A LOT of Things....

Okay, it looks like I have a LOT of stuff to catch up on here in the blogger world. I think this will be a really long post, so I'll break up the different categories into different sections. You can only read like one of them, or just see if you got awarded in that section. Alright, here is the first-

NaNoWriMo Update and info.-

Lately I've been busy with NaNoWriMo, but three days ago I won it! I'm SOOOOO happy that I did, and I'm definitely going to do it next year! A congrats to all the other NaNoWriMo'ers! And to those that didn't win- yay to you for trying! I wanted to let all of the winners and others know -just in case they didn't know already- that if you win you can get your very own book sent to you in printed, paperback form! And, if you're a winner, you can (if you want to) have your book on Amazon.com for sale! I thought that was so neat that I would share that with you. :) Alright, on to the next category....

Awards-

THIS section is going to be long, thanks to all of my kind blogger friends! I'll line them up in a row, and announce all the people I'm awarding on the bottom of this section.

Now, if you think you can fit into any one of these awards, you may take them! :D

Caption Contest winner!-

I'm happy to say that Izori Picked my caption for her contest as the winner! Thanks you SO much, Izori, for both picking me and following me! Yay!

New poll-

Where my other poll used to be, there is a new one about what I should post. If you have any ideas other than the choices given, please comment!

50th post contest winners!-

And the winners are........................................................................................................Lady Milisande Awnia Grim and Jillian!! Yup, there are two winners! Okay girls, you both have a choice- Olive Tree is willing to make a custom, complete blog makeover for one of you, or you can just let me know of your very favorite movie character, and I'll make you an award! It's your choice....

Farewell for now,

Contest Winners!

I'm SOO sorry (Hayley) that I didn't post the winners yesterday! Well, anyway, Here they are!
1st place-Mamaw's! (My grandmother.)
2nd place-(I couldn't decide who's picture would go for second, so I chose both of them!)
Middle picture-My mother's!! Yay!
Bottom picture-Hayley's!! Congratulations! (Sorry if the pictures are small.)
Hope you liked them!

Winners...

The story contest ended today, so here are the 1st and 2nd winners picked...

1st place...Megan! I really, really liked your story!

It was a calm, Tuesday afternoon. As normal, I was off on my bi-nightly walk. I had gone about 3/4ths of a mile when I was hit on the back of my head. I still don't know by whom, or what. I'm not even sure if it ever occurred. But when I regained consciousness, I didn't know where I was.

