Gimli's visit to the Saratoga Springs Resort

Our stay at Walt Disney World last fall was unexpected and spur of the moment.  As such, we ended up staying at 3 different resorts - Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado Springs.

Saratoga Springs was our first stop and I'm a little sorry to say that I won't be back to this resort.  We didn't have as much fun here as we have had at other resorts, such as the Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower or Port Orleans - French Quarter.

We were placed in The Carousel, which is the first section after you enter from the main road.

1. There is really only one restaurant and it's small.  As DVC members, we were afforded a room with a kitchenette and had we been able to purchase some breakfast items, would have gladly eaten breakfast in our rooms.  However, for 3 days, we ate breakfast at The Artist's Palette, which when you coincide with everyone else at the resort trying to eat at the same time, it becomes a bit crowded.

2. This restaurant is located in the Carriage House, which is the main lobby for the resort.  Because there's parking outside only for checking in guests, it became a bit of a race to arrive early for breakfast so as to secure a parking spot.  There are walking paths, but in the hot sun early in the morning, who wants to walk a good distance from their room to the restaurant?

We took a few pictures of Gimli here:

I'm back

Last week around Tuesday, my chest started to hurt and I couldn't catch my breath, despite trying my hardest to expand my lungs. This went on for a couple days and then I started feeling strange pains in various areas of my body.

"Funny", I thought to myself, this is exactly how I felt when I was at school and would occasionally suffer through all-nighters at the end of the term.  That's when it clicked.  I was over tired. I then realized the reason my chest hurt was because I was yawning so much during the day, I was straining myself.

Last week followed Mike's eye surgery, (he's doing much better by the way and his eyes are healing well), which I imagine was the final straw and sent me into this condition.

I didn't work out at all last week, except for Gimli's walks, and I did my best to crawl into bed at a respectable hour, somewhere between 10 and 11.  I slept a bit better Tuesday night.  Wednesday morning I woke up not quite refreshed, but the breathing issues stopped.  I've been taking it easy the last few days trying to replenish my energy and sleeping patterns.

Today, I came across this article from Oprah's site: 5 Ways to Bring Yourself Back from Burnout. Looking at the five different categories, I feel I was a combination between 'Draggin' and 'Hitting the wall' as I had symptoms of both.  I've decided I'm going to take an active stand in preventing burnout because I don't want this to happen again, if I can help it.  One of my initiatives this year is to get more sleep and I have my work cut out for me.

There will be no check in this week because I didn't do much and I expect it to be mainly the same.  My hope is to be back to it again this week so I don't undo my progress thus far.  In a bit of good news, I wore my short peacoat this weekend and it wasn't as tight as when I last wore it in November.  I'm getting there, just slowly.

Happy Balentine's Day

Happy Balentine's Day!

Candy let me hab some of her ice creem in a cone.  it wuz yummy und my eyeses got so big und i wanted moare but she took it away.  meanie she is.  but i still lub her bery much.

lub,

lord gimli

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #6

My figures for this week.  Not as nice as I'd like them to be, but that's the way it is.  The past few days were just awful and I've been very tired lately due to lack of sleep so my motivation across the board went down to 0.

Weight: 132 lbs

Circumference under bust: 27.5

Circumference at belly button: 32

Circumference at hips: 35

Circumference of thigh: 22

I did achieve one of my goals, I'm now up to 30 minutes on the TreadClimber so I'll be maintaining that time moving forward.  I have sort of decided about my core training and on those days, I'll see how far I can go to stay at 30 minutes on the Treadclimber.

I've also scheduled in 2 days a week where no exercising is done, moreso for those days during the work week where you have errands to do in the evening or you're meeting up with friends etc.  On the weekend, 9 times out of 10, I put in a workout.

In terms of food, nothing much has changed.  I do put a limit on myself in terms of portion control and what I choose if we go to a restaurant.  I am finding that sometimes I'm just full and I don't eat anything else for the evening, whereas before I'd be apt to grab something later in the evening.  That being said, I do still eat "junk" like chocolate or ice cream whenever the urge hits.  I know some purists out there will say nothing of the sort, but I'm much better to be around if I'm allowed some vices every once in a while.

Advice from Dr. Gimli

Hewo!

Dr. Gimli heer to teach you bout what to do if you have eye surry.

Mike had eye surry dis mornin so dat he doesnt hab to wear glasses any more.

When he got home he wuz wearing dese black tings on his eyeses und Candy has to put dese water tings in his eyeses all the time.

derefore, if you have eyeses surry, pease follow dese steps:

1. stay in bed all day und sleep with black tings on your eyeses

2. stay out of the sun like a Dracula

3. always keep a cute lovable corgi close by to heel faster und to supervise

i feel your pain, member when i wore that plasticky ting when i was a puppy, this is me not laughing at you.

