This vacation planning thing is complicated, y’all. Two weeks in a foreign country is a different animal than a few days in a gated community in Florida, or even a visit to the Rocky Mountains. There is so much to do I honestly wonder if the list will even end. I think a lot of my sense of overwhelm comes from this being Christmas and the end of the year. Or the end of the world, depending on your point of view.
Anyway…
Things I HAVE done that I’m impressed with myself for accomplishing
Completed all of my holiday shopping & mailing for other people, local and far away.
Distributed most of the booty from Cookiefest 2012.
Spent most of my Flex benefits money before the end of the year (new glasses – ordered online – I’m a genius)
Determined which three pairs of shoes/boots I will bring with me.
Decided on my baggage strategy: cross-shoulder purse, backpack (the same one I traveled around Europe with in 1997!) and small suitcase.
Notified my bank and credit card companies that I’ll be traveling.
Held my mail, stopped my paper.
Set up out of office messages on my computer at work.
Booked the Sadie Christmas Tour – 4 different places for one dog. Poor pooch. She’s not gonna recognize me when I get home. Have I mentioned that I have awesome friends who are watching her for me?
Bribed another friend into taking me to the airport so I don’t have to pay for parking.
Managed to get American Airlines to move my flight to a later time, meaning I only have a 6 hour layover.
Scavenged two Admirals Lounge passes so that those 6 hours will pass in comfort with the “executives” in the American terminal.
Booked a hotel in Bayeux.
Things I haven’t done that mean I can’t relax just yet
Clean my house.
Buy a bunch of saline and bandaids to finish off my Flex account.
Locate and copy my passport.
Book a tour of Normandy.
Do enough laundry for two weeks of underwear.
Decide on my book/kindle strategy for the plane flight.
Pack.
Buy jeans, gloves, a new scarf and a hat.
Decide which coat/jacket to bring.
Complete my work week.
Sleep for more than 6 hours a night.
Figure out how not to kill my office plants.
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Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to everyone who has offered their help to me. I’m not sure if I could have pulled this off without you. And if you have advice on the stuff I haven’t done yet, or more things to add to the list, let me know. Maybe this post will become a vacation checklist in the future. 🙂
Everything and a Racehorse 