Can't get a moment's peace in this house

 Man, here she comes again with that camera.

 

Maybe if I look away and act all brooding and stuff she'll take a picture and leave us.

Corgi Bloggers Secret Santa 2011

This year Gimli and I participated in the Corgi Bloggers Secret Santa gift exchange.  We were matched up with other corgis and their owners based on those that had submitted a picture for the "Corgis with Blogs" calendar run by Kelly over at CorgiButts.

We were matched up with Puppy on a Roomba and we received a lovely set of presents.

As shown in the picture, we received a fluffy ball, an unstuffed llama - that Gimli took a liking to, doggie bubbles - can't wait to try this out with Gimli, a treat bottle - this will be used when I'm working to keep Gimli occupied, bone shaped cookies - for when Gimli has been really good and a stuffed "Christmas light" that squeaks on one end and rattles on the other.


It was great fun and we'll join the fun again next year.

Thank you to Ty & Eve, those lovely corgis, and their owners!

Merry Christmas!

The three of us would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  Be sure to eat like corgis tomorrow because we all know that calories consumed on Christmas don't count!  At least that's what Gimli says and corgis don't lie do they?

Gimli's letter to Santa Klaus

Dear Santa Klaus,

its me gimli agin. i hear you ar comin to visit us soon. i hab been bery good dis yar, expect when i wuz not listening to candy und mike.

well, heer is my list:

cookies
lots of kisses und hugs
treats
food
a wubba dat makes noiz, da one i have doesn't make noiz anymore
something to eat
sum toyz
sum peanut butter
a apple

for candy:
an onodder corgi, if you can find one with a white spot on his/her head, all da bedder
sum chokalit for her, maybe she will share wif me

for mike:
his leg is bodering him, pleez fix it

for all da oder doggies:
for dem to find love und a nice place to lib und lots of food and toyz

tank you,

Lord Gimli

ps i will be watching for you

Royal Mail

Earlier in the year, I mailed a letter to HM Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her 85th birthday.  I included a picture of Gimli, this one, and I sent congratulations to Their Highnesess William and Catherine on their impending marriage.

I mailed it off and promptly went on vacation.

We returned and weeks passed until sometime in late May, I checked the mail to find an strange looking letter in the mailbox.  The envelope paper was different and heavy.  I had an inkling and my heart skipped a little.

I pulled it out and flipped through the remaining mail and my heart nearly stopped when I saw the post mark from Buckingham Palace and the seal of Queen Elizabeth II.

The letter was merely a form letter thanking me for the photograph and for our well wishes.  However, I don't mind.  I never thought anything would come of it and I'm glad I wrote to her.

I have a mind to frame the letter and the envelope, but until I can find a suitable place for it, it will reside here, on my desk and close to my eyes as a gentle reminder of what is possible if you only try.

Ready for snow?

With this face, Gimli is ready for anything winter can throw at him!

He has his snuggie and I'm working on sewing his hoodie with some cute patches on it, (big work in progress, let me tell you!) and he's ready for the snow trenches in the backyard.

Stoutness Exercises

When I up, down, touch the ground it puts me in the mood
Up, down, touch the ground, in the mood {smacks lips} for food
I am stout, round and I have found speaking poundage-wise
I improve my appetite when I exercise

Winnie the Pooh performing his stoutness exercises and singing a silly tune
Image taken from http://lair2000.net/index.html

Back at the end of November, Mike and I went to the doctor for our yearly checkup. Everything was normal and she praised us for our efforts, but Mike and I came home very disappointed.

It all comes down to the weight issue. It's no surprise I have been unhappy with my current figures and so has Mike with his.

In the weeks leading up to our appointment, I discovered that I could not fit into the majority of my pants or jeans and even my sweat pants were a little tight. I became upset, annoyed, frustrated even and I purchased a Bowflex Treadclimber. Something needed to change and because it's very hard for me to go to the gym, something about lack of motivation and cost, I decided to try the Treadclimber.

Mike set it up a couple weeks ago and I've been steadily increasing my time on it. They recommend using it for 30 minutes a day, but I'm only up to 15 minutes. I've also decided to use it 4 or 5 times a week.

