Back at it Day 3 - Fit it in where you can (Friday 5/2)

I did not have much time to fit a walk in BUT I did have to go downtown to pick up a card for a birthday coming up. To get my 20 minutes of walking in I decided to park out of town and walk in. That counts, right? I figured every little bit counts and it had been a while since I enjoyed out downtown district by my self. It was nice. Pup missed out though.

Downtown, such a neat place!

The old bank, the area is rich with history!

And the new areas blend well with the older areas.

Still able to enjoy all the blooming Dogwoods all over town!

If you are willing to look, there is beauty in every nook and cranny of the Earth. Even in the man made sections of it.

Not sure how a walk will be incorporated into my busy Saturday but I will find time.

Back at it day 3 - Another beautiful day in the foothills

I have not much to say today, other than I had a weigh in and it sucks! All is well though, getting back at it! I have to do this.

 “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.” ~Seneca

Nice walk this afternoon with my daughter and dear friends, complete with a ring around the sun!

Love and light friends!

Back at it Day 2 - Hopeful

Almost did not go again today using the excuse, "I went yesterday, today Pup and I should rest." But I recognized the excuse and went anyway.

Beautiful day!

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~Japanese Proverb

I will keep starting over until I get it right. Love and light my friends! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Back at it - Day 1 with some action

I suppose I should start this blog up again. It kept me accountable for doing my daily walk.

I almost did not go today, again. Though this time it was not for the usual excuses I tell myself but because I did not have a good feeling about it.

Pup and I were off, I noticed a car with no body in it so I knew that someone was out and about the many trails by my house.

Nice day to take a walk in the woods...and get into a dog fight ;)

I decided to follow pups lead today. We went to the usual spot, the place where she knows I will take her off the leash if I feel all is well. But I decided to not take her off the leash this time and I am glad I followed my instincts.

We got to the point where we usually turn around and out of nowhere two dogs ran full speed up to us. One was friendly and just wanted to say hello, the other immediately jumped on Pup. My dog being the protective being that she is, started to fight based upon the mixed signals the second dog was projecting. That is how it began; a two on one full blown dog fight. The owner was not in sight. I screamed for them to get their dogs. Finally, a woman came running and called to them. Never did she come up to where the fight was. I however was standing in the middle of it. The friendly dog listened immediately but the other dog did not. Still she just stood 20 feet away and called to her dog. Finally it all stopped and the stupid woman put her dogs on a leash. I thanked her (because I was taught to be polite) and turned around to walk the way we were coming. The woman started to follow us. Of course my dog was distracted with this and it made it hard for us to leave.

The only one who got hurt was me, by the leash that my dog was on. I understand, she was taking them to a secluded area to unleash them, I do that with Pup. But geeezzz, it still pissed me off!

Love and light, my friends!

I'm baaaack...and I could not be happier about that!

Checked in with the doctor yesterday. All is well! He explained PVC's and talked to me about how to deal with them. Basically, just keep in mind that they are not going to hurt me or cause any other issues. Boy, are they scary though! And guess what?! I lost another 5 pounds, making that an 8 pound total loss! Yes, it is over the course of 3 months but ya know those eight pounds will stay off because I am making real changes to my lifestyle that I plan to keep for ever more :)

I am back to walking, too. I have missed it so much! So has Pup, she has been chasing her tail and wanting to play catch at bedtime ;)

Monday- No walk this day, I did get back in to my daughter's class to volunteer and that I love!

Tuesday- Took a walk with my Aunt and Cousin, it felt so good to sweat and talk and sweat and talk. Love those ladies! I wish that I took my camera this day as once you get the back of the subdivision that we were trekking through you there is an amazing view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I love how the mountains look blue as they get farther away.

Wednesday- Well if we had a raincoat and booties for Pup we would would have been out in the pouring rain getting our sweat on! But the weather did prevent us from going out today :(

Thursday- Love my mountain and walking on it. Felt good to get back on the familiar trail and get the blood pumping.

Nice day to be out and about in the wilderness!

Hearts...everywhere I go there are hearts! I think I am just more apt to see them as anyone can see them if they just look.

Friday (today) -Early walk on the Empire Trails...it was freezing and full of wildlife. Pup is now soaking up the sun on the deck!

Brrr! I was chilly this morning but once we got walking it was not a problem!

Yep, another heart...this time in bird poo, LOL!

Love and light my friends!

Where there is a will, there is a way!

