When I found out a bunch of my local friends were signing up for a race in town, I decided to go support them as a spectator and as their official photographer.

Why didn’t I run? Well…as most of you know, I’m not really into running. I’ve considered doing Couch to 5K before, but never actually started it up.

And another confession: I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish a race…of any length! Not a 5K, 10K…who knows? I’m worried I’ll tucker out…or be the last one. Eek! Races are scary to me.

Not to mention thanks to my injury last year, I’m also slightly concerned I may hurt myself if I push myself too hard.

Reading all the running blogs makes me wish I was a runner, but I’ve never actually tried it out because of FEAR!

Anywho, today I was more than happy to offer my moral support and photography skillz.

Everyone was geared up in their Operation Beautiful signs Caitlin and I made the other night.

I paired up with Matt to take photos and cheer everyone on.

We waited at the start and next thing we know…they were OFF!

We got pictures of almost everyone. Here’s Casey – the first to pass us.

Jen + Jeff

Kath + Caitlin

Michelle

Kelly

Emily

Matt and I held signs of encouragement for the runners. We got great response to our signs and lots of smiles!

So glad I was at the race today to share my support and take lots of photos!!

After checking stats and getting snacks, we headed back to Caitlin’s place for brunch.

We got to hang out with Maggie and James.

They set up their tailgate tent.

Eats

I had a bagel with some peanut free nuttzo and some mocha naturally nutty, plus a bar that Emily and Casey made (I believe they’re posting their recipe soon) and some fruit salad.

Guess who saved me some of his pecan sticky bun when I got home? Hubby did! So sweet of him. It was really tasty. He picked it up when he went to the farmers market all by himself! I’m so proud. I don’t think he’d ever been to a farmer’s market before meeting me and now he’s off and shopping their on his own. Too cool!

***

As for the race, if reading running blogs and hearing all the stories of the 5Ks, marathons and other running events didn’t make me wish I was a runner, today surely did!

I’m big on doing things that scare you. I think it’s true what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger so I always like to tackle things that terrify me. Even zumba scared me when I first started! I have a feeling I may be signing up for a 5K or something in the next year-ish. Who knows?

First, I’ll try running with the girls tomorrow. Eeks! I’m scared! lol

Any first time running tips for me?

I enjoyed my last breakfast at the lake with my Martha Stewart Living. It’s so nice to leisurely enjoy breakfast instead of scarfing down my eats in a rush to get to work. I really should take my time more often, not just when I’m on vacay.

Gonna miss this view.

All the tall trees.

Maybe even the bugs and bees.

The flowers

The outdoor seating.

Mismatched plateware and silverware.

The butterfly bush outside the house, just in front of the porch swing and all the beautiful butterflies that flocked to it.

The wooden porch.

Patches of shadows from the leaves.

Bathing suits strewn about.

The kiddos playing with Bailey.

Bailey running around.

I made more mocktails today, which I enjoyed lakeside whilst snapping some photos of the fam swimming.

Hubby’s sister and fam went for a dip today.

Hubby brought Bailey out for some fresh air.

I think he wanted to go for another dip.

Duckies!

Last meal al fresco!

Hubby’s “Uncle Bob” stopped by last night with a pork roast in tow. He roasted it low all night and it was perfectly tender for lunch today. I enjoyed it with some mac and cheese and a large serving of salad with cherry tomatoes from our garden and sunflower seeds.

Post lunch we finished packing up and hit the road.

One last view of the lake before we left.

Soon enough we were home sweet home! Bailey was ready to sleep on his own bed…or…couch. lol

I’m sad to leave the lake but happy to be home. Here’s to sleeping in your own bed!

I definitely brought my own oatmeal pot to the lake.

I brought lots of oatmeal supplies:

• non-stick pot
• 1/4 and 1/3 cup measuring cups (the usual sizes I use when I make oatmeal)
• bamboo stirring spoon
• old-fashioned rolled oats
• chia seeds
• bananas
• sliced almonds
• Barney Butter

All the materials to whip up a great bowl of oats.

Which is exactly what I had this morning along with some scrambled eggs and cheese my MIL made.

Todays bowl was made with 1/2 milk, 1/2 water, oats, sliced banana (stirred in at the end) and topped with: slices almonds and a spoonful of Barney Butter.

We enjoyed breakfast on the screened-in back porch.

Bailey loved the view.

