Can it be? Are the Smurfs REALLY coming back?

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today (thanks Chris!). After my previous Smurfs post, I couldn't help but share. And when it comes out, I suggest that all of us pick the same day to go see this and then come back and talk about it! :-) Gleeks will be thrilled to know that Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays (Emma) amongs many others will be in it! Who else is smurfing excited???

Texas Sheet Cake

When I am down, I cook. Rather, I bake. Unless I am really in a depressed funk...then I don't do ANYTHING. I am also prone to bouts of sporadic baking when my kitchen is clean. So in addition to the cheeseburgers I grilled for dinner, I decided to go ahead and make a dessert too. I also took some frozen corn and heated it up, then put some butter and cream cheese in it. YUM! I THOUGHT about making a gluten/sugar-free dessert but quickly threw that idea aside. I opted for the rich, delicious Texas Sheet Cake, also known in my family as Chocolate Brownie Cake. And I thought I would share the recipe with you guys. Forgive the messy spatula! I forgot to take a picture before my family tore into the still warm cake and it was half gone before I remembered to get a shot of it. That's one of the great things about this cake...you can eat it while it's still warm!

Chocolate Brownie Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 sticks butter

1 cup water

3 Tbsp cocoa

3 eggs (beaten)

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour with sugar, salt and baking soda. In saucepan bring butter, water and cocoa to boil. Pour over flour and sugar mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla. Add to other mixture. Bake in greased and floured cookie sheet/bar pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Start icing last 5 minutes cake is baking.

Icing

1 stick butter

3 Tbsp cocoa

6 Tbsp milk

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c pecans

Mix butter, cocoa, and milk in pan over low heat. Don't boil. Remove from heat. Add sugar, nuts, vanilla and mix well. Frost cake as soon as it comes out from the oven. Makes 24 large services or 48 party size squares.

La la la la la la, sing a happy song. La la la la la la, smurf your whole day long

That's right my friends. We're going to talk about The Smurfs.

I'm 31 years old and so when I was growing up, The Smurfs was THE show. OK, it wasn't the ONLY show, but it was a smurfing good show! I don't remember many details about the show itself...I mean, as far as dialog is concerned. I remember Gargamel and his cat. I remember Papa Smurf and Smurfette. I don't think that the biggest reason I remember Grouchy Smurf is because I too am grouchy. That cannot be it!

But what I remember most is loving that show. Last week at the library one my kids (I have so many I can't remember which one) picked out Season 1 of The Smurfs. As a mother and faithful Smurf lover (not in a weird creepy way either), it made my heart happy!

Boy was I surprised when I started listening to The Smurfs while the kids were watching. Thankfully I didn't have to shield little ears from some of the words we heard on E.T. and The Goonies that shocked me when we re-watched those with the kids! However, what I did hear surprised me. And made me laugh. I never realized how many words they substituted with SMURF or a form of it. Nouns, verbs, adjectives...nothing is safe! For instance:

Hefty Smurf: See a grandfather anywhere, Brainy?

Brainy Smurf: Absosmurfly not, Hefty.

Or how about these?

After Smurfette's pet dies, Papa Smurf says "Let us have a smurf of silence for our dearly departed friend."

Other conversations I overheard:

"Are you sure you know what you're smurfing?"

"At last, I finally smurfed my error!"

"Hooray I'm not a dog anymore! Thank Smurfness!"

What was the most interesting to me was the fact that I actually understood what they were trying to say. Even though every other word was "smurf" or "smurfing" or "smurfy", I was able to EASILY follow the conversation!

I'm probably the only one amused by this. So much so that I decided that I would bring "Smufy" back. Not really...but since my husband isn't too fond of swear words (NOT that I am known for swearing), I told him that I was going to just start inserting "smurf" or another appropriate form of the word whenever I had an urge to say something that he didn't approve of. We've had quite a few laughs lately. He was freaking out about something (I don't even remember what and I exaggerate when I say freaking out) and I told him to "Calm the SMURF down!"

Find The Smurfs on YouTube or at your local library and see if I am exaggerating. I'm not. They seriously over-use that word!

Oh and while I was home over the weekend, Katherine found our old Smurf figurines in the play closet. I took a few pictures of the ones we could find.