When we visited our doctor, my weight on her scale was 136. Yikes! This is the heaviest I have ever been and I looked it and felt it.

When I came home, my weight on our scale was around 132 to 134.

After about a week and a half of using the Treadclimber and gradually working up to 15 minutes, I weighed myself this morning and I was 131.

*record scratch* Say what?

To say I was happy was an understatement. This is the first negative weight movement since our return from vacation and it means something is working. It gives me hope that I can fit into my closet full of clothes again. I like shopping for new clothes as much as the next girl, but buying an entire wardrobe in a bigger size is not going to happen.

Next week being Christmas, we are already booked the 24-26 with family, which means lots of food and desserts and snacks and goodies crammed into 3 days so I'm fully expecting either an increase back to 132 or no change at all.

We will see!

Snow bunny butt

All of our snow is gone for the moment, but the other day I managed to catch these footprints from a certain bunny butt.

Walt Disney: One Man's Dream

I was only going to do one post today until I realized the date.

December 15th, 2011, 45 years after we lost Walt Disney.

Walt, (can I call him Walt?), holds special significance to me because I was born on his birthday.

I like to think that my love of all things Disney is because I share this with him.  I like to think my stubbornness, my love of innocence, my imagination and yes, my perfectionism and control to get things the way I want it no matter how long it takes are things we share. I also like to think that my brain holds a great deal of Disney trivia because of him, although this is probably up for discussion.

Earlier this year when Mike, Flat Gimli and myself went back to Orlando, we passed through the exhibit in Hollywood Studios - Walt Disney: One Man's Dream.  It goes into detail on Walt's history, ie his early years and his ideas for the parks and so on.

There are a few large pictures of him, which I didn't know til today, (thanks Disney Parks Blog!), was the last picture ever taken of him before he died.

You can almost imagine him reaching down and patting Gimli's head.

Wordless Wednesday - If this door wasn't here, I'd so get that squirrel!

Things to do for 2011 - December update

I have been so behind on my list and now we are at the end of the year and I have a great deal of catching up to do.

1. Read More, nothing special, just reading. - Started on this.  I have a Kobo now and because I have a great deal of the e-reader files, its easier to read because I'm not worrying about deadlines - ie a library book or worrying about the cost of new books and where to store them.

2. Pay attention to my blog and post more - This comes and goes.  If I have something interesting to post, I will, but I did find I had a backlog in my head and I don't like that.  I'll have to buckle down and come up with a better plan for this.

3. Join BlogHer & 4. Attend BlogHer 2011 - The jury is out on this one.  I doubt I will end up joining, mainly because my followers on this site and on Twitter have increased a little and the more exposure I receive on other people's sites, the better it is for traffic.  BlogHer was something that the non-corgi blogs I follow are members of, but these people are full time bloggers who can devote time to this organization.  I'm not, I work full time and while attending conventions would be great, my vacation days are more sacrosanct.

5. Do what I need to do to get off one of my medications - Done.  Luckily for me, I was able to stop taking it on my own and didn't need permission from my doctor.  I told her that I had stopped taking it and she was glad.  I do have an action plan for what to do now that the symptoms will return.  This hopefully I can start in the new year.

6. Go to the Zoo - Done. We went back in August and while we did have a great time, its amazing how run down the Toronto Zoo looks.  There were many animals just pacing around in their enclosures and it was a little sad.

7. Make a better attempt at brushing Gimli more than once a week - This comes and goes.  It's easier now that he likes brushing so either Mike or I will brush him weekly or every 2 weeks and it's less of a chore with Gimli.

8. To achieve this, setup a grooming table in the laundry room -We won't be needing a grooming table because Gimli is much better at it and we have found a great groomer in town.  Gimli has started getting regular visits, which helps with the length of the hair and which in turn helps us to maintain his coat.

9. Start expanding the list of meals that I can cook from memory

10. Start branching out and cooking different things, planning is key and laziness is no excuse - This didn't really get done, but I found a positive side effect.  Instead of memorizing the recipes, I have more recipes in my head that I can draw from, thus expanding our repertoire of what to make for dinner.  As we expand with our meal planning, it becomes easier to keep track of what's in the pantry and what it can be paired with.

