So much to do...

...so little time.
So you think it would be obvious, but I guess I was looking through tullip coloured glasses (note the dutch connection there). It is a lot of work to move to another country for a year. Who woulda thunk it.

So the packing is seriously underway. And there is this great new invention that is so fun and practical. Vacuum sealed bags! So fun. I fit an incredible amount of clothes, linens and winter coats into a few bags. Heavy giant bricks, but they take up less room. It's only a couple of flights downstairs to my storage unit, but it feels like a hundred when I go up and down them with all my junk. Makes me wonder why I have so much junk. Luckily my renters are renting my place furnished and with a lot of the kitchen stuff too. So that leaves a lot less stuff I have to haul.

I got my ipod touch last week and have been having fun loading it with games, movies and apps for my trip. There are a crazy amount of travel apps. And I am still open to more suggestions.  

Everything is starting to settle in. I am leaving in 2 1/2 weeks. EEEK!!! My replacement started at work today. She will be great, but it made me realize how fast these last few weeks have gone. 7 more work days left for me. Still can't believe it. I'm not sure it will hit me until I'm about 2 hours into the flight. I've never been on a flight that long. Crazy.

Anyhoo, I'm getting fitted for my wooden shoes, vacuum packing my lugage and preparing my last meals, turkey dinner...fondu...how to decide? In the final stages of getting a million things done in very little time and praying it goes smoothly.

Tot de volgende keer (till next time)

Kelly's Travel Story Begins

The Prepartation begins and the countdown is on. It has been suggested that I get started on a blog to share my stories and adventures. I hope I can keep up with it. Please help me with friendly reminders whenever you're feeling the itch for some Kelly stories. 

For those of you who don't know, I have never really travelled much at all. I went to Salt Lake City and Mexico, both for short term mission trips, but that and Disneyland is about it. After college is a popular time in a young person's life to grab the backpack and do some travelling. But I went straight from High School to College, and straight from college to a job I loved. I have come a long way in my career and love my work with kids. Though I am just too practical with money to take off and travel when I have a mortgage and payments here. I always felt God was with me in wanting to see the world, so here I go.

I heard a friend talk about her experiences with travelling and working as an au pair, and I felt it was worth looking into. I ended up finding a great family to live and work with. I rented my place to two girls here in Abby and am getting ready to pack up my stuff and take off.

So here's the plan. I leave in less than a month to Hilversum, Holland. And yes, Holland and the Netherlands are the same place. Hilversum is about half an hour away from Amsterdam.  I will be working with the three children four days a week. and then have a three day weekend every weekend to travel around and explore Europe.

I have a few weekend trips planned and am looking into where to go when I have 3 weeks holidays in August. It's all very exciting, but a little nerve racking at the same time. Like I said I've never really travelled so there are a lot of unknowns, but so far everything is falling into place and I'm really looking forward to taking off.

I hope to keep up this blog with pictures and stories of my trip, to keep in touch with all of you. I'm going to miss things around here, but hey someone needs to spend her time planning weekends in Paris. Why not me.

Till next time