Let's Chat: All About The Week + Giveaway Winners

Happy Friday. On Friday's, I like to link up with these fabulous ladies and chit-chat about the week. Friday's just feel mellow and easy like that. Coming back to work this week after 5 days off was brutal. I hate the way it is always like for me. Once I am off of my normal schedule for more than a couple of days, it's hard for me to get back on it. I have been struggling.

At least after my first day back at work on Tuesday, I had tickets to an advanced screening of "Let's Be Cops". I loved it, too! It was hilarious and raunchy. Everyone in the theater laughed out loud the entire time. You could tell everyone was really enjoying the movie.

I love to read and wish I had time to do it more. Because I have not been sleeping well, I have been reading when I get into bed to help. Here is what has been on my Kindle lately:

The Happiness Project: I heard so many great things about this book. Unfortunately I have to disagree. The author is happy. She leads a charmed life; has a solid marriage, healthy children, owns a home in New York City, went to law school, and they have a very comfortable lifestyle. The author just wants to be happier. Her plan of improving her life was well thought and executed, but not profound or lifechanging in the least. I found it very, very hard to relate to her. I purchased this book when I was going through one of the worst times in my life, and all I kept thinking was "She doesn't know how lucky she is". I am not judging her by her outward appearance or tangible pocessions, but by how she described her life herself in the book. I commend her for her intensive study and investigations into being "happy" and enjoyed the philosophical references, but overall I could not finish. I stopped about 100 pages in.

Master of the Mountain: I love this book. It is just that simple. It's sexy, easy to read, and realistic. I enjoyed "50 Shades of Grey" like anyone else, but it was too much. It was too unreal and too much of a slap in the face to anyone who understands and practices any part of BDSM (sex is almost the least of it, truth be told). Though this book has a lot of sex scenes it, there is still a sweet story as well. I am invested in the characters and reading fast -- those are my traits showing I'm into a book.

I am excited about the feedback I received from people curious and interested in reading my book. The pressure is sure on now! I am working hard and hope to have it finished by the end of next month. I will then send to 10 people who showed interested to read and provide an honest review. I find myself doubting my ability a lot now, but I am just going to try the best I can. Since my best friend left for the beach this past Saturday, I sent a copy of it with her to read while lounging by the ocean. She sent me this picture on Monday - very cool! I hope one day to search #PrettyLies on Instragram and see millions of other people posting pictures like this, ha!

I received a fabulous shipment from the best nutrition company known to man; Quest Nutrition. Their loyalty to customer satisfaction and customer service is unsurpassed. I received my favorite Quest Bars, of course. But I also received their new protein chips. If you read My Weekly Nutrition and Training Plan, you see that I eat protein chips pretty regularly, so when Quest announced their new protein chips, I was excited. As expected, they are great. My favorite is flavor is BBQ. They have a great "crunch" to them like regular chips do, they're flavorful, and they have 21g of protein. It's a complete win. Quest also sent their "miracle noodles". You may have heard about these before. They have virtually no calories, fat, or active carbohydrates. The only downside is they have an awful "seafood" smell when you first open them. I do not eat seafood at all so this is especially discouraging when I open the package. Luckily, it goes away completely once they are rinsed. It's a wonderful substitute for pasta so I am eager to try.

There are some special women I would like to introduce you too. I am fortunate to read the most inspiring blogs and get to know the intelligent and driven women. I feel like we can never be surrounded by that enough. Please stop over and say hello to them.

Akirah is passionate about helping other women. She left an abusive relationship after 4 years of turmoil and pain. She encourages women to be brave and know their self-worth and even offers her resources to help. She and her husband live in Pittsburgh and she works as a licensed social worker. She spends her free time writing and connecting with women in an online community called “Our Brave Hearts.” Akirah is also co-director of Pittsburgh’s chapter of Hollaback; a movement to end street harassment.

Maegen is a dear friend and former co-worker of mine. What I love about her most is how beautiful she is inside, not just her outward appearance. She has dedicated her time and blog to tackling issues that desperately need awareness. In world where self-worth is valued by the label on your shirt, the number in your account, sex, and partying, she raises awareness on how wrong it is. She challenges women to find themselves internally and create confidence by your values, morals, education, goals, and dreams.

Ashley is a good ole' southern girl living in a small town in Texas. She graduated from the University of Arizona Little Rock in 2012 with a double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She is currently digging deeper into her walk with Christ and loves all things books and girly. Ashley has awesome style and fashion and I love seeing what she comes up with next.