11. Eat more fruits and veggies - This I have failed miserably.  Some days/weeks we are on track and other times we are not.  This needs to be fixed.

12. Cut my hair, and not just a trim either, goodbye long locks. - I did this!  See the post here: Hair today, gone tomorrow.

13. Get a 2nd corgi - Sadly, no 2nd corgi on the horizon.  We don't have the feeling and I don't think now is the right time.  Is there a right time?  I don't know.  I do feel an internal pull from the corgi rescue side of things.  My mind is shifting and I feel like giving back and wanting to open up our lives to a rescue.  We'll head down this route and see what happens.

14. Learn to walk two of them properly - On hold.

15. Improve Gimli’s recall - This needs work.  Mike and I have discussed taking him to the dog park to work with him.

16. Make a Pooh Bear gingerbread house - Because I happened to gain about 10 lbs in the past few months, this is not getting done.  There's too much temptation for me to eat the entire thing and I refuse to put myself into that sort of trap.

17. See The Lion King stage show -we went in June.  This was an amazing show!  It was true to the movie and some of the scenes, like the wildebeest stampede was well done.  If there's ever a chance to see this play, go see it.

18. Continue with the No Complaint experiment - ongoing

19. Take more visits to The Arboretum and see our coyote friend again - We went on our picnic to the Arboretum and we had a great time.  It's hard to go there over the winter, but I will see how the weather holds up over the course of the rest of the year and see if Gimli and I can squeeze in 1 more visit.

20. Get off my butt and be more active - This more than ever!  We got a Bowflex TreadClimber and Mike and I have started using it.  I am already up to 15 minutes a day, with a goal of 30 minutes a day.

21. Play with Gimli in the snow - This will continue as we are heading into winter and we're waiting for snow.

22. Try to make a snow ‘animal’ - see # 21.

23. Get more sleep - Overall, this is better.  I do have nights where I don't sleep well, but not as much.  I do need to go to bed earlier though.

24. Read Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection and apply it to myself - I'm not finished with it, but what I have read has helped me.  I do still have perfectionist tendencies, but I can feel that it's not as bad as it once was.

25. Woofstock? - we went in June, see the post here - Woofstock 2011!

26. Parasailing @Castaway Cay - not happening as its cost prohibitive.

27. Discover local restaurants in my city - This, we failed miserably, and need to do better next year.

28. See the Tim Burton exhibit - Saw this 2/26.  I found myself wondering what other things  Burton would have done if time and space warped and he met Walt Disney  himself.

29. Go to the Animal mass with Jeannie - Wanted to, but we both got so busy that it never happened.  I would like to do this, but now the trouble is finding a Church that does service for animals.

30. Make it to Trinidad to introduce Mike to the rest of my crazy family, hopefully I'll still be married by the time we return. - Didn't happen.  There were some political upheaval in Trinidad and I didn't feel comfortable going.

31. Go to the Winter Walk with your dog  - Unfortunately, this was canceled due to a lack of attendees.  I am  still on record and they've said they will try to hold it again in  Feb/March etc, so we'll see.  If they choose to hold it again, I will  definitely attend.

32. Start a new job - started Feb. 1st.

33. Eat at a Summerlicious restaurant - Didn't happen, putting on the list for next year.

34. Write a letter to Queen Elizabeth II for her birthday and include pictures of Gimli. -Sent it out before we went on vacation.  And I got a response!

35.  Lose anywhere from 5-10 lbs, I'm 122 lbs now.  Its deliberately vague  as I'm really only striving to look better in my clothes.  I'm unsure if  5 or 10 lbs will do it, so starting off small. - This has been increased to losing 10lbs to start and then possibly another 5 lbs.

36. See Rammstein again - Went on 5/8 and we had an awesome time!

37. Go to the Dog Jog - Went 3/27, had a great time!  See post here: First Annual Dog Jog

38. Stop playing that soul sucking MMO that Mike and I started together, but I've been left in the dust - Officially canceled my account.  Have uninstalled and surprisingly I don't feel any need to return to it.  See my post about it here - Siren Song.

