When Did Packing Become So Difficult?

I have always considered myself to be a pretty good packer.  I pack quickly and neatly and just about never forget anything.  The morning after Kenny and I were married, mom hosted a brunch for 70+ wedding guests.  I spent the morning with our guests and then hustled to pack before the arrival of our limo at 3 pm.  The limo came early, and I made the driver wait until 3 (when I was done).  We were away for about 2 weeks, and I didn't forget a thing.  This is just how I handle packing.  Kenny and mom now have a running joke about my packing, and they don't even try to push me to pack in advance. 

    

I'm sad to say that I finally have packing fatigue, and this fatigue is making me forgetful.  I love the travel, but the packing is becoming an annoying inconvenience.  I think it is because I am in a perpetual state of packing and unpacking- I am rarely in London for more than 2 weeks at a time and am just about always in the states for a week a month.  This is on top of my European travel.  I am to the point where I don't always bother to fully unpack (yes, I take the dirties out and change up the shoes) before piling in a few more items and running to meet my driver.  My system had always worked until last month, and then it failed miserably. 

  

Kenny and I had been at the shore and were taking the ferry into the city when I realized that I had forgotten undies.  Three nights in the city and no undies.  Kenny had also left his ties at my mom's house, so I made an emergency trip to Bloomingdale's.  This little shopping trip was an unexpected bonus, as my old undies look a bit like very baggy parachutes wrapped around my body.  Still, I didn't like that I had forgotten something so essential.  I pride myself in my packing skills after all. 

      

Fast forward to our weekend in the Cotswolds.  We are unpacking on Friday evening.  I pull out my dress, shoes and wrap for Friday night.  I pull out my shoes and wrap for Saturday night.  What is missing?  The dress!  I remembered the items I really could have managed without, the shoes and wrap, and completely blanked on the dress.  Two trips in two weeks, and I forgot two major things.  Now we are a week away from our Mallorca trip.  We are staying here for 10 nights, and I really don't want to continue this trend of forgetting my belongings.  I am going to have to pack in advance for this trip.  Even worse, I might actually make a checklist!  Groan:( 

     

I hope that my packing amnesia is temporary.  My travel routine will become much more tiresome if I actually need to focus on it!

   

I had a great workout this morning!  The trainer I wrote about earlier this week, Ed, was there again.  He had offered to help me out when he introduced himself on Tuesday, so I decided to take him up on his offer today.  I was in the middle of a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill when we started chatting.  I asked if he could show me a few more kettle bell exercises, and he was very helpful.  He stayed with me from 9:10-9:55, which is pretty amazing!  Of course Ed wants me to do personal training with him, so he wanted to show me what he is like.  And it was a smart move on his part!  I've been watching the trainers most days to determine if I could like any of them, and some of them just wouldn't work for me.  Some stand next to the trainee as he/she runs on the treadmill for 20 minutes.  Sorry boys, but I can do that myself.  Others have the unfortunate condition of being female.  I've never liked female trainers and just refuse to even bother trying with another woman.  Lastly, some are just plain dumb.  I like to be able to chat and banter, and I need someone who at least has enough braincells to deal with me.  This guy is a 22 year old university grad, studying for his masters and going through the process of applying to the army.  Ed could work!  I am going to buy a package of training sessions so he can work with me once a week.  After my training today I completed an hour of cardio on the Vario, so it was a good start to the day. 

Cotswolds Catch Up and London Riots

Kenny and I had a wonderful weekend together in the Cotswolds.  He was able to leave work early, so we made it to Upper Slaughter a bit after 5 in the afternoon.  The hotel grounds were beautiful.  I don't always understand this country, but these people can certainly do gardens well!  The hotel itself was just darling- it is an old manor house that maintains a very homey feel.  We were shown to our room and had some time to relax before dinner.

The back of the hotel

The front of the hotel- I actually chose to post the one full length pic to keep me honest!

The hotel is set up for foodies and does not disappoint.  We had a 7:30 dinner reservation and were asked to arrive 30 minutes early for pre-dinner drinks and canapes.  What a pleasant way to start the evening!  There we sat with a glass of champagne and canapes while reviewing the dinner menu and wine list.  Nice touch!  I won't bore you with an overly detailed blow by blow, but our meals were yummy and beautifully presented.  I started with Cornish crab, and Kenny had a beautiful quail dish; my main was halibut with broad beans, and Kenny's was lamb; my dessert was a fabulously dense chocolate bar/cake with a salty, caramel topping and Kenny had a fab raspberry souffle with raspberry ripple ice cream and Lord Eton's mess.  Indulgent, definitely, but I was well-behaved.  I ate my appetizer, maybe half of my entree and less than half of the dessert. 

   

We spoke with the concierge on Saturday morning, and he gave us a map with 7-8 towns worth seeing in our part of the Cotswolds.  I was surprised that so many of these 'towns' were not even villages.  Several were just clusters of little homes- the perfect setting for a murder mystery novel.  We parked in Winchcombe and walked 3/4 of a mile out of town to Sudeley Castle.  Yes, we could have driven all the way to the castle.  Yes, there was a parking lot right next to the castle.  Still, we walked it (one of the many benefits of losing Snooki).  The castle was pretty pathetic, but the gardens were beautiful.  After a few more hours of driving and visiting the towns we were back at the hotel in time for Kenny's Saturday afternoon nap (he only looks 32- in reality he is 85) and another dinner at the hotel.

 At the Castle

 
Yesterday we drove to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, before returning to London. 
 

 
The highlight of SUA was visiting a butterfly farm with hundreds (probably thousands) of butterflies flying all around.  It was amazing and it was beautiful.  

   

  
Now that you have seen my lovely weekend, let's move to a less appealing topic.  Have you all been seeing this rioting madness?  It is really out of control.  While doing cardio at the gym this afternoon, I spent an hour watching the riots on Sky News.  These lunatics have now rioted in East London, North London and South London.  I live in West London, but I don't like being anywhere near riots.  These thugs wear hoodies so CCTV can't photograph their faces, so I got butterflies in my stomach when I saw young people in hoodies as I walked home from the gym.  Not cool.  Onto my opinion of how this should be handled (skip rest of paragraph if you are anti police).  The riot police are being pummeled by bricks, bottles, fire crackers, wood, etc.  It is 100% out of control.  I vote for rubber bullets and tear gas.  Most of the people rioting are young men (young men who should be working rather than loitering on the streets).  They are thugs.  They are bums.  They are cowards.  Hit these bastards with rubber bullets and barrage them with tear gas, and these losers will call it quits.  And do it before they come to my part of town!!!  There, I said it! 

Weekend Plans and Eighty Pounds Down

I was greeted by a beautiful number this morning when I hopped on the scale.  I now weigh 244.6, meaning I am down 80 lbs from my Day 1 liquid diet weight.  This is very exciting for me and means that I am (I hope) on pace to lose 100+ lbs this year.  Maybe I should celebrate by digging into a chocolate mousse cake- kidding!

    

Kenny is leaving work early today so we can drive out to the Cotswolds and stay here for the weekend.  Given the amount we travel, it is amusing that we have seen almost none of England.  We don't have a car here, so it is frequently easier to just fly away rather than deal with the hassle and expense of renting one of the only automatic cars in the country.  Anyway, Kenny chose to stay here because the restaurant is well-known and has a Michelin star.  I hope to maintain my 80 lb loss during what is bound to be a food and wine heavy weekend, so I will walk as much as possible to compensate. 

     

No gyming for me today.  My quads are really sore, but my main issue is that the wonderful and amazing Kenny gave me his cold:(  I don't want to get too run down, so I will take a day off.

    

Happy Friday!