around the house

I just ran around (actually walked slowly) and snapped a few pictures. I did not have any visuals for this post so I acquired some.

The new kitchen table being put to good use! I just bought that fabric to make 3 new tops :)

Part of my bedroom. Chris' dresser is the same one he had when he was a little boy.

I MUST sleep with a fan on all year round, no matter how cold. I have always been this way.

LuLu is watching TV in the living room all by herself

Part of Danny's room

Part of Will's room

*Will has this random love for Canada. I have no clue why, he has never been there and knows nothing about the country. He's funny.

Tazzy laying down at the entrance to my studio

Okay, tour is over.

Chris almost finished siding the side of our house. He is using cedar clap boards. He had enough to get about 3/4 or more finished then ........ we ran out of money. We will get it finished before winter hits, then we will have 1 more side to strip and reside. We also picked out the color for the trim, it's gorgeous.

I was sick yesterday with a bad gut. My stomach has been really bad for about 5 weeks now. Usually it will go into a "remission" after about 1 month of flaring up but it has not this time. If it lasts too much longer, I may have to look into the gluten free thing. I know a few people and have heard that folks are practically cured of this ailment when they switch to a gluten free diet. I just don't think I am that bad off, but I am beginning to wonder. This would be a HUGE PAIN IN THE BUM to say the least. We'll see how it goes.

Chris left for his Kairos weekend at the prison this afternoon. Please be in prayer for him over the next 4 days as the team ministers to the inmates. Chris will return Sunday afternoon. He will be leaving Monday morning to start a new remodel in Cape Cod. The job is about 4 weeks long and he will be home on the weekends. Will has informed me that he will be sleeping on Chris' side of the bed while he is gone. And no, it's not "isn't that sweet". The only reason he wants to sleep in my bed is that we have a king size Tempur-pedic cloud and it is incredible to sleep on :)

Alpha Tonight!

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.” Colossians 1:6

shop update

I worked all day in the studio yesterday and just listed these in my shop ....

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57359718/green-turquoise-rustic-link-bracelet



http://www.etsy.com/listing/57361939/ruby-in-fuchsite-square-ring

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57362401/snow-scape-ring-free-form-dendritic

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57361109/autumn-bar-dangles-cherry-creek-jasper

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57360584/cherry-creek-jasper-heart-necklace

Danny spent the weekend at my parents house and Will slept at a friends last night so Chris and I had a quiet night last night. We went to church at our old church today, it was wonderful seeing old friends and Reverend Dan. I was really taken back by how much everyone missed us, loves us, and wanted to hug and speak to us. I was just filled with love, it was a gift. I think I should try and go and visit more often.

We will be driving to my parents house in a bit to have Sunday dinner and pick up Danny. I really love having dinner at my parents house :)

We Need YOUR Help! Kiaros Prison Ministry

Hi all!

This is Lisa's husband here stealing some of her blog space. I will be brief. I am active in an organization known as Kiaros, which is a prison ministry that goes into prisons all over the world. It has been around for about 34 years, and is an interdenominational lay-lead ministry. My purpose for posting this today is two-fold. First and foremost, I ask that you pray for Kiaros specifically on Sept. 30 - Oct. 3 as we will be in the N.H. state prison for that weekend ministering a group of 24 inmates. The other reason is that I am seeking donations for our ministry. The average amount to keep Kiaros up and running is about $110.00 per person (inmate and volunteer $220 total). One of our duties as volunteers is to raise that money. Any amount that anyone is willing to donate is appreciated, and of course it is tax deductible. Also, receipts are given to anyone who request it, and to any amount over $10.00. Here is the link to their web page if anyone wishes to view it.

http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/

You may simply click the PAY PAL button below and pay with your account or credit card.

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Chris

get ripped!