Monday - 8:31 am - In the past four days I have walked only two of them. This weekend was pretty busy for us so I did not have the time to work the walks in. I can feel it and based upon how much energy Pup has she is feeling it too. Gonna take a long walk today, not sure where, not sure when but WE WILL! We are expecting rain and snow later tonight and tomorrow! Yahoo, we need the weather!

I hurt my back doing Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout so I have not been doing it. I hope to get back on track with it soon!

 Tuesday - 2:28 pm - We walked yesterday, twice! Once to walk and another time to find my wallet. Good work out and I got some amazing images! Everything happens for a reason...

There is a storm rolling in, looking to the south, south-westish...

...looking to the north, north-eastish.

New trail for us

Still noticing hearts, there were more than three on this walk.

Absolutely beautiful!

Mom and I...found the wallet!

 It has been snowing all day! I am ending this post and getting ready to head out and go walk in it! I just love the snow, always have and always will!

Oh, yeah, the heart monitor was put on today. It's itchy.

I am always playing catch up....ALWAYS!

Playing catch up is the story of my life, always playing...

Friday - I had a large work load on this day so I did not walk. I did get a lot done though, personally and professionally!

Saturday - Unexpected company prohibited the family hike we had planned. Grrr, love the company but not a big fan of "unexpected". Oh well, take it as it comes and deal as you will.

Sunday 8:38 am - I WILL WALK! I will. We had a lot going on this day so I was not sure when but I knew I was going to!

2:45 pm - Family came over and we hiked down the mountain again. It was fun! My daughter and pup were really happy about that.

Monday - I had so much work to this day that I did not get a walk :( I did get a lot done in the office and at home though!

Tuesday - My daughter asked me to wait for our walk so she could go to....so we wait!

4:15 pm - Walk done!

Wednesday - I am supposed to be having an Valentine's Day Sale for my creations but moved it online because I am not feeling well. Stomach ache, headache and annoying cough.  I must have what Alyssa has been working through all week. She has a higher tolerance for it though because she has not stopped moving, where I have landed flat on my butt!

If a walk happens today, it will happen much later...

We'll be coming around the mountain when we come...

First, I want to wish my husband, Pat, a VERY Happy Birthday! 

I love you Babe and I am so glad to be on the journey with you ♥

Wednesday - Yesterday's walk turned into an unexpected mountain climbing excursion. I have to agree with my daughter, this was the best walk EVER!

It started out normal, we took the NID ditch on our side of the road. It is flat and busier than the other trails we take so Pup needs to be on the leash most of the time. I did not have her on and we came across another person with the dog who was also not on a leash. All went well and there was no incident.

My daughter saw a trail that headed straight up a hill off in to the forest. I had seen it before and told my self that someday I would see where it led and today was the day. It was basically a deer trail, you could see where they eat their way through, LOL!

This is the middle of the trail where it kinda leveled out.

It took us straight into the forest all right! We stopped when we came across a private property sign and turned around to find ANOTHER trail, well sorta. You could see where the animals scaled down the mountain to the creek so we took it. A couple steps into this new direction I noticed that we were not far from home! I could actually see the creek and the roofs to our house. Onward we go!

My daughter, Mother and Pup...which way should we go? Well, it was so steep and the dirt was very soft so we all just found our own way down...

...it was really not that bad, but we like this kind of thing! Exploring....

When we got down to the creek we meandered upstream, checking out all the details. We saw hearts, we saw animals homes, we saw moss, we saw all things natural :)

...because this is what you get to find along the way....

...of course, we were shown love from above along the way...

...the only way to get a picture of Poppy is by chance. She will not sit still long enough. Silly goof...

I wish I would have taken pictures along the way home. We climbed up a muddy, rocky, hill that's pitch was more like a wall. We did it, but Pup could not :( She actually fell and thank goodness did not hurt herself (Well, at least not that we can tell). Poppy looked at us like, "Are you going to leave me? Don't leave me!" It was so sad. The energy became very frantic. My daughter and Mother began thinking of creative ways to get her out; the best one being that I could hold my mother's legs while she dangled off the "wall" hill we climbed up so she could reach pup to put her leash on. While that would have been fun, my logical approach was to find a place down stream that was not as steep where Poppy could get to us. Now why we did not think to do that ourselves, I do not know. Those of us who know us, and know us when we are together, know that is just how we do things. All is good!

This is a picture of the sunset last night. Loved it and wanted to share!

I love where I live!

Today, Poppy and I took a walk early on. The weather forecast predicted rain with possible snow tonight. Oh I hope so! Thanks for reading folks!

