Mountain Mama: Minus the Mama Part...because I know some of you just got excited when you saw "Mama"!

We headed north this past weekend to spend some time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Apparently everyone else on the east coast did too.  The roads were busy, but lucky for us we spend most of our time in the woods taking in the breathtaking scenery.

Just as we entered the GSM National Park, the sun was trying to peak over the horizon. I gasp at the sight of these beauties just around the bend. I had no clue there were Elk in the southeastern US!  Clearly they weren't phased by the cars pulling over to snap a shot.

We made our way to Newfound Gap and hit the Appalachian Trail on our way to Charlie's Bunion.  We were so fortunate to be hiking in such beautiful weather.

Another surprise awaited us as we made our way up the trail...SNOW! 

We finally reached Charlie's Bunion, spent some time taking in the views and refueled with some trail lunch.  

  The scenery made the 4 mile hike in worth the trek!

After finishing up our day hike, we headed over to a trailhead closer to a shelter where we'd stay the night. 

 Our home for the night, Mt Collins Shelter.  Are you wondering why we didn't stay in a hotel where they have central heat, running water and comfy beds?  Well that's because I win WIFE OF THE YEAR and 'roughed it' for a night in a shelter where there are no doors, no running water, no electricity, no privacy and no 'plumbing'.  But there was a lovely tarp to separate the sleeping area from the eating area, a fancy privy (out house) just around the corner and water...in Nalgene bottles.  

But we did bring one creature comfort...our little propane heater.  Cory saved the day for this cold girl!  The temp got down to 29 degrees Saturday night.

After a night filled with mysterious noises (did I mention there was a bear warning at this shelter?!?), hot flashes (thanks to my -20 degree bag) and numerous of efforts to get comfortable sleeping on a 2 inch mat...the dawn drew us all outside to begin breakfast and pack up camp.

Waking up with a little coffee.  Thank you Jesus for coffee in the woods!

Next stop of the morning, Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in the GSM National Park.  Aren't the clouds over the valley beautiful?!

We made it to the top and spent some time pinpointing surrounding mountains in the 360 degree view.  See that mountain in the distance behind us...the highest one?  We'll be spending the night up there, at the world famous lodge, in April and this Mountain Mama (minus the mama part) is pumped...electricity, bears, elk or not!

Cory says they'll have heat, beds, thick wool blankets and family style home cooked meals scheduled around the sunrise and sunset. I was sold when he said heat!

How I Got 3 Pair of Glasses for $40

You read that right...3 pair of really cute prescription glasses for $40...though 3 pair for $400 would have been a deal too.

I mentioned getting these specs back in October, my apologies for not providing details sooner!

The hubs is a big Clark Howard fan, so he heard Clark talk about getting his glasses on the cheap.  Turns out they were pretty great quality too.  When the time came last year for a new pair of glasses (my college glasses weren't nearly as trendy as I thought they were circa 2001 they used to be) the hubs pointed me in the direction of Zenni Optical.  I couldn't believe it...$9.95 for frames AND lens!  AMAZING!

All you need is your written prescription so that you order them correctly. I ordered 3 pair, all at a $12.95 price or cheaper.  Shipping was really reasonable and I got my new glasses in 2 weeks.  I was like a kid on Christmas morning waiting for them to arrive on the doorstep!

Here's a few shots of the specs...

And one creepy shot for good measure....

Neglect...Plain and Simple!

Hi!  My name is Brooke and I used to blog here. Then I got a awesome job at this really cool company.  Oh...and spring arrived...and next came summer ....the hubs and I have been busy bees!  So to sum it - up I've neglected my blog!


I promise I haven't been hiding...I've been doing this.....


Vacationing (celebrating our 2nd Anniversary!)...

Rafting the Chattooga River....

going....

going....

GONE!  That's me with the Ronald McDonald red shoe!  

Saving lives...kitten lives!  This is Willy Whitesox....he was found in the shrubs at the entrance of my office when he was just a few weeks old.  I called the hubs to see if I could bring him home and after asking if I was serious he said 'Yes...as long as I'm only responsible for playing with him.  You have to do the rest Brooke!'  And so I agreed.... (I'm such a sucker!)

Spending time in the sun....

So that almost gets us up to speed.  Hope you're having a great summer! 

