Loni's Life

Had a lovely day. It started with my hubby having baked the pumpkin pie for our contribution to the potluck dinner and also serving me breakfast in bed ~ a breakfast burrito and a glass of low-fat milk. We surfed thru the advertisements for 'Black Friday'. Then he went off to do some honey- do's at his mom's and then take her to Thanksgiving lunch. I spent the morning happily knitting and also checking in with the half of team in Santiago since they were not on holiday; but we still need to get our December project done and to production on time. Resolved their questions and issues and then took a nice long hot bath, a small snack, and then a short nap; then got dressed for the potluck. Looked at the ads again and pretty much decided there wasn't just a whole lot that I wanted or needed to get up and be at the store at 4am for or whatever; so then I gathered up my knitting project and off to the potluck gathering. Arrived sometime during the 2 nd quarter ...

On this day, I want to give thanks for the many blessings in my life. For my dear hubby who served breakfast in bed today and baked pumpkin pie for our contribution to dinner tonight, for running my bubble baths, and for the many other things small and large he does for me and our life together For my health and that of my friends and family. For being born in America and being allowed to enjoy the many freedoms that we probably take for granted. For my dear friend C for always being there to encourage and inspire and for sharing her love of family and friends with the world. For my best galpal M... always my #1 fan in good times and bad, her friendship and sisterhood mean more to me than words can adequately express. For having family in Hawaii so that I always have a tropical vacation spot when needed ~ and being able to go there in January to celebrate my Grandma's 97 th birthday. And especially for being able to share a 3rd trip to the Islands with my Dad and to have my be...

I'm finally on the mend... by the time of my doctor visit yesterday afternoon, the fever I'd been sporting since Saturday had finally broken. With the Thanksgiving holiday weekend approaching, hubby said to get to the doctor's office and get some antibiotics onboard and whatever other meds were needed.. so now I'm on a z-pack and some Rx decongestant. Yesterday was the first day I had spent more hours awake than asleep and today I am back in the office for what I hope will be a quiet and relatively easy day. For the holiday weekend, we'll be going to our usual Thanksgiving Dinner gathering with friends; I may do some shopping; hoping to catch the new 007 movie with hubby and then I'll probably see Bolt in 3D on my own. I also hope to get some knitting done and maybe even some holiday cards stamped.

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-transportation.html My primary mode of transportation is a Jeep Cherokee Sport. It was actually my hubby's choice of car for me and it's a nice enough vehicle; but I would have preferred it in a red-tone rather than the Sahara Sand. It gets me where I need to go and has 4x4 capability for those rare times when we need it and can tow our boat or as it does more often a pair of road bikes. I'll probably drive it until the wheels fall off... and then the new vehicle would probably be more fuel efficient yet still capable of carrying a pair of bikes on a trailer hitch.

http://blog.lionbrand.com/2008/11/20/cable-luxe-tunic-knit-along-lets-get-started/ I've picked my "adult" sized sweater for my Twenty Wishes project.. ok it's really for a teenager, but it's a size "S" adult. Now to find the perfect purple yarn for this sweater since Vivi loves all things purple.

Inspired by Debbie Macomber's Twenty Wishes . This doesn't include the practical stuff like pay off debts, plan for retirement, reach and maintain my goal weight, finish my MBA, etc. So here's my whimsical set of Twenty Wishes Take a cake decorating class Knit an afghan for someone I love Take a ballroom dance class Learn how to line dance Learn to play piano Go skydiving Go to Australia and climb the Sydney Harbor bridge http://www.bridgeclimb.com/ Take an Alaskan Cruise Take an ice skating class Complete the DFW MS150 2-day event Knit an adult-sized sweater Go on a $1000 clothes shopping spree Swim or dive with dolphins Volunteer to a service for children Complete a triathlon Shark dive in the Bahamas see Stuart Cove's http://67.199.62.226/index.aspx Take karate or tae kwon do class Go zip-lining or rock climbing Visit all of the Hawaiian Islands (have been to Oahu, Kauai, and Maui) Go parasailing

I have gotten lots of sleep in the last 3 days with this cold/flu thing.. I've been awake for maybe 2.5 hours so far today. The cough and cold syrup just knock me out. I may or may not go to the office tomorrow ~ depends if I am still running a temperature tomorrow morning. If I am, then it will be off to the doctor's office to add some antibiotics to the mix. If not, then I may go to the office.

