Loni's Life

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/2010/07/187.html 1. I'm going to work on stamping and swaps this weekend . 2. Inspired by Mama C, this year is to be filled with adventure and daring. 3. Perhaps today you can make it a point to say I love you to someone who needs to hear it . 4. One should strive to attain the true adventurer’s spirit. 5. Compassion is too often overlooked . 6. Keep on trying ,   no matter how difficult. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to stamping , tomorrow my plans include teaching a VC Rocks class online and Sunday, I want to get August VC Rocks swaps and commissioned birthday presents finished !

Woohooo...now just to weave in all the dangling tails.   Kitchener stitch might also be much easier without Mocha's "help"

Since it is VBS week at the church which hosts our TOPS meetings, we did not meet last night.  Instead I had dinner with Mama C and the boys - Kraft Mac & Chz with double-stuffed Oreos for dessert.. and then Mama C and I settled in with our respective crafts and watched 3 episodes of the first season of Saving Grace.   Mama got enough done on the Turtle Quilt to move the hoop and I finished the last 12 rows of the second half of BFF's Eventide scarf.    Next step is to graft the two halves together using Kitchener Stitch ~ a new knitting skill for me to learn. Here a couple of pics ~ and woohoo, I'll actually get it done before BFF's birthday!!!

Nana Cheryl added to Mocha's toy collection...

Ok, here's a post I know that Mama C will really enjoy....  Dad is checking to see if the slides survived the house fire... and if so, I'm getting the iConvert for slides and negatives.... but here are some hard copy prints of baby pics of yours truly Brand new baby 7 weeks 7 weeks 5 1/2 months Not labeled; but this is my Grandma Tumbaga and me Not labeled, but toddler era

Dental visit did not go well today... should have been an easy visit; pop the temp crowns, seat the perm crowns and outta there.... Yeah, well, should have known it would suck when right off the assistant couldn't get the temp off; then the dentist tried and he couldn't get them off either... so out came the numbing stuff and cutting off the temps… go to seat the permanent ones and neither one would fit. So he did some more drilling and digging and cleaning and cauterizing the gums.. which had finally almost healed from last go 'round. Gets new temps set; but then the asst doing the clean up work, popped them out, so had to go thru some more cleaning and set those again. Now, the gums are coming back to life and it pretty much feels like red hot razor blades back there...so now at home and have Mr. Vicodin going to work before the numbing drugs totally wear off.. hoping to sleep thru the worst part of it.. which... stop reading if you don't want to feel my pain... b...

Thx to my roomie Carinda B! Her work is fab and the treats in the paint can were life savers and sweethearts in which survived the Texas heat. The 80s treat not pictured arrived separately and is a CD filled with 80s tunes. Mocha will love the new Mousey. SmartKats are her favorite toys, though her FAVORITE Mousey is still her original spotted one also by SmartyKats. For Carinda's box, I included nearly every card/challenge I've completed for VC Rocks this season which have previously appeared on the blog. For her 80's treat, I sent a copy of Ghost Busters on DVD along with Mike & Ike's and microwave popcorn. I also included a treat pack for her 5yo daughter.. and I refrained from sending all sugar... I did send some extreme sour patch ribbons or something like that.. looked sugary and grand like a 5yo would like it, a multi-pack of KoolAid flavored lip-balms (Mommy reports lots of yummy kisses already received), 4 different card games- Old Maid, Slap Jack...

Whilst digging out photos for my Virtual Swap page for VC Rocks 80's Floor... I also uncovered some fave pics of my baby Tracer... literally.. one is Day1 photos on a pillowcase... and  other shows her full grown on the same pillowcase.... oh, and note the charcoal grey on her head.. which of course turned white as she aged.  