Does anyone else still have any of these figurines?

I need to be in the office

Or find a babysitter. A free one.

I have gone from not liking working from home to hating it. It's official. That didn't take long! They've barely been out of school three weeks. *sigh*

It doesn't help that I was having an emotional day yesterday. AND I WORKED AT THE OFFICE!!! I was just a mess when I got home last night and my awesome husband knows that when I come home that way, the best fix is Chinese. So that's what we had for dinner. I love him for knowing me and loving me and not saying "Are you sure you want to do that? It's not Weight Watcher friendly and we really don't have the money for it." I have a good man...

I had thought (hoped) that when I woke up today I would feel less emotional. It's not really hormonal either (in terms of "girl stuff"), so I am perplexed. Though now that I sit here thinking about it, I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. I've been off of my anti-depressant for over a month now. Yeah...that might explain it. That's so frustrating. I was feeling so good being off of ALL medication. I don't have anything against medicine, especially anti-depressants. I do believe that some people need them and that they are incredibly beneficial. They have been for me for so many years. I had just hoped that I could finally be off of them and not experience what I am experiencing now, feeling despondent and alone. I'm going to give it a couple more days and see if anything changes before I call the doctor.

I was so frustrated with the kids today. Before I even got out of bed, before 8am even, Kaleb was already having an attitude and being disrespectful to me. Oh, I'm such a horrible mother for not letting him play the Wii before 10am. I wonder what Super Nanny would think! There was fighting, whining, screaming, crying...all before 10:30am--yes I'm talking about the KIDS, not just me! And between 8:30 and 10:30, I attempted to work. It didn't go well, so at 10:30 I took a break and finally got around to cleaning/organizing my kitchen and dining room. It needed to be done and having it in order will help me cook dinner at night, which in turn will keep us from spending money we don't have on food that we don't need.

I had just finished washing the kitchen floor when Abbey tracked some dirty paper onto it. That's when I lost it and the monster appeared. That monster that starts yelling and crying at the same time out of frustration. "I can't get anything done. I try to work and you fight and whine and I have to referee it. I try to clean and you just track stuff all over the place and make bigger messes as soon as I get anything done." Kat and Kaleb just stared at me. Abbey went downstairs, untouched by my outburst. Livvy was in her own world screaming (not in pain or anger or anything) downstairs.

My poor Little Bishops...

HTC Hero

I told you it was coming. This blog post is a review of the HTC Hero. Unlike the winners of the HTC Evo (I'm still jealous), I had to buy my own phone. Don't get me started...it still makes me sad that I didn't win. But only a little. Because the Hero is a very cool phone. Android is absolutely amazing. I don' t know much about phones and operating systems and all the technical stuff, but I do know that Android is probably one of the best things out there, as far as cell phones are concerned. Combine that with some of the cool features HTC has developed in their phones and you have got one pretty sweet phone. So far, the FREE apps I have found in the Android Market are great; so great that I haven't even really had to think twice about searching through the paid apps (not that SOMEONE would let me pay anyway...) Yet. I take that back; I did pay for one app, which I will talk about in a minute. But it was only 99 cents and I was given permission. ;-)

As a warning, I am totally going to geek out in this post. If you are in the market for a cell phone, this particular post is a MUST READ! And if you don't go for the HTC Hero, a phone that sports Android as the operating system is a MUST HAVE. I am now convinced of that. Kris is beyond ready to get his own Android phone after seeing mine! In fact, he's actually watching YouTube videos right now comparing the HTC Hero to the Samsung Moment.

So after our torturous hike last weekend, I told Kris if we got to the top of Cove Mountain and there was NOTHING to see, he had to go and buy me the Evo. When we actually got to the top of the mountain and there was nothing to see, I knew we didn't have the money for the Evo he rightfully owed me. But I still kept teasing Kris about it. He's a good sport and he wants me to be happy. So he worked out a compromise. He reminded me of the Hero and how much I had wanted it back when I first learned of it. A compromise was quickly reached and that same night, he bought me the step down from the Evo. I have been in love ever since. Whether I am talking about Kris or the phone is debatable! Open to interpretation...

