Strategy

One high-heeled shoe goes on this side, heel out. The other goes on the other side, heel out. The space in between perfectly cradles the toiletries bag.

My running clothes can be rolled up and stuffed into my running shoes. I really wish I had (much) smaller feet.

My shirts can be layered over each other and rolled into a small-ish bundle.

Ditto for shorts/pants/skirt. And the dress (yes, there's a shazam! dress - hence the high-heeled shoes). PJs, too.

Don't get me started on the logic I used for toiletries. I'm slightly insanier now than I was a week ago.

Take this swimsuit; leave that one. Plan on wearing your sweatshirt for every flight, because it won't fit into this tiny ol' "suticase." Can't take a coat ... so take that sweater.

Pack. Repack. Re-repack. Swear a little. Decide you don't need that shirt. Which means you don't need those pants.

Ditch the perfume you really want to take for the one that takes up a fifth of the space.

Decide you won't use a hair dryer or curling iron anyway. Ditto for the rollers. Which means no hairspray. Awesome. Room for the socks.

Debate the second minitube of toothpaste.

Consider mailing your stuff to yourself along the way ...

Scratch that.

... It weighs 20-ish pounds, give or take a pack of batteries and a cell phone charger, and it will be my sole piece of luggage for my Great Escape. Except for the slightly overlarge purse that I plan to tote along. ("Make sure it's big enough to hold your passport!" was my mother's advice. She's clearly under the impression that my passport is the size of a Denver-metro phonebook.)

Seventeen days. Two countries. Ten states/provinces (including layovers - it's all I ever see of Atlanta ... sad). Seven flights (including connections). One train. One cross-border road trip. One adolescent dream come true. One carry-on suitcase with 20 pounds of my low-maintenance style rolled/folded/stuffed into it. I'd hate to think what this would be like if I liked lots of artsy-fartsy makeup or big, bulky boots.

Friday can't get here fast enough.