39. Do the Toronto Zombie Walk and bring Gimli along with us.  I had aspirations of going in 2010, but it didn't happen.  I feel this year will be different and I'd like to do it! - This didn't happen and we're going to try to do it again next year.

40. Take a Photography class this year. - Didn't happen, but would still like to do it, perhaps next year.

41. Speaking of photography, I was looking through my pictures tonight and I was saddened there aren't more pictures of Mike and I.  This needs to be rectified. - We have gotten better, but not nearly enough as I would like.

 42. Start going to the Spa to get regular massages, budget permitting of course. - I purchased a Groupon for a massage and Mike got me some spa time for my birthday, so this is coming for sure.  Most likely after Christmas in the new year.

43. Sign up for the 5k walk at the Scotia Bank marathon later in the year. - Done, see my post here: Participate in a 5k

44. Return to the Church. This has been gnawing at me over the past few months and I keep telling myself to do it, but I haven't yet.  It seems whenever I put things down on this list, they start getting done, so here it is. - Working on this one.  Tried to go to Confession a few weeks ago, but couldn't find the priest at the Church.  Determined to go back though and try again.

45. Start learning German - I have wanted to do this for a long time and I feel this is the year to do it.  I ran through the trial version of Rosetta Stone and I actually picked up a few words/sentences.  Once our money situation levels out, I'll definitely order the first 2 Rosetta Stone levels and get started.  Soon I'll be able to actually sing the songs as opposed to wondering what they mean!

46. Train Gimli to listen - Gimli has gotten better. He's not at 100% yet, but he is better.  He now wears a modified choke chain on the walks and it has helped him to get the message that he's to focus on me when we are walking.  His behavior in the house is better, but we are still fighting with his possessiveness and his excitement when people arrive.  Mike and I discussed our plan of attack with these areas and we're going to apply them as needed and we'll go from there.  He is so very close to beating these two items, but often all it takes is one slip up and we lose ground.

This leaves me at about 41% complete, which isn't bad for the first year I set out to accomplish a set of goals, but next year I want to be better.

We will see!

Pat a cake

Pat a cake, pat a cake, Baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Pat it and prick it and mark it with "C",
And put it in the oven for Candy and me.

Yesterday was my birthday and it was also Walt Disney's birthday.  I'm that cool, I know.

In honor of our birthdays, I made these cookies.

Gimli needs to learn to speak

Gimli has an orange rope and tennis ball toy that is meant as an outside only toy.  Its fairly long and with two tennis balls attached to it I'm paranoid it ends up crashing into something important like my head.

A few weeks ago, we were playing fetch in the backyard and Gimli left it out there when we came in. Factor in a few days of rain and snow and all around damp weather and by the time Gimli decided it bring it back into the house, it was still damp.

I put it into the bathtub to dry off, thinking it was as good a place as any.

 

Only to discover Gimli in this position, patiently waiting for his toy.

If he had said something, he would have gotten to this place much faster.

Will you hurry up?

Aren't you coming up from the basement?  hmmmm, I'm waiting to be fed you know!  By my belly you're a minute late!

Our tree

Many years ago, when Mike and I first went to Walt Disney World together, (2003), we decided we wanted to have something we could bring home that would remind us of the trip.

Even though we weren't married or had homes of our own at the time, we decided on Christmas ornaments.  And on these ornaments we would try to get a date stamped on it so as time wore on we could have a timeline of our trips.

This year, as I was trimming the tree, I realized we have many Disney ornaments, in addition to the standard solid colors you can find at the store.

Here are some of my favorites.

From 2005, from their Victorian collection, which Disney continues to market today.

From 2006, our honeymoon

From 2008, the year we brought Gimli home

From 2011, to match the birthday cake I got for Mike's 40th.

From our most recent trip to celebrate the Magic Kingdom's 40th.

These two don't coincide with any trip, but they are two of my favorite characters so I had to get these ladies.

 

And of course, our tree.  The angel at the top is starting to look a little ratty, but I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.  In there store there are plenty of Santa tree toppers, but seeing as I'm not a big fan of Santa Claus in general, something about an older gentleman seeing children whenever he wants to doesn't sit well with me.

