Then and Now

I was listening to a podcast the other day about packing for traveling and these guys were giving their expert tips. I had to laugh out loud when the very first tip was to pack what you need and don't pack anything "just in case".  I used to be such a "just in case" packer. Seriously, it was bad. As proof, I found 2 pictures:

2006

Picture #1 is from my very first foreign trip with my sister. We went to Hong Kong and Singapore for probably 11 or 12 days and we both took 2 suitcases. To this day, we can't remember what we packed in them and why we each needed 2. Rookie mistake for sure.

2015

Picture #2 is from our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Everything was in my 33L day pack or the sling and that trip also lasted about 12 days. And yes, the Pringles are a necessity when traveling. Ha ha


I don’t always take the backpack; this year’s Scotland trip was done with a carryon size, but I am now down to 1 carryon or backpack and 1 small backpack or purse.  Some of it is because of a lot of work travel a few years ago and you learn real fast to pack light when you are stuck with luggage for hours at a time. The rest of it comes from more world travel where I’ve learned from experience that dragging a suitcase (even a small one) across cobblestone or uneven bricks is just not fun at all. I’m seriously considering the backpacks that are made specifically for travel and don’t have straps and are not top loading for wherever my next trip is. Anyway, it’s a funny memory and I’ve come a long way.

 

Phase 2 = Complete, Plus Rainbows

My house is done! New paint and carpet upstairs. I love it! I’ve got everything back where it belongs (excepting a few things I still need to sort through). The last step happened on Monday when I put all my books on their new shelves in my new library. It took all evening! I love my home and I’m blessed to have it.

This past year I’ve had some “down in the dumps” moments and lots of times where I didn’t want to try very much at anything. The past few months with my home changes I’ve noticed many of my little prayers have been answered. Some were silly little prayers that probably don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things but they mattered to me and my Heavenly Father answered them.

Then the shooting in Las Vegas happened and life just seems depressing again. I’m not trying to pass over any of the horrible stuff there, but this morning was so beautiful. I wish I was a photographer and could have caught it. It was cloudy and raining in spots, but the sun was also coming up over the mountains and it was hitting the clouds with all kinds of color and then there were rainbows. In fact, one of the rainbows was one of the brightest and most brilliant I’ve ever seen. My words could never do it justice or really describe what I saw. I just couldn’t help but think that in the midst of all the crap, there is also a lot of good and this just kind of seemed like a sign that God is still in charge.