2012 in Photos

This blog... has been so... so neglected.  I think I was going through a period of writer's block and didn't feel like anything I was thinking was significant enough to say.. haha!  But the year draws to a close and I feel that a wrap up post is necessary :)

Each year seems to go by faster and faster.  It's so cliche to say this... but people tell you life's short and it's absolutely true; it's crazy how quickly time goes by when you get into a routine. 2012 was crazily eventful for me.

Early in the year my obsession with gemstones began.  I was making steady income from my day job and I was using that to get my first gemstones.

And my Macaron obsession continued..

I've had the crappiest luck making macarons all year, this year. They come out looking fricken gorgeous but are hollow and chewy ARRRRRRGGGGGHH. I still haven't solved this problem yet and I've tried so many different things. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.... And it's SO SAD, because they look GREAT. DECEPTIVE.

Lots of baking was done this year. Madeleines were a consistent favorite..


And the only thing better than Madeleines are Madeleines dipped in chocolate..

I started becoming eco conscious and began exploring biodegradable/recycled packaging for pretty much ALL of my handmade jewelry and beauty goods.

I'm proud to say that today, all the zip lock bags I use are BioZip (biodegradable), and boxes are made in the USA with 100% post consumer recycled material.  A worthy cost to pay, for business owner who is doubtful due to the extra $$.

Valentine cookies!


We also discovered that our Loki could potentially be a lap cat one day...

We went to Japan with bf and awesome friends:

One photo sums this trip up..

CANDY ARCADE GAMES!!

Shortly after our return to the US I made a GIF of Kratos doing his not-so-attractive grooming routine..

Poor Achilles -- got himself injured and needed to get a cut stapled so he had to wear a cone for much longer than he had ever expected.

(Yea guys, we love our cats... haha)

Sometime in June, we caught the fitness bug.  We were all working and sitting 8 + hours a day and it felt (feels) like crap.  One of our roomates had the crazy idea that we would do a Tough Mudder in September and... I was like... erm. no. haha, we need more time.... But we signed up anyway. Lesson learned here is that when you want to do something, just do it.  Even if you suck, you did it, and know that it won't be so hard to find the initiative next time.

As a part of our training supplements I made raw bars up the wazoo.

In September we did our Tough Mudder.
It sucked, but was awesome. We weren't in bad shape but nowhere near good. This event pushed us and made us want more... to be able to do more.



After photos are not pretty :P  Been up since 4:30 AM that day.

A brief interlude as Halloween came around and I made a bunch of mini pumpkin spice cupcakes for the coworkers which were devoured way too quickly.

I think from now on for the holidays I will make mini cupcakes. Good size, easy, cute.

Oh, and after TM we caught the obstacle race bug. We did the Spartan Race in November..
I love our group. We are awesome.


I didn't have a chance to finish writing my detailed post about the Spartan Beast yet (14 mi)-- it was dreadful weather (HA, the lighting in the photos are super deceptive... because it was storming).  To sum it up, it took us 7 grueling hours to finish the race-- the ground was wet, full of muddy cow hoof holes and I had a 40lb cement block dropped on my ankle in mile 2 which resulted in my literally hobbling to the finish line.  My gash from that hasn't healed yet, and I have a hematoma at the site of impact. Needless to say these last 6 weeks have NOT been filled with any hard workouts... but starting to get back into the grind.

It's cool that Spartan Race photos are all free--- sweeeeeet.

And honestly I have no idea why I'm smiling in this photo. This was on pretty much the last mile and my ankle was pretty much not working anymore at this point. The obstacle was to carry this pancake weight thing up and down a darn muddy as hell hill. Exhausting.  Honestly I'm not sure how I did it; guess I did learn that adrenaline does wonders.


THAT BEING SAID, we have signed up for 4 more races in 2013. I am stoked!!!!!!

Finally, December has been a month where I was able to catch a breather.
Our roomies moved out in October, so we have the house to ourselves.... and about the same time Brian and I ended up buying a brand new home, which is being built and will be complete by next March. Holy goodness we are so excited to be moving to a our own house!!!

For He Qi, 2012 was pretty quiet.  I love creating but the time dedicated to this has been extremely limited-- no complaints though!  I opened a webstore on ShopLately and will continue to host exclusive sales through that site for as long as I am able.

Lastly, a quick glance at my favorite piece of 2012:

Glass Chalcedony Necklace

Crystal AB Chain Maille toggle bracelet

Sapphire Quartz leverback earrings

And some NEW creations!
I have fallen in love with chain maille... it's classy, medieval (but totally wearable) and gosh darn I do admire those who are patient and skillful enough to weave patterns out of hundreds of jump rings. It's such a tedious task; and for those who are not familiar, this is a skill that is easily overlooked.

This is a new Chain Maille necklace that you can customize with SWAROVKSI Crystal colors of your heart's desire! Super classy, so versatile and honestly look good with anything.

Also new is the Wee lil' Moon necklace in Silver or Gold:

This year, I am going to:

- Blog at least twice a month, I think that's realistic.
- Visit more of ya'lls blogs-- I need to get back in the loop!
- Continue working out, eating well
- Do at least 4 long races (Spartan, Tough Mudder, signed up already) and all shorter ones for funz.
- Spend more time with family and loved ones.
- After we get into our new house, I want to invite a bunch of people over and feed them.
- Kick my day job's ass.

What are some of your forward looking thoughts for 2013? What were your best moments and lessons learned in 2012?

I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!

Lisa

www.shopheqi.com

FACEBOOK

lisaHQCD@gmail.com