Many (more) thanks

With only a few days to go before departing to Boston I decided to dedicate a blog to those who truly made this trip possible, but with a twist. I've most likely already expressed to each one of you how grateful I am to have your support on this trip, so I'd like to take a moment to reach out and say thank you for something unrelated to Bike & Build. It's unlikely that donating to B&B is the only thing I can thank you for, so here it goes (in no specific order):

Bob and Linda F. - Thank you for always having a surplus of really cool games to play in your basement.

Mike and Joanne D. - Thank you for having Nickelodeon so we could always watch Are You Afraid of the Dark? on SNICK with Allison, Vicki, and Steph when we were there on weekends.

Chuck and Pat N. - Thanks for turning our family on to getting a Westie.

Gary S. - Thank you for always being someone I could talk to.

Dave and Mo L. - Thanks for being good people to talk to at Shawn's basketball games (when I would go, which wasn't often...sorry, Shawn).

Doris R. - Thanks for being a great third grandma.

Cassie G. (you will never be Cassandra to me) - Thanks for singing Lean on Me with me in front of the whole high school during the American Idol assembly.

Sam and Eileen B. - Thanks for the knowledge you bring to Xmas Eve board games.

Rick and Joan G. - Thanks for always having a good sense of humor.

Mike and Mel S. - Thank you for always making time to hang out when I come home (and thank you, Mel, for slapping me to teach me that I can't just kiss girls whenever I want).

Joe and Angela P. - Thanks for backing all our crazy movies that always seemed to be shot at your house.

Grandma Rosie - Thank you for the Florida memories, especially Goldie.

Chelsea T. - Thank you for starting Punch Buggy in Dijon and Paris.

Ray and Andrea S. - Thank you for always being so enthusiastic about hanging out with us whenever we'd visit and reading Bernstein Bears to us.

Ed and Connie T. - Thanks for the fun times we'd have in the winter doing cross-country skiing and ice boating.

Tom and Terry J. - Thank you for the time we all went to Oglebay (except John finding poo in the pool the last day was kind of gross).

Steve and Beth L. - Thanks for always making driving anywhere so fun as kids by having a TV and VCR in your van.

Bridget S. - Um, thank you for basically introducing me to Bike & Build! I don't know if I'd be writing this blog and leaving next week if we didn't go to Tim's wedding last August.

Jess W. - Thank you for JG, Partner, STOOOPPPP, "a bed," oh, boy, the list could go on....

Jerome and Toni R. - Thanks for all your New Year's Eve parties.

Chris C. - Thank you for hiring me as an intern and for all I learned from you.

Todd B. - Thank you for shattering and rebuilding an image I had of what all producers in LA are like.

Alexa R. - Thank you for encouraging me to do the Coldplay solo.

Jack and Carrie H. - Thanks for letting us join your AOL account when we were younger (though I still remember how embarrassed I was when someone reported me for using foul language and the email was sent to you).

Fred H. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers.

Mike and Ann OD. - Thank you for letting us shoot Family Feud in your basement and for coaching me on how to perfect a Bill Clinton impression.

Dan and Dawn P. - Thank you for always letting us sleep at your place, watch movies, get slurpees, and just go above and beyond as cousins.

Grandma and Grandpa N. - Thank you for having a pool we could play in and for the weeks we would stay there alone and eat ice cream for breakfast.

Aunt Judy - Thank you for taking us to the Mall of America when we were kids.

Mom and Dad - Thanks for..um...life?

DJ - Thank you for sharing a room growing up. I went into freshman year of college knowing no roommate could be worse.

Becky P. - Thank you for being the best partner one could have during Oom Pa Pa.

Liz P. - Thank you for making me a Frickis and for always being there.

Don and Judy M. - Thank you for being such a great second family to Max (sorry Ollie isn't quite the same).

Jenny R. - Thank you for a great weekend in Utah (we will be back!)

Tony C. - Thank you for Tequila Fridays and for having a really cool house and dogs that occasionally need to be watched.

Cathy S. - Thanks for being my mom's "cousin in California." It sounded so cool to be a resident, so I became one!

Jackie P. - Thanks for being my boo!

Jacki M. - Thank you for making France unforgettable.

Alexis B. - Thank you for making Italy that much more fun.

Stan S. - Thank you for witnessing that skeezy shiz in Griffith Park with me. If I had seen it alone I don't think people would believe me.

Beth M. - Thank you for showing that even people I used to ride the bus with can affect my life today.

Pam and Michelle - Thank you for being my first work friends in LA and for keeping me sane in the corner cubicle.

Meredith F. - Thank you for not banning or shunning me after I broke your lamp.

Kim R. - Thank you for the time we ate dinner and observed Operatic Karaoke. I would have never known that existed.

Jeff G. - Even though it was such a short time, thanks for being one of my favorite roommates ever, though I will never again tell you when I think a ghost has whispered in my ear because I know you will just tell everyone about it.

Meagen M. - Thank you for hosting Harry Potter trivia at the midnight showing of Goblet.

Lisa S. - Thank you for accepting a birthday kiss on the cheek from me even though I had just met you.

Lynn F. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers.

Neil and Ruth D. - Thank you for making me believe in the kindness of strangers (I know I have used this a few times, but, really, I don't know what else to say).

Rhonda E. - Thank you for being a fun person to work with. And future thank you for your pool party this weekend.

With that, I'm off to keep packing! Only a few more days until we hit the road.