This is one of my favorite pictures of my "babies"... I would say between the two of them Tracer was the "Pack Leader" and Cassie would just wait most of the time for Tracer to at least get first dibs.  

http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2010/07/todays-writing-prompt-make.html Hahahhahahhaa.. A really easy one to answer today… SOCKS .   It's the next project after I finish up M's Eventide scarf… I have less than 20 rows to the finish the second half.   Then,  I'll learn a knew knitting skill with grafting by Kitchener Stitch.   Of course, hubby has already said, 'You know, you can buy socks at Target on sale for 6 pairs for $8 or whatever'…. And that is the likely reason why he will never own a pair of hand-knit socks.

For the 10th Anniversary of VCRocks, the Moderators offered the "Virtual Convention" Hotel with decade themes of 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's...I opted 80's for the teen years....  Below is my 80's Virtual Swap page completed in My Digital Studio

Wow, the weekend flew by and it's Monday again... and the only GREAT thing about Mondays are pics of my furbaby...

Winner--- A package of Assorted InColor paper will be on the way to Kari Rieck! Kari said...    I love the in my thoughts card and the baby one is adorable. I loved the blog hop (finally made it all the way through one). I loved all the items and the wonderful work that everyone shared--plenty of new ideas to case (someday soon I hope). I don't know if I could pick a favorite--too many talented ladies here. Not sure what my fav new item is--I think overall, I would have to say the new colors--they are more my style. Thanks Loni for all you do for VC_Rocks! Many thanks to the 36 participants in this month's VC Rocks Blog Hop.   Our next and final hop of this year's VC Rocks Season will be August 21-22 featuring items from the new Idea Book & Catalog, Holiday Mini Catalog, Summer Mini Catalog -or- anything celebrating Stampin' Up!

Welcome to Loni's Life, if you've arrived here from Deborah's Thoughts of a Grasshopper , you have reached the last stop on our VC Rocks Blog Hop #3 for the 2010 season.    If you're just one of my fans and followers (or my family), then you can start at the top of the hop at the VC Rocks Home Page .    Join us again on Aug 21/22 for our final hop of the Season. For now (3:05AM), enjoy a repeat of one of my favorite Jumbo Wheels in the new catalog... Stamps: Baby Tees jumbo wheel from the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog and Occasional Quotes, a Hostess Level 3 set from the new catalog. Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red Paper: Pretty in Pink (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 folded to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 standard base; 1 1/4 x 2 3/4) Whisper White: 4 x 5 1/4; 1 x 2 1/2 Accessories: Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon is retired,but current substitutes include white organdy, pretty in pink taffeta, pretty in pink grosgrain; Stampin' sponges; Stampin' Dimensi...

After a soak in the tub with the water about as hot as I could stand it, epsom salts, and bubbles… and a restful overnight with my heated mattress pad, I'm doing better this morning.    I have a pair of therma-care arthritis 12h neck wraps, one on each thigh… and that should keep things fairly happy today.     Off to see Mama after work and if the evening weather is decent, I think a foray into her spa will definitely be in order.  

I'm a Physics experiment... today I'm experiencing Newton's Third Law of Motion (For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.) because I worked out with a new trainer on Monday night under Newton's First Law of Motion ( Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. ) In other words applied personal training to the exercise regiment to force body out of its current state... and now paying for it dearly with a bad case of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness....  cancelled on the trainer tonight since I can barely hobble and that is with a great deal of discomfort but do-able... sitting is good; standing is good; transitions between those two states is not so good. Will resume PT sessions after the Tour de Cure ride on the 24th since I don't want to have a totally miserable ride.

My membership to Massage Envy is worth its weight in gold, platinum, titanium, silver, diamonds or whatever…   Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness sucks bigtime… but Shara got things smoothed out enough to get thru today; go to my training session tonight… going to tell trainer we need take it down a notch; no lower body or core work today; hoping for just some ease-into-it upper body work.   Not going to personal training next week since Tour de Cure is the 24th and I want to be able to happily ride that one.   Now I'm doped up on some advil and testing a heat patch on one quad.. If it starts feeling better I'll throw one on the other quad.

