Well, it’s November 3rd and things are on track.  As I mentioned previously, I started NaNoWriMo.  My word count is up to 6,520 and I am ahead of schedule.  Granted this is the honeymoon period where it’s all exciting and new, but I am feeling good about what I’ve done.  Had you asked me Monday, I would have told you a third grader could have, and probably has, written something better.  Yesterday and today were an improvement and now I’d say I’m on par with a freshman in high school.  It’s been a long time since I’ve written fiction and dealt with plots arcs and character development.  I have gone into this experience expecting the finished product to be somewhere between bad and horrible, and most likely only to be read by two people.  I’m focusing more on the process, accomplishing the goal, and trying to enjoy myself along the way.  So far, so good.

As I mentioned, I also have other things that I want and need to accomplish this month.  Again, I’m on track.  I’ve kept to my workout schedule (realizing I’ve only had to do it for three days so not the most major of achievements).  And I finished my first set of Christmas presents.  There’s a couple of people we give money or gift cards every year, and it’s a struggle to find cute and different ways to present it.  I would prefer to not just put it in a card or a box, but I also don’t want it to be too elaborate or difficult to make or expensive because it’s hard to know if it’s something that will be used or tossed aside because the “real” gift is the money.

This year, I’ve made these little wallets, a pattern by Valori Wells.  I already had everything I needed and enjoyed picking out the fabric from my stash.  The most time consuming part of the project was cutting out the fabric, and that didn’t actually take very long.    Maybe pushing out the corners and sewing on the snaps was the most time consuming part.  Either way, I think these took me less than two hours from start to finish.  And two hours would include a lot of time for sipping hot apple cider and admiring your handiwork.  We’re going to fill each pocket with some cash and gift cards.

And that’s all I’ve got.