weekend Recap: Blissful for No Reason

This weekend was simply wonderful. However, there was nothing magnificent that happened... and I did my own thing mostly; but I really, really enjoyed myself. 

Friday I worked a half day then took off to Greensboro, NC to take care of my grandmother who is recovering from a brutal neck surgery. My Papa is still recovering from a double leg break in March, and even though he is a LOT better, they still needed help around the house. They are my anchors, so I take advantage of any excuse to go to stay with them. 

When I arrived to Greensboro, I ran a couple of errands for my grandmother; picked up medicines and a neck pad, picked up her favorite magazine "Marie Claire", and a couple of Redbox movies. I wanted to do anything to try and lift her spirits. She is super active just like I am, so being down was not fun for her. 

Once I arrived to their house, I cleaned up and some organizing. Then my Papa and I made steaks vegetables on the grill. We always grill out when I come up, it's one of my favorite things to do with them. 

I must have been more tired than I thought; because after dinner, I spent time with my grandma then I was asleep by 10 PM. That is unheard of for me on the weekends. 

Saturday morning I was up really early getting the rest of the cleaning done. As I was about to leave to drive back to Charlotte, my grandma called me into her bedroom and surprised me with the cutest new purse. She said she saw it at DSW before her surgery and thought I would love it. She knows me so well; black and white purses are my favorite!

I arrived back to Charlotte around 1 PM. I was so fatigued from the long drive and waking up early to clean, that I did not feel like working out. I decided to do laundry and clean my apartment instead. 

Once I got that out of the way, I had a burst of energy. However, I did not want to go out to dinner or drinking, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I realized that I had a ton of errands I needed to get out of the way, and decided to take a shower and get ready, and make an evening of it.

Little did I know just how fun an evening of running errands could be, ha.

My first stop was Starbucks. I was craving my favorite blackberry tea. When I drove up to the window, the Barista was being so flirty -- I don't know even if he was 18 yet! I then went to pay for my drink, but he handed my debit card back to me and told me it was on the house. I never get hit on, so I thought it was super cute. I will be a cougar in no time!

After Starbucks I ran by Kohls and PetSmart. Then I picked up a sweet treat at my favorite cupcake place in the world; SAS. Look at all of the options they have! I chose the Neapolitan one. It was really good, but too much icing. I am opposite from a lot of people: my favorite part of a cupcake is the bread. Icing makes me nauseous. 

After I picked up my treat, I went to Target then Ulta. "Sexy Hair" products were on sale for buy 1 get 1 free, I had a coupon for a free Calvin Klein mascara, and then another coupon for $3.50 off my total purchase. Yep, just being a diva on a budget. 

As I walk up to the check out counter, I noticed one of my old co-workers from Urban Active Fitness was working at the register. When it was my turn, I was walked up to him and said "Hey stranger!". He blankly stared at me for a second, then realized who I was. He did not even recognize me because he said I looked so different. I have not seen him in a LONG time and he could not believe how much weight I have lost. It was one of the best feelings in the world. He then me gave me all kinds of free samples with my purchase. My night was officially made.

After I left Ulta, I ran into the grocery store. As I was walking out, a man rolled down the window in his jeep and complimented my wedge heels. I could not believe what all was happening, but damn it was great! At that point, I wished I had more errands to run so hopefully this positivity would keep coming, ha! But it was late and I was tired, so I went home. 

Sunday I was well rested and ready to hike. I took off to the mountains and had 10 miles on my agenda. It was very hot, but I like it that way. I like sweating out toxins and water weight. I felt "hulk" like strength when I started, and power walked almost the entire time. I was even making better time than when I interval train with jogging. However, the last quarter mile leading up the mountain started to kick my butt. I was hurting bad. Then after that quarter mile, I had another quarter mile of 350 steps that lead to the very top. I thought I was going to die at this point; my side was hurting and my heart was beating out of my chest. I did not stop, I put one foot in front of the other, and I made it!

