Logan is giving me heartburn!

Everything I eat now just seems to come right back up. Or I just get ridiculous heartburn. Either way, it is annoyyyying. I have never had heartburn before...now I know why people complain about it. However, it did not stop me from eating my face off tonight. Yep. Came home from the pool to eat salad, buffalo wings, ice cream, yogurt and cheerios. Odd combination and order, I know. My body was just saying FEED ME. I'll probably weigh as much as a fridge at the docs on wed...GUH. Oh well.

The pool was nice...I only swam 800 yds...was kinda tired. I only slept for about 6 hours last night and got up early to go the "art" show. I quote that bc it was NOT an art show. They fooled me. It was all junk, and I barely sold anything. So...I packed it up and left early. What a flop.

Now that it's past 8 PM I am just totally wiped and will be hitting the sack soon...Mmmm. Hopefully I will be able to get some sleep with out, ahem, someone getting in the way. I guess he's always in the way now.

~Above~ I am sporting my naked belly for you all. I know you wanted to see it. And also...some drawings and stuffff. Not sure what they're for yet, but...eh. I'll just add them to my evergrowing pile of miscellaneous crafts that aren't finished yet.

Night night.

I forgot how it used to be...I am starving for it...

I want to do it all again. I want to friggin' go out and run, hike up some ridiculous mtn., and not care about the falling rocks and ice and snow around me. I'm craving having a runner's body back. I want my (big) baby to keep training and racing because he makes me so proud. I want to live through him! I want to get back in shape and race with him!

...just some photos of races past....me in a triathlon, hiking, Mike at Ironman Lake Placid...

I Will Be Back.

And the week is over...

Above - an assortment of TripleL colors!

~~Hey all! I am featuring a new shop, she will take up space in my sidebar to the right, so take a cruise on in there! Visit Designs by Jenai and check out a mix of crocheted items and jewelry! Cute stuff, I personally like this the best. :-) She's very friendly so don't be afraid to contact her if you're interested!~~

I had a late night last night. Babysat my friends' kids , 13 months and 3 yrs old. The 13 month old is walking around like a maniac, and thankfully, the 3 year old has gotten over his jealousy of having a new brother so he has stopped stepping on the little guy's fingers and pushing him over. Ahhh kids. The parents were out at a No Doubt concert, which they said was PACKED. The security guard in their box said he'd never seen the Journal Pavilion (here in ABQ) this packed. Couldn't even find a spot on the grass. Gwen is pretty awesome, though, and I used to listen to No Doubt years ago. I'm happy they got back together to play, even if I was snoozing on the couch instead of jumping up and down like a clown with the other concert-goers...

Getting ready for the Art Show tomorrow!!! I am packaging soap like nuts and getting all my jewelry prepared. One issue I am having is finding something to hang my earrings off of....any suggestions? Hmmm. I may have to cave and go buy something? But what? Grrr.

~Here is my favorite Etsy item for the day! I looove coffee mugs! And with this whole pregnancy I haven't been drinking any coffee until recently. I allow myself a cup sometimes now because I am in the last trimester...and at this point he should be all big and developed (he FEELS like he's a monster, god I hope he's not huge). This super big blue mug is great, and makes me dream of having a huge cup of coffee in the near future. Check out the shop, AnneMariesPottery.

Good Blogger I Am!

I was reading "Artful Blogging" yesterday in the book store, and an article titled "Be a Good Blogger" caught my eye. Check out the latest issue of the magazine to see some great photos, blogs and tips. It's at Barnes 'n Noble - one of my favorite places to chill out. Plus the AC is on in there!

The setting process of some of my new soaps are pictured. They will be listed on Etsy as soon as I get the shots I want. My favorite part, currently, about making the soap is creating the colors! So many beautiful colors can be made, and each soap is unique because the colors can't all match perfectly. This is why I love handmade things...each piece is unique.




Flowers - and a lone baby cactus - in our front yard.

An Awarded Blog

Michelle from Tile Me Beautiful awarded me the Lovely Blog Award! Sooo thankful and grateful to her! Thanks for thinking of me! What a great way to connect with other bloggers to share our artistic endeavors...and other life activities as well. So, in response to getting this award I have nominated 15 more blogs that I find interesting. These blogs are all blogs that I either read, recently found, or just can't miss! Once you are awarded, you must then make a post about receiving the award and list the blogger's name and blog in your post (the person who gave you the award), choose 15 of your own fave blogs, and make sure you let each of those blogs know they have been awarded! Check out my 15 below and see if you won!