It has been a totally mizerable weekend... I was supposed to ride the 35 mile Turkey Roll with my best friend/cycling partner and her husband, but I woke up to sniffles, sneezies , and coughing... so I didn't figure that riding in near-freezing temperatures would be very good. Good news was that my BFF and her husband did complete the ride, so hooray for them! In the meantime I was in bed asleep for most of Saturday.. and again today.. running a low grade fever as well.. and the way I am feeling now, I think I'll be home from the office tomorrow as well. I'm sure my co-workers would appreciate me keeping my germs to myself, especially in a holiday week.

O drat that C... she invited me to the preschool Thanksgiving pageant and now this song is stuck in my head... Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkeyA turkey, a turkey Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey On Thanksgiving Day They'll stuff you and baste you And then they will taste you. Oh, I'm glad I'm not a turkey On Thanksgiving Day And here's a video on YouTube so it can be stuck in your head too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhIvfXThuoY And for another hilarious Turkey Song that will stick in your head, try this I will Survive Disco Turkey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd4h5xKLGuE

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-first-day.html Our First Day with Mocha was an interesting one.. first she yowled the whole way home from the sheltere with me; even when we stopped at Petco for a new kitty box, kitty food, etc. Then she ran and hid under the bed when she met my hubby. She's outgrown that initial shyness, though she's not a very snuggly kitty.

Life with a younger kitty sure can be interesting.... She is much braver than our previous set of fur-babies and loves to come sit on the garden tub whilst I take a bubble bath. There have been a few times I thought she was going to teeter right on off the edge and into the tub. Well, last night she happily sat and watched me in the tub and played with bubbles and normal Mocha behavior. When I was done, I set the tub to drain, exited the bath and wrapped up in warm towel and set to flossing my teeth. The next thing I hear is ker-splash... apparently, somehow the bathtub and the draining water must have been intriguing.. or maybe she slipped on in.. but the next thing I saw was a flash of brown streaking past me and a trail of wet paw prints. Yep, she slipped on in and scrambled on out just about as quick. At least the tub had drained quite a bit and she's quite a long-legged kitty.. so pretty much only her feetsies, tail, and a teenie bit of belly fur were wet. S...

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-listen.html I'm in the office and have my earbuds in and am listening to Barry Manilow. I Can't Smile Without You. Probably someone is going to be behind me watching me sing along under my breath and see me dancing in my chair.

Mocha is a bread rat! This week she got into Daddy's jalapeno cheesebread.. and into his multigrain bread too... ate holes right thru the bread bags and nibbled out of both loaves. After my last incident where she at the thru my Sara Lee wheat bread, my bread now resides safely in the refrigerator. She is also such a funny little kitty... as with all the cats we have ever parented, Mocha has a bowl of dry food down at all times. We do take care, especially now with just one kitty, to buy the smallest size bags of dry food and to rotate flavors... 'cause just like people, cats get tired of the same food every day. So we have some new flavor which is in her bowl... but for some reason, it must be more intriguing in the bag because there were some chew marks on it. So, I put it up where I thought it would be safe and sound under the bathroom sink... nope; she's smart enough to get the cabinet open and yep, you guessed it munched a hole in the bag and nibbled away at it. Keep i...

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-weekend.html Generally quiet weekend; hubby still recovering from strep throat. I worked on various crafting items including fringing 2 more blankets for Project Linus. The most interesting thing I watched on TV was the interview with President Elect Obama and his wife on 60 minutes. They seem like such "real" people.

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-habit.html Hmm.. perhaps I should work on putting things away in the same place... so far pretty good with keys since hubby put a hook up for those.. but things like my fanny pack or cell phone could end up in any room in the house.

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-vintage.html Parachute pants, bell bottom pants, disco polyester looks, underwear as outerwear, petticoats, hoop-skirts, corsets

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-three-goals.html Reach and maintain my goal weight (does that count as 2?) Be financially free Go on an Alaskan Cruise

As usual when she's out of the office due to business travel, my week is a bit off kilter. Still, we are able to make contact normally at least once a day. I didn't hear from her yesterday which meant she was really busy. I did hear from her this morning, and she'll be glad to be homeward bound tomorrow. Hey only like 64 days left before we leave for Hawaii :)

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-technology.html Computer, internet, email, automobile, cell phone, microwave oven, television.

