We are leaving on vacation at the end of the week and I am beyond excited.  We’re headed to Italy and Croatia on a trip we have been planning, no exaggeration, for more than two years.  We are now within range of the 10-day forecast on weather.com, so it feels like it is really almost here.

Am I the only one who does this? Gets really excited and feels like it’s finally getting close when I can check weather.com and see what the weather is supposed to be like on the day of a big event?  It was with this method that I was able to track, carefully and precisely, exactly how much rain we should expect for our wedding day.  (Answer: lots and lots.) Fortunately, the weather report for Rome is showing sunny and warm.

This weekend, we did one thousand small errands to prepare.  It was very satisfying to cross things off our to-do list like “photocopy passports” and “wash clothes we plan to pack” and “buy Tylenol pm for the plane.”  I got to make a very exciting trip to Target where I had a good and valid reason to purchase cute little bottles of shampoo and trial-sized cases of q-tips and a pack of four toothbrush covers for 69 cents.

I also went a little nuts sewing all manner of stuff for our travels: a zippered pouch for holding all our chargers and electronics, a hobo bag for the beach, etc.  I knew I had gotten a little carried away when I proudly showed John the case I had sewed for our travel packs of Kleenex and he looked at me like I had gone off the deep end.  (WHAT, Kleenex need cases too, okay?  Anyone want a Kleenex cozy?  They take about 2 seconds to make and are surprisingly adorable.  Just let me know.)

Trouble is, we are now so prepared for this trip that I want to leave, like, immediately.  The end of this work week cannot come fast enough.