Allover Art
DoYouLoveLucy
Elegant Bloggery
jen jeglinski ceramics
Lula Boutique
Oceanside Creations
Sedona Shots Photography
Venezie Bags
Cabin + Cub
Confessions of a Cranky Twin Mom
Trudette
Oh, I Love That!
Kate of Many Colors
Krysia Knits
TinyHeartDesigns

Morning folks.

So, I have been perusing through the runnersworld and trifuel websites, and absolutely agonizing over how I can't swim, bike, and run like I want to! Bah! I cannot wait to start increasing my fitness once again. I swam 1000 yards yesterday, and will probably just do 500-700 today. Hopefully it will make my arms look super svelt, bc we know other parts of me aren't! These days I am burning just as many calories swimming as I am running, simply due to the fact that I run so slow now. At my old pace, I would be burning way more. However, if I just stay in the pool for 30-45 min now I burn just as many. Running typically burns WAY more calories than any other sport, but I guess being pregnant and slogging along while I run isn't really doing too much for me. If anything, I just get out there once a week now so I remember what it feels like to run. Loooove swimming, though. It makes me feel active and happy.

Pregnancy related ~ I am just on cruise control! I see my doc in a week, then every 2 weeks and then every 1 week from here on out. Things are just sailing along, nothing bad to report. Logan has been rolling around all day, and tends to "sleep" at night. I hope this is the pattern he has when he is out in the world! I'm storing fat in my rear, though. Oh well, guess I have to keep the fat cells somewhere...boooo.

Okay, and for the fave Etsy item of the day!! I have been wanting some cool pottery for my house - bowl, vase, anything - so I found these CUTE vases on Etsy from jjceramics shop. The vases can be seen here. They are tall and skinny with a glaze finish. They would look totally cute with just one or two flowers in them on my kitchen table, sitting on a linen tablecloth. The shop has really cute and creative things in it, so if you are into pottery have a look!


Tiled Mug - now that's a tall cup of joe!

Happy Memorial Day!

Gooood morning! I have been really messing around with my blog, so it may look a little different. Also, my featured Etsy seller for the week is in the sidebar to the right - what a fantastic shop! I will be doing a weekly feature of an Etsy shop and will get it posted either Sunday or Monday of each week. This weeks featured shop drew me in with the soaps! I will definitely be buying some skin care from the shop - take a look here. They have soaks, oils, creams, you name it. At a great price, too! After looking through this shop and many others, it is safe to say I will probably buy most of my soaps/skin care off of Etsy from now on. No more store-bought junk with chemicals. Since I started making and using my own soap, I have noticed a huge change in my skin. Any irritation I had went away, and it is overall smoother and softer. Plus you feel special using pretty soap ;-). My current favorite face soap is the lavender soap I made (pictured).

I got ZERO sleep last night. Yesterday I jogged/walked three miles and biked for 20 min, then helped Mike in the yard and clean out the garage. My back was in so much pain I just couldn't get comfy. Slept on the couch, booo, and woke up at about 5:30AM when he went to work. Grrr. I soo want to take a nap but I am meeting people to go swimming soon...maybe I'll just lounge around and read my book and splash in the water, rather than swim laps. Sounds nice, it's a gorgeous day out today.

I snapped more pictures of some new jewelry this morning so I will list those this afternoon, and I started working on a mosaic mirror as well. Not sure if I will keep it for myself or list it in my shop. We'll see how it comes out.

Time to rouse myself and get to the pool. Yeah, will definitely plan on just sitting on my butt!

I tend to post pictures of items I like, SOOO I decided I will do a regular "Favorite" for each post I do...today I found this printed french market bag that I LOVE. I love bright colors and this bag just jumps out at you. You could use it for anything...beach bag, shopping bag, purse...whatever. The picture is below, and click here to get to the Etsy seller's shop!

I have insomnia, again.

Ugh. Uugggh. I have this issue lately where I just can't go to sleep at night. Hubby passes out (as usual), and I get up and pace around, drink some water, play online, watch tv...bleh. I mean, I am exhausted, yes, but I just can't fall asleep. Plus little man is booting me from the inside like no other. Oh well. I don't mind that much, actually, because it gives me some time to just chill and relax with no other tasks awaiting me. I was just sitting in bed reading, looked down to see my belly move around, and just couldn't believe that my stomach has actually gotten THAT big. The fact that it is capable of doing that boggles my mind. Then I think, wow that thing is really stretched out, can't WAIT to see what it looks like when the baby isn't even IN there anymore. THAT is a whole differen't story. Tummy tuck any one? Just kidding, I would probably never do that. I just hope I "bounce back" relatively quickly.

