Oh my gosh!!

We're down to 12 hours and counting! I can't believe it's finally here! I've packed and repacked this afternoon. I think my carry-on weighs more than my checked luggage. LOL! It looks like we're going to miss the rain in London and Paris. Overcast and high 50's, but, I can live with that! I'm even going to be brave enough to ride the London Eye. I don't like ferris wheels, but, I think this one will be ok, as the pods are enclosed and it takes 1/2 hour for it to rotate, so, it won't be going too fast.

We've had two beautiful days in a row. That said, it's almost time to batten down the hatches for the long cold winter. Since heating oil has gone through the roof, we've decided to go back to burning wood. So, my firewood guy delivered a cord yesterday and another cord today. I've spent the last two afternoons stacking this stuff! I got a good workout and can skip the exercise bike :) Good thing, as I've found muscles in my tuckus that I forgot I had! LOL!

Of course I had to take a couple of pictures of my hard work!

Operation Smile Cruise for a Smile Walk

Close To My Heart is now a proud sponsor of Operation Smile. Did you know that it only takes $240 to correct the palette of one child? Many children in less fortunate countries die of malnutrition due to cleft palettes. Won't you help me help a child?

On October 6th, during our Mediterranean Cruise, we will Cruise for a Smile! We will be walking the decks of the Norwegian Gem to raise money for Operation Smile. If you would like to donate to my Cruise for a Smile walk, please click the Donate button to the right to make your donation. I'd love to be able to come back and tell you that I raised enough money to sponsor one child!

Packing....

I spent yesterday washing all of the new clothes that I bought for the trip. I'm pretty proud of myself as I shopped the clearance sales and purchased almost $600 worth for only $168!! Yippee! More moola to spend on the trip. Now, that said...I hate to shop and have been wearing my son's cast off jeans and using my husband's cast off belt with a bazillion holes in it to hold up my pants. LOL! I lost enough weight this summer to be able to pull out my old skinnier shorts. YEA! But, that meant that I didn't have much, if anything, to take on the trip. I don't have a lot of business/casual clothes, because...face it...who needs to dress up on the farm? LOL!

So, after washing all of these, I put them in my new suitcase (yes...I had to purchase one of them as my last suitcase is over 30 yrs old...one of those carry type with no wheels). But, I scored a clearance deal on it, too! It was only $40 for a $129 suitcase. Woo hoo!! Anyway...I digress....I put all of my clothes in it and still have 1/2 a suitcase left. Some of those clothes will be in my carry-on, so, I think I'll have plenty of room to take my pillow with me. I'm not really a germaphobe, but the thought of sleeping on a pillow that "who knows who's" had their head on just grosses me out! Face it...I know I drool sometimes when I sleep...so, who knows who else has drooled on that pillow. YUK!! I bought the spacebag to put it in so that I can squish it good :)

Well, better go get busy! The laundry is waiting to go out on the line and then I need to finish up some projects around here before I leave....just in case....

2 weeks from today!

The time is finally drawing close! Two weeks from today I'll be on an airplane on my way to London! I can't wait!! My traveling buddy and I are on the phone at least 3 times a week now :) We're both so excited! I had the most awakening epiphany this past Saturday (13th)....I was cleaning the bathroom (yuk) and realized that one month from then, the trip would be over, and I'd be back here cleaning the bathroom again! LOL!!

I just heard yesterday that there was a fire in the tunnel that the Eurostar travels through. One tunnel is closed, so, there are a limited amount of trains running from London to Paris and back. They hope to have both tunnels back open by 9/30. I hope so!! We're scheduled to leave London at 5:25 am to head to Paris on 10/3. I don't want to be wasting time standing around waiting for a train when I can be in Paris seeing the sights. Plus, it's going to be Fashion Week in Paris when we are there!

I am just so excited about this trip! I am taking my laptop with me and will try to update my blog every day with a little about what we have seen and a few photos. So, be sure to check back starting 10/2 to follow our travels.