I am Gimli, CCO

Meet Gimli, the CCO, (Chief Corgi Officer), of Corgified Candy.  I also have these titles:

General Gimli
Lord Gimli
Gimli Bear (for when I'm feisty!)

You may address me with any of the above.

You, woman who is obsessed with me, bring me my mid-morning cookie

Don't bother me with questions, can't you see I'm busy?

Should have stayed in bed...

On Sunday, but I decided it would be a good day to:
- Go to Costco
- Try a McCafe Mocha
- Put up the Christmas tree

Well Costco was a zoo.  We're this far away from Christmas and the place was packed!  Everyone was roaming around with that glazed over look in their eyes, you know, like every time you go to Costco.  It was all Mike and I could do to get our 6 20 items and leave.  It was going well until we got to the cash and the cashier decided that Mike and I were not together as a couple and would not accept Mike's Costco card and my money.  Despite our protests that we have never had to do this in the past, she told us it was a new rule....

ok...

To say I left Costco with a slight headache is an understatement.  (But I did buy a large bag of M & Ms!!).

Heading back home, I picked up a McCafe Mocha.  I was curious and really wanted some whipped cream.  We also grabbed a couple McDonald's snacker wraps - Mike got the Ranch one and I got the spicy one.  I then promptly got buffalo sauce on my unwashed Costco germed fingers.  Those same fingers that I did not want to come into contact with my food and those same fingers that I promptly licked because I totally would have gotten said sauce into my eyes.

*sigh*

My headache has intensified but the promise of yummy whipped cream is keeping it at bay.

We are now heading home at this point, mainly because Mike is a smart man and he knows once that vein starts to appear in the middle of my forehead that he'd better do something before I turn into She Hulk.

 Credited to Peter David & Shawn Moll

At home, I start putting away the groceries, then enjoy my McCafe and I'm thinking, surely that must be the end of the madness. I head upstairs, change out of my clothes and put on some sweatpants and a big comfy sweater because I wasn't going back out there to the madness...

I finish my coffee and proceed to decorate the Christmas tree.  I thought I was being so smart when I put the tree together on Saturday with only the fun stuff to do on Sunday... I start with the lights and then realize that I had forgotten to string lights around the trunk.  Because of this, the plugs ended up attaching to the extension cord at the middle of the tree instead of the bottom.  No big deal, but its me and I'm a perfectionist and it didn't help my headache, which was slightly bigger.

All the while, Gimli's trying to get under the tree because he remembers toys coming from there last year and he's hoping he finds a new one.

I took a deep breath and started stringing the rest of the lights.  This year, I decided I'd be a bit more generous on the branches with the lights and naturally, ran out.  I had about 1/3 of the tree left to go.  Keep in mind I was alternating red light strings with purple ones and I ran out.

I looked at Mike with a scowl, "we have to go to the store."

"What? Why?"

"I ran out of lights.  I cannot finish the tree without the rest of them and I'd like the tree to be finished today because the 2 boxes of ornaments are sitting in the hallway and I don't want to leave them there any longer."

And all the while Spike TV is playing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

So, I put on my long coat over my home clothes that make me look like I belong on the TLC show, "What Not to Wear", even though its well above freezing outside, and we head to the store.  At this point my head is throbbing and I figure its because the McCafe has decided not to agree with me on account of my strange allergy to milk products containing preservatives.

We get to the first store, no small red lights.  We go to the second store, we find small red lights, but no small purple ones.  I decide that my tree will look lopsided with purple lights at the bottom only and I grab the red lights and head to the checkout.  All the while, the same glazed over eyed people from Costco are roaming around this store too.

Make it back home and finish stringing the lights and then start on the ribbon.  Thank God for Youtube where I found a delightful woman from Colonial Williamsburg who illustrated the right way to string ribbon.

Somehow the tree ends up decorated and I'm done for the evening.

If that's how the stores are now, good luck to us all who still have Christmas shopping to do!  Oh and next time I feel the urge to stay in bed, I'm going to stay right there!

My Corgi is a Liar

My friends, if you are new to the world of Corgis, I will teach you about the "Corgi Lies".

