Another weekend has come and gone. I feel like I just typed my last weekend shenanigans post yesterday. Not quite sure how that happens. I have noticed that blog land has been particularly quiet these last few weeks. I guess everyone is trying to get as much summering in as they can.

Friday – When you live in a small town, you tend to cling to the local restaurants for some help on nights you don’t feel like cooking but don’t feel like eating out either. Chris and I ordered Landmark BBQ for take out, and the place was packed! If you can believe it, that little shack below had about 15 cars parked out front. Crazy!

I ordered the pulled chicken plate with smoked beans and potato salad. Yum!

Saturday – I had an appointment first thing Saturday morning to get my hair cut and highlighted. Finally. I haven’t been since like March. I told Kerri to take off as much as she needed to make it healthy again. She also added more of the deep dark red highlights this time than she did last time. I was super excited for something new and different. She also makes me want to purchase a curling iron, I liked how she styled it.

After my hair appointment, I came back home and Chris and I had lunch and watched a few episodes of The Good Wife. We then decided to head out for a little while. We headed downtown and looked around at What’s on Second, checked out Bargain Hunt…then headed to The Summit to see what Michael Kors had. (My birthday is coming up soon!) I didn’t really see anything at Michael Kors, surprisingly. I feel the department stores have a better selection that the actual store. Crazy, right? We also walked around Saks to see if they had anything, but I wasn’t sold.

We stopped for an early dinner at Village Tavern. We just ordered the crab dip and chatted. They have the best crab dip!

Then we headed to Trussville and checked out Best Buy and did our grocery shopping while we were out. Groceries are expensive!!!

Sunday – We made breakfast Sunday morning.

And basically spent the rest of the day looking like this while watching The Good Wife and the Carbonaro Effect:

I also painted my nails with the summer block party set.

I hope everyone has a great week!!!!

It’s finally Friday up in here. Has this been the longest week or what?! And to contradict myself, how is it August already? Seriously?!

Favorite Song: Candlebox Far Behind – I have been sharing a lot of rock and alternative lately. I think I am tired of all the top 40 shit that is out right now. I have really been enjoying this song all over again!

Favorite Product: L’Oreal Infallible Eyeliner – I have been using this eyeliner for a few months now and I love it! It is one of the only eyeliners I can find that doesn’t smudge or run during the day. It also doesn’t smear up into the crease of my eye either. It has a great rubber smudger on the top if you want a softer look. It works great. For Around $8 to $9 this is a great drugstore find! I will be repurchasing for sure!

Favorite Snack: YoCrunch Oreos and Snickers yogurts. Looks, I sub my sour cream for greek yogurt…but gosh darn it sometimes I just want to have some fun in my breakfast. This one gives me that. I pretend I am eating a blizzard from DQ instead. It is wonderful. WONDERFUL.

Favorite Recipe: I made this chicken skillet enchilada Wednesday night for dinner and it was delicious!

Favorite Funnies:

I still sort of want a teacup pig to join our furkids one day. SO cute!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!! Be sure to link up with Amanda for your favorites!

As you are probably well aware, I have been following along to the Body Beast program over the past few months thanks to a suggestion from Kathy. There were three different phases, and I just completed the very last phase yesterday! I stuck through the entire program, not skipping a single work out. I did take a few days off to go to the beach, but I made those work outs up when I came back.

Today, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the program. I did not take measurements when I started. Blogger fail, I know. I did weigh myself, and unfortunately, I have not lost a single pound during the entire program. I did, however, gain a shit ton of muscle! I needed to tone up every where. I was unhappy with literally every single part of my body before starting Body Beast. Now? My arms, legs, back, and shoulders are all more muscular and toned. I actually have a lot of definition in my upper back, and I have some guns to carry around for sure! My legs have gotten a lot tighter, and starting to show signs of the wonderful, toned legs that they once were.

I am happy with my results, as I knew going into the program that it was focused on muscle and strength. It did make me realize that the only way to blast belly fat for me, is to do more cardio. I followed the lean phase and there was only one (sometimes two) cardio days each week. The cardio routine that Sagi does has you lifting weights and resting still, and I quickly realized that I needed a different cardio exercise. I usually subbed in a T-25 cardio work out on those days.

The trainer is Sagi:

Also, you get to look at guys like Nick while you lift:

So there is that…Also, I really like the bro talk back and forth. I would rather listen to that than Jillian tell me that she has 400 lb people doing jumping jacks so I can too. That shit is not motivation, Jillian.

Now that I am done with the program, I really want to focus on blasting some more fat, and really hone in on my stomach. It is the only area that didn’t get enough results with Body Beast. I am so impressed with every other part of my body after completing the program though, that I will continue to sub in the body beast work outs along with my next phase in my journey. I want to keep the muscle I built. I am a freaking beast now. I can lift way more than I could when I started. The endurance has shown in other aspects of my life. For example, I can cut our grass with no problems. (A big deal seeing as how we have a push mower and our entire yard is on a slope.)  I can lift a 25 lb of dog food and 15 bag of cat litter up our stairs at the same time. And when I flex….I actually have something to show for it.

