Loni's Life

Even though these may look like repeats, they are new pictures from this morning... Mocha Baby was not being very cooperative so it took a little bit to get something good to share.. and not her blurry butt, blurry back feet, half a tail, or whatever.   I especially try to get pics where she does not have "Devil Eyes" in yellow, green, or red... 'cause Nana Cheryl really loves her blue eyes instead.

Friday Fill Ins #201 1. Three things I must have on my Thanksgiving table: turkey, white bread stuffing, gravy. 2. Mocha played with Mousey and then sacked out on the couch. 3. This is great, my holiday shopping is a matter of gift cards and cash.. no Black Friday insanity for me!!! 4.  It is too darn cold   to decorate outside today . 5. Oh, man, thankfully it's a long weekend away from the office!! 6. Mama is working on perfect ing the art of Baking by Command this holiday weekend . 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Kyle dance in The Nutcracker , tomorrow my plans include knitting (of course) and Sunday, I want to stamp some Christmas greetings !

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!  I didn't get in any stamping time today, so this is a repeat from last month's SU Stars Blog Hop.. but it's so pretty and it fits today's holiday and sentiment perfectly.  Stamps: Day of Gratitude   Ink: Cajun Craze Paper: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Whisper White, Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper Accessories: Designer Buttons/Regals, Hemp Twine, Paper piercer & Mat pack, Stampin' Dimensional I'm thankful most of all for family and friends and the generally good health enjoyed by them.   I am thankful for my hubby and our furbaby Mocha - spoiled though she may be.. which means I'm also thankful that I have the means to spoil the furbaby.  I am thankful that my natural-born family is doing well and that the seniors in my life are in fairly good health and good spirits.   I am very thankful for my extended family of Mina, Mama Cheryl, Auntie Jill and their respective entourages.  I'm thankful for a job...

Chauffeured Mama to pick up the youngest from school... since her shoulder is injured, it can literally be a real pain to drive that distance.    I'm usually along for the ride on the drop-off back at school; so it was interesting watching the kiddos at pick-up time with their various bags and totes of belongings and schoolwork for the long weekend.   We met up with the eldest at a local Italian eaterie selected by the picky-eater youngest.   Mama and I had just been there last night; but they have so much on the menu and the food is always good, that it was still a nice choice.   The table had pizza, with Mama, the eldest and I splitting chicken alfredo pizza and the youngest having 3 slices of plain cheese pizza and the Boys opting for chocolate cheesecake.    Lots of conversation and laughs and it's just so nice to see both of Mama's natural-born chicadees in one place.... it is so evident that Mama and Raymond raised the ...

It was a good weekend... we had the 3rd SU STARS Blog Hop.. I got some knitting done.  I went with Mama to drop off her sewing machine at the hospital for repairs and then was quite entertained while watching them tackle the baby Bernina.. which after working on the Big Bernina is like landing on another planet almost. I attended church services on Sunday with Mama, Auntie J, and BFF to hear the Youth Pastor give is final sermon at this church as he is headed to another post.   After services, we went to Mama's for a Thanksgiving Breakfast since each of us will be spending the actual holiday with our natural blood or marriage families and assorted other friends.      We had a very nice feast of scrambled eggs with diced ham and cheese; home made from scratch buttermilk biscuits with an assortment of toppings; and fresh fruit- strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.    I wasn't too keen on the blackberries at first... sin...

Good Mocha Monday Morning to you all... Mocha has discovered the dog blanket from cousin Phoebe's visit and is claiming it as her own.    And the winner is... of 14 comments, 1 was made after the deadline and 1 person had 2 comments, so that left 12 remaining comments and the Lucky Winner is Comment # 4 thestampinglady said... My kids are 37 and 31 and we still do stockings! It just would not be Christmas without them. Hopefully my almost 2 yo grandson will love our tradition too.

Welcome to Loni's Life and yet another Blog Hop.. yes, that's 3 weekends in a row... first with the Late Night Stampers Royal Blog Tour, then last weekend we were celebrating Valentine's Day early with the folks at Operation Write Home.  This weekend it's another talented bunch of stampers and scrappers known as the SU STARS.   If you're already on the tour, then you've just arrived from Tory's Stampin' Studio  , aren't her projects great?!    I'm the last stop on this month's tour.. so if you are starting here, just follow the link at the end to go to our SU Stars home page and to visit 22 other project pages!     From my New Toy collection:  Stamps: Word Play Ink: Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, and Garden Green Paper: Early Espresso, Cheryl Cobbler, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla Accessories: Big Shot, Petals A Plenty embossing folder, Early Espresso 5/8 inch satin ribbon, Stampin' Dimensional...

