Mission Minded Monday

For a while now, I've been a consumer at my "new" church.  I use the quotes because I've now been there over a year.  People have since visited, joined the church and plugged in while I sit on the sidelines.

Thankfully that is all starting to change.

A few weeks ago my Sunday school class committed to feeding the homeless.  Every Wednesday night a local organization Lost Sheep Ministry sets up under a bridge and provides a hot meal.  Originally we were suppose to serve last Wednesday, but the ministry informed us that they were overbooked with groups wanting to help (Ash Wednesday - no doubt) and could we come this week.

After soliciting help for the nursery (yet again - we're a church growing with babies every week it seems! don't worry, I don't drink out of the water fountain) and for a media person (ours was out on vacation so we had to resort to using the old hymnal), the pastor said that anyone looking to get involved should see him after the service.

So I did.  I let him know that I wasn't a huge fan of babies so nursery work wasn't something I was interested in helping with, but that I wasn't sure what else was left for me.  He threw out some ideas, took down my phone number and said he'd call to discuss them more fully.

Also?  My mom called this morning asking if I would be interested in joining a hiking ministry.  Her church (where I'm still officially a member even though I attend elsewhere) is starting up a program.  She didn't want to be involved by herself, but my dad isn't physically able to do it.  I told her that I couldn't make the initial meeting (also this Wednesday), but I would love to be a part of it! 

I'm so exciting at all the work God is doing in my life right now!

How do you give back to the community?  Are you a part of a church ministry?  Maybe a community organization that helps out?  If you're not involved, I'd encourage you to seek out ways to change that.  There are plenty of great things out there just waiting to be done!

Fun Times Friday

Things have been a bit heavy around here lately, so I thought I'd lighten it up with some pictures from a hike Jay and I took over Martin Luther King Jr. day.

As you can see the trail was snowy/icy, but we didn't let that stop us!  I hadn't been able to hike for several months thanks to all my marathon training, so it was nice to be back enjoying the National Park.

It was really a gorgeous day for it, and because of the weather we pretty much had the whole trail to ourselves.  Coming back we met some people, but on the way out and while we were at the falls we had the place to ourselves. 

My bladder was very thankful that the trail wasn't crowded.  With all the snow and ice, I didn't want to go too far off the trail to do my business.  Since it was just me and my darling love, I didn't have to try to hide.

With the exception of this one, all of the photos were taken by Jay.  He didn't want me getting that close to the falls, since its rated one of the deadliest in the country.  Mostly because people try to climb in the rocks to the left of the falls.  Or else while swimming they get too close to the falls and drown.

I very much have the "if you can do it so I can" attitude about things.  Especially since he's the one with special health considerations. 

I have no special narration for this photo, but I think I look skinny so I'm sharing it.

That's a wrap yo!

PS - We did the hike in just under 2 hours.  Not sure how anyone could take 4 hours to hike it on a clear day.  We had to go slower than we would have liked because of all the snow.

Gifts of the Body Part 2

Now before you go looking for part 1, there isn't one.  At least on my blog any way.  I stumbled upon Faith, Fitness, Fun yesterday afternoon.  I was excited to read her 30 Days of Self love challenge and even more thrilled to see that she is a Christian. 

While faith in Jesus Christ isn't a requirement for the challenge (it doesn't even factor in if you don't want it to) it gave me the assurance that we wouldn't be getting into any self worship. Without Christ I am nothing.  Part of my self esteem issues come from leaving Him out of my life and trying to do things my own way.  My own way = superficial + shallow.

During this challenge she's encouraging us to...well I'll just let her tell you.

We need to shift the qualities with which we define them from aesthetic ones to purposeful ones. Hopefully, after completing 4 rounds of this exercise and having to come up with 12 different parts of ourselves we recognize as a gift, we will grow to love our bodies more and more.

I'm going to give it a try.  I'm not going to be able to get all the rounds in.  Or maybe I'll just spill over into October.

Here goes.

1) My hands/fingers.

I love to read.  Nothing says comfort to my brain like the pages of a warn out old paperback in my hands.  Or the soft leather of my NIV Study Bible, as I turn the thin pages with my fingers.  I need my fingers and hands for all the list making I do.  As well as my blogging.

Not to mention is the perfect perch for my ultimate bling:

If you're new to my blog, please know that the day I said "I do" I got another ring to stack behind that one - complete with 10 more small diamonds.  My husband use to be a Larry Byrd fan and was redneck sweet enough to want me to have 33 diamonds - Byrds jersey number.

