Cabin Life

Well folks, I'm back and plugged back in...and by that  I mean I have WiFi and solid cell reception without standing on top of the toilet in the corner of the cabin bathroom. Okay now it sounds like I'm complaining, but my gawwdd was it nice to disconnect and get away from the tweeting, liking, pinning, blogging and checking in for a whole week. Oh and not working AT ALL. As previously stated, Josh and I went up to Hayward with his whole Dad's side of the fam like we usually do every summer and rented out cabins off of the lake. It's serene, peaceful, tradition. Sometimes a week away from the daily grind just isn't enough, but I'll take what I can get!! :)

These vacations are the best. The type where the makeup stays off, hair is thrown to the side and you throw on a bikini or shorts everyday....with a Summer Shandy or mixed drink in your hand.

 Oh and I must say that YES I did achieve my goal of reading Gone Girl while I was up there and yep, all of your reviews were right! What an effed up book! But oh so good. The ending had me kind of disappointed though. I took frequent reading breaks while boating and fishing.

Later on in the week we go into town where all of these cute souvenir stores are along with an old candy shop AND the Wine Cave. Josh and I recently made this discovery and I was beside myself with excitement. Of course I would manage to find a place like this. We bought a couple of bottles and celebrated with cheese curds...because...Wisconsin.

This is what heaven looks like.

There were a few cooler days, but that just made it easier to not fry in the sun all day...although of course I love my vitamin D. We played badminton, had bonfires, played Cards Against Humanity (when the kids were asleep of course baha) and of course the staple Scrabble games by the lake. We're all very competitive Scrabble players. It's only a matter of time before someone screams and yells about how they have way too many damn vowels or consonants or curses our the person who plays all of their letters.

And per usual, every year, each fam takes a night to make dinner for the whole army crowd. Josh and I collaborated with his cousin and bf with beer brats, burgers and a bacon wrapped type meatloaf and delicious sides. Our dinner night was a success!

We also went kayaking and came across this creepy, old abandoned cabin. The windows had bullet holes, there was a really old mattress littered with beer cans and one high heel in a corner...of course my addiction to Criminal Minds kicks in and I automatically think of this as some kind of hidden crime scene. Where I stepped in poison ivy AND got eaten alive by a million mosquitoes. Lovely. Luckily the poison ivy didn't get to my skin and I got away unscathed. Phew. This happened a mere day or so before my race...thank sweet baby Jesus I didn't suffer from any symptoms...nothing like running a race with oozing blisters. You're welcome for that image.

Each week at the lodge they hold a dart tournament too (although I just cheer on the hubs and drink way too much). Mud slides - what I like to call adult milkshakes- were made on the reg by my MIL and she's a pro. Yum. Josh didn't win this year, but the win usually always goes to someone in the fam since we kind of all dominate the resort for that week baha.

The week always goes by really fast. Too fast. In the last couple of days before everything is packed up, everyone scrambles to get in a last swim, game or go fishing for the last time before we head out again. Cards Against Humanity and other trivia games paired with my adult milkshakes and I was a happy woman.

I already miss those boat rides and the view from our cabin. Can we rewind to like...mid last week? I'll compromise.

It's a great family tradition that everyone upholds and the hubs and I are now counting down until next July..and hopefully I'll also continue counting down in terms of my weight gain that also naturally occurred from said adult milkshakes and delicious food that everyone made.

We packed up on Saturday morning and headed out at 7am to our usual breakfast place where they serve the "cakes" that are pancakes that are the size of a seat cushion. Not kidding.

And seriously, WHY does it seem like it takes twice as long to get home on the way back?! I was dying. By the time we got home at around 3:30pm, I had to pack up my race stuff and headed out to my friend's where we would prep for race day...that effing required us to get up at 4 IN THE MORNING. Apparently runners aren't allowed to sleep. These fricken races are starting earlier every single time I register!! Stay tuned for my race day happenings and pics! I have a feeling my official photos will either be epic or I might look mentally challenged from sleep deprivation.

Friday Favorite: VACATION!

So I'm going to keep this Friday Favorites post short and sweet because....

I'm going to be eating, drinking, sleeping in, reading to my heart's content, and spending my first summer vacation as officially part of Josh's fam. BRING IT ON!

Linking up with the lovely Amanda of course!

Legends of Summer

So I've been very MIA lately (big surprise). My life has been tied up into huge knots due to wedding planning, my job, freelance work and other family affairs BUT this past week was spent on VACATION....as in...no work. Let me repeat, I did not do ANY work for a whole week. I can't tell you how weird it was for me to do absolutely nothing. Every summer it is tradition for Josh's family to rent out a bunch of cabins at Johnson's Resort in Hayward, Wisconsin. It takes some time for me to get over being so disconnected from the outside world (no cell reception) but I love it. I can leave my phone in the cabin and head out to get my tan on without worrying about how many calls I've missed or how many emails I need to check up on.

This was my view for the majority of vacation and it was glorious.

 

It was extremely hot and sunny there all week which made for great tanning/swimming weather. The only huge bummer this year was that the resort's pool was out of commission so if we wanted to swim, we would just need to jump off that dock and into the lake. No biggie...minus the thought of leeches latching onto your bod.

When Josh and I traveled into town this time I was on a mission to buy some Minnetonka moccasins and they were everything I hoped they would be. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes EVER and I'm making it a point to wear them as often as possible for the remainder of the summer.

We also made the mandatory trip into the candy store. Peanut brittle and caramel apple suckers? Yes please. It's vacation and that means splurging just a little and I brought some kettle bells along for some strength training so I was set! Bring on the Grahm Central Station ice cream! Indulging in a waffle cone of that while dominating in Word Dojo with Josh is something that is another part of the tradition. However this year, we had some pretty good competition but ended up on top still. Word Dojo champs!

