At least one thing I learned this summer

In case you aren't aware Megan and I LOVE to travel! We have taken many adventures to include weekend jaunts across the country and have traveled on virtually every mode of transportation. As much as I enjoy the journey, the packing and luggage restrictions inevitably lead to me pacing around the house in an ADD state. Well, this summer I learned some things about the procedure that have changed the way I look at the whole task.

I stole this image from the internet just to demonstrate.

First, being an Army brat I've watched The Chief pack for LONG periods of time all my life. I always looked on slightly confused as he rolled the contents of his suitcase. Fast forward all these years later and I realize  here's another area where I should have just listened to my parents FIRST! HELLO!! This works!! (Maybe the rest of you already knew this, but I've been neatly folding my clothes all these years and complaining about how they don't fit in the suitcase.)

Megan's preferred color

Enter the next packing tidbit: packing cubes. I must give credit that Megan found these first and raved about them last summer (when she was the only one with a small enough suitcase to meet carry-on restrictions). However, at the time they didn't come in yellow and I refused to purchase them. This summer, without any calls on my part to their customer satisfaction department, they unveiled the new colors. You guessed it-- YELLOW! So, Amazon here I come! They come in a variety of sizes and they allow you to compartmentalize your luggage. This will ease your mind if you are anticipating any random luggage checks. (Of course, I just get the random bomb swab test when I fly!)

AH! YELLOW!!

Now add the rolled luggage to the packing cubes and Voilà! ... You're able to fit it all in the smaller suitcase. Even if you have a *slight* shoe fetish like me! Now I know you're going to ask... aren't the clothes wrinkled after all the rolling and packing cubes? The answer: not any more than they normally are after the TSA throws it all over the runway. Nothing an iron or a little 'wrinkle releaser' won't fix.

How the cubes look in your luggage. 

I hope that this little helpful hint can help all your travel woes as well as they did ours! While we are preparing to put our suitcases back in the closet (at least for the long escapades) in preparation for another 10 months of work, maybe you can use these tips in the meantime! Happy Travels!!

Oops!! 6 months later...

Well, well, well... blow the dust off the blog because I'm back!! I wouldn't have thought that we would not have any entries in the months between mine and Megan's birthdays (Hello! They're 6 months apart. But, that seems to be the case.) All I can say is... Oops! If you know me at all you know that I've simply been living life and not really slowing down long enough to wash clothes and re-pack the suitcase, much less document the happenings on this blog.

There's simply no way that I can re-cap all that has ensued in the past six months so I'll simply recall some recent history and hope to do a better job of keeping up-to-date. So, let's see... the summer began with a mother/daughter trip to the Biltmore Estate where we unsuccessfully tried to open all the locked doors and asked the employees lots of unorthodox questions that they were not equipped to answer. (Think: shag carpeting and sleeping arrangements)

Mandy and I with our moms at the Biltmore Estate

From there it was time for family graduations (a great reminder that I'm not getting any younger) and a summer kick-off beach trip. Much to her dismay Megan had to miss the beach trip due to another obligatory event. No worries, though. We always keep in touch and entertained through cross-country text and picture messages! 

Nicole, Meg, Mandy, Marcie (Megan was there in spirit!)

Reesie (a.k.a The Big Brown Dog) and I both celebrated birthdays during the month of June with cupcakes and Lady Antebellum concerts, respectively.

Happy 10th Birthday Reesie

Mandy and I at Lady Antebellum

 Somewhere during the month of June was also when Megan convinced me that a train trip to Washington D.C. for the 4th of July needed to be our next adventure. Now... let's clear this up... we're talking an 11+ hour train ride from GA to D.C. But, I agreed on the premise that I'd chalk it up to another experience. Picture it: 8:00 a.m., a train station in the ghetto, no security measures whatsoever for boarding this silver bullet, stewards who seemed to hate us at first sight, and several children who would be referred to our very own school of behavioral intervention before our arrival in our Nation's capitol. Yes, it was an experience indeed. We changed seats 6 times, commandeered an area reserved for "families of 3 or more", critiqued both the wardrobes and destinations of all our fellow passengers, learned that you can get very drunk on an 11 hour train ride (NOT US!), that Spades and bacon cupcakes can bring all manner of individuals together, and that, if we ever again have doubts, we can successfully entertain ourselves for long periods of time in enclosed spaces. I will just say that whether you end up liking it or not-- go ride a train! If for no other reason, you'll have lots of fun stories!

The silver bullet

Once in Washington, Kim served as an excellent host and even 115 degree heat indexes did not stop us from tracking down all the local cupcake bakeries. After a fun-filled trip, we traveled back IN A CAR with Megan's parents. (The return road trip would take another entry by itself!)

A Capitol Fourth

There have been other trips as well but mostly the summer has consisted of (almost) viewing all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls (Megan and I have daily conversations about our likenesses to these two colorful characters), making sure that each week my skin is a darker shade than the previous week, and perfecting the best way to pack a suitcase (again, another entry!). For now, it's almost time for us teachers to blow the dust off the lesson plan books and get ready to begin the process of training a new group of kids. As much as I love summer I'm also looking forward to the busyness of the school year. You have my permission to remind me of that comment when I'm neck deep in Common Core Standards, meetings, and Relay for Life planning!

OH!! In other big news... Megan is having a baby, Dawson!! Everyone loves him already because his name is partially inspired by my middle name. I'm sure that this whole namesake thing comes from the fact that I once managed to spare Megan's life while flipping my vehicle. ;-) I suppose one day I will have to return the favor with my name choices. In all seriousness, I am incredibly honored and am looking forward to a lifelong bond with this little guy!