Once I finished my hike, I drove home so I could clean up and get ready for church. It was part 5 and the last week of the series #DeathToSelfie. As usual, it was food for soul. I think this sermon was probably the one I needed most. The topic was about something I always try to live by: turning pain into strength, sorrow into happiness. You can call something like it is... but how easy is that? Call it what you want it to be and make it change. 

After church, I excitedly drove to the movies to see "The Giver". I am so happy this book was turned into a movie. To make it even better, I gained enough points for a free movie ticket! "The Giver" was a wonderful movie; but it needed to be a lot longer than it was. There were so many details left out, and it felt kind of rushed. I did learn though, that they are making more of them, so it should workout. It is definitely worth seeing though. The message in it is beautiful. 

Today is my last Monday off for "summer hours". I have thoroughly enjoyed my 3-day weekends. I slept in, food prepped, lifted weights, and now it's time catch up on blogs and get some writing done. 

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Weekend Recap: Ghosts, Tipsy Painting, and a Blog Makeover!

Happy Monday! What a great weekend.

Friday after work, I went to the gym per usual. As I wrote on Friday, after being off of my normal schedule, traveling, and my birthday, I was off of my game. I gained 2 pounds (sigh) and I was not feeling my workouts. When this happens, what I usually have to do, is push myself harder than before, and get that one amazing workout to bring me back to myself. I did just that Friday evening. I pushed through 30 minutes on the StairMill, an upper body weight circuit, then 20 minutes of high intensity interval training on the elliptical. 

After the gym, I went home to eat dinner, and shower, and get ready. I then went uptown to do a ghost tour. I was so excited for this because I love studying and learning about the paranormal. We met the tour guide in a graveyard by a historical church to start the tour. From there we walked through different parts of uptown and learned about the history of some of Charlotte's oldest buildings and the haunted stories that come along with them.

Overall, I was quite disappointed in the tour. Uptown was a little chaotic due to the Panther pre-season game which made hearing the tour guide difficult because she did not have a microphone or anything to enhance her voice. Additionally, we did not go into any of the "haunted" buildings. It felt more like a history tour than actual ghost tour as well. I enjoyed walking through uptown though. The tour lasted two hours so it was great exercise. I snapped a few pictures as well. Suffice to say that I had a decent time.  

Saturday, I woke up so, so sore. I was fatigued the entire day and could not "wake up". Plus it was rainy and gloomy thus Marty and I enjoyed quiet time at home. I got some good writing time in. I kind of just hung around my apartment and did whatever I wanted. That was so nice because usually I am rushed and have a ton of errands to do.

Later in the afternoon, I managed to shower and get myself presentable for an evening out. I was able to use my beloved hot rollers for the first time in quite some time. Ever since my big hair cut back in June, I have not been able to use my hot rollers without looking like Shirley Temple's hot mess older sister.

Once I was ready, I went by Trader Joe's to pick up my favorite bottle of wine for Cajun Canvas; a BYOB painting studio. 

I then scooped up my girlfriend Alexis and we took off for an early dinner at a local hole-in-the-wall bar and grill called "The Comet Grill". I bought an Amazon Local deal to try them out, and not to my surprise, it was really, really good! Most places like that are. I will definitely be going back.

After dinner Lex and I went to a painting studio to create a masterpiece. I have not done this in a long time, but I enjoy it immensely. I ended up not drinking much because I was getting so into my painting. I get really self-competitive doing things like this since I never paint. I am not good at it, but damn it, I want to be. So I threw "having fun and taking it easy" out the window and was so into concentrating and doing a good job. Meanwhile, Lex was getting bombed on Sangria and creating an artistic masterpiece per usual. She has amazing taste and style and dubbed her painting "Tim Burton" style; I loved it!

Sunday was another gloomy day, but I made the best of it I slept in, cleaned up, had a successful plyometric "Hot Mess Express" workout at home, and did some writing. Then it was time to get ready and go to church for another week of #DeathToSelfie. This week was all about Breaking Free. My soul desperately needed to hear it, too. There is a lot I am working on breaking free from. Though I am at work in progress, I feel very strong.

