Mom in Town

My mother got in town yesterday! We're just hanging around, went for a walk today, she went grocery shopping, took naps, now we're making crispy lemon chicken for dinner. Yummyyyy. I'm glad she's here, I literally did nothing today! Well, meaning, I did not do any work around the house or go out for errands or work on jewelry. Just baby duty for me. Logan's life is so complicated - eating, sleeping, dirtying/wetting his diaper. What a rough life.

We were looking through jewelry on Etsy, and she was giving me ideas for business cards and tags. We might have my grandmother (a great artist, mind you) design me a new business card that matches my packaging a little better.

Not much for talking today, so I'll leave you with some colorful inspiration.

Sunny Monday

It's Monday, and my mom is coming into town tomorrow! She'll be here for about a week to see the little guy. Cleaned up the guest room/craft room/storage room/hmmmm....yeah. We really should get rid of the second desk in that room, it's small enough as it is. I can't see having more than one child in this house - we already are out of room. Granted, it's pretty typical to have swings and jumpers and strollers hanging around in the living room, I guess.

A little exhausted from being up with a hungry/cranky baby last night who acted like he wanted to eat, but when he got to the "site" would just play around. Of course, he is now zonked out. Why couldn't he do that last night? He's still in our room at night...I wonder when I'll feel the need to move him to his own room?

Went for a jog/walk last night with Mike and baby in the BOB. I think we were out for a little over an hour. It felt nice to move, but my lower belly is still a tad sore. I think it's just my abs hanging there...lifeless. Lol.

I have a hiccuping baby

Napping with mom - is this really comfy?

My baby seems to hiccup a lot. Is this normal? It's like he is drunk off breast milk. I call him the "boob catcher", as he is always searching around opening his mouth, sucking his tongue...trying to find a boob ANYWHERE! There MUST be one out there somewhere! LOL. He is wriggling around in his boppy chair as we speak.

Boy do I hope this weight comes off fast. I lost about 20 lbs so far...15 when I got home and another 5 this past week. Now I am just left with a jelly belly. It goes down every day, but I know it will take work to get back to normal. I am hesitant to start any running, though. I want to make sure everything is healing well etc etc. Logan and I went for a walk/jog the other day, and it went alright. My lungs are obviously totally out of shape. My abs are also non-existent, which is a really odd feeling for me because mine were always pretty strong and defined. It's all soft now. WEIRD.

Mike and I are planning on a race in December in Tucson. He'll do the full marathon and I'll do the 1/2. So, that gives me five months from when Logan was born to get to where I want to be. I think I'll be able to do it. I probably won't start training for it for a bit, and just ease into it when I do. It'll be a nice "come-back" race for me hopefully! Finishing will be all that matters, this won't be for time. Granted-I have a hard time NOT racing for time, so we'll see. Mike is going to try and qualify for Boston again so we can head back there for the race next April. Boston, being THE marathon to run, has always been so accessible to us! It has been literally in our backyard and been able to watch the runners, so not being there the past couple years has been strange. I know he'll qualify easily because he is speedy :-)

Okay, enough for today, I'll bop back in eventually!

More baby love every day

So...last Monday I had our Logan! It has been almost a week now, and it's funny how you start to forget the whole labor/delivery so quickly. I think about it every day to try and remember it...not because I enjoyed the pain, but because it was such a miracle!

If you're not into nitty gritty details, then don't read this! Otherwise, I'll recap how it all went down.

