The Hump Day Blog Hop!

Happy Hump Day everyone! We are halfway through the week and the hump day camel is too freaking cool, so lets have some fun and a blog hop to celebrate.

This is a little different than a link up. To participate, simply add your blog link. There is no required entry or anything like that. This is about networking, making new friends, and finding new blogs.

All I ask:

1) "The Hump Day" blog hop button button be displayed anywhere on your blog page or a specific entry with a link back to me or the weekly co-host. (Please do this. These blog hops take a lot of work and preparation.)

2) You don't have to follow me, but in the words of Blake Shelton: it'd sure be cool if ya did.

3) Mingle with your fellow Bloggers.

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<a href="http://www.fitnessblondie.blogspot.com" title="The Hump Day Blog Hop"><img src="http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a593/fitnessblondiel/humpday_zps418f63f6.jpg" alt="The Hump Day Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Weekend Recap (Did you miss me?)

It has been quite the ghost town for the past week on Fitness Blondie, huh? Well, I had good reason. Initially I was going to take some time off to work on my book. I have been posting 7 times a week, which is great, but I felt like each post was not getting the proper time and exposure it needed, plus it was super time consuming. My creative levels were high though, so I went with it. However, I wanted to dive back into my book to finish a few more chapters. I planned to focus on that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. 

Unfortunately, that did not happen. I worked 10-12 hour days last week with "end of the month" accounting going on, lots of problems with that, planning my third quarter "town hall" event, and meetings upon meetings. It was all I could go to work then go to the gym. It happens, I guess. 

Friday morning I was wore slam out. It was 95 degrees by 9 AM, sun was blazing, and I had a ton of errands to run for the event. I got the food from a local membership club, loaded everything, drove to the office, then had to go to a cornhole board since we were one short for our "company tournament", pick up tea from Panera, get sodas from a local grocer, rush back to the park, unload everything, leave to go get ice, then finally come back and help setup then cleanup. I was sweating profusely, felt dead tired, but it was so awesome to see everyone having such an amazing time. I truly love planning all of our events and all of the hard work and chaos that comes with it. Seeing happy people makes it all worth it.

I do not know how, but after work, I managed to go to the gym for leg day. I pushed through 35 minutes of cardio and heavy leg training

. 

After the gym, I went home to shower and get ready, then I met my girlfriend Alexis for a cocktail and chocolate fondue at none other then "The Melting Pot". A drink never tasted so good after a week like that.

After our drink and dessert, we went to a "luxury" movie theater to see "As Above, So Below". I am a horror junkie and was stoked to see the movie. The theater was very cool as well. The seats were spread out and very comfortable; I loved all of the cushion. The movie was great too; I was surprised by the good story line, it was intriguing, interesting, weird, and scary. Also, the ending was great.

Saturday I was dragging. I felt like crap. At 11 I finally drug myself out of bed, threw on a pair of jeans, picked up a smoothie at Smoothie King (with extra caffeine), then took off to Greensboro to spend the night with my grandma and grandpa. 

I brought my laptop to my grandparents in hopes of getting some work done, but guess what? That did not happen. For literally 5-6 hours, my grandmother and I sat in the sunroom chatting. It is such a blessing to be so close with them. The view was beautiful too.

In true grandparent weekend fashion, my papa fired up the grill and I had the best NY Strip a girl could ask for and a salad. That is my idea of a perfect meal.

My grandmother and I spent the rest of the evening watching the Brittany Murphy movie and special on Lifetime, and I was actually in bed pretty early.

Yesterday I slept in then hit the road back to Charlotte. I had a ton of errands to run. I had to go to the grocery store, Pet Smart, and Target. I also treated myself to a "Wheatgrass Shot". Drinking it tastes like death, but the benefits are killer.

My last stop was picking out new clothes for work at New York and Company. They were having a killer sale, plus I had a coupon. Buy 1 get 1 half off and a $70 off $150 or more coupon. You can't beat that. I found a lot of classy and gorgeous items.

When I finally arrived home, I spent hours and hours cleaning up and food prepping. Around 8 PM I sat down to call it night. I'm still a little tired this morning, but ready to make it a great week!

The Hump Day Blog Hop!

Happy Hump Day everyone! We are halfway through the week and the hump day camel is too freaking cool, so lets have some fun and a blog hop to celebrate.

This is a little different than a link up. To participate, simply add your blog link. There is no required entry or anything like that. This is about networking, making new friends, and finding new blogs.

All I ask:

1) "The Hump Day" blog hop button button be displayed anywhere on your blog page or a specific entry with a link back to me or the weekly co-host. (Please do this. These blog hops take a lot of work and preparation.)

2) You don't have to follow me, but in the words of Blake Shelton: it'd sure be cool if ya did.

3) Please follow the co-host. I love helping and promoting these amazing women in the blog world! I do this to not only meet new people, but help my friends make new friends and readers.

4) Mingle with your fellow Bloggers.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.fitnessblondie.blogspot.com" title="The Hump Day Blog Hop"><img src="http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a593/fitnessblondiel/humpday_zps418f63f6.jpg" alt="The Hump Day Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Today the #BeFearless Project is my co-host!

How do you live fearlessly? What have you overcome that has made you into the person that you are today?

I want my blog to always be a source of hope and inspiration for everyone. Whatever you are going through in life, your battle does not have to be fought alone. 

Click here for a list of #BeFearless stories. Add yours today!

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.