Still trying to keep up this gym thing. This week was kind of lame, I had zero motivation. I still went, did skip a day, though. No running, just eliptical and bike. I rarely run more than once a week now. It is just uncomfortable and I feel like I am going to pee all over the place. So, I can still jog which makes me happy. If I can run at this weight, I have absolutely NO excuse to fly when I get back down to a normal weight. They say after women have children they can become better runners (for various reasons that I am not sure of at this moment). SO hope that is true. I am super pumped to work out at a decent intensity again...I crave it...I miss it. I am no "exerciser". I train. For the sheer joy of it (I like pain?).

Happy Friday night all, until next time. Some red "thingies" below!!! Just for fun...

Work, work all day long!

Today I headed to the BEAD shop, picked up a few new findings and other "necessities" and headed home to WORK. I designed several new pairs of earrings, got some new ideas for a couple bracelets, photographed some new items, listed them on Etsy and worked SUPER hard on devising good descriptions, promoted in the forums, re-listed some things...and then did laundry and cleaned the kitchen in the middle of all this. I'm still sort of poking around Etsy promoting myself, reading up on articles...but it is soon time for me to make some din din, fold up the last basket of laundry, and **sigh** maybe make the soap I meant to do today? Grrrr. I TOTALLY missed my yoga class...too busy to drive all the way down to the gym. So I will probably just pop in a video here at home and do some "relaxing" of my own. Lord knows I should...I have a hard time focusing lately, though. Instead of focusing on my breath during yoga, I focus on Logan rolling around in my belly, making one side stick up...it's like helloooo I am trying to relax here and you choose now to wake up? And he's not even out yet...oh sheesh.

So I came up with this AWESOME new idea. I am designing a new line for my shop. TripleL Chakra Collection. Chakra's different colors all mean something different...and I think it is a fantastic idea to create jewelry out of these different colors. People can choose whichever color speaks to them at the moment and wear that jewelry! It's extremely inspiring and spiritual, and I believe in it. Yellow = optimistic, alert, confident...great color to sport when you want to portray a good-humored aura. Green = compassion and generosity. Is that why I love green so much? ;-) Anyway, my shop has new Chakra Collection items up, and more will be coming soon, so take a look! Just go here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7296013

I also listed new soaps! So browse through those as well!

My fave TripleL Chakras so far are the ones pictured above.

Boy, Logan has not stopped moving all DAY. I definitely am guilty of going through the baby stuff on Etsy - so many cute things out there! As this last trimester draws to a close, I may have to buy some little goodies. I have been really good about NOT doing that, as we have gotten a ton of stuff from friends. But...I want to choose some things myself! The blanket category gets me every time, I LOVE handmade blankies! I came across this one: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24124582

Adorable! Perfect for a little guy! So, props to snugabugblankets, what a cute little Etsy shop!

Soooo it's about that time, must make dinner now. Before I get the "what's for suppah?!" question. Haha.

Weary Wednesday

Goood morning all. Or is it afternoon? I have been up forever because I just couldn't sleep. Hardly slept last night. SO tired right now. Eyes are all swollen and blaaahhh. Ugh. Anyway.

Here are some posted pictures of my soap, and a new necklace. I am finally going to list my soap in my Etsy shop, it has just been a long time coming. I am hesitant to put my lotion up there...I will make some more then think about it. I have been using my face lotion with spearmint, avocado, cucumber, shea butter, and lavender...and so far I really like it! Spearmint is amazing for refining pores, and I could always use refined pores ;-) The shea butter and avocado oil is great for moisturizing...really absorbs into the skin. And here in New Mexico it is SO dry that I can use all the moisture I can get. I'll continue to use the face lotion and body lotion and then I'll get them up on Etsy!

I love the pendant necklace...it kind of has an earthy feel to it. Plus, I love the red. Hopefully other people will too!


~~Today I need to go grocery shopping, continue getting prepared for the craft sale next weekend, finish the laundry, make that apple pie I've been meaning to bake, and do some sort of workout (a swim, maybe?) Really wish my eyes weren't ready to close up on me...~~

Have a wonderful Wednesday all! I'll perk up tomorrow :-)

Just another Monday

So before I clean up and head to the library then gym...I figured I'd pop in and sayyyy hellooooo.