Love, light, peace and all things good!

Just keep going...

6:03 am - Today I woke up feeling much better; my spirits seem to high and motivation is too. I did not walk yesterday. I took the day off. The In Laws came for lunch and we just hung out after they left. Good family time; nice and relaxing.

But it is Monday and I have to get back into the groove of walking. I will be in my daughters class this morning so won't be able to walk until after school. Our neighbor may come with us too. We will have to wait and see how the day plays out.

3:07 pm - Oh gotta love kids...need a walk terribly but I have so much work! AND I can barely move and think I might be frozen. Man, it is COLD!

5:09 pm - Got the walk done and over with for today...I feel warmth in my center again. It has been freezing at night for over a week and although there is sun shining during the day it is still too cold to melt the snow and ice in my back yard!

I should not have taken a day off this exercise yesterday. I could feel it today; both physically and mentally. I can see know how easy it is to loose motivation. Had I not been blogging this experience I probably would have quit by now and definitely today if I did not feel I had to blog about it ;) Believe it or not this blog is keeping me going and accountable.


I found the best sunset spot on the mountain...

Saw this cloud to the North as the walk began

Tried to get my squirrly dog to post with me for a picture but she could not sit still.

And here is the best sunset spot on the mountain :)

Day 8 - Everyday I am juggling...

9:06 am - I did not start Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout the other day, maybe today. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. I am not too worried about when I start that, I just need to keep walking. Until that task is instilled in my day to day tasks just as checking my email or having a cup of coffee is I cannot stop.

I have been working since 7 am and have enough work to keep me busy for the next month. Bookkeeping, newsletters, new year organizing, making, selling, writing...it all has to be done. So does my daily walk...

Everyday I feel like I am juggling many different things, pulling me in many different directions. I have to be able to change focus instantly and then have to be able to go back in to what I was working on. For instance, as I tried to write this last sentence the phone rang 3 times for our business. Yahooo, love it when the phone rings because that means we have work!

While the day does go by fast, I fear that it will go by with out my daily walk from time to time. Priorities.

11:56 pm - I am having a hard time concentrating on work today, I really just feel like writing so I will have to do both. As the day goes by, the phone continues to ring and more work is created :) It is a double edge sword when you are already behind...

1:06 pm - Still longing for a walk! Got a few more things that HAVE to be done today and then it looks like a late afternoon walk! Thank you, Mom for coming over to entertain the little one.

3:18 pm - Just got back from a nice walk around the woods with my Mom and daughter. Motivation did not come easy today but a break from the office was desperately needed and a walk was the perfect way to get away. However it comes I will take it! Here is an image of the area we sometimes walk. Beautiful, huh?

Day 6 - If you want something bad enouph...

8:14 am - I knew that today would be a challenge. Finding time to fit exercise into my schedule has always been the biggest challenge and has been one of the main reasons I have not done this yet.

Although this is New Year's Eve, I still have a half a days work and a turkey that needs to go in the oven by 10 am with supervision until it is done. If I am gonna walk I need to do it now or figure out some other way to get some exercise in for me and the Pup. Pat is leaving at 9:10 for work.

I am fortunate that I can juggle my schedule as I please so even if work does not get done now, the walk will and/or vise versa.

9:24 am - The walk came before work today :) Thank you, Pat, for waiting around with Alyssa so I could get a half an hour in today. Poppy appreciates it too. It was cold, but the more I got moving the warmer it got.

Now it is time to enjoy some oatmeal with dried cranberries and little brown sugar and milk.I am feeling motivated to start Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Work Out later this afternoon. Has anyone started this? Monday Day 1, Rock n Roll Up exercise...I will let you know how it goes.

If you want something bad enough you will do what you need to in order for it to happen.

Day 4 - Easier said than done...

8:04 am - It is cold. I do not want to go outside! I do not want to walk, all I want to do is stay snuggled on the couch and watch cartoons with Alyssa.

8:39 am - Alyssa is awake and ignoring my request for her to walk with me...just me and Pup.

9:53 am - Still getting motivated...shoes are on, jacket and scarf are near by...the sun came out so the air is a little warmer.

10:40 am - OK, did it! Took a half an hour walk with my pup in the woods. Felt good. I am so glad that I got my buns out of the house this morning! Had coffee and a banana for breakfast, not quite hungry yet but am dreading lunch decision making. Maybe oatmeal. Maybe peanut butter toast.

See you tomorrow!