Please Mike, can I have another?

Well before Gimli was born, Mike and I knew we were dog people and when the time was right, we would get a dog. ie once we got a fence in our old place, a time for which I counted down the days and once we had a schedule for the fence, I was off to the races emailing corgi breeders looking for our doggie.

Gimli was born in August 2008 and came to live with us in October of that year. I consider him our unofficial 2 year anniversary present to each other.

We have since agreed we would get a second dog to keep Gimli company and to share our home and our hearts. Unofficially its probably going to be another corgi, but that's about all we can say at this point because we are no where near any serious discussions with the corgi rescue group or any breeders that have adults ready to go to a forever home.

We were very close to getting a 2nd one this past May, but alas, he was not to be. He was Gimli's half brother and born on the same day as Gimli just a year apart, they shared the same sire and he was struck by a car and killed when someone left the breeder's garden gate open and he escaped. We were quite saddened by this and we haven't broached the subject since then, its always been, 'oh next year we'll discuss etc'.

Yesterday I mentioned there was a corgi breeder 20 mins away from me and sure enough, she has an older puppy female that's up for adoption. She was also born on Gimli's birthday, again a year apart. Already, I want to message the breeder, find out more information etc.

I saw this video on The Daily Corgi and now I want a puppy again.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 20.

Hmmmmm

One of my good friends, Zombie man, commented on my 'Snub' post and gave me some things to think about. I don't quite know what I want and I think that is fueling my thoughts and actions on the subject. Its kind of like being hungry, looking through the fridge, cupboards etc but since you don't know what you feel like eating you become frustrated because you aren't satisfying that need.

I will make a conscious effort to a) not let things like this bother me and b) come up with a way to work within my situation to not be a hermit.

In other news, went shopping yesterday with Mike. I was in the change room and right outside, the salesperson was training a new employee. While trying on the items, I heard the training, such as, 'When you see the customer exit the change room, compliment her right away' and other such things.

As expected, whenever I opened the door to get Mike's opinion, the salesperson I was working with would exclaim, 'Wow, that looks sooo good on you!'. For every item. Even for the red top that looked good on the hanger, but when I tried it on, it didn't sit right, but the salesperson said it looked good.

Lastly, something made me check the Pembroke Welsh Corgi rescue site, which led me to the Breeder's section. I scanned Ontario and there it was! A new breeder in the next town over, roughly 20 minutes away AND they have an available year old female...

(we have decided we aren't going to add to the doggies til next year, but that she's only 20 mins away isn't helping my corgi lust!)

Mike is in so much trouble now.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 19.

Snub

We've been in this neighborhood for about 10 months now. We don't know all the neighbor's names yet but we do wave when we see people, often we're the only ones waving.

Mike and I tend to keep to ourselves, I'm not sure why exactly, but we're not outdoors people so we are rarely out puttering in the garden. We don't like sitting in our garage and looking out at the street when we could just as easily sit on our comfy couch inside. Even though I'm literally at home during the day, I have to be at my computer and readily available in case a colleague needs to send me an instant message, in case my boss(es) need to reach me, if I need to jump on a Severity 1 issue and to just plain work. When I walk Gimli, its early in the morning so he can do his business and I can get some exercise in first thing in the morning. When Mike walks Gimli, its in the evening when its a bit cooler. Neither of us prefer walking Gimli during the day because this summer has been fraught with heat waves and its just not safe to exert oneself when its in the 90s or 100s. As a result, we miss the chance stroller meetings and outings to the swings in the park.

Lastly, we don't have the seemingly must have accessory of a brood running behind us.

Now, before you ask why haven't I switched my bracelet to my right hand, I haven't finished my statement.

So I don't come across as accusatory, because why would I ever do that, let's break it down to Mike and I.

I am the ice queen, the frosty Lilith reincarnation who gives the impression I'm better than everyone else, even though I, like the red headed stepchild, am just glad we joined a neighborhood that was so together and knew everyone. I'm boring and don't have much to talk about, perhaps because I'm in the house all the time, perhaps I'm just plain boring. Perhaps I'm too crass or perhaps I swear too much.

Mike is the social one. Mike has the personality to work the room and network and be friendly.

What prompted this? I went into the office today and when I came home, Mike informed me the entire street was invited to the neighbor's, but we weren't. He said he saw everyone walking down the street with assorted covered dishes and I suppose the worst part was Mike had seen the host a few times today but nothing was mentioned.

