by Valley Gadfly | Dec 17, 2017 | Valley Gadfly
City meets country. Mile High urban Cherry Creek construction chaos combines forces with cowboys as the 112th National Western Stock Show kicks off the New Year Jan. 6-21. Whether we want to acknowledge it, Denver is turning a cold shoulder on the Valley’s country heritage as the cowboy theme is too cliché for today’s city slicker.
The environment is no longer rough, wild and open. Like riding bulls at this year’s National Western rodeo, Denver’s surreal bull market tends to put cowboys down.
Here are our warm-up choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to step back in time and cowboy it up in boots, chaps and cowboy hats for a hearty good time:
3 Steer your steed to the Western American Art Symposium in the DAM’s Lewis Sharp Auditorium Jan. 4, 10 a.m. Focus is on regionalism and its impact on artists working in the West. Information: 720-913-0130.
3 Watch a cattle drive with horses, cattle, cowboys-gals, tractors and bands at the stock show parade Jan. 4 at 12 p.m. Information: 303-892-1505.
3 For fast, funny entertainment herd the gang over to Lowry’s John Hand Theatre to see Rumors playing Jan. 6-Feb. 3. Information: 720-530-4596.
3 See a wide range of hunting, fishing and camping gear at the Sportsmen’s Expo at the Convention Center Jan. 11-14. Information: 800-454-6100.
3 So you’ve found the perfect bunkhouse (home) in the perfect cow pasture (locality). Now it’s time to be the tall hog at the trough with the perfect mortgage from Stone Creek Mortgage. Information: 303-573-1200.
3 Lookin’ for good grub at a spot where you can sit a spell and chew the fat? With yummy Italian concoctions and cowboy cocktails Viale Pizza & Kitchen is a tasty cinch on Colorado Blvd. Information: 303-495-3065.
3 Lasso time to see Mary Louise Lee playing Billie Holiday once more at Aurora’s Vintage Theatre, Jan. 12-Feb. 18. Information: 303-856-7830.
3 Catch the Nashville music group Banditos playing backwoods bluegrass, doo-wop and soul at the Larimer Lounge, 8 p.m. Information: 303-291-1007.
3 For a whopping good time get eye to eye with a steer that weighs more than your car at the Stock Show & Rodeo at the National Western Complex, Jan. 6-21. Watch sheep dogs herd their fluffy friends and be dazzled by trick roping. Rodeos are held each day with pro riders, ropers and a slew of animals strutting their stuff. For kids there’s a Stick Horse Rodeo and Farmyard Follies. Information: 303-893-1505.
In popular usage “cowboying it up” is derived from rodeo, and is the phrase used to tell a participant to mount a bull or a horse depending on the event. It is akin to telling runners in a track meet to take their marks and set. Today cowboy up in Denver applies to apartment towers that have kicked living up a notch, not living space above the barn.
Reckon most country folks would dub Denver’s urban living as “WAAAY UP.” Granted reclaimed lumber from developments in town makes building barns cut-rate.
So much for tall in the saddle! Next up are more lofty buildings in what was once cow pasture. Besides the issue of a place to park horses, the meadow is soiled. That’s why some call Denver’s cowboy city planners deranged. Wishing you a fun-filled ride into the New Year. Just remember if you wear cowboy clothes you are “ranch dressing.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Mark Smiley | Dec 17, 2017 | Feature Story Middle Left
Are You Setting The Wrong New Year’s Resolution?
by Monica Heinrichs
New Year’s Resolutions seem like a good idea, but most people can only stick to them for the first few months of the year! Last year roughly 80% of the resolutions made in January, failed by the end of February. By December 2017, only 8% of resolutions had actually been successful. This is not meant to discourage you in any way, but we need to rethink how we are setting goals. If we want to improve, our goal setting needs to improve too!
For 2018 the top five resolutions are: Improve Fitness; Eat Better; Quit Smoking/ Drinking; Travel More; and Learn Something New. These are all great ideas, but they’re not specific enough! In order to make a resolution and actually stick to it, you need to make it a goal, specifically a SMART Goal.
SMART Goals are goals that we use in the fitness industry to help clients create realistic goals that they can achieve in a specific amount of time. Here is what SMART stands for and some questions you can ask yourself while you’re creating your New Year’s Resolution.
S: Specific — What do I want to accomplish?
