Hi, my friends! How are you? This wasn’t the best week over here, but I’ll report more on that soon. No matter what, I always have some faves to share with you to keep it light. So let’s do it …

Current faves

Fun

Visiting Carowinds theme park

Last weekend, we took Brady out for his first amusement park experience at Carowinds, a big theme park on the border of North and South Carolina just a few minutes from us. This was his big birthday present from us. And even though we weren’t exactly sure what to expect, we ended up having an awesome time.

Because I was born and raised in Florida and worked at Disney two times, I have high standards for theme parks (which are maybe a little unrealistic, because nothing compares to Disney). Carowinds is definitely not Disney quality, but it’s still a decent theme park with a lot to see. There were a ton of rollercoasters (with 2+ hour waits on a Saturday), but we didn’t do any of those. There were some restaurants, games and even in-park entertainment.

The first thing we did at Carowinds was go to the special Monster Jam feature that’s going on through October, and Brady got to sit in a real-live monster truck, which he thought was the coolest. You could wait in line to ride in a real monster truck, but we didn’t do that. We tried to keep our waiting-in-line times to a minimum. And Brady was just as happy to play with the toy monster trucks they had out on a track, as any little boy would be.

(My sunglasses, sneakers and biker shorts.)

After the Monster Jam, we spent most of our time in one area. There is a children’s area at Carowinds called Camp Snoopy, so we took Brady there, and he rode three kiddie rides. The rides were short and just perfect for him — not too scary and not too overwhelming. He loved the rides and actually did okay with the 20 to 30 minute waits for them.

Funny thing though: I went on one of the rides with him, and it made me feel sick to my stomach, but he didn’t seem to share that feeling hahaha! I really can’t handle those circular multi-motion rides like I used to. And I don’t plan to try again.

It was a busy Saturday at the theme park, and it was hot in the sun, but not scorching, so it wasn’t miserable. But because there’s literally no shade cover, I kept thinking how awful it would be to go on a super-hot day. Yuck! 

While there, we had lunch at a barbecue restaurant that was pretty mediocre (okay, it was gross), but I guess that’s to be expected. There really weren’t that many places to eat, and the options were definitely not healthy. I brought some snacks, but would bring more food in the future for sure, to hopefully get us through the day so we wouldn’t have to spend $50 on an unsatisfying meal.

I think we mostly did all we could with Brady at his current age/height, and it felt like we made the most out of 3.5 hours there. He was super into it, and I loved seeing that, so the rest of the stuff didn’t matter.

We will definitely take him back one day. And because this was his first theme park experience, I will report that he did really well. He mostly listened to us, and he only complained a little bit when it was time to go home. I think he’s ready for a big Disney trip, but now I just have to convince Dave. 🙂 

Beauty

Three things worth mentioning in the clean beauty world

Beautycounter is offering FREE shipping for all orders over $50 the month of October. If you’ve been wanting to order, it’s a great time to do it. And if you’re a first-time client, reach out to me, and I can share a discount code with you. Head here to look around.

Beautycounter’s limited-edition holiday sets launched this week and are officially available. I ordered all of them and will share more about them soon. Head here to check out the sets.

My Beautycounter friends and I are hosting another virtual hang-out, this time it’s a “Trick or Treat” theme, and it’s taking place on Thursday, October 21 at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. If you’d like to come as my guest, get to hang out over Zoom with some awesome ladies, learn about clean beauty, have a chance to win giveaways and more, please send me an email or DM to RSVP.

Workouts

Weekly workouts 

This part needs a bit of a disclaimer.

This section of the post is where I share all the workouts I did the previous week. I want to remind you that I do more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor, and it’s part of my job. 

Your personal workout week should work with your lifestyle, be diverse and leave you feeling energized. It doesn’t need to look like mine or anyone else’s. It’s yours.

And in order to stay injury free, you should pay attention to the gear you use during your workout. Are you wearing the right shoes? Check out this post to find out … “How to choose the right athletic shoe for your workouts.”

• Monday: Taught 1-hour full-body barbell workout at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Wednesday: 30-minute cycle at home on Peloton, 5 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 45-minute weights/cardio class at Life Time, 10 a.m.
• Friday: Taught 45-minute full-body barbell workout at Life Time, 9:45 a.m.
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: Practiced barre at home for 1 hour, 10 a.m.

This past week of workouts was a good one. I taught four classes, did a solo cycle session at home and spent a lot of time practicing and creating a whole new one-hour barre workout. And I even took a full rest day too. 

Promo codes

A Lady Goes West favorite products

There are certain brands that I swear by in my own life, and so I like to share them with you. If you choose to try them too, and if you use my links or promo codes, you will be supporting me. Thanks for that!

• Carbon38. I’m always wearing stuff from here, and it’s the coolest activewear around. Get 15 percent off your first two orders of $100 or more using the code ASHLEYPITT. 
• G2G protein bars. I love these tasty and minimal-ingredient protein bars. You can get 15 percent off your order on the G2G Bar site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Organifi supplements. This is my go-to protein powder brand. You can get 15 percent off your order on the Organifi site with the code ALADYGOESWEST.
• Beautycounter. The best safe skincare and makeup. Send me a message, and I’ll share a 20 percent off code for your very first order.
• Les Mills On Demand workouts. My favorite fitness brand. You can do a whole month of workouts during a free 30-day trial by using my special referral link here.

Best reads

A couple of good ones from around the web 

• Causes of stress. This is a detailed and helpful article identifying five different types of stress you could be under and how to better manage it in order to feel a bit lighter during the day. And yes, information overwhelm can absolutely stress you out.
• Fall pizza. Homemade pizza lovers, this sounds like the most interesting fall flavor profile for a pie, including apples and sweet potatoes on pizza. Yummy! Maybe I’ll ask Dave (our resident pizza-maker) to give a whirl for us one day soon.
• Another entertaining podcast. I keep recommending episodes of “The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast” because it’s the one I listen to the most often, and it’s usually so entertaining. This particular episode is an interview with Perez Hilton, the famed celebrity gossip website creator who was super-popular (and hated) several years ago. In this episode, he talks about all the celebrities he had good and bad relationships with and how he’s changed (and the influencer space) has changed over the years. Not at all related to health and wellness, but still a good escape, which we all need some times.

Here’s the thought of the week …

A Lady Goes West favorite archives 

• Brady. This post is all about Brady’s sleep, eating habits, schedule, development and more … “Brady’s 4-year update.”

• Skincare. In case you’re interested in making the switch to clean beauty … “Must-have Beautycounter products and how to get started with Beautycounter.”

Thank you for coming by A Lady Goes West, my friends! 

Questions of the day

How was your week?

What are you up to this weekend?