Praise the Lord the weekend is near!  My weekend, though, will NOT consist of bringing home stray cats, wearing awful red clown shoes, class 5 rapids, but I might just be spending some more time in the sun!

One More Reason I Love Super H Mart

Dinner in the food court with my sweetie...

Truth In a Chocolate Wrapper

Little nugget of truth I found when enjoying some chocolate deliciousness today at work...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet parents!

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for not only telling Kris and I how to love, but for showing us. For being a living, breathing example of true love.

Though their world was turned up upside down in 2008, their unrelenting love for one another is now stronger. than. ever! They've shown us how to stick it out through hard times and how to rejoice and make the most of the very best times. They've taught us what it means to be each others best friends and the one that you share your life with, even on the toughest of days, when you think you've given all you can give...they give a little more!

Since I was a little girl I've known that my parents wanted the absolute best for me and my sister. As I've matured as an adult, I find that I have the same desire for my parents. When Mom and I talk, I remind her that she and Dad deserve nothing but the very best. My desire is for them to have the purest love, the closest family, the truest friendships, and the strongest faith.

Here's to many more years of happily ever after!

Here Comes the Sun!

After what seems like eons of frigid rainy weather here in Georgia, I'm welcoming the 5-day forecast with open arms!

Looking forward to a weekend of catching up with good friends and family...and hopefully a little R&R too!

Photo from: Pinterest

The Adventures of Mick Blackmon

Saturday was simply too beautiful to stay indoors. So after a early morning trip to the gym, Cory and I jumped on the opportunity to spend most of the day out and about....and on the back deck with the pups! We decided that Mick would probably love to visit PetSmart after his bath. And seeing as how it's nearly impossible to bathe a Great Dane indoors...Cory HAD to take advantage of the warm temps and bath this horse in the back yard.

So after Mr. Mick was squeaky clean...off we went to PetSmart...Mick and his favorite two humans!

Come on dog-mom...we're ready!

Look how nice it is outside!

This was a great idea guys!

Woohooo....new dog bed!

Check out the new bed...think it's big enough?

No longer in need of human attention...happy as a can be on his new 'orthopedic foam' bed with a dog treat! Most humans don't have orthopedic foam lucky dog!!!

We're home! Can I get out now?

He even decided to share his new bed with this rat!

What a tough life these two boneheads have!!!

Snowpocalypse 2011 - Cabin Fever!

I never really got into the hype of taking pics or even playing in the snow this week. I know I know...I'm a party pooper!

I realized this week that I no longer get to enjoy 'snow days' because I have the joy of working from home when necessary. While Cory ran circles around me in an attempt to cure boredom and cabin fever , I sat at the computer calling clients, responding to emails, and refining social media campaign strategies.

By Thursday I was HAPPY to finally get out of the neighborhood and go to work! Never thought I'd say that, but it's true!

How did you spend your week 'snowed in' during Snowpocalypse 2011?

Deck the Halls with Peacock Feathers Falalalala-lalalala

Dear Christmas, when did you get here?!?!  Seems like just yesterday was Thanksgiving and you were weeks away!  My 'o my how time flies! 

This year we went with the same theme as last year and the same theme as our wedding-peacocks!  Yes indeed, I love peacock feathers in case you couldn't tell from my blog design.  

Here are some shots of our house all decked out to celebrate the birth of Christ! 

2,100 lights later, we have ourselves a merry and BRIGHT tree!

Ok ok...enough of the tree...

'The ornaments were hung from our dining room light fixture with care'...(The hub's contribution to decorating) 

oops...no peacock feathers in this room yet, but next year I have big plans for feathering this room too!

(thanks Mom for the christmas napkins!)

Santa and the girl on the naughty list AGAIN this year!

Christmas party crew...

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

What To Do With the Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

Are you simply OVER eating the leftover Thanksgiving bird?  

Yep...I thought so!  This Turkey Tortilla Soup might be the solution for getting rid of that extra turkey in the fridge!  

I've made this recipe twice now and it's become a Blackmon household favorite rather quickly. I made it once with leftover turkey and again with chicken.  Both times it was a hit with the hubs!

What you'll need...

• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
  
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 (6 inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips (I use a pizza cutter to cut into strips...easy!)
  
