the final countdown

man i loved that song. i got the europe tape for christmas one year, and played that song endlessly. now it will be stuck in my head for most of the morning, i imagine. regrettably, i hardly remember any of the lyrics/tune except for the nasally and dramatic chorus.

but in this instance, the final countdown that i am referring to is the countdown to BROWN FAMILY BEACH EXTRAVAGANZA, 2008 - launchtime estimated at 6:00 (or, likely 7:00) a.m., saturday. 5 days(ish) from now! in preparation, i have a billion and one chores for every evening this week - laundry, hosue cleaning, rustlin' up supplies, packing. the usual stuff. i don't know about you, but i hate HATE coming home from a long trip to a dirty/cluttered house. i hate it. with a passion. scott can vouch for that. i am usually a wee bit testy after a car ride of any length and just about anything will set me off into a tizzy of a tantrum, but i am especially sensitive to piles of dirty crap all over the place. that gets me every durn time. i hate walking in the door, exhausted from a 7 hour ride in a hot car, to be greeted by the stench of cat litter and rotten garbage cans whilst tripping over a pile of bags by the door then slipping in a stack of old newspapers. while carrying piles of wet towels covered in sand from the beach. call me crazy, but the experience leaves me annoyed to say the least. SO. i have some work to do before we leave. :)

i also have to obsessively go to the weather channel website to check the forecast for next week. so far so good! although anyone who has spent any length of time on any coast will agree that the weather channels tells dirty dirty lies. the weather on the ACTUAL beach - you know, where sand meets surf and turns into fun and kites and drippy castles? - can be completely different from the weather inland. even a few miles can make a huge difference. so while weather.com currently says the week looks gorgeous and sunny and not too hot... it's anybody's guess, really.

and actually, the weather doesn't really matter that much. we've had plenty of fun during crappy weather in the past. and i can just go to the beach some other time for fun in the sun (assateague camping!), but the ohioan inside me - the one who used to drive 12+ hours to get to the nearest beach, and only saw the ocean once a year - just won't be truly satisfied without sunny weather.

in other news, i am wearing a new skirt today. and it is remarkable how wearing a new skirt can make me so happy.