Archive | December, 2011

How to Pack a Carry-on Suitcase

8 Dec

Since my husband is a savvy traveler and refuses to check anything but a box of meat (which we just did on our trip to Minnesota), I have learned to pack in such a way that I don’t have to check a bag either. And the amazing thing is, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.

I have a Leisure suitcase that I bought from Herberger’s (a department store like Macy’s). It looks like the smaller upright suitcase in this picture (except mine is a bright cerulean):

So for those of you who are traveling for the holidays, here are my tips to fitting all your stuff for a 4-5 day trip into a carry-on suitcase:

1. Roll your clothes.

You’ve probably heard this tip before, but that’s because it’s true. Not only does rolling your clothes save space and prevent wrinkles better than folding, it also makes getting clothes out a breeze (no unpacking to pull out something from the bottom!). I pile all of my clothes rolls on one side length of the suitcase, leaving about 10 inches in front for my toiletry bag and shoes.

2. Plan a wardrobe, not outfits.

If you have a thing about re-wearing clothes before washing them, then this tip is not for you. But for the rest of us, this is a great way to save space, while still looking cute. On this most recent trip when I was packing for 4 days (not including the first day of travel), I brought 2 pairs of pants, plus the one I was wearing. I brought a shirt to wear with the vest I had on, plus 3 other top combinations. I brought 2 pairs of shoes – 1 pair of brown flats and 1 pair of black flats, and wore my snow boots (which, it turned out, I needed more in Denver than in Minnesota). As a general rule, I mostly bring solid color basics that can go with multiple things and then jazz things up with a tank or t-shirt (because they’re small) or jewelry (also small).

3. Bring the beauty basics.

I bring travel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, body wash (when I remember to buy it), toothpaste, face wash (even though it isn’t my normal brand), body lotion, and perfume. I also bring my regular toothbrush, regular makeup bag, ponytail holders/barrettes, comb, hairdryer and either a straightener or curling iron. But the rest of the beauty products I use normally? I leave them at home. Luckily, my skin isn’t very temperamental and I can get by without my normal products for a short trip. I realize not everyone is in the same boat but even then, you can get travel-sized plastic containers to hold the amount of product you need on your trip.

4. Choose the least bulky items.

Given the choice between two sweaters, bring the one that takes up the least space in your suitcase. As much as I love my chunky wool sweaters (and definitely take advantage of the opportunity to pack them in our biggest suitcase when we’re driving back), if I’m trying to pack a carry-on for a flight, they’re not coming with. If you just can’t handle the idea of leaving your precious item behind, then make sure to plan the rest of your wardrobe so that you have a few different outfits you can wear with it. Same thing goes with shoes – if you can, pack flats or heels over boots (though I did bring back 2 pairs of boots in October and still carried my suitcase on the plane). Better yet, plan to wear the bulkiest items when you’re traveling, so that you don’t have to worry about packing them at all (like I did with my vest and snow boots for this trip).

5. Pack fun jewelry.

A fun necklace can take a regular long-sleeved shirt from daytime to nighttime and it takes up hardly any room in your suitcase. To keep dainty necklaces from getting tangled in travel, I hang them all on my hand and tie a twisty tie around the top, banding all the chains together. Then I gently lay them in an empty Altoids box, cover with tissue or toilet paper so that they can’t move around at all. I do the same thing with earrings (minus the twisty tie, obviously). For bulky necklaces, I put them in individual plastic baggies. All my jewelry goes into my toiletry bag, which also helps them to not move around much.

 

What’s your tip for saving room in your suitcase when traveling?

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Walleyes, Logging Camps and an Eagle Scout

7 Dec

Our trip back to Minnesota last weekend was very enjoyable. I was kind of bummed that there was no snow but I was happy that it was a mild 20 degrees, instead of a frigid negative 20. Seriously, giving up Denver winters is going to the hardest part about moving back (someday)… I never knew what it was like to enjoy being outside in January until I moved to Denver.

Anyway, our flight arrived Thursday night and Travis’ wonderful aunt, Cheryl, picked us up from the airport. We drove over to Nyle’s house (Travis’ uncle) to borrow his pickup and after chatting for 20 minutes and driving to Cheryl’s house, we promptly went to bed – by then it was about 11 pm, Minnesota time.

The next morning, we were planning on getting up at 6:30 but even though I set the time for the alarm on the clock in our bedroom, I didn’t actually turn the alarm on. Whoops. So we ended up getting up at 9:30. We were tired! It was really only 8:30 Denver time, so I didn’t feel quite as lazy and pathetic. I told Travis that was his birthday present from me (it was his birthday that Friday).