Friday Fill-Ins #200 1. Why does Mocha think that the milk in my cup is better than the milk (from the same jug) that I put in her bowl? 2. I want to see the world ~ well at least parts of it — Alaska, Australia, maybe parts of Europe some day . 3. Thank you for being a friend . 4. Christmas is my favorite holiday because I love to see the twinkling holiday lights in the neighborhood and for time with family and friends . 5. I am SO ready for a LONG weekend next week . 6. We are as happy as make up our minds to be. 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to stamping for the SU Stars Blog Hop , tomorrow my plans include knitting more punch cozies and Sunday, I want to enjoy breakfast at Mama ’ s !

Good Mocha Monday Morning to you!   The Blog Candy winner for this weekend's Operation Write Home Valentine's Blog Hop is comment #15 which was also one of my favorite comments: SuzAnn said... love your non-traditional card! the best valentine I ever got was new windshield wipers for my car. hubby installed them and I thought of him every time I used them. Now here's the pretty girl herself...  and yes, that's her favorite mousey.. though Nana Cheryl's cheeping Birdie was getting a lot of action this morning... and also a golf ball that Nana Cheryl sent home so that I could use in my back pocket to apply pressure to my gluteals per the massage therapist.... unfortunately the golf ball intrigued Mocha greatly and it has temporarily disappeared... i think it I heard her rolling it across the tile floor in the bathroom this morning.    I tried a tennis ball in my back jeans pocket instead and it seemed to help.. or at least it resulted in the same ...

Welcome to the Operations Write Home Veteran's Day weekend Bloghop 2010 edition.  The hop officially kicks off at 10AM Eastern, 9AM Central, 8AM Mountain, 7AM Pacific on Saturday, November 13th.. so you may run into some broken links before that time... and with over 100 blogs signed up to participate, I'm sure you'll find lots of enjoyable Valentine's projects along the way. Operation Write Home supports America's nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.   Please note that the Thanksgiving and Christmas card deadline has passed; but the Valentine's deadline is January 7th.    Be sure to take time to vote daily through December 4th for Operation Write Home in Joann's Craft for a Cause contest.  OWH  is the "little guy" compared to the other two worthy charities (also near and dear to my heart), Project Linus & The American Cancer Socie...

FFI #199 Hmm … today ’ s are a bit challenging.. or maybe I just really need the weekend … but here goes.. 1. When pigs fly then it ’ s gonna be harder to clean up your car if you park under trees where they perch. 2. It ’ s going to rain today.. again..   seriously?! 3. Call me on my cell phone and I might or might not answer … . LOL . 4. Chocolate is just one of the best things ever in life if you know what I mean. 5. The most entertaining person in my life is Blondie because she ’ s my B FF . 6. I got one Christmas present under wraps , who's next? 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to stamping for OWH Blog Hop this weekend , tomorrow my plans include a massage and Sunday, I want to see Morning Glory !

Ok, still working on colorblends when having my JC turkey burger.  Today it is presented with tossed salad with baby spinach leaves, mixed veggies of zucchini quarters, green beans, and carrots in a light rosemary butter sauce (this was one of my new adventures for the week), and a fruit with more color...sliced strawberries.

Perhaps one of my favorite nights of the week.. because well Survivor is on.. plus most of the time Mama cooks dinner...  I say most of the time because some of the time I opt out and have my JC entree.. but that is usually when there is weekend travel involved where I will be not as tied to JC as I would normally be, so I try to stick to the JC portion control on Survivor nights.   But travel weekends should be done until the Spring cycling season begins.   Tonight it's lemon chicken and roasted veggies.. plus I'm bringing asparagus. For Survivor Nicaragua, it's still anybody's ball game...  Benry - Who cares Brenda - One to watch; quiet and wilie Chase - Still clueless Dan - Why is he still there?   Oh yeah, he's made it past the brutal team challenges and now he's seen as easy pickings in individual challenges.. which pretty much is true so far. Holly - Still a whack job. Jane - I really like her.. though tactically speaking, should she...

I can't remember how or when or where we became Best Friends.. I just know that God blessed my life when He crossed my path with yours and made it so.   I love you!!!

