If you like Coke...or bottle rockets

It's the calm before the boom...red, white and boom that is. Roo and I are gearing up for our second annual Happy Birthday America party. I have spent the past week working on my new cornhole boards and seasoning the grill grates. Riley has been organizing the menu and guests and pretty much every other aspect of the event. We went shopping today, Roo always the bargain hunter and finder, I was blown away by our savings. If you happen to be in the market for Coca-Cola products and you are within 36 miles of a Harris Teeter, it is worth the trip. (I calculated the mileage and lowballed the fuel economy at 18 miles per gallon. Disclaimer: If you live more than 36 miles away, its not mathematically or financially worth the trip). With your "Very Important Customer" card at HT, when you buy 2 12-packs of coke products, you get 3 free. We paid for 4 and got 10, more soda in one trip than I think we purchased for all of 2008. Add that to the deeply discounted Boston butts (that Roo wrestled away from an old lady...ok, that's not quite how it went down, but I got a good laugh) and the other deals, we saved over $100 in groceries today. We are all set for this weekend's USA birthday bash and have made a sizable dent in the edible needs for our annual Edisto beach trip, only 10 days away. Expecting a considerable amount of guests on Saturday, I have yet to give the yard a work over and have yet to visit any of the hundreds of firework stands to add to our neighborhood arsonal. Fireworks are legal in South Carolina and given our proximity to the NC border, around this time of year, the roadside fireworks stands pop-up as quickly as dandelions and clover appear in your yard after spring's first good rainfall. Our cul-de-sac is renowned (at the homeowners association meeting) for putting on a big show. I plan to contribute which ultimately means one thing. Kennedy will end up in the bath tub.