Here’s what’s going on: Nathan, Elvi, and Chris have all been over to the house to get their assignments for watching the house while we’re gone. I just finished packing, and need to get our paperwork together and do the dishes. . Kevin just mowed the front lawn, got his hair trimmed, and is upstairs packing. Oh, and I need to shower and do my hair tonight before bed so that I can just throw on clothes and go in the morning.

I had hoped to go to bed at 10pm, it looks like it may be closer to 11pm. Better get moving…

Figuring out what to pack is quite a challenge. Not only is it an 18-day trip (including flight days), but it is Spring-time which means the weather could be cool, could be warm, could be both.

Could be rainy. I ordered a water-repellent hooded trench coat from Eddie Bauer today, but I am not convinced it is what I want. It is a sleek, modern cut and is not heavily lined, but I’m afraid it is going to be too bulky to pack. No worries, I am planning a trip to the outlet mall in the next couple weeks and can return it to the Eddie Bauer store there (our mall location just closed - boo hiss).

To organize my what-to-take thoughts, I created a Google Docs spreadsheet for my packing list. I’ve separated the list into columns: clothes, shoes, toiletries, electronics, and etc. No surprise to anyone, my electronics list is longer than my clothing list. Ha! I set up the document to be shared with Kevin so he can do his list there too.

Five weeks may seem like a long time, but it is starting to worry me that I’ve only got five weeks left. I like to be completely prepared, with a plan for everything, even if we don’t stick to the plan. I am still writing out our itinerary. I still need to rent a car for the Italy portion, including figuring out where to drop it off on the way to Rome. I haven’t put down the deposit for our two Tuscany lodgings (because they require a fax, can’t do it online). I haven’t tested out all the road-trip electronics. I don’t know what I’m going to pack. I haven’t got comfy shoes figured out. We haven’t done our wills. Ohhh, I shouldn’t write out all the things to do, it just makes me anxious.