Major fail!!

I had an altercation today with a stick... and it won. I ended up sprawled across a muddy path but luckily I didn't land on my stupidly small cavalier as I think I would probably have squished her flat! I can feel my shoulder and neck stiffening up so I expect tomorrow to be interesting. So overall I am not doing too well on the walking front... I should probably stay in tomorrow as lord only knows what I will end up doing!

I did manage to get the rest of Adele's horse personality paper read and have started on my thesis writing guide so I now know my next move is my written proposal.

Other than that I have been weeding the garden to get a march on the weeds this year as I felt as if they were taking over last year. I really need to get someone out to look at cutting back some of the trees in the garden but at the moment the electrics and a new shower are more of a priority.

only an hour and a half...

Until I can eat chocolate again!! It has been so hard, but that is the point of lent I suppose. So this has been a big achievement and has shown me I can survive without chocolate, my test now is to only eat it once a week!

I managed to slide on some mud earlier so I am waiting to see what state my knee will be in tomorrow, I am hoping it is not too bad. I had to take a tramadol earlier as it was aching but fingers crossed that it will be okish tomorrow. I did have ideas of another long puppy walk over Easter but I don't think that will be happening now. 

Other than that we just saw the bf's mother today who popped through for a visit, this means I can't really do any developmental stuff as I need to sit around and make conversation. I sometimes do a little bit of cross stitch but my new project is very complicated and requires me to concentrate... the bf calls it "50 shades of beige"

My book on how to write a thesis came today so I MUST make a start on it, everyone else has made such a good start on theirs (but then I am working full time and have a very noisy bf during the times I am home!!)

Off to bed now so the Easter bunny can come!!

Massive development

So my application for APBC member ship is almost ready to be sent off, I then need to sort out insurance (through dad lol) and then I am all ready to go with problem behaviour work!! I am also trying to arrange to do home visits for the RSPCA to practice my counselling skills. This is all headed in the right direction!

We also went back to view Aldwark Manor yesterday all set up for a wedding and I think we have decided to get married there so that is another big tick off my list of things to do. It was so peaceful there and as we drove up the driveway the sun was setting and the windows looked like they were on fire with the reflection... it was beautiful. 

I also got to a place where I had done every application I could before I went home from work last night which pleased me immensely. However when I get back after Easter there is going to be a huge pile waiting for me!! I am enjoying being back at work and it meant today I could by NOW 84 without any feelings of guilt.

Tesco was packed today and I came away with a splitting headache but that is gone now so I think it is time to do some house work and take the puppy out for a long walk. After that I plan to spend the day reading though some magazines which I have been meaning to do for ages and then they can be rehomed to a friend of mine :D

The many jobs at work day

I had forgotten how hard it is working full time!! I did Student Records in the morning, caught up with admin over lunch, lectured in the afternoon and then attended a meeting after that about campus development plans. I hurried home to put away the bunnies and sort out the recycling... by that time the bf was home! 

I still have no idea how long I will be working in Student Records as apparently they have not even hit the peak times for applications and they are getting at least five a day. I am just doing my best to plod through them but to be honest the pile does not seem to be getting any smaller.

There was a program about Pompeii on tonight that I watched as I am off to the Pompeii exhibition at the British Museum in a week or two and I wanted to do some research first. 

I am not really getting any personal development done due to work but I have Emma on order at the library and I have decided to go to a local Pilates class using some of the proceeds of my work. I think it will really help my balance and co ordination. I also started reading Adele's horse journals last night but I didn't get too far before I was hit by exhaustion!

Tomorrow is also stupidly busy should contain development stuff, I am musing going into work earlier than I originally thought as there is so much to be done and I can earn some more money. It is Easter after tomorrow so I will have a couple of days where I won't be working and can self develop. I also need to do physio and loose some weight!!!  

Cataracts

This morning I had four bunnies at the vets for VHD injections and it was confirmed that Pepsi does have cataracts so he is going to need lots of TLC, although the puppy will probably require some training in this. I also checked and the vets will be happy to let me have some behavioural cases so I just need to write to them and gain my accreditation with the APBC. One of the women off my masters did her first behavioural consult and charged £200!!!! I just can't justify that money with not having any experience so I will probably start my problem beahviour work more in the region of £60 and work my way up!

I also met with a couple of people from my masters for coffee and realised that I am behind them in terms of my masters dissertation... Although it is hard to study now I am working more or less full time and when I am home the bf insists on there always being background noise which can be anything from friends, football commentary to music and I need quiet to work. Sometimes it can even be TV and music!!

Still I am self evicting myself from the lounge tonight as there is football on so I will try to see if I can make a start on something masters related!! I am feeling slightly irritated tonight as I have spent all today rushing around, even rushing my dinner as I didn't want to loose any of the wages from my 4 hours at work to a lunch our. I was hoping to slodge on the sofa tonight but I just can't face football tonight! 

A full days work

I actually did a full days work today! And I enjoyed it... even more shocking!! The parents are doing all the house work and puppy walking (I do adore them for this). I then made cup cakes to take to work and made chicken roulade for dinner... it needed more seasoning of some sort or a gravy. Tonight we are off to the quiz at the local pub oh and I finished 'The Big Four' meaning I can put a big tick next to my Agatha Christie book. 

My development books to read are as below:

Emma

Men are from Mars Women are from Venus

Beatrix Potter biography

Bronte Sisters biography

Moby Dick

I am sure this list will be added to over the next few weeks and I am going to be very good and get them from the library where possible!