OMG - yesterday I was like a walking zombie. Friday night and Saturday night I got about 5-6 hours sleep each, which these days is just not sufficient. I made soap, lotion and packaged it Saturday morning while Mike was on an 11 mile run, and then we went to Lowe's to pick up stuff, came back and waterproofed the new tile in the bathroom, then went down to Old Town so I could hit up a couple bead shops. I got some great, pretty beads! It was weird, one of the shops was absolutely packed with people, a few from out of state and so they were taking their time picking out things they needed. Some Texans in front of me in line took about 20 min to check out. Mike was a good boy, though, and waited outside and checked out a couple stores while I milled around.

Then we went to St. Claire's winery and had some gnoshes and appetizers before we went to our friends' house for dinner. I was exhausted by the time we made it home.

Yesterday we got up at 5:30 AM so Mike could get to Santa Fe for the century ride, but he just rode the 50 miles instead of the 100...and then we hung around the plaza, I got a pretty turquoise and sterling silver ring from one of the vendors out on the street. It is beautiful! She sold it to us for 20 bucks instead of 25 which was nice. We came home...took a nap (I ended up doing things on Etsy, though. I really should have napped). Then we went to see a movie. By the end of the day I was a slug, carrying my huge self around, being whiney, UGH. Totally worthless!

Good weekend but sooo tiring for me. Bottom line is I need more sleep than that to function and be a happy pregnant lady. Only 7 weeks of being huge! I hope it doesn't drag by. Things have been moving along quickly, though, so I have a feeling that the rest will fly by. Crossing my fingers!

~~~ At the bead shops I bought some Opalite - which I think is a beautiful stone. Not sure what I will do with it yet, but now I have it to play with! I also got some freshwater pearls. I love how they are all unique in their shape. I bought a bunch of other semi-precious gems so I am super excited to see what I can make out of them. ~~~

Fabulous Friday!

What a great day outside here in New Mexico! Sunny and blue skies! The little guy in my belly has been squirming all day ;-). He must know it's lovely out.

So I am in the midst of making soap, making labels, making earring hang tags, and packaging soap right now. Yikes. My kitchen looks like a science lab. I REALLY wish I had a HUGE workspace for myself! My jewelry corner is just fine and relatively organized (a corner is all I get in our house, I think we need a bigger house). As for making soap and lotions and body products? Not so much. I can't just leave it out of course, I can't make dinner next to melting oils and such?! Booo.

I made some new jewelry, a bracelet in particular that I love. (in the picture) I still don't have my soap on Etsy yet, that is happening soon. I am trying to sell it locally as of right now, but I think Etsy is calling it! All day I have agonized over packaging. It needs to look pretty, right?! I love pretty packaging personally - even a little band that covers the soap is good enough. (such as in picture). I will get some shots of my packaged soap and post 'em up here soon to see what you all think. Ya know, if they look alright! I love your feedback!

It is off to finish my work (finish? okay...just continue I guess...) Have a wonderful Friday and weekend and see you back in a couple days!

Just checking in

It's mid-afternoon and I just finished up with things that took me forever, but don't have much of a result to the naked eye. Basically, I dusted, swept, cleaned the bathroom, did the laundry, ironed several pants and shirts, watered the plants, made and filled my soap molds (will be selling my soap at an outdoor market in a couple weeks) - all after driving down to Mike's work this AM to hand off some clothes, running shoes and lunch...and a stop at the grocery store for fruit and veggies. And ya know what? Not many people will notice. ~~sigh~~ Needless to say, carrying around my big belly doing housework is not the easiest thing...and I am tired! It's a nuisance, in my way when I bend over and try and squeeze by things.

Anywho, not complaining about my morning/early afternoon. Good to get work done around here. I'm still boggled that my life is what it is right now. I want to meet this baby! I am ready to see him, and I wonder what he looks like all the time. Yeah, I have little worries all the time...and just hope that he is healthy. He moves around a ton, squirming and punching, so I know that he's active. I've had a good pregnancy, so I know I have nothing to worry about.

I managed to get some jewelry made yesterday, and need to take pictures and post them. I want to bring a bunch of stuff to this market in a couple weeks - hopefully I'll sell a bunch! Handmade jewelry and soaps will make up most of my booth. I have different types of soaps I'm making...some exfoliating ones, some with shea butter...all with various ingredients.

Now it's time to head to the pool to get some laps in.

Check back in later this week ;-)