Now, let's talk about apps! I'm not even sure where to begin...

I guess I'll start with my favorite and the most practical for me. It's the WWDiary. It's a tool for people who utilize the tools given in Weight Watchers. I LOVE this app. It is everything I could want/hope for in an app!! It's basically like being on the WW website, only it's on the phone and it is right there with you, wherever you are.

See the little bar code on the right? If you have the bar code scanner app (which I do and will discuss momentarily), you can actually scan foods and it will automatically input the name of said item into the diary. It won't automatically input the calories, fat and fiber, but it's easy enough to add it manually.

Next, you've got your food journal. The top shows you how many daily points you have left. The left side shows your activity points. The right corner shows you your weekly points (WW calls them flex points). Once you have added an item, it saves it so if you have that same item again and start to type it in, a drop down menu will appear and you can just select it.

Here are two more screen shots. There is a points calculator, a place to track your activity, and a way to track your weight (which I am not posting a picture of!).

Next up, let's talk about Scrabble. To my knowledge, the iPhone is the only phone you can use the Facebook Scrabble app on. That makes me mad and makes me hate the iPhone even more. ;-) I love Scrabble. I'm addicted. And I don't like that I can't play it on my phone. But I succumbed, needing some way to get my fix. I paid 99 cents for an app called WordWise. It's not nearly as great as the Words With Friends for iPhone (or iPad, I found out recently) but it is sufficient until Hasboro gets their act together and decides to offer Scrabble to the rest of the mobile world. Of the handful of things I am passionate about, Scrabble IS one of them! Now, if I could just find a good BRIDGE app for my phone...I'll have to put Kris to work on that one.

HTC is all about "scenes" from what Kris has told me. I have 7 different "pages" (6 plus your home screen) that I can put things on rather than just looking at all my applications in a big long list. There are widgets and other things you can put on these different pages. Highly customizable. So, I found a ton of free games that my kids can play and of course, I have a special "page" just for my kids. And let me just say that my kids LOVE this phone! They are always asking if they can play on it. It's so annoying cute!

And while I am talking about games, I need to share this with you (primarily SippyCupMom and anyone else who owns an iPhone!). This game is completely useless, mindless and not really all that fun, though it is addicting. I just like the level where you can throw an iPhone in the trash!

The next two apps are things that I would not want to live without on any phone. The first is the ability to tether my phone to my laptop. It's taken a week of searching but we finally found a way to tether my phone! That means that now, as before on my Instinct, when we are travelling I can connect to my phone's internet and blog while Kris drives! :-) Really, it's just great for any time you are somewhere that does not have internet. Places are becoming more and more stingy with free wi-fi and so having the ability within my phone is a MUST. I was SO excited to find this app in the Android Market and could not believe how simple it was. The picture may not mean much to some...but it does to me! I tested it out earlier, so it does work!

This app is one that I could do without if I had to. I did without it on my Instinct and just had Kris buy me a cheap MP3 player. Most of you who have followed me for a while know that I love listening to books through Audible.com. Their player is supported on a number of phones, but isn't yet supported on the iPhone or Android phones. Until now. There is actually a Beta version for Android! I'm testing it out and so far so good! I'm thrilled about this app. They have already said on their website that they were expecting to release Audible for Android summer 2010, so the full version IS coming soon, but today for the first time I stumbled upon the Beta version.

Oh and I couldn't figure out how to download it from the website at first. It was Kris who looked at it and told me that I could use the bar code scanner app that I had:

See it in the top right? It uses the phone's camera and looks like this before you scan something:

Kris told me that if I pulled that program up I would simply need to scan the code box on the computer screen. It looked like this:

See that black and white box? Yeah...I just scanned it and that was all it took. It started downloading to my phone! How cool is that?!? So now I have the ability to listen to my audio books on my phone again-a luxury I have done without for almost 2 years now. Sure my MP3 player is nice and small and I really like it, but if I can do everything through my phone, why not just use the one device?

I also love having such easy access to my Google calendar. That was a big complaint on my Instinct...I had to get on the web to view and use my Google calendar. There just wasn't an easy way to utilize all the things I love about Google Calendar. But that is not an issue at all with the HTC Hero. It has a fully functional Google Calendar app, as well as a widget for the calendar too that you can put on one of your pages.

