Saturday, March 13, 2010


Since Chris hasn't had formal employment recently he has spent some time practicing one of his favorite hobbies--woodworking. This is his latest creation, he calls it Scrap-Wood Table. It was made entirely of um... wood scraps. The side braces are scraps from an old high school shop class project, and the rest were just lying around the basement.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Champions

Did I mention that my brother is a hockey star? I'm not the only one who thinks so - he was awarded MVP of his last tournament and played beautifully against Fitchburg State College last Saturday. We had so much fun at the game. We went into overtime, which really rattled our nerves. But it didn't take long for Salem State to sink one and the crowd went wild. It was a high like I hadn't felt in a while.

My mom's talent: whistling. It means two things: "time to come home"; and "I think you're awesome". It meant the latter this weekend.

For some really weird reason, whenever Fitchburg State scores a goal the fans throw fish out onto the ice. I know, gross and totally inappropriate. So this time, Amanda brought this Got Fish sign and when we scored she held it up high. When we scored the winning point, she threw it out onto the ice. She's awesome.

We are oh so totally proud of Damen! Going out as the number one team is such an awesome way to end his college hockey career. Go Salem!!

If you want to read about him, go here:


http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q64/alliebrownie/129copy.jpg

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hockey Star

Some of you may not know that I spent 90% of my childhood in a hockey rink. Why? Because my brothers are hockey stars. My parents have watched 22 years of their sons playing hockey, and tomorrow afternoon will be the last game of my little brother's college hockey. Chris and I have so enjoyed Damen's last season as Captain for Salem State. We've spent most of our Thursday and Saturday nights rooting for his team and we won't know what to do with our time now that it's over.

As captain, Damen is always talking to the referees. I have always wondered what they say to each other..but he just tells me, "stuff."

Last week, Amanda (Damen's girlfriend) hooked Lana and Logan up with a ride on the zamboni. They felt like movie stars up there.

I am sad that it's over, but everything must come to an end. Fortunately for us, hockey runs in the Nisula blood. It's only a matter of time before Damen and Derek have little hockey players of their own.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q64/alliebrownie/129copy.jpg

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Chris' Creations

Living in Bar Harbor, we saw some really beautiful things. For example, wood. Pieces of driftwood can be really pretty. These pieces of old and tattered wood combined with Chris' uncanny ability to make something out of nothing produced two masterpieces.

The first, this totally awesome treasure chest, Chris crafted while we were still living there. It is made entirely of wood we found on Bar Island. The bottom is a piece of fiberglass from the side of a boat. Even the metal piece on the front came from an old boat chair. I am so in love with it!


The one thing we bought for it was this old Pakistani lock. We found it in a really cool shop on the main strip.

Chris just finished his second work of art. An awesome new lamp.

The shade came from D.I. in Rexburg - we knew it would be smart to hold onto it. As for the switch? See that cord coming out of it? You touch it once, it has a dim glow, you touch it twice, it brightens a tad, you touch it thrice and it's beaming. (Don't touch it four times, you'll turn it off.)

So I'm pretty excited about our homemade decor; you can't beat decorating with your own creations. We're just lucky that Colt isn't around, or these might end up as firewood along with that bookcase. :)

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q64/alliebrownie/129copy.jpg

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Geocachers

The icy chill has subsided a little, so Chris and I decided to venture outdoors. We've done some geocaching in Rexburg and really enjoyed it, so we figured it was time to explore MA.

(Geocaching is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a GPS receiver to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek".)


Okay, so maybe we're nerds. Here's Chris checking out the GPS - the cache is somewhere under those rocks!

Found it! This cache was full of random toys like a gorilla, a ninja turtle with no arms, and a children's book about dinosaurs. We traded a seashell from Sanibel Island, FL (where we honeymooned) for a tiny green Buddha.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q64/alliebrownie/129copy.jpg

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A Tribute

If you had told me two years ago that a rat would be the first pet my new husband and I would share, I would have laughed in your face. If you had told me that a black rodent would give us hours of entertainment in our home, I would have thought you were crazy. If you had told me we would care deeply for this rat and offer our affection and love I would have said, “Eew.” If you had told me that I would mourn his passing and shed tears at his grave, well, you’d have been right.

Lab rat Number Ten was timid and small. I chose him because he was the least scary looking of them all, and it still took me four days to touch him. Chris came with me to my labs to watch me reinforce the little critter’s behaviors, and very quickly fell in love. On the last day of my psychology class, I took him home in a Dexter shoe box. And then? Well, see for yourself…

















Dexter died today. It’s hard to imagine our lives without him, because we’ve been a threesome now since we were first married. We’ll miss him climbing up our legs to see what we’re eating. We’ll miss the shock he always gave our guests. We’ll miss the piles of food and papers he’d hide under the bed, couch, and bureau. We’ll miss seeing him dart across the kitchen like he was being chased by a monster. We’ll miss his tiny hands. His soft fur. His beady eyes staring back at us. We’ll even miss finding pieces of fabric from Chris’ chewed up pillowcase. Although Dexter’s final resting place is by a tree in the back yard, his memory and the joy he brought will forever reside within our hearts.

Dexter Valentine Nov. 2007 - Feb. 2010

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Valentine For a Valentine

I'm a craft lover. When I see things in stores I immediately think to myself, "I can make that for half the price." So here are a few of my latest creations that I made to get into the Valentine's Day spirit.
I made this heart wreath with pieces of fabric tied onto two coat hangers.

The buttons were a little tedious, but you might as well do something with your hands while you watch a movie. And no, this isn't going to turn into a craft blog - I was just excited about these. Now I just have to figure out what to make for St. Patrick's Day...

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q64/alliebrownie/129copy.jpg