After church, I went to the movies to see "Into the Storm". I love a good crazy weather movie. Twister, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012 are among my favorites. The cashier let me get the little kids pack and I was ready to go. When I go to the movies and want popcorn as my treat, I usually get the kids combination. It is just enough popcorn to satisfy a craving, plus you get fruit gummies, and who doesn't love those? The movie was OK. It could have been better with more action and a stronger story line, but I enjoyed the effects of the tornado and weather scenes - that part was very, very cool.

Today is another gloomy day in Charlotte, but at least I am off of work! I am spending the day writing, cleaning, food prep, gym at 2, then Kels is coming over for dinner and much needed girl time.

Let's make it a great week!

PS: My blog has been made over! What do you think? I want to give a huge thank you Leslie at Sweetie Baby's Designs. She has a great portfolio, is extremely prompt (I am so impatient especially when I am excited as hell about something, so she is a Godsend), and delivers top knotch quality and pricing. 

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A Long Weekend Recap with Friends and Family

Tomorrow I go back to work after 5 wonderful days off. I took time off for my birthday. I was feeling a bit more tired than usual from long hours and different events going off at work. I spent half of the time back home visiting with friends and family, then the other half back at home. 

I stayed at my grandparent's Wednesday and Thursday night. I normally sleep like a baby there, but not this time. I tossed and turned all night so I slept in a bit late on Friday morning. It was raining hard and it was very gloomy. I felt fatigued all day. I pushed myself to go to my old work and former gym; The Rush (it was recently purchased by Gold's Gym; bittersweet). I managed to get in a quick workout then drove to Reidsville to visit my mom. She had just arrived home from receiving her first MS infusion treatment. It has been many months since she had one because of her insurance changes. The medication is $6,000 a MONTH and we could not afford it. However, a nonprofit organization has been working with her and she can now receive them. Her health has really been declining lately so she needed the treatments more than ever. 

When I arrived at my brother's house to see her, we both cried a few tears of joy. I then decided we need to go to lunch to celebrate. We went to a place called "The Heffinger". The town I grew up in, Reidsville, is a tiny, southern, farm town with basically nothing at all to do. I was so pleased to see a place like "The Heffinger" had opened. It is a very fun restaurant/bar/pub. They have trivia on Wednesday's, Karaoke on Friday's, and a special room for live bands. Reidsville definitely needs something like that so I hope the bar can make it and last. Our lunch food was delicious and we had a "Sex on the Beach" as mama's celebratory drink. If the menu had a little more variety to it, our experience would have been perfect.

After lunch, mama's pain and fatigue from her treatment was starting to set in, so we went back to my brother's for the remainder of the gloomy afternoon so mom could rest. I redesigned my blog a bit (do you like my new header?) and caught up on emails, then took a shower and got ready. Once my brother arrived home from work I spent time with him. 

At 7, I went back to "The Heffinger" to meet one of my best friends Anna for dinner. I enjoyed it at lunch though I did not really eat, so I wanted to go back and get a good dinner, plus it's Anna's favorite restaurant. Unfortunately our experience did not go as planned. The restaurant was barely halfway full and it took us 45 minutes to receive our food. We both had small dinners order and by the time we received them, they were cold and did not taste good. We smiled for a picture, then bailed on our dinner.

Since our dinner was a bit of a bust, we drove to Eden (where Anna lives) to go get frozen yogurt. That is always an acceptable option to go for if your dinner isn't great! It definitely hit the spot. We were good to go after that.

I went to Anna's after to stay with her and her husband (and my good friend) Mike. She and I have had 15 years of sleepover's and they still continue. Since it was still raining, we decided to find a new show on Netflix to binge watch (our tradition). The two choices were "Scandal" or "Orange is The New Black". By popular vote on my Instagram, "Orange is the New Black" won. Ha! The opening scene had boobies everywhere so we instantly knew we were going to love the show. It really is great, too. I am on episode 4 of season 1 and I can't wait to see what keeps happening.