2) My arms

These arms are made for hugging.  I'm not sure who gives better hugs, my niece or husband.  Nothing makes me feel more loved then when they wrap their arms around me.  The picture above is a tame hug on her part.  I'd just ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 44 minutes.  I was exhausted and wouldn't have been able to hold her had she jumped in my arms like she normally does.

3) My Feet

These feet have carried me lots of miles.  Of course the 13.1 mentioned above.  Plus a 26.2 mile walk.  And countless hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Sure my grandmother sees my long, skinny feat and sees nothing but problems.  I've inherited her feet and she just recently had to undergo foot surgery.  She swears its that they are too skinny to handle all the pressure of carrying her body.   I doubt that's a doctor's diagnosis.  All I can say for sure is that for the past 30 years these feet have served me well.  I pray that they'll continue to do so for the next 50-60 year

4) My Lips

I think from the picture its obvious, I'm a lady who knows how to take charge.  It was I that took the lead and kissed him when he was too shy.  (3 dates ladies - I had to wait until the end of date 3.  And who knows how long it would have taken had I left it up to him!)

I've come to realize in the past few months that my spirtual gift is encouragement.  Sometimes it comes in the forms of the words I say.  Other times its the words I type to my efriends.  (See #1)

I hope you take a moment to reflect on yourself - think about how well your body has served you all these years.  Rejoce!  Try to love the woman in the mirror just a little more each day.

"Hi pot, its the kettle here."

Trust me, I'm working on it!

Weekend Fun

This is how my weekend started - sweaty but feeling great! 

The weather was overcast and looking like the rain was going to cut loose at any moment.  I decided to switch from a treadmill run to the great outdoors to enjoy a tranquil rain soaked run.

Only it didn't rain.  I dealt with the "just about to rain" humidity for 4.3 miles (50 minutes).  Not a bad pace for the heat, especially considering my first lap was done at a 10 minute mile pace!  I slowed considerably after that but I was thrilled just to maintained that pace for over a mile.

As with all good workouts, my blood sugar crashed when I wasn't able to eat within an hour of finishing my work out.  (Note to self: never, ever go to the grocery store after a run again.) With Pubsgal's help I got it back on track and finished my evening watching a movie with the mutant.

Saturday I met my mom & dad to go bike riding while Jay went to an auction.  "It'll go for a song." He promised.  I wanted to ask if he was pulling the song book out of his rear, but smiled sweetly and told him that I trusted him.

*Snicker*  You totally bought that right?  Okay so more accurately I heavily stressed how badly I did NOT want to spend any more of our savings on stoopid investment properties.

About 3 miles into the bike ride Jay called me to say that he hadn't bought anything.  He'd been the winning bidder on a lot, then someone came behind at the end and regrouped the lots - taking all of them.  Oh darn. 

When I reached mile 5 of the trail (and the turn around point) I decided that I'd meet back up with my parents and keep with their pace.  Two miles of backtracking and I finally found them - my mom was at the top of the hill trying to work up the courage to ride down. 

I'm not talking a molly-whopper here.  Just a modest little hill that could be ridden up without touching your gears.  The thing is she wrecks practically every time she gets on a bike, so naturally she's afraid.  And that fear causes her more accidents.

I stayed with them for another 4 miles but the slow pace was painful so once again I went ahead.  One of the houses on the main path was having a yard sale, so I stopped in and had a look around. My parents appeared on the path right about the time I was mounting back up.

Jay met up with us at the vehicles and my mom passed off her bike so she could rest while we got a few more miles in.  I wish I had pictures from Saturday, but Jay forgot his camera.  Bad mutant!!

Sunday we took my Papaw to Clingman's Dome. He's been on Mamaw watch ever since she had her foot surgery.  She's not comfortable getting around in her wheel chair, so for the most part they stay home all the time.  My Papaw was getting a little stir crazy so my mom relieved him for the afternoon and we took him to the mountains.

The weather cooled considerably this weekend, and being a 3 day holiday weekend the national park was crowded.  I'm not sure if I've ever seen it that busy.

The walk up to the dome is just a half mile, but the elevation change is so steep that there are benched every tenth of a mile for people to stop and rest at.  Its a paved path, so its one that people who wouldn't consider themselves hikers give a try.

The views from the top are spectacular.  There are photos at each section, showing which mountain ranges are in what direction.  Sunday was such a clear day, there were ranges in the distance that weren't even listed on those photos!

Of course my photobug husband wanted to take full advantage of this rare opportunity, so Papaw and I pulled up a rock on the way down to wait on Jay to take pictures.

