Monday, June 10, 2013

From the Land of Ma'am: My First Weekend of Freedom!

This weekend was so great, and was just what I needed.  After a string of study-intensive weekends (about 24 of them actually), a weekend free of studying was nothing short of blissful.  Yes, I still miss Minneapolis dearly, but by staying busy I was able to distract myself from those feelings of homesickness.

This weekend was great because...

- I woke up without an alarm and felt completely rested both Saturday and Sunday.  I have struggled with sleep as evidenced by this sleep ap map.  Clearly my sleep quality has really tanked since moving to Charlotte, but hopefully it starts to improve now!



- I had an awesome massage on Saturday morning.  I upgraded to a hot stone massage as the masseuse said it'd be more effective in working out the many knots in my upper back.  I was worried the heat of the stones might be too much for me, but it actually felt great. 

- The music festival I went to was a blast.  It was on a lake and the day was beautiful so we spent a lot of time in the water.  My black bean and corn salsa got lots of compliments and I hit off with the group of people I went with.  There is a talk of some of us doing a girls trip to Savannah in July - I really hope we can make that happen as that is on my bucket list of places to visit while I live in Charlotte.

- I went to the botanical gardens on Sunday afternoon which was a fun place to check out.  I would like to go back in the spring as a lot of the plants/flowers were past their peak season.  I really liked the green house - especially the cactus room!




All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

What was the best part of your weekend?

24 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Yay! I'm so glad you had a great weekend and hit it off with the musical festival people :) I also had a great weekend- it started off so so with a rough ride to the Cape and bad weather and all that, but on Saturday the tri (or dualthon haha) went well and then the weather got nice and I just felt SO much more relaxed. I'm sure that will go away as soon as I get to work today but I'll take it while I can!

Crissy Rae said...

Glad to hear you had a great weekend! I think starting off with a massage on Saturday was the best way to start the weekend :) Sounds like you had a good time and met some fun people...yay!

Becky said...

Yay! What a full weekend you had! And YES to hot stone massages - I've only had one but it was incredible!!

Hope your week is just as great!

Gracie said...

Hurray for a fun weekend! I bet after all that studying you DID need hot stones on your back!
Our weekend was busy, too - it included lots of errands, a race, church, and our church particularization ceremony.

Stephany said...

I'm so happy you had such a fun, study-free weekend - AND met new friends! That's so awesome. :)

A hot stone massage sounds DIVINE. And probably exactly what you needed. Good on you for treating yourself to that!

Jeanie said...

I'm so glad you could finally relax and let go! It sounds like a terrific weekend and three cheers to you for taking into account all the senses -- touch, yes! taste -- check! Sight -- Gardens rock! Sound -- so does music! Smell -- I suspect even a cactus garden smells terrific!

Marlys said...

Sounds perfect! I'm sure that massage was a wonderful way to start your Saturday! All those tight muscles can really wreck havoc on the bocy! I'm so glad you are meeting new friends and I love botanical gardens! Our weekend was good, too, as the weather was very nice on Saturday for a change! It sounds like summer weather may be on the way this week!

Nora said...

Sounds like a great weekend! The massage sounds heavenly. As does your salsa and bean dip =)

J said...

Sounds like an awesome weekend! I hosted my best friends baby shower, address bridal shower invites for my friends huge bridal shower, and went to a potluck. It was a busy week so I am recovering now at work :)

J and A said...

What an awesome weekend!! So glad you enjoyed your first FREE one. :)

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

What a well-deserved weekend for you! Sounds like everything was fun and even promising for more things in the future! Promise me you'll let me know if (when!) you're going to Savannah? One of my dearest friends owns a beautiful home furnishings shop there and it'd tickle me if you stopped by!

Amber said...

That cactus room is super cool! My weekend was pretty busy but really good. I think the highlight for me was hanging out with Eric on the couch Sunday afternoon (thank you again for understanding about postponing our video chat!) We had literally not spent actual 1 on 1 time together for more than 20 minutes in like 2 weeks so it was really nice to just CHILL for a couple of hours.

Carolina John said...

Yay! I knew eventually you would have some fun in Charlotte. So glad. I know it's a huge relief to not have to spend so much time studying too.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa,
I am so glad that you had an enjoyable weekend in my neck of the woods. I am a born and raised Charlottean, and I have been keeping up with your blog to see how you are adjusting to our lovely city. I was really, really saddened to see how upset you were with your company for stating that Charlotte=NASCAR. Truth be told, I have never been to a race, and I am an not a fan at all, but I LOVE my city! I actually thought your fail comment was harsh and narrow minded, but then I chalked it up to how stressed you have been! Give the city a chance! I am glad a came back to your blog...everybody deserves a second chance! A word of advice, watch the negativity...it won't get you anywhere, especially in the Queen City. Maybe some southern manners will begin to rub off! ;)

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Sounds like a fun weekend!

Leigh said...

So glad that you had a fabulous weekend! I hope your trip works out to go to Savannah. I'd love to go there one day!

Shoshanah said...

Glad to hear you had such a great weekend! And I'm a little jealous of the stone massage. I've never ad one, but it seems like something that would be awfully relaxing.

Abby said...

Yay this brings me great smiles that you had a good weekend~! You so deserved and needed one of these!!

That is so neat you did the hot stone massage! I am mad impressed. As you probably know, I get a massage monthly (I'm a member at Massage Envy) -- but have always been too chicken to upgrade out of fear of having severe burns to my back! Did it feel good?

Here's to a good week!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Hot stone massages are the best! Also, I'm so glad you had a blast at the music festival and got to sleep in on the weekend :-) The highlight of my weekend was road trippin' to see my man drum in the province next to us.

San said...

Oh, this sounds wonderful, Lisa! I am glad you treated yourself to a massage and all around great weekend! You deserve it!

Lisa-Marie said...

It's so good to see you settle into life there! My Friday is tomorrow, so I haven't had my weekend yet, but at the actual weekend we went to a family barbeque, and I had lots of baby cuddles from my wee neice.

Lisa-Marie said...

It's so good to see you settle into life there! My Friday is tomorrow, so I haven't had my weekend yet, but at the actual weekend we went to a family barbeque, and I had lots of baby cuddles from my wee neice.

Caroline said...

Yay! Great weekend! Massage and sleep sound amazing. That's so cool you've been keeping track of your sleep since 2011.. and how evident it is that life changes effect your sleep! Kinda crazy when you think about it..

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

OOOh a massage sounds wonderful. I may need to take your lead and get one for myself. It's just that for a while I was sunburned and then sometimes I am sore and I just want it to be on a day where I don't have any major issues! I am glad yours went well; I have never tried the hot stones!

My weekend was good; I ran a race on Saturday and then met up with my brother on Sunday for a foggy run in the Headlands and then a fabulous Mexican feast!