Memories of high school I suppose, all the cool kids are getting together and the rest are left to find their own way. What can I do to rectify this? I'm not sure right now besides kill people with kindness and pretend we were unaware of the party, because if I don't, then the crass, unfeeling, sarcastic person will come out and that will be much worse. I'm not going to try to make people do something they don't want to do, that's not who I am. I don't give chase, but I do go half way and that's as far as one can go.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 16.

Too many choices

I've changed the color scheme on the blog, mainly because I felt the other scheme was a bit too red, (gasp) I know. I chose this one, even though Mike feels its too cold. Methinks he didn't read this post.

In other news, Gimli's booboo has scabbed over, YAY!
He's picking at other places on his feet, BOOOO!

We think its because we aren't wiping his feet enough when we bring him in from walks and I may not have washed away all the soap from his feet when I gave him a mini-bath the other day. Blarg.

The City finally poured the concrete for the sidewalks today. We'll probably be able to park in the driveway again come Friday. This makes Mike happy since he's been a bit of a hermit since Monday - working from home and not taking Gimli for any walks. I'm just glad the sidewalks are in, because that means the driveway won't be far behind!

We were able to give our little piece of sidewalk the G touch in the form of a Hidden Mickey, since we are Disney nerds after all and I didn't think Gimli would appreciate falling becoming stuck walking on the concrete just to get his paw prints immortalized.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 14.

chocolate milk makes me smile

I'm having a crummy day today so I felt I would make a list of things that make me smile...

chocolate milk
Kit Kat I bought yesterday at the supermarket that I forgot about til just now (YAY!)
green seedless grapes
having meaningful discussions with Gimli
Mike making dinner
hot sauce
pooh bear pajamas
Enchantment
watching Mike and Gimli perform the cookie and nail clippers dance
watching a sole Monarch butterfly flutter against a cloudless sky to the top of the tree in our backyard

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 13.

At least the firemen were nearby

As I've mentioned, I've been fighting some illness disease plague sort of a cold for the past week. I thought I was getting better since I woke up feeling 10x better than yesterday... Wrong!

Today we went to the supermarket and I had a feeling I would have a coughing fit so I started with a lozenge. I thought I would be home free until we arrived at the checkout... I felt the itch, that small tickle that resists the healing soothing liquid from the lozenge and slowly grows until it erupts in a hacking cough that can't be stopped. My eyes water and my body just wants to cough and cough and cough. We somehow made it out of the store and to the car. I think Mike was more startled that I was struggling to breathe and see and sniffle and cough at the same time. Yeah, I can multitask!

After I finished coughing and swallowed my lung, I noticed a firetruck outside the supermarket, I figure they were picking up some dinner or groceries etc. At least if I did stop breathing, they wouldn't have far to go!

At home, Gimli has been fighting the itch to pick at the sore spot on his leg. He had a huge mat on the inside of his back leg, which we cut away to provide some relief. Unfortunately, the mat was so close it was pulling away at the skin and gave him a bit of a booboo. We've been putting Neosporin on the booboo in the hopes of helping it heal and preventing Gimli from irritating it further. Depending how things go, we may have to head to the vet.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 12.

2nd or 3rd in command?

In our house, Mike and I share the role of alpha. We and I are on the same page when it comes to disciplining Gimli. We have our rules laid out and we have done well to back each other up and to enforce the rules with Gimli and any other 4 legged friends in our house.

Now that we've been taking care of Gatsby for the past few days, every time I've had to correct him, Gimli has felt the need to chime in to 'reinforce' my correction. For example, when Gatsby put his feet on the screen door, when I corrected, Gimli barked in his direction. When he was going for Gimli's blanket and I corrected, Gimli barked again.

It seems Gimli views himself as a higher rank than Gatsby and is following with the house rules as it were.

Pack animals are strange aren't they?

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 11.

Correction, correction, correction

We're dog sitting an 11 month old Boston Terrier, Gatsby, this weekend. I'm treating it as a litmus test to see how well Mike and I do with two dogs in the house.

There's been corrections all around on both dogs when they misbehave etc.

A more detailed post coming soon.

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 10.

