British Gimli

I realized late last night that I didn't post my promised Flat Gimli update.  I'm very sorry, but here's the post to make up for it.

Here's Gimli and his adventures in the UK pavilion at Epcot.

Romping through the garden

Peek a boo!

Ready for my tea and biscuits... wait, make that just biscuits and cookies and crumpets and scones with honey, if you have any, and English muffins with jam and tarts and shortbread...

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #4

I'm up to 25 minutes on the Tread Climber and it's working.

I am far too doubting when it comes to me, but Mike says he can feel a difference in my thighs, at first on top, but now it's starting to show on the back.

I put on a pair of track pants that I haven't worn since December and it feels different - not as tight around the hip area and I don't have any marks on my skin, YAY!

A caveat, I think I'm going to have to measure myself from now on.  The areas where we are measuring are changing and that's why I'm thinking there's no way I lost 4 inches on my hips in the span of a week.

Other than that, I'm happy with the progression and I can't wait to see what I can fit into next month!

Weight: 131.5 lbs
Circumference under ribcage: 27.5 in.
Circumference at belly button: 31 in.
Circumference at hips: 33.5 in
Circumference of thigh: 22 in

I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox

The sidewalks in our neighborhood have been scary icy the past couple of days so I decided to play with Gimli in the yard instead.

I managed to take this picture...

Isn't he gorgeous?

Things to do for 2012 - January update

Can you believe we are at the end of January?  Already?  Where has this month gone?

1. Take a trip to Germany - going in July!
2. Learn German - started my Rosetta Stone classes.
3. Attempt a conversation, while speaking only German, with someone in Germany.
4. Continue to read, 10 books to start - I've finished 5 books so far.  I will surpass my goal of 10 books and so I'll increase it once I've hit 10.
5. Maintain the blog with regular posts - Trying.
6. Deal with the symptoms of stopping the medication. Note, it’s nothing life threatening or anything like that, so don't worry :).
7. Continue to brush Gimli and keep up his teeth brushing - regular brushing, yes. Teeth brushing, needs work.
8. Continue to photograph Gimli and all of his antics.
9. Come up with a proper backup system for all my pictures.
10. Incorporate more fruits & veggies to our diet.
11. Lose 10 lbs. - Have lost 2 lbs so far and have started gaining muscle in the process.  Some of my pants are starting to fit - not to the point where I can wear them, but to the point where I can button them comfortably.
12. Evaluate and decide if I need to lose an additional 5 lbs.
13. Maintain my exercise regimen - so far, so good.
14. Paint our house - we picked up some samples yesterday and have painted various areas downstairs.  We are pretty confident on these colors, but are checking just to be on the safe side.
15. Frame and put up our pictures.
16. Go to The Arboretum at least once a month - weather permitting - this did not happen in January, hoping for February!
17. Discover local restaurants/bistros etc in my city or in the surrounding areas.
18. Go to Winterlicious or Summerlicious.
19. Make a snow animal of some kind - this is going to be difficult because we've had sporadic snow this winter.
20. Get a massage(s) at the spa.
21. Take more pictures of Mike and me.
22. Return to the Church. Something is missing in my life and that might be it.
23. Enjoy our backyard.
24. Decide on the color scheme, proper design for the blog.  I've been indecisive and I just want something that's me and something where I won't want to change it in another few months - thinking of going to just plain white background and clean lines, we'll see though.
25. Surprise someone.
26. Make a pie.
27. Reach out to the Rescue organization to see if there are any corgis, with a spot on its head, that need a good home with a corgi obsessed woman - E-mail sent, but nothing yet.  Would have been nice to receive some sort of response saying, "I got your email, no corgis yet", sort of thing.
28. Get some professional pictures done of Mike, Gimli and I.
29. On that note, Boudoir Photography!
30. Plant some flowers in the front and back yards to bring in some color.
31. Zombie walk.
32. The B&B in Niagara Falls, this one is also for you Mike, still waiting :P.
33. Photography course.
34. Kick Mike in the butt when he starts to waver on certain things.
35. Move off of "Medium" on the drums in Rock Band and to "Hard".
36. Start cooking more Trinidad type food.
37. Spend less time on the computer in my non-working hours.  I'd rather fall asleep with a book in my hand than be sleepy sitting at the computer and unable/unwilling to leave it.
38. Go to bed earlier.
39. Do the Dog Jog again with Gimli - signed up!
40. Work on Gimli's recall at the Dog Park.
41.  Take Gimli to the play class at Bold Canine.
42. Work on Gimli's possessiveness.
43. Work on Gimli's listening skills when guests arrive.
44. Take Gimli for a herding instinct test?
45. Complete the Minas Tirith 3D puzzle.
46. A Mini Cooper?
47. Head back to Las Vegas.
48. Go to Disneyland and California Adventure.

