Vacation preparations underway

Yanking the familial obligations chain, we managed to secure lodging for Beauty the wonder dog while we're gallivanting around Europe. Brother Nick, sister-in-law Megan, and Tessa (a.k.a. the cat who oft pukes) have agreed to manage our dog and we couldn't be happier or more grateful. We owe you big time.

We've roped another person into watching our two lovely cats and the condo. To assist this person, I've created a house and pet sitting guide. I had spare time. It covers everything from how to watch a movie to a listing of local recommended restaurants to what is required for pet care. If you want to take a gander, click here to download the file. The one part about going on vacation that sucks is that you have to leave your fantabulous pets at home. We miss them.

I located our passports and the little security wallet that I'll force Darr to wear around his neck. Earlier this week I bought an additional pair of Balance Spa Pants at Lucy (on sale - thanks for the heads-up Sara) that I plan on wearing as I toodle the European streets. On an earlier shopping trip with Sara and the Noodle, I found the shampoo soap bar I was looking for since the airlines have placed restrictions on carry-on items. Darr and I are hoping to pack in such a way as to avoid having to check our luggage, which we've agreed to try and keep to one backpack per person. I found the backpack I want to buy for our journey at Climb Max, where we recently purchased our climbing shoes, but I haven't been back yet to pick it up. It's an ultra light pack that maybe, eventually, I'll be able to use while climbing. If we ever get to the point where we're climbing outside on routes that are higher than 15-20 feet. As it is now, we've purchased the year membership at The Circuit Gym and are trying more and more of the beginner routes. Darr's reach has him in the lead for successful climbs - I curse his long limbs!

On the list for tomorrow -- contacting our credit card companies to advise them we will be traveling abroad. I used to work for a credit card company and this preemptive call is highly appreciated by the security departments, who are almost always alerted when charges from foreign countries start popping up, particularly if this is out of the norm for your account. This decreases the likelihood they will freeze the account, leaving us without a means to pay for goods and services. Woohoo! We leave in ten days.