Ok, it's not the new year yet, there's still 7 weeks left... but already thinking ahead... and I just like this thought from Dear Abby - so here's from the 1/1/08 column http://www.uexpress.com/printable/print.html?uc_full_date=20080101&uc_comic=da START THE NEW YEAR BY TAKING SMALL STEPS TO BIG CHANGES DEAR READERS: The new year has arrived, and with it our chance for a new beginning. This is the day we discard destructive old habits for healthy new ones. With that in mind, I am sharing Dear Abby's often-requested list of New Year's resolutions -- which were adapted by my mother, Pauline Phillips, from the original credo of Al-Anon. JUST FOR TODAY: I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once. I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime. JUST FOR TODAY: I will be happy. I w...

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-writing.html Travel reviews would be my first choice; movie reviews would be my second choice; romance novels would be my third choice.

Here's some pictures of Mocha playing with the 'snake' with the "feather tail" that lives on the doorknob... of course, I think she killed the last of the feathers off of it sometime this weekend. And oh yeah, Mousey #1 has gone mysteriously missing again; though Mousey #2 is a somewhat good substitute.

Ooops... I really thought I had blogged about this; but guess I only thought about it. So here's the re-cap for Halloween 2008. First at the office, it was a bit different this year. For several years the employee committee in charge of organizing the 2 major events of the year (picnic and holiday party) did a bake sale and a costume contest. Seems like the bake sale was phase out a few years ago due to lack of participation on both the part of donated items and on sales. This year, the committee didn't even sponsor a costume contest; though some departments may have held their own festivities. For that part, my department didn't even have a pot-luck lunch thing.. heck, we're lucky if someone is willing to coordinate one of those once or twice a year any more. At lunchtime, M and I met C for lunch and also dropped off cookies and candy for the "Trunk or Treat" sponsored by C's church. Back to the office after a great lunch for a relatively quiet afternoon....

Here we are on LiveStrong Challenge Austin ride day... as usual with most of our rides we are up well before the sun... and somehow this year, with perhaps the lone exception of the Hotter Than Hell ride in Wichita Falls also on a quite chilly morning. From top to bottom - Me; my best friend; Me & My best friend at the first "Power Stop" where we signed the honor board; and then last but by no means least one of the many, long and seemingly unending hills on the course.

Here's some pics from the LiveStrong Challenge Austin Expo... we left this on the Honor/Memory wall and we rode with signs as well. Also a picture of me with Lance Armstrong... ok, it's probably about as close to Lance as I will get unless I get super-serious in the $3-10K range to earn an invitation to dinner or to the special Lance-led group ride.

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-veteran.html Happy Veteran's Day. Ok, I don't come from a military family so I don't really personally know that many veterans. The only one that comes to mind is my BFF's husband who is a retired Marine. He's both a tough Marine (even if he is freaked out by frogs and snakes) but also a big teddy bear. He's the perfect match for my BFF and he makes a great peanut butter pie.

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2008/11/todays-writing-prompt-favorite-place.html My favorite place in my home would depend on what I'm doing of course. If it's stamping, it's at my stamping table. If it's cooking, it's in the kitchen. Watching TV, on the couch or in the bedroom. Knitting ~ again, couch or bedroom. Or perhaps my very favorite feature of our home is the marble garden tub in the master bath.

I also found time this weekend to go see Madagascar 2. Cute, cute cute... the penguins, as usual, are hilarious.

http://www.projectlinus.org/ I am addicted to these no-sew fleece blankets... Today I was able to get a 6-foot folding table on sale as well as a a longer cutting mat (also on sale) to make the cutting a bit easier. Today I fringed two blankets for the gals at the office, and I used a skip stitch blade along the edges of this cute cat fleece that I picked up at Hancock Fabrics. I started the crochet edging in Lion Brand Microspun in the Turquoise. There are sooooo many cute fabric choices out there, but this one reminds me a lot of our new kitty Mocha. Mocha also enjoys it when I work on these at home, especially since she loves killing the selvage edge "snakes" and proudly drags her prey around the house.

DFW MS150 2-day, Dallas to Ft Worth, May 2-3, 150 miles-- Cheesy Riders Rule! Paw Power!! http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/loniholt Tour De Cure 2-day San Antonio to Austin, May 30-31, 160 miles http://main.diabetes.org/goto/loniholt Tour De Pink for Breast Cancer, September 2009 (Registration not yet open) Tour De Cure for Diabetes, 1-day, Ft Worth, October 2009 (Registration not yet open) Livestrong Challenge Austin, HILLS... enough said... October 2009 (Registration not yet open) ~~~ And one just for fun... Hotter N Hell Challenge