Towel kisses

Remember that time that Gimli went outside at lunch time to go pee and there was snow on the ground and you saw him rolling in the snow and when he came inside you had to dry him off but he was too excited and squirmy that you only dried off his back toes and he wouldn't listen when you told him to lie down so you put your arm under his chest and lifted him up so he lay against you so you could towel off his front feet and belly and you looked at him and then he licked your nose and then you started laughing so he got away from being dried off?

I love my dog.

Magic M&Ms

The last time we visited Las Vegas, 2009, we stopped off at the M&M's World store, where I purchased this little gem:

Mike knows this is my candy bowl and goes no where near it, except there's a strange phenomenon that I've recently noticed.

The other day I walked by and noticed this:

  

I became sad because I really wanted some chocolate.  I went back upstairs and then when I passed by the bowl again, I saw this:

 

Somehow, the bowl knew I was sad and magically transported the M&Ms from the large bag to the bowl!

I think Gimli had a word with the fairies on my behalf :).

Wordless Wednesday - My little mover

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #3

This week started off great, but it ended poorly.  I didn't exercise as much as I should have and it shows in this week's numbers, though I'm glad they have stayed constant.

In addition, I'm sick AGAIN... grrr.  This time with a cold and I just feel crappy.  This is not helping.

On the good side though, I tried on a pair of pants that I haven't worn in a very long time, years months, and it fits a little better.  Not to the level where I feel I look good, still pudgy in some areas and it is not pretty when I sit down, but it's progress!  I plan to try it on again this time next month and see.

Weight: 132 lbs
Circumference under ribcage: 29 in.
Circumference at belly button:33 in.
Circumference at hips: 37.25 in
Circumference of thigh: 22.5 in

Viking Gimli

Last year, Mike and I visited Walt Disney World and we took Flat Gimli with us.  I promised back then, that I would showcase some of Flat Gimli's antics, but the rest of the year came and went with no such posts.

In the spirit of "better late than never", I will post "Flat Gimli" pictures every Monday.

Gimli and his adventures in the Norway pavilion at Epcot.

 

This really does suit him, doesn't it?  A Welsh dog with a Norse name.

Here comes Gimli sailing to rape and pillage and frap!

We have snow!

It snowed a little last week and Gimli was excited to run outside and make corgi prints.

We've had very little snow this year and what did fall, usually melted away quite quickly.  I'm sorry to say that #19 of my Things to Do for 2012 might not occur on account of not enough snow!

Gimli and his conference call

During my day to day activities at work, I'm on the phone in various meetings or training sessions.

We have given Gimli free reign of our house and he often spends the day at our front window, lying in his bed and grumbling at passersby and the neighbors and the odd cat that is allowed free reign in the dead of winter.

It never fails that when I am on the phone and actively talking, Gimli starts barking.  And I don't mean the soft 'woof' that corgis make when they are slightly annoyed.  I'm talking the full on "Aroooooooooo" and a rapid succession of barks that can be heard through my voip headset.

It has happened a few times when talking with my boss and she just laughs at me, mainly because her dogs do the same thing.  It's not too bad, but it can become annoying as Gimli is not yet trained to stop barking on command.  We are working on it, but with anything that isn't strictly reinforced it's taking a great deal longer.

For Christmas as part of the Secret Santa, Gimli received a treat bottle.  It opens at the bottom and there's a hole and a rope protruding from the top.  The dog is to play with it so that the treats come out at the top.

I decided that in advance of my meeting this afternoon that I'd give Gimli the treat bottle so he'd stay quiet.

Well, you can guess how that turned out...

Instead of Gimli barking, he played with the plastic bottle and proceeded to knock it against the wall and closet doors and roll around the hallway making those silly, cute noises that corgis make.  Good thing I wasn't actively talking in this meeting, but this is something we will have to practice.  He hasn't quite figured out how to get the treats out, I think the Charlee Bears I used were too big so I'll have to use smaller ones next time.

