A Weekend Getaway, A Clarification, and (way too many) Parenthetical Ramblings.

I'm leaving in a little while for a scrapbooking weekend in the mountains. Yippee!

My church does this twice a year and I've pretty much decided that the only way I'm going to chip away at my family albums is to go on these retreats because I just don't find the time or motivation to work on them at home. I've been preparing all week in an effort to maximize my time and productivity! I printed out pics for all of 2007. I would love to finish most of that year's album. Stay tuned...

I brought my suitcase upstairs earlier (in addition to my huge scrapbook haul, I must also pack clothes and toiletries for the weekend) and it reminded me that I've been meaning to clarify something.

I made a rather bold statement in June about being Queen of the Carry On Luggage. It's true, I can fit everything I need for a week in my carry on bag (the reason I do this is two-fold: I do NOT want to pay extra to check a bag, and I am paranoid about my bag not arriving at my destination with me).

My dad died on a Sunday morning and John was in Phoenix at the time. I booked a flight to Arkansas (via Atlanta...and yes, I know that it makes absolutely NO sense to fly to Atlanta, then back to Arkansas, but whatever) and I had about 45 minutes to pack, get my kids squared away and leave for the airport.

I went downstairs to get my regulation size carry on bag only to realize that it was in Phoenix with John.

I called my dearest friend, Debbie (who is a gift from God! and who was picking me up and driving me to the airport) and asked her if I could borrow a carry-on bag (with wheels and a handle because I had a layover in Atlanta and there was NO way I wanted to haul one of my four remaining wheel-and-handle-less bags around the ATL airport for 2 hours).

She graciously let me borrow her bag and I threw my stuff in it once she got here.

And here's the clarification I need to make. Her regulation size bag was smaller (MUCH smaller) than mine. I could NOT fit everything I needed in it. It was a good 6 inches shorter than mine, and at least two inches narrower (if my math skills are up to par that's about one foot of area that her bag was lacking.) Makes a difference. A huge difference.

So...now I'll just say that I'm the queen of MY (slightly larger, but still regulation size) Samsonite carry on. Just thought I should clarify that for those of you (ahem, Kellie) who thought I was an amazing packing guru (or slightly crazy).

I intend to have a GREAT weekend and I hope the same for you!