OK...I think I have highlighted MOST of what I wanted to regarding the awesomeness of my new phone! Plus it's almost midnight and I have to go to the office tomorrow, so no sleeping in for me...

A future in sales

My son is 8. He is possibly the greatest conman sales person I have ever seen. He can coerce his sisters into giving him large sums of money for the stupidest reasons. And somehow they are convinced that his reasoning is perfectly logical!

At our family reunion every year there is an auction. This auction is a way to pay for the following year's reunion though my money-conscious husband someone I love VERY much doesn't seem to quite feel as generous towards this cause as I do. But that's another blog post entirely, one which I will NEVER ever write! ;-)

People always bring silly little things to sell at the auction and it's really fun, especially for the kids. The bidding is outrageous at times (like $42 for a t-shirt) but overall it's just a fun way to ensure that the money is there for future reunions. We gave the kids each a $2 limit. We only had $17 in cash and that was it. Kris eventually upped the amount to $4, and later on when Livvy had wandered off to the playground, we told the kids they could split her money and spend up to $5. Kaleb spotted a treasure he had to have. It was a narrow-mouthed jar, with real money in it. If Kaleb can make money, he will. It doesn't matter where or how...he WILL find a way to make money. So this small jar was right up his alley. I gave him an extra $1 and he was able to purchase his treasure for $6. He was ecstatic. Immediately, he started trying to get the money out of his jar. He kept sticking his finger in there trying to coax the money out. It wouldn't surprise me if he had sat there cooing at it and the money just fall right out. It didn't happen THAT easy for him but within about 5 minutes, he managed to get the first dollar out. He kept going and I was able to snap a couple of pictures before he managed to get all SIX dollars out of there. He was SO excited! He came running up to me saying "I got a free jar!" Do you see it? He paid $6 for it, found $6 in it, and wound up with a free jar to boot!

Once we got home from the reunion, after much hard playing outside, a storm began. It was a BIG storm too. The wind was gusting 120 mph (I'm sure I've exaggerated that number), and the rain was pouring down. Thunder and lightning were not far behind. It's still raging now, though not quite as hard. I'm sure a lot of you have seen the movie Twister. Remember that one lady's house that has all the wind chimes? And there are at least 2 scenes where you see complete calm and hear just the wind chimes, before the tornado touches down. You know...that whole calm before the storm thing?

Well, my mom has wind chimes. A lot of them. And they always make me think of that movie. Tonight more so than ever before! So I stepped out on the deck/porch and shot a short video. This was totally a Twister moment. I felt like a storm chaser...braving the horrible conditions to get the best pictures and video, with no regard for the danger that is out there. Granted, the threat to my life was minimal. The video is sub-par. Overall, I am NOTHING like a storm chaser but a girl can dream can't she?

I haven't forgotten

I know it's been a while since I posted a "My Dirty Hair Days" update. It isn't because I gave in and started using 'real' shampoo and conditioner again. I just haven't had time. I am sitting here now with freshly washed (with baking soda/water) and conditioned (with water/vinegar) hair and once I dry it I will take some pictures and try to get a post up. I have now concluded my 6 week experiment-it officially ended on the 8th of June. It has been a great experience and while I haven't seen a dramatic improvement (like night and day type), the little things are enough, coupled with the money I'll save on shampoo and conditioner; I will continue this means of caring for my hair. I'd like to get to a point where my kids are using this method too...but right now it's just easier to use the store-bought shampoo and conditioner with them.

On another note, for the gazillionth time I have switched back to Weight Watchers. In the fall I lost 20 lbs. when I was diagnosed with Candida. I completely changed the way I eat and live and had never felt better. And then I just fell off the wagon. Actually, I'm pretty sure I jumped off of it! I'd get back on, for a few days here and there, but overall my cheating caused me to find half of those pounds again. So, with my new HTC Hero and the help of a FREE app that essentially has all the Weight Watcher tools right there at my fingertips, I have started WW again. I sound like an infomercial or something. So, here's to hoping that I can make this last and finally get the weight back off. I'm so fickle though. I don't have a lot of confidence in myself and my ability to be self-controlled and disciplined for a long period of time. That's not just based in low self-esteem (though I'm not denying that I struggle with that!). It's based on past experience and what I always do. It seems next to impossible to break that viscous cycle. And yes, I know that it is primarily from trying to do it on my own instead of trusting God. Another area I struggle...it's no wonder I don't experience lifelong success with my weight loss.