3a. much beter if you don't make da corgi cry becuz i, um, i mean, if he cannot be on da bed.

i am gimli, da corgi-striper

Companion

One of the benefits of working from home, besides the fact I don't have a huge commute and can sleep in til 7 am is that I spend all of my time with Gimli.

Most days, he's off doing his own thing - arguing with toys, barking at monsters coming to kill us wearing costumes of children and the neighbors nothing, dozing and protecting my feet under the desk while there's a thunderstorm.

In the past couple months, I put his dog bed to the window so he can at least be comfy while he survey's his domain or naps.

This afternoon, he came upstairs where I promptly grabbed him for a snuggle.  He had been laying in the sun and his head, ears and neck were so nice and warm that I had to squeeze hold him close to savor the warmth and softness.  We reclined on the carpet and made growly faces to each other and, despite his protests, he let me kiss him all over his soft head and ears.  He became so very relaxed he didn't want to leave my side.

I'm so very lucky.

Wordless Wednesday - I really like yogurt

Tribble?

Gimli was recently groomed and his little bunny butt looks so cute!

Except, the little bugger wouldn't let me take a picture of it.

Instead I ended up with this.

Canadian Gimli

Today's selection hails from the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot.  Unfortunately, it was so blisteringly hot, we didn't take much more pictures of Gimli in his natural habitat of totem poles, Chateau Frontenac and Victoria Gardens.

We did get him in the Canadian Mickey ears, complete with the obligatory hockey sticks and puck, flag and beaver on the front.  Does the Walt Disney Company know people are wearing beavers on their hats?  ahem, moving on now.

I don't know, I like the British hat better...

Represent!  I'm a Welsh Canadian!

Operation schrumpfen Check-in #5

It's now been roughly a month of working out on the TreadClimber and I can see results.  Nothing major on the actual lbs figure, but I've lost 2 inches off of my belly button and my hips, which translates to a slightly deflated muffin top.  Score!  This is my main problem area and to see it shrinking makes me feel awesome!

My thighs have come down by an inch, which I'm not terribly worried about. At this stage, I don't want to have skeletal thighs, I'd rather have toned/muscular thighs.  Right now, they do rub together and with shorts weather coming up in a few months, I would like them to be less flabby and more shapely.

Measurements as of January 9th:

Weight: 133

Circumference under bust: 29 - adjusted to measure under the ribcage, not at the ribcage.

Circumference at belly button: 34

Circumference at hips: 37

Circumference of thigh: 23

Measurements as of February 6th:

Weight: 132

Circumference under bust: 29

Circumference at belly button: 32

Circumference at hips: 35

Circumference of thigh: 22

Goals for this month:
- Reach 30 mins on the TreadClimber.  I'm pretty sure this will happen this week, I'm at 28 mins now.
- Start including exercises for my core.  I found a neat set on Pinterest, (yes, I'm addicted!), and I intend to start using them.

- I'm thinking of alternating days for the TreadClimber and the core exercises.  Bowflex says to use the machine 3 times a week for 30 mins, but because I'll be cutting down on the days, something needs to take it's place.  I don't know, I'm waffling on this portion, but we'll see what I decide.  I might just do less TreadClimber on the days I work out my core.

Back to the German grind

I've returned to my German lessons on Rosetta Stone and I'm feeling very good after tonight's lesson.  All along I've been picking up words and putting together short sentences, but tonight I learned more words that are actually found in my house/yard so I can roam around speaking German and pointing at things to help with remembering.



Note, I don't have the German characters in the sentences.

For example:
In our front yard: Ich habe ein klein Baum.

I have a small tree.

In our back yard: Ich habe ein gros Baum.

I have a large tree.

Gimli ist eine rot und weis Hund.

Gimli is a red and white dog.

Gimli night trage schuhe.

Gimli is not wearing shoes.

Candy trage blau Hose und blau Hemd.

Candy is wearing blue pants and a blue shirt. (I'm wearing pajamas but I haven't learned that word yet.)

Ich habe nicht Blumen.

I have no flowers.

Ich habe ein schwarz Mantel.

I have a black coat.

Ich habe sechs Eien.

I have 6 eggs.

Mike habe funf Teller.  (I cannot remember the plural of plates).

Mike has 5 plates.

Die Frau trage eine gelb Rock.

The woman wears a skirt.  Where Rock = skirt came from is beyond me!

Mike habe vier Schlussel. (I think I spelled this incorrectly).

Mike has 4 keys.

That's it for now, but I'm excited to get back to it tomorrow!  I might start talking to Gimli in German, we'll see.

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.

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!