The Pesky "-ly" Adverbs

As a writer I'm always seeking ways to improve my craft, to better my work. I recently came across an article about adverbs being signs of weak writing. At first I was like, really? Is that truthfully what it does? (ha, notice my use of the adverb there). And then I went back and used the EDIT-FIND option in my word processor. In the 40 pages that I've gotten typed up (with a lot more written) I found a lot of instances of the "-ly" adverbs. I took the advice of the article's writer, attempting to rewrite the sentences. I found that sometimes (more often than not) it did indeed make my writing better, while other times it created something unnecessary, a sense of awkwardness in the flow of the writing. Here's the example I have for one of those times:

“We’re a lot alike, I think,” Stane commented conversationally.

This was the original sentence. Short, sweet, descriptive enough. Here is the way the article would have suggested it be done:

“We’re a lot alike, I think,” Stane commented in a conversational manner.

It just seems stilted to me, breaking up the flow of the writing.

There were times when I like the change better than the original. Here is one of those examples:

“Was there a reason you wanted to see us, or did you just wanna stare?” Puck demanded, arms crossed over his broad chest, foot tapping the creaking floorboards impatiently. 

This was the original  sentence, and here is the rewritten one:

“Was there a reason you wanted to see us, or did you just wanna stare?” Puck demanded, arms crossed over his broad chest, foot tapping the creaking floorboards with undisguised impatience.

A bit more descriptive, a bit more prose-like. There are times, I feel, that the "-ly" adverbs are a cop-out, a way of  avoiding description when I might not know what else to say. Overall, replacing these adverbs does make for stronger writing, but sometimes the adverbs ARE necessary in strong writing. Say something as simply as possible, is what I've heard from published authors and editors.

Oh, here's a quick progress update:

There will be another progress update later tonight, I'm sure.