Passing Time

How do you plan for a trip on the other side of the world when you don't even know when you are going? I don't know either. But my solution to most of the worlds mysteries is: GO SHOPPING! heeheehee.

First, I knew we would need new luggage. We have never bought any quality sets. And what we do have is busting apart. And that is only from going to Ireland or Florida. It definitely won't make it to VN and back. So, of course, I had to RESEARCH luggage. :P Those of you that know me, know that I RESEARCH everything! So I learned about ribbed corner guards, hide away handles, expandability, wheels, but most importantly denier! (Denier — it measures the thickness of the fiber in a fabric, and indicates the material's durability) But let's face it...We are on a budget too! We were fortunate that my darling sister, Katie and her DH Sean, bought us one set of our choice for a Christmas gift. In Pat's choice of color: Pea Green. Then I sold some stuff on Eb@y and was able to buy a second set in my choice of color: Plum, of course! The second set arrived yesterday. I have to say that I am quite happy with them. I chose the highest denier that I could find...Let's hope they hold up! I really don't want to see all my skivvies on the luggage belt! You can get your own here in a variety of fun colors. ;)

Also, we wanted to document as much of our trip as we could, as best as we could. So I RESEARCHED Camcorders. Do you know how many different types there are??? It wasn't just a matter of choosing a brand or the features that you want...first, I had to figure out what type we wanted to RESEARCH: DVD, MiniDV, Hard drive, High Def, point and shoot, Hi8...then I had to learn about joystick controls, image stabilization, shutter functions, flash memory...and what the heck is IEEE 1394 interface?? (FYI: IEEE 1394 interface has to do with how you get your taped stuff off the camera onto your computer) So on Black Friday, I joined the masses, for my first time, and stood in line to buy a camcorder.
Five weeks later, it finally arrived at the store for me to pick up. Without anything to record on. Back to the store I went. Oh, and by the way, my computer does not have the appropriate whatevers/hook up thingys to transfer the recordings from my camera to a DVD. Aye yi yi!


Onto clothing. Pat pretty much has Work Jeans and "Good" jeans and a Suit. However, it is just waaaay to hot and humid in VN for him to be wearing jeans. So onto another website to buy a couple of pair of "tropical weight" pants. He really does not like to wear shorts. And considering the pale-ness of his legs...that's not such a bad thing! LMBO! Like I should talk!

We have also had to consider our health. After all, VN is a third world country. Last week I got my Hepatitis A and tetanus booster. My arms were SORE! I had the Hepatitis B shot years ago. At least the typhoid vaccine is in pill form. Pat will get all of his shots this week. I hope he doesn't pass out at the sight of the needle! YIKES!

We have also had to think about the what if's while we are there. And have been advised by Cherie, (our agency's in country family coordinator) to make sure we bring Pepto and Immodium A-D for 'travel illness'. They do not have this available in Vn. Although, should we want antibiotics while in VN, we can just go down to the pharmacy without a prescription and buy it. But there is no PEPTO?! She also recommends bringing infant gas relief drops, among other things, for the babies. And the although just the thought of traveling for 23-30 hours exhausts me...I have a feeling that some sleeping pills may come in handy on that loooooong plane ride.


There is more to get...but I am still RESEARCHING that stuff. :)