Ugh! Horrid, horrid people!

The EBJ's litter - all together!

Sometimes you know before you've even spoken that the person in front of you just, well you just aren't going to like each other. So it happened to me today.

Today I was meant to sell a puppy and I didn't. I just couldn't do it and thank god I didn't have to be rude because they decided they weren't going to go for it however, I still think it was a narrow escape for Tucker.

I had been speaking on the telephone to the potential owner who lives a good two hours from me for two weeks trying to organise for her and her daughter to come up and see the pups. She was only interested in a boy and seemed to be ideal. Living in the countryside, plenty of time for a young dog, plenty of people top look after him should she and her husband go away etc. It seemed a match made in heaven.

Anyway finally she and her daughter make it to Suffolk and they park up outside the house giving it a good once over before marching to the door. The daughter must be 10 years older than I and built in the traditional country tweed set manner large, ruddy faced with a severe haircut. Lots of no nonsense. The mother frail and slight but with an indomitable will. A formidable pair.

There was much curiosity about the house in fact more about that than the puppies who obviously weren't enough like Golden retrievers to be really looked at let alone appreciated.

Now I know a sleepy puppy is hard to gauge but I did my best I ran around the garden with them and everything but I felt it was me being judged in fact I just felt I was being judged full stop and that I was found sadly wanting. As were my pups.

I got a big spiel about the Golden retriever the mother had, how loyal and devoted it was and how it could not bear to be parted from its owner and do you know what I thought how horrid for my pup if he did land up with these people he'd never have the love he deserves, he'd be a second class citizen. They had no appreciation about puppies and that i.e. they did get tired and would sleep. The y had no appreciation about whippets and could not see how fantastic conformation he had nor frankly did they have any sensitivity at all. I started to under sell the pups, saying how quiet my beautiful Tucker was, how gentle and dependent he would be. I said things like: How I didn’t want them to be rushed into taking the puppy just yet and how perhaps they needed to think about it. The much to my relief started to say things such as what a big decision it would be to take on a dog etc. etc. . . . They left to think about things with me vowing that even if on the off chance they decided to take him I would be saying I am sorry I’ve decided to keep him.

I dreaded the phone call when they left but luckily they and I agreed on something my whippets were not for them! So still have two left and do you know what however much money anyone offers me for them I will not let them go to anyone unless I think the pups will have a good home...

PS: Thinking Slimmer - found I could actually say no to snacks and to seconds!!!!! Not lost any weight but defintiely thinking about what I am eating rather than just gorging even when I am tired and upset!!!!! Serious result.

How I was saved from myself by the Wickedest Whippet

Let me start off by saying that Sassy, the wickedest whippet has not been softened by motherhood and she let me know in no uncertain terms today but I will give her credit where credit is due, she did save me from myself.

Having just come off the telephone from having a severe ear bashing by one of my nearest and dearests, I immediately went to comfort myself from the cake tin. I do find food so much more gratifying when I cry especially the sweet stuff. Anyway just as I was about to satisfy my emotional needs with a piece of M&S chocolate fudge brownie, the one with the pieces of chocolate on the top, the telephone rang again and in my naiveté I dashed to pick it up thinking it was the relli calling to say sorry, leaving my repast on the top shelf of the dresser.

Please note that old habits die hard and even though I thought I knew that Sassy had seriously mellowed, I still erred on the side of caution.

Anyway it wasn’t said relli but the tree surgeon checking about getting to the house next week to measure up all our trees (another story I promise). Some quarter of an hour later I manage to extricate myself from the telephone only to find that the cake had disappeared though the plate was in exactly the same position.

At this stage I had my suspicions but there was no evidence to pin the job on her and she’s getting a dab hand at acting all innocent. It could have been the cat but she’s not as agile as she once was. It could have been J but I swear he was in the barn. Whoever did it, the fact was it had gone. So feeling rather put out I stomped up the stairs to my office deliberately leaving the EBJ incarcerated with her puppies in the kitchen. She was not amused.

In the haven of my office I checked my emails and spied one reminding me about the diet I am on. That jolted me! Having got so upset by the earlier telephone call I had completely forgotten my pledge on Day One of the dieting experiment! Typical me to attempt to fall at the first hurdle, but wait I had been saved. I had not eaten the forbidden delicacy, it had been nicked. A huge wave of euphoria swept over me and I rushed downstairs to hug my beautiful black whippet.

That is until I saw the kitchen...

There was paper everywhere and she and her puppies were in glorious mid-shred. We all stopped and stared at each other as little pieces of confetti sized paper drifted slowly to the floor. At first I was bewildered. Where on earth had she got this stuff? Then I saw the packaging. The evil dog had only gone and destroyed all the very expensive paper napkins that I had just bought for Christmas. I'd left them on the Kitchen table ready to put away later.

I bellowed, she choked and was then promptly sick all over the floor – and there was the evidence for all to see. Not only had she destroyed the napkins, the toad HAD eaten my cake! Any thought of hugging her for helping me keep to my diet went straight in the bin along with copious amounts of paper and other unmentionables. I am still in two minds whether to forgive her or not but as she is in my office now I’ll leave it to you to guess how long I’ll hold out…

REVIEW: Thinking Slimmer - Day One

PS. For those keeping an eye on me through the Thinking Slimmer experiment. I did not snack today and have been able to think about my food before eating it if that makes any sense at all bar the tiny slip up this morning that is. I feel very proud of myself!

Review: Thinking Slimmer - All I have to do is believe....

All I have to do is believe, believe that this time I will stick to my guns and that I will be able to lose weight...hmmmmm been here before and tried and failed and then made myself sick...

But this time all I am being exhorted to do is listen to a CD/podcast before I go to sleep. I am not being asked to give up anything as such nor am I being asked to eat only meat/veggies/tofu, just listen. It's got to be the oddest way to start changing my eating habits but the one thing that made me want to try this was because on the Thinking Slimmer website it said in big bold letters that dieting doesn't work.

Well actually it said that: Research has proven that diets don't achieve lasting weight loss. Now isn't that refreshing to have from a company helping you to lose weight. There seems to be an honesty about it. I am not saying that the marketeers for other weight loss programmes /foods/drinks or shakes are wrong or bad by saying their product does help you  to you lose weight just that I like the way the guys at Thinking Slimmer think. It proves what I have always thought that there is no easy way to do these things you have really got to want to do them not rely on a magic panacea.

So I have my handbook.  I have written my contract to myself and it's pinned up for me and everyone else to see in the kitchen. And I have my CD. Now let’s hope that it works...

Contract to self reads: 

I will achieve my goals of:

1 Weighing 9st 8lbs

2 Running for fun

3 Writing THAT book

And I will achieve them by this date:

Easter 2011