It's 4 weeks and 3 days until mom & I leave for Spain! And it's 6 weeks and 3 days until SNG leaves for Germany! Yay! I've packed and re-packed my bag several times, each time weighing the items carefully to figure out what will take up the least space and weigh the least.

I got a new backpack for the trip-- an Eagle Creek women's Continental Journey. It fits so nicely that even with 20 pounds of stuff in it, it hardly feels like I have anything on my back at all. So I guess I should be more concerned with how much space stuff takes up than with how much things weigh (to 1/8 oz precision). But I have learned a very important thing: cashmere weighs less, takes up less space, and is just as warm as polarfleece. Vive le cashmere!

SNG will bring me additional clothes and shoes when he comes, including something nice to wear to J and K's wedding, so the backpack has to hold enough for 14 days. The 14-day wardrobe will consist of:
3 cashmere sweaters (blue, aqua, and grey)
3 silk + 1 wool long-sleeve undershirts
4 sets of quick-drying undergarments & socks
1 pair chocolate brown casual lounging pants
2 pairs black cotton twill trousers
1 pair black Simple sneakers (they look like bowling shoes- SO cute)
1 pair back Maryjane walking shoes (I might change my mind on those...)
multi-colored fluffy scarf that my beloved Tia Panchita knitted for me, because it looks fab with EVERYTHING
black leather gloves
black chenille stocking cap
nightshirt
gym shorts (for late-night tiptoeing to a shared bathroom in a hotel)
2 pairs tights
black knee-length down parka (DKNY, tres chic)

The rest of the pack will be filled with electronic equipment, spare batteries for said equipment, chargers for said batteries, and adaptor plugs for said chargers. Too bad they don't make electronics in cashmere.

I can't wait to go. It's so much fun traveling with mom, because we can live out our bohemian dreams. We like to travel in the style of college students on summer holiday. Who knows, maybe we'll try hitchhiking and staying in hostels, too.

Although we will have a rent car part of the time, and our Eurail passes are first-class. But that's only because we aren't allowed to buy 2nd class tickets past the age of 26. So we will suffer through the first-class seats. And we'll curse "the man" for making us travel in luxury.

10 days ago I told my nutritionist that I wanted to lose between 5-10 pounds before I leave, and she said No problem! Just avoid sugar and white flour (and rice, and potatoes, presumably) until then. So this is the end of the first week without white flour or sugar, and I still want chocolate-chip muffins as much as ever. Oh, well. It's a small price to pay to be able to bring pants that are 2 oz lighter because they're smaller.

So far I've lost... nothing. DAMN YOU, ATKINS!

*sigh*

On a completely unrelated subject, BIRTHDAY GREETINGS!!!! to one of my favorite co-conspirators in mayhem, my cousin PartnerInCrime, who turns the THIRTY tomorrow! Welcome to the club, chickie! You'll class up the "thirtysomethings," since most of us wander around with no makeup on most of the time. Have a great birthday!