43,242

This is what my to-do list looked like at 6:00 p.m. yesterday:

Put up outside lights before it rains
Clean garage enough to get van in
Get out tree
Put nativity on mantle
Go bike shopping*
Base Exchange--shaving cream, blades, dinner at food court
Shred old manuscripts
Write--break 42,000 words

Yeah, you're reading that right. The laptop didn't even get fired up until suppertime, so the fact that I did over 2,000 words made me happy.

I did take a break to decorate the tree with my family. They're tough--they want Mom to participate in family traditions. After all, I can write anytime, right? Hee hee; tell that to my muse...


*This is for Alex, who is taller than me, weights more than me, and wants a 20" bike with pegs on the sides so he can give his friends rides. He test rode one yesterday; if we buy him a clown suit we can rent him out for toddlers' birthday parties. Incidently, before you buy a bike for your kid, do yourself a favor and go to a professional bike shop. Ask questions about what will and won't hold up for what your kid will do with the bike, and never underestimate the torture a kid will put a bike through. Apparently things I never thought about matter, like the number of spokes and axle size of the tire, which is why a 170# kid can give his friends rides on a 20" bike.