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.