HEADING TOWARDS DISASTER...!

Anyone still lurking?!

If you are, my new blog can be found here! Hope you can join me and we can catch up again x

J starts a new job in June, and even though the new job is only an hour away we've decided to move closer to it to cut the commute down a bit. Droitwich looks nice with a decent town centre and it's one of the places we're looking around for houses.

Last time we house hunted we took 2 years to buy something! We looked, then got bored, then looked again... then got bored again... it was only when our landlord gave us notice that we actually got ourselves in gear. This time around I hope we can be more sensible with the compromises and just pick something. This place was the house that gave us Daniel and I've learned that the building isn't what makes a home, family is. You can make a few compomises if you need to without taking away from what is otherwise the perfect family home.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings right now. Part of me is nervous. I dread having to start again and for Daniel to have to find new little friends living local to us. The other part of me though is excited. I love new starts. It's like the slate has been wiped clean and a new chapter can begin. The endless possibilities mean anything can happen and I'm excited to find out what good things are coming our way!

Lucy is definitely getting this loose leash walking at last. She still needs a few corrections when we go out but it's like she suddenly knows 100% what she needs to do for both of us to enjoy the walk. I am so so proud of her because she's worked really hard to understand what I want her to do.
Benji still needs a little help here and there because he's such a nervous dog but there's no doubt in my mind that in 6 months time my dogs are going to be worthy of a gold obedience medal!

The weather this week has been absolutely fab, really warm, and perfect for going out with the boy during the day. Last Sunday J, D and I went to Matlock in the Peak District and it was so peaceful spending time sitting outside a cafe as a family. D has probably brought J and I closer than ever even though he demands a lot of time from us and takes away a lot of sleep hours.
Anyway Matlock is an absolutely stunning place so if you want more info or pictures of the gorgeous scenery go here for a look.

Tomorrow we're off to Worcestershire where we are probably moving to next since J has been offered a new job!

Over the past couple of days both dogs have managed 2 walks working perfectly to heel! And not only that, Benji came face to face with two dogs walking directly towards us and he managed to deal with it without losing the plot!

Talk about me being a proud parent!!

This afternoon they weren't so hot when we went out and both seemed to want to walk a little faster than I did but it's a step in the right direction and I'm proud of them for doing so well!

Labels: Dog training

A month ago we all set our goals and challenges for 2011 and a lot of us vowed that this year would be different.
How scary is it then that the first month of the year is over! 1/12 of the year has already disappeared and we're supposed to be 1/12 of the way through the goals we set ourselves.

Are you? Or did you not even start yet? Because if you've not made much progress and really intend to make 2011 a special one then you need to get off your bum and get going.

January is supposed to be a long month but actually it's disappeared in the blink of an eye for me and the year no longer has that 'new' feel to it. Instead it feels as though the year has really started now and its up to me to make the most of it whilst it's here!

I loved January and everything it brought me. :) It was very much family, dog training and cheesecake time.

Next month I might lay off the cheesecake just a tad ;-)

Labels: goal setting

One of my big goals this year is to teach heel work to both dogs. They've mastered the loose leash but I'd really like to progress with them and get a decent heel next. I've not gone down the clicker training route before today but I just bought a clicker from Amazon and am interested to see whether the training progress is quicker using one. We are hoping to go on another dog friendly holiday later in the year and although the dogs were good in Cornwall, you can never have dogs that are too well behaved.

Another goal I was also supposed to be participating in was the make do and mend trend. Lets just say the theory is easier than the practice. All of a sudden there are tons of things I want or need to buy. I think I'd really struggle if I actually had the money to go shopping!

Labels: clicker training

Christmas is just 3 days away and obviously this is the special one for us because it's baby's first Christmas! We've invited J's Dad to join us on the big day but with the snow bringing what feels like the entire country to a standstill we might not be seeing anybody.
I think I'm well and truly over the snow. It started out looking beautiful and offering a bit of excitement but several weeks on it's left us cancelling plans and sitting at home bored. Pushing a buggy down hill on ice is probably a no go... right?!
All my dog training and heelwork goes out the window during snowstorms too. The dogs get themselves excited and seem to believe there are more sniffs to enjoy when the white stuff is down.

Anyway I'm all ready for Christmas but J isn't. He tells me he'll hopefully be able to do his shopping on Christmas eve. Guess I won't be getting anything then ;)

Last night I ordered several Christmas gifts online meaning I'm well on my way to being organised. As a non-shopper it takes the pressure off big time if I can just get a few gifts under my belt and a few more ideas for others written down. And of course this year I'm catering for a little man who wants his first Christmas stocking!

December is slowly starting to fill up with seeing people and it's nice to see a calendar that isn't so empty. I think J and I have fallen into a bubble of sleepless nights and dirty nappies and we barely go out anymore. On weekends we're lucky if we make it out to the supermarket or for a drive, and to be blunt Saturdays and Sundays have become nothing more than a bore! We need to pull ourselves out of this rut before we get stuck in too deeply.

I had fun playing with ebay this week but I haven't made my fortune! I have made 99p though, less fees of course. Won't be retiring this week then...

Daniel's got another cold thing going on which prevented him having a decent nights sleep last night. I know from having been up since 1am that the rain has been coming down hard since then. When it rains and when the boy is sniffling too I can't go out and instead end up sitting on the sofa looking out at a very soggy garden. Lucy tends to be content to watch with me, but Benji has got his eyes trained on my feet the whole time and whenever I get up he jumps up too and makes a mad dash for the front door. I'm going stir crazy in here and it's all because of the pressure my bullying Corgi puts on me to walk the streets in all weathers.

Whilst waiting for J to come home to babysit so I can venture out with my mean minded dogs I've had a go at listing stuff on ebay. Hours later having written descriptions, uploaded fuzzy pictures,taken several phone calls to verify who I am, and clicked on what feels like loads of terms and conditions that I didn't really understand I've managed to list 4 items.
I can't believe people actually do this for a living. At the moment it's fun seeing if any of my books and things sell but if they don't, I'm shoving them in the next charity bag that comes through the door and will declutter that way. (And we seem to get 3 or 4 charities a week calling around here!)