Friday night at Anna's was another rough night of sleep for me (see the pattern here) so I was up early Saturday and took off to my dad's. When I got to dad's, he and my step-mom informed that his cancer has now spread to his liver and lungs. They are small tumors, but nonetheless, that is not good. If you could please pray for him-- for strength and hope, I would really appreciate it. After spending a little time with my dad, but my step-mom and I left to spend the day together. We went to the eye-doctor for me and I am steadily getting as blind as a bat. I was given a new brand of contacts and my vision seems so much more crisp and clear now, which is great. After the eye doctor we went to Greensboro so Diane could pick up her new glasses and did a little shopping. We had the most delicious lunch at a placed called Tripp's then went back home so I could spend a little more time with dad. I left to go back to Charlotte around 4 and when I finally arrived home, I was exhausted. I had so much unpacking and cleaning to do, but could not make myself do any of it. I spent the evening on the couch.

I got a good night of sleep on Saturday, but was up a bit early on Sunday due to Marty getting sick. He had a bad hairball and threw up on the bed. In a momentary lapse of judgement on my part, I threw my comforter in the washing machine to try and clean it. You can only guess how that ended! It was not good and my comforter was ripped with pieces everywhere. I decided to take off to Anna's Linen's to see if I could find a new comforter, and luckily I did! I have to say, I always love shopping at Anna's Linen's. They make being a "diva on a budget" fun, fabulous, and affordable. I was able to get a 7-piece comforter set for $45. I absolutely love it!

After putting together my fabulous new bed set (along with my little helper), I went to the gym for cardio and an upper body weight ciruct, then came back, took a shower, and got ready for church. It was week number 3 of #DeathToSelfie and as usual, another amazing service. It was a good message about enjoying where you are now -- being content but never complacent. I need to learn to do that more. I focus so hard on what my life could be, all of the things I am working so hard for, and accomplishing my dreams, that I sometimes forget to appreciate NOW and living in the moment. This is something I am vowing to workout on after what I went through recently.

Once church was over, I met my girlfriend Alexis at "Tony Sacco's" for dinner. She treated me for my birthday, which made me feel super special. We each made our own personal pizza. Mine was delicious; I had it with spinach, mushrooms, and Gorgonzola cheese. We then had Tony Sacco's homemade fruit shortcake. It was different and one of the best desserts I have had in a long time!

After dinner I went to see the new Marvel movie, "Guardians of the Galaxy". Initially I was only going to see that movie due my loyalty and love for Marvel comics (huge nerd here, I openly admit it). But upon reading reviews and comments, people seemed to really, really enjoy the movie. It has a very high rating on Fandango as well. I was then excited to see it. I thought it was very good. It had some hilarious parts in it and the cast meshed well together. I really liked the message about the characters being "outcasts" or different. It was not my favorite and it does not compare at all to X-Men or Avengers, but it is definitely worth a watch.

Today has been a really mellow day as I prepare to go back to work tomorrow, which is going to be brutal. I slept late, went to the gym, grocery shopped, cleaned, and prepped food for the week. I am ready to be back on my grind 100% with clean eating and my training regimen. I have had an unusual couple of weeks with working overtime, lots off-site meetings/dinners, and then travelling for my birthday. But now I am back and do not have to go out of town again until the weekend after next, so it's time to focus and drop some fat-- 25 more pounds to go so I need to stay dedicated and push through!

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Pre-Birthday Weekend Fun with Mom

Mom and I had a lot of fun planned for the weekend. Unfortunately, her Multiple Sclerosis had other plans. I really, really want to complain and tell you how this disease ruins everything, all of the time, for fun things I want to do with my mom. It has been this way 9 years now. Not to mention seeing someone you love so deeply in constant pain. I am not going to do that though, it will not solve anything, and at the end of the day, I am thankful my mom is alive and was able to drive down and stay. At least she is staying an extra couple of days since she can't drive home right now. Silver lining, right?