Will has been doing "Ab Ripper X" from the P90X program every other day for a couple of months now. He is too young to work out with weights, but there is nothing wrong with a 13 year old boy trying to build a super strong core. A strong core is very helpful when your 2 favorite things to do are skateboarding and snowboarding. I am very impressed how dedicated he is. I don't think he has missed one workout. No one reminds him, ever! Perhaps a bit of Chris and my "insanity" has rubbed off on the boy. Will likes Tony Horton's little corny sayings and mild wierdness as do I.

For you fellow P90X ers out there.......

My boy can do 100 Mason Twists. That is just cool.

Will also calls "Oblique V ups" "O-Beast V ups"

I love it!

Do Not Disturbed

Yes "disturbed" ........

am-having-saw-blade-issue-excuse-me-while-i-scream-you-silversmiths-know-what-i-mean

it's benign

My Uncle Mike is going to be okay, thanks so much for your prayers. We invited my parents over for Chris' home made pizza Friday night and my dad told us that things were definitely looking up. He has a nasty infection in his brain, but they are clearing it up.

Saturday was Home & Harvest Day in Antrim. Chris and I were lounging around the house, planning to walk down town around noon (ish) and Will called and told us he won first place in the s-k-a-t-e competition. He was so excited and Chris and I were so sorry we missed it. They had it early this year, we didn't know. We went down and saw the other skate comps and milled around town to all of the booths and vendors with LuLu. We did not bring Taz. Her back "knees" get sore and tired pretty quickly.

Chris has no clue I took this picture of him watching the skate comp. I am standing right next to him, looking up at him. He is so much taller than I am!

LuLu is watching the comp (or rather me) perched on my day pack.
*she has an appointment at the "beauty parlor" tomorrow, thank goodness

Tonight is Alpha night! I-am-so-excited. I was emailed my group and I will be "leading" mostly younger folks (teen/20's). Why they thought this would be my strength, I am not sure. They don't make these decisions willy nilly, they pray about the groups and how they should be formed before organizing them so I will completely trust God. I will indeed need His help because this age group holds back NOTHING. I am ready. Right? Pray for me.....

Now in the shop!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56605650/autumn-bar-dangles-cherry-creek-jasper

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56606200/winter-wheat-bar-dangles-cherry-creek

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56607045/cherry-creek-circle-link-bracelet

and this......

Prayer Needed NOW

My Uncle Mike is in the hospital. He suddenly had brain surgery and has a tumor. They are testing it and results should be back soon. If it is malignant, he will die quickly. My uncle is my father's brother and only blood relative my dad knows (my dad and my uncle were adopted together when they were children). My uncle is not a Christian so it is beyond crucial that he accepts Jesus now. Please pray for him that someone will come to him and tell him about Jesus and that he accepts him before he dies, whether he dies tomorrow or in 20 years from now. Please pass this on to anyone you know who will pray for him and his family as well.

busy busy

Chris has the week off and thank goodness! It has been very busy around here. He picked up the new table and bed on Tuesday. We moved everything in and assembled the chairs and table. One of the chairs had a stress fracture and the table had a big crack on the side which we may or may not have caused, but no matter, it is covered by the furniture company either way. So, we got everything together and then Chris has to bring the chair and table top back yesterday and he arrived home with the new ones in the afternoon. The chair is fine, the table has a little patch where the finish is messed up so they are going to come here and fix that. The furniture store is 1 hour away, so yeah, what a pain. It does look beautiful in our little 100 year old kitchen....

The new Tempurpedic is a bit weird at first but I will get used to it. Chris has risen in the morning pain free 2 mornings in a row!!!!!!!!!! Worth every penny!!!

Alpha was amazing Monday night. We has a HUGE turnout and the entire evening was even better than I had hoped. I was filled with so much love and excitement, thank you Jesus!

I have been busy in the studio as well this week. Today I finally have a bit of time to create a new bracelet and 2 pair of bar dangles. All made with Cherry Creek Jasper. I am hoping to list them in my shop tomorrow morning/early afternoon.

I am excited for Saturday. It is our town's annual "Home and Harvest Days" weekend. We have a parade, all sorts of crafts and such for sale, apple crisp social, slalom skate boarding competition (this is a national event! why in my little tiny town? we have the perfect hill!), free style skate board comp (at the skate park), and fire works. I really love the community here in Antrim. We have had beautiful, cool, sunny, fall like weather as well.

