Hi, friend! How are you doing? 

We had a good first week of July, which featured a holiday right in the middle of it. After being away two weekends in a row, I’m happy to be home in Charlotte this upcoming weekend. We have a lot of fun plans on the agenda, including an adult field-day with friends and my second real tennis match ever. 

This past week, I taught six classes, worked a lot, took Brady to the library and swimming, played tennis a couple times, and of course, celebrated Fourth of July with some good people.

Speaking of tennis, Dave has been playing with me here and there, and he doesn’t take it easy on me, and I like that. We usually let Brady join for the tail-end of our sessions to get some practice too, and it’s been a great family activity …

Let’s get right to the current faves of the day …

Current faves

Fun

Our third Fourth of July in Charlotte

This was such a good Fourth of July! I taught a full LifeBarre class in the morning, and then we took Brady to a movie in the middle of the day (we saw “Elemental” and thought it was cute, but it wasn’t Brady’s favorite). Last year, we did the pool in the afternoon on Fourth of July — after I taught in the morning and before doing our evening activities — but this year, I wanted to do something a little bit more chill in the middle of the day knowing we’d be out late. It was the right choice for sure.

In the early evening, my mom joined us, and we attended our country club’s big Fourth of July festival. They do this festival every year, and it keeps getting better and bigger each year. It’s also more fun each year as we know more and more people, and a lot of our friends were there with us.

We had a tasty BBQ dinner, we sipped on adult beverages, Brady ran around like crazy on the bounce-house slides and various carnival attractions, then we all met on some blankets on the golf course lawn to hang out and get ready for the fireworks after dark. 

(Here’s my dress. I’m in a small. And here are my sunglasses, and here are similar sandals.)

Fourth of July was so incredibly hot this year, and we were all pretty sweaty during the first part of the festival. I mean, I had to go inside to the A/C to do a full-body wipe down at one point. But it was still a great time. Speaking of hot, apparently 7/4/23 was the earth’s hottest day on record? I guess we weren’t the only ones feeling it!

That night, we stayed all the way through the end of the fireworks and didn’t get Brady in bed until 10:15 p.m., which is very late for him. It was well worth it though, so we could all fully enjoy another special holiday with friends and family.

By the way, sometimes I wait until the last minute for things, and that happened recently. I wanted to get Brady a new Fourth of July shirt for this year’s festival. I went to Old Navy over the weekend, and obviously, they were out of everything patriotic. So instead, he wore the same Fourth of July t-shirt he wore to last year’s party, it was just a bit tighter. I’m pretty sure he won’t be getting another wear out of it.

Speaking of festive attire, I was on the ball for the holiday season last year, and think I ordered us matching Christmas jammies by summer, so I should really get on it again. But let’s not start looking ahead that far yet. Let’s enjoy the rest of summer!

Travel

24 awesome hours in the Chicago area with NOW

I still owe you a full report on my trip to Chicago with NOW last week. I was only gone from Charlotte for like 36 hours total with travel, but I did a lot in that time. On this trip, I met some great people from all over the U.S., I learned a lot, I had a hotel room to myself for the first time in forever, and I was inspired to create a lot of content too.

(I’m wearing this perfect plain white tee in a small, and here are my shiny gold shoes. These shoes were a gift from Dave, and they are worthy of a full mention one day soon, because I’ve been loving them.)

I’m working on a detailed recap of my Chicago trip, and that’s coming up on the blog next week, so stay tuned for it.

That’s it for the faves. Let’s get to the movement …

Workouts

My workouts from last week

Now it’s time to take a look at my workouts from last week.

I share this recap to show you how I try to get diversity of movement in my week, and how I always take a rest day (almost always). But remember, I do a little bit more than the average person, because I’m a group fitness instructor, so you don’t need to compare your movement to mine.

Workouts from the week of 6/26

• Monday: Taught 1-hour barbell class, 9:45 a.m., played 90 minutes of tennis, 2 p.m.
• Tuesday: Taught 1-hour barre class with light weights, 9:30 a.m., took 90-minute tennis clinic, 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Taught 45-minute barre class with light weights, 9:30 a.m., taught 45-minute barre class with light weights, 5:30 p.m.
• Thursday: Did 25-minute full-body weights workout, 8:45 a.m. (travel day)
• Friday: Did 50-minute light bodyweight/mobility workout, 7 a.m. (in Chicago)
• Saturday: Played 60 minutes of tennis, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: Did 75-minute full-body weights workout, 8 a.m.

This past week was a little different than normal. While I didn’t have a formal rest day, I had two super-light days, on my travel day and while I was in Chicago for my NOW trip. Other than that, this past week, I taught four classes, played tennis three times and did the best/hardest full-body weights workout I had done in a very long time with a friend. I wasn’t excited to get out the door for an 8 a.m. workout on a Sunday, but my friend, Laura, motivated me to join her, and I’m so glad I did. The gym is pretty empty on a Sunday morning, and we used all the things to get this workout done.

Here’s that hard workout from the fitness floor …

Best listen of the week

Here’s a podcast episode worth sharing with you …

Money matters. I got my nails done this week, and while I was doing so, I listened to this episode of “The Goal Digger Podcast” all about financial matters and money. I feel like I’m pretty good with money, and I think we have a decent handle on our financial situation as a family, but I know I could know more, and I know we could save more. This episode features an interview with a financial educator, and in it, we learn the importance of investing (even very little), knowing where your money is going, and even teaching the next generation to understand their finances too. Maybe budgeting is not the sexiest topic, but I think all women need to be financially literate, you know? You can read the recap and listen to the episode here.

Quote of the week

Here’s a thought worth sharing with you from Tiny Buddha on Instagram …

Blog archives of the week

Let’s look back at two posts worth revisiting …

Women’s health. I hope you had a chance to read this post about women’s health care. If you haven’t yet, head on over … “Five things every woman in her 30s should be doing for her health.”

Wellness habits. I’m still going strong with these habits. Have you ever tried them? … Three super-simple wellness habits to get a better start to your day (and WHY).”

That’s it for today, friend! Thank you for reading A Lady Goes West. Go off and have a wonderful day. Stay hydrated too. 🙂 

Questions of the day for you

How was your week?

Do you have any trips planned for the month of July?

What’s one thing on your bucket list for the rest of the summer?