I'm so glad that Jay and I got the privilege to spend the day with him.  I'm not sure very many 75 year olds would have been able to make the trek up.  I wanna be like him when I get old!!

Mount LeConte Take 2

A little over a month ago I took a day off work for Jay & I to hike to the top of Mt. Leconte.  Jay & I got into an argument about a mile in The weather was terrible so we decided to turn around and save it for another day. 

A coworker mentioned going this weekend,  so Jay and I decided to give it another try.  The hike to Leconte Lodge is 5 miles via the Alum cave trail (there are several ways to get to the top).

I could talk all day about the area, the history, and what its like.  Instead I'm going to skip straight to the pictures.

The Lodge:

You can click the picture to make it larger or I can save you a step.  It reads "LeConte Lodge" then under that "Elevation 6593" and the date.  The elevation is important because LeConte is the 4th highest peak east of the Mississippi.  Sure, the Rockies make the Smokies look like babies, but for this side of the country Leconte is just about as good as it gets.

To stay in a shack like this on the top of the mountain, people make reservations a year in advance and pay over $100 (per person) to stay.  If you do stay, be sure your food is protected - you never know when a mouse or a bear might be tempted to share.

One of the aerobics instructors at my gym also works at LeConte, so I had to hunt her down while I was up there.  Sure enough she was trying out new moves for the next class she'd be teaching.  One thing is for sure - those steps were not made by Reebok.

After that we headed up to Myrtle Point.  I'd been up to the Lodge area 2 other times, but never had I made it to the true summit of the mountain.

High point is the tallest part of the mountain.  As we passed, Jay decided to stop and make it just a hair taller.

Myrtle Point, while not the true summit, certainly has the best views.  The views going out are wonderful, but can be a little concerning if your child wanders off and gets a little too close to the edge.

The views from the point itself are magnificent.

My willingness to talk to strangers typically pays off - and this day was no exception.  I offered to take a picture of an entire family together, so they returned the favor.

Sometimes I forget just how blessed I am to live in the middle of all of this natural beauty.  Not to mention almost 12 miles of hiking and I wasn't all that sore the next day!

Mountain Man Memorial March

Several months ago I signed on to participate in the Mountain Man Memorial March. At girls night out, one of the ladies mentioned wanting to put a team of 5 together in honor of her husband. He's in the Air Force, and she knew that he would be deployed to Iraq by the time the March rolled around. She'd done the march the previous year with him, now it was time to do it for him.


Our training consisted of long walks every other weekend, starting at 10 miles and building up to a 22 miler. The lady putting together the team lied to us told us that the course was pretty much like the rolling boulevard we'd been training on, excluding one fairly substantial hill.

My friend/coworker/training buddy and I carpooled to the event Saturday morning and upon looking at the course route and information knew that we hadn't been given totally accurate information. The "fairly substantial hill" was a 9% grade.

(source)

For those of you that don't live in mountainous/hilly areas - that's a big ass hill! And it continued on forever.

Or at least a mile.

The other hills were in the 5% range, which is still nothing to sneeze at! While conventional wisdom says that for every up hill there is a down hill, sometimes it just doesn't feel that way.

During the training walks we split up into two groups; it was just too difficult to find a time where 5 adult women with busy lives could set apart 3+ hours of their weekend. My friend/coworker/training buddy and I did most of the walks together and for several of the walks we chose hikes instead.

The 12 miler was our first/only group walk together, and she and I led the pack. We worried, once we got by ourselves, that we would have to adjust our pace down significantly to accomodate the group.

Turns out we were only partially right.

I would say that I'm at a fairly high fitness level, but for some reason I strugged on the hills. The few flat spots I had no trouble keeping a brisk pace, and on the down hills my legs prefered to jog. But for whatever reason (weak quads?) my legs were slow in carrying me uphill.

My friend & the team leader had no such problem (even though the team leader complained of our brisk pace on the 12 mile walk) and went off ahead of the rest of the group several times.

Another girl in my group welcomed my slower pace. While the rest of us had completed our final long walk 2 weeks before the event, she hadn't been able to make it to the walks so the team leader insisted on walking 22 miles with her the weekend before.

Big mistake.

Poor thing started the walk with blisters on the balls of her feet. Its a long convoluted story about how and why she had the blisters, and I don't want to point my finger at any one. (They aren't reading this any way so what good would it do?)

It basically boils down to the event not being well thought through from a team stand point.