Lisbet

Getting a little antsy over here...

I'm getting a little bored with being pregnant. Actually, I don't even know if "bored" is the right word...more like anxious and impatient. It is beautiful and sunny here EVERYDAY which I LOVE. I've made it to the pool a few times (to swim and lounge equally :-) )... and I'm lifting weights, getting my cardio in (whatever works for me that day - biking, elliptical, jogging...) and going on regular hikes up the mtn. However, I miss REALLY working out. Like truly training. I've never been an "exerciser". I "train". There is a difference. I'm used to higher volume and higher intensity to achieve athletic results...rather than just trying to stay fit. Now I realize I am just trying to stay fit. I miss pushing so hard it hurts. I miss feeling competitive. I want to run a race, and I could technically enter a short one, a 5k or something, but it would not satisfy my craving for competition. After the baby comes I am planning on entering some races, a 5k here and there, and I told Mike I want to do the Tucson 1/2 Marathon in December. He, of course, will come do it with me. The bottom line is I can't ever imagine living the rest of my life like this - just exercising for fitness - I'm a competitor. I'm glad for that, but it makes this so-called down time (okay, pregnancy) feel sooo long. For now I guess I can just be happy for all the wonderful things in life, and know that I will be back to training sooner than later. And with a baby in tow.

As for today, it is yoga day. My weekly class is tonight, and sometimes I look forward to it and other times I don't. Today I am looking forward to it, because any stretching and weird positions I do now that will help get that baby out easier sounds good to me! I'm still super tight (at least I think so...but my chiropractor told me I'm much more flexible than most people he sees). This class is definitely helping with my lower back pain. Maybe I'll go on a hike before class.

Other regular duties of laundry and tidying up around here, some errands, and watering the in-laws' flowers while they're out of town call my name now.

Happy Thursday,

~~Spot~~

Salsa Fanatic

If you don't already know, I have a thing for salsa. LOVE IT. I am sitting here eating it, with my mouth on fire, and absolutely loving it. It's like an addiction. Who the hell would want their mouth on fire like this? ME. YES. I like punishing myself.

SO tired today. My feet are like, hello, I am done carrying around your preggo body today. Enough.

Grouting our bathroom shower tonight with Mike, WOOHOOO. That's a semi-sarcastic WOOHOO. At least it will be all done, though! I'll post an "after" pic.

I listed new jewelry on Etsy today and did some researching and article reading. Now my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen for hours! BOOO. It's addicting, though! So many great articles and things to look at! (and buy, if you want...)

favorite earrings I made ~ pale green ones in the picture.

Check out my etsy shop!

Go to http://TripleLDesigns.etsy.com to view my handmade jewelry shop!

Happy Monday Madness!

So...I got up today and cleaned the house like a frantic woman (which took several hours), hoovered in some lunch, ran to the gym, and now here I am at the library to return some books and check out regular life things (i.e. bank accounts, email, yadda yadda). Sometimes I like the library computers better than being at home because I don't get distracted by the dogs, or the fact that I could be doing laundry, or cleaning the toilet...or...you know.

So, I typically blog about my pregnancy and workouts, and I am going to open it up to EVERYTHING now. Including my Etsy shop and all that I do for it! Why not?

I got my shop up and running, I need to list more items as I have some made and am in the process of finishing off some new ones. I had to get the hang of the whole Etsy thing first, and now I will start trying to get my name out there! It is
amazing how this huge community was hiding online and I had no idea - so thankful I found it. Great people, great articles, great handmade art, LOVE it.

I went from really cranking out jewelry to realizing that HELLO I needed to slow down. I love making it so much, but the last thing I want to do is compromise quality for quantity.

My love of the week~ sterling silver. I had been working with other materials, and I came back to it and forgot how EASY it is to work with. It melts in your hands! It will do anything you want! Plus it is beautiful.

Favorite piece of jewelry of the week ~ see picture of earrings. A lovely Etsian made this, and not only are they right up my alley as far as jewelry goes, the whole SHOP is. AWESOME.

~~~The "pregnant Lisbet" photo prompted someone to say I look like the happiest pregnant person ever. Well thank you! However, as Mike can probably vouch, I have my moments of "not-so-happy-Lisbet". I'd like to say I'm happy most of the time, though. :-)

Alright all, off for the remainder of the day -must go pick up husband at the airport later tonight from his long weekend of 1/2 marathon-ing in Rhode Island. What a nut. But a great nut.


~~Lis~~