Back at it

     This past year has been quite the whirlwind! While my second year as a teacher was much more fun, it proved to have its own challenges. Also, this was William's and my second year living apart. We normally saw each other about once a month, or every 3 weeks. However, this last six weeks was pretty brutal and hectic-and the longest we've ever gone (in 8 years!) from seeing each other. I finished up another school year, and William started preparing for the Step 1 exam. This test sounds like torture to prepare for and made me realize how amazing William is to work so hard, tirelessly, and without one complaint. Even I think I did well holding back the complaints only because I knew how stressed William was. Thankfully, the test will be done on Saturday the 16th, and then we're off on our next adventure!

       William and I had a difficult time trying to figure out where we could travel to. Having gone to Peru just six months ago, he wanted to travel domestically. I wanted to go abroad, and after exploring all the options we compromised on Canada, which is practically domestic, but still "abroad." After much research we knew that Banff was the place for us. I cannot wait to see the wonders that Canada has to offer.

     And, this leads me to my first post of this trip...the pissy post portraying the problems of packing (gotta love the alliteration). You would think after this many trips that I would have a method to my packing. NOPE! It involves hours of whining and bugging my mother, yelling at Pickle, messy stacks, organized chaos, piles everywhere, nagging William, multiple checklists, packing, re-packing and then some more re-packing. [Side note: it costs $50 to check in bags now! WHAT?! That is ridiculous-- not OKAY!]

      I have three tips for packing for international trips:

 1. Pack a few days before you leave. This is important for me because my brain is always going 100 miles an hour and I always forget something when I rush. When you start preparing a few days in advance, you will randomly remember some essentials that you forgot and will be grateful that you can still pack it instead of having to buy it in a foreign place!

 2. Pack once, re-pack, and maybe re-pack again! It's amazing how much room you save when you experiment and find new ways of cramming things into your suitcases. I like to pack things that I won't need regularly at the very bottom, like extra, bulky jeans-and lay everything flat! Also, put items like shoes, make up, toiletries on the sides in those weird gaps. I also shove chargers and camera chords in my shoes.

 3. When you are finally done packing, keep your checklist with you! Words cannot express how tired I am of hearing William say, "Oh.. the charger... I think I left it plugged in at the hotel." Yes, you can pat your back after you've finished packing, but remember, you will be packing again-on the way to your next destination, or on your way back and having that checklist for every stop will be helpful. Below is the hot mess I start out with. The "after" picture, which I forgot to take, shows all of this magically and neatlly fitting into a small rolley carry-on.