shoes, ice cream, and a tattoo

I got my REI dividend in the mail. A whole $48 to spend on WHATEVER. :]

So I tried on a few pairs of shoes. Including the Vibram Five-Fingers. Which were pretty cozy, actually. [You can read my friend Bonnie's review of switching to Vibram here]

I didn't buy them.

Pride trumped, and I ended up buying a "barefoot" "minimalist" shoe without the "gloved" feature. Too many people think they look funny, and... well... I draw enough attention to myself at the gym with my floppy, crazy dreadlocks anyway. I don't really want ANOTHER thing to draw attention to myself.

Ahem.

I think buying these shoes was a way to reward myself for being consistant about CrossFit again. For the first time, I've been going by myself [it took me weeks to work up the courage... I've always gone with a friend by my side, never alone!]. I felt funny at first, and sometimes I still feel awkward going in there and recognizing faces but not really knowing anyone.

But there are no mirrors at the CrossFit gym. If I'm doing something that makes me feel stupid, I have no idea whether or not I actually LOOK stupid. Which helps, surprisingly.

And I've made it a point to go when I know my favorite trainers will be working. They are familiar with my physical abilities [which were embarrassing three weeks ago, and are starting to show some improvement... basically, my "push-ups" have gone from being "wiggle-ups" on my knees to actually looking sort of like but not quite exactly "girl push-ups"], and they know how to push my limits without pushing me over the edge. That's important to me! Stacy, in particular, always gives me very specific encouragement and makes me feel like I'm awesome, even when I'm slow. For example, Burpees.

To do a Burpee, in case you've never suffered through them before, you stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend over, hands to the ground, and jump your feet back to a push-up position [on your knees or otherwise]. Do one push-up, jump your feet back to your hands, and jump to a standing position. Repeat.

It takes me forever to do Burpees. But instead of pushing me to go faster, Stacy praised me on my form. I felt like a kid who'd been given a gold star sticker on their homework. :]

Anyway, so yeah. This was sort of a post all about how I bought a new pair of shoes.

And I guess part of the whole "barefoot" thing is going sockless as well... If I end up with stinky feet, I'll tell you all about it.

Just to make myself feel better, and just so I haven't got a post on my blog about only buying shoes, here's a picture of some ice cream I tried today. Avacado! I felt so adventurous. 

And I have a tattoo idea in the works right now... In case I chicken out or something, I'll leave most of it a mystery, but here are a few sources of inspiration right now. I emailed them to my tattoo artist earlier today after getting his drawing earlier this week...

The end!