I woke up Monday morning at 3 AM and got up, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. I was having contractions, and may have been having them for a while but didn't realize it in my sleep. I got up, putted around, made some coffee, read a magazine. They were about 5-7 min apart...which made me nervous because they say to go the hospital when they are 5 min apart! However, I didn't want to jump the gun so I sat around for a couple hours. I ended up crawling back in bed with Mike around 5 AM, he woke up because I was obviously moving around and making noise. I told him I thought I was having contractions, which got him all excited. He was up and timing them immediately. They started to get closer together, about 2-3 minutes apart, and stronger. Finally around 7AM we got our stuff and hopped in the car. Got to the hospital and they checked me out...and I was only 1 cm dilated, just like my last dr. appt! They told us to walk around for a couple hours. We did that, and by the time we got back they were a lot stronger and I just wanted to stay in the triage room. I had only progressed to 2 cm. The problem I was having was thatthey were so close together I had no time to rest! I stayed in the triage room another 2 hours and finally got to 4 cm, so they admitted me. At that point I was getting aggravated as they were a lot stronger. I do remember thinking...I don't know if I can do this for a lot longer. Anyway, we got to a room, and they set me up in the new bed. I had been standing up and leaning on the bed before, but by now I just stayed in bed. By 3PM I had had enough...they were so strong and close together I got an epidural. The lady who did it probably finished around 3:30 and it kicked in full gear by 4 or so...finally some relief! I could feel most contractions, but the pain pretty much went away. I had been having horrific back labor so this helped a lot. As time went on I began to feel more pressure during contractions, and could definitely tell when I was having a strong one. I labored like this until about 7PM, I had been dilated to 10 for a little while, and had to WAIT because the dr. was busy with emergency c-sections! WHAT?! So, I had a midwife do it, she was extremely nice. I started pushing at 8, and he came into the world at 9:02 PM! The midwife said, of course, if I hadn't had the epi I would have gotten him out a lot faster. Also, he was sunnyside up, which made the process a little longer because it takes them longer to get through the birth canal this way. Either way, by the time he came out I was fine. They delivered the placenta, and I felt it but didn't really care or notice because I had this squirmy baby on my chest! He was beautiful. 7 lbs 3 oz. 21 inches long. It is so weird that THAT came out of ME. I can't even make sense of it...it boggles my mind. Mike was good the whole time, really helpful and encouraging...took lots of pics right after and a couple videos of him being measured etc etc.

The whole experience was insane, and I won't lie, I felt like I got hit by a bus a couple days later. Sore every where! But, I am recovering fast and just can't believe I DID it. I remember thinking in the months leading up to it that I couldn't do it (not that I had a choice).

Anyway, gtg, little man is calling.

Logan decided to come into the world!

I have been gone! And that's because Logan was born on Monday night, the 13th of July at 9:02 pm. I will have pics up and a story of how it went soon (when I have some time).

Here is one to suffice for now - I think he is beautiful. ;-)

Learn-to-Draw

With all this "waiting" time on my hands, I have really tried to touch on all sorts of artistic mediums. Yesterday afternoon I took out my pencils and pastels, and decided to try my hand at drawing. I'm not the best drawer, but not the worst. So, rather than free-hand it, I googled "learn how to draw". Personally, I love flowers...so I found all sorts of good flower drawings to copy. With my sketch-pad and pencils, I set to work on some daffodils. Forty-five minutes later, voila! A pretty darn good sketch! I was so happy with the outcome, that I went to work on a rose. A couple hours later I had some pretty nice drawings of flowers! Two just wasn't enough, though. I'm thinking I will do four, and arrange them in some frames for a foursome. This A.M. I did some irises...and later on I will find something else to do. All different colors of course. Maybe some tulips of varying colors, orange and yellow? For now, though, this is what I have accomplished!

sites I found helpful were:

HowStuffWorks
Instructables
Buzzle.com

They are just very basic instructions on how to get started...I found that even after my first drawing I started adding shading and lines of my own. But these sites are a great place to start.

On a different note - I am off to a baby appt soon! MAN, I hope we have something more exciting to talk about this time! Like...if you don't have this baby by next Wednesday (four days after my due date) we will induce you. I need a date people! I am going nuts! Just totally uncomfortable.

Alright, have a wonderful day!

~~Lisbet~~

Amusing Wednesday

I just had a funny jaunt to my local bead shop - which I had never been to, so I am glad that there is one so close by! First off, it is hot as hell out so going outside was a feat in itself. I hopped in the hot car, blasted the AC, and headed down there. There were a couple cars in the parking lot, and I headed on in. It was my kind of shop because the two women working were laughing and joking around, super friendly, and a little sarcastic (which is me, all the way). One woman walked in and after a while she goes, "So when's that baby due?" I told her. And she was like "I saw you get out of your car and thought "oh God! She's gunna have that thing in the store!" Apparently, I look like I'm ready to explode. All the ladies were like, oh my, go home! What are you doing out! You're nuts! What's funny is I never thought twice about it. I was just bored at home! So I went out! Granted, I wouldn't mind sitting around guilt-free. Sooo...maybe I'll take their advice and just hang out until this baby comes! Ya know, make sure my hair is washed, everything is packed, and all is ready to go once this guy decides it's time to enter the world.