Just the two of us

I found this new blog and I think the author is absolutely awesome because she's about my age and she speaks her mind and she doesn't have children and revels in it and she has the same feelings about children that Mike and I do, which is that she has no desire to procreate because life is far too much fun without having to worry about carrying around something for 9 months every couple years, squeezing it out and risking your husband being scarred for life seeing this thing stretching your lady parts and you professing your profound hate towards him, when 9 months prior the two of you were like wild animals in every room of your house; then having to deal with being(s) for roughly 25 years because they won't leave home and give you back the peace you had before you felt having children was the awesomest thing in the world; plus having a house the way you want it instead of brightly colored noisy kiddie toys littered about and having to worry about chocolate stains all over the place and spit ups and horrid sports/recitals with overachieving helicopter parents and being told by everyone, 'you know what you should do...?', when those people are batting 1 normal well-adjusted independent free-thinking child and 2 still attached to ragged faded apron strings.

I'm so following her blog.

Cough Cough... Brains

My sickness is a bit better today. Sore throat is gone (Yes!), but I have a somewhat persistent cough due to a tickle in my throat.

In other news, our Zombie prize pack arrived today! YAY!

It contains some mini-zombie toys, pins, magnets, a freaky zombie bear (my favorite), two t-shirts and our ticket to our free night at a supposedly haunted hotel! I was having a crummy day, but this made it better...

Well that and the coupons to Cold Stone Creamery that came in the mail. *chants* I'm on a diet, I'm on a diet

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 7.

Scratch Scratch

I live at home.

Monday - Friday round the clock, I'm at home.

Sometimes being lazy cleaning, relaxing, working.

Having the ability to work from home means no traffic snarls, two hour commutes or icky snow extending your commute to 4 hours.

It also means I've lost the ability to rebuild my immunity, which is probably how I ended up with this scratchy throat and chills. I am going to restock on my Benylin and Neo-Citran tonight so I'll be good and dopey over the next few days :D

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 6.

Paging Dr. Sternin... Dr. Lilith Sternin

I was born in the early eighties, so while my parents watched Cheers, many of the jokes flew over my head. Later, I started watching Frasier and still do. One of the characters that's always made fun of is Frasier's ex-wife, Lilith. She's almost always portrayed as a frosty and strict woman.

At times I feel a little bit like Lilith. On the outside looking in. I'm quite shy and I feel my shyness comes across as though I'm a bitch uninterested or aloof.

I've recently met a great number of women and I feel like Lilith in that they all have children and so a common bond. They get together and walk around pushing strollers, have play dates et al. We don't have children, we have a hairball. Try talking about when your dog was a puppy to a bunch of women with babies on their hips...it doesn't go over that well.

sigh

Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'll continue on to overcome my shyness and be less like Lilith.


Complaint-O-Meter: On day 5. I almost slipped earlier today, but Mike gave me a look and I caught myself in mid-sentence, so I continued on and provided a positive :)

Aug. 13th

Complaint-O-Meter: On day 2.

Just wanted to write it down somewhere so I wouldn't forget and lose track.

Corgis and cats and coyotes, oh my!

Complaint-O-Meter: Currently about 4 hours away from completing my first full day.

This morning was very difficult for me to wake up. I'm not entirely sure why, since I went to bed early, but it may have been because I was that comfy my body did not want to leave the bed. I took Gimli for a walk, returned home, fed Gimli, bribed him for a slobbery kiss and then proceeded to eat my Cheerios. By the time I sat down on the couch to stalk read Facebook and other blogs, Mike finished his tea and left for work.

I soon finished my Cheerios and headed into the kitchen to put the bowl into the dishwasher. (I should pause here to explain the layout of the back of our house. The entire back of our house consists of the living room, dining room and kitchen. We have an open concept downstairs so from any vantage point in the above three rooms you can see outside.) Out of the corner of my eye, I see this dark colored 'thing' sitting in the backyard next to one of the gazebo legs. I hastily place the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher and peer out the screen door... after all, who knows this 'thing' could turn and charge in at anytime. All the while, thoughts of the July coyote sighting are filling my head. I look out the back window to see a very large cat. This was no nubile cat or kitten, this cat looked huge, almost the size of Gimli. I calmed down a bit as it stalked away, presumably over the fence because it probably could have jumped that high.

To elaborate on the July coyote sighting, on the July long weekend, I took Gimli to the Arboretum that's about 10 minutes away from our house. I like taking him there for an extended, quiet walk that's reserved for just the two of us. We spent a leisurely walk and then on our way back to the car, we emerged through a clearing of trees to see what I initially thought was a dog...