Kris and I are getting ready to head out of town yet again. This time the kids are going with us. We're headed out to Indiana for a family reunion. The kids are excited, which translates to horribly behaved. It has been a chaotic day, to say the least. We've had lying, screaming, revenge, hatred, and all kinds of other nonsense today. Needless to say, I haven't accomplished much actual work today and still need to get us packed. So I suppose I should get off of here and get to it.

Friday Funnies

Who's ready for Friday Funnies?

To participate:

#1. Have funny kids (optional) ;-)

#2. Write your own Friday Funnies post and link to my post.

#3. Don't forget to add your link below so we can all enjoy.

So the kids gave us at least a little funny material within an hour of returning from our trip, but only a small amount. Either they've stopped being funny (yeah right!) or I've just missed a lot.

We were in the van driving home from Grandma's and Kaleb was trying to tell us something. But he couldn't remember what it was and told us he forgot what he was talking about. Livvy then said "I know what Kaleb was gonna say. He was gonna talk about my Bible." Yeah...that's not at all what he was going to say but it was a quick reminder that the world revolves around Livvy! (I don't know WHO she gets that from!) Kaleb had this I-WAS-SO-NOT-GOING-TO-SAY-THAT look on his face. Priceless...

We have the game Hullabaloo that the kids like to play from time to time. Livvy was asking if she could play it and telling me it's the one where you jump on the animals. She couldn't think of the name so when I told her she said "Yeah. Hello Balloon!" I tried to explain that it was Hullabaloo but she continued arguing with me, insisting it was balloon because there was no blue in it. Apparently 'balloo' is synonymous with blue.

Kris sent me a text tonight telling me about a conversation he had with Olivia. You know how much I hate Clifford the Big Red Van? If you don't know, just know it's a '98 big boxy thing that hates me as much as I hate it. The A/C is intermittent. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Mostly it doesn't. And I complain about it. ALL THE TIME. So, Kris took the kids to the store today and Livvy told him in a very happy (excited) voice "Daddy the air is working! It's because mommy isn't here!" Even my four year old knows that stupid van hates me...
I'm afraid that's all I have for today. This summer schedule has been insane! I'm so busy working during the day I miss out on a lot of the good stuff. It seems I have numerous funny conversations with Livvy this week, but I was right in the middle of projects at work and unable to really stop and write them down. That makes me sad. Maybe next week!

So what are your kids saying to make you laugh? Every little bit helps you get through the day. Link up!

Anyone else participating in any of these fun little hops?

I'm not going to forget Friday Funnies this week! I'm not! They will be up by 12:01am. I know how my awesome bloggy friend Dee EVERYONE looks forward to them each week. Beyond that, the Little Bishops didn't give me much to write this week, so it won't take long. :-)

Let's talk about The Bachelorette for a moment. The more I watch this show the more I just don't really care for it. I really thought it was just women that were catty and immature. These guys are a big bunch of babies. And their egos...I'm annoyed. Justin is a giant...insert word of choice here...I'm going to go with idiot. [Keep it clean people!] I do like Chris L. And Roberto. And one other guy...I can't think of his name. Frank maybe? Although he's a bit TOO emotional for my liking. Don't get me wrong. I love a man who can get emotional, in the right setting. But some of this is just a little too much; and they tattle on one another and whine about what the others are doing. Kris overheard some of it and said "What? Are the in Jr. High?"

They're like children. OH. Right. They're MEN! Mystery solved!!

I started writing this about an hour ago, and then I turned on Hell's Kitchen. Gordon Ramsey is so distracting! And scary. I've said it before. I could never tolerate him or Jillian Michaels in real life. I believe either one of them would send me straight off the edge of the crazy cliff! Ultimately though, this show makes me laugh. He's just so mean. Something about seeing other people's misfortune...that sounds horrible doesn't it?