Have a great evening,

~~LISBET~~

Did I really just change my blog pic again!?

Sheesh.

Food for thought

I have come to a realization that you don't just have to sell your products to become successful, but that there are other mediums to explore as well. Such as teaching. I personally love teaching. Of all kinds. I have taught many things in my years (and I'm not all that old...). A brief background of me: I have ski raced my whole life...from when I was about 3 yrs old up through college and beyond. I raced for University of Massachusetts-Amherst, made it to Nationals all four years, and made All-Conference teams my last two years. I then went on to coach ski racing at the mtn. where I learned to ski. I also have taught swim lessons to babies all the way up to competitive athletes. I have helped out at triathlons...giving advice...giving support. I have worked at a pre-school "teaching" 4 year olds. It may not be algebra and reading, but they need to be taught basic fundamentals! Teaching, to me, is a joy. It is so much fun to help people learn...especially about something you love!

Teaching jewelry classes would probably be a lot of fun. Kids love to learn, but so do adults. I can see having fun teaching all ages. Art class in middle school was always fun for me, but I fell off the bandwagon in high school and college and focused on sports. Now that I have time to create things on my own, I am remembering how fun it is. This great article on Etsy - If You Know It, Teach It! - is totally helpful and right on the money. Check it out! It is rewarding work to teach!

Overall, I think there is a lot more to just creating your art/craft and selling it. You need to socialize about it, go to classes, research it, teach it, and most of all...enjoy it. When that goes away? Well, you're on a steep slide to destruction. Keep up all the hard work but have fun - and if teaching is what helps you do that, look into it! I know I will.

~~I managed to list a few new things, like I said. Have a look - the new summery sand dollar necklace is now in my Etsy shop.~~

Buy this here in my shop!

Happy Tuesday lovely people!

~~LISBET~~

Check out my new jewelry!

Two posts in a day?! Wow! So after my little rant this AM, I did some errands, totally skipped the gym, and came back here to work on jewelry. The better part of my afternoon was spent designing and putting together a few new things and taking photos. If I have time I will get a few of them listed on Etsy. We'll see how far I get, seeing as it is almost dinner time and I have yet to think of that little issue yet. So here are the newbies - make sure to check them out in my shop!

All of these new pretties available on Etsy!

I ended up watching Oprah and making some cute boxes out of scrapbook paper. Check these cuties out! If you want to learn how to make them just go here - great tutorial on Etsy on how to make them. I will probably use them on my desk for miscellaneous jewelry stuff - I have some rings in them right now. Great for gift-giving, packaging, or just for your own studio. They are super easy to make, and if you have left over paper just whip them into little boxes! So don't scrap that paper! Now, since I got distracted doing THAT - I have run out of time to list these new goodies. I'll try and get a couple up on Etsy tonight, if not, you can find them there by tomorrow morning!Cheers!

~~LISBET~~

Another Monday - And Still Pregnant

I may lose it soon! All around me, every one I knew who WAS pregnant and due right before or after me, has had their babies! Like, ALL of them! I am the only one left, just carrying this baby around like I'll be pregnant for the rest of my life! Needless to say, it is aggravating. I know they all come out eventually, but still. My friend just informed me that her sister had her twins on July 4th, and her co-worker who was due a day before me had hers on July 4th, too. AGH! I am just slightly uncomfortable and ready to be rid of a few extra pounds so I can actually move around like a normal human being. Plus Mike is getting overly anxious, and when things aren't planned out, well, he doesn't do so well. That's an engineer for ya. The fact that he doesn't have a date and time for when this baby is coming is killing him. Haha, he'll just have to suck it up! I have to dig myself out of this mini rut this morning and just distract myself. Have some errands to run and then will probably go to the gym for an elliptical session and some lounging at the pool. Yesterday we were at the pool for a swim, and on my way out the manager was like, "Oh man, I hadn't seen you for a few days, thought you'd had that baby!" and some random dude walking out goes, "Yeah, I thought you were going to have that thing in the pool." Ha. Ha. I must look like I'm ready to pop. Here's a pic so you can see that I look like I'm hiding a beach ball - 39 weeks.
Totally time to get going here, before I'm too lazy and tired to do much else. Waiting sucks!