• 1 1/4 cups green enchilada sauce
  
• 1 1/4 cups red enchilada sauce
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
  
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes with zesty jalapenos
  
• 1 small can green chilies
  
• 1 can yellow corn
  
• 1 can hominy
  
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
  
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
  

Directions

Combine chicken stock and tortilla strips in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until strips soften and broth thickens slightly. Stir in green and red enchilada sauces and cumin. Stir in turkey, water and half-and-half; heat through but do not boil.

Divide soup among four bowls and garnish avocado and cheese (I've opted out of the cheese both times and haven't regretted  saving a few calories).

I tweaked the original recipe found here. 

Sidenote: the tortillas will be a soft almost mushy like texture...which, to me, resembled a thin dumpling.  Didn't want you to expect crunchy tortilla's and get the opposite.  

Hope you enjoy this soup it as much as we do! 

Hope this finds you having a great 'Cyber Monday'!

Mr. Thanksgiving Turkey Says....

Wishing you and yours the happiest of Thanksgivings!  We sure have tons to be thankful for here at the Blackmon house!  

O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card!

(to the tune of O Christmas Tree…work with me here)

O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card…

Which design will we order?

There are so many cute cards this year

Choosing one is impossible

O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card…

Which design will we order?

I know this is absurd, but I put lots of thought into the holiday cards we send out each year. Sure, we usually only send them to family and the husband’s clients, but it’s kind of a big deal to me!

This year we’re taking the same route as last year and sending out Christmas photo cards again! The photo cards seemed to be a big hit with the relatives since we never had any edited wedding photos printed for them.

We’ll be ordering our cards online from Shutterfly, which is a simple process. No going in a store, ordering, waiting a few days and going back to the store to pick them up. I’ll be ordering them from the comfort of my home…then walking to my mailbox to retrieve them in about a week!

I’ve narrowed my search for Christmas Cards down to these 3 designs… (feel free to comment and tell me which one is your favorite)

Decisions decisions....

Fool Me Once..Shame On Me...Fool Me Twice...I Don't Think So!

It’s become apparent that my husband thinks I’m gullible. If I had a dollar for every time he’s tried to pull a fast one over on me, I’d have a new winter wardrobe!

Seriously the man thinks I’ll continue to fall for his little pranks…..think again, mister! The days of falling for the foolishness are over! (I hope) I’m catching on to these little jokes! It’s become fairly common to hear the words ‘say you swear’ come from my mouth in ordinary conversations when he’s just told me something that seems the tiniest bit far-fetched!

Most recently (last night) he tried to pull a prank over on me (that many people have fallen for according to the number of Youtube Videos you'll find when you search "bowl of water ceiling prank".)

NOT ME SUCKAAAA! I suppose he thinks I’m oblivious to viral pranks floating around the Internet. Newsflash: I’m surfing the web ALL DAY at work…I’m immersed in social media and chances are if a video becomes a viral phenomenon…I’ve probably seen it thanks to a room of 60 social media scavengers that I call co-workers.

Rather than try to describe the prank…you can just watch it for yourself…

Now for our little convo

Husband: "Hey…I have this really cool magic trick to show you!"

Me: (hesitation in my voice) "You do?"

Husband: "Yeah…give me a second"

(he goes into the kitchen…Fills a plastic up with water and grab the swiffer sweeper)

Me: "What kind of trick is this?" (more hesitation in my voice)

Husband: "You’ll see... "

Me: "Oooooook" (doubting there's any magic involved in what he's about to show me)

Husband: “Ok…come check this out....”

Me: “No…You show me…” (I watch the madness unfold from my spot on the couch)

Husband: “Ok I’m going to place this cup of water on the ceiling” (the proceeds to hold the cup of water up to the ceiling and while the holding the pole of the swiffer in his other hand) “Now I need you to come over here and hold the swiffer in place for me” (begins to place the pole to the bottom of the cup)

Me: "WHAT?!!? NO!!! Do you really think I’m that stupid!?!? I’ve seen this trick! You’re going to get me to hold the pole...then you’re going to run off! NO….I DON’T THINK SO!!!”

Husband: “Awww man! You’ve seen this trick?”

Me: “Yeah….and you’re a dummy for thinking I’m going to fall for it!”

He walks back in the kitchen…cup and swiffer in hand…head hung low!

