How are weight loss, a puppy, saving money and Swagbucks related?

I had already gone to bed tonight when I had one of those epiphanies that I sometimes have. I'll see in the morning if it still sounds like a great idea. LOL

I need to lose weight. A lot of weight. At least 100 pounds of weight. I realized tonight that I need a reason to lose the weight. I know I should do it just for my health and well being but I need something more tangible than that. I need a goal. So, what goal could I come up with that would really motivate me? I thought about it for a few minutes and quickly came up with having a dog again, a puppy. I don't want one right now because it's not the right time for a puppy or dog but maybe a year from now. In that year I can work on losing weight so I can be more active for a dog. So, here's my idea: for every 10 lbs that David or I lose in weight, we'll put $25 in a puppy fund. I don't ever want to get a puppy again without being ready financially to take one on. So saving money for the next year, only when we lose another 10 lbs, would be a great goal. I also would save my Amazon Gift Cards that I'm earning through Swagbucks to help prepare for the puppy (toys, collar, leashes, bowls, etc.). That would give me an amount to work toward every day on Swagbucks so I can get the 5 $5 gift cards per month ($25 total). So if I want a puppy in a year I would have to lose enough weight to be more active and save money and AGC's.

I'm going to talk to David tomorrow about this. I think it would make it easier to lose weight and say no to junk food and fast food if we have an alternative to look forward to. Do I really want that Payday and Cherry Coke or do I want to lose weight and get a puppy? That will always be the question. It makes me want to get out and go for a walk, but it's almost 10:30pm so I'll hold off on that for tonight. But having that question would, I think, make me choose the right thing each time. I want to be healthy and I want to be active and I want a puppy. Saving money and getting AGC's through Swagbucks will help me to achieve those goals.

I've already thought of a few names for the puppy (I'm leaning toward getting a male) - Segway, Chopper or if it's a girl, Vesper. Planning ahead like this is a smart thing to do. I don't want to just jump into getting another dog. I want to be emotionally, physically, financially and mentally ready for a puppy. I think this time around I would get another Lab or GSP. I would want the dog to be temperament tested before we would consider him or her as a member of the family. I would also make a vow to work with the puppy every day on training and learning. I would love to be in good enough shape to take the dog to agility classes. I'll have to look on Amazon and see if they have agility equipment that I could save my Swagbucks toward.

Every day I would be working on losing weight, earning swagbucks and saving money so that in a year David and I could get a puppy. We would both be in better shape and have more to give a puppy. Part of the reason it didn't work out with the other dogs is that I didn't have the energy to keep up with them and take them for walks and do training. I was worn out just didn't minimal things with them. So losing weight and saving money and swagbucks would really have a purpose, a tangible purpose. I would have so much to look forward to in a year's time.

I'm really excited about this idea. I hope I feel the same way about it in the morning. I'm sure I will. And I hope David can be as excited about it as I am. He needs a tangible goal too and I think a puppy would be the thing to get David focused on get healthy and active and losing weight. I wish I could wake him up now and talk to him about this but he has to be up at 4am so I won't disturb him. I can wait until tomorrow to talk to him about all of this.

I'm glad I got up and blogged. If I hadn't I never would have been able to get to sleep because my mind constantly would have been on this. Now I can go to sleep knowing that I have a plan and that in a year or so I will have my puppy. Yay!