I’m loving the view myself. I’ve actually got my laptop out here and am enjoying the fresh mountain air and beautiful scenery. In fact, a breeze just blew through the porch, rustling the leaves like  someone strumming a harp. Ahh…if this doesn’t help me de-stress I don’t know what will! lol

Hubby’s sister’s two kids are playing outside – they’re catching tadpoles!

They just brought one up to show us. I love the curiosity of these guys!

More lake fun up ahead I’m sure! Cheers!

Before we left for the lake, we had some prep work to do.

Remember those brown bananas from the other day?

I used them in the kitchen on Saturday. I did my baking in the fabulous apron that Katie of Sweet Tater gave me for our housewarming gift.

Pre-baking.

I turned those brown bananas into homemade banana bread using this recipe, but with some substitutions. We were out of spelt flour so I used all whole wheat pastry flour. Plus I subbed almonds for pecans.

Hubby whipped up a fabulous lunch using one of the books we received from our housewarming party.

We had grilled, seasoned shrimp with a roasted pepper/avocado/creamy sauce, plus micro-ed frozen veggies and deeeelicious, tender, wondrous Virginia roll (gosh these things just melt in your mouth!).

I had most of our stuff laid out in advance: books to read (In Defense of Food, Thrive, The Gentle Art of Domesticity), magazines to leisure over (Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Grill It), plus snacks and eats: Kashi crackers, Larabars, fruit & nut mix, Barney Butter, chocolate cookies, bread, and Virginia rolls.

We ended up bringing a lot more food for the dinner we offered to cook for our family, plus 3 bottles of wine, cheese and other goodies.

The lake is really nice. There’s a little creek near us that I can hear from some places around the house.

The music of the creek meandering away is so relaxing! I feel like maybe I should record it and slap it on a CD that I could sell for millions!

Yea, I’d call it “Sounds of Relaxation from the Lake”. C’mon, you know you want the CD already.

Bailey is having  a grand time exploring.

Turns out our lakehouse does not have wi-fi. *sad face* So, hubby and I took his laptop to the local pub where they do have wi-fi to download Windows LiveWriter. I must admit, I’m an apple girl myself, but I do love LiveWriter for blogging – it’s the best tool I’ve used.

Hubby and I enjoyed a brewskie to kick off our vacay. Yuengling was our choice brew.

We headed back to the lake house later for dinner. We were actually supposed to cook dinner the first night but we ran into 2 fatal flaws with our plan:

1. We needed aluminum foil, which was in hubby’s sister’s car (since we forgot to bring our own).
2. The dinner I planned was vegetarian since hubby’s sister and her fam are all vegetarians. They were a few hours behind us and wouldn’t be there in time for dinner.

Though the local pub was actually kind enough to give us a piece of aluminum foil, we decided to save our vegetarian dinner for Sunday night when our vegetarian side of the family could really enjoy it.

We ended up having some arugula and baby spinach salad.

Tortellini with red sauce and a mini meatball.

Plus hubby and I split one of those irresistible Virginia rolls.

My banana bread made a guest appearance for dessert.

PS Note almond and flaxseed topping. I took a cue from Mama Pea and added the flaxseeds and subbed the pecans for almonds. (Last time I just used pecans).

I must say, I think I am now addicted to zucchini bread. I remember the first time I heard someone say zucchini bread. I was a kid and I didn’t like vegetables, so of course, “zucchini bread” sounded quite “gross” to 8 yr old moi. When someone told me zucchini bread tasted like banana bread, I decided to give it a shot and I found out that zucchini bread, though made with “icky” vegetables was actually quite tasty. Of course, it wasn’t until I made my own loaf several days ago that I really fell in love. And now…I think I actually prefer zucchini bread over banana bread! Who knew!

I had a giant piece.

Which I enjoyed with some of my magazines. Ahhh…the simple pleasures of vacation. Enjoying homemade eats at a cozy lakehouse whilst perusing the magazines I never have time to read. Yessssss!

What kinds of food do you bring to your vacations (where you rent homes and have space to bring food)?

After a not-too-shabby drive…

We made it to the lake! I left the lake photos on my good camera but will share them tomorrow! There’s no wi-fi in our lake house, so I’ll have to blog tonight but upload tomorrow. Check it though – we’re already seeing wildlife! There were a bunch of deer just in front of our lake house when we pulled in!

Have a great weekend everyone!