List #1: Things to Do

1. Find a doctor and dentist in Amsterdam. Done. Time to complete: 7 months. 
2. Write a blog post. In progress. (Congratulate yourself for multi-tasking.)
3. Work through pile of laundry backing up after Sam's bout with a stomach virus this week. 
4. Pray to the vacation gods that no one else gets sick on our trip to Paris next week. 
5. Plan our trip to Paris next week. 
6. Put away pile of movies from Sam's sick days. 
7. Ask other people if they still cry every single time they see the opening musical montage in UP. If not, try not to feel like a loser. 
8. If you still feel like a loser, watch the opening scene of Finding Nemo. Have another good cry. 
9. Thank the movie gods for Pixar. 
10. Now, have a good long stare at that book on your desk. You know the one... The one about having The Big Talk with your 9 year old. Stare at it some more. Now, pick it up.
11. Practice saying things like "beautiful secret" and "special kind of hug" without giggling. 
12. Seriously, practice some more because you can't even type that without giggling. 
13. This is getting to be a long list. Make another list of everything you can put off until later. 
14. Great! You've got some time on your hands now.
15. Don't think about things like complicated expat taxes, or French people who are mean to obnoxious American tourists. 
16. Instead think about organizing that one closet, or unpacking that last box of picture frames you thought you couldn't possibly live without. 
17. Now, see #13. 
18. Check Facebook and Pinterest. If it's on your list, it's not wasting time. 
19. Try not to feel silly when you "like" someones status or pin. 
20. And, yes, that was actually a huge waste of time. 
21. Curse the Internet. Use lots of pseudo-swears. 
22. Speaking of swearing, learn some French swears. That could help with #15.
23. Try to find a picture to go with this blog post. 
24. Here's one:
25. Include a link for Yarn Bombing.
26. Try not to waste time on Wikipedia. 
27. Fail.
28. More pseudo-swears.
29. Twenty nine things? Think about how busy you are.  No wonder it took you 7 months to make a dentist appointment. Reassure yourself that it has nothing to do with being a loser who still cries at Pixar movies. 
30. See #8.