Three Westies, Two Laps, One Bed: Flat January and New Year Revolutions

I have felt a little bit flat of late, but that could just be January Syndrome. January has never been my favourite month. On the whole I try to put my head down and work through it. I can't believe how quickly the time flies by, we are already into February, so I must be having fun in spite of the time of year!

But what of our New Year's resolutions? I will admit that this year my resolutions have not been particularly original, intellectual or creative. First and foremost I set out to lose a kilo and a half by the end of January, bringing my weight back down to a manageable 70 kilos. That goal is now to lose three kilos! For some reason I have managed to put weight on rather than lose it. I also vowed to do half an hour of exercises every day. I kept that up for the first week and a half, but have wavered and fallen. Yesterday I got back on the horse and did do a bit, but today, owing to a small dog crisis eg Looki falling into an uncovered drain on our morning walk and me having to bath him on our return and taking the opportunity to bath the girls too as they were just a tad smelly, I am behind on jobs and so exercising does not seem to be in the equation. The mending that has been pending (Ah, how poetic! Pending mending!) since the new year seems to have gone on hold too, though I did get my sewing machine out which is always a hopeful sign.

A small crisis and a very dirty doggy

I always aim for a couple of weeks of sobriety in the New Year, stupid really as I always have odds and ends of bottles that need finishing before I can go teetotal. Once they are done I have to wean myself off the booze again, but I have done a few drink-free days over the past two weeks, which is good for my liver, I guess. Still I do enjoy a little wind-down drink in the evening, after a hard day's work, and I really don't see a problem with that.

On the Westie front, on the other hand, things are going really well. Kerry has lost a little bit more weight, bringing her down to 10.5 kilos. This is a great achievement for her as she weighed in at a hefty 11.2 at the start of December. I don't want her to lose the weight too quickly obviously and I know it is difficult for her as she is hungry all the time, but she really was very rotund and I could see her struggling on her little legs. Her big round belly was nearly touching the ground and I was painfully aware of the dangers of her becoming diabetic or suffering with other weight related illnesses in her older years, or worse, getting stuck trying to get over a humpbacked bridge! Her goal weight is 9.5, though I think that 10 would probably be just fine, so we only have another little bit to go.

A much slimmer Kerry all scrubbed up

Candy too has lost half a kilo bringing her back down to a perfect 8.5. She had just tipped over the 9 kilo mark and was starting to look a bit chubby. But now she is back to being sleek and athletic and chasing her little carrot tail around in circles like every good Westie should. Right now she is tucked into the chair behind me, wrapped around my lower back keeping me warm and making me sit upright while I write. What a thoughtful little girl. She just loves the computer and when I get up to make a cup of tea she will sit up and watch the screen until the dancing shapes finally go to sleep.

Looki was fine really. I thought him a little bit heavy, but the vet said he was in perfect shape. He is quite a large dog, for a small dog, if you get my drift. I keep hoping that I will walk him a little bit fitter over the next few weeks, but that is up to me really and that is the problem, my own resolutions having fallen so pitifully by the wayside.

Still slightly damp, but cleaner

Why oh why is it so difficult to get up at the crack of dawn, do half an hour of exercises before taking the Westies out for their walk and then on my return eat a healthy fibre-rich breakfast eg porridge?!

Since returning to work I have been tired in the evening and have got into the habit of going to bed early, at around 10 or 10.30. So I set the alarm for 10 to 7 in the morning, giving me a one hit snooze to be up at 7.00 to wash and dress and get stuck into my exercise programme before it even gets light. But can I get up? NO! I hit the snooze button once, twice, three times or simply just turn it off and slumber on until 8.00 or even later. The bed is really cosy at this time of year, especially when there are three delicious Westies tucked in around you. Who really wants to get up?

Once up, bleary-eyed and late, there is not always time to walk the dogs. Of course the intention was to get back into the habit of walking them twice a day, but to my shame often they do not even get walked once! I can blame everything. Being tired after work, dark mornings and dark evenings, the cold, being too busy with work and other chores etc etc, but the truth is I cannot get myself motivated where in the past I have been so motivated and had not a single problem getting up and walking or exercising as the case may be.

So what is different now?

I think the decline began way back when we took Looki on, which is over a year ago now. Prior to that I was a great walker. I was always up early and up the road and down the road and around the North Ring or the South Ring and that could be day or night. I thought that having a dog would be great, which it is of course! Lovely to have company on these walks, which can sometimes be a little bit solitary. But the dog we adopted loves to sniff (what dog doesn't?), even to the point of when he has something really interesting in his olfactory glands he does this complete limpet thing with his body and literally hugs the pavement. Trying to prise him free is often not worth the effort. For a small dog he is very strong. So I let him cling there, hoovering up the fascinating odours until he is ready or until I finally lose patience and say "Looki! Come on!" He is a dog who has to water every lamppost and every hubcap on our route and all this stopping and starting makes for a very unsatisfactory aerobic experience for me. Now, times three, of course the walk is even more about the dogs and practically nil about me as they all pull and sniff and stop and start in three different directions. The only plus point of that is that my fledgling bingo wings have completely disappeared.

The only time I get a really good workout is when we go up the mountain and then I can let the dogs off the lead and actually stretch my own legs a bit, but that is a longer walk and one I can only contemplate on a day off.

Still I would rather have the dogs, I just have to figure out how to manage my own life again……something I am contemplating now on another front since Vic left also. A strange feeling, being able to make my own decisions again without discussing or even considering another person…only myself…..and I wonder sometimes if that is at the root of my lethargy. I am not saying that I am especially generous and thoughtful of other people, but I am happiest in my role as a carer of others: children, husbands/partners, dogs, or even just the house.

So perhaps I should make a new list of resolutions for February:

Be kinder to self.

Set smaller goals for self.

Drink more gin.

Go to bed later and get up with the light and not before.

No more self-flagellation (figurative flagellation that is).

Eat more chocolate.

Allow myself time to daydream again. Life is not all about work.

Allow more cuddle time with the Westies.

Did I mention chocolate?

And finally:

Stop making so many darn lists and so many resolutions!