$o long!

Well, that about wraps it up for another year. Thanks to my sponsors this year, I really appreciate it (and it may not be to late for the rest of you, just click that '$$' button and see what happens). I didn't bring it as much money as I hoped to, but I'm proud to have hung out in second place for a while there.

Thanks to all participants for keeping things interesting. Looking forward to reading everyone's' final posts.

I tried a few things out this year, and I'm not sure how well they worked, but it was fun. Looking forward to trimming my mustache so it's not stabbing me any more!

And...

Uhm...

I forget.

What'$ that over there?

My beard is pretty beardy today. It keeps reminding me it's there by catching things that should have fallen on my shirt, and annoying my upper lip. I'm happy to see see a lot of people have had some sort of last minute boost in funding. I have not (yet).

If you'd been in my house today, may have heard a lot of things. Interesting things? Debatable. Odd things? Certainly. Funny things? You'll have to decide for yourself.

"Did the wall get wet?"

"I don't know. I can't reach the ceiling."

"Stop shoving things in your mother's face! I'm already shoving something in her face."

Mu$t dash!

I don't have a lot of time today, but there's still time to show your support! If you've been holding out to the last minute to sponsor me, that time is fast approaching. Don't miss out!

C'mon! $ponsor my beard!

I'm feeling much better than yesterday, as you can see from my beard, and the fact that I'm awake. Apparently the resting helped. Not doing so hot on the sponsorship though.

I'm no longer in second place. On the one hand I'm glad to see I'm not in second place any longer, because it means money is being raised. On the other hand, I need to find more sponsors.

Maybe I need to send my beard door to door...

$hhhh....

Remember when I complained about the sick going through the house. Well it's back for round two. I should have known when my alarm wasn't set for the right time this morning that the day would not go well.

Today mostly consisted of sleeping, coughing, and watching Chûshingura all mixed together.

The kid$ taught my father'$ furby how to be really annoying.

Today was nothing like the last few days. In fact we all just got home a little while ago. The kids spent the day with their grandparents, and my wife and I had some very rare time alone together.

I bought her a hat and gloves (since it was cold) and took her to lunch and to see "Life of Pi", which we'd listened to together on audiobook years back. We really enjoyed the movie. I may have actually enjoyed the ending better (not because it's different, but because I was prepared for it).

Now I need to get ready for tomorrow, where things go back to something we jokingly refer to as normal around here.

What? Oh, fin€!

Today was a lot like yesterday, only with less leaving the house, and more moodiness all around. Stuff got done, and someone was always crabby about something.

Also, beard grew some more, but was grumpy about it.

It wa$ all the good kind of bu$y.

I tried my best to avoid driving anywhere today. I did pretty good, other than going out to pick up dinner, and having to push through the disgruntled crowd waiting for a table.

The rest of the day was spent doing many things at once. I helped one kid make model magic sculptures, while helping another kid build LEGOs, while importing the camera card into iPhoto (pro tip: never wait until the 32 GB card is full). I even remembered to drink the tea I made this time.

Also, my beard grew.

Thank$!

It's Thanksgiving, so this will be short.

I'm thankful for many things, including my family and friends. I'm also thankful for my fellow participants in HoNoToGroABeMo, and anyone taking the time to read this. I'm especially thankful to Kris for starting the whole thing, and for Bob and the sponsors who make this more than just a bunch of guys comparing facial hair.

$orry, it'$ a bit blurry.

First things first. Thanks to a generous donation (all my donors rock) I'm now in second place! Unfortunately, I'm still less than half way to what I had hoped to raise this year (but maybe I can hit up some family members tomorrow).

Now, I'd like to take this opportunity to make things up to a few of the other guys.

First, Wesley: Today's photo is dedicated to you. I'm sorry for slipping up yesterday, and I hope this makes up for it.

Next, Jim Van Verth, and anyone else who was wondering what the heck game I was talking about back on Day 14. I left a hint in the comments, but totally spaced on actually revealing that the game in question. In case anyone wants to go and follow the clues, I won't spoil it directly here. But to be sure I don't forget again, the answer is this game, which I always enjoyed back in the day, and my kids seem to love it more than I did, so I'm glad I held on to it.

And finally, Jeff Greiner: While I spent a lot of time trying to get my pose in this picture to look something like your pose in this picture, I didn't spend enough time reading your story, and I feel bad about it. I'm going to make an effort to catch up. Also, in case you thought my excerpt was in any way making fun of your posts, it wasn't. That was an actual excerpt from my 2007 NaNoWriMo entry from approximately the correct date, minus five years, as best I can tell.