Thanks for all you do for me.. for all those times when you listened to me moan and groan and bitch and whine.. when all you really wanted to do was take me out to the woodshed and yell at me the phrase from one of my previous posts...   And for those days of motherhood when you want to rip your hair out  (I hear it does grow back).. I love you :)

It's coming to the time of year that is traditionally difficult for my TOPS chapter... collectively as a group.. because it just seems that it is traditionally a hard time of the year for everyone individually.   From Halloween through New Year's Celebrations, we are constantly bombarded with food... and the goals and milestones that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year seem so far away.. and the lure of new horizons and changed attitudes at the cusp of the New Year seem so much more hopeful and fruitful. I'd have to say that for me 2010 I've been disappointed on the scale.... but then again, I have to factor in the non-scale victories too.   So is the number on the scale what I would like it to be?   No.   Is the scale moving along at a pace at which I would like it to move?  Again, no.  Did I backslide during the year?  Yes.   Is it back on track? Yes Will I end the year with a net gain?   ...

Another one to check off was completing the Triathlon!!!! 1. Take a cake decorating class 2. Knit an afghan for someone I love ~ Completed Christmas 2008 for Mamma C 3. Take a ballroom dance class 4. Learn how to line dance 5. Learn to play piano... ok, maybe not learn to play; but take a Piano class for fun. 6. Go skydiving 7. Go to Australia and climb the Sydney Harbor bridge 8. Take an Alaskan Cruise --> Planning for 2012!!! 9. Take an ice skating class 10. Complete the DFW MS150 2-day event; or  TDC 2-day - or a Biking Vacation type adventure. 11. Knit an adult-sized sweater 12. Go on a $1000 clothes shopping spree 13. Swim or dive with dolphins -- Completed Jan 2010, Big Island, Hawaii- Hilton Waikoloa 14. Volunteer to a service for children ~ Completed Jan 2009, am the new lead Stampin' Up! Demo for RMHC Dallas house also Oct 2009, riding Make a Wish ride 15. Complete a triathlon -->  Completed, October 3, 2010!!! 16. Sha...

There are some days when I think that Mama C's idea of being a Hermit is not altogether a bad one... well, so long as I could have a cat. There are days when I think maybe I should take up cross-stitch long enough to make this doo-dad.   Because God knows some days I'm sure that this should be aimed at me.. but more often lately I want to scream it at my BFF. Houston we have a Communications problem.. Lord knows it happens in just about every relationship.. and it doesn't help matters much that she's menopausal, hormonal, and probably lacking in some basic nutrients or whatever helps your moods in this post WLS dietary plan she must follow.. but I never know which BFF I'm going to get on any given day.. and it shifts from moment to moment... Am I going to get the raging witch woman that could take out an airport terminal with an oozie if she had the chance? Am I going to get the weeping willow, cry at the drop of a hat, my world is ending and I don't ...

Happy Mocha Monday!   If you are on the Daffodil Delight path of the Royal Blog Tour scroll down or follow the link to the next post .    If you are a Mocha fan, here she is on the stairs with her favorite Mousey. Have a great week!!!

Welcome travelers to the Royal Blog Tour 2010 Fall Edition and Daffodil Delight Castle #11 at Princess Loni Holt's castle at Loni's Life.  If you've been on the Royal Blog Tour then you've arrived here from fabulous Princess Belinda Tubby's castle at Stampin' Buzz .   Else, if you are starting here, then continue to the next castle with the wonderful Princess Kristine Thompson from Melbourne, Australia at Ink Spot Creations . My dear friend Sleeping Beauty was spinning some beautiful yarn when she had a mishap with the spinning wheel and fell into a deep sleep.   My other friend Rapunzel is dealing with some funny little man and trying to guess his name.  So for now, I've run out of freshly spun yarn.  Luckily, I have a stash of yarn so I'll still be able to make some cute baby items for my Princess friends.  And as an avid knitter, I just HAD to have the  Hand Knit set released with the 2010-2011 S...

Ok, somehow I always end up pairing turkey burger with a pale fruit....but at least today I paired it with more colorful veggie selection and a new side dish to try....Green Giant Healthy Blends of sugar snap peas, carrots, black beans, and edmame in a light butter sauce.   Verdict = yummy!

Jail time... again... at least I have Mousey to keep me company The other side of jail...it is cousin Phoebe In the left corner.. that used to be a doggie tennis ball... boy, I sure hope she doesn't get my Mousey!

Operation Write Home 500,000 cards and counting!