Pie On Ears

Once upon a time, three great friends went on a hiking trip.

We went to Hot Springs, NC and stayed here.
If you ever, EEEEEEEEEEEVER go hiking, this is where you should go. The people there are so nice. The lady there when we first checked in even had "Michael" tattooed on her forearm.
Now, that is what I call dedicated customer service.

Hot Springs, NC is on the far left side of North Carolina right by Tennessee. I now know why no one has ever heard of it. It is a SUPER small little town, population of less than 600. Quite quaint with a small grocery, and handful of restaurants, a souvenir shop, a bank, library a post office, and maybe one police officer.
And a train that rolls through at night.
IT WAS SO COOL. Seriously- it takes about 5 minutes to walk through the whole town square.

Getting there was quite a challenge. About 5.5-6 hours of driving, and the last hour was in mountains, which was my first time driving in the mountains. So when you see signs for "8% grade" and "falling rocks" and "runaway truck ramp", you know you're not in Kansas anymore.
(er, Georgia)

The hiking was fantastic. We had perfect, and I mean PERFECT weather.

This was at the top of Lover's Leap over the French Broad River:

Kind of funny story about our hiking adventure:

So we got the directions from a local who worked at the souvenir shop. Looking back, his directions were very helpful. 

If only we had followed them.

We decided to walk to the trail from our cabin instead of drive. The trail kind of starts in this trailer-park kind of place.

(Which is appropriate: TRAILer park. Sorry. Mark's sense of humor is getting to me.)

So instead of going to the trail place to the left, we went where it says "Appalachian Trail" to the right.

And then we found this really steep place with a rope and we think that's it, i.e. where we begin our climb.

We started climbing, and all of this sudden, this camouflaged kitty appears. It seemed to be leading us the right way, but dang this was a steep hill to start out on. 

We got to this ledge over the water and took a picture with the little "mountain lion". 

And then we got to this stupid steep place that could not be done without mountain-climbing gear. So we decided that was probably not the right way to go and turned around. 

Then we followed all the other hikers (what a trailblazing idea) and eventually made it to where we would have been, had we followed the directions.

But whatever. We had fun.

This is a picture of us:

This is a more accurate picture of us:

So I was pretty much the only one going out on the rocks over the water and fully appreciating the altitude.

Ah. So that's how I got so sunburned.

I LOVE PICNICS. The picnic at the near-pinnacle was just as fantastic and satiating as I had planned on.

We saw other hikers along the way. They had hiked all the way from Georgia and were on their way to Maine. They were all hairy, even the girls.
Especially the girls.
And I think that it would be fun to hike the whole trail, if not for all of the horrible camping involved.

So we stayed in a CABIN. With walls and beds and stuff. Granted, it was small, but definitely not cramped for 3 people.

And when it got cold at night, I got wear a cool owl hat, made by Biff, and make a campfire.

Cool owl hat presentation.

We brought some campfire supplies like matches and fatlighter, but we had to search the surrounding area for small kindling and buy some logs from the convenience store.

Me: My dad would kill me if he knew I just spent money on firewood.

So we had our fire and did our roasting marshmallow thing, which turned out to be a lot messier than expected. The fire was really smokey, too. Even after two shampooings, my hair still smells like it.

*the fire starts smoking really bad*
Mark: That small stuff must be kind of wet.
Mike: Oh, is that what makes it smokes?
Me: Well, sometimes it's that, or, you know, peer pressure, or it's trying to look cool.

And then there was all the fun of all bunking/living together.

*Mark wearing a Braves shirt and golfing pajama pants to bed*
Mike: Could your outfit be any more boring?

But here's the most amazing part:
This whole trip cost $335.25, which split 3 ways is only $111.75 per person.
This included the cabin for two nights, gas for the entire trip, two hour long spa soaks in naturally-heated mineral water, campfire and miscellaneous supplies, and a big restaurant dinner.

In January, after some discussion about how "we should take a trip" and how "hiking would be fun" and how "Mark doesn't have to go to that job in Augusta", I started planning this excursion. It brought me back to the times when I would plan stuff for the beloved Summer Fun Club. Even though these things take some work and planning, they are so worth it. I'm still not used to being the leader/itinerary-maker, but with more responsibility comes more perks. Like deciding what music we get to listen to in the car.

Even though it was just my BF and our BFF, it was so. dang. fun. My philosophy has always been that it's not what you're doing, it's who you're with.

And that's a true story.

My legs hurt so bad,
TWS

Dots

Sometimes I'll be cleaning my ears, and I'll use the same cotton swab for each ear.
I start to wonder if my right ear minds that I just used the same cotton swab on my left ear. 

But then I think no, Allie; they're just ears.

Sometimes I'll be driving home, and I'll want to call a driver a "tool" or a "douche bag" and then it'll come out "tool bag" and I don't know if that's an insult or not.

Traffic makes me ill on a level even my soul can't understand.

I hate how futuristic movies an video games portray clothes.
In the future, does the fashion industry and overall style awareness completely vanish?

Apparently so.

