Dogs and Plans

WARNING, EPIC POST AHEAD!

Well so much for a new start. I had planned to get back on the wagon last Friday but after a couple of events decided to postpone until this Friday.

I got on the scales and weighed in at 96kg. That was the last straw for me. All I could think was that 100kg mark was fast approaching again. Decided it was time to do something about it. Rang the gym and arrange for my personal appraisal for Tuesday so I could get a proper program up and running. I had also made the decision (it was stupid at the time and I have since changed my mind) to drop out of Paulene's challenge as I felt like everytime I looked at my progress I felt like a failure. I took Bethany to school, went and did the shopping and came home to a nasty note in our mailbox complaining about our beagle barking. The note claims that our dog (and then they specify the beagle) does not shut up and it is disturbing the peace and quiet of the street and that we should do something about it or they will report it to the ranger.

Now for the facts, yes our dogs bark but not at nothing. They will bark if somebody pulls up in the driveway, at people putting stuff in our mailbox or at cats. It is not the beagle that starts things, it is our silky terrier. The beagle will sometimes join in but 90% of the time it is our silky. For these people to have specified the beagle, they must have come onto our property and then of course, the beagle would have barked.

This was enough to bring my mood right down. I was shattered. We have lived here for 6 years. We have put up with other people dogs howling for hours on end, drag cars being started at 7am and driven down the road, people letting off fireworks on their driveways and so on but never made one complaint. And we have never had one complaint about our dogs and we used to speak to the people in 3 of the 5 houses around us. In the 6 months, 3 of these families have moved and we now have new neighbours so it must be one of these families.

I rang the ranger and asked what I could do, he said that if someone were to make a complaint they would then have to keep a diary to specify when the barking occured and for how long. So I decided I would keep my own diary, not just of my dogs, but of everyone in the street, including drag cars, other peoples dogs and any other rowdiness. (Aren't I a spiteful bitch)

So the next day I spoke to a new neighbour on our immediate left. He said he does have a problem with our dogs and so does nearly everyone else in the street. I proceeded to tell him the whoever the complainant was had got it wrong as it was our silky, not the beagle and since I had brought the silky inside 20 hours earlier, there had not been one bark from our house as opposed to other houses (including the other new neighbours whose dog barked at us for the 20mins we were speaking outside). I continued to make polite conversation with this imbosile and went to leave. As I did he then proceeded to tell me his biggest problem with us (he's been here a whole 2 months) is that our front garden is not manicured enough and we should mow it twice a week like he does as our house in bringing down the propery value in the street!

Well that did it! Our front yard is actually looking the best it has since we built the house. We have had to establish everything from scratch and things were starting to look quite good. His lawn is like a carpet with standard roses and that sort of thing. I looked around and said "Well I can see worse yards than ours" to which he replied "But one shouldn't set exception to the rule" or something like that. I then threw back at him that as we were a family with priorities we either pay out to get our lawnmower fixed to make the lawn look better or we get new, non see through fencing to stop the dogs barking, we can't do both. And I walked inside.

So by then I was fuming. Everyone in our street apparently hates us and we are bringing down the property values! So more bad eating and non exercise ensure that weekend. I am also now miss busybody, writing down every barking dog, every noise, everything, just to cover our butts incase the ranger turns up one day.

Then yesterday I went for my appraisal. And I loved it. I love the program that Pauline (the personal trainer) set for me and I felt great. I thought stuff it! I'm going to start again right now! I'm not going to drop out of the challenge, I'm just going to do the best I can in the time that's left. I also made 2 definate decisions to try and help me get over my down state of mind.

Every week the following 2 things will happen without fail, just for me:

1. I am going to walk around the river with mum again like I used to. I love doing that. It gets me out of the house, keeps me distracted while I do it and I get exercise all at the same time.

2. I am going to treat myself to a milk bath like the lady at the day spa told me I could. She told me how to make one and I will do it while Caitlyn has her long nap. That way I am doing something just for me.

Almost finished, long post huh!

So today we troddled off to town to do our walk. And today we walked the full city side of the foreshore. We did it in 25 mins. When we got to the other end, we had a small breather (my mum is 59, she needed it) and while she sat I did 10 squats, then I lent up against a tree and did 10 pushups, then I did 10 squats and then 10 pushups and then we set off and walked the 25mins back to the car.

I FELT AWESOME and so did my mum. I didn't care walked I looked like to the peak hour traffic while I was doing my squats and pushups. I didn't care how red I looked in the face to all of the fit, thin people jogging past me, I felt terrific.

So it is a definate that we will do it every week. Mum wants to do it twice and is going to take my sister in with her one the other day. I am hoping that we can lose this weight together as she has been as depressed as me lately and she just wants to lose 15-20kg so I would like to help her do it with me.

So today I am feeling much better in the head. I am happy and I feel things have now changed for the better.

But I am still spying on my neighbours!