I am here!!! Here I am...

Sorry, went out of town "camping" to celebrate said birthday. Interesting. Hubby and I only fought for a good 70% of it. (Thanks to PMS and super long car rides.) We stayed at a white trash campsite in Cherokee, NC...up in the Great Smokies. It was really weird, people had started camping there and apparently never wanted to leave so parked their RVs for the "no-haul". (hehe) Seriously, these people had nameplates, welcome mats and gardens. (Just to name a few of their "homey" accoutrements. I mean YES, it was beautiful, and YES they had an indoor pool, workout center, spa, cable hook-up, and internet access...but well...hell that does sound quite attractive! Maybe after I get tired of living in a 2000 square foot home I will desire living in a box again like in the CITY! :)

Anyway, it was nice and chilly. We enjoyed campfires and wine and were intrigued by the oddity that is the Cherokee community that exists there today. It was a bit like Vegas, but without the booze and hookers. Yeah...odd. But you could buy moccasins and bows and arrows, and just about any other item you can think of with a Native American plastered on it.

One of our arguments was quite mind-numbing and would have lasted longer I am sure if nature hadn't intervened. I wanted to go for a little hike. Now I am not a hiker (as the City Dweller can attest to) but I wanted to go on this 1/2 mile hike (or so I thought) to this waterfall. No real directions, just a sign and an arrow from our little cabin nestled between the RVs. So we set out. The husband gets angered because the "hike" is really along this highway, with of course no real place to walk along. It was mostly just overgrown weeds riddled with hidden holes and a steep drop off. The road was winding and so therefore very unsafe for walking. But determined as I am to see this waterfall, we press on. With every few steps he complains. "Where is this waterfall?", "We really need a better path", and finally his favorite, "This is really stupid!".

With each repeated complaint, I grow increasingly angered. It had rained the morning through and I really wanted to do a BIT of nature walking before we left! I am so disgusted that he can't just chill out for a minute and enjoy this adventure we are on, so I tell him so. He continues to protest that this is stupid and I am beginning to feel the same being that we so no signs of a path leading to a waterfall. We agree on going around one more curve and then giving up. Alas there is a sign...and it points the way. We take a few steps off the road and we are greeted by a parking lot of cars and a great downpour from above. Everyone is loading up in their cars and leaving. Well we of course are not leaving until we see this waterfall! SO we hike to the top (not very far at all) and see this quite picturesque view. (pictures coming soon) Of course at this point we are both on our way to soaked and KNOW that we won't be making the walk back at this moment. We enjoy for a moment and then hike back down. We find an abandoned porch and wait the storm out. Soaked we slosh back to our cabin.

After we got back, the rain started again and continued for several hours. Afterwards we went into town and came upon a huge Harrah's Casino. We decided for kicks we would each blow 5 bucks. After we walked the 15 minutes to the casino from our parked car, we were greeted by ID checkers, and of course, I didn't have my ID in my wallet. So I waited outside while he burned up that $5 bill. Didn't take too long ;)

The main highlight of the drive back was NOT the fight we had in the car, but the 1/2 hour we spent on the winding roads of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is pretty cool to be so close to such beautiful scenery. I haven't really had this kind of access to nature in a while. 3 hours and you are in some of the most beautiful landscape you have seen in years! It it only cost you the time and the gas money!

OH...We went to a movie last night...FIRST one in I don't know how long...It was great to, I mean a bit tragic of course, but Great flick. LOST IN TRANSLATION. very very nice :)

I am still here, but I am thinking that blogging may only be a weekly venture. I just don't usually have the time online but mainly just the energy after my hellish days. Being a nanny for one kid is great, being a nanny for two...not the worst, but a nanny for 3 boys...well...today was THE WORST! Sparing all the horrid details, lets leave it at they were all sent to their rooms to wait for their mom to get home while I was on my hands and knees cleaning up those damn styrofoam peanuts for a good 45 minutes. And that was really just the icing on the cake of what was a nasty Wednesday.

MY SS Today: 3 (I'm not crying, and I have off on Friday...)