Monday, November 28, 2011

Preparation or How a Procrastinator Packs

Christmas letter written.
Check.

Tree up.
Check.

Packed for cruise.
Ummmm, not yet.

Hey, but at least I won't have to put the tree up when I get back. Or worry about those Christmas cards (the cards are easy – it's writing the letter that's time consuming). That in itself is a MAJOR accomplishment. The last time we took vacation around our anniversary (14 days to Hawaii & California), I scrambled to get my Christmas shopping completed upon return, as well as put up the decorations. So what happens? The biggest snowstorm of the year, that's all. I had a nightmare (an actual, honest to goodness nightmare) that Christmas morning came and there were no presents under the tree. I will not go through THAT again.

But packing for vacation? I'm a last minute packer. I do have a list of things I don't want to forget, but doesn't include what clothes to bring. There, I have a vague idea of what I want to wear, but I haven't pulled anything out – yet. That will be saved for the night before. So far the worst mistake I ever made packing that way was forgetting to pack socks (so I had to buy them, big deal) or a belt for my husband (hey – he has to take some responsibility for his own clothes!).

I have picked out which books to bring. While I plan on doing some writing on this cruise, I also expect to have a lot of reading time, too (sometimes I can only write so much and then my brain shuts down). Especially if I finish the first draft (fingers crossed). The books I plan on taking along (one of which I may start during lunch today) are shown below (And boy, did I have a time trying to get the pictures to line up decently. All I wanted to do was make two rows of three. Blogger doesn't do things easy, do they?).


I don't expect to read them all – I just like to be prepared. I took four books on my last cruise (Sookie Stackhouse series) and ended up buying a fifth. I'd rather read from my TBR pile than sort through the small selection offered on the ship.

I know, I know. If I had an e-reader, I wouldn't have to do that. Still ain't buying one, though.

So how far in advance do you pack for your vacation? And if it's more than a day, do you actually pack or just create a pile of what you'll be taking? I've never understood how some people pack in advance, probably because I can't imagine putting the clothes in the suitcase a week ahead of time. Do you really have that much underwear you don't have to wash for over a week? Don't the clothes get extra wrinkly? It's not like I'll have an iron. Just saying…

5 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

Have a good time, Stacy!

I'm a light packer so I can usually pack two days ahead and be done.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Thanks, Maria. I'm a fairly light packer, too. Maybe that's how I can wait until the night before to pack.

As long as I keep a list, I should be okay. So, maybe I should start a list of clothes I want to take? Hmmm...

The Happy Whisk said...

Hope you have a great trip. As for the eReader, I never ever thought I would like one. But boy, is it great fun. I love reading in the dark. Love it.

Cheers and have a great time.

DL Hammons said...

I'm a last minute packer as well, but that's because I usually bring the bare minimum. If I have to I'm not afraid to wear the same clothes several days in a row if I forgot something. Yep...I'm a guy! :)

Stacy McKitrick said...

Whisk - I know lots of people like e-readers and as a future published author (thinking positive, here), I'm for any way people want to read my books!

DL - Yeah, bare minimum. That sounds like me - and I'm not a guy! I always tell my husband he's lucky I'm low maintainence.

Thanks for stopping by!!!