What is your getaway plan?

I'm not talking about rob a bank getaway plan! I'm talking your I gotta get the heck away and recharge kind of plan. I'm alway curious as to what that is for others. We all have those busy times that are just go, go, go all the time. Some of us have jobs that are busier certain times of the year than others. At my house it seems to be busy from June to New Years....and I'm not kidding. My husband officiates college football and it's football business year round at our house, but it really gets busy for him in the summer and even crazier when the season kicks off. So, we try to get in little get aways during the off season. Weekend trips are perfect for quick getaways. We are lucky that we live near the mountains and can get in little hikes even for a quick day trip. But our favorite overnight getaway is to a cabin in the mountains...with snow!!!! We both love the snow. And my favorite time to do that is right after Christmas. We have booked a cabin trip after Christmas a couple of times and its heavenly! After all of the rushing around and craziness of the holiday, it's so nice to chill and enjoy a few days of rest. The last time the owners had the cabin decorated including a Christmas tree. It was pretty awesome!

This cabin was next to a creek so it was relaxing to sit in the hot tub and hear the creek right beside us.

 

Of course, let's not forget beach getaways. I think for a lot of people this is the ultimate for relaxation and recharging. I like the beach and really enjoy it, but I tend not to relax as much there. I feel that I have so much to squeeze in while there. Tanning, great restaurants, shopping and up before the sun to get sunrise pictures. I often return home thinking I need a few days to recover! My husband isn't really a beach person. He is good for a day of it...And That's About It.

 

These are a few pictures from our recent trip to Myrtle Beach SC. The middle of October and mid 80's. It felt a little weird as by October I'm in full on boots and sweater mode!

I'm already planning a couple of getaways for this winter.....how about you?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Who would think a cemetery would be such a popular hangout?

I'm always searching for places to explore with my camera. Can you believe one of my favorite places is the cemetery? Well, it is. And I'm not alone.

We have an old city cemetery here that is very popular. It dates back to 1806. There is a confederate section that contains the graves of over 2200 soldiers from 14 states. There are also four small historic house museums inside the cemetery. I admit that I'm not much of a history buff like my husband who teaches history, but there is something about the place that draws me back frequently. Every October they have candle light tours with professional actors in period costumes that portray true stories of the cemetery residents. I have yet to make one of the tours, but plan to attend one this year.

I enjoy the peace and quiet there. Just me and my camera. The grounds are beautiful and spring and fall is amazing there. I drove there this afternoon before the sunset to see if the leaves had any color yet, but it's still too soon. Probably another 2-3 weeks and the trees will be bold and beautiful in colors of fall.

There are so many interesting little details to photograph there. Almost every time I go I see people taking family portraits. I saw a photographer there today taking family pictures. My step daughter is a senior this year and I'm taking her senior pictures there as soon as the leaves turn.

I took a few of these pictures at the beginning of spring.

This shot is one of my favorite pictures I have taken there.

 

 

This big old tree and swing is a popular place for pictures of children. I've seen bridal portraits at this swing too. You just never know what to expect when you arrive. But there is always someone there with a camera.

I love this cemetery and I'm sure I'll be back soon for more pictures as soon as the leaves change, and again for our first snow fall.

Where is the strangest place you go to take pictures?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Everyone is Talking About It!

Everyone is talking about it. Yep. Fall! I couldn't be happier. My friends know that summer is my least favorite season. Mainly because here in central Virginia we experience pretty hot and very humid weather. Augh! Some years it can be pretty brutal. Back to fall....I love the clothes. Jeans, boots, sweaters. Throw on a scarf and go. I wish I could wear jeans and boots all year. I love the cool crip air. I love the smell of wood burning fires. I love having a fire in our outdoor pit. I love the changing of the leaves. I love riding the Blue Ridge Parkway and shooting pictures of the amazing colors. Okay, you get the picture now. I love fall!!

So, I have been busy in the yard prepping for fall and winter. My husband came home to this beautiful site in the driveway....mulch!! I'm sure he was thrilled, but it had to be done. Who doesn't love fresh mulch in their flower beds? Yes, I was so sore by bedtime that I could hardly move from working with the mulch, but so worth it.

You can't have fall without mums! So, I ran out and bought mums. I had a few empty spots in the garden from flowers that bit it over the summer. Perfect timing that mums were out. Yeah, I know mums don't last that long, but they are so awesome while they last and a perfect start to fall.

 

I love these cool fall days and sitting outside by the fire. Now that the mulch is down and the mums are planted.....pumpkins are next. I just love fall and hope you are enjoying it too!!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Quick Go To Meals

I don't know about you, but on Sundays I don't always want to cook a big meal. Some weekends require quick and easy ideas. This weekend was one of those quick easy meal days. And we wanted something filling. I quickly decided on one of our favorite go to meals....chicken and black bean quesadillas! We love them! I usually try to grill more chicken than needed for this dish as to have enough leftover for another dinner the next day.

Quesadillas are easy enough after you get everything chopped and sliced and then it's just an assembly line of ingredients ready to cook up. I added a few green peppers and onions to make it a little more filling. I like to sauté my veggies a little to soften them up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All done! Open up a bag of chips, add salsa and sour cream and this meal is complete....to us anyway. Our lives and schedules are so crazy these days that it hard to meal plan and even harder to come up with new dinner ideas!

What is your go to meal that everyone in the family loves??

 

Posted with Blogsy

Ahh, the smell of coffee.

Coffee....one of my addictions.  I admit it.  I'm making up for lost time because I was probably 30 years old before I would touch it.  Call me a late bloomer.