M: Measurable — How am I going to keep track of my progress?
A: Attainable — Is this goal realistic? Am I setting myself up for failure?
R: Relevant — Why is this goal important to you? What is motivating you to accomplish this?
T: Time-Bound — When do you want to accomplish this goal?
All of these areas are vital to consider, but in my experience attainable and relevant are the areas in which clients lack focus. It is important to create a “big picture” goal for yourself, but you may not be able to accomplish that right away. SMART goals help you create small, realistic goals that build up toward your big picture. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds, when do you want to achieve this by? Healthy, sustainable, weight loss comes at 1-2 pounds per week. So, realistically, the quickest timeframe would be 14-16 weeks. Why do you want to lose 25 pounds? Would your health improve? Do you want to look better? Do you want to feel better? Decide what your motivation is and really hold on to it. Finding out what motivates you can be difficult, but it is essential to making sure your goal is something you actually want!
After you’ve created your SMART New Year’s Resolution, consider who is going to be your support system. Do you have someone in your life that is trying to accomplish the same thing? Having a support system not only keeps you accountable to your goal, but it may challenge you to create more goals along the way! If your goal is fitness related, ask a friend to join you for some workouts, or look into working with a Personal Trainer. If your goal is nutrition based, consider looking for a Nutritionist that can help you with meal plans and grocery shopping lists. Want to learn something new? Look into classes offered in the area. Regardless of what your resolution is, you must put in work to get there. If you are not planning on taking that first step toward your goal, I guarantee someone else is not going to do it for you.
Take ownership, and be excited about what you are working toward! There can be a great deal of stress built up when you choose your goal. Try your best to let that go, enjoy the process and reward yourself along the way! Change is hard work and hard work should be celebrated. Congratulations on your new goal, it’s going to be a great New Year!
Monica Henrichs is the Health and Wellness Director at the Glendale Sports Center. She is originally from Wisconsin and is a Green Bay Packers fan. She is a certified Personal Trainer, Health Coach, and Group Fitness Instructor with eight years of experience working with all types of people toward their health and fitness goals.
Monica Heinrichs
by Peter Boyles | Dec 17, 2017 | Blasting with Boyles
- Governor John Hickenlooper — 2017 will be the end of the trail for the Governor. Getting off the sauce was a great career move and staying off of it for that 2020 run to dump GOP Senator Cory Gardner.
- Denver Mayor Michael Hancock — don’t go for the third term. Cash in while you can and get all the money developers promised you for destroying the City and County of Denver.
- Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump — another year like 2017 and they’ll put you on Mount Rushmore.
- DPD Chief Robert White — in spite of that resounding vote of confidence from your rank and file do your level best to stay on the job.
- Senator Cory Gardner — lucky the Chamber of Commerce promised you all those lobbying contracts because you are dead meat when Hickenlooper goes for the throat.
- Congressman Jared Polis — two words — opposition research, put on your hat.
- Tom Tancredo — once more into the breach. Wind in your sails and the Governor’s mansion in ’18.
- The Denver Post — down to a skeleton crew but hope for an In and Out Burger in your new Adams County digs.
- Denver’s Television Stations — another year like this one and you’ll be joining The Denver Post and be beaten by reruns of Gilligan’s Island.
- Denver’s Sports Reporters and Broncos Fans — I hope you cease and desist the term “we.” The team belongs to Annabel Bowlen and the “blood of the city.”
- To the loving couple Cynthia and Mike Coffman — welcome to the wide wide world of singledom. Recommend It’s Just Lunch and Millionaires.com.
- The Brownstein Law Firm — best of luck with the new Saudi king (winky winky).
- Brandon Marshall — hope your appearance on the show To Tell the Truth goes well.
- Denver District Attorney Beth McCann — if things go bad don’t go in the shower.
- Walker Stapleton — keep on reminding people you can choose your friends but not your relatives, ie. the Bushes.
- Mike “The King” Dunafon — best of luck for the inaugural season for the Glendale Raptors and Major League Rugby.
- Debbie Matthews — keep up the great billboards at Shotgun’s.
- George Brauchler — hope this run goes well but if this doesn’t work out please don’t join the Brownstein Law Firm.
- Stephan Tubbs and Terry Frei — two very good guys. All the very best in the future; you didn’t deserve what happened to you.
Happy New Year!
