You Are Dead To Me, Geocache

Looking for something to do this weekend, I remembered my sister-in-law told me about an iPhone app called 'Geocaching'. She told me her and her kids tried this and they loved it.

If you haven't heard of geocaching, it is where you go on a hike to locate a hidden treasure (ie the geocache) using the GPS navigation on the app. There are different sized containers housing the treasure, different ranges of difficulty for the terrain and you can get a hint to help you locate the item.

Since this combined exercise and treasure hunting, I thought this sounded like a great idea! Hubby needed to paint the dining room and I needed to get the kids out of the house.

Let's do it!

After uploading the app, I watched a few videos to give me a more detailed idea of what the heck I was getting myself into.

Me: You guys want to go look for hidden treasure?

Kids: Yeah! Hidden treasure!

So, after picking one that was close to us with an easy terrain and large size geocache, we got down to business. I packed a few things like bottled water, wet wipes, and bandaids. And we were off like a herd of turtles!

After parking somewhat close to the geocache, we embarked out into the wilderness to discover our treasure. Looking at my phone, I see we are only .6 miles from the geocache.

Piece of cake!

We start on the paved walking path, however I quickly realize that the GPS was directing towards the woods so we headed that way. We found a clearly marked path and away we went!

The boys are excited! They are running on the trail. Super eager to find the hidden treasure.

After about 2 minutes, J (4) starts asking if we are there yet. He continues to keep this up until we head home.

Baby L (2) starts to take in his surroundings. Picking up rocks and throwing them is his favorite game.

We walk over a creek bed, curve around a bend, and suddenly we are little higher up. This makes me a little twitchy as the boys now think it a great idea to run close to the edge and Baby L refuses to hold my hand.

Rethinking this whole idea.

But since GPS shows we are getting closer, we forge ahead.

Baby L decides that he doesn't want to walk anymore, so I am now carrying him. We are about .3 miles from the geocache.

We get to .2. Woo hoo! The end is near.

My arm is starting to burn from holding Baby L. Starting to get sweaty.

We keep walking. It now says .3 miles.

Huh?! What the what?

J says his knees are tired and he needs to rest. He sits down for a few minutes.

I know that if I stop that I will never get up again so I say, "Let's keep going J. We are very close. Here, drink some water."

My arms are now numb from carrying Baby L.

After coaxing him to get up and giving him a drink, we are on the move again. This time in a different direction. We get closer, .2 miles again.

Awesome! Back on track.

Keep walking and now it's .3 again. Looking around I try to see a trail in the direction the GPS is pointing but I find none.

Debate whether I should take the kids through what I imagine to be a tick infested, snake covered area. Decide against it.

Tell kids we'll come back tomorrow.

I'm a little frustrated and crabby because I am a hot, sweaty mess.

Kids are crabby because they were promised treasure but didn't find any and they are also sweaty bc it is 1000% humidity.

Next day, take Hubby along with us. Hubby is outdoorman extraordinaire. (Okay, not really. But he is super smart and I know he will get us to the geocache.)

So imagine all of the stuff I mentioned about except now it is 10 degrees warmer, a trillion mosquitoes and there are not very many marked paths.

We finally arrive at the spot where the geocache should be. We look everywhere. We look about 20 feet in every direction.

Kids are whiny. Hubby and I are crabby. Everyone is hot and sweaty. Fighting off the little blood suckers while carrying Baby L.

I think I hear banjos in the distance.

Screw it.

THERE IS NO GEOCACHE.

The only thing we got was malaria and poison sumac.

You are dead to me, Geocache.

PS If you tell me that you love it or "it's so much fun", I won't be held responsible for my actions.

This Is Real Life

This summer, I have been reading a lot. (Somewhere around 30 books.) As I'm sure this comes as no surprise to anyone, what may come as a surprise are the types of books I have been reading.

Romance.

Good old fashioned romance.

And here's what I discovered. I like them. I don't love them, but I like them. (Get it?! Because I said love and I'm talking about romance.)

Bwahaha!

*Ahem.*

But here's the catch. For me, a romantic read has to have something more about the plot or the characters to keep me interested. There has to be that extra element like a mystery, a secret yet to be uncovered, or a character flaw to keep me interested.

This got me thinking about the dystopia, paranormal and sci-fi books that I love to read. In these books, it's the romance that draws me in. It is what keeps me interested and what I love most about these books. I like that the romance is a piece of the larger puzzle of the story, not the whole story.

Because let's face it. Romance in real life is not like it is in the books. Hubby and I don't just lay in bed all day, staring into each others eyes, feeding each other strawberries and braiding our hair.

We have to changes diapers. Fix mac 'n cheese. Pay the phone bill. Make lunches. Schedule doctor's appointments. Wipe noses. Drop kids off at school. Take them to soccer practice. Make a dentist appointments. Clean the kitchen. Floss our teeth. Do the laundry. Plan birthday parties.

This is real life.

We have obligations and responsibilities.

I think this is why I like the romance that I read to have something other than just 'romance'. I like my romance to be messy (for lack of a better term.) Because that is how it is in real life.

Who says all good things come in neat, tidy packages?

What Is Sexy?

This past weekend, Mom and I went to see 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'. It was an amazing movie. Action, Adventure, Nephilim, Werewolves, Vampires and Romance.

What's not to love?!

Photo courtesy of Amstar Cinemas



And Jamie Christian Bower who plays 'Jace'.

Oh. Em. Gee.

 

This guy is so hot. 

I have seen him before and never really given him a second thought. Yes, he's handsome just looking at him, obviously. But in this movie, playing this character, he is undeniably hot.

The whole rebel with a heart of gold. Smartass who pretends he doesn't care but he actually cares so much. Cocky and vulnerable. And the way he looks at Clary.

Seriously.

Just the way he looks at her is so damn sexy. That alone makes him off the charts. (Move over Edward because Jace nails it.)

This got me thinking as to 'what is sexy?' What is it really?

Some people would say that dark hair is sexy. Or maybe blond hair. Some people would say that nice legs are sexy or a nice smile. Or some people would say that beautiful eyes or a great sense of humor is sexy. Or some people say intelligence is very sexy.

Know what I think?

I think all of these things are sexy. But I also think being sexy is more than how you look. It's how you carry yourself, things you say and what you do.

I think if you have self-confidence and are comfortable with yourself THAT is damn sexy. I think if you are a good father or a good mother THAT is super sexy. If you have a sense of humor, you are most CERTAINLY sexy. If you are intelligent and not afraid to show it, THAT is super sexy. Being kind and treating people with respect is TERRIBLY sexy.

Being sexy isn't just how you look, it's everything else that makes up you and who you are. And the good news is that there are ALL different types of sexy because there are all different types of people.

However guys, I would master the way Jace looks at Clary in 'The Mortal Instruments' just to make sure you have sexy nailed.