Packing.

Only 5 more days until I leave! (Technically we'll probably be leaving on Sunday, so it's only 3-4 days.)  Craziness.

I won't bore you all with the details of the last week--mostly I've been making long lists and crossing out items like "eat breakfast" while leaving items like "register car in NY" unfinished. My typical m.o., really.  Thankfully, time is running short and I've become increasingly more productive by the day.

I spent most of the last two days staring at all of the stuff I own, trying to figure just how much of it I'm willing to carry for the next 3 months and, of that, how much I can actually fit in my pack.  It's a fascinating exercise, and one that I relish.  Ya see, I have this obsession with downsizing.  Every time I move, I ponder how great it would be if I could fit all of my stuff into one car--let alone one backpack!  The opportunity to go through my things and weigh the importance of every single item makes me realize just how much stuff I actually don't need.

So, without further ado, here it is.  Just about everything that I'll be taking with me for three months in South America (minus the laptop):

Yes, I'm a little OCD when it comes to packing.  You would be too if you had to fit all of this stuff (plus a sleeping bag and an extra pair of shoes) in a backpack.