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #2

It's been a week of exercising and I'm up to 20 minutes a day on the TreadClimber.  Yesterday I did the plank exercise for about 30 seconds and I nearly died in the process, well not really but I'm a weakling.  I also did 20 repetitions of the "jack-knife" where you do a sit up and lift your legs at the same time.

Suffice it to say today I am sore to the point of the inability to laugh. This is difficult with a corgi as silly as Gimli who loves to make me laugh!

Now to the important stuff, the figures:

Weight: 132
Circumference under ribcage: 29
Circumference at belly button: 32.5
Circumference at hips: 37.5
Circumference of thigh: 23.5

A caveat:

• The circumference under the ribcage increased to 29 because I am chubby right under my ribcage.  Since there's nothing I can do about my rib expansion and I need to be less chubby under my ribs, there was a need to change the value and the measurement location.

Overall, I'm happy with the figures:

• I don't know how I gained .5 of an inch in the hip area, but we'll see how the weeks progress.  It could be Mike measuring in a slightly different spot.
• My thigh is up by .5 of an inch too, but since I've been doing a great deal of walking/climbing/stepping, I'm not too worried about this figure.
• I really like the new figure at the belly button!
• I also like the new weight figure, so long as it stays steady or decreases, I'm happy.

Little by little I'll get there.

A funny thing happened on the way to my Twitter feed

Friday morning as I scrolled through my Twitter feed, I saw a retweet by one of my followers.

See, this person is a writer based in California who follows me.  I'm unsure how he came across my profile because I'm not sure he has any corgis, but I followed him back.  Far be it for me to limit my audience, unless of course you're one of those porn or data mining accounts.  He does have a novel that he's finishing up so I'm sure I'll give it a read once it's published.

Anyway, he retweeted, "Happy Friday the 13th!", from someone that he's following.  Turns out the person he's following is related to me by marriage.

She married my 2nd cousin?  or is it 3rd, I never know with these things.  Basically she's married to my mom's first cousin on my maternal grandfather's side.

The reason this is all a neat surprise is because I didn't know she existed.  Her husband, David, is much older than I am.  So much so that I'm sure his only memories of me are of a small, little, shy kid wearing a blue school uniform with pigtails spending a great deal of time at her grandparents' house.

When we moved away from Trinidad, I was 9 and my mother, who is not very good at keeping in touch with anyone, lost contact with a great deal of people.

She's an author too and by skimming her website and her Facebook profile she's also a Disney person, like we are!

Twitter has just made my world smaller.

The best places to kiss

Little corgi feet that are still so soft to the touch.

Little corgi nose.

Little corgi head with the area between the eyes and the area on the head that's so very soft.

# Continue to read, 1 down

One of my objectives for this year was to read more.  I set it to 10 books as a start, but I think I'll get beyond that.

I have finished my first book:

The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket.  It's the 9th book in the collection: A Series of Unfortunate Events.

So far it's a good series, albeit a little predictable of a formula in that the adults are usually clueless and the children have to figure things out, every. single. time.

Cutie Fluff

I am the cutest thing you've seen all day.  You know it's true.

Die Frau schreibt

Der Manner lesen.
Die Frau schreibt.
Mike isst Zalat.
Gimli schwimmern.
Candy rennt.
Das Madchen trinkt.
Der Junge liest.

Yesterday I started on level 1, Unit one of Rosetta Stone's German.

I have always been good with learning languages, I took Spanish for 3 years in high school and I remember a certain amount of it. I don't think I can carry on a conversation entirely in Spanish, but I could probably make my way around a store or follow walking directions, that sort of thing.  I remember when learning Spanish that I would translate the Spanish word into English so I could make the connection.  This was well and good when you are in high school and graded on how well you can translate and so on, but not so good if you're trying to converse with a Spanish speaker.  You cannot sit there and translate in your head in the middle of a conversation!  You have to think in Spanish.

I feel this is what Rosetta Stone forces you to do from the get go.  It's an immersive method and it consists of showing a picture of a person doing something and then the line describing the task is provided.

For example, Die Frau schreibt, would be shown under a picture of a woman writing.

New words and phrases are introduced one at a time until you're able to keep track of various words and phrases.  I really like the sections where you have to say the words and sentences yourself as well as discern between different sounds and words.

