I absolutely cannot believe that 2004 is almost over.

Christmas was good this year.  The kids got loads of cool stuff, my wife was very happy with the stuff she got and I am pretty happy with my loot as well. :-)  Christmas dinner turned out better than I expected (I cooked for us, my dad and my wife's dad & his girlfriend).  Overall, I'm kinda glad it's over, but it was fun.  Now we just need to get through 3 more months of snow and cold (although, after single digit temps this week, it's supposed to be around 55 this weekend).

So, what's in store for 2005?  It'll be my 4th year as an independent, our 4th year as parents and our 3rd year as home owners.  I can't help but feel that I should do more next year.  I put so much stuff off this past year that sometimes I truly feel like I didn't accomplish much.  Yes, I worked a lot, but only on client projects.  I never found the time to work on my internal pet projects.  I tried to drop some extra weight, but couldn't really muster the desire to get out of my comfy chair (or my comfy sofa).

Looking back, almost all of my free time was spent with my family, so I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too much.  I know a lot of people that work 9-5 and only really get to see their kids on the weekends.  That would suck.  I think what I need to do in 2005 is use my time more efficiently.  I'm not sure what I need to do to work more efficiently, just that I do.  I've got David Allen's book on my desk, so maybe that's a start.

I want to learn something new in 2005.  I'm not sure what though.  Something that's not computer related would be good.  Maybe I'll have my wife teach me how to weave baskets. :-)