Just a note...

Today I stumbled across Squam Art Workshops. I was reading Country Living, and there is a section on classes/camps for adults...all art related. My parents have a house on Squam Lake, and I spent plenty of time up there as I grew up. To think there is a place offering classes on painting, printing, jewelry-making...EVERYTHING...right around the corner, is awesome. Of course, the fact that I have found out about it while living in New Mexico isn't all that convenient. When we do move back to the area, I will be sure to look into it and see about attending a class. Not only will it be a familiar place, but I will get to learn something new. I love the idea of being able to have all day to be creative, with no other daily tasks at hand. I don't know about you all, but I always find distractions while at home. Being in a creative setting allows you to think freely. The location of Squam is beautiful, and the teachers seem to be inspirational and fun (from what I read on the site...) Funny, the things you find out about at random...who knows if I would have learned about the workshop if I hadn't been reading Country Living?

I did not sleep like a baby last night.

OMG. I got zero sleep last night. Between the struggle to roll from one side to the other, having to pee every hour (literally), back hurting, dogs barking outside, mouse being caught and squealing in our hallway (yes, we have a mouse in the house and it is sooo annoying), and my overall whale-like state, I did not sleep a wink. So. I got up when Mike left for work figuring I was all done trying to sleep for the night. Booo. Oh, and by the way, WHEN did I become a little baby when it comes to mice? We have one around, and I know if I see it come out I will jump on a chair and try to smack it with a broom. Not sure when I became such a pansy...I grew up with cats that brought mice in like it was their job. Somewhere along the line I have digressed. Ew.

For today: baby appt this AM, swimming, and Ron White tonight at Buffalo Thunder! Hahaha! Maybe I'll laugh this baby out, because seems to me he is happy as a clam in my belly. I KNOW he will be overdue, so maybe I can ask the doc to induce me on my due date? Huh? Huh? Yeah? Maaayyyybe? I highly doubt he will do that, unless I have some complications going on...which I haven't, so I'll probably have this little guy in there for at least another ten days. Grrrr. I should smarten up and relax, though, shouldn't I? Just a bad night's sleep talking.

So I found this blog, Barefoot Mommy, and the last post was on LilleBaby Carriers. I already have a Bjorn, which looks to be the exact same thing. I wonder if I will ever us this thing - looks cute, though! Can I look as cute and refreshed as the model in the picture? That would be nice!!
Okie dokie, have a wonderful day!

Lisbet

Creating Wire Wrapped Rings

Part of my Wednesday was taken up by wire wrapping rings! I'm not a master wire-wrapper, but I found it pretty easy to create cool, unique rings to wear! I love rings, and so the idea of creating new ones for myself to wear got me all giddy. After I finished the first one I almost jumped up and down. Then I made a couple more just to try and perfect my skills...still working on that I think! If I keep making these, they will most likely end up as gifts for friends/family. And quite possibly in my Etsy shop if I believe the quality is good enough. I made a few with silver wire, but I really want to get a few made out of the copper wire I have laying around. It'll be a little something different. Sooo anywho, I got the great idea from this great blog I stumbled across - nice little tutorial on how to make rings. Love having new projects to do! So as of now I create earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Next up are anklets - HELLO. It is summer, too, so people can wear them all the time. LOVE love anklets, so maybe next post I'll have some new anklets to show all of you.

The fact that I have time to tinker around in all sorts of crafty media is great, and I wonder what will happen once we have this baby? I wonder if I will just let it get away from me, and my craft area (ahem, guest bedroom) will become dusty and forgotten? I hope not. Maybe for a little while it will, but you people need to help me stick to it! Tell me to jump back on the bandwagon if I fall off! That being said...family comes first, and especially a new baby. :-) So, if I fall behind and you don't hear from me for a bit? No worries, I will be around again to give you all the new info on my new life - if I don't go off my rocker.

Cheers!