The IRS is kind of a jerk.
On April 16th, they announced that taxpayers affected by the explosions during the Boston marathon and those living in Suffolk County would be given an extension to file and pay taxes with no penalties due if filed/paid by July 15th.

“Our hearts go out to the people affected by this tragic event,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven T. Miller. “We want victims and others affected by this terrible tragedy to have the time they need to finish their individual tax returns.”

Seems legit, right?

I find that it's a pretty weird way to respond to a national tragedy.
First, the bombing explosions happened at about 3 pm April 15th. Chances are that if you didn't have your return done by then, and you were running in/watching a marathon, you were going to be extending it anyway.

Secondly, (and this is why the IRS is a jerk), interest, currently at the annual rate of 3 percent compounded daily, will still apply to any payments made after the April deadline.

So even with the promise of "no penalties" for this extension, if you didn't pay by April 15th, you're still going to be charged the interest.

Great example of "taxpayer relief", isn't it?

Sam's breath always smells like tuna. Even if he hasn't had tuna in weeks, his mouth still manages to smell like fish.

His breath is so sharp, it makes you think differently about life.

Something to look forward to,
TWS

Pro Krass Tin 8

Bill is a really weird name.

Because a bill can be a duck mouth, an invoice, a piece of money, or a law in Congress.
Or a name????

And then it's short for "William" which, last time I checked, didn't have a B in it.
Unless it's pronounced "Billiam" and no one ever told me.

I want to do nothing today.
You: "But Allie, you're already blogging."

In tax, we have this term called "constructively received".
It's like when you're cash basis, and you receive a check at the end of the year, but you haven't cashed it yet.
It's still considered income because you've constructively received it.

This blog? It's me doing nothing, constructively.

Boom.
Lawyered.
Accountanted.

Hot chocolate makes my soul sing,
TWS

Replacements

Today, a button fell off of my coat, so I got to sew it back on.

GOT to sew it back on.

I. Miss. Sewing.
So bad.

Here are some mathematical equations:

Busy season + grad school + CPA exam = kicking my butt

Oatmeal in the sink + 10 minutes = cement

Your e-mails + my inbox = read/(remembered, not ignored)
Which can also be expressed as: read = (remembered, not ignored)(Your e-mails + my inbox)

Yellow + Green = a lighter color green (NOT blue. Blue is a primary color. I don't know how this is so difficult for people to understand.)

21 days + 289 miles = vacation in the NC mountains

Cinnamon raisin bagels + whipped cream cheese = my new favorite thing

My work = .2(inspiring) +{2/3(accounting)}/(frustration) +.133 paperwork

How can tax preparation be inspiring?
I don't know, but I found a way.

I can't remember the last time I had chocolate.

There's nothing you can do,
TWS

Lucky You; The National

Orange

I love the sound of the air conditioner at work.
It reminds me of being in my room back home after coming in from an afternoon in the summertime, writing and coloring in a book on my bed with my hair still kind of wet but kind of not so it gets that awesome after-pool texture and waiting to be called for dinner.

I know half my readership is like, "dooood. I like snoooooow."

But here are 50 reasons I look forward to summer:

1. Riding with the windows down
2. Taking walks at night while it's still light out
3. POOL. VOLLEYBALL.
4. Strawberry picking
5. The peach place
6. Yard sales
7. Open windows
8. SUNDRESSES
9. Open-toed shoes!
10. Sunscreen
11. Not getting shocked getting out of the car
12. Swimming after work
13. No! More! School!
14. Fingernail polish
15. Hiking trip in NC
16. Ring toss nights
17. Ceiling fans
18. Margaritas
19. Summer rain
20. Beach trips!!!
21. Ice cubes (Mike and I just bought our first ice trays. How did we even survive last summer?)
22. Coconut-smelling things
23. SHORTS
24. Not waking up in the morning and shivering.
25. Lemonade
26. Flip flops
27. Being tan
28. Wearing white while being tan
29. Studying on the back porch & becoming a CPA
30. Sewing with Mum!!!
31. Pirates of the Caribbean
32. The smell of Froyo shops
33. The sound of the lawn mower (NOT to be confused with the sound of weed-whackers. Totally different. Ok. Just wanted to make sure that was clear.)
34. Wearing a bathing suit under my clothes
35. Letting my hair air dry
36. Summer dates
37. Pork barbecue
38. The way cats get super lazy during the summer so you can mess with them all the time
39. How pretty and green everything gets (THE FIELD!!!!)
40. Blueberry picking + making goat noises
41. Cute skirts
42. The smell of my dad's workshop
43. Reading a book...for fun. I can't believe I actually used to do this, and I want to go back to it. Gone With the Wind style. Or Emily of New Moon style.
44. Drinking water from a hose (Those toxins in the plastic are delicious.)
45. Taking pictures because everyone looks better in summer
46. Not having to wear tights under everything.
47. Nice, easy days at work
48. Strawberry daiquiris
49. Nightswimming by REM
50. The sound of the air conditioner

I have my winter list, too, but it is much, much shorter.

Boats boats boats,
TWS