think I've found an even better type of New Years Resolution. That is one that just happens. It is easy because it is something you just do naturally. It either is something you enjoy or something you do that is part of your routine. My best kind of resolution is that I have lost weight without having to think about it much. It all comes from my running around our yard with our dog, Asuna. I haven't had any posts about her since we first got her. Here is a link to that story. It turns out that the post I linked to was published just about this time eight years ago. She has been keeping us busy and active for those eight years but the exercise was hit or miss for most of the time. But about three or four years ago, I decided to make it a scheduled part of the day. We have a one acre lot that is completely fenced in. I can close the gates of our driveway and Asuna can just run loose. She loves that. There are many squirrels, rabbits and birds for her to investigate. She is running at you in the picture here. I have a plastic shovel waiting for her to poop so I can get rid of it.
One problem, though, is that she likes to bark at our neighbors and anyone who happens to walk by on the sidewalk. Actually, she is afraid of everything but in these cases, she barks so the people won't bother her. But that means we never leave her out unless one of us (90% of the time it's me) is out with her. That way, we can assure the person being barked at that they are safe and we can get her away or get her to stop. The good part of this is that I am forced to always be out with her and have to keep up with her. She goes out three of four times a day for about 15 - 20 minutes a time. Now, my weight has increased over the years so that I had weight 220 pounds for a long long time. I had tried to lose weight but could never keep it off. But since I have been keeping up with Asuna, I have lost almost 15 pounds. She is like my having a personal trainer. I have to go where she wants to go when she wants to go. She likes to inspect the whole yard and we have a hill she is happy climb and descend. I have no choice! I don't run but I do have to move along because I don't want to miss a poop or if she happens to start barking at someone.
I don't want to make this sound like it is hard. It is usually the highlight of the day for both of us. Lately, she is fond of sitting on the front porch watching the cars go by. She gets treats while we sit there (don't tell her but they are really just Science Diet Oral Care dog food nuggets that she thinks are treats). So, like I say, it is a resolution that is fun and has a good result.This continued resolution brings us closer together and makes us both more healthy. That's hard to beat.
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