These dwarf like creatures are ruled by their bellies.  Their appetites are the stuff of legend and rumors abound in the Corgi community with regard to Corgis tricking their owners into double meals and of stealing food here and there that's been "accidentally" left in reach.  There is also a video of one of these beasts climbing onto a chair to be able to reach the food on the table!  (See it here).

Yes, these Corgis are wily creatures and will gladly follow a stranger so long as it's offered food.

In the attached image, you will see what appears to be a corgi who is not fed properly.

His daily diet consists of:
- 1/2 cup of food for breakfast and dinner, followed by 2 small cookies as dessert at both feeding times
- 1/2 a Dentabone for lunch
- A few pieces of Candy's breakfast toast
- Some pieces of whatever fruit Candy happens to eat during the day - apples, pears etc
- A couple baby carrots

So, my friends you can clearly see, this shockingly inadequate diet is what contributed to this image of this Corgi.

Wordless Wednesday - What? Why are you laughing?

Sheepie

We've started rotating Gimli's toys because we became tired of seeing piles of toys strewn all over the house.  For now, we have a bin that sits in the office that holds the majority and about 5 or 6 toys are out at any time.

The other day, I brought out Gimli's sheep and he's been playing with it off and on.

His playing consists of the following, peppered with fetch up and down the hallway:

A couple days ago, I went to go upstairs when I saw where Gimli left the sheep.

There it is, perfectly balanced on the stair, as if to say, "Come on sheepie, I can't carry you all the time..."

Winter Woofstock!

Yesterday, Mike, Gimli and I went to the Winter Woofstock held in Downtown Toronto.

Because it was so busy, Mike held onto Gimli's leash while I walked a few steps ahead to guide us through the crowds.

Gimli was calmer this time around, I think he remembered the Summer Woofstock and so he stayed right with Mike.  He met a great deal of doggies and was calm and loving to all of them, even when they growled back at him.  In fact, this particularly grumpy Chihuahua was growling at him and Gimli calmly walked away.  I was very proud!

This kid has the same color hair as me, he gets extra kisses!

The first thing I saw was a Mr. Sun toy sitting in a bin, half covered by another toy.  I showed it to Mike with the words, "oh I have to get this!"  See, this toy is one of Gimli's favorite toys in the universe.  When we brought him home from his breeder, she sent a battered Mr. Sun along with a little blanket that still held Gimli's mom's and his litter-mates' scents on them.  Since that day, Gimli has treated the toy and blanket with reverence.  Whenever he sees Mr. Sun, his eyes light up and he pays you full attention.

After I paid for Mr. Sun, I met up with Mike and Gimli, who was showing off his corgi self to these 2 Japanese patrons.  They both posed for a picture and were enamored with him.  Of course, when Gimli waved goodbye, they both squealed with delight and repeated that he was so cute!

We came upon a stall selling the antlers and wouldn't you know, Gimli goes after the biggest one.  Greedy little thing.  We didn't purchase one though since he has a sizable one at home.

Yum, antler.

We went into the VIP tent, but there wasn't much there to see, other than sitting around and taking a rest.  Gimli was grateful for the big red dog bed.  I couldn't remember if I had signed up for a swag bag and there was no list to confirm so Gimli may have missed out on some nifty items.  Oh well, what can you do?  Hope next time the volunteers are more organized?

Someone's tired.

Nevermind that we have two dog beds for Gimli, I think he wants us to get another one.

There were a great many dogs there, but mainly the usual dog breeds that are in vogue - Chihuahuas, Boston Terrier, Golden Retrievers, Pugs & Puggles and other assorted small lap dogs.  I even saw a few dogs in strollers!  We did run into a rather large Samoyed, who promptly pushed her large head down into the bag I was carrying that held a couple boxes of treats and Gimli's new toy.  The owner was oblivious and I just laughed it off, because the dog was friendly but was just nosy.  After seeing this Samoyed though, I will never complain about Gimli's hair again!

There was one big highlight of the day though and it made me proud to be a corgi owner and it just confirms that us corgi owners really do have the best dogs.  Because I was walking ahead of Mike and Gimli, who would often become swamped in a group of dogs all sniffing and meeting each other, I was lucky enough to hear the comments of the passersby.