Here's a replay of what went through my head upon seeing the coyote...

There's a dog! But why doesn't he have a leash? Dogs are supposed to be leashed in this area, where's his owner? What's that in his mouth? That looks like a rabbit.... ohh....

I now realize this is no dog. My first clue should have been that Gimli hadn't left my side. If it was a dog, he'd have wanted to go say hi. The coyote started to walk away in the direction we just came from and Gimli and I headed in the other direction. All the while I kept looking behind in case he decided Gimli was better to eat than the fresh rabbit in his mouth.

You might wonder how it was I didn't know it was a coyote, well, the only coyote I know looks like this.

The No Complaint Experiment

A friend of mine posted this link on his Facebook page about going for 21 days without making any complaints or criticisms etc without having an Action Plan to correct it.** If you do complain without an Action Plan then you have to start counting from day 0 and switch the bracelet to your other hand. (more on the bracelet later).

To explain, something like you go to pick up your dry cleaning in the middle of the evening rush when everyone else is picking up their dry cleaning. When you get home, you complain that it was so busy there and you felt rushed. That complaint would get you back to 0. If, instead you said, 'Wow, it was very busy at the cleaners. Next time I'll get my act in gear and pick up my cleaning when its less busy'.

The bracelet is the way you have a reminder that a) you're on this trial and b) to think and be constructive about finding a solution instead of complaining about it. There's an official bracelet that you wear, but since we don't have it, we improvised. He's using a blue rubber band and I'm using a thin black hair tie.

We started today around 7.30 pm Est. I acknowledged, then Mike and I took Gimli for a walk... the bracelet on my right wrist. We came home around 8.15 pm, the bracelet was on my left wrist.

I really believe this is going to be a challenge for me and I really hope I can surpass the 21 days, no matter how long it takes to get there, because if I can make this change then I can make all the other changes I've been telling myself I need to make but have never gotten around to it.



** Link: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/18/real-mind-control-the-21-day-no-complaint-experiment/

Mike broke the television

Well it certainly wasn't me. I, who only know how to turn it on/off, raise/lower the volume and change channels couldn't possibly have broken it because I don't know enough to break it.

Nevermind I was the last one to watch it last night, it was working fine when I turned it off, when Mike turned it on this morning, it wasn't. Therefore, I conclude he broke it.

If I miss the finale of Hell's Kitchen, I'm blaming him... hmph.

Wow that dog's legs are long!

Living with a corgi, who at full grown is about 10 or 11 inches tall from toes to shoulder, you get accustomed to a shortie running around.

Of course, living with a corgi, you must also become accustomed to the following:

• Copious amounts of hair, everywhere, in places where Gimli has never been... such as in a drawer.
• Random conversations consisting of high and low hums and grumbles. See the YouTube corgi video below.
• Frap
• Pembrokes have no tails, or a very small one, so when they wag, they wag their butt :). This is also called the 'bunny butt'.
• The corgi appetite... they will eat dinner, then give you this look as if they are starving. They are very good at pulling this with guests. When we stayed at the in-laws for those wonderful 3 months, Gimli honed his 'starving' abilities and I really believe they were convinced we weren't feeding him enough.
• The stubborn corgi mentality. They had to be strong willed to move the herd and so they need a firm hand in a velvet glove.
• Lastly, a loyal dog who thinks the world of you.
  

2

My puppy is now 2 years old. He's not a puppy anymore, but he'll always be my puppy.

I need to go into the office more often

Because when I come home, the dog who usually pays me no attention unless he wants something or I have food/toy or leash becomes a 'Velcro dog'.

Mike put him up on the bed next to me and he snuggled, gave kisses, made cute noises and did the things I want him to do more of.

Then, I took him for a walk, which went very well even with the goose flying into the power line and collapsing on someone's front lawn.

We came home and he proceeded to ignore me because Mike was more interesting. A while later, Gimli teased me and we played for a bit before he decided he didn't want to share his toy with me. I became upset with him and walked away, thus ending the play.

Rinse... repeat... to be played out again tomorrow and then Saturday and for every day thereafter.

Faster and faster

I work from home. I'm not a stay at home mom because that's a whole different type of work, but I work for a large organization providing product support and I'm fortunate to be able to work from home. I spend contiguous 8 hour days in our office sitting in front of two 'work' machines on the left side of the desk and my personal machine on the right side of the desk. Gimli sometimes joins me and sits or sleeps under the desk or in various places around the office, hallway or downstairs when he's really bored.

