This morning started very early… about 5:30am meeting up with friends Chris & Leona. Soon enough we were on our way downtown on the EL. Lots of other runners were up & about with us, as the train quickly filled up with runners in layers of moisture-wicking fabrics!

We decided what we were going to wear for the day and dropped off extra clothing & stuff at Gear Check. Them we were ready to get going… kinda chilly. But we knew we would warm up quickly once we started running. Unfortunately, we needed to wait a while for our Corral to cross the starting line. About 45 minutes… waiting… as Wave by Wave before us started the race…

Finally it was time to start…

We were moving closer… and watching footage on the JumboTron.
FORTY THOUSAND RUNNERS!!! All flocking to Grant Park for today’s festivities.

And there it was… finally… the Starting Line!!!
And we’re off…

A leisurely 15 kilometers later we crossed the Finish Line… that’s just under 10 miles.
Chris & Leona were ahead of me, and waiting at the Finish Line. Let me just say, this body is not made for speed. I’m more of an endurance kind of guy. Nonetheless, it was great to see them waiting for me as we got our 15K Finisher Medals.

Then we were off to the Post Race Party for our congratulatory HOT CHOCOLATE MUG & CHOCOLATE FONDUE!!! Along the way, I found my friend Pam. She did the 5K and had already done her chocolate celebration!!!

Chris, Leona and I finally made it the goodies… and it was well worth the run!!!
A fun Hot Chocolate Mug with hot chocolate, marshmallow, chocolate fondue, banana, Rice Krispie Treat, pretzels and sugar wafers… oh yeah, and a wet-nap!!!

The wind was gusting… and I was trying my best to get every drop of chocolate…
apparently, not doing so good at it…

I wasn’t the only one with chocolate on my face…

Back at home, I unloaded my goodies… took a hot shower, did some stretching and went on with my day headed back to the studio! Another fun day… and another 15K under my belt.

Last night I went to a one-night, pop-up Gallery Show for my friend’s little boy AJ. He’s a seven year old budding artist who was trying to raise money to purchase the Lego set of his dreams. My friend, and AJ’s Mom, Kristen made a deal with him that if he could raise half the money, they would match the rest. So he worked hard along with a collaborating “slightly older” artist Zach B. to put on this show. It was a great experience for everyone. So much fun. So many pictures. So much support. And so many great lessons for AJ along the way.

As with every good gallery show, AJ had his Artist Statement front & center.

After scanning the artworks, I found that many of them had already been purchased. Luckily, the one that caught my eye right off the bat was still available. So this sweet one came home with me!!!

Plus, to make it even better… I suggested to AJ that he needs to come back to work in my clay studio soon. I made a “deal” with him that he needs to make me a clay version of this drawing!!! He seemed excited. Challenge on!!!

Today’s the day… FINDING FOREVER CUP EXHIBITION opens tonight.
And some of our cups are making a splash in the local newspaper out there.
Great publicity for a great concept with some great charity.

Good luck to my pottery friend Pam Kinsmith as her FINDING FOREVER CUP EXHIBITION opens this evening. Months of hard work & dedication all come together tonight for this wonderful fundraising event. If you’re in the Greenfield, Massachusetts area, be sure to stop by to purchase a cup and help a child in the Foster Care System at the same time. If you stop by early, you might even be able to snatch up one of the five mugs I’ve donated to the cause!

For more information, as well as images of all the donated cups,
click here for their website.

I just ordered the postcards for my Holiday Home Show…
guess this makes it official.

Mark your calendars for November 22nd & 23rd at my place!!!

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day in Chicago!!!
Perfect weather. A wonderfully warm day of late Indian Summer.

SPECTACULAR.

The PERFECT day for a little run along the Lakefront.
Today was the Monster Dash Half Marathon. They “encourage” people to dress up in costume. Some people did. Some people did not.

We did not.

Instead, we decided to run in comfortable running clothes. Especially with the surprisingly warm weather, any extra layers or facial make-up would have become a big sweaty mess! Chris and I had a great run. Another fun run with friends. Another 13.1 miles : done!!!

During the post-Finish Line festivities, my friend Chris found an bunch of new friends to hangout with! Just another example of the “monsters” playing downtown today for the Monster Dash Half Marathon. With any luck, we’re pretty sure that Chris will make it to the Monster Dash Facebook page with this one!!!

And it’s another fun running event… for this essentially NON-RUNNER!!!
I still prefer my bike… but bike events don’t give medals!!! Ha.
Plus, oh but wait there’s more... we also got a really cool lightweight jacket & knit hat!!!
Just for signing up & finishing! Sweet… I LOVE freebies!!!

Followed by a quick bike ride this afternoon…
enjoying the wonderful weather AND working out a few of the kinks!

The big event is coming quickly.
Just about two weeks away for organizer Pam Kinsmith to pull it all together.
I’m pleased to have helped, donated mugs and rallied some friends to help as well.
For more information, and to see more of the mugs, click here for Finding Forever.

And it’s kind of cool to be one of the mugs featured on the front!!!
As well as my friend Nancy Jana-Kent who made the mug in the bottom right!

Start your day at City Olive this morning with Stu’s Bloody Marys from 11:00am-1:00pm for the Andersonville Arts & Design Weekend. I’m sure your Bloody Mary will taste even better if you drink it from one of my handmade mugs!!! Then stick around from 12:00pm-2:00pm for some sweets from Pear Tree Preserves. Plenty of my pottery to compliment the wonderful oils & food treats at City Olive.

Stop by tonight for the kick-off of Andersonville’s Arts & Design Weekend.
A little “after hours” fun at City Olive where they will be featuring my pottery for this special weekend!!! The festivities continue until 9:00pm tonight… and continue Saturday & Sunday.

I have a great group of Holiday Elves working for me this season at the “glitter gig.” They were very thoughtful & very “crafty” with their birthday “surprise” for me today… albeit one day early. Brownies and a very special sign made out of recycled cardboard, glittery scraps and snips of color-coding labels. Very funny. Very cute.