About a hour and a half in our team broke apart, and two of the walkers went headed. At about the 12 mile point (at the base of the monster hill) they waited on us to catch up, but the hill was steep and long and eventually they got ahead of us again and waited at the top.

Finally, at the half way point, they decide to just go on.

To be honest it sort of annoyed the rest of us. Okay I can't speak for the third girl, but me and blister girl were annoyed. The whole point of doing it as a team - we thought at least - was to stick together and be a team. To not get bored over the course of the hours that walking 26.2 miles takes. Being a military event with their 'no man left behind' creed - crossing the finishline 20 seconds before or after your team results in immediate disqualification.

What's the point of going ahead if you can't be done with it?

I'll have to say there were points in the last portion where I was bored out of my mind. Girl #3 is naturally quite, blister girl was hurting and didn't want to chit chat, which left me to walk for hours without saying more than a few sentences.

Chatter box that I am, I'm just not cut out for that. When soldiers would catch up with us, I'd chat with them for a bit, then I'd notice I was too far head of the group and fall back so that at least the 3 of us could stay together. I desperately wanted to put in my earphones and listen to music but I didn't want to be rude.

For the last mile, our other two team members doubled back and rejoined us. They had unofficially finished the walk in 6 hours and 50 minutes by incorporating jogs on all the down hill portions.

Our official team time was 8:18:38 (by my watch at least). We came in 3rd place in the civilian team category out of 3 teams.

You know what? I'm okay with that. One team that beat us was a group of cop types that our team leader knew. They didn't train much for it, but their over all fitness level is pretty high. The other team that beat us had group t-shirts made. On the front was a soldiers name and picture and on the back a phrase "It can't always be someone else's son."

Trust me, I'm much more okay with losing the race than dealing with the kind of loss that team had experienced.

There were many times through out the race where I was inspired by our military. Some didn't make it the entire way, and had to be picked up. Around the 15 mile mark we saw a soldier on the side of the road with his 40 pound pack on the ground. He had his cell phone in his hand starring at it. You could see the question in his eyes - time to call it quits or no. Later we saw him continuing on, although we're still not sure if he made it he whole way.

I'm relying on my team members for pictures, and they haven't gotten them to me yet. I'll be sure to share when they do.

Wakey Wakey...

The past few nights I've been kept up late by family and chores partying like a rock star and I'm exhausted.  I won't complain though, I loved being able to spend the weekend with those that I love.  What'd I do with myself for the long weekend?

Friday Jay & I met up with one of the girls I'm walking the marathon with in a couple of weeks for our final training walk.  We'd  decided on Old Settler's Trail.  From everything we'd read about the trail - it was a fairly easy, but long hike so we could bank our mileage in style.  Why walk 22 miles on the sidewalk of a major road whilst sucking car exhaust when you could be strolling along side rock walls built by settlers several generations ago?

The trail was steeper than we'd anticipated, slowing down pace and limiting how many miles we could log.  (Jay had an appointment with a contractor that afternoon and my friend's family was coming into town.)  We ended up hiking 6.7 miles to the camp ground, then hiking on for another 30 minutes before turning around.    Estimating a hiking speed of 3 mph (which would be very generous in some spots) we hiked any where from 16-18 miles. 

Needless to say I was pooped - diet and budget be damned, I was not going home and cooking after all of that.  Instead I convinced Jay to make a run for the border and enjoyed a plate of Nachos Bell Grande and a large Dr. Pepper.

Saturday morning I woke up stressed.  We were meeting my sister in town around 11 for an Easter egg hunt, so I had just enough time to get a project started and not enough time to actually get much accomplished.  I decided early on that my 10 mile bike ride would go out the window.  Horrible, since my only other bike that week was on a flat tire and I averaged 7 MPH. 

Oh well a dirty house was calling my name.  I put on a pot of coffee and dropped some toast into the toaster when I saw the bowl of soup sitting on the counter.  I'd made soup 2 nights before, then Jay helped himself to left overs the night of the hike.  Only he forgot to put it back in the refridgerator when he was done.  My grandmother assures me since there is no meat in it and it was a cool night it'll be fine.  Just in case I'll be feeding every last drop to Jay.

After breakfast was done and I got side tracked unloading the dishwasher I had 45 minutes to work on the house.  Surely that was plenty of time to clean the window in the landing upstairs right?  It was a beautiful morning.  The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the air was crisp.  Then out of the blue I hear a cow bawl.

With that I started to cry.  I haven't felt at home, really truly at home in a while.  I didn't realize what a country girl I was until the loud grunting of a cow completely took my stress away for the moment at least.  As I cleaned the rest of the window I felt very much like Snow White.

