Recently, somewhere between using online bill pay to take care of my obligations and fully looking at a calendar for months instead of dates, I realized something quite important: it was past the first of December. And when I coupled that with a quick check of my PTO (personal time off, in my corporate bubble) I found I still had 2 weeks of vacation left to use - all before Baby New Year issues his first cry to usher in 2010.

How did eleven months of a year go by without my stringing more than a few days off here and there? I have no idea - I love my job, so that's definitely part of the issue; when you enjoy what you're doing, it rarely seems like work. I am supposing that if it can happen to me, surely I'm not alone in this dilemma.

I'm not one to not plan out my days off. I like to have a little structure, but with all the planning already associated with the holidays, I must confess, I'm a bit burned out on agendas.

In the spirit of self-rejuvenation before the full force of the holiday hits, my first inclination is to get away for a few days all by myself - so I trek over to United.com to see what they have for deals. They've got some great fares if you live in major metro areas and want to fly out during the holiday season - in some cases for less than $150 round trip (and if you carry-on, which I highly recommend, you can save yourself the baggage fees).

There are great deals to Las Vegas this time of year, too, that I found via Travelocity.com, if you can travel with flexible dates. I also found a decent incentive on Expedia.com - where it says travelers can "simply book a flight or flight + hotel package on Expedia by December 31, 2009 for travel through January 3, 2010 and we'll give you a $200 coupon to use on a flight + hotel stay of 5 or more nights."

The winner, however, in my last minute search is definitely Priceline.com. I love their Price Negotiator for vacation packages - they win hands down in having the lowest prices I've seen from Boise. Air and hotel are pricing lower than just airfare did on other sites.

So my excursion-minded brain may very well get its wish - but - I wonder what's going on at home? Next week, check out what's up for local solo travel within driving distance of where you are.

Safe travels. Namaste.