My friends call me a coffee snub, but I love good coffee.  Not the cheap stuff either.  I would rather go without it!  Give me Starbucks any time.  Yes, I'm one of those people.  I'm a Starbucks fan and buy a bag of beans every week.  Now if I could get one of their Starbucks ball caps I would be happy!  Not only do I love their coffee, but I love to hang out there with my nook or iPad and read while sipping on coffee.  If only I could  convince my boss that I would be more productive setting up my mobile office there....hmm will have to work on that one.

Now I will drink other coffee, but it has to be good coffee.  We brew Dunkin Donuts at work and I like that too, but not my favorite.  And believe it or not, but I will drink McDonalds coffee too when in a pinch.  So, I see why some call me a coffee snub....kind of.

When the Keurig came out everyone just knew I would run to the store for that one.  Nah, we drink way too much coffee each day for those Kcups.  I would be broke buying those things.  I certainly see the appeal and it makes a good cup of coffee, but that seems best for those that only have one coffee drinker in the house.  I like my brewed pot of coffee.  I love it even more with my Cuisinart coffee pot with built in bean grinder.  Yum!!  And of course we must add a little sweetness to enjoy with our coffee...like cupcakes!  I think I'll open a new business call Coffee and Cupcakes.  Yep, I think that would be my dream job :)

Hello August...do you feel the change?

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's August already.  August is my least favorite month of the whole year, so I'm ready for it to pass quickly.  It's something about August that feels different.  Even though fall weather is still such a ways off, you can still feel the swift in the season already.  Never mind that it's HOT and humid outside, you can still feel a change happening.  Could it be because....kids are starting to panic that their summer vacation is quickly coming to an end....school teachers are in denial that they are having to return back to the classroom ALREADY....and the tv is full of back to school ads.  Everyone is losing that laid back lazy summer day feeling that floated them through June and July.  Last minute vacations are squeezed in, school supply lists are out, school uniform shopping is needed...the panic is setting in all over with parents!  Yep, feeling the change.

My husband is a school teacher and even though he still works summer school he loves the laid back summer schedule.  And we were one of those people squeezing in a late summer vacation before school started.  We just got back from Charleston SC and had a great time.  However, August is a very hot and humid month to vaca in Charleston....note to self plan a spring return visit...not August!

So, do you feel the change?  Next we'll be heading out to football games, the evenings will start to get cooler and the leaves will begin to change...... I can't wait! 

Here are a few of our summer pictures.  I hope everyone is grabbing their camera and snapping pictures every week.  Remember it doesn't have to be a special occasion or vacation.  Take pictures!




Summer evenings fishing with the family



Folley Beach SC

 

Lost my running mojo...

Here I go again. I've lost my running mojo.  It happens from time to time, but not for this long.  I'm searching and hoping and I will not give up until it's found!

It has been almost 3 years now since I stumbled into running.  And I mean stumbled since I was never very athletic...ok, NEVER athletic. I started out slowly and then joined a few girlfriends and then we soon had a small group linking up several times a week to run.  I loved it.  Then one of us had the crazy idea of signing up for a half marathon!  I know, we temporarily lost our minds.  Especially since none of us had EVER ran more than 5 miles, and that just about killed us.  One of us suggested the Shamrock half marathon in VA Beach which is in March and I thought that would be perfect since my annual girls beach trip is in June every year and I would not be struggling to lose 10 pounds in the spring prior to the next trip.  Oh yea, sign me up!  Ok, call me stupid, but I was determined to do it, especially since my husband just kind of smiled when I told him our idea.  And nothing could fuel me on more than the thought of accomplishing something that my husband hadn't done!  Oh yeah....that fueled me on!

Yes, I had trained poorly for the 5 miler race and lost a toenail, blackened a few toenails, countless blisters and terrible hip pain, but I was determined to train properly for a half marathon.  Geez, I had no idea the training would be the hardest thing I had ever done.  Many times I thought I was WAY too old to try to be a runner in my mid 40's!  I had been battling terrible hip pain anyway and soon was told by the doctor it was arthritis and he prescribed meds that made me feel good as new.  So, whats a little arthritis??  I was determined to move on.

I researched training plans and found one that stretched out for about 3-4 months.  It started out slow and I was able to build the miles a little at a time.  The plan was easy to follow, but man I wasn't prepared for the time commitment. That was probably the hardest part for me!  I really had to plan out my weeks and squeeze in all of my runs and never miss the weekend long run.  Once the miles started to get higher those long runs on Saturday were starting to get brutal.  Especially when the temps would drop to 35 degrees.  Two hour runs at 35 degrees was hard on my old body.  All was going fine until we got up to about 9 mile runs.  I soon learned that my body is done at about mile 8.  Anymore than that and I'm going to hurt all day from my run.  Then throw in the cold temps and I started to dread the last few weeks of training and just wanted it over.  Thank God for my two running buddies because they kept me going at the end.

Add caption

Race day came and I didn't feel completely ready, but I was more than ready to get it done and take a nice long break from running for a while.  I'm not going to lie, it was a tough race.  The wind and the cold was tough and I was not totally prepared for it, but it was by far one of the most exciting races I have ever ran.  It was amazing running with thousands of runners!  The sheer excitement of the large number of runners pumped me up more than I imagined it would.  Sure my time totally sucked and I had hoped for a much better time, but I finished the race and proud of it!!  Of course my first thought at the end was check it off my bucket list and I will never do it again....but never say never.

Anyone seen my running mojo????

13.1 Miles done!!!