Smitten Life

Explore: The Painted Ladies and the park around it was so lovely, especially at sunset. There's a giant dog park too!

One of my favourite parts of our whole trip was our hike in Yosemite! I wish we had been able to do the half dome but you need a permit for that one and I did not get ahead of things enough. Also half dome takes about 9-12 hours so it's best if you're staying right in the park. 

We decided to go with the mist trail, checking out vernal and nevada falls. It was a very very beautiful hike and not too strenuous. It's just over 10km and the elevation gain is 668m I believe. So some of it is quite steep, which was fun. 

It only took us about 4.5 hours and was lots of fun, but best to get there nice and early. The crowds are intense, and it gets quite hot there in the summertime. We started the hike at 730 am, it was nice and cool and significantly less people on the trail. 

I'm all about looking forward and focusing on crushing new goals etc. But sometimes you have to look back, reflect and see how far you've come. 

9 years ago I had an emergency laparotomy, I couldn't get myself out of bed, coughing was painful as fuck and sneezing was out of the question. My core was obliterated and weeks after walking to the end of the block was the most exercise I could handle. But now here I am 9 years later in the best shape of my life, and I think this incident had so much to do with that. I was starving for movement, I wanted to be able to exercise, and although I was quite weak I got better because exercise was like therapy for me. It certainly wasn't over night that I recovered physically, probably took a year and a half to get my strength back.

So anytime I feel like I'm not doing that great, if I think I'm struggling or thinking I'm shit my laparotomy scar kind of reminds me I can do anything. It also proves that no matter where you're at, with patience, and dedication things will get better. You will get stronger bit by bit, and sometimes you'll have to look back and take a minute to see how far you've come. No matter the injury, you can come back from it, and even though it won't feel like it at the time you can end up being stronger, faster etc. It takes a lot of time and patience, but it's possible. 

Damn I love me some Culottes, they're so damn comfortable. Also who doesn't love polka dots?! They go with everything. I searched high and low to find the perfect pair and I knew when I spotted these babies that they would be an excellent addition to my wardrobe. I seem to have a very soft spot for funky and different pants these days and I'm just leaning into it.