This time next week...

...we will be firmly ensconced in our condo at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.  Hopefully we will be basking in the first warm rays of the season, enjoying the beaches and salt marsh and rediscovering the fun activities of the area, and planning our day trip into Charleston.  And eating our weight in seafood.

For once, I overcame my natural procrastinator tendencies, and got a good head start this past weekend: the house has been cleaned from one end to the other, and will only need a bit of touching up as the week wears on.  And like our fall trip, my week is now a countdown of to-do's, worked in and squeezed in around my workday priorities:

Monday:  Menu planning, shopping list, check the weather, double-check worship time and address for next Sunday.
Tuesday: Getting my hair did.  And getting the dog her puppy Prozac.  (No kidding.)
Wednesday: Car oil change, wheel rotation and wash/vacuum
Thursday: Laundry and packing, grocery store run
Friday:  Final pass through the house with clean linens, pack everything in the car and plan to depart as soon as everyone is ready to go.

If all goes according to plan, we should hit Atlanta in time to grab a late dinner and settle in for the night, then arrive in Murrells Inlet by noon on Saturday.

Happy (and safe) travels!

A long trip on the longest day of 2010

Today we made the trip home from central Kansas, heading out a little before 9 a.m. there and pulling in our driveway 753 miles and almost precisely 12 hours later.  It's a long drive, but it was blissfully uneventful: no near misses, no breakdowns, no wrong turns, and no awkward conversations with state troopers in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky or Tennessee.   That spells success in my book.

The weather systems that beset us all weekend got in a final parting shot before we hit the Missouri border, but after that it was dry and muggy and just really loooong.  Or maybe it seemed long because the visit was too short. Yeah, we'll go with that.

It was such a whirlwind weekend that it wasn't until late last night I even realized I had failed to remember it was Father's Day and have a gift and card for my husband or my dad.  Ooops!!!  Hopefully the other festivities eclipsed it in their minds too, but I really hope they both know they are two very special men in my life, and I am blessed to have been sheltered and protected, loved and nurtured by each of them.  They've both gone toe-to-toe with me when it was necessary, but they've also had my back more times than I know, and they never gave up on me even when I've been nearly impossible.  (It's hard to imagine, I know ;o)  But seriously, I just thank God that He thought enough of me to give me these two men as my life anchors.  I love you both more than words can say and I hope your Father's Day was terrific even if we didn't have a traditional celebration in your honor.