We got on the road about 11:00 to make the 3 hr, 15 min drive up to Grand Rapids. I read a Psalm in honor of our Advent calendar, we talked about where we’d like to live when we move back, and listened to Christmas music. And we had to make a stop at the Walleye in Garrison.

It was really windy and I tried balancing the camera on the car trunk but I decided I’d rather not get a picture together than have our camera break.

Finally, we got up to his parents’ house. We ate lunch, toured their finished gazebo (a little too brisk for comfort in December!), and went shopping for a new pair of shoes for Travis – his old ones were so worn that his toe touched the ground and got wet all the time. We also stopped by the liquor store for some beer and wine. We picked up White Truck Chardonnay and Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon. I liked the White Truck, but not so much the Yellow Tail. We had steak and potatoes for dinner and for dessert, we had “strawberry shortcake” (with angel food cake instead of shortbread) for Travis’ birthday – his favorite. He is the big old 2-7. 

Saturday, we got up around 8 and had blueberry sourdough pancakes for breakfast – Travis’ dad has been tending a culture of sourdough bacteria (smells like beer) so he was the cook. They were delicious. Then we all piled into the car and went to the Forest History Center to tour an old logging camp.

These horses were named Bud and Mick – Budweiser and Michelob.

This was the sleigh that the loggers loaded with water to ice down the logging roads.

It was really interesting. I am always amazed by the fortitude and determination of people from the “old days.” They were fighters. On the way home, we stopped to look at Matthew’s Eagle Scout project.

He built a compost shed for the local food shelf. They often received donations of perishable food but couldn’t do anything with it, and then had to pay to have it removed because they couldn’t throw it away by law. So these compost bins save them money, and will provide them with great fertilizer.

Sunday was the day of Matthew’s Eagle Scout ceremony. After breakfast, we all sat around talking, waiting for it to be time to go over to the church. Then the activity of setting everything up commenced. We had a lot of help so everything, including the ceremony and reception, went very well.

I was the designated photographer. I tried my best to get good pictures with the dim lighting, and I think most of them turned out decently well.

Before long, it was time to head back to their house for the family dinner and gift opening. I got to see a lot of relatives from Travis’ dad’s side of the family that I hadn’t seen since our wedding, so that was good – even if it was a bit awkward at times  (because I didn’t remember meeting them in the midst of the wedding day blur). Around 6:30, we left to drive back down to Blaine. I was able to meet up with my best friends, Brittany and Holly, at Perkin’s. It was short but sweet and I loved laughing with them again. I really hope they still live in Minnesota when we move back (you hear that B?).

Monday morning, we flew out bright and early at 6:45. We arrived back in Denver to a temperature of 5 degrees and snow on the ground. Now that’s more like it!

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Christmas Postcards!

6 Dec

I am slowly but steadily chipping my way through my to-do list. A big check: ordering Christmas cards. This year, I was inspired to design my own postcards and order them from OvernightPrints.com. Not only do I save on postage because I can use postcard stamps instead of letter ones, but I also only spent $25 on 100 full-color, glossy front postcards. That is a deal if you ask me. 

I’m crossing my fingers that the post office won’t throw a hissy fit about the postcards not having a return address. I would’ve added one, except the type was pretty small already and I didn’t want to cut the letter down. So I think I might brave the long post-office lines to make sure that the postcards are acceptable. Otherwise, they will be going in envelopes – which isn’t the end of the world, because then they’ll just end up being around the same price as if I would’ve just ordered regular photo cards from Walmart.

I went grocery shopping last night and didn’t get back home until 7:30. And since we had gotten up at 3:30 Denver time, I just unpacked and tidied the house and then went to bed. Tonight: shopping for Christmas tea centerpiece and putting up our Christmas decorations! Twinkling lights make me happy.

{Update 12/22/11: I received my postcards on the day I expected, they did a great job printing them, but I only received half of my order. I called Overnight Prints the next day and explained the situation. They apologized, reprinted the part of my order I was missing, and sent them out UPS 2-Day Air, free of charge. So while the process wasn’t flawless, they did remedy the situation very quickly and I was still able to get all my postcards out for Christmas.}

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Back from Minnesota!

5 Dec

Not so much MinneSNOWta this time but fun nonetheless!

I have tons on my plate this week and am trying to remember to take things one at a time, and to enjoy this wonderful season by focusing on what really matters.

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I’ve started going through Jesus’ genealogy and it’s been very interesting. I already learned that the Levites aren’t considered one of the twelve tribes of Israel because they were given the temple duties instead of land. Who knew?

