A year later -

My beloved dog, Ralphie, died a year ago in July. He died before his time and before I had time to prepare. I have been sad for a year honestly.  I am better though. 

When we lost him I decided that

Holy shit.  Dramatic much?  This is not me
and I hope it's not anybody.

even though the pain I felt was unbearable, I would get another dog and ultimately go through that pain again.  

I want to have it all. I mean everything. Some people have said that you can "have it all," but not all at the same time.  You can't focus on family and career at the same time - something has to give.  That's probably true, but I don't care.

I want it all and I want it all as soon as I can get it.  So I am going to totally negate a post I wrote a long time ago - here.  And instead I am perfecting* a life plan I call the "Chaos Theory." This is NOT the science idea by the same name - this theory is less smart, super simple, and equally as intriguing to me.  

The Tired Girl's Chaos Theory is to embrace the chaos that comes when you try and have it all. 

Your hormone numbers are superb and this is a good month to do a round of IVF, BUT you also just started a brand new job and its not a great time to disappear every day to have a nurse evaluate your follicle growth??? No problem.  

You just started a new job that requires a lot of time and you also decide to adopt a puppy that requires a lot energy???  Done.

This guy could have benefited from some TG Chaos Theory.

You decide to have a garage sale and list your house the same week and also go out of town on business??? Roger that.

You decide to get in shape and lose weight and go on the paleo diet temporarily and it also happens to be the month you are moving and all your kitchen is packed up?? Piece of cake (paleo cake, which is not that good really). 

These are just examples of things that may or may not have come up in the last year.  These are things that in the past I would have dedicated my time to singularly and not combined them. BUT - here is the best part - when you combine big things in your life then one thing does not dominate.  

Consumed by the shittiness of IVF? I don't have time for that I have this new effing job to figure out.  
Consumed by this new job that I have no effing idea what I am doing??  No time to stress about that I have to go shoot myself up (as usual - who am I kidding Joe does it for me) with hormones.  

Crazy hormones not needed - this is just a great way to live.

I am not pregnant, have not yet received a major promotion, AM in therapy, and have a wild dog, but I am sticking with this for awhile.  If nothing else it's interesting.

Anyone else in for a few major life changes all at once all the time? 

Travel like a Tired Girl -

Less is more, unless we are talking about resting or eating and then more is more. When it comes to travel though - in my TG opinion, less is more. My goal is to - as you know have the good life and also be less tired. Here is a list of Tired Girl travel tips, none of which are new or particularly groundbreaking. But I don't care, so here they are:

Pick a color - is it a black trip, white trip, brown trip, navy trip?

Take a lot out of the suitcase - Look through everything you want to bring and then bring half that. Having less to choose from, less to dig through, and less to cart around is better for Tired Girls.  

My favorite carry-on and purse. Longchamp - pronounce "longshahm."
The large is about $150 and comes in tons of cute colors.
I actually have the tan.  I love it.

One suitcase, one bag - and the bag is also your purse. So a good size purse and a small suitcase and that's it. Then you aren't a target for thieves who see your arms full, or a target for your husband to glare at you because you brought too much.  Actually one of Joe's claims to fame around our house is the trip he brought like 8 pairs of jeans on a 9 day trip.  

Just because you shouldn't bring many clothes doesn't mean you should be unprepared or uncomfortable. I pack a lot of medicines. They don't take up much room and when you feel like crap and are far from home it's nice to be armed. Cold medicine for the day, cold medicine for at night, bladder infections, migraines, diarrhea, constipation, upset stomach, heartburn, sinus pain, cramps, can't sleep, anxiety, motion sickness, etc. Joe will implore you to only bring prescription meds in marked bottles and not twenty pills thrown together in a ziploc and then guess what is what. 

A quick clip from one of my favorite over-packing moments. 



I'm also big in to comfortable shoes. Went on a trip once where I brought pretty, unbroken in shoes and would have gladly had both feet taken off if it meant the pain would stop. Now I just go with the old faithful's in my closet. I wouldn't mind impressing people, but will try and dazzle them with something else to distract from my comfy shoes. I'm not talking about wearing straight up jogging shoes and socks though - there are lots of cute and comfy options. We want the good and cute life after all. 

It's a nice idea to workout while traveling as well, but a a pair of running shoes takes up valuable real estate in my bag. Lately I have opted for swimming if possible. Most hotels have nice enough pools. I bought an actual "swim" suit and goggles from Target. They take up two inches in my bag, weigh nothing, and I love flailing around in the water and calling it exercise. And later saying "I went for a great swim" like I'm athletic or something.

This is the dumbest idea yet, but I really like my suitcase and bathroom bags to match. I like my travel hairbrush and travel comb to match my travel bag.  It's just relaxing to me to have "sets" and things matching. I just like it, ok?

Keep your travel bathroom bag mostly packed. Have travel size things and extras that are always in your bag. You will throw in a few other items, but so nice to have everything in there, being all travel-sizey and ready to go.  

I have the IT Luggage. It is not pretty but it boasts being the world's "lightest" suitcase.
I try not to ever check this bag because I am sure it will disintegrate.
Once it does I will look into the hardcase IT luggage.
Got mine at Marshall's, and they are always 40% at Bealls, along with everything else there. 

Sleep on the plane, don't get mugged, bring your ipad or kindle instead of a book so you can read several things and play solitaire and it's no one else's business (Joe is always somehow reading the most mammoth books and he always lugs them on the plane as well - no thanks), don't forget a phone charger, bring a colorful scarf, pack a Snicker's bar, tip people and have fun. 

If you ever want to feel the travel bug without bothering then search on pinterest "packing tips."  

Whats your most useful packing idea?