The dart tournament also proved to be victorious with Josh's Dad bringing home yet another Guenther fam win this year. I'm absolutely awful at darts and don't want to make anyone else suffer at my lack of dart throwing skills so I cheer on everyone else and enjoy a drink or two or three. It was the best waking up and not having to do ANYTHING. Want to go swimming? Okay. Want to read a little bit and play a round of extreme badminton? Okay, sure! Relaxing days fishing and hanging out on the dock were plentiful!

I came back from vacation refreshed and with a clear head which felt AMAZING. I've been so busy at work it was crazy! Although now, I faced the dreaded Super Spartan Race.

This was the first obstacle race I've ever done...8 miles and 26+ obstacles. It was a 95-degree day, went to a wedding the night before and I ended up getting heat stroke and having a hypoglycemic episode. I totally thought my body was shutting down. I went through horrid mud pits, climbed up walls and ropes, climbed up crazy hills and swam across muddy water while running in between and all of a sudden...my body just gave out on me.

 I started throwing up over and over again and was removed from the course by a medic. I was freaking out since they were insisting on taking me away in an ambulance and all I wanted them to do was find Josh ASAP. Once they found Josh (which seemed like an eternity) my blood sugar was back up from 40 to more of a stable level and they were working on getting fluids in me. I eventually was able to keep water down and went to immediate care with Josh. The two-hour car ride was the absolute worst and I couldn't tell what was worse, the bruises I saw forming on my body from all of the obstacles or my bruised ego from not finishing the race. Although I did finish more than half of the race and this was my first obstacle course ever, I eventually understood that I should be proud of what I did finish...but... it still really sucked not making it to the finish line after training so hard for it. Oh well, at least I didn't break anything like some people did or contracted this weird and unknown rash that started to appear all over people after the race! This race was INTENSE.

However the following day was the best pick-me-up. Ladies and gents...I give you Justin Timberlake and Jay Z's Summer Legends Tour at Soldier Field. I luckily made a speedy recovery from the previous day's events and was able to rock it out to the best show of the summer with my sister. The last time I saw JT was in his N'SYNC days with my sister. Apparently the whole city of Chicago was also planning on going to the show as well since it took a million years to get there, but oh my was it worth it. Can anyone think of anything better than hearing JT singing Sexy Back in person? No I didn't think so. I actually even knew every Jay Z song that was played as well. It was great how they collaborated at times and then switched off.

My inner pre-teen was thrilled. Can you tell?

Rocking out to JT and Jay Z with my sis was the best ever and definitely healed any ego-bruising  that happened the day before. We brought sexy back. Yes I said it.

It was like seeing two shows at once and it was totally worth being wallet-raped by Soldier Field. $40 T-shirt? Macklemore would not be proud.

Paradise Found

It's crazy how whenever you get back from a vacation...you need a vacation to re-coop from your vacation...I apologize for the unannounced, week-long absence. This was my first whole week off of work for TWO YEARS. Yes, two years. So needless to say...I was excited. It's tradition to go to Hayward, WI for Josh's side of the family every summer where they rent a bunch of cabins off of the lake. After I go through a momentarily lapse of "holy shit I don't even get cell reception out here" the much needed rest and relaxation ensues. It's nice to disconnect once in a while...however I max out at a week...my main goal during vacation was to completely forget about work....oh and to get a nice tan. Both goals were met. My wine consumption was of course of the charts as well.

After five days of fishing, canoeing, badminton, swimming, drinking games and in-law family bonding later...Josh and I found ourselves in Bay Lake, MN for my cousin's wedding. Now THIS was the part of vacation I was looking forward to the most. While Josh has Hayward, I had Bay Lake when I was still a kid listening to Nsync tunes. Our family would get together at the cabin we owned every summer and coming back made me realize how much I really fricken miss it. This time we stayed in our own villa off the lake at Ruttger's Lodge Resort. Anyway, we were fortunate enough to only have to drive three hours from Hayward to Bay Lake so it wasn't too bad. Plus, Josh did all the driving so I have no room to bitch. We only had two short days there so I made the most of it and hopped on one of my uncle's seadoos (fully clothed) asap. After that my fam decided to dine at Ruby's that is right off the lake the day before the wedding. I find it hilarious that places like this refer to "proper attire" as anything but your bikini and flip flops.

The wedding was beautiful and I couldn't be happy for my cousin and her now hubby. I also cannot believe that I actually still fit in my dress too after gripping onto a wine glass throughout the whole week.

 I seriously don't get to spend enough time with my cousins. We're all VERY close and I couldn't imagine life without them. Although two are only pictured here, (the rest were dancing their socks off) there's nothing like a wedding to bring everyone together. A photo booth will also be required at my wedding. It definitely made for some pretty hilarious photos.

It was rough leaving, but Josh and I had to leave the morning after the wedding. Before I left I took one last photo. This is what I woke up to. Gah, did we really need to leave?!

I give major props to my dude for driving the WHOLE way back. We left at about 7 a.m. and got home at around 3 p.m. which isn't bad considering I remember the trip being nine plus hours (my mom would always insist on stopping). Although we were only gone for a week, it seemed like a whole month! Packing is one of my least favorite activities of all time too. What usually happens is my bags will stay in my room and as I need things from it I will remove them. As of today (About a week and a half later) I am fully unpacked. I'm also starting to train for my first half marathon that's at the end of October. I'm trying not to think about the outcome of that (death) and trying to stay positive about it. I purchased some sweet, new running shoes that have more support for running longer distances and some new attire as well. The swag that comes along with this run is quite awesome too. The Monster Dash is also Halloween-themed since it's the weekend before what I call the slut awareness holiday. You can run in full costume which I fully intend on doing. Wish me luck kids!