I think I will stick to the course on a weekly basis for now and during the week I will supplement my learnings by continuing the listening and speaking drills and the audio companion to help my ear become accustomed to the German language itself.

I'm not quite at the level where I can understand these guys' songs, but I'll get there!

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #1

And now we come to the post where I post my measurements for the Universe to see...

One of my major goals this year is to lose about 10 lbs to start and start wearing that closet full of clothes again.  It's winter now so I can sort of get away with wearing big bulky sweaters and big coats, but pretty soon it will be Spring and I cannot fit into my Spring coat... well I cannot button it so there's a need to start slimming down.

I will call it "Operation shrumpfen", which is probably a poor German translation of the word, "shrink".

The figures here will be my baseline and moving forward I expect to see them either decrease or stay the same.

Note, these figures are taken in the evening after dinner.

Weight: 133
Circumference under bust: 27.5
Circumference at belly button: 34
Circumference at hips: 37
Circumference of thigh: 23

Snuggie

Yes, I have a snuggie.

Don't laugh, I make it look gooood.

Things to do for 2012

Last year, I constructed a list of things that I wanted to accomplish in 2011.  Sort of like a bucket list but for the year.  I completed 41% of the list and came up with action plans for some of the other ones and rolled them forward into my new list.

This year I aim to beat the 41%, since I know what I'm up against and since I made the list.

1. Take a trip to Germany.
2. Learn German.
3. Attempt a conversation, while speaking only German, with someone in Germany.
4. Continue to read, 10 books to start.
5. Maintain the blog with regular posts.
6. Deal with the symptoms of stopping the medication. Note, it’s nothing life threatening or anything like that, so don't worry :).
7. Continue to brush Gimli and keep up his teeth brushing.
8. Continue to photograph Gimli and all of his antics.
9. Come up with a proper backup system for all my pictures.
10. Incorporate more fruits & veggies to our diet.
11. Lose 10 lbs.
12. Evaluate and decide if I need to lose an additional 5 lbs.
13. Maintain my exercise regimen.
14. Paint our house.
15. Frame and put up our pictures.
16. Go to The Arboreturm at least once a month - weather permitting.
17. Discover local restaurants/bistros etc in my city or in the surrounding areas.
18. Go to Winterlicious or Summerlicious.
19. Make a snow animal of some kind.
20. Get a massage(s) at the spa.
21. Take more pictures of Mike and me.
22. Return to the Church. Something is missing in my life and that might be it.
23. Enjoy our backyard.
24. Decide on the color scheme, proper design for the blog.  I've been indecisive and I just want something that's me and something where I won't want to change it in another few months.
25. Surprise someone.
26. Make a pie.
27. Reach out to the Rescue organization to see if there are any corgis, with a spot on its head, that need a good home with a corgi obsessed woman.
28. Get some professional pictures done of Mike, Gimli and I.
29. On that note, Boudoir Photography!
30. Plant some flowers in the front and back yards to bring in some color.
31. Zombie walk.
32. The B&B in Niagara Falls, this one is also for you Mike, still waiting :P.
33. Photography course.
34. Kick Mike in the butt when he starts to waver on certain things.
35. Move off of "Medium" on the drums in Rock Band and to "Hard".
36. Start cooking more Trinidad type food.
37. Spend less time on the computer in my non-working hours.  I'd rather fall asleep with a book in my hand than be sleepy sitting at the computer and unable/unwilling to leave it.
38. Go to bed earlier.
39. Do the Dog Jog again with Gimli.
40. Work on Gimli's recall at the Dog Park.
41.  Take Gimli to the play class at Bold Canine.
42. Work on Gimli's possessiveness.
43. Work on Gimli's listening skills when guests arrive.
44. Take Gimli for a herding instinct test?
45. Complete the Minas Tirith 3D puzzle.
46. A Mini Cooper?
47. Head back to Las Vegas.
48. Go to Disneyland and California Adventure.

More to be added as I find something else to do.

I've lost 2 lbs.

Not what I had planned for my first post of 2012, but what can you do?

I'm now 130 lbs and that's only because I've had the stomach flu for the past four days.

It's not the way I had planned to lose weight, but at least it's a start!

Back to the exercising in a few days once my strength comes back.

Gimli has been my nursemaid these few days, he's been remarkably well behaved and more willing to snuggle.