Health Distraction

  I love being able to text my friends and proudly tell them that "I lost another pound!" On Tuesday I went for a bike ride for the first time since January. I went 5.3 miles which was a pretty good amount and I explored a new area and saw that one huge field that I think looked like Africa (obviously I've never been there, but I could imagine elephants walking around) which has now been turned into another neighborhood. The weather was hot, but the shaded areas of tree canopies provided a nice breeze.

  I went on a walk on Thursday and took these pictures below. I like stopping to look at the flowers or watch the lizards and squirrels scurrying around. And I have noticed that along the trails, all of the walkers and bikers say hello to each other, which I think is very nice. I talk to my friend Danielle a lot about making healthy food choices and we motivate each other to exercise. She has a group chat including me and some of her other friends, posting inspirational pictures and quotes. Tonight she started a group challenge about not eating sweets, less carbs, and more fruits and veggies!

  After my walk, Michael and I went to a very cute town nearby and tried a new place for dinner. I got this pizza without cheese, due to not eating dairy right now. I have to admit ~ pizza is not the same without cheese, but their crust was very good! Michael got mozzarella sticks and a pepperoni roll. He said he would like us to go back there again. Lately I've just been craving Chipotle tacos! We also walked further into the town in hopes that the building with several vendors was still open (it was). I like being able to support small local businesses, and I got the mango popsicle. It was basically like eating a frozen mango ~ it was very delicious. I keep asking Michael to go to the Farmer's Market with me because I prefer not to go many places by myself, but he doesn't seem interested. There are at least ten other food places that I would like to try in that area. Sandwich and smoothie cafes, dessert and pastry shops, and they are building a new Mexican restaurant.

   I went for three short walks today. The first one was 1.5 miles, second was 1.2 miles, and then when it got dark and was only 78 degrees outside, Michael said he would go for a walk with me! Woohoo! So we did two loops around the neighborhood (3/4 mile) before he got too hot.

This is just a picture I really like that Mia sent me of her neighbor's cat who looks like Toby!