Monday feels...
Welcome back friends! Let’s catch up a little since it’s been a hot second! Last week was busy as hell between Shawn going in for surgery again on Thursday and his parents coming into town Thursday night to visit for the weekend. Aside from the long day at the hospital on Thursday, it’s been a great few days.
Shawn’s surgery went (mostly) well, and we are hopeful that this is the last surgery he will have to undergo to fix his arm. He’s doing pretty well at the moment, although he still has some pain in his shoulder. Keep those positive vibes coming our way. He’s a freaking trooper, and I am confident he will be back to using that arm in no time!
Shawn’s parents, Pat and Barb, came to town Thursday night. They’ve been on a cross-country adventure in their RV for the summer, and we were their final stop before heading back home. It was so good to visit with them, show them around Denver, and catch up on life.
We took them to Union Station and ate at the Thirsty Lion, stopped for ice cream at Little Man Ice Cream (the salted caramel peanut butter cup is bomb),
escaped the Area 51 room at Colorado Escape,
sipped some amazing coffee (half sweet vanilla coconut milk latte might be my new fave),
brunched at Snooze, grilled out with some beautiful mountain views, played cards, and enjoyed each other’s company. We are so happy they got to stop in and see us on their trip.
Amidst all the activity, I managed to fit in a couple solid hikes last week. The first was at Red Rocks Park. We saw our first snake, but thank GOD it was dead. Snakes are the worst. I was hoping to get some views of the amphitheater there, but we didn't come across it on the hike. Guess we'll just have to go back soon to check it out! Minus that minor disappointment, the rest of the trail was beautiful. Tucker had a pretty good time as well.
Friday morning, I headed to Roxborough Park with my friend, Marissa, and some of her out of town visitors. We celebrated her birthday by hiking a few trails there. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at a local Italian place. It was such a perfect morning for a long hike! Unfortunately for everyone behind me, I saw snake number two during this hike. I about peed my pants and gave everyone else a heart attack, and let someone else usher it off the trail so we could continue on with life. Sorry, guys!
Early Saturday morning, Shawn and I ventured a bit further out to explore a few trails in Three Sisters Park. The cloudy start to the day made for some gorgeous shots.
There were tons of deer and rabbits along the trail that seemed totally content with the humans that were sharing their space. We hope to go back to this park soon to try a few other trails as well.
In other news, I finally joined a gym! After a couple weeks of bouncing around, trying out all different types of workouts, surprise, surprise, I went back to CrossFit. I am really excited, because this gym really feels like home to me. The people are great, the programming has been fun, and it's super close to where we are staying. Winning all around! I am looking forward to consistently working out in the same place and getting to know the members at such a great gym!
Here’s the thing about CrossFit: there has never been another type of gym or atmosphere that is so welcoming as a CrossFit gym. Example: I have known the people at this gym for a little over a week now. When I was at the hospital with Shawn last Thursday, a girl from the gym sent me a message wishing him the best in surgery and offering to bring me food or coffee while I waited. Would I get that from a 24 Hour Fitness down the street?
Tell 'em Nikki. CrossFit people are the freaking best.
Also, I can’t stop myself from wanting to lift a dang barbell. It’s like a damn addiction. Lucky for me, it’s a healthy one! Sure, dumbbells and kettlebells are fun, but nothing beats the thrill of hitting a squat snatch or nailing a heavy clean and jerk, not to mention the satisfaction behind dropping a heavy bar to the ground after standing it up. I miss that shit too much.
Ever lifted at a globo gym? You literally feel like everyone is judging you, and dropping a bar is basically a mortal sin. People at CrossFit gyms, however, understand that lifting is awesome, and they appreciate all the elements that have to come together to produce a good lift. I have walked into other gyms and listened to them shit talk (maybe inadvertently at times, though offensive nonetheless) everything I love about CrossFit. Then, I attempt to explain to them why all their thoughts about my sport were false. A word of advice: keep your hate to yourself! Don’t knock something until you try it, and definitely don’t trash talk someone’s previous form of exercise when you are trying to get them to join your gym.
People are dumb sometimes.
This isn’t my attempt to convince you to do CrossFit, but it is my way of urging you to test out the merchandise before you buy it. It’s important to spend your money on a gym membership that you will be motivated to use! I tried 3 different CrossFit gyms, a bootcamp-style gym, and several globo gyms before I settled on this particular one. You can always tell where you feel like you will fit in the most, and the gym owners and coaches there should make you feel like you are being welcomed into your new home. Sure, its not cheap to join a CrossFit gym, but wouldn’t you rather have someone hitting you up with a “Where you been??” text when you skip out on class? Pretty sure if you miss a Monday at LA Fitness, front desk Joe is not going to give a shit. Sorry bout it. Motivation and accountability are game changers in the pursuit of your goals.
Alright, I’m hopping down from my Monday soapbox, and headed off to a workout. I hope you all have a wonderful start to the week! Get after some fitness and plan some healthy meals for the week! Let me know what you have going on in the comments below.