Light...green light? The fuzziness of my vision was starting to clear. I sat up quickly...too quickly, and my vision again blurred with a head-rush. After a moment, I saw I was in a deep wood...no, a jungle. Lush green foliage and trees surrounded me wherever I looked. I stood up and looked down at the mossy patch I'd been laying on. I was confused....Hadn't I just been on a walk?
A twig or branch snapped and I looked up. It took a moment, but I then saw two large eyes in a bush with purple berries on it. Whatever it was took a step out. It had humanoid features but with thick hair, very large eyes, and unusually long arms. It came to about my knee.
It then smiled at me, showing a wide grin of sharp teeth. It let out a giggle - yes, it sounded most like a giggle. Then, before I knew it, about twenty of the creatures were standing about ten feet away from me. They were coming from the bushes. All of them looked about the same, but with different colored leaves in their thick brown hair.
The one I had first seen - their leader if they have such - took three steps toward me. I, feeling no hostilities from them, smiled and held out my hand. I later learned from my mistakes, but then I honestly thought they looked harmlessly friendly.
It walked to my outstretched hand and touched it. then it started caressing my hand and wrist. Others soon came and started petting my jean-covered legs and bare arms. They probably had never seen anything like me before and were curious. I felt kinda like Tarzan's Jane. One of the creatures then climbed up my side and sat on my shoulder and looked at my hair. Others climbed up and soon I was covered in them. One slipped off my shoulder, and I felt it make a tiny scrape on my arm as it tried to hold on with its small claws but fell. A small drop of blood leaked down my arm and I took no notice, but one of the creatures did. It touched the blood and looked at it on its finger, then sniffed it. A strange look came over its face and it bit be on my arm! Its teeth sank in and I felt sudden pain. I yelped and tried to shake it off. It wouldn't budge. The pain was getting worse so I, well, bopped it on its head. It fell off with a thud and growled. Its white teeth, now red with blood, turned into a wolfish snarl, and it then tried again to leap onto my arm. I stumbled back, tripped over one, and fell with a thud. I heard a bone-curdling snap as I landed on one.
I stood up and looked down. I think I killed one. It laid there motionless. They were all looking at me, then at the one on the ground. All of the sudden they were all on it, eating it like hyenas on their prey. What were they?
I started running. My arm still pained me terribly, but I ignored it. They noticed me. I ran as fast as I could but they were fast, too. They were gaining on me. One took a huge leap and landed on my back, and it bit my shoulder. I then was screaming and flailing my arms, trying to get it off me while still running. The little raptor was scratching me now. Finally I knocked it off. I looked back. They were leaving- running to the side.
I stopped after I felt I had gone a long distance and tried to catch my breath. I turned and there they were. How had they gotten here so fast? So I kept running. The trees and moss were starting to turn into rocks and dirt, making it harder to run. I looked back and they were still coming, death written in their eyes. I felt something shift under me, but it was too late. I had run myself right over a cliff. Ironic...I had been running from my death and ended up right in it.
I fell for a long time. I saw the ground coming near....I knew I was falling too fast and hard to survive...

I woke up to a strange texture. Sand, very warm sand........


And here's the winner for second place...Mitchell! Actually, it's a story he wrote three years ago and my mom put it in this contest. Surprise, Mitch!

I stuffed the last of my stuff into my pack, cinched it shut and strapped it on. My best friend, Mark, and I had just finished clearing our campsite and were heading back. We were leaving from a weekend long backpacking trip in Glacier Park.
The trail back wasn't very difficult except for one spot where the trail almost disappeared and then branched of in several directions. Only one lead back to the ranger station. As we stood there trying to decide which to take, I noticed a sign saying that several bears had been encountered and to use caution when proceeding. Paying no heed to it, we chose a path and continued on. After an hour or so the trail gradually began to fade out. Puzzled, we continued on for a very short while. It became evident we had taken the wrong one, but it was about one-thirty so we figured we'd take a half-hour rest and then return to the fork in the trails and go a different way this time- hopefully the correct one.
Lunch consisted of hot dogs grilled at camp, energy bars, and water filtered fro a nearby stream. While we were packing the remains of our lunch, I thought I heard some rustling in a stand of trees. Remembering the sign about the bear encounters, I slipped my can of bear spray out of my pack and strung it on my belt.
A ways down the trail I noticed my bootlace was loose. Ignoring it I continued, but it began to annoy me so I stopped to retie it. Finishing, I looked up and saw that Mark had kept on going. Before I could call out to wait, I saw something moving in the trees beside the path. I called out to him, and just as he turned around, a large Grizzly burst out of the trees, heading straight toward him. I yelled at Mark to move away but he only just finished turning around and the bear crashed into him, throwing him into a tree and knocking him out cold.
The bear started walking toward him, growling menacingly. Remembering the spray, I jerked it from its case and ripped the safety cap off, and in doing so fired off a small burst, some of which got into my eyes and stung painfully. I finally managed to get a sight on the bear and pressed the button, but the spray didn't even come close to hitting him. I ran towards it keeping the button depressed.
Before I even got there, the spray can was empty, the bear had finished toying with Mark and was turning towards me. I turned to run, but before I had taken eight steps he caught up to me and with a roar smashed its paw into the side of my head. My vision exploded into a shower of stars and then everything went black.

I hope you enjoyed these stories as much as I did!

Announcing the Winner

I announce the winner of the contest...my mother!! Congratulations, Mom!! Here is what she drew...