In our house we act like hygiene is an evil force who is coming to get you. Because why wouldn’t we.

This is coming up for me because I am starting to Plan For My Alaska Trip! I’m excited. On one hand I feel like starting to pack is neurotic because I don’t leave for 11 days. On the other hand… I don’t think I have everything I need and acquiring things you need in only 11 days is sometimes a challenge. So maybe putting everything in bags is overkill… but making sure I have what I need is not.

Specifically I’m thinking long johns. Oh you say, Pansy Ass! It’s going to be August! To this I say: yes, I am a pansy ass. I’ll be cold. 50’s & 60’s won’t be freezing, but if I don’t have enough layers I will be in pain. My body doesn’t adjust quickly to change and it’s been hella hot here.

I’m sitting in my house under a blanket. On days that hit 85 degrees. I’ll need a god damn base layer for 60 degrees. My clothes are California clothes. They do not retain warmth. Except for long johns.

Did you know that there is a conspiracy to keep pregnant women cold? Maternity long johns are not a thing and I hate the whole fucking world for this. WHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY when I search on Amazon for maternity long johns do I get humorous underwear for men? THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Fuckers.

But hygiene is part of this story. Because depending on how many clothes I bring with me… that impacts either how often I have to do laundry or how often I have to shower. Because if I’m living in wool and I shower every single day religiously… I won’t stink much and I don’t have to wash the clothes constantly. If I do my normal bathing once a week whether I need it or not… uhm… wool doesn’t like that. It gets… funky. At home I solve this by wearing clothing once, rarely twice and the stink doesn’t accumulate. A week in the same set of clothes… that gets bad. I have of course tried.

But I don’t want to bring much with me for this trip. So I’m thinking two pairs of long johns (sized up one size so they fit over my increasing bulk without pressure on my abdomen) and two pairs of pants. I can trade off which pair of pants I’m wearing to air out the other in between.

Tops I’m less concerned about. I will have two wool tops that fit. My tshirts are mostly hella baggy and still fitting just fine. I usually wear a dress over pants anyway and that’s easy to figure out. I’m just not fussed about that step. I think the warm/water proof jacket I bought last winter (my first WARM jacket… ever…) will fit for this trip if not all winter.

In non hygiene planning… I’m debating my computer. I could use the rest for my hands of not typing for a week. But how realistic is that? Will I instead be on my phone which is harder for my hands?

Hard to judge.

I think I’m going to bring art supplies and have an art-tastic time up there. I’ll have a lot of time to kill. Maybe I’ll write letters instead of blogging.

I’m so excited.