The vaca from my vaca

I've started planning my holiday vacation six-plus months in advance. This isn't anything unusual for me; I'm the kind of person who lives for vacations and starts the 100- (or 120- or 150-) day countdown as soon as a date is set.

"A vaca from your permanent vaca?" a friend asked me last night. Yes. It'll be a little harder on the pocketbook now that we're living on one salary -- and that might mean a shorter trip -- but traveling now is as important as it was when I was working full-time: It gets me out of a rut. And it gives me something about which to be excited. Something to check off on a calendar every day. A goal. ... And a reason to put aside some cash every month, which is something we need to get into a habit of doing -- one salary or not.

This year, it's holiday break at Disney World, squeezed into one of their "value" (slow and cheap) periods a couple of weeks before Christmas. We've even toyed with the idea of driving back down and spending Christmas Day there. (Shh, don't break it to the family just yet.)

Though the dates and length of stay are still up in the air, we're definitely going. I know because I've bought the guidebook and that's how all our vacations start. With any trip, Paul and I can talk and dream about where and when we're going to go, but it's just talk until I buy the guidebook. That's when we pick a date, choose a hotel, scout out restaurants and attractions ... and so on.

So, yes, a vaca from my permanent vaca. Happy holidays to us.