Books, be gone!

I have now sorted and sorted and dug threw piles and have narrowed it down to the essentials - as far as the books go. I have donated and donated and donated (to friends, colleagues, the public library, my neighbors) until I have less than 150 lbs of books. Oh yeah, and those college books on theories....yeah, they'll be sold at the local college bookstore on Monday. They're HEAVY. No more Spanish language books and/or textbooks will be going in my suitcase. I'm sad to see them go, but I know that it's all for the better.


We've started to pack (it's early, I know) but it's necessary so we know what we can and cannot take. We've also decided to ship a few large items separately because we realize they won't fit in our suitcases but we don't want to leave our fabulous coffee maker behind. But at least the books will all be sold and I can just read from my Kindle in the meantime. 


And now, strange enough, I need to make a quick stop at Barnes 'n Nobles. This coming school year I'll be teaching Romeo & Juliet, Animal Farm, Tuesdays with Morrie, and maybe another novel/story/play. I realize that these books and resources may be difficult to find in Brazil and will most likely be pricey so I need to buy them here. But Animal Farm and the accompanying spark notes don't weigh but a pound and are small so I know at least the hubby won't complain. 


And who doesn't like to go shopping? I know I do! 

Oops, time to make adjustments

I have too much stuff. I actually know that the "problem" is me so I can't say "we have too much stuff" because that wouldn't be true. Maybe it's because I've lived in the U.S. for 20-something years, maybe I'm a hoarder (I don't think so), or maybe it's because I'm a saver of all books that I read a professional and have to keep my books. Honestly, I like the last option. I don't own that many clothes so that'll make packing easier; regardless of the reason, I have just learned that I need to make some major adjustments as to what I take and what I leave. Now. And most of what I need to chuck needs to be that which is heavy, takes up a lot of space, and does not need to go. It's for that reason that we've already begun our initial packing. 

At least I can confirm that those shoe boxes and the magazine are not mine

We have bought our suitcases and are now ready to begin the real packing process, even though E has been slowly packing away clothes in his smaller suitcase. He knows what he won't wear before we leave and what he wants to take with him (i.e. new shirts and socks) so that can be packed away now. As I'd mentioned earlier, I have two piles of mostly books and papers that I planned on taking with us. Now with the luggage staring me in the face, I've had to reconsider my options. I packed up 5 grocery bags of books and will be donating them to my co-workers tomorrow. I figure if I've read it once than that is enough. Because let's be real, only so much is going to fit in our 6 suitcases and 1 box (plus cat sans carry ons).

These are our new upright Samsonite (chic, I know) suitcases. I kept stressing to E while we were at the store, the importance that they must be large, durable, and expandable - so we didn't buy anything smaller than 30". We've also bought a heavy duty box that I can jam full of 70 lbs of books; I just don't know how we're going to lift it, but I guess we only need to do that a couple of times.....and didn't I marry an MMA fighter? Well, yes, yes, I did :). E also bought a duffle bag-type suitcase which is very large and has wheels. All of our suitcases are cloth. And all of them come from Ross so we got awesome new luggage for a decent price. 


I need to also make a mental note to call TAM and find out how much we're allowed as far as carry on baggage because I heard it's not very much. And then we have the cat so that'll add luggage. We're really going to have an adventure at the airports. That's a fact. But with that being said, this is definitely not my first time traveling/moving abroad and I have had to deal with situations similar to this before so we'll figure it out. Plus, we still have another month, I just wanted to start packing/planning now so I know what we're up against and I can decide on what is really important/necessary to take with us. At least we made a list (which of course we also had to shorten, crossing out items that we now realize that no-way-in-hell will fit in our luggage).

We're getting there folks.