Oh, JJ--I just had to go out and look at my license plate. . I thought for a minute I had been in a different state all my life--or maybe I had taken a wrong turn on the way home from work and ended up in Alabama or something.

Sounds great to plan toward a holiday vacation next year, especially if you're a single-income household. Some times I survive hard weeks just thinking ahead to the luxuriously leisure days of a vacation ahead.

Christmas cards? Newsletter? What are they? In recent years, I've done well to keep a supply of Christmas cards on hand so that I can dash off a note to the sweet people who continue to keep me on their card list. I can usually set aside an hour or so on Sunday afternoons to read through their notes and write something in response.

I send birthday cards through the year instead of worrying about Christmas cards too much. It feels more personal than doing a whole batch of cards in December, and I think people appreciate being remembered. I have a birthday in January--usually very bleak weather, even here in Jaw-Jaw. It's always a lift to get mail besides Christmas bills. .