Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year. 2006 has been a great year for me and I’m looking forward to 2007 being even better. I hope everyone has a tremendous 2007 and I hope everyone has a good time ushering in the New Year!

We had a debt free Christmas for the first time in many years. Man, is that a good feeling, or what? It’s nice to know that by not charging anything, we won’t be paying for Christmas presents on our credit cards in the months to come. And it’s nice to know we didn’t need to take out any loans to cover the massive amount of toys our kids asked for. I’m not suggesting all personal loans are a bad thing, but I don’t think they should be used to cover Christmas gifts and a turkey. Lots of people forget during the holidays that mortages and electric and water bills will all need to be paid in January, along with all of that new credit card debt. Be a wise consumer and don’t get in over your head.

I washed and waxed the new truck the other night. Sunday night I’ll vacuum the interior and leather wipe the seats and armor all the dash and doors. That’s another one of my travel hang ups. If I’m going to be in the car for an extended amount of time, It’s got to be fresh.

My wife things I’m nuts with all my pre-trip “hangups” and “preparation”. Of course she’ll never admit it, but she loves it and knows I’m right!

We have Disney World tickets for our family, which allow us to go to all four theme parks for a year, with the exception of a few blackout periods. The wife and kids love going to Disney, which means I love going to Disney, too! Even though we’ve been more times than I can count, everyone always has a good time and enjoys the parks. Now, with the kids getting older and more adventuresome, some of the “big” rides can be enjoyed by the whole family. My oldest girl has always been a roller coaster kid. My middle one is catching on too. My son is still getting his feet wet, but slowly. As for Dad, Dad doesn’t do circles. If it goes in circles, count me out. Even the Carousel is rough for me.

This will be a busy two days around the house. One of my things about going on vacation is I like to leave the house with all the laundry done and caught up, the house spotless and fresh sheets on the beds. It may sound strange on the surface, but it makes coming home all the more enjoyable.

Only two more days till vacation. One long work day and one short work day! We hope to see some snow in the mountains, however, looking at the extended forecast, it looks to be mild and snow is unlikely. Hopefully we’ll see something in the higher elevations, or at the ski resorts, thanks to the magic of snow making machines.

We stay in Orlando several times a year. We take the kids for a weekend at Disney or Sea World and we go I prefer to stay the night. The nice thing about going there is the number of Orlando hotels - and the variety of hotels. They have everything from the no frills Super 8’s to high end stuff like the Gaylord Palms. We always stay some where that has a pool, an in room fridge and hot tub. The moderate resorts at Disney are usually our first choice, but some super deals can be had if you stay off site.

Did I mention I won the championship in one of the Fantasy Football leagues I was in? Hurrah for me. Ca-Ching! I didn’t see the money yet, but the bragging rights alone make it a worthwhile win. It would be nice if I eventually GOT the money from my friends though. Buncha cheapskates. I’ve been looking around at other league sites this season and found this one that you can join today and earn “units” by betting on games. Not as cool as real money, but still fun.

Christmas is over early this year in our house. We had to pack it all up early this year due to leaving town on Jan 1 for a family vacation. Everything is packed up and put away till next year, with the exception of the Nativity scene. That does not come down early.

My favorite band of all time is U2. They’ve been making great music for over 25 years now and still sounding fresh. They just released a new song, “Window in the Sky”, and as usual, it doesn’t disappoint. I’ve seen them a couple of times in concert and can’t wait for the next go round. I remember the first time trying to go see them, it was the Joshua Tree tour, and we camped all night for tickets, only to have the show sell out before we could get them. I won’t try to get U2 tickets that way again - online is so much easier. We saw them on the Pop Mart tour, and what was really cool was that was the tour they started playing Sunday Bloody Sunday on again. They had “retired” that song for several tours. We also saw them a few months after 9/11, needless to say there were some moving moments in the show.