And it gives me something to do while my husband wanders around outside in the dark talking to who knows who on the phone at 11PM WORKS. Seriously though...where is he? He's been outside for at least 30 minutes (actually not exaggerating like I usually do). He walked out on the phone a while ago and I haven't seen him since. He's probably walked to IL by now-the man paces when he's on the phone. I shouldn't be upset about it...it drives me CRAZY when he paces and talks right in front of me. Wait...I mean while he's on the phone. It doesn't bother me when he is just walking around the room talking to me!

And I'm not really upset. I'm...well, not quite frantic. Just a little uneasy. My overactive, paranoid imagination has spun all kinds of horrible stories about what has happened to him. If we had ditches in our neighborhood, I'd be worried that he was laying dead in a ditch somewhere. This is how my crazy mind works...

Tonight I managed (I think) to follow proper massage etiquette. Unlike last time. Phew! They actually went by my file this time and had a woman perform (is that the right word for it?) the massage. It was a lot different. She wasn't nearly as rough as the men I had previously give me massages; and while the massage felt good, I could tell I needed something more on my neck. Oh well...it was an hour with no kids, no work, just relaxing!

Hiking is for...

...people who are not me!

This post is not for those suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder. In other words, it will most likely be long and at times, boring. It may end up being about as long as my "Anniversary Hike" in the Great Smoky Mountains.

It was a day to remember. The weather was beautiful; not too hot at all, and surrounded by trees in Gatlinburg, there was a nice cool breeze as well. I wasn't feeling the best that morning. My hips and post-surgery knee were already aching because of the humidity and impending rain and I had the usual neck pain. But Kris and I found what reviews were calling an "easy" hike to a beautiful waterfall and after throwing back some Ibuprofren, I decided to give it a try.

Let me just say that Kris LOVES hiking. His high school youth group used to take trips to the Smokies and hike for DAYS. They'd stay overnight in bear shelters and all kinds of other crazy nonsense.

Me, on the other hand? I love the beach. I love sitting and doing nothing! It's my favorite way to spend vacation! So hiking is a bit of a challenge for me. Not to mention that I am overweight and out of shape. This NEVER helps ANYTHING! But a 1.3 mile hike to a waterfall on a paved path shouldn't be too hard right? Granted we have to go back the 1.3 miles afterward, but going back is always easier, right?

After about 5 hours, I would find out how wrong that was.

I bet we didn't even get half a mile into the hike before I needed to stop and catch my breath, and rest my legs. I'm a fast walker and so I had to consciously slow down and take my time so I didn't get too worn out too quickly.

Here are a couple of pictures from the trail head:

I'd like to point out that all I really noticed here was that it was 1.3 miles to the Falls. This sign will come back to haunt me later...

The expert hiker, backpack and all

And then there's me...

I will say that we had some really great views on the way to the Falls and at this point I was actually enjoying myself.

And then, all of a sudden we see this sign, for the second time actually. The first time it was at the trail head and a small child was getting her knee bandaged...before she even started hiking!

So being the paranoid drama queen that I am, I kept telling Kris not to fall and I kept envisioning him falling down the side of the steep cliff and dying. Who knew you'd need Xanax for hiking? Not me...or I might have brought some! ;-)

I finally began wondering if we were ever going to make it to the Falls...1.3 miles as it turns out is a lot longer than you think it should be! At least, it was for me.

And then we saw them! We made it to Laurel Falls! It was nice and peaceful, and I would say worth the hike.

We stopped by the Falls and had a little snack and rested our legs. At this point, I was feeling pretty good, and knowing how much Kris enjoys hiking (coupled with the fact that he THOUGHT the "tower" he read about online was only another mile ahead), I told him I wanted to keep going. I thought that if I made it 1.3 miles, I could go another mile. After all, I kept reminding myself coming back is much easier.

It was a little rocky...

with lots of tree roots...

After we had been walking for what seemed like forever, we started wondering if we were ever going to get to that elusive tower.

Maybe it's around this bend...

No? Well maybe this one...

I guess not. SURELY IT'S RIGHT AROUND THIS CORNER!!

