Turns out there are 8

And so it is....7 suitcases is not enough. It has to be 8. We've already had to make adjustments  as far as what, and how much, we can take with us. But now we have to do it again - in the sense that we had to buy another suitcase. We realistically cannot take all that we had planned in just 7 bags. Although we don't want to pay more for excess baggage (which in the end will fall on my employer), it's better to pay now than to later go in search of the perfect coffee maker (that we already own), among other personal belongings and household items.


I'd prefer to spend $100 now rather than have to go shopping in Brazil where everyone says that many kitchen appliances, for instance, are over priced and at the same time made of low quality material. And this way, moving with 7 suitcases, we should end up with a bit of extra space for more towels, bedding, shirts for me!, and other miscellaneous items that I didn't want to leave behind (i.e. Sebastian's comfortable bed. He'll need something from home, too). I just wonder how we're going to get this all to the airport. Thanks to our friend who will help us get there. We'll have 8 suitcases, 2 carry ons, 2 personal items, and a (crying?) cat. Wish us luck!


Back to our suitcases....each one cannot exceed 70 lbs or we'll be charged extra (which defeats the purpose of us having to add one more bag into the mix). So how do you know if your bag is the appropriate weight? Well, we know that our bathroom scale won't work because it's too small. Only the smallest suitcases will fit. So we've been taking our suitcases to our local grocery store (Publix) since they have a large scale for the public to use. With our first 3 weighed bags we were in luck. They were between 63 - 69 lbs (of course we added weight to the lightest one); however, the 4th weighted 91 lbs! I had to take out heavy items from that one and that's when we knew we need another bag. We'll have to reweigh that bag to make sure that it's no more than 70 lbs. 


So we've completed most our shopping and packing at this point (living in Orlando means outlet malls and shopping malls everywhere). We also have about a week and a half before we're out. I think we've sold our TV, we have a pending cancellation on our TV/Internet, we only have one car and one phone to take care of, I've cancelled credit cards, changed our address with the post office, and we've bought a new carry on bag for me. I learned the hard way that the bag I had planned to take as a carry on to Brazil will not work. It only has straps; I need a rolling piece of luggage, so that's what we bought. If I'm carrying a purse with a laptop and Sebastian, I cannot lug around a bag like I did to New York.  



I'll feel more relaxed once we have at least 6 of our bags packed, weighed, and waiting in the corner ready to be moved (we're about half way there now). This way I can focus on the smaller things as well as spending time with our friends, like the Girl's Night Out coming up this weekend. We're almost there folks! :)