Dancing about the landing I my head was in the clouds - and I was actually getting work done.  Then I heard "Would the party with with 10 o'clock tee time please report to the golf club?  party with the 10 o'clock tee time." 

Okay so maybe I don't live out in the country any more, but at least its better than a beagle neighbor flanking every side of the house.  Its nice to at least be in a community where the houses are more spread out. 

We egg hunted, then we went back to my mother's house and played on the swing set, then we stuff our faces with steak and other yumminess.  Jay & I didn't head home until about 8:45 or so.  And I hadn't yet made my pasta salad for Easter dinner. 

I spent the next 3 hours being productive around the house and fell into bed at midnight.  Needless to say we skipped sunrise service, but did manage to make it to both Sunday school and regular service.  When we got to my mom's house we found the Princess laying on the couch with a damp cloth on her head - apparently she'd gotten brave on the swing set and fallen face first into the dirt. 

Not to be out done, the Little Man ran around the house and decided to grab onto the electric fence and not let go.  The Princess was crying harder than LM as she ran back to tell us what had happened.  It felt like an eternity as my dad was running toward him, yelling at him to let go.  When my dad finally reached him, he had to be pulled off -not sure if the current was holding him on or what. 

Let's see what else happened yesterday afternoon...

Please click to enlarge.  I'll wait.

The wardrobe malfunction.

Jay decided we needed to have family races - 100 yard dash to be exact.  My BIL was afraid of getting hurt so he backed out.  Jay and my two cousins were the only two in their "age bracket."  Michael (the one on the left in the black shirt) already suspected that Zack (the one on the right in the navy) would win.  He's an active 16 year old boy after all.

Not wanting to be last, Michael decided he was going to stop Jay from getting 2nd come hell or high water.  Moving faster than I've seen him move, he pushed himself for about 15 yards - long enough to grab ahold of the back of Jay's shirt and hold on.  Jay kept running so Michael hung on like he was skiing or something.

And that's the story of how my husband bared his hairy breast to all of my family.

So - how was your weekend?  Got a story to top that?

Monday Musings

Good morning all!  I hope everyone had a great weekend - I would describe mine as unproductive, but very enjoyable.

Unproductive, but certainly not boring.  Saturday morning I met some friends at a benefit pancake breakfast for their church's youth group, carb loaded, then joined some others from their church for an 8 mile hike to Ramsay Cascade. 

I still haven't purchased a camera, so I didn't get any pictures Saturday.  Jay and I had done the hike previously so I figured I'd share pictures of that hike.  Please don't judge - it was December of 2006.  We'd been dating 2 months or so.  And those pants don't fit me any more.

The hike is 4 miles to the falls, making it 8 miles round trip. The first 2 miles or so are an easy hike, but we had a couple people bail on us before we ever made it here, to the 1.5 mile marker. 

The last mile or so of the hike is very difficult.  The steep incline (some of which required using rocks as steps) paired with leftover snow from who knows when (it was 70 degrees on Friday) made for some slow going.  It was, of course, all worth it when we got to the top.

For some perspective here are Jay and I in front of part of the falls.

Notice that stick to his right?  Now look at it again in this picture of the full falls.

Its as tall as us yet looks like a twig in comparison to the falls.

Once we got past the snow the hike down was a breeze - we stopped for some pictures by some of the biggest trees the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has to offer.  There was logging in the park in the early 1900s, but this is one area that remained untouched.

Not quite the Giant Sequoia, but huge for around here.

I said don't judge - I've gained and lost since then and I don't own those pants any more.

Our marathon training schedule called for a 20 mile walk this past weekend, so my training partner and I decided to do the group hike for 8 miles of that, then hit the road to log our other 12.  The road followed the river in several parts and was a refreshing change of pace to the same ole route we've been doing since we started the training.

I'm not sure if it was because of a different route, or the stretching we each did while the other was taking potty breaks, but we both felt stronger at the end of this walk than we did after the 3 mile run/14 mile walk combo. 

After dinner, I headed home with a can of dip & a redbox movie in hand.  Jay had also requested 3 bean burritos from taco bell but for whatever reason I just drove right by.  I blame exhaustion.  He forgave me, since I remembered the 2 most important requests he had.

It was up bright and early Sunday morning for Sunday school and church, then the whole family met at Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Most of the family had never seen our house before, so they followed us back to get the grand tour.  Apparently my house is cozy, because they settled in for the afternoon and didn't leave until my mother mentioned needing to get to church.