It wasn't.

So many times we considered turning back. But there was this nagging voice that kept saying "If you turn back now you'll regret it. What if you came all this way and turned around right before the end?" We trudged on and were FINALLY rewarded with THIS:

It's a little hard to see, but the bottom line is that by the time we got to this sign, we had hiked 3.1 miles! THREE POINT ONE! And I was FEELING IT. We had to stop numerous times (more than I'd like to admit) so that I could rest. This was NOT an easy hike. In fact I am pretty sure that it is considered moderate to difficult. We had hiked all this way for what? Another sign? Apparently. Eager to have something to celebrate after our hard work, we convinced ourselves that surely if we hiked the other .9 miles to Cove Mountain we would see some wonderful mountain views and it would be worth it. Right? Well...it's me we're talking about so what do you think?

We kept going to the top of Cove Mountain. Expectantly hoping to see some gorgeous views, THIS is what we saw at the 'top' of Cove Mountain.

Another sign? Are you kidding me????

Well, we're feeling pretty disappointed at this point in time. We've seen NOTHING. The best views we had of the mountains were before we ever even got to Laurel Falls. You can only get so many pictures of trees, you know?

Does anyone want to guess what happened next?

We were desperate. We wanted to see something of value. ANYTHING. So, yes, we kept going the additional .1 mile to the "tower". After all, we'd already hiked FOUR miles. What's another .1?

FINALLY. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Or is there?

Well, it IS a tower...

A pollution observation (or something like that) tower...at this point I told Kris that I felt like I was in a BAD episode of LOST. We're in the middle of nowhere, trees all around and then there is this out-of-place, man-made "building". If we could have gotten inside there might have even been a button to push...

Worse still, after climbing two flights of stairs, we couldn't go any farther, so we still didn't get to see any great views

Unless you count these:

What is that? A lake? Oh...no...it's just a mud puddle...

It was at this point, 4.1 miles later, we decided to head back. It had taken us 4 hours to get here. Given that it's ALWAYS quicker going back, it should only take us about 2 hours to get back right? Oh how wrong we were. It seemed to take FOREVER just getting back the .1 mile to the last sign. I knew then that this was going to be a difficult journey. My knees were hurting from having to balance myself and my weight and walk down the rugged path. By the time we made it back to the sign indicating Laurel Falls was 1.8 miles, my hands and feet were swollen and aching. Blisters were beginning to form on the bottoms of my big toes. My hips were regretting bearing four children. I was cursing the fact that I married a man who loves hiking. OK, I wasn't really on that last point. I wasn't thinking about him at all. All I could think about was how miserable I was. But we kept going, because what other choice did we have?

We FINALLY made it back to the Falls and just rested for a while. I wanted nothing more at this point than to pull my shoes and socks off and dip my aching feet into the water. But Kris and I were concerned that if I did that, I'd have no motivation or ability really to get back to the van. After all, we still had another 1.3 miles to hike in order to get back to the van. The last mile back was the most difficult by far. I was drained. Physically, mentally and emotionally. So many times I just wanted to quit. To just sit down and cry. Instead I walked and fought back tears...and then (after almost 8 hours of hiking) we saw the end of the trail. And the van. If I could have run, I would have! The moment I sat down in the van I took my shoes and socks off, letting my feet breathe. I discovered long blisters on both big toes and a place where a stick or something had cut my ankle. All in all though, we were safe and back in more comfortable surroundings. We made our way back to the resort where I found myself increasingly thankful for the whirlpool tub in our room! After a relaxing soak, I managed to hobble to the couch, which I didn't move from for about 4 hours.

Almost 2 1/2 full days later, my legs and hips STILL hurt. I'm practically limping when I first get up from sitting for any length of time. Today it has been much better than it was but my muscles are still stiff and tight and in pain!

I do have good news though. It was all worth it in the end. Why? Because we compromised and Kris bought the much more affordable HTC Hero! Check it out!!

There will be much more to come on this phone. It is amazing and I have several things I will be showing you. Not because I got the phone free. Not because anyone is giving me anything. But because I LOVE this phone!! Android is incredible! OK...I'd better stop before this blog post doubles in length.