How is your willpower when it comes to opening Christmas gifts? Mine is weak, weak, weak. I'm proud of the fact that Patrick and I have never once opened each other's Christmas gifts before Christmas day (and it's a real struggle on my part, believe me!)...but when it comes to gifts from anybody else, I have to fight myself to wait as long as Christmas Eve, and I don't always make it. This year, for instance, we met up with beloved friends Sunday afternoon, exchanged gifts, and agreed that we'd all try to wait till Christmas Day to open them. Well, we got home, we set all the pretty packages under the tree...then stared at them for 10 minutes...then came up with the rationalization that it's silly to carry extra packages with us when we drive down to Wales for the holidays...and then we tore into them, as I'm sure we would have regardless, rationalization or no! That is the strength of my Christmas willpower.

Luckily, I just got an early Christmas present that I didn't have to even try to resist opening: I've sold a story to Fantasy Magazine! The story is called "Offerings", it's a contemporary fantasy about a witch living in northern Michigan, and the sale makes me very happy...especially because this time of year is always when I miss Michigan the most. (Where is my white Christmas???? Leeds weather gods, are you listening?) Thanks, Sean and Cat, for a fab Christmas present! I can't wait to see it published.

Meanwhile, our beautiful Christmas tree is also turning out to be the single best baby toy we have ever bought. Mr Darcy ADORES our lit-up tree! He could stare at the colored lights and bat at the ornaments for hours. I thought he wouldn't notice Christmas at all this year...but he loves our Christmas tree even more than I do, which is saying a lot. And since he's happy to sit in his bouncy seat gazing at the tree while I eat meals with two hands...well, we may never take this tree down ever again! ;)

We're off to Wales tomorrow morning, so this is probably the last pre-Christmas journal entry I'll write. Happy Hannukah to everybody who's celebrating Hannukah right now! Merry Christmas to everybody who's waiting for their Christmas stockings! And have a wonderful holiday, everybody! :)