Birthday

My brothers birthday was yesterday so today my parents and I decided to go around and spend the day with him (after driving through many snow drifts!!). His flat mate was clearing out some unwanted items and so I got Moby Dick from him which I have put onto my self development reading list (this list is getting very long and worryingly doesn't seem to contain any books that actually live in my bookcases!). 

Tomorrow I am starting in Central Admissions so I have been arranging puppy cover and lists of jobs for my parents. Mum was talking about spring cleaning the house and I guess if it makes her happy I can put up with it! I get to see how the duck with the 14 ducklings is getting on tomorrow!!

Finally finished!

Today I finished a cross stitch for a friend which I started almost a year ago, it was a horrible design with thick thread and tiny edging stitches... it looks lovely now it is finished though!

I also managed to set up an ISA so now my wedding fund money has somewhere to live. I bought some new trousers for work so when I start my few weeks in Central Admissions I have a choice other than leggings. I am making meatloaf for tea (my second ever attempt), have finished off Jane Austen's biography and am starting my first ever Agatha Christie book (The Big Four)

Adventures at Beverley

Yesterday I went through to Beverley with the puppy and we had a long wander over the very soggy common! I then went shopping which I had told myself I would do there for a year and a half. After that I had a meeting with Adele and I actually know where I am headed with my dissertation (I don't think it is going to be as hard as I thought it would be, although if I am working more I will have less time to spend on it!!). 

After that I was late to agility classes due to House being on the TV. During the beyond the basics class we started to work on getting a dog to roll over and do a bow (though I am also teaching Tess just to stand still), we also did walking your dog on the wrong side (but as Tess has never been taught to walk to heel it was extra tough for me!). I need to remember to practice some of what we learnt for next week. 

The house is an utter tip so I think today will be mainly spent tidying and cleaning

Beverley common

Tess puppy on the common

Good news

I have been offered more hours in Central Admissions at work which should mean that we will have enough money for our trip to Colchester over summer :D Or even a cheap hot holiday over  the winter period! I am not sure how long they want me for yet but I am happy to take whatever I can (I just need to arrange something for Tess!).

Other than that I had a great lecture involving lamb feeding, watching lambs being born, putting head collars on calves and AI being done on a heifer. I felt I connected a little with my students which was great. Ended up over doing it with my newly rested knee so I need to take it a little easier and make sure to sit and rest often. 

I also have been working on my cat cross stitch which has been outstanding for months and months and really needs finishing off. So not much development as a person today but lots of good news :D 

Oz...

Went to see 'Oz the great and powerful' today which was my first cinema trip in ages, I used to go all the time but not since the prices have gone up. The bf came with me which was good as I am trying to get him out of the house a little more as it is thought he may be suffering from a little stress and depression (not that he believes in depression!!)

Other than that I have dragged him along for a blood test and attempted (without success) to get some lavender oil to help him sleep. I am not really sure where the day went! I did mange to get an appointment booked with my MSc supervisor which is a step in the right direction. 

I need to read some of my Jane Austen biography tonight... to make up for my shocking lack of development for today!!!!

Onion gravy

So today I have established that Adele is going to be my project supervisor... not really what I was hoping as she is always too busy to answer emails etc, never mind I shall just have to make the best of it!

Other than that we established that there is a small chance that we may be moving house and the bf seems to be a little confused as to what he wants to do. I did manage to make him a doctors appointment, partly against his will for his sleep deprivation and general body pains (cross fingers she sorts him out!!). 

I also managed to mark my students grooming and restraint handbooks which means they won't complain at me again!!

So really just another day of wallowing on the sofa... only one more day to go!! Oh but I did make toad in the hole with onion gravy (that bit is a first for me and I have decided to cook more, as in proper cooking!!).

A two day update

Still sat mainly on the sofa and am now bored out of my mind (not helped by the fact that it is a Sunday). 

Yesterday I established that the magazine I was looking for had indeed been usurped by a latter edition, however I did find a design template for a tote bag online so I can get it for free! I also cashed my cheque for my illegal ISA so that means that I have some spare cash, I am putting some into a legal ISA, I bought a pair of cat boots (off the back of the chiropractor and podiatrist complaining about my shoes). I am thinking I may invest the rest of the spare capital in a sewing machine which I have wanted for months and months but have never had the spare cash for. I can then use this to make the tote bags... this is the link in case I loose it:

tote bags

Today I have mainly been bored and not really achieved much other than a little work on my dissertation. It turns out personalities in dogs are much more complicated than I originally thought and at the moment one of the text books pretty much is written in gobbledygook. I think I need to read a few journal articles to familiarise myself with the concept first...

Poorly bunny

Today I mainly had a splitting headache... I then spent £80 on Pepsi bunny who needed his tear ducts flushing again... it was not a brilliant day overall.

However I have discovered this magazine which I feel may help me if I want to do crafty type things. They have a tote bag in their last issue which I am hoping may still be in W H Smiths when I go into town tomorrow to do some shopping. I still need to get myself a sewing machine though I am not sure when I will ever get a month where I don't have expensive bills coming in!! January was the car tax, February the new door, March was the month of poorly rabbits and April will be my new prepayment certificate *pulls hair* 



Only four days of 'sofa rest' left... there is not really much rest happening!!

Day one of self improvement

This blog will record my self improvement and achievements for the year. 

Today I...

• Learnt how to get Tess into the correct position for a heal by luring her into position with my hand
• Managed to get Tess to do an emergency stop by holding up my hand as she approached and then reinforcing this by throwing cheese down.
• Tried on wedding dresses and have established the type of dress which looks nice on me (I also established that I do not look fat in wedding dresses which was a surprise)