I Have To Fit 8 Months in THIS BAG??

Ok, so I'm a bit of an idiot. And I say this because I used to be an editor, meticulously reading through every document that crossed my desk. When I became a massage therapist, I started getting lazy. Wait -- correction: I just started "seeing" with my hands instead of my eyes. Yeah, that's it.

So, when Rebecca and I booked our flights to Peru, I only glanced at the pop-up box on Spirit Airlines' Website that said we could only take one bag. I just figured we'd be charged for the second bag like all the other airlines. Uh, no. After purchasing our nonrefundable tickets, we realized that WE CAN ONLY CHECK ONE BAG EACH. Fuck.

I have boots. And books. And kitchen utensils I know I can't find down there (Peruvian vegetable peelers suck). And it all needs to fit into 62 linear inches of luggage. So, the books are being converted into a Sony eReader, the utensils are pared down to only one or two and my clothes are going into vacuum bags, but I may have to wear a few layers of sweaters and jackets on the plane. The boots are still coming.

Shipping items to Peru isn't a good idea. Apparently, customs likes to pick and choose what they will or won't allow into the country and used clothing is a no-no (something about protecting their textile industry). So, between the one checked bag, a carry-on and my purse, I've got 8 months worth of packing to do!

But first, Vegas. Tomorrow, I'm boarding an 8am flight to Las Vegas for the weekend where my friend is working at her association's convention. She had the room, so I bought the ticket. I'll pack next week.