On my list for this week:

  • Grocery shop
  • Pick up prescription
  • Pick up pooches
  • Put up Christmas decorations
  • Do laundry
  • Clean the house
  • Finish and order Christmas cards
  • Buy table decorations for Christmas tea on Saturday
  • Make tea snack
  • Make side dish for Christmas party on Sunday
  • Find or make small gifts for Christmas tea and party

I also have my book study tomorrow night and care group Wednesday night. So it’s a busy week!

Welp, I’m off to get crackin’! Hope you had a good weekend! I did (more on that later…)

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Workout ADD

1 Dec

Travis and I are flying out this afternoon for Minnesota. Since we will be in the tundra and (almost) in the middle of nowhere all weekend, I decided that I needed to get in all of my workouts before leaving – I almost made it. I won’t be able to fit in Sunday’s 60 minutes of cardio and strength and my weekly mileage will be short by 1.24 miles. But considering the busyness of this week, and my disdain for working out indoors, I would consider this a success.

But I had to be creative. I’m pretty sure I have Workout ADD because I get bored very easily.

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Monday, I was scheduled to do 45 minutes of cardio + strength training. But 45 minutes on any single machine is my idea of torture and I refuse to use the pool on weeknights because of the swim team. So I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the stationary bike. Then I went home and did 2 rounds of this strength routine plus a little extra core work to make it to 20 minutes (gotta get my point for the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge!). Done and done.

Tuesday, I ran 3 miles during lunch. The area where my office is located is very hilly and I swear that even though the elevation is actually lower there than in Wheat Ridge (where we live), the air is thinner in Broomfield. Right away, my right hamstring felt really tight. Great. I stopped to stretch, walked a bit and then started running again. It didn’t hurt as much if I ran faster so I decided to do intervals – run 90 seconds, walk 30 seconds. This was a very challenging run. I felt completely out of breath the whole time and I even had to cut the run to 60 seconds and increase the walk to 60 seconds a couple of times. But I finished 3.18 miles in 34:02 (10:42/mile).

Since we’ll be gone this weekend and it was supposed to snow today in Denver (which it did), I decided to bump my long run of 7 miles to yesterday. I had planned to run it in the morning but I woke up with a pounding headache so I did my usual thing of brainstorming while lying in bed how I could fit the run in after work. I decided that if I left work at 3:45 (one benefit of having a job with nothing to do), I could make it home to do 7 miles and still get to Charlotte’s home by 6:30 to meet for Operation Christmas Child.

But the dilemma – sunset was at 4:36 and the end of dusk was at 5:06. Even if I started running by 4:30 like my plan, I wouldn’t have time for all 7 miles outside (and Travis doesn’t want me running in the dark). So I devised an ingenious plan: I took the dogs with me for 2.5 miles. I took them back to the house and grabbed my ipod, some Gu Chomps (I tried the orange and they were delicious!!), and my Rec card and ran the 1.5 miles to the gym. I ran 2 miles around the track and then ran home on the well lit, busy streets. I actually ended up running 7.48 miles in 1:25:29 (11:25/mile). After a quick stretching session and a dinner of pumpkin oats and a big hunk of asiago cheese bread, I headed to volunteer. Man, were my legs tired and sore by the time I was done standing on my feet for 3 hours!

Today, I was scheduled to run 5 miles. But I woke up a tad bit later than I had planned, I had to bring the dogs over to our friends’ house who are watching them while we’re gone, and because it snowed a couple of inches, I knew it would take me about twice as long to get to work (have I ever mentioned how much I hate driving in the snow in Denver?!?). So I headed to the Rec and pounded out another 3 miles… on the dreadmill. I know, I’m shocked as well.

But I staved off the incredible dreadmill boredom by doing something different for each mile. So here is my Guide to Not Getting Bored on the Treadmill:

First Mile

Walk 1 min at 4 mph

Run 2 min at 5 mph

Run 2 min at 5.5

Repeat once

Second mile

Walk 1 min at 4 mph

Run 2 min at 5.5 mph

Run 1 min at 6 mph

Run 1 min at 6.5 mph

Repeat

Third mile

Alternate 1 minute of walking at 4 mph with 1 minute of running at 7 mph

I successfully completed 3.1 miles in 36:07 (11:39/mile) without poking my eyes out! Yay!

Unfortunately, in addition to all of the mixing and matching, there was another similarity my workouts shared this week: leg pain. I’ve been noticing pain and tightness in my glutes, hamstrings and IT band. As I sit here typing this, my left hip/IT band is throbbing. Gah! I guess I know what I’ll be doing this weekend: lots of stretching!

Alright friends, as usual when I go to BF Nowhere Minnesota, I won’t be posting. I hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm and healthy wherever you are!

Do you like to mix and match your workouts or are you more straightforward?

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