The last 2 days have been pretty busy - Gary is making steady progress with the kitchen but mealtimes require quite a lot of planning! I've been trying to get a bit of work done ready for first day back in the office on Monday. I've got quite a busy week ahead, with fieldwork on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Yesterday's walk with Boris was quite dramatic. I hadn't remembered there was a shoot on, and while we were out Boris found an injured bird up on 70 acres. I tried really hard to get him to drop it but he wasn't hearing me at all - I guess Nature took over. I wasn't brave enough to check out the damage (and deal with it if necessary) so I had to call Gary to come out to us. When he arrived it was clear the bird was well and truly dead. Before he got to us I bumped into Maria's son and his girlfriend, walking Elvis. Elvis had done exactly the same thing and that bird needed checking too. Gary confirmed it was dead and since both were hens he decided to bring them home. They're now hanging in the potting shed waiting for him to prepare and cook them! I won't be eating them but I'm pleased they won't go to waste. Today's walk was without incident - but bitterly cold; snow is forecast later!

 

Last night I had a very high calorie dinner - curry; the last for a while I think!! I'm wondering how I can make up for the daily dog walks once I get back into 10 hour days and a 3 hour round trip commute. I'll be able to keep up the walks on weekends but in the week I leave and get back in the dark.......I am going to try when I can to manage at least a walk around the village (1 mile) before bed, but I'm not sure I'll manage it on evenings when I do groups. I'm going to be using the Wii when I can as well - doing the training programmes. Wish me luck!

We slept in this morning after a brilliant evening seeing in the New Year with our neighbours. Each couple provided a course, and we all brought wine and Wii controllers. After a lovely dinner we toasted 2009 while watching the fireworks from London on TV, then paired up to compete at bowling, tennis, baseball and boxing. we were all pretty rubbish - especially after the food, wine, port and champagne, but it was great fun. This morning I caught up on some focus group analysis while Gary made a lot of noise channelling a large hole in the kitchen wall. I finished around 3pm and then took our dog Boris for a walk. During the working week Gary does most of the dog walking, so I'm taking advantage of the long holiday by walking Boris every day. I'm really enjoying the exercise and the fresh air, and it keeps Boris away from the work Gary is doing in the kitchen, so everyone wins. It's especially helpful when there is tiling or grouting going on! 

The main reason for creating this blog is to record my progress as I attempt to shape up a little over the next few months. I'm not really interested in how many pounds or kilos I weigh, but I'd really like to drop a couple of dress sizes by the spring. This is quite daunting, because I have a history of starting "diets" and giving up before I've reached my target. We've also got a fridge and a larder full of goodies left over from Christmas, so I'll be starting gradually, making small adjustments rather than  going from stilton to cottage cheese overnight. Today started with a bowl of porridge, rather than skipping breakfast which I've been doing for the past week or so. 

The general plan is to eat a bit less cheese, a bit more fruit, and not to overdo the carbs. sounds simple, but I much prefer vegetables to fruit, and cheese and bread is just about my favourite combination......but for now I'm feeling optimistic and ready to give it my best shot. I'm also going to get out for a walk as often as I can and use the fitness training on Wii at lest 2-3 times  week. wish me luck!