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.