And I'm off..... :-)

Yes, I am pretty well packed now. Good thing too because nothing else is going in those bags. I think one more cotton ball and the whole thing would just go. I pity any security agent who attempts to open either bag. He or she would be standing knee deep in a plethora of, well, stuff.

I do have to break for a minute to advertise for the compression bags I wound up using. These bags are the coolest things since the Flow-bee. Ok - before you ask, no, I never actually owned a Flow-bee, but I am a fan. Anyway, back to the compression bags. You put in your stuff and poof! All the air is gone and your stuff looks like something the astronauts would pack. I did discover one slight downside. Once you open the bag, the wrinkles are, shall we say, quite evident. I am truly living on the edge though and not even traveling with a travel iron.

In case you can't tell, I am incredibly calm today. INCREDIBLY excited, but pretty darn calm. :-) I'm just so ready to get on that plane. For those of you who wondered if I would be able to sleep last night, I actually did. I woke up very early at 5:00 but I did cherish my last night (for 3 weeks) in my own bed.

OK everyone, I should probably get busy with all those 500 last minute things I have to do before leaving. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and I will post again as soon as I can.