Why I’m Not Setting Any Goals This Week (& Why I Might be MIA for the Next Week)
So, after anticipating it few many, many weeks…
After spending the last few weeks researching online what I should bring (oh yes, I totally Googled “best pillows for international flights” and “best sleeping pills for long flights” and “does South African Airlines have wi-fi?” — yes, I totally did. And quite a few other such crazy searches!)…
After making some purchases — like some summer clothes (I resorted to buying them from Amazon since most local stores didn’t have clothes for hot summer days!) and special outlet adapters…
After making a detailed packing list — a lot of it based upon your experienced advice and Lisa-Jo’s years of experience (see her post here with great tips on International Travel With Kids — she’s a pro!)…
After a few weeks of collecting a pile of stuff that I thought I’d want to bring…
It was finally time to pack for my trip to South Africa last night!
Packing for long trips is always a tug-o-war between my inner Boy Scout packing tendencies (you know, the “always be prepared” motto) and my minimalist personality.
I was excited that I managed to get everything into a backpack and my carry-on luggage with some room to spare!
On the one hand, it doesn’t look like much for a 7-day international trip. On the other hand, I feel like I “over-packed” and prepared for multiple possibilities. I brought a few extra outfits, I brought extra medicine, I brought extra snacks, I brought multiples of things like tissue packs and hand sanitizer.
Since this is my first time to be on an airplane for longer than 5 hours (our flight is 18-hours straight!), I kind of want to be over-prepared because I’m not sure how it will be for me to be cooped up in a plane for that long! 🙂
{And yes, all those of you who regularly go on international flights can get a good chuckle over how green I am about all of this!}
Our secret to traveling often with younger kids is to teach them how to pack themselves in an organized fashion. My kids all have their own system — some more detailed than others — and they have it down to almost a science.
They packed for the 10-day trip to DC in less than an hour last night! All we had to do was double check their work and pack ourselves.
When I had 3 kids under 6 I could have never imagined the day that my kids would be doing all of their own packing — and doing a great job of it. Moms of littles: your hard work and all that time you spend teaching and training your kids does pay off!!
{We left around noon today for DC and have been driving ever since. We’re almost there! We plan to visit a few sites tomorrow and then I’ll fly out of DC to South Africa on Wednesday. Jesse is staying in DC with the kids while I’m gone and they’re planning go to the museums and visit as many surrounding states and historic sites as they can while I’m gone. They are so stoked about it!}
Last Week’s Goals Update
Since I’m flying to South Africa on Wednesday and won’t be back in the states until next Tuesday (the 20th), I’m not going to set my usual list of goals for this week or next week. My goals, instead, are to soak in everything from the trip, learn all I can learn from those we’ll be with in South Africa, and let the lessons impact me and sink in deep.
Here’s an update on how I did on last week’s goals:
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Start our Morning Time routine. Read aloud for at least 20 minutes every day.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Help the kids write thank you notes for Christmas gifts.
4. Write notes to the children we sponsor through Compassion.
Personal Goals
5. Exercise at least 4 times (I’m trying out these BeFit in 30 workouts this week.)
6. Finish at least two books.
7. Knit a Cosy Posy Ear Warmer. (I worked on this for at least an hour, but was having trouble getting the seed stitch to look consistent. I know, I know, it’s such a simple stitch, but I’m also such a beginner level knitter and not a naturally crafty person so this kind of stuff requires a lot more effort and concentration for me. However, it’s really a good way to stretch myself in a different creative direction and I find it so invigorating when I actually am able to finish a project and be proud of it! I found some YouTube videos on how to do the seed stitch and found those to be helpful so I’m going to try again and am hoping that I can have a finished project to show you in the next few weeks!)
8. Clean out our bathroom closet.
9. Try a new DIY project & recipe: Fixing Our Hardwood Floor Scratches & Trim Healthy Mama Chocolate Cupcakes.
Business Goals
10. Finish writing 3 articles for Mandi’s Live course.
What You Can Expect While I’m Gone
I’ve been told that we will have limited access to internet while we’re in South Africa. I’ve pre-scheduled some great guest posts to run here and I’m hoping to be able to share at least a few great deals every day plus write a few blog posts while I’m gone sharing pictures and telling you about what I’m experiencing.
However, I’m expecting that I’ll be offline much of the time. So if things are a little quiet here on the blog for the next week and a half, you’ll know why.
I know we’re only just beginning the new year, but we’re going to take a two-week hiatus from all of our 2015 weekly features. I promise we will pick those back up again starting January 26, 2015.
I will be posting pictures on Instagram when I’m able to get a wi-fi connection during the day, so if you’re not following me on Instagram yet, you can click here to do so. That will be the best way to keep up-to-date with the South Africa trip. In addition, follow Joy and Lisa-Jo who will both be traveling with me.