I heard things like, "Oh, look at that corgi, how lovely!", "Oh a corgi!  How cute!", "Growing up we had a corgi and they are so smart!  They will always have a place in my heart.", "Is that a corgi?  Oh they are the best dogs!", "Oh wow, I've never seen a corgi service dog before".

(*record scratch* Say what?  hmmm, corgi service dog, this gives me an idea... now to figure out how to get him to Disney...)

Lastly, the one that made me smile the brightest, we ran into a gentleman there, who Gimli took a liking to.  He stooped to the ground and was lavishing affection on Gimli and he told us he had a corgi when he was a boy and has always loved them.  He thanked us for allowing Gimli to say hi and for making his trip to Woofstock worth it. 

All in all, it was a good couple hours spent.  Gimli came home dead tired and slept/lazed around the rest of the day/evening.

Gimli and his evil twin

Fun loving, ready for kisses, belly scratches and snuggles.

Evil twin plotting how to make off with your food and steal your warm spot in bed.

Weekend in which Gimli pulls an all nighter and we encounter a freaky rest stop

This past weekend, the three of us went on a roadtrip to visit our friends in Chicago.  Mike and I have driven there and back many times, but this time we took Gimli with us.  And it was the first time Gimli crossed the border into the US.

From the time he saw the bags and his travel crate sitting downstairs, he knew something was up.

We left home around 5 am and headed to the Sarnia/Port Huron border crossing.  The US Customs agent didn't even look at Gimli's vaccination records.  Instead he asked us if he was up to date, we said he was and he let us through.  Isn't that always the way though?  You have documentation and they don't want to see it.  The time you don't have it, is when you really need it!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Gimli stayed awake for the entire trip and then proceeded to stay awake all afternoon and evening.  Our friends have two dogs - a British Bulldog, Nugget, and a Terrier mix, Penny, and Gimli would have nothing to do with them.  He sniffed a little and walked around their house a little, but spent most of the time next to either Mike or myself.  We even put him out on a tie down so he could get some air and run around a little outside, but did he?  Nope, he sat in front of the door and stared back at us.

We kept him in our room overnight and I doubt he slept very much.  I didn't sleep well and it seemed every time I woke up to adjust my pillow, I heard him licking his lips and moving around.

We left around 8 am the next day, Sunday, to drive home.  It was a very short trip, but we mainly went down there to see our friends and to pick up our Haunted Mansion merchandise that we had shipped to their US address.

I could tell Gimli was tired during the car ride back home, but did he sleep?  Not a wink.  I caught him nodding, but he'd wake up and then look around with those beady, brown eyes as if to say, "Why are we still in the car?"

After what seemed like ages, we stopped at a rest stop before we crossed the border at Port Huron.  This particular rest stop was a bit removed from the highway and you had to go up a little hill to get to it.  (Red flag #1.)  If I was a woman driving by myself, there is no way I'd stop there.  Of course, Mike's in a wheelchair and has poor balance so I really was a woman driving virtually by myself...

We stopped and took turns in the washroom, which had been recently renovated.  It must be part of the trap to lure you into a false sense of security. Gimli left his mark in a couple places and while I was waiting for Mike to return, I took Gimli to the other side of the rest stop to sniff around at the "Dog Run".  That's the green area in this picture.  As Gimli and I were exploring the grassy area, I heard a few pops, that really sounded like they were in the wooded area behind us.  I'm naive when it comes to things like this and it really didn't dawn on me that they were gunshots, (Red flag #2), til I was back at the car and Mike commented on them.

(Yes, I'm really going to survive the Zombie apocalypse!)

Looking around, I commented to Mike that this place looked like one of the dumping grounds or the place where the killer grabs his victims straight out of the television show, Criminal Minds.  I can just picture it now, the BAU profiling this dude who likes to hunt and who preys on naive, weakling women, who have cute doggies and who stop at this particular rest stop.

Check out the rest of the pictures and you'll see what I'm talking about:

Who's going to hear you scream amidst the trees?