Oh sheesh..  My Aching Quads.. oh yeah, probably serves me right for not doing any weighted strength training since January.. but dog, I didn't think they would ache this bad after the short session with the trainer yesterday.   Yeah, trying to keep the trainer's words in my head about 'trust in the process' and keep on working on it.   I may check to see if I have a stash of epsom salts or bath salts stashed somewhere... and if not, then bubbles and hot water will work just fine with a nice soak in the tub.   And oh joy, I have another workout tomorrow after work where he will probably kill my upper body just as much.     

Ok, getting back on track on the Journey to Wellness... My Dieting Adventures... I don't know what snazzy name to give it.. but really would like someday to be trying to Maintain a Healthy Weight instead of Maintaining at a morbidly obese type weight... to get into a maintenance mode instead of a losing mode... So with that effort, I am trying to work on doing a better job of journaling because it does actually work when I do the tracking; and getting back to the gym for some strength training including using my personal training sessions that have stacked up whilst I was recovering from the post-Hawaii bug, the post-Disney bug, and the don't feel like going to the gym-bug that occurred in between.   Oh, it's not that I haven't been working out ~ treadmill and yoga, walking and some cycling... just hadn't gotten my booty to the gym.   Also getting back on track by packing my lunch and eating my Jenny Craig meals and snacks... though it is a bit of a challenge whil...

So interesting to watch young love at play at Mama's house.    The eldest and his girlfriend were over so he could work from his PC at Mama's instead of his apartment.   I believe he had neglected to layout the schedule to the girlfriend who just came over with him without any overnight gear or anything.    In the early evening while he was on a break from his project, she suggested a perfectly brilliant plan… clear, concise, articulate… basically, can we run back to the apartment so I can get a change of clothes or just get all my stuff and  I'll just drive my truck back here… I really don't want to have to go back to the apartment at 2 in the morning.    Implied: That way, I can go to bed when I want here; I will have fresh clothes in the morning; and you can have pancakes (that I won't eat because I want dense pancakes with strawberries and chocolate chips) i.e. a win-win situation all the way around....

FFI 184 1. Layers of pasta, cheese, meat sauce.. sounds like a yummy lasagna! 2. Men wish they had more insight as to what Women want . 3. I'd be willing to bet that it might rain later today . 4. My cat scares the dog ~ well only one dog- Sammy. 5. I'm fond of chocolate. 6. I love chocolate too much to give it up ! 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to playing with birthday presents from Stampin' Up! , tomorrow my plans include swimming if the rain holds off and Sunday, I want to knit !

OMW - Butterflies I get butterflies if I have to do a speech or presentation for class or work (depending on the Audience). I hate having to get up and speak in front of an audience.... Butterflies get so bad they border on nausea-inducing butterflies, Boo!

Sometimes women just need to know when to step back and let the Man do the 'man-jobs' like painting or building a fence, mowing the lawn or whatever…    After almost 20 years being married, I think I've learned this lesson well enough to know when to come and offer some lemonade or a Sonic run for a grilled cheese and onion rings.   Pretty much with my job being mainly to help pick out the whatever that's being installed.. And then to go "oooohhh… ahhhhh…. Wowwwww…. Thank Youuuuuuuuu" with hugs and kisses thrown in ~ even when he is still sweaty having just finished up the job.  Learned a long time ago that I don't do whatever job it is to suit his male hormones and that it is just generally more irritating than helpful to be in his Man-Space whilst he is working on these things.    That way he is happy doing the manly stuff; and I am happy staying out of his way.    Think we finally have c...

