So what happened on July 4th? I’ve been a little MIA the past couple of days.
To make a long story short, July 4th started out with some of this…
Technically, it was a red, white, and blue breakfast, if you can tell that there is raspberry jam in my blueberry oats. This fueled me perfectly for a five-mile run. I ran most of it with Brad, who cut it a bit short to stop by a neighbor’s to invite him to watch the Corolla Lighthouse fireworks on his parents’ dock with us. We also ran into another neighbor I always stop and talk with because she’s a runner (like me!) and her sister has a dachshund and everyone with dachshund ties are fast friends! 🙂
Lunch was a big salad, like the day before, except this time there was shrimp left over for the night prior.
We spent the rest of the day doing water activities like sea kayaking (which Rascal also participated in, much to his dismay), swimming, and sunning on the dock while reading. I read Michael Pollan’s’ book “Food Rules” and now I can’t wait to read his other books. Brad’s mom had just started it, so I hurriedly read it that afternoon so I wouldn’t have to get it from the library to finish it. I totally loved it and will definitely be buying it soon.
Dinner was this plate of scrumptious-ness. Pork tenderloin with mango salsa, baked applies, corn on the cob, and sweet potato biscuits (the best things ever!).
Brad approved of the dinner feature as well.
Dessert was sooo good. I had this and then 1/4 of another (Brad and I halved a half). Brad’s grandma made brownies that had walnuts and big hunks of caramel that made them so chewy in the center.
We relaxed after dinner and “visited” with Brad’s grandparents (I’m pretty sure that’s a southern expression). See how pink my legs are? I didn’t put sunscreen on until I started reading so my legs got a bit of sun between my run and my sea kayaking. Don’t worry mom, I’ve already pointed at myself in the mirror and shamed myself. I’m usually pretty strict about putting sunscreen on but honestly I haven’t had much pool time lately, so I kind of justified being slack by telling myself that it was my last opportunity to get any sun before my upcoming bridal portraits this Friday. Totally not worth it. I wasn’t that red and was only a little pink the next day. However, the time spent out in the sun totally got to me after dinner. I was so completely drained (maybe also because I had been bouncing out of bed for the past two days with about 6 – 6 1/2 hours of sleep?).
I had to go take a nap before the fireworks, which is completely unlike me.
Brad came and woke me up just in time to snuggle up with this little guy while we watched the fireworks across the sound. This was his first time being allowed to watch the fireworks. We’ve always been afraid the sound would get to him, but since there was a southwesterly wind, we were told we wouldn’t be able to really hear the fireworks (it’s 5 miles across the sound to the Outer Banks where the fireworks are shot off).
All of my fireworks photos turned out pretty crappy with my point-and-click, so here’s another beautiful photo of the sunset. You can see the Christmas lights on people’s docks. Some people take their boats out to watch the fireworks on the sound or all the way over to Corolla. They need the Christmas lights to mark their dock so they can find their way home. It’s really difficult to tell whose dock is whose at night.
The next day, I had another red white and blue breakfast, coincidentally. I just really love fresh blueberries and raspberry jam.
I had one egg over easy, a sweet potato biscuit smeared with raspberry jam on both sides and a side of watermelon and blueberries, freshly picked.
This was another perfect breakfast which fueled an 8 mile run (!). I haven’t run this far in ages and has got me seriously thinking about my running. I may have an announcement in the next few weeks about something I’ve been mulling over lately, but I’m probably going to hold off until after we return from the honeymoon to make anything official. 🙂
Lunch was a lot of things previously mentioned, except I made a shrimp taco with leftover shrimp and peppers, wrapped up in a homemade flour tortilla. Brad’s dad was transferred to El Paso while Brad was in college and brought back some mad tortilla-making skills. I’ve got to get my hands on a tortilla press. They make taco night into a life changing experience. I’m serious.
I did manage to snap a photo of this massive bowl of blue berry cobbler Brad and I shared. His mom made it the night before, but we held out until the following day to have some. I had about 5-6 bites of this. Soooo good. Sweet and salty is my favorite.
We squeezed in some more time hanging out with the padres, then hit the road about 2 o’clock with another blueberry in cobbler in tow to take to our friends on the way home who just had their first baby!
Brad indulged me in yet another Whole Foods salad. I downgraded to the smaller size container and still couldn’t finish this. I guess the chocolate chip cookie and two handfuls of blubes two hours before were more filling than I thought. Whole Paycheck has really got me digging the tofu lately. I need to try marinating it and putting it in my salad like I do at the salad bar.
It was so nice to see our friends’ new baby. Ben, the dad, is in our wedding as one of Brad’s groomsmen. They totally hooked up up with some veggies from their garden. This holiday weekend has been all about mooching organic vegetables and fruit off our friends and loved ones. 🙂 Brad’s mom sent us home with a big bag of blueberries and a ton of the apples she and I picked. Plus two sweet potato biscuits. Mine barely made it past the threshold of our door before I smeared some Crofters on it and devoured it before heading to bed. Whew! That 6 hour drive wears me out every time. Taking today off to recuperate was the best idea I’ve had in a while. 🙂
Tomorrow, it’s back to the grind for me.