A Look Back: July 17th 2008

Most of travel group 136 left today for Beijing. I have no regrets as I'm running around half crazy. Remember I mentioned remodeling? Well, the painters finished at 8:30pm tonight! I have tile grout dust throughout the house. Everything that was in the master closet is in the guest room and in Jordyn's room! My father and stepmother are arriving tomorrow and they will need a room - not to mention that Jordyn will also need a room very soon. So, it must all be put in the new closet. I'm frantically trying to do this. In the meantime, I haven't packed yet! I don't really know what size Jordyn will wear so I have 2-3 different sizes available to take. One thing I know - it's hot in China. But, I've been told that the Chinese will try to cover up your child if too much skin is showing regardless of the temperature so I need to take long pants or capris too. I'm not sure which toys I should take. There is a 50 pound limit on the international flight, but in China there is a 44 pound limit and you cannot go over - period. You can only carry on one personal item and that is considered your "carry on", so even if I carried on an extra bag to China, I wouldn't be able to take it to Nanchang on Monday because my tote bag is my "carry on". There can be NO liquids carried on in China either. So, packing is a challenge. My dear neighbor Linda came over tonight to help and I had her doing everything from cleaning grout dust to packing! Tomorrow she will just be around to help me stay focused - and to go over the checklist. As an old friend would say - 2 more sleeps until China. Who's sleeping???