Lazy Day at the Lake

Good morning!

I'm popping in to finish up my cabin weekend recap for you!

A PERFECT day!

Picking up from where I left off yesterday...I ended up sleeping in much later than I usually do and was surprised to see 8:20am on the clock next to me. Normally I'm up in the wee hours of the morning so it felt good to get some much needed sleep.

I ate breakfast out on the deck with Kaaren as we hoped to see some more deer. However, we had no such luck that morning. After awhile, I declared I was going to head out for a run before the gray skies filled with rain. After lacing up my shoes and downing a few sips of gatorade, I was off.

My run started out smooth and slow--gradually building up to a quicker pace as covered more ground. The scenery around me was beautiful and all of the roads were surrounded by trees and cabins. Not many people were out and about since the skies were looking dark and it was still quite early in the morning.

However, the further I ran, the darker it got and I ended up turning around much sooner than I had anticipated. A few sprinkles started to hit my legs as I ran and it actually felt good despite the muggy summer air. Eventually those sprinkles turned into a steady rain and then a downpour. Lighting flashed and the thunder was cracking in the sky! I immediately tossed my iPod into my running backpack and started an even sprint for the remainder of the journey back.

At this point the water was collecting on the roads and I was drenched so much that when my foot hit the pavement, water sloshed out of my shoes. I would have called Kaaren to come and pick me up but I was afraid to use my phone in fear that the rain would ruin it. I had that happen to a previous phone of mine, but I'll save that story for another day...

Looking glamourous for my run

I kept running as hard as I could--dodging puddles and trying to see out of raindrop-filled glasses. After awhile, I saw the headlights of a familiar car: Kaaren had saved the day by heading out in the storm to rescue me! I immediately started laughing as I got into her car and she handed me a towel. We rushed back to the cabin where I took a nice long shower and got dried off! I just don't seem to have the best of luck with running...

After changing into some warm, dry clothes, I laid down and refueled with an apple while reading more of my book. I read 1.5 books this weekend and it felt great to get some reading in since I've been neglecting that hobby of mine for awhile.

As soon as the storm passed through, the skies opened up and the sun came out--revealing a perfect day. Rather than waste time inside, we rushed out to the lake to take the paddle boat out for a spin! We had to kill about 8 spiders in the boat before we could head out--and you all know how much I love those little arachnids...

Towards the shore, there were lily pads everywhere!

We paddled around the lake--soaking up the sun on our last day at the cabin. It was great to kick back and relax right in the middle of the lake without anyone else around.

When the sun got too hot, we headed inside to start cleaning and packing up before heading home. We wanted to get on the road by 4 in attempt to make it back in time to unpack and get ready for the upcoming work week. We ended up meeting our goal as we made it out the door promptly at 3:50pm!

Our favorite snack of the weekend were all-natural Apple Straws! Seriously--best things ever!

We hit the road in pursuit of her parent's house to pick up her little dog, Wally. Along the way, I was amused with the strange-looking traffic lights that they had in Wisconsin. In Minnesota, our traffic lights run vertically rather than horizontally. 

Represent!

Kaaren promised me that we could stop at a Cenex gas station on the way home and I had been looking forward to it all weekend! This may seem like a petty thing, but it was a huge deal for me since I design a lot of the corporate and advertising materials for the Cenex and Cabela's brands!

One of my big projects for the month of April at work

Naturally, I grabbed one of each of the brochures on the counter! My gift card holder was also on display, but the cashier already thought I was nuts for being so excited over credit card application brochures, so I refrained from taking a picture of it in the store. Here's a sample of what it looks like before it goes in the gift card display holder:

(source)

After grabbing a milkshake for Kaaren and a twisty cone for me, we were back on the road! Towards the end of the drive, we started getting antsy and snacky: 

Hooray for new flavors! 

Pull-n-peel provides roadtrip entertainment

The weekend at the cabin was great and I miss it already! We kept talking about how we wished we could have stayed for a few more days--especially since the weather was perfect for being out on the lake. However, the job thing gets in the way of vacationing all week long! 

Speaking of which...it's time head into work--I'm getting an early start today to prep some concepts for a meeting with a client later this morning. I need to finish mocking up a logo, 2 web banners, and a postcard all before 11am--wish me luck!