8 days

This may sound stupid to some folks but I swear it will save you countless hours in November. Think about the kind of meals you typically consume. Do you just slap together lunch meat and bread for nearly every meal? Do you actually cook? If your normal meals take less than 5 minutes to prepare (simple sandwiches, ramen, t.v. dinners), you can probably disregard this post. If you like to cook, it might be a good idea for you to plan ahead and fix meals this week that can be frozen and reheated over the next month. Spaghetti, meatloaf, pot roast, etc all freeze fairly well and tend to keep the family out of your hair while you try to write. Prepare several different things over the next 8 days and divide them up into single serve portions to help take the dinner time stress off your spouse and keep the kids happy. Also, stock up on easy food for spouses that can't/won't cook while you are occupied. Hotdogs, crunchy vegetables, yogurts... they make for easy meals/snacks without a lot of prep and cleanup. The key to NaNo is planning ahead so that you can write without distraction!

On a personal note, don't forget to eat. Snack food is great but isn't a substitute for real food. I lost 5 pounds during last year's NaNo because I habitually forgot to eat. There were days where I lived on coffee and mints. It was not a pleasant way to lose weight, believe me. This year is going to be worse for me since I working out new medications that make me absolutely not want food at all. Forcing yourself to eat a single mini bagel without yakking is not fun.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS