do you GNOME who this is??

Okay so on a lighter note from yesterdays post I would like to share with you what happened to me last night. I was getting ready for bed and so I went downstairs to get some water, turn all the lights off, and lock all the doors. As soon as I got back upstairs to my bedroom the door bell rings a bunch of times and I thought ooops maybe I had locked  my roomie outside. So I went to open the door and I was a little freaked out because I was home alone. (which I HATE) So I opened the door to find a garden gnome sitting on the front step. I opened the door and grabbed it. It had 3 notes on it that said 1) guess who? 2) I see you! 3) Lets play gnome games. TALK ABOUT CREEPY! So I was trying to figure out who did it and I thought well it totally has to be the boys that live right next to us. So I waited about 15 minutes and my roomies both came home. I told them what happened and so we decided to try to freak the boys out. We put the gnome in the window that faced their house and turned off all the lights and put a strobe light on it. how mature... :p Anyway we can see them through their living room window and for like 30 minutes we are trying to get their attention and we failed to do so. So one of my roomies played ding dong ditch to try to get their attention. STILL NO REACTION. So if you can imagine our disappointment :(

So... little did we know it actually wasn't the boys on the other side of the fence... HOW EMBARRASSING! I ended up talking to one of them on Facebook to see if they did it. It ended up that no, they had not. They also saw my roomie run and ring their doorbell and they wondered why we had a strobe light on... however, they did not see the gnome. So obviously we failed at scaring the neighbors. I guess we need to step up our game!

hopes. dreams. disappointments.

Last Saturday my friend and I were taking photos of each other and just being plain funny. This picture represents the happiness that is with in me. It is inspiring me to find it again. I don't feel this happiness right now but that is the purpose of this picture. To remind me.

Sunday I was blind sided by a break up with the guy I have been in love with for almost two years. It was like a smack in the face. However, I will not let this break my spirit. I have grown into someone beautiful and independent the past 6 months and I will continue to grow. It doesn't mean that I can just snap out of my sadness it doesn't mean that this won't hurt for a long while. But I know with all my supporting friends and family that I will be okay. I WILL BE OKAY.

I am grateful for the past two years and as much as it kills me to say that because every time I do the reality that it is no longer sets in. I wouldn't give it all back because life is about taking those chances and loving with all of your heart. If you don't then you are not truly living and I truly want to be living not just existing. The road right in front of me is full of a lot of sadness but I am going to figure out what my big dreams are and take the time now to follow them. I hope it includes some big plans for this summer. But for now I am focusing on today.

I sometimes say that I wish I had a book of answers because it seems like that would be easier. However, I know that life's answers are found within the journeys, trials, tears, and laughter of life. No matter how hard it is I will pick myself up and continue on through my journey and one day I will see a reason to the heartache.

Friday

Happy Friday! I really should have been productive school wise today, however instead I did this... Lucky for my roomies, friends, and neighbors that I love to bake....all the time! How has your Friday been ??

jewelry class success

Last night (Tuesday) I had my first jewelry class. This was my Just For Kids class. I had so much fun working with three little girls creating beautiful bracelets. They were SO excited about all the beads they could choose from and creating something that they love. They were incredibly proud of their bracelets and I was incredibly proud of them as well :)

spring break...the real deal

It has been way too long since I have had my last post. I am so glad to be able to write today. Today is back to school for me, however I am going to tell you about my amazing spring break trip. I did a preview post but get ready for all the wonderful details of how it actually went. We left Ames on Saturday March 10th at 6am. It was a 2 day drive to get to the camp. It was a beautiful drive (except Nebraska). I hadn't been farther west than Colorado until this trip and I loved every minute of it! We stayed in Grand Junction Colorado on Saturday night and continued our journey on Sunday. I seriously felt like we would never get there, however we eventually did. It was dark by the time we got there so I was disappointed that we didn't get to see the beautiful ocean in the light that night. We did make our way down to the beach after unloading our things. The sound of the ocean is magnificent. There is nothing more beautiful than the ocean in my mind.