We went out Thursday evening and had a good time. I was off Friday so we slept late; until 10 AM. Mom woke up and not feeling well so she took her medicine and spent the day vegging on the couch. I went hiking. It was a beautiful, warm day, but the hike was hard. I felt more tired than usual after the long week. Though it was difficult, I pushed to the top. As always, it was worth it!

When I got back from hiking, I was pretty tired and looking forward to just relaxing. However, mama was itching to get out of the apartment. I had been wanting to buy a new bag/backpack to use for hiking since the one I had was crappy and bounced off my butt a lot when I hiked (which is so annoying) so we went to the mall. I found one I loved and a Marvel one at that. My inner comic nerd was elated so I had to have it.

We then picked up a pizza for dinner and a couple of Redbox movies. "Single Mom's Club"; boring, I stopped watching after 45 minutes, but mom liked it. We did not watch "Jack Ryan", which was the one I really wanted to see.

Saturday, we slept really late. Mom had a tough time throughout the night. We finally were up and moving around noon and I decided to take her across the street to this really delicious breakfast restaurant. One can eat brunch at noon, right? Ha. I was craving pancakes something fierce. We needed to go out to get mom medicine anyway. When we get to the restaurant, I find out it is closed down. My luck, right? That's the thing about Charlotte, or any big city sometimes, it is hard to have a favorite restaurant because so many businesses come and go. Since breakfast is served all day at IHOP, we ended up there. The pancakes were really good, but nothing like the restaurant that was across the street from my apartment. 

From consuming that amount of carbohydrates for breakfast/lunch, I was really tired after; super full and super tired. We picked up mom's medicine then went back to the apartment. I worked on my book for a couple of hours then went to the gym for 40 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit. Again, it was not the best workout. The gym was too cold - I hate working out and "cold sweating", I hated all of my music, and it was all I could do to push through, but I did. I was over it.

I came back to the apartment, showered, and got decent. I put on my new outfit that we bought Thursday. I am no fashionita and I openly admit it. My style is faded torn jeans and a tank top. 

Once I was ready, I went to go run a few errands and pick mom up her favorite Chinese dinner. A "Big Bang Theory" marathon was on and she had her favorite dinner brought to her; she may be sick, but that can help anyone, right? I made myself my favorite green smoothie to detox a little: fresh orange juice, kale, spinach, chia and flax seeds, pineapple, mango, and a green apple.

Then I went and met my girlfriend Alexis and her husband Daniel at the movies to see "Lucy". I have been waiting a while for this movie to come out and it was freaking awesome. I don't know how else to explain it. It was brilliant. It makes you think a lot about how we got here and the power of the human mind.... and how little we know about everything. If you have the chance, go see it! Oh and I scored a free drink. I love my Regal card. 

Yesterday I decided to go hiking again. It was a non-lifting day at the gym and I love to workout outside when I have the chance. Back to the mountains I went. It started off as a hard hike. I have been out of it these past couple of days, I admit it. I was bloated, tired, and the weather was so humid and sticky, I couldn't breathe -- we had a big storm earlier in the morning. I debated on turning around many times. The thought of climbing to the top made me cringe. I did not turn around though. I made it to the top and it felt amazing. When I was coming down, I felt energized so I jogged most of the way. Not down the big part of the mountain because I would have killed my knees and fell on my face, but the parts that it was a little more even. I was soaked when I finished and felt really accomplished. 

I went home to clean up after and get ready for church. It was the start of "Love Week" and there was a lot of volunteer things going on it. It was also week two of the #DeathToSelfie series. And I have to say, it was one of Steven's most moving services yet. He never ceases to amaze me.

Once church was over, I picked up my mom and she and I went to this really cool restaurant called "Char Bar No. 7". I have driven past it a lot over the years but had never actually dined there. The atmosphere was awesome with live music, an outdoor lounge, and though it was typical "bar food", the menu had a good variety and it was delicious! I had a really good strawberry and mint cocktail. They are just more fun out of a mason jar.

After dinner, we went back to my apartment so I could rest and get ready for the work week. I am thankful it is only 3 days for me. I am ready for a 5 day break! 

Linking up today!

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