I spent the remainder of the evening on the couch either sleeping or reading my book - it felt incredible.  I typically don't like to work on Sunday, but for the past month or so have been rationalizing that I've been getting my ox out of a ditch. 

At this point I don't think that argument flies any more - if have plenty of time to exercise, I have plenty of time to clean.  I'm going to arrange my schedule so I'm able to get home early enough to clean, and I also have a fairly clear schedule on Saturday.  I'm hoping by this time next week I'll have my house in order.

Spence Field/Rocky Top

Monday morning, since we had the day off for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr day, my friend/exercise buddy/coworker decided that we should spend the day hiking.  Not surprisingly, she picked a difficult trail - a guarantee for a high calorie burn.  We would be taking the Bote Mountain Trail to Spence Field and from there, if we had the time, continue on to Rocky Top and Thunderhead. 

Yes, the Rocky Top that the song was named after.  If you don't know which song I'm taking about your local University has obviously never played the University of Tennessee in any sort of sporting event.  Its the  most annoying song in the world song the band plays after every touch down at Vols games. 

No, I'm  not singing it.  I'll have it in my head all day.  If you wanna know about a moonshine still or a girl that's half bear the other half cat then you'll just have to google it.  Google is your friend.

Thankfully, since my husband cares not for calorie burn, it was also forecasted to be a clear day.  The peak  elevation of 5500 feet promised to be chilly, but assuming you plan for it, the cold is no big deal.  A hike on a cloudy day with obstructed views, however, can be a deal breaker for Jay. 

As we pulled into the Cades Cove parking lot, Jay lamented our time crunch.  "I bet we'd be guarenteed to see some wildlife if we went through the loop now."   We parked, and Jay went by the creek to take pictures while we waited on our hiking companions to arrive. 

Oops - guess he walked away at the wrong moment.  No need to go through the loop for wildlife.  Thankfully, they lingered long enough for him to get a few pictures.  The bathrooms were closed for renovation, so we answered nature's call then started up the trail.

I'm not sure who found the sticks, but they came in handy much later in the trail!

I had decided that the chilly conditions warranted a long sleeve tech tee, a hoodie, and a thick jacket.  About 5 minutes in I was already shedding layers.  Since my super manly "I can carry everything" husband had insisted I didn't need a backpack, I could only tie the unnecessary garmets around my waist. 

The first part of the hike was fairly easy - which I knew meant trouble for the later parts.  The average elevation change per mile was over 500 feet per mile, we'd be compensating for the easy trail towards the end.

About half way up, we hit ice and snow.  That's when the sticks really came in handy.  I felt more secure being able to jab my stick into the snow and having something some what stablizing as I walked over the icy patches.  Some how, Jay stading on the ice with his hand out saying "trust me" just wasn't good enough.  Common now - he had no control over the ice so who's to say he wouldn't have ended flat on his butt on the ice too?

We started seeing tracks in the snow, but weren't sure what they were.  At first we wondered if someone had brought a dog on the trail - something expressly forbidden on the signs.  Then our super sleuths realized that some times the prints had claws, others they didn't.  A retractable claw meant one thing for sure - a cat.

Thankfully, we never happened upon the critter responsible for the print, so we really don't know for sure.

As we got closer to Spence Field, I started struggling.  My muscles weren't sore, I just lacked the energy to move up the side of the mountain as well as the rest of the group.  I'd like to blame a poor diet the day before and a change in my pre-game breakfast.

In an effort to be thrifty (with both money and calories) I had a peanut butter and jelly English muffin instead of my usual Bacon Egg and Cheese biscuit with hashbrowns.  Whether it was the real reason or not, next time I'm going for the biscuit.

Never have I been so glad that Jay is that annoying camera guy.  While he was off taking pictures, I got to rest and scarf down a few snacks.  I'm still a little bummed, though, because I'm fairly certain this was where I lost my Tommy sunglasses. 

Not sure if I've admited it before, but the reason I'm wearing sunglasses in most pictures of me is that I can't keep my eyes open for a picture.  Either the sun or the camera flash or both make me squint like a fool.  On top of Spence Field this was the best I could do.

You totally would have thought it was a candid if I hadn't told you  - right??

The braniacs caculated our average speed hiking up, factored in the time left until dark, and decided we had enough time to head on up to Rocky Top and Thunder head.

This was where we seperated the men from the boys.  Or the equiped hikers and me. 

I really struggled on the climb up to Rocky Top.  Thankfully our friends went head.  After a few minutes of slowly putting one foot in front of the other I stopped and told Jay that I couldn't do it.  I didn't have anything left.

