The Great Packing Disaster.....and still not finished

Just a few pics of my progress...and Phoebe.  Still some things to get.  I need to get my host family gifts and a few other little things and BAM I'm done and ready to go!!! I'm leaving in 4 days...I'm so excited!!!

One of my duffels and my backpack (thanks again Carrie!) and just a few of my boxes from my house in Murfreesboro. 

Miss Phoebe...she's been so curious about all my packing...I'm gonna miss her so much!!

 Toiletries and clothes EVERYWHERE! This does not include shoes or my electronics.

So this weekend, Joshua (my boyfriend) is in town and we have a big weekend planned.  Today we're going to sell my car (goodbye Patty Passat!), going to the Knoxville zoo, eating at this pizza place we saw on that show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, visiting my grandmother, seeing my Dad's new house, and then squeezing in a movie.  Tomorrow, my Mom's side of the family is coming over for dinner and to say good bye.  Lots to do, lots to do!

How did I get here?

I cannot believe there are only 19 days left before I leave for D.C.!  The last few days I've been asking myself how did I get here so quickly?!  It feels like just last week I received my invitation and was having Thanksgiving with my family.  Time is such a weird thing. 

Anyway, yesterday was my last day at work.  It was full of mixed feelings.  I'm super stoked that I won't be waiting tables again....EVER!...but I'm so sad to be leaving my friends.  We are such a close knit group at work; it's going to be so strange not to see them for a few years.  I'm sad to be leaving some amazing people, but I'm so excited about the new friends I'm going to meet in my training group.  Omnibus 105 Wooo!!!!  One of the girls in my group started a Facebook group a few weeks back so we could start meeting each other and talk about PC things such as packing, flight info, PC issues, etc.  Everyone seems so great, I can't wait to meet them! 

These next two weeks are going to be crazy!  I have so much planned.  My sister is staying with me this weekend; I'm going to a slumber party tomorrow with a bunch of my girlfriends; I've got a couple of appointments to go to this week; I'm going to Chattanooga on Thursday with my friends Lin, Claire, and Allison; then Saturday my mom and her fiance are helping me move back to Knoxville.  Whew! 
I can't believe I'm going to be in Ecuador in less than 3 weeks!  This is going to be an incredible adventure!!

Testing...1...2...3...

This evening I decided to do a packing test to see how much stuff I have, if it will all fit in my bags, and if I've hit my weight limit (now 100lbs).  It was surprisingly awesome!  When I had everything laid out I kept thinking "There is no way this is all going to fit and stay within my weight limit."  But it did, with room and weight to spare!! (Side note: I bought those space bags to put all my clothes in and they are amazing! I feel like I have so much more room then if I just threw all my clothes in my bags)  So far my bag weight is at 55 lbs with all my clothes, books, shoes, and a few other accessories.  I still need to add toiletries, sleeping bag, and some other odds and ends but I feel like I have a lot of wiggle room.  Phew!! One less thing to stress about. 

Changing subject we got about 4 inches of snow today!  I know for some of you that is something to laugh at but this is middle Tennessee and we freak out at the chance of flurries.  My boss called me this morning and told me that work would be closed all day today.  Woohoo! Unexpected surprise!  I was glad to have the day off but at the same time I really needed the money.  I only have 5 days of work left and I have got to make enough to pay bills, Josh, buy last minute items, and have a little travel money.  Come on tax return!!
Back to the snow, it was a good day.  Josh and I took Toby (our dog) for a walk, had a snow ball fight, made snow angels (Toby attempted to help with the angels) and made a huge mess of the yard.  All in all a good day! 

24 Days Till I Depart For D.C.!!!

It's time for a PC update!  Earlier this week I received my staging info for our group's in-country orientation.  I'm in the Omnibus 105 training group!!!!! I called Sato and made my travel arrangements.  My flight leaves for D.C. early Wednesday morning (February 2nd) around 7 and I will be in D.C. at 9 am. My group will meet at a hotel in D.C. and we will have several intense hours of orientation about what's expected of us and what we should expect from PC and of course, how could I forget, all that awesome paperwork!!!

The next morning we have to check out of the hotel by 3:30 AM!!!!! Guess I'm not getting any sleep for those first few days.  Then on a plane to Quito!!! We will spend those first few days near PC headquarters getting vaccinated (yellow fever, hep B or A, rabies, the usual), oriented, and meeting the PC staff.  Then our host families will come meet us and take us to their homes.  I'm so excited and so nervous to meet my host family.  I'm not sure what to think or to expect from this experience with them.  I can only remain positive and just smile and laugh. 

Most of my packing is done.  I'm pretty sure I have all the clothes and things I need.  I'm just lacking some toiletries and a few other small things.  I've gotten almost all of my finances taken care of.  All that's left is packing up my house, moving back to Knoxville, and spending as much time as I can with my friends here in Murfreesboro.  I'll have a final packing list up in the next few weeks as well as pictures!!