Geesh. I can't believe it's almost 2009. I still am surprised when I look at the calendar every day and it's nearly Christmas.

Maybe it doesn't seem real because we didn't put up the tree this year. The baby Bean, now almost 9 months, would probably just either try to eat it or pull it over on top of him, so we just decided to skip it. I hope that doesn't make us bad parents.

I will say this is the first year I feel on top of the holidays. The packages were all mailed by Saturday morning, the gifts are wrapped, the cookies are made. This never happens! Usually it's a last minute scramble, and a lot of stress. But I am not stressed this year.

I think part of the difference is that I
1. Made a list in November of what we were getting everyone. And then I used the list only and bought most everything online.
2. Throughout the year, when I saw something that would make a great gift for my family, I either bought it then or bought it when it went on sale. My mom really wanted a fountain for her garden. And I managed to get it 75 percent off in September. I NEVER have shopped that far in advance.

Maybe being a mom makes you plan. Who can say. This is my first year as a mom, so who knows what else is in store.

Now, I am working through my January list of to-dos. don't laugh. Most of it is stuff that has to be taken care of now in order for it to be finished in January.

For instance, I called the window company today. They are coming out tomorrow to measure and estimate for three replacement windows. (It takes about 6 weeks for them to make them and install them)

We had all but these three replaced last winter. Why? Well, we couldn't afford to do all the windows without going into debt, so we prioritized, and these three were considered least important. Now that we have a little money, we're going to do those.

I am having the door between the kitchen and garage replaced. I have it picked out, and will place the order and set up installation right after Christmas. Right now, we have a hollow core door and it lets tons of cold air into the kitchen. I'm replacing it with a solid door and I'll insulate the garage door some weekend, too.

Our "Elvis" bathroom. (Yes, we have a silly Elvis-themed half bathroom), has some plumbing issues. We sprung a leak and it ruined the linoleum tile floor. I need to have that part of the floor redone. And the plumbing addressed.

I maybe could do it myself, but realistically it'd be another 6 months before I could get to it, and I'd really like to have that room just done and finished. Ready to use TRUMPS saving a few bucks this time around.

I also finally have a freelance assignment. Of course, it's the holidays and most people are hard to get a hold of, but I am happy to have the work so it's worth the hassle.

I hope your to-do list is getting shorter.