Saturday, April 12, 2008

Doggy School...


We have a pretty challenging dog. He is beautiful, and exceptional with the girls, and just plain loves people. The problem? Well, for starters, he doesn't seem to care for other dogs, which poses a little problem when we try to take him for a walk. Second, like I said, he LOVES people, but a little too much! When visitors enter my house, if we haven't been able to wrangle him into his kennel quick enough, they get pummeled.
So, we have embarked on a doggy school adventure. I'm still not quite sure why I feel the need to write about this, but I was sitting at my computer browsing around some stuff, and I just felt like I should.
Week one of school went pretty well. Just the basics. Walk, and sit. We could handle that, although big dog has REALLY long legs (Greyhound-Pointer long legs), and a TON of that greyhound energy, so i had a time keeping up with him. DUH! He's supposed to keep BACK with me. Ok, got it, now you try to teach a greyhound to walk slowly. My neighbors must have thought I was completely losing it, until we explained that we were just doing our homework.
Week two, we added a left hand turn - fun sometimes 'cause you get to give him that little kick he deserved when he ate the play-doh last week, or let himself out of the LOCKED sliding glass doors, leaving the door open and the 30 degree air pouring in! Well, it was fun until big dog decided that he did not like any of the other dogs in class. This would be where I exited as "teacher" and my dear husband has assumed the role.
You know that saying "Anything you can do , I can do better"? Well, I can't do this better. I lack the amount of strength it takes to control a large four legged creature who has decided it would be a good thing to rip out the jugular of his peers! So, after looking like a complete, Um, blubbering fool, I turned over the leash. The second half of class went much better! Oh no, this does not get me out of homework. If anything, it gives me more! I need to get big dog to show me the same respect he shows my husband! Ha! We're still working on it!
That brings us to today, week three. Today's lesson was "stay". This dopey dog has to now understand that when you hold your hand a certain way in front of his face, and move your right foot, he is to stay where he is. (oh, and the whole left - right thing - not as easy as it seems!) This task was actually easier for the dogs to master than any of the people holding the leashes! Also providing wonderful entertainment for the people running the class! Hence, we have our homework for this week, and big dog and I will be spending lots of time in the driveway!

Sometimes I wonder, particularly when I am trying not to lose my temper with this big dog, if God ever feels like I do when I am trying to get he dog to follow my commands. I keep showing him the same thing over and over, so why doesn't he listen! I almost chuckle out loud when I try to picture God saying, "I keep answering the same prayer over, and over, but she doesn't hear me!" Oh, I know that God has infinite patience with us, but this experience has caused me to really slow down and try to listen more carefully. I am proving to be a pretty unruly child, and I know it. So, I am going to do my best to follow the commands that God has given me, but more than that, I am really going to try to set my mind to doing what I know he wants me to do, but gives me the freedom to decide on my own.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

8 in 2008 Update...




Well, since I skipped last month (things were completely nutty around my house!), I guess I had better get back on track! Especially since the last time I even wrote was for the 8 in 08 for February! So, here goes nothing!

1. Quiet time…I admit that I am failing miserably at this goal. I still have plenty of excuses, but none of them are valid, so I won’t even go there! I will just ask you to pray for me that I can fulfill this goal this month, and take it from there!

2. Goal Weight…I have accomplished this goal! I got to my goal weight in February! Hooray! So, I guess I need to change this goal for this month…

I think I would really like to focus on maintaining my weight, and in order to do that, I need to be conscious of what I am putting into my mouth! My goal for this month is to journal what I eat. I’ve slacked off in that department big time, and it is what keeps me on track!

3. A workout plan…This is another goal I have failed miserably at. I do need to tweak this goal a bit though. Rob and I have signed up to do a 20 mile walk in June for suicide prevention. Yes, you read that correctly! 20 miles! So, my workout goal for this month is to make sure I walk for at least 30 minutes everyday!

4. Patience with my girls…this is the goal that I have been able to keep! We have our moments, but before the top blows, I am able to assess the situation.

5. Organization…this goal is such a thorn in my side! I have gone through more paper than I ever thought I had, and I have so much more to do. I end up going through it over and over again because each time I make myself throw something else away that I really do not need to save. Slowly, I am getting there!

6. Budget…big progress has been made here! We are paying off our debt! We have our eyes on the prize, and my mindset has finally realized exactly what needs to be done! I won’t say I have achieved this goal, I have a long way to go, but I have made some serious progress!

7. To play…the girls are growing, and changing so much everyday! My big girly is getting into “Barbies”, and dress up, and my little one is working so hard on playing with her toys! We are having a lot of fun trying new things, too! I think that this goal may have been reached – I’ve been in a really great place with this for well over 2 months now! So, I suppose I will come up with a new goal for this spot next month!

8. The dreaded basement…well, my girls have a space to play in the basement right now! You can’t see it because my “big girl” has taken out every toy that is down there (she really missed those toys!), but we will be working on that this weekend! I have been trying to fill one garbage bag each time I go down there. Last time, I filled two! I was able to give away a ton of baby clothes (Thanks E!), and that really freed up some space! Right now, we are tossing around the idea that we may need to simply take everything OUT of the basement to really go through it. I know, crazy, but I am stuck, and I have no room to sort!

All in all, I think it was a pretty good 2 months!

I look forward to reading everyone else’s updates!!!