I Am An Early Bird

Or, I should say I'm not a night owl.

I am enjoying walking more, getting my body moving, and being more active.

I have also over the last 18months become much more self aware and mindful.

When dealing with stress, I shut down, seek out potato chips, buy too much coffee from Starbucks (decaf non-fat latte with 1 sugar free vanilla shot is my current crutch), and fall asleep between 8-9pm.

The last month or so has been a high stress time, I'd say a good 9 out of 10.

Stress is part of life and I need to learn how to better cope with it, but what I have realized is that as far as working out goes, I need to do it in the morning. Get it done, get it out of the way, feel better, and let the benefit of it last throughout the day.

I know this is a real long time ago, but in grade 10 & 11 I had gym for homeroom.  I honestly contribute starting every school day with 1 hour of exercise as a major factor as to why I didn't put weight on back then.  I ate too much junk food, like I always did, but wow did I work it off.

As soon as I graduated high school and stopped being so active both with gym class, school sports, swimming, skating, etc, the weight slowly and faithfully started to go up.

I have a weekend routine that I'm not willing to change because of just how much joy it brings me, and that is taking Loki for our early morning walks. I'll have to figure out what to do and when on Saturdays to get a work out in, as Sunday will always be a my day off.

The good thing is I recognize these things and make the required adjustments rather than getting frustrated and just say "f*ck it" and give up.

Me and my sweet pup Loki with a derpy tongue at the end of our very long walk yesterday morning.

Ears

Loki has great ears.  Which is how he got his name, after this Loki:

This morning in the park, he must've stood in the same spot for 10 minutes, while his ears never stopped moving.

Introducing Loki

Please meet the newest member of our family:  Loki.

We adopted Loki yesterday on the first day of the Toronto Mega Adoption Weekend Event.  It was a difficult experience.  Difficult in that there were so many dogs available for adoption - approx 70-80. All sizes and ages.  However, there were more people than Dogs so I'm confident that there will be many many forever homes found this weekend. There were also many cats and kittens. All adorable and in need of loving and caring homes.

UPDATE:  I just went to grab a link for the event and there are no Dogs left, but many Kittens, Cats, and Rabbits!  Thank goodness I took a day off work yesterday :)

We got the very best Dog for us. He is a sweetheart.  Still a bit shy, but as he cuddles, eats, and walks, his tail is starting to wag and lift up, and we've each received a few nose kisses. He is also healthy and without any behavioral issues. Bonuses are he's fixed, micro-chipped, and house trained!

When outside, he has not been spooked by traffic noise, cars, buses, people or other dogs.
His ears perk up and he takes in all the sights and sounds. He is great going downstairs but is hesitant a first to go up stairs.

There are 2 things he as not done yet. Bark or poop.  There has not been one sound out of him. No whine, whimper, or bark.  In regards to the poop, he's eating well so that's just a matter of time I'm sure.

Loki is classified as a Terrier Mix.  I would say he's more a Terrier/ Chihuahua/ Daschund mix.  There were quite a few small dogs like Loki that the Toronto Humane Society brought in from California.  They go there twice a year to rescue dogs from a kill shelter there. They say that these are perfect city apartment/condo dogs.

He is one year and one month old, and weighs about 12lbs. He's had 2 previous names.  In California, he was Bruce.  At the Toronto Humane Society, he was Brian.  Within minutes of Adam and I standing with him in line to get our Toronto Dog License, he was renamed Loki.

Loki, after The God Of Mischief.  It was his shiny black coat & amazing ears:)

Looking out the window. His ears are amazing. I need to catch a shot with them straight up.

I kept waking him up with the beep beep of the camera.

His nose and ears were working overtime on our walk this morning.

Already, in less that 24 hours, I am over the moon happy and feel so lucky to have a little four legged life in our home. This little creature has made a huge difference.