Avant le début

Here we go. First post on my very first blog...I feel so technologically advanced.  Please excuse any and all grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, as I've always hated going back over what I've written to ensure grammatical correctness.  Also, I have been known to overuse emoticons; please just bear with me :)
It's been suggested to me that I begin getting in the habit of posting before I embark on my journey, so that when I actually have something important or interesting to share with all of you lovely people I'll remember to do it. And not just post twice the entire time I'm gone, rendering the creation of this site pointless. Hence this post.
I'm in the process of packing, and it is by far and away the most difficult packing I've ever had to do.  Even deciding what to take to college was a walk in the park compared to fitting four and a half months' worth of belongings into two or three very small suitcases.  Not to mention, ensuring I have a plethura of copies of every document customs could possibly demand to see upon my entry into their country.  It seems every day my departure comes closer, and I cannot think of one more thing I have to sign up for, prescription to fill, piece of clothing to get cleaned, pre-departure orientation to complete, etc, and somehow something completely new crops up to which I haven't given a second of thought, and there goes my nice free day.
I guess I can't complain too much though, as I always seem to have time to watch an excessive amount of Food Network...I think I've seen every episode of Barefoot Contessa and Giada at Home ever made.  I really ought to be a gourmet chef at this point, but in all honesty am still eating mac and cheese out of the box.
I think that just about wraps up everything remotely interesting I have to share at this point- thanks for reading, and next time you hear from me I will be in Italy!