"What's that guy's name - Derek Redmond?  He didn't give up."

"Yeah but he was stupid."  He's the never give up guy on my motivational wall and my husband knew this.  "And he only had 400 yards to go.  This sucks.  I hate this."

"You can do this.  You really can."

My walking choices were the ice covered trail and this:

In my head I was preparing a speech, one that told how I was different from all those people Jillian tells not to quit on Biggest Loser.  I challenge myself.  I push myself.  I overcome obstacles. And if I say its time to quit, it is.

I wanted to kick Jay in the family jewels for being so encouraging (where was this encouragement when I actually wanted it?) but I didn't have the energy to lift my foot up that high. 

So I kept going.  Knowing that I didn't have the energy to proceed.  Knowing that I would slip and fall and hurt myself.  Knowing when I did, I'd be able to say "See - I told you I couldn't do it.  You should have listened to me."

Lucky me - I even have a picture of that moment.

Or not.  So maybe he was right.  I could do it.  I did it. 

Although I did draw the line, and let them know I couldn't make it on to Thunderhead - another 0.8 miles away. 

We all pulled up a rock and had lunch whilst taking turns yelling "woohooo!"

As in: "Good ole Rocky Top - WoooHoo - Rocky Top Tennessee."

Crap, I said I wasn't going to sing.  Jay was the only UT fan out of the group, and was very proud to have his picture made with his Vol hoodie whilst standing on Rocky Top.

We spent about 40 minutes up there eating, resting, and enjoying the beautiful views, then it was time to head back down the mountain.  I had already told Jay that I wanted a hot bowl of french onion soup in a bread bowl from Atlanta Bread Company, but they convinced me that we should go to the brewery for pizza, wings, and beer.

The Brewery has the best microbrews I've ever tasted (okay not that I've tasted a lot, but the Black Bear Ale is yum!) and the wings are incredible.  I thought about them all the way down.

I stopped at Spence Field to look for my sunglasses, but no such luck.  If you'll notice off in the distance is a body of water - that's Fontana Dam.  I'm not clever enough to know how to figure the mileage between the two areas of the park, but I do know they aren't close.  Its very rare to catch a glimpse of it from one of the trail peaks.

For me at least, the trek down was uneventful.  I was much more comforatable walking down on the ice/snow than I was going up.  Obviously the elevation change was much easier to deal with.  Kelly had anticipated knee problems going down, but beyond a momentary twinge it was smooth sailing.

She had worn her heart rate monitor on the trip and we were eager to see how many calories we had burned.  She and I are close enough to the same weight and fitness level* that her results would be similar for me.

*You couldn't tell it by looking at the pictures could you?  This is why I don't like skinny friends.

Are you ready for the calorie burn for the 6 hours we spent hiking??

2,100.

Seriously.

I didn't worry about the calories in the pizza and wings for dinner.

Until after I'd already consumed them of course.

Me, bearing all

Today is True Confessions Tuesday over at the Sisterhood.  While this is a confessional post, its not the classic bullet points "oh crap I pigged out on beer, wings, and pizza last night confessional.  (And before you ask, yes I did pig out on wings, I just had two slices of pizza and one beer though, so surely that's not pigging out on them.)

Moving on to the point.

I was very weepy this weekend, and mostly I knew why.  I took on the financal responsiblity of purchasing our first home - in the process using a huge chunk of the money we had saved up for the down payment.  We're knee deep in repairs and remodeling of a home that didn't need much work on it.  (God bless anyone who has the patience for a fixer.)

All of this is on top of my respiratory illness that I'm feeding by not resting fighting off AND its just the week for me to be hormonal and moody.

Okay seriously I'm getting to the point soon.

My confession?

I don't like myself. 

Even when I have a moment of complete awesomeness, I have a hard time stepping back and just enjoying it.

This weekend I beat my personal 5K record.  Coughing and hacking the entire final mile.  Then I returned to the farm house overwhelmed at everything there was to do.  How is one woman supposed to clean 2500 square feet of old house that's not been lived in for a year?

Boo freakin hoo right?  I mean I have this incredible new house and all I can do is whine about it.

And it wasn't by myself.  Jay has already put in many late nights painting, ripping up baseboards, and general manly type things trying to make our home perfect.

Yet all I could do on Saturday is stand in the kitchen with my head up my butt.

Thankfully, my parents arrived and my mom helped me formulate a game plan - after she and my dad took steel wool to plug up all potential rodent entry points.