I am starving and need lunch, later taters.

Makin' Cookies

I am currently making a "quick" double batch of chocolate chip cookies before I need to leave for the first night of Alpha. I am so excited!!! Please pray for all of the seekers that come through the door curious to find out if there is indeed "more to life than this".

Chris and I did a fair job of stimulating the economy yesterday after church. Chris has been waking up in a pretty good amount of pain in his back and joints every morning. It is making early morning workouts impossible for him. He has been working out after work. We did some research and decided on purchasing some sort of foam mattress. After looking at a couple of furniture stores, we settled on a gorgeous Tempurpedic king size, the Tempurpedic pillows (they are better than the mattress!!!!), and a new kitchen table with chairs. Now this probably sounds like a bit much, but you must understand that we are sleeping on Grandma Gigi's king size Serta she gave us 12 years ago that she used for 30 years. The bed is now 45 years old. Not one spring is out of whack, it's unbelievable. But there is no support. I have a husband who works with his body doing hard manual labor for a living and has arthritis. We must protect our investment :) Our current kitchen table and chairs we purchased used from a friend of the family for $100 18 years ago. I'm not sure if I said all of that to convince you that we are not spending foolishly, or is it really me who I am trying to convince?
Chris is picking up both the bed and table/chairs tomorrow. There will be pictures.

I was looking at the 2 most recent rings I posted in my shop and realized that they were really priced a bit high, so they have been lowered, just in case you were interested :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55742528/summers-end-ocean-blue-turquoise-ring

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55918927/spooky-spiderweb-but-not-a-spiderweb

I really need to run, the cookies are calling!!

*I believe I have consumed about 5 points worth of cookie dough, it is phenomenal

Tis the season!

I don't usually get into making seasonal pieces. In fact I really never do. Until my stone dude unveiled a couple trays of Septarian Nodule freshly cut into super shiny perfect cabs by him personally. I thought they would be perfect for halloween/harvest/autumn/goth/dark/ yadda yadda yadda. The stones are rich brown on the edges framed by a light sienna, then black to the middle. The "mud crack" (don't even go there) is a spider web looking focal point that is so fascinatingly unique. I am VERY excited about these stones. I am interested to see how interested others will be in this edgy stone. Oh, the cabs are very light so you can wear a sizable ring and it is barely noticeable to the wearer.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55918927/spooky-spiderweb-but-not-a-spiderweb

My stone dude rocks!
In other news, I just purchased a ticket going to Fort Myers Florida on November 6. Can I say WOOHOO! I will be going with Ma, Dad, and my incredibly fun Aunt Sandy. That means Chris and the boys will be here to fend for themselves. They have done it before, I have faith.
I do need to get moving, I have a long list in the studio.

Later Taters!

Summers End.....

I must say, that is an exquisite piece of turquoise.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55742528/summers-end-ocean-blue-turquoise-ring

This is a custom order I am shipping in a few minutes. I LOVE this stone.

I had a really FUN Labor Day Weekend. As you know we kicked the weekend off a bit early at the Fair on Thursday evening. Chris and I worked all day Friday as usual. Saturday morning I brought Will and two of his friends along with Ma, Dad, my brother, and his children to Canobie Lake Park (it's an amusement park). We had a blast! I don't have the opportunity to see my niece and nephew very often so it was really special.

Isn't she just incredible beautiful?!?!?!?!? She looks EXACTLY like her mom :)

And HE looks just like his Pop!

Sunday we went to church. I had to do the grocery shopping in the afternoon. Danny had nothing better to do so he came with me and helped with all of the errands. I really enjoyed spending time with him. Monday Chris and I took off for the beach! The boys had other plans so we got up early, packed up the cooler and headed to the coast. I'll admit, I am a bit more brown than I am comfortable with. I really can't help it. We have been to the beach a lot this year and also running in the sun will tan you quickly. I do wear a really strong sun block.