We don't have ac in our house yet and the office faces the sun so come the afternoon, the office heats up quite quickly. In the morning, however, its quite cool and the air combined with the ceiling fan creates a lovely breeze. This morning, I felt the room was a little too cool for my taste and I turned off the fan. (Note, I become very hot and very cold very fast.)

Around 10 am or so, I chanced to look up at the fan and it was slowly spinning from the breeze coming in from the windows. Immediately, I had the thought,

What if the ceiling fan was possessed and started to spin faster and faster and it disengaged and took off my head? I would be dead and my blood would leave a nasty stain on the carpet. Gimli would be none the wiser since he rarely pays me any attention unless I have food/toy or leash in my hand.

Then I snapped out of it and went back to work. I figured I should be productive instead of wondering 'what ifs'.

Ruff Ruff Arooorooooroooo

Gimli will be 2(!!) on Saturday and while he has come very far in terms of his training, he's lacking on the barking.

Generally, he listens for sit/down/wait/stay/pray/rollie/kissy/touch/shake a paw/punch/ready to eat (what corgi doesn't listen to this last one), but we haven't mastered getting him to stop barking or to quiet down once he's started or even not to bark at all.

For example:

1) We have been in our house for 9 months now and Gimli knows our surroundings, he's met the neighbors and their children on either side of us. When we are outside and he hears them outside he doesn't bark. When he's inside and hears the same noises or sees them through the windows, he barks.

2) He barks, as expected, at other dogs walking in front of the house.

3) He barks at times when we sneeze and when we're playing fetch in the house. If we ask him to lie down and wait first, then he doesn't bark.

4) He doesn't bark when on walks. He's become much better in this area and when another dog barks at him, he softly woofs but it doesn't escalate from there. (Thank God!)

This leads me to the conclusion that he barks when he's excited and he barks when he feels he needs to protect the house from scary things, even though he's a big chicken. Don't tell him I said that.

These days, Mike and I catch him after the fact and make him move from the location to a different location. Meaning, if he's barking at the front, we either call him upstairs or move him into the living room so he (maybe) understands his behavior is unacceptable. If he's really ornery, he gets a timeout in the bathroom.

We'll get better... hopefully... in time...

In other news, I've lost the willpower and stopped my exercising :( I need to find it again.

You are without a doubt the worst pirate I’ve ever heard of...

Yes, I am, its true.

Yesterday, Mike and a friend of ours went to the Pirate Festival held at the local campground. Now, to preface this, I have visited a couple Renaissance fairs in Florida when I used to live there back in my teenage days, (Gah saying teenage days, really??). In Ontario, I haven't seem the same level of enthusiasm of fairs, maybe because there isn't or maybe I haven't been looking hard enough. Mike and I attended one a number of years ago at the Botanical Gardens and left after about 30 minutes because it was that awful.

Fast forward to Saturday. On the way to the Festival, Mike and I joked that we wouldn't be staying very long. Um... yeah 6 hours later...

There was the various Piratey characters running around, some in well crafted costumes, some in homemade costumes and in between. Mike wore his Pirates of the Caribbean bowling shirt, I did not wear anything piratey. I intended to, really I did, but the shirts/pants I wore accentuated the wrong places. Girls know what I'm talking about, guys not so much. Mike says I looked fine and not to worry, but he's just saying that because I've trained him well over the past 10 years we've been together.

There was a handful of merchants selling the same sort of items you'd see for sale at a Ren Fair such as weapons, necklaces, leather roses, pet bats et al... there was also a Haunted House.

...

A Haunted House you say?

Yes! It was there to raise funds for the Milton District Hospital Foundation. A friend of ours and his Zombie compatriots were there to raise funds and to promote this year's Zombie walk. There were various draws held too. Just for the hell of it, we entered and we won a pretty awesome prize pack, which includes a night's stay at a supposedly haunted hotel. Very cool indeed!

All in all, it was a good day. I did get to see the Pickle man's pickle and partake in one of them, quite good. There was a picture taken, but it will never see the light of day!

The only low point in the day was the realization at the entrance that you could bring your dog! Had we known, we would have brought Gimli!

When we came home, I told Gimli about it and he made this face, lol.