Ready, set...

Not time to go just yet. But, I may or may not be nearly packed for my trip this weekend. Last weekend I made my lists of what I needed to pack. Yes, lists. I'm a little over organized. I always make a list of whatever I need to pack in no particular order, I just write it as it occurs to me. Then I go through a classify everything as to where or when it needs to be packed, and I use that to make separate lists. Yeah.... My "sub-lists" ended up being Duffel Bag, Pool/Beach Bag, Loose Car Items (like a pillow and jacket), Toiletry Bag (I had unpacked it and wanted to make sure I put everything back in), Snacks, Random Extras, and Don't Be Dumb (phone, charger, etc.).

Then the other day I spent some time looking packing methods on Pinterest (like this and this). I really didn't need to since I packed for 4 days in New England in a back pack and a purse. See?

The blue purse and the green bag on the right were mine.

Anyway, I was really just looking to see if anyone had any ideas that I hadn't considered. No, not really, but still cool to see how much they were able to fit in a carry-on! That of course gave me the packing bug, so I went ahead and organized my bags. My Pool/Beach Bag is already completely packed, and I think I have everything in my duffel that I can pack this early. One of the benefits of working 39+ hours before I go is that I will only be wearing my work uniform for the next 4 days.

That's also good because I recently realized that I basically need to be packed and ready to go before I leave for work on Wednesday. I will work 8-5 Wednesday, then I have to be at church from 5:45-9. I get a 3-hour break between  my shifts on Thursday, but I'm hoping to get Greg to come get me, us load his car, then him take me to work for my 2nd shift. It'll be easier for me to crash at his house, then we can leave first thing Friday morning. My goal is to be wheels up at 5:30am. We'll see. 

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It's officially time for me to retire some of my pants and shorts. There's one pair of shorts that pretty much fall off as soon as I let them go. That's kind of a great feeling, especially since they were my go-to pair last summer and a little too tight the summer before. I spent some time today trying on what was in my dresser. Anything that was too big went in the gone pile. I don't think I have anything left in the too small pile. What another great feeling! I have some size 14 dresses that I bought back in '08 and they actually fit! They might fit better if I lost another 5ish pounds, but they don't look bad now. I call that a win!

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I feel so blessed lately. I can't really explain it, but it's just a feeling of great joy and being loved. I think it has a lot to do with the sermon series at my church. The overall theme was the idea of getting words of advice from some biblical heroes. It has given me a lot to think about and consider. It's all stuff I know, but I don't know if I ever really thought about it. If you have some time, I really encourage you to watch the messages (they are about 30 minutes each).

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Ok, I've gotten rather long-winded tonight. I will save the rest of my stories for another time. Have a great week!