Cancun, Part 2: How I Cut Open My Forehead

Yep, I cut open my head.

Let's start at the beginning...

The one and only thing I desperately wanted to do in Mexico was go to Chichen Itza. I suppose it's the nerd in me, but I have always loved history, and especially the Mayan, Incan, and Atzec cultures. Unfortunately, the only days the hotel was running tours were days that I couldn't go because of the wedding activities. So, on day one, while in downtown Cancun, I stumbled upon a tour company that was offering a tour on Sunday to Chichen Itza. It was $40 for transportation, a buffet lunch, and admission. In addition to Chichen Itza they would be stopping at Ik Kil Cenote. A "Cenote" is a sinkhole. Ik Kil was only a few miles from Chichen Itza, we would stop, explore, and get to swim. When we got there I was amazed at how beautiful it was. The sinkhole was 175ft from the surface. You walked down a stone staircase to the base, where the water was.

This is a view from the "ground level" looking down into the Ik Kil Cenote.

There were beautiful waterfalls cascading into the cenote, as well as the ability to cliff dive.

This is from the bottom of the cenote, looking up to the ground level. Absolutely beautiful...

Well, when I found out we could cliff dive I was all for it. I have been cliff diving before, when I lived in Austin, and I loved it.The cliff in the cenote was 30 feet, tall enough to be "scary", but short enough to ensure that plenty of people would still jump.

You can see the place were people are jumping from...

So I jumped. I hit the water, and popped back up. Before I knew it people were pointing to my forehead. I looked at them questioningly... Did I have something on my face? I put my hand to my forehead and then I felt it... I took a look at my hand... my forehead was bleeding. I hadn't even felt anything. I climbed out of the cenote and held my hand to my head for awhile. It didn't hurt, and after a few minutes of pressure the bleeding seemed to stop.
I decided to jump again. I NEEDED a picture of me jumping for my new facebook profile pic.
I climbed back up the 30 feet, this time when I jumped I held my hand to my face. I hit the water again. I popped back up. My cut had started bleeding again, but it wasn't too bad.

Me popping up from my second jump...

I swam over to the spot in the cenote where the sun was shining thru. I wanted pics...

And I climbed back out again. I was happy that was over. The second jump is WAY scarier than the first, because you know what to expect. I but I had my picture... so I thought...
Turns out my cameraman didn't catch my jump. I was ticked, but I NEEDED that picture. So, I decided to jump again.

Standing at the top of the cliff for my third jump, I was kinda out of breath at this point but I was determined...

See the splash at the bottom? That's me. My cameraman missed the picture again. Also, this time when I hit the water I didn't cover my face, and my cut split open some more. This time, I felt it. I think I tore it open a bit more than it already was. I put my hand to my head, I was bleeding... a lot. I climbed out again, this time the lifeguard guy spotted me. I allowed him to bandage up my head.

Me with my hand to my forehead after my third jump...

And even though this is an AWFUL picture of me, I'll post it. My cameraman was "kind" enough to take pictures of me getting bandaged up, something to remember the trip by... other than the three inch long cut above my right eye.

All in all, I'd do it again. Yeah, I'm kind of a badass. I love cliff diving, and a gash on my forehead isn't going to stop me. Plus, it makes for kind of an awesome story.

Cancun, Part 3: Chichen Itza

Cancun, Part 1

Are ya'll still following me? I know I haven't blogged in sometime (2 weeks!) but I have my reasons. I was out of the country for part of that time. I was at a wedding in Cancun, Mexico!
Ya'll are about to be super jealous...

These are the huge sliding glass doors in my room. I stayed at a resort right on the beach.

This is my own private balcony. I ate breakfast (room service) out here in the mornings. The resort was all inclusive so all my food, drinks, and even room service was included!

What, what! Yep, that's the hot tub... IN MY ROOM! Every room had one. Ahhh...

These are the private cabana's in front of the pool. I actually spent more time at the pool that had the volleyball net tho.

During the day (Day 1) we went into town. We walked over to the beach to take pictures. The water was clear and beautiful. It was almost an aqua color.

It was the perfect temperature too... we didn't bring our bathing suits so we just walked in the sand and stuck our feet in the water...

Gratuitous picture of me and Mike... shorts in November, ahhh...

So I thought I would give you a taste of the vacation before I delved into the exciting parts. Stay tuned because cliff diving, and Chichen Itza are still to come!

Fall Crafts

I've hit a crafting wall this fall. My house is finally completely decorated. I feel as all of my inspiration has flown out the door with the summer sun. I know this will pass after Thanksgiving when I can start decorating for Christmas. (I'm a firm believer that you cannot put up Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.)

Until then, in order get get into the fall spirit I revisited a craft I have done before....

It involved cutting lots and lots of circles of fabric

And making pretty ruffles with them...

Then you add a well placed bow....

And you have a fall wreath!

You can find my tutorial for this here.
Oh, and because I said I would tell ya'll how much I spend on my crafts:

hanger: Free (from my closet)
Ribbon: $1 (I had this in my ribbon stash, but I think I got it for $1 at Michael's)
Fabric circles: Free (I used the fabric from a blouse and a dress I didn't want anymore. I'm always trying to re-purpose good fabric)

Fall Crafting

I've been in a crafting rut lately. My apartment is completely decorated, so I have come to a screeching halt in the crafts department.

A few days ago I was browsing a few of