“Never underestimate a man’s ability to underestimate a woman,” ~Kathleen Turner

10 Random Things that Happened in October

I've been on yet another little blogging hiatus. But truth be told I was waiting on some new glasses I ordered two weeks ago to arrive so I could tell you about them. Plus I wanted to make a list for this blog post....

Thus I give you the 'Top 10 recent and random happenings in my life you MUST know about'...(as if my life is really that interesting to anyone other than my mom...hey - let a girl dream!)

1. I cut my hair. Feeling the need for a little change, my hair ended up on the chopping block. For those of you who live on another planet and haven't seen the pic on facebook yet...tadaaaaaaaa.......

2. We (Mom, Dad, Cory and I) rode the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. All 469 miles of it! It was an amazing trip in so many ways. I'm so thankful!

3. Two years ago this month, as I stood by my dad's bedside in ICU watching a machine breath for him, if you'd told me that I'd stand at the top of Mt. Mitchell with my dad during a ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway, I would have NEVER believed you. Well folks, I'm here to tell you miracles happen...and my dad is a MIRACLE! (hello tears...whew!) God is good!

4. Our house is decorated for Fall/Halloween...and I LOVE it! A few pumpkins here, a pumpkin spice candle there, a fall spray on the door....bring on the chilly weather!

5. Since cutting my hair, I've decided to give dry shampoo a whirl. I found some by TRESumme at CVS...for about 4 bucks. Hopefully it'll cut some time off the getting dressed process in the morning and help preserve my highlights and lowlights. I tried it for the first time Tuesday morning. Feels a little strange on my scalp...but my hair looks clean! Mission accomplished!

6. A perk to following an array of blogs is that I come across new decorating, money saving and recipe ideas ALL THE TIME! This weekend I made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins that I found on Fly Through Our Window....Delish! Super easy peasy!

7. My new glasses from Zenni Optical came in the mail Tuesday and I LOVE them! I'll post more details about this later. But for any of you out there who has ever purchased a pair of classes you know they can be expensive...as in a couple hundred bucks! Well friends, you HAVE to check out Zenni Optical. I just received 3 pair of the cutest glasses (great quality) and including shipping I paid a whopping $40! No kidding!

8. I spent two weekends in a tent! If you know me...then you know this is kinda a big deal! Yes, Cory and I love to go on day hikes...and on a rare occasion I'll do a 1-nighter hike with him. Given the opportunity for a weekend hike...I usually get the words "NO!" out of my mouth before Cory even finishes asking. Well...recently we went 'truck camping' (no hiking...just loaded up the truck with such luxuries as air mattresses and our 'big' tent and drove to a campground for the weekend). And this 'truck camping' took place 2 weekends in a row! Never thought I'd say that! The first weekend we did a little day hiking in search of a amethyst mine up in North Georgia (no lucking finding it) and the second weekend we went canoeing down the Etowah River. The purpose of this canoeing trip was to canoe through this old mine shaft called the Etowah Tunnel...check out this video (warning: she says a few bad words) of this hilarious lady going though the tunnel. Our trip through the tunnel didn't go as smoothly. The water was about a foot down due to the lack of rain...so when we got to the rapids...our boat just rammed right into the mine wall and we flipped over. BAM...BAM...SPLASH...(cursing!!!) "Painful" wouldn't begin to describe this experience! After capsizing a few more times in the darkness, we finally made it near the end of the tunnel where I ever-so-loudly proclaimed "I'd NEVER do that CRAP again...NEVER!"(edited to be suitable for all readers) I still have bruises!!! But I have to admit...all in all it was a blast!

9. I got a FREE book in the mail simply by commenting on a blog I recently started following. If you don't follow Michael Hyatt, I completely recommend you doing so. One of his recent post is about his interview with Andy Stanley. And if you're lucky, he just might pick you to be one of the lucky 100 people to receive a FREE copy of Andy's new book! Come on...it's FREE...I just can't resist FREE!

10. My Nissan Murano hit 100,000 miles recently! I've driven my Murano since 2005 when I bought it brand new. I was like a proud mom on her kid's birthday or something absurd like that! I just happened to look down when the mileage hit 100,000 exactly! I think I even let out a little squeal! I beginning to suspect my car knows that it's hit this milestone as I've had to invest a little bit of money for a few repairs lately! Do cars know how old they are? It's crazy I tell you!

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween weekend! I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family... and maybe even a little day hike on Blood Mountain!