Had a good Holiday weekend!     Didn't get as much time with BFF as normal as she is recovering from another series of injections in her back to alleviate the chronic pain that has plagued her this year.   No riding in TDC Ft Worth for her and looking that HHH will be highly unlikely as well ~ though she will sit in some shade and be a cheerleader for me for both events followed by trips to get massages and the HHH trip over the border to the Casinos. Think I stopped by for some Oreo pie on Friday night, but Auntie J had already polished it off, but that was ok.. we watched the rain on Mama's new patio and can't remember if it had cleared up enough to go swim or not.   Back to Mama's on Saturday with knitting in tow, though I didn't get any knitting done... need to wind the skein to finish off BFF's Eventide scarf and found a great pattern called "Winding Rivers" for another scarf for Mama C is the recipient of many scarves.. but she uses them...

Hubby went down to visit a friend last weekend and gots some great photos on a drive in Mineola. Now if I could just get him to take some nice shots of Mocha :)   or at least get Mocha to sit still long enough for him to take some shots.

Some of my favorite babies...   So nice to be an Auntie... and such a wide range of ages to whom I am an Auntie... from ages 1 to 20-plus... and furbabies too! Aunt Loni & Jaeda, 1 Aunt Loni & Brandon, 6 Garrett, 4 McKayla, 2-- aka Little Daredevil Tango... or Cash.. you'd think I'd remember by now.. look at those Carpet Feet Same Kitty, just upright :) And Tango or Cash's sister...  yeah, they are named Tango & Cash.. but I never remember who is who... Why are you bothering me?  Typical Feline Look, LOL!

Here's the Gumdrop Sweater from Debby Ware And here's my completed version... Baby's First Birthday.. a present for baby Jaeda .. my how a year flies!    Nana B was doing ok with all the birthday presents until the hand-knit by Auntie Loni was opened.. it's a bit big for her at the moment.. and too darn warm right now in Texas for it; but it should be great when the cooler weather in the fall arrives.

A terrific Independence Day holiday weekend for me with friends and family and another great OWH Blog Tour.    Thanks for alll the great comments and notes of how much you also enjoyed your ice cream.  I had some Skinny Cow Cookies and Cream ice cream.. .while it's not Blue Bell Cookies and Cream, it wasn't too bad for a reduced-calorie ice cream.    The winner of my Blog Candy is Comment #23 from Rufus Rufus said... OWH is a truly marvelous organization of caring, giving, friendly folks. It's my way of showing the troops that I support them and appreciate the sacrifices that they and their families make for all of us. If you think that one person can't make a difference all you need to do is read some of the letters written to OWH. Be warned it's best to have a box of tissues by your side while you do this! My short answer when someone asks this question, given today's age of email, twitter, facebook etc. Is yes, but how many people print out...

My fave from last week!  She's my new background on my PC at work

An Operation Write Home Blog Tour to Celebrate America's Independence Day!   Since it is America's Birthday, it's a Birthday Card theme for the Tour. The tour begins HERE at 6pm Eastern/5pm Central/4pm Mountain/3pm Pacific at the OWH Stars and Stamps blog .  So grab a bowl of ice cream to cool off on this hot summer day and enjoy the blog tour!!! Happy Birthday USA! Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Cheers standard wheel Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy Paper: Poppy Parade, Night of Navy, Whisper White Accessories: Poppy Parade Stampin' Write Marker, Real Red Grosgrain 1/4 inch ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Standard wheel and ink cartridge God Bless all of our Heroes (past, present, and future) who proudly serve, protect, and defend our Constitution. Please leave a comment about why you love Operation Write Home by 10pm Central, Sunday July 4th, 2010 and I'll do a random drawing to win some Blog Candy.

Still fending off the Disney Bug…  Neither gumlines nor tonsils were happy at the Dentist office this week… and bit of the sniffles and nighttime cough started again last night.. So off to the doctor's office I finally went.   Got some antibiotics to help knock out the last of this bug; plus some Rx cough syrup to help get rest at night and ease the coughs; plus Rx pills to help with congestion and coughs in the daytime without making me sleepy. ~~~ And then BFF is off for more injections to ease her back pain… I hope and pray that this round of mojo does her some good and lasts more than a month of relief.