Packing the Light Way

The last time we traveled to Europe and also to Hawaii, I brought a large suit case filled with clothes. I promised myself that I would not bring my entire closet when I went to Rome. It's not like I'm a fashionista - far, far from it. (I mean, really, I shop at Goodwill.) But, I do have a tendency to overdo things whether it's packing or cooking. Also, I really didn't want to deal with checking luggage. It's a hassle and it's expensive. The backpack and the purse that you see in the picture contain everything that I'm bringing to Rome. Let's have a look inside, shall we?

In the backpack I have:

3 pairs of pants
2 sweaters
3 long sleeve shirts
3 T-shirts

5 pairs of underwear
2 bras
1 pair of gloves
5 pairs of socks
2 camisoles (1 is for sleepware)
1 pair of workout pants (sleepware)
1 quart size bag containing travel size sundries
1 Bible
1 package of handy wipes
1 package of Kleenex
1 folder containing travel info
1 can of baking powder **
2 packages of cilantro seeds **

** Special requests from my friends in Italy.

I rolled up all of the pants, shirts, sweaters, and even the underwear. When clothing is rolled, it's easier to stack in layers inside the backpack.

In the purse - The Day Purse by Reign Vermont - I have my medication, flight and shuttle info, Altoids, gum, coin purse, cell phone, cell phone charger, and an adapter plug. Sorry, I didn't really want to take a picture of all that. :-)

You don't grow up in Northern California without the idea of dressing in layers being drilled into you. Anyway, my flight outfit consists of one pair of comfy, stretchy jeans, a black T-shirt, a long sleeve blouse, a sweater and of course, shoes. The one pair of shoes that you see is the only pair of shoes that I'm bringing. Since we are leaving on Saturday morning and arriving in Rome on Sunday morning (because of the time difference), then technically, this outfit will be used for 2 days. :-)  I'm hoping that it will still be OK to wear on the return flight home. So there you have it. No, I didn't leave alot of room for souvenirs because I'm not really a souvenir monger. I'll just have to find something that fits in my backpack...or my son's backpack. I hope to post some pictures when I get back. TTFN.

10 Days and Counting

In 10 days, my oldest son and I leave for Rome...Italy, not Georgia. Although this isn't my first visit to Europe, it is my first visit to Rome and I'm very excited to do all of the tourist stuff. He's more excited about travelling on the plane and being out of school rather than visiting the actual destination. I take part of that back: he's excited about eating "real" Italian gelato. Seeing the Coliseum and the Sistine Chapel? Shrug. Who can blame him?

I've made my to-do list and it's surprisingly long. So, it's short and sweet today as I continue with my errands and work my way down the list.

BFD - February '12

First off, I'm sorry to say that I don't have more pictures. Let's just say that while I was making dinner, there was a minor crisis that involved a cardboard box, a box knife, and my 12 year-old. Enough said. According to IHOP today was National Pancake Day. There is also an International Pancake Day, which was on February 21st. If you look at this site, it says that National Pancake Day is on September 26th. So, take your pick; either way, we had pancakes for dinner. Earlier this month, a friend sent me the link for what has become our favorite pancake recipe. For this month's BFD, we had:

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Yes, that's all we had. And yes, they really are that good. They are ooey and gooey and delicious just like cinnamon rolls. The recipe is very straightforward. You're supposed to put the cinnamon-brown sugar glaze in a pastry bag and pipe it onto the pancakes. Although I am handy with a pastry bag, I was not in the mood to haul it out and then clean it up afterwards. I just put the glaze in a measuring cup and drizzled it on the pancakes. And the cream cheese icing, you ask? Well, I didn't have cream cheese so I just made a plain butter cream icing, meaning I just used melted butter, powdered sugar, and a splash of milk to thin it out.

I'm thinking that the next time I make these, I might add some chopped apples or pecans to the pancake batter. I think that would be fabulous. Go ahead and give these a try. They really aren't alot of work and they would make a wonderful Sunday breakfast or anytime dinner.

Where Have You Been, Young Lady?

I knew I was in trouble whenever my mom used my full name, which back then was "Young Lady".

So, where have I been? Well, I've been here at home, but the boys were out of school this past week in honor of Presidents' Day with a couple of teacher furlough days thrown in to make another winter mini-break (eye roll). Seriously, things that make you go WTF?

On Thursday, my oldest went to his grandparents' house for a couple of days, so we enjoyed a quiet house during that time. :-) On Saturday, we met with our accountant to prepare our taxes - we owe this year; no surprises there. I should mention that my in-laws live a couple hours away from us, and our accountant (who is also family) is not too far from them. So, it was a day mixed with business and pleasure as we had our taxes done and visited with family.

Now that the boys are back in school, my husband and I are trying to wrap up the little details of our trip. You see, he is leaving this Saturday to go to Europe on business. I will join him two weeks later for a Roman vacation. It's getting down to the wire and there are still plenty of little things to be done before he leaves. It's off to tend to business before pleasure.