On Monday, Abby and I woke up at 6am to go explore. We walked around the town and got some coffee. We were so excited for our big day of surfing ahead of us. In the late morning we met with the camp owner and she gave us the low down on everything that would be happening and where everything that we may need was located in the camp. Finally our first surf lesson was upon us. We got a little speech on the beach about how to stand up and what the parts of the board were called and then it was out to the waves we went. The instructors were there to push us into waves and tell us when to stand up (at least for the first day). I was totally surprised when I was able to actually ride a wave and all the way in within my first few waves. Guess all that dancing and having to be able to balance helped me out here. If you have never surfed before I will tell you it is very exhilarating. I don't know if I have ever felt so alive. It was amazing. So we did that for about two hours and then our lesson was over. The rest of the day we went on a bike ride to get familiar with the town and Emily (one of the owners) took us to some neat local spots.

The rest of the week went something like this.... wake up early, go for a walk + coffee, surf, and explore.

If I wrote out everything that we did this would probably be a short chapter book. However I will give you some details of some exciting parts. The 2-4th days of surfing the waves continually grew bigger as did my fear. The biggest thing I feared was getting knocked off my board and swallowed by the waves. It was terrifying to be pulled under and then get up only to realize you would be pulled under again. I had a mini-panic each time. Until finally I thought... If I just breath and anticipate it I will be fine. So that fear somewhat went away. Another well...not so exciting moment of the trip was on the second day my friend Abby got into a little accident. She tried to eat her surf board.... actually not quite.... her board smacked her in the face chipping 6 teeth. YIKES! Pretty scary stuff. But they were fixed within an hour and she was looking and feeling much better.

After a week in California I pretty much want to move there. I don't know if I have ever been in a better place. Breathing in the sunshine and being filled with an indescribable happiness was so inspiring. I feel that a part of me is still in California and I hope to return soon. 

Enough of my writing... here are some sweet pics for you to take in. 

camp kitchen

check out all the boards

can't go anywhere with out fro-yo

gorgeous beach!

beautiful flowers in the meditation garden

one of our stops on the way

check me out!

jewelry classes

I am so excited to announce that I will be teaching jewelry classes at Casual Revolution. A cute little vintage/handmade item shop on Main Street in Ames. I will be starting late March with an earring class and a children's bracelet class. I will eventually add different classes in once I start getting students! I can't wait to help others create beautiful jewelry for themselves!

If you live in the Ames area contact me to sign up! Great way to be creative and make something beautiful you can be proud of!

Classes:
Sterling Silver Earrings
-Design your own custom earrings that all your friends will envy. Join this class to learn the techniques of making your own earrings. Includes instruction and materials.
Fee: $30
Dates:
Wednesday March 21st 7pm-8:30pm or
Wednesday March 28th 7-8:30pm
(10 students max per class)

Just for kids
beaded bracelets
-sign you child up to learn how to create their own custom bracelet. Includes materials and instruction.
Fee: $18
Dates:
Tuesday March 20th 5:30-6:30pm
Tuesday March 27th 5:30-6:30pm

D.I.Y. Home Decor

There are many things that have potential in life. I am the type who sees the hidden potential within. So today I am going to share with you one of my projects that came about when I couldn't resist buying this item.

While rummaging through a good will store I found this lamp. It was plain and missing its shade. I instantly knew I had to buy it and re-create it! So I paid a total of 2.99 for it.

After my purchase I had to think a while about what exactly I wanted to do because I had a few ideas. I went and bought some Tiffany-like blue paint and got to work. Once I had the lamp painted I needed to find a shade to finish it (which ended up costing me $5). I wanted the lamp to brighten a room but still look chic.

And this is what I got...

For less than $10 dollars and a little bit of crafting, I have myself a chic new lamp!