Women's Running Race Expo

Last weekend I worked at my first race expo for i Declare Charms!  It was an amazing experience and lots of work :)  First, to prepare for the expo I spent hours stamping the pre-made charms (necklaces, bracelets etc) that we took with us to sell.  With my position as a "stamper" I see the initial raw product. I am the first person to work with each charm.  Once they're each hand stamped they go to the polisher & assemblers.  For me, I rarely see the finished product or, our customers.  So, this trip was a great way for me to learn more about our company, the products and the ladies that we sell to! 

On Friday my supervisor, Mary Jo, and I met at the Boise airport at 7:40 a.m.  Our flight was at 9 a.m. and we arrived into the Ontario, Ca., airport around 11:00.  We packed as light at possible because we took so much luggage filled with our product & display items.  Everything you see in the following picture we brought in our suitcases and crates!  (except for the iron display grids.. those were shipped and waiting for us when we arrived) After getting our rental car, stopping by Wal Mart to buy one more display table (it's cheaper to buy one at Wal Mart upon arrival vs having it shipped) we headed to the convention center. Usually, it takes about 3 hours to set up... we had just 2 hours so we were hopping! That evening the expo ran from 4-7pm. After our long day of traveling, we were exhausted! So we grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner and headed to our hotel for bed :)

Saturday's event ran from 10am-6pm.  The day FLEW by! We were busy the whole time.. which is a good thing! I tried our first experience at hand stamping there on-site (just the minimal, basic things for customers) The most amazing part was meeting all the ladies... who were excited to be running their race the next day.  You could feel the anticipation and excitement everywhere!  The motivational speaker was Ali Vincent from the Biggest Loser Season 5 winner. I helped her figure out a customized order ~ funny thing is I didn't realize it was actually HER until afterwards! Which is a good thing because it might have made me a little nervous :)  

 On Sunday we didn't fly home until 3 that afternoon so, Mary Jo and I drove down to Huntington Beach for the morning.  While it was snowing and freezing back home in Idaho, I spent the morning sucking up the warm sun and listening to the waves come crashing in... glorious!! We ate lunch on the patio of a cute Hawaiian restaurant and walked around the cute little surf town :)

It was SO good to be home after a long and busy weekend but, I definitely also had a great little mini-vacation!