The next day, I struggled to get Jay to church.  We've finally found a church we both liked, and now he's resisting again.  I don't wanna be the wife who has to go to church by herself.

Then why the beep did you marry a non-Christian??

I whined around enough that he decided just going with me was worth getting me to shut up We compromised, skipped Sunday school, and just went to preaching.

Following an amazing service, Jay and I met my friend/coworker/workout buddy at the house.  Using my mom's game plan of attacking the rooms that don't have to be painted/carpeted/baseboarded*, she and I managed to clean the 3 rooms from ceiling to floor.  I was on window/vent/ceiling fan duty, while she hit the baseboards, walls, and floors. 

Thanks to a great friend, I'm done until Jay's work progresses.

*Most of the house has 12 inch baseboards - yep, that's right.  They are huge and beautiful.  The newer part of the house has only 6 inch baseboards - Jay has ripped up the 6 inchers and is going to custom make 12 inch baseboards for the kitchen, den, master bedroom, master bath, and downstairs bathroom.

So I've just kicked the 5K's rear (and trust me it was more than a race - it was a test of will), and gotten my head above water on the house.  Nothing can hold me back right?

Wrong.

Yesterday (facebook friends can checkout the pics - everyone else has to wait for the blog) I went on a hike with Jay, this same super awesome friend and her hubby.  Only I was the weak link.  I'm not sure if it was a lack of energy due to poor food choices the day before and that morning, or if I'm just not as strong as the rest (I'm trying to pretend that's not it since my friend and I have a very similar exercise routine, although she does hike more.) No matter the reason - I sucked yesterday. 

We hiked to Spence Field and everyone else wanted to continue.  On the way to Rocky Top, I had to stop.  Thankfully they went head and left me and Jay to my mental breakdown.  My poor, wonderful husband tried his best to encourage me.

He'd seen my Wall of Motivation and reminded me of Derek Redman's never give up attitude.  "Well he was just stupid.  I CAN'T do this Jay."  Lots of crying, lots of him telling me I was almost there.  Lots of me telling him to shut the f up.

In the end I just kept going because I was sure that I'd probably fall hurt myself along the way, and wouldn't that make him feel like a jackass for pushing me.  Only I didn't.  Guess we all know who the real jackass is.

The hike back down was great and I was very much looking forward to our dinner at the Brewery.  Jay and I decided to split 2 pounds of wet wings and a large pizza.  After all I'd just burned 2100 calories on the hike, I deserved it right.

After sucking the meat off the bone of 8 wings, I started feeling guilty.  All that hard work and I just blew it on dinner.

Because I deserve it?  I don't deserve a cussed thing.

On the ride home I felt bloated, but I was very much looking forward to a nice hot bath in our jetted tub.  I planned on staying in there at least an hour.  Once I got in, I couldn't help but obess about my bloated tummy and fat legs. 

I finally got out so I wouldn't have to look at myself any more.

So we're back to my confession - I don't like me.

I know how to fix it.  I really do.  Stop focusing on me.  Look to God, focus on Him.  Focus on being a godly wife to a husband that puts up more mood swings than any man should have to.  Focus on being a good daughter and not cussing my dad out.  Focus on being the kind of Christian that shows my niece and nephew what a Godly life is all about, stepping up to the plate and being the godmother I should be.

Only its not that simple.  I'm tired, run down, and emotional.  Letting go should be easy, but for a control freak perfectionist me its not.

So there you have me - my dirty secret exposed.

Hopefully your confessions are much more fun/light hearted.

Abram's Falls

My sister and bil go back to school today, but their kids don't go back until next week. Since the babysitter, Juju, is also out of town, my mom, dad, and I are taking turns making the rounds.

Today is my day. I hope I'm up for an entire day with a teething 14 month old and an incredibly active 5 year old. While I'm off playing around, I thought I'd give yall a few pictures of our latest hike.

The Abram's Falls trailhead is near the half way point of the Cades Cove loop. Thankfully the one and only bear we saw for the day was as we were driving to the hike.

(as always click to enlarge, and remember jay has a great zoom on his camera - we're not dumb enough to really get this close)



Our 2nd run in with wildlife was on the trail itself. For about 0.5 miles we were stuck behind a deer. I used it as a welcome relief to Jay's typical breakneck pace.



The buck finally found a spot where he could deviate from the trail, and we were back on our merry way. When we got to the falls, we went straight for the up close and personal tour.

Then we waded out into the water for some more pictures.



Note to self: throw those shorts away. Wearing an XL short will only make you look like an XL person. No good can come from that.