I've been busy.....

I've sadly neglected my little blog for the past few ... months...  But here I am back again and hopefully can keep it going better :) At least a post a week maybe???

I've started running & exercising more.. this takes a lot of my spare time! Well.. that and the beading! So... where should I start? I think I've blogged once about SlimKicker and MapMyRun so I will post about beading today... :D  Because beading is FUN!

As you all know, I'm part of Beading Babes! This was founded by Karyn of Releases by Rufydoof and is now going totally wild on Facebook! Our small group has expanded to over 100 members I believe! While I do miss the small group and knowing everyone a little better, the larger group has really started to inspire me more in different color choices and styles! So it's All Good :D

Our latest pattern is 4-Leaf Clover Cuff & Echoes of Nefertiti, both created by Helena Lang-Tim at Manek-Manek. I have long looked at her patterns in awe.. they appear so incredibly intricate and detailed! And they are! BUT!! Helena has written out some of the best patterns I've seen! They are SO easy to follow that the project just grows from your bead mat!!
I see myself purchasing more of her tutorials in the future!

I have a sneak peek of one of the elements from Echos... I'm not quite finished with the whole project yet.. and I already have several new color choices to make more of them! It really is a terrific piece!

 The stone is a swirling grey Jasper of some sort.. something I found while wandering around Obsessions while I should have been was working....
Here is a sneak peek of the other pattern, 4-Leaf Clover cuff.. This worked up so quickly! And again, Helena's pattern was SO easy to follow! I will be making this in other colors as well!

So there is my recent beading story! I have about 8 projects on my table right now that REALLY need finishing up... So if you find something you think is totally awesome and needs to be made please send it to me right away so I can start another! just tuck it away and show me later! :D

Time to feed the ponies and get ready for a day of work! Hopefully my next blog post will be in a few days instead of weeks :)

Happy Beading, Happy Running!!

Thursday Ramblings

Hello again!

Well I had planned to blog daily the past two weeks since it's my big return to internet land.... but I've just been busy and really trying to do tons of things all at once.
Working on a schedule though to set time to plan for this blog and make my posts more regular. I really enjoy it and my mini army of minions dedicated followers :D

That being said, today's post will probably just be short and sweet unless I really do get rambling!

I've been running and working out lately. Trying to be fit and healthy again .. I would really love to wear an actual swimsuit to the beach this year instead of shorts and a t-shirt! Plus I just miss the energy I had when we were regular gym-goers! It still amazes me how you can do a strenous workout and be panting for breath at the end and then 30 minutes later you are BUZZING with energy and looking for things to do!!

 

If you are online and looking for ways to motivate yourself, here are a few I've tried lately that I simply LOVE!!  SlimKicker is a fun online and iPhone app program I've just joined through a friend's recommendations. It's fairly simple to use and provides me with a LOT of accountability. You basically log in your stats and it gives you a diet guideline.. not foods, but calories, carbs, sugars, etc... then each day you log in your food intake and it tracks it for you and even gives you tips on healthier choices! You can also log in any exercises you do. You get points for everything you log in and this helps you level up... you can set your own reward for the Levels. My Level 3 reward is a new pair of running shoes. :D  Try it out!! Look for me under the Friends tab: LittleBear 

I've also been using MapMyRun for iPhone (and Android too!) It tracks your workouts for you, you can just Record a workout, like a run or walk or bicycle ride... and it shows your map and tracks your distance and time via GPS. I LOVE this! The new update even has a voice every mile that reads out your distance, time and average.

AND I'm also still creating things with beads! Since that is what this IS all about after all! :D  Kate, my sister and I are looking into possibly having a booth in TWO WEEKS (!!) at MayFest ... we're hammering out details and I'll keep you posted on that! In the meantime we are working on making more inventory! Not only do we want to do this booth but I really NEED to get my Etsy store up and running!

Ok.. once again this short and sweet post turned into a ramble!! It's time to get ready for work and walk the pups one more time before they get crated :) 

Planning a special post for Friday so be sure to drop back in and say Hey!