Sunday, March 25, 2012

ShamROCK ON!

Another item crossed off my 30-Before-30 List! Today the hubs and I ran the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k!
We didn't train very much so I was extremely excited to finish these 5 miles in less than 1 hour (58 minutes, cutting it close but still under!) And now I think he's caught the running bug and wants to sign up for more, possibly a 10k. I don't know if he'll ever get the itch to run a half-marathon, but we shall see.

In other news...
- I signed up for another jewelry class! I'm basically re-taking the same class to focus on my techniques. After this I will be able to take intermediate and specialty classes! Very excited!!

- We just got back from a fabulous spring break trip to Edisto Island, South Carolina. My family takes a trip south every year with my grandmother and we usually tag along. This year grandma was able to get out on the beach in a fun beach/moon buggy! The whole place was so peaceful and it was great to get away from technology and the craziness of the city for a while. I'll leave you with a few photos.

The gorgeous live oaks towering over the road. You can just feel the history here.

Botany Bay Beach. We found at least 6 perfect sand dollars. Amazing!

My 93 year old grandmother enjoying the beach!

Monday, March 12, 2012

What you missed while I was busy

Another long hiatus. I know, I know. Just means I'm busy.
So here's what you missed when I was busy*
(*I believe I unintentionally stole this title from TheBloggess without even realizing it. You can tell which blogs I read on a regular basis!)


1. Final wrap-up of the Guatemala trip.
On Day 5 we took a boat to the surrounding towns on Lake Atitlan. The first stop was Santiago where we saw the Saint of Debauchery! The Saint is located in someone's home and it's a way for the family to make money. We had to walk up incredibly steep streets to get to this place, but it was pretty awesome!

We walked around the shoppes in Santiago and soon headed back to the boat to cross the lake for San Marcos. This town was much smaller and really didn't have any focal point besides a great view of the volcanoes!
Unfortunately on this day we were all feeling the effects of the food we had eaten after our mountain trek. We ate a cold salad that was prepared with local water. Big no-no. So we took this opportunity to head back to the hostel and lounge around.

The next day we headed back to Panajachel by boat, then boarded the 2 hour shuttle bus back to Guatemala City. Flights the next morning went without hiccup and I was back in the states for Christmas Eve with my family! Amazing trip and now I fear I have caught the traveling bug...I must do it again soon! :-)

@ San Marcos before heading back to our hostel in San Pedro to relax.

2. Second jewelry class at LillStreet:
In January I started my second jewelry class. It is still a beginning jewelry class but it was 10 weeks instead of 5, so we reviewed the basics and then learned bezel stone settings! I have purchased a few of the tools so I can create jewelry with cold connections at home, but haven't made the jump into the soldering tools yet.

My little jewelry studio (aka the corner of our bedroom)

I am hoping to sell some of my designs, possibly setting up an Etsy store since they have a large community already. I really want to design anatomical jewelry and I have a couple examples, but the possibilities are endless! I will post more (and better pictures) soon once I completely finish these pieces and the class.

My skull pendant and my first attempt at bezel setting!

I will update soon with more jewelry / art ideas and products! I need to decide a store name (for Etsy). any ideas??