Last weekend was mucho needed. It was filled with friends, adventure, relaxation and good food. As you might have seen from my past post these past few weeks+ have been VERY rough. I spent 6wks+ planning an amazing 2 week “learning vacation” to Costa Rica and 4 days into my journey, Duke bloated and then passed away on Nov. 22 at 3pm. I came home (parent’s house) a week early from Costa Rica a mess. I spent a week in bed; EVERYthing hurt…especially my heart. On Nov. 30th, I returned to Austin (with my mom) which is a Duke museum. She helped me decide what to keep…give…toss (he has so many bones). I left all pictures up. He is constantly in my thoughts. I swear I can still hear his collar/tags jingle. I even miss his annoying behaviors…like barking for what seemed like FOREVER if the garage was up. I miss him terribly. I’m very blessed to have a strong community for family and friends that will allow me to retreat and handle this and then return to “life” and still be accepted with open arms. This past weekend it felt good to laugh, smile, sleep and by Sunday I would even catch myself visioning…something that has been lost for a few weeks.
Friday night I attended 2 Christmas Parties; 5 Fitness Staff Party and Crossfit Central’s Holiday Party. I started at the 5 Fitness Party at Tapasitas, a new tapas bar in Austin. This is a really neat place with a great atmosphere. Their tapas were literally on 1/2 a dining plate. It looked like it was cut in half. I wish I would have taken a picture but it was way dark. After about 45mins there I left and headed to Crossfit Central‘s downtown location to catch the last 45mins that holiday party. Sadly I missed the food here and rumors say it was AMAZING. I made it in time to catch a few of my training buddies and clients. It was good to see my fellow coworkers (both gyms/facilities) and athletes outside of their workout clothes. After that party it was gluten free pancakes at Kerby Lane and bed.
Saturday came with an 8am GGRX workout that was PACKED…which made for lots of energy. I do like it when all of us get together and train. After that was a GGRX meeting then a shower and prep for a float and massage at Zen Blend. When I tell people about this part of my weekend, the first question is what is a “float”. I had lots of questions too when 1st heard of it. For the long but detailed explanation check out Wikipedia, or you can watch the short video below to get an idea of one of the many benefits:
Since there was 2 of us, we had to decide who floated first and who massaged first, then you switch. I massaged first then floated to decrease any nerves I might have going into the tank. Looking back on it, I don’t think the order mattered. I would be open to trying float then massage. The massage was FANTASTIC, she will be seeing me again, especially since it is so close to my house. The float was great, it turned into more of a relaxing/meditate for me which is probably what I needed most. It was very relaxing…just to feel weightless.
Since you were not suppose to eat a few hours prior to the float and massage, after the float and massage I went to Black Sheep Lodge (my first time ) because I heard they had great burgers and sweet potato fries…which they did. Now I was relaxed and stuffed, so it was back home for a much needed nap. After a few hours of sleep I went to Umi for reverse happy hour for sushi and sake! And believe it or not I was able to go back to sleep when I returned.
Sunday Rabah and myself traveled to The Benini Sculpture Ranch out in Johnson City for a photo walk…after stopping at Starbucks for coffee first, duh! This turned out to be way more interesting then I thought. The Ranch sits on 140acres out in Johnson City that not only host a 14,000 sq foot indoor gallery but has multiple art pieces/sculptures all over the property that you can drive around and look at. Clearly Benini is the main artist but there are other artist’s work on the property as well. If you are into photography you NEED to check this out. We barley made it to the indoor gallery because we were constantly getting out of the car to take pictures of different art on the entrance road. You can drive all over the property (marked trails) or you can walk…I would recommend driving.
HERE is a link to Rabah’s photo stream from the event.
The weekend was capped with a cobb salad from Central Market (one of my favorite places to eat) and an early bed time. Yes the weekend was mucho packed, but like I said it was filled with friends, adventure, relaxation and good food…all which are needed during this time and holiday season.
