Early Thursday 13

I will be leaving to go to The Czarina's in the morning, so I will post this very quickly since I'm at work and we are closing in 10 minutes!

13 Things About My Trip Home

1. I am bringing Sammy and K with me.

2. We have to go to Charleston to pick up RP, a friend of the family. He goes to The Citadel and his family is very very close to mine. So he is going with us, too. His 'rents are paying for my gas (YESSSS!).

3. I also have to pick up 20 pounds of pulled pork BBQ at 7 am before I hit the road. I live in the heart of BBQ land, so Czarina asked me to bring the good stuff. Thanks, Sticky Fingers! (They are very delish, and you can order stuff from their website.)

4. Why so much BBQ? Because we are having a big party on Saturday. About 60 people. Mostly friends of the family. We decided to honor my dad with an annual BBQ on his birthday every year. It was partially my idea-- I don't want his birthday to be sad for me every year. So we decided to have an annual party near his b-day.

5. I am so excited to see all of these people! Many of them are friends of my parents who have known me since I was in diapers. Lots of them are godparents, kids I grew up with or just people I love. My extended family isn't that big, so this is as close as it gets to a family reunion for me.

6. Sammy will meet his (doggy) cousin, Newton the Jack Russell. Cross your fingers that they get along ok. Sammy will probably hump him.

7. I am looking forward to my official road trip food: Wendy's, Laffy Taffy, Combos, diet Coke, apples, granola bars and string cheese. Of course, you know as well as I do what will get eaten first...

8. I will be out of the loop while I am there: my cell doesn't work, Czarina only has dial-up. I'll try to stay in touch, but no promises. Repo will have to rely on me to initiate contact, as he is scared shitless of The Czarina. As well he should be....

9. Potential activities include: taking K to see the house where I grew up (an old farmhouse), playing 17 games of Scattergories with Smurf, watching far too much TV, eating lots of ice cream (the only junk food Czarina keeps around), doing crossword puzzles over morning coffee, watching the pond and its various wildlife and going to the grocery store every day. Oh, and reading.

10. Yes, I will take pictures and share. Czarina truly lives in nowhere's land. It is rur-al. I'm talking beavers, bears and bobcats in the backyard, here, peeps.

11. I still haven't packed. Crap.

12. I have two new CDs to listen to on the way up. I always burn new ones before road trips.

13. I'll be back on Sunday! Wish me luck. I always hit traffic jams on I-95 on the way home.