I learned that I actually enjoy lifting weights. I thought I hated all work outs, but I really just hate cardio DVDs. I hope to eventually purchase an elliptical machine for our home, but until then, I am stuck doing cardio DVDs.

My next journey? Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution. Jillian gets on my damn nerves, but that bitch knows how to widdle my waist in to shape and kick my ass. I am going to go into the program knowing that I am a damn beast and can hang with the the bros. And keep coming back to Sagi and his beast bro talk to keep my muscles fierce.

Have you ever done Body Beast or Body Revolution? Are  you working another program right now?

–I can’t help but laugh at Gracie. We buy the dogs $35 grain free special food because of all Gracie’s allergies and I am finding myself yelling at her every day to stay out of the cat littler box. WTF. I guess it is a good thing Olivia eats grain free too? Gross.

For shame Gracie, for shame!!!!

Gracie’s face when I told her I was going to tell all of blog land her dirty secret.

–Chris discovered that Olivia doesn’t like being chased around the house with a light saber. We, on the other hand, think it is pretty freaking fantastic. Guess what our new favorite game is? She is not amused.

–Upon arriving home on Saturday evening, we discovered that our house was being  held hostage. By a nasty ass fucking spider. Now, I will squash a spider with a shoe, but upon researching what it looked like online real quick with our phones…it turns out it looks an awful lot like a brown recluse. Fuck that noise. We thought we were going to have to go through the front door, grab the animals and move to a new house. Luckily, Chris had an airsoft gun handy and asked me to back the car back out of the garage. He shot that bastard into two pieces. Only then did we feel safe to enter.

The Spider is in the corner of the door frame. This is how a real man kills a poisonous spider, obviously.

— We have been binge watching The Good Wife like it is our freaking job. Every night after work we squeeze in a few episodes, and most of our day Sunday has been spent indulging. I have a feeling we will be caught up with the current season in plenty of time before it starts!

–When I first saw this meme, I couldn’t stop laughing. Probably because it is SO TRUE!

Also, this one:

And now, of course, it is time for some ecard Confessions:

Go link up with two bad ass bitches this Wednesday!

Tattoos. Every person out there has an opinion about them. There are three types of people out there. You either love tattoos, hate them, or don’t ever want one but are indifferent of others who have them.

Some consider it a form of art, others consider it a form of rebellion. Most people that have a tattoo will tell you that theirs is just meaningful for them. Maybe you were going through a hard time and getting your tattoo was some how spiritual or therapeutic for you. Maybe you are a girl that just turned 18 years old, and has parents who have tattoos and you just knew that you always wanted one and always knew exactly what you were going to get. You have  your dad draw it, because you don’t really have anything in common with him, except this appreciation for body art. He is a very talented drawer, and you feel so special that he created a design just for you. Maybe you add two hearts in memory of your Grandpa Carl and Grandma Jerry because they were the two most important people in your life that you lost too soon.

Maybe that 18 year old girl was me. Yes, I have a tattoo.

On August 17th, 2001 (my 18th birthday) just a few days after I started my freshmen year of college, I met my parents at Ink Wizards in McDonough Georgia to see my dad’s tattoo friend for my first tattoo. It was my birthday present from my parents that year. I remember taking the sketch that my dad created and asking Jeremy if he thought it looked good. He asked me where I wanted it, I told him my upper right shoulder blade, and that was it. A few hours later I emerged from the studio, feeling like such a damn bad ass for being able to deal with the needles long enough to get inked. You have no clue how big of a baby I am with needles and pain. I can’t tell you how freeing the experience was for me.

I love my tattoo, and there has never been a day that has gone by that I regretted getting it. I can’t remember who, but someone once asked me if I was going to cover it up for my wedding. Why would I do that? My tattoo is me. It means so much to me, and I got it knowing that if I wore anything barring my shoulders, it would surely show. I was almost insulted being asked that question.

You don’t have to like tattoos. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just feel like you should never judge a person because they have one. I was the “goody goody” in high school. Never one to get in trouble or bring attention to myself. I am more of a shy, reserved person. When people find out I have one, they almost always say “I never thought you would be the type of person to have a tattoo.” What does that even mean? Is there a type?

(Sorry for the horrible quality of this picture, it is incredibly hard to take a picture of your own shoulder blade with an iPhone.)

Truth be told, I really want another one. I have always wanted more than one before I even had my first one. I want one on my inner wrist. I have been working on what to get there for years. I have three ideas, and I think I have finally figured out what “the one” is! Now I just need to track down Jeremy. You see, he has gotten quite popular since I met him back in 2001. He has been on TV shows, won all kinds of national awards, and now has two shops. Karmic Tattoo in his original starting point….McDonough, GA and now one in FL as well.

Do you have, or would you ever get a tattoo?