Moving Forward

It's been a difficult couple of weeks dealing with Riley being sick and then having him put to sleep. I put my focus on following South Beach, exercising and blogging aside so I could spend time with Riley and then give myself room to mourn his loss.

Friday evening I went to look at a kitten and ended up taking him home with me. He's an adorable little guy, still nameless as my husband and I debate different names, but we're getting closer :)

I still miss my Riley, but this kitten is helping to ease that loss and bring my focus onto the present. I know this might sound a bit extreme to some of you, but Riley was that one special pet so many people dream of having, my loyal and loving companion. I'd had him since he was 3 weeks old, and he bonded with me as his mom. He would sleep on my back at night, lay on the computer desk in front of me when I was online, come running when I called him, play fetch with me, sit at my feet and meow at me to pick him up and then let me carry him around the house as he observed everything from this new vantage point with a lively curiousity and intelligence. He would begin to purr the moment I touched him, and when I came home he would almost always come to greet me. Riley was sweet-natured, loving, playful, curious, intelligent, soft and cuddly, gentle, and so affectionate with me. He really was my baby cat, and a true gift of love from God.

My husband and I are having a time of it trying to come up with a name for the new kitten, but we'll find one eventually.

I began walking again last night after work, and will be continuing to walk on a daily basis at least 5 times a week. As soon as we get our living room uncluttered this weekend, I'm going to begin the core exercises outlined in "Never Say Diet" by Chantel Hobbs, using an exercise ball. I'll begin doing those 2-3 times a week for 20 minutes a day.

I haven't done too poorly with healthy eating choices, but I wasn't following my plan very closely. I allowed myself some less healthy choices here and there, and am actually quite pleased that as of today I'm at 233.2 lbs! That's great news, all things considered :)

I do have some recipe reviews which I'll be posting in a few days, as well as an article I've found about how pets contribute to our emotional and mental well-being. Yep, they're part of a healthy life as well!