Tonight I have Alpha training. I am making the Island Spinach Salad as my contribution to our meal together. I took out drum sticks (bbq chicken) and ingredients for 3 bean salad for dinner here at home.

What else..... Oh yea, Danny got a job!!!! He has been searching for employment since the beginning of the summer and he found a part time after school/weekend job at a pizza joint in Peterborough. He is so proud. He starts on Thursday. We priced cell phones and plans on Sunday so he could figure out what he could afford when he begins working. (Chris and I don't believe in cell phones for children. If they want one, they must pay for it).

I guess that's it for now!!

Labor Day Weekend Sale and The Hopkinton Fair!

I am having a Buy 2 Get 1 Free Labor Day Weekend Sale on all items in my shop Friday ~ Monday!

*see shop announcement for details*

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LisasLovlies

♥ ♥ ♥

Last night we went to the Hopkinton Fair as we do every year. I had a fantastic time! Chris and I wandered around and saw everything while Danny, Daryl, Will, Tucker, and Keith purchased wrist bands for unlimited rides and spent the entire night on those rides. I was not until the end when we all met up that the boys remembered all of the animals to see! We mosied through a few stables on the way back to the car. My lovely boys were most interested in finding the goats with the gigantic balls (sorry to be crude but they are enormous. I am not sure how they manage to tote those things around).

This is the cutest llama I have ever seen...

Me trying to find my wallet so we can pay for our yummy but SO BAD for you dinner.

Chris with the first prize 1297 lb pumpkin

Chris is showing Danny that is it almost impossible to climb to the top of this climbing wall (you are meant to pay $10 and you get 2 tries to climb to the top of the wall. If you make it you will $100. The hand and foot holds are designed so that it is extremely difficult unless you are an expert climber. or a spider monkey.

Tucker, my Will, and Keith taking a little rest....

Chris and I purchased a GORGEOUS tigerwood bowl for the coffee table, it is soooo us. It is going to look amazing on the maple coffee table Chris is planning on building.

I better get going, I slept in this morning ans still need to do "legs and back" then get to work in the studio!!

later taters :)

It's been awhile since someone gave me flowers

A few weeks ago, Chris and I brought Danny to get Hillary some roses and chocolate "just because". After an exhaustive search for the perfect or as close as we could find roses, he paid and we hopped in the van. Dan needed to do something so he asked me to hold Hillary's roses. I said sure and I was admiring them and smelling them. I noticed Chris noticing me noticing the flowers. He said, "Dan, buddy.... you are making me look bad." We all giggled and that was the end of that.

Now I know my husband better than anyone on the planet, and I knew he would not pull a cheezzzzzy move like come home with a dozen red ones the following day or even week (thank goodness he has a bit of quoth). Also he is never inclined to use flowers or gifts as a "get out of the dog house" tactic. He used to try that back when we were only married a short while. He knows it does not work. Anyway, I woke up this morning and made our coffee. I prayed and did my scripture reading, then Chris came down the stairs with sleepy eyes and plopped on the couch. The boys got off for school and I went through the studio to let Taz outside to do her business and when I came back in I saw a huge bouquet of wildflowers in my monster pickle jar. They are perfect. Very me indeed. I did not take a picture of them because it just occurred to me and I am too lazy to get up. Plus, I kind of have to go pee and I don't want to and if I get up, I will be forced to take a bathroom detour before coming back to the computer. I am fairly comfy now sitting with my legs crossed.

Anyway, I did list 2 new pieces in my shop a few minutes ago.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55346908/kyanite-heart-necklace

This is in the sun...

Still very gemmy and flashy in the shade!

Just a lil size reference on how it hangs and of course, the size ;P

These colors are excellent together....

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55347793/sage-and-powder-blue-turquoise-dangles

Yesterday, I felt so stinking great after my "Back and Biceps" workout that I strapped on my ipod and ran a few miles. It-was-awesome. Thank-you-Jesus.