Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Dear Readers,

Today's Easter. I'm so excited!! :) Today's the day that Christ was resurrected. Doesn't it just fill you with joy?! I can't wait to go to church and be apart of the Easter service. It's just such a happy day!! :) What do you guys usually do on Easter? Do you have any traditions?

Right now I'm sitting around in sport shorts and a T-shirt because I still have to do therapy, and I'm not sure that I'd be able to do that in a skirt. =P (which is what I'm planning on wearing... I'm still not sure yet) We don't really have any big traditions. We're just going to come home from church, have this awesome meal, and just kind of stay around the house.

God bless!! Have a GREAT Easter!! :)

Love,
Katrina
(who still hasn't figured out a new name... =P)

September Piper

-->please click and read<--

I hope you like it. :)

a post in which i talk randomly [again][yeah]

Dear Readers,

Today was really busy. =P I got a seriously bad sunburn and watched lots of runners. (if you've watched a track meet before--have you ever just felt like you're the one dying out on the field instead of the person who's actually dying??? I seriously felt that today.... =P [that might be because I've died while trying to practice... =P])

Anyway, I'm really trying to work on Olivia 3 (=P). Please don't freak out if I don't finish right away. There's a few things that's wrong with it and would need like real rewriting, and at the time I'm more focusing on stories that I could actually possibly publish in the future. So that's mostly why I haven't been writing on it lately..... not to mention that I keep on getting bombarded with story ideas. =P

(oh yeah, and The Thief... err, yeah... that book... =P)
(and all of the other books)

Anyway, I was wondering... do you guys like book reviews?? I'm mean, really? Seriously? Girl to girl??????? (please please please tell me)

I can't wait to tell you guys who won the picture contest!!! :)

Talk to ya later.

Love,
Katrina
(who still needs a new name)
(HELP!)
(MAJOR HELP!!!!!!!)

Secret Story Contest Awards

hahahaha... ha... ha... Yeah, anyway, I'm still laughing about Jessie Bender. (she's seriously way too much fun to write) Anyway, so Lena picked the blog design for her award. Sarah Elizabeth? Please tell me as soon as possible whether you'd like to be featured or have a personalized interview.

Being featured:
I would do a link to all of the blogs that you're apart of, write a little something about you, maybe a favorite post of yours that I've read, and you'd get a little award saying "I was featured on Rubberboot Girl".

Personalized interview:
I would come up with questions and things that pertain right to you, instead of like something that you would just fill out. (believe me, this is seriously fun. I got to do one with Maddie.... yeah, anyway... ;))

Please get back to me as soon as possible!! Thanks!! :)

Jessie the Intercom Lady

Dear Readers,

Hey, what's up? This is Jessie Bender, coming back to you to tell you that...

OK-it's-really-not-like-that-I...

Wait, Noah hasn't told you?

Oh, thank GOODNESS!

I really thought I was dead meat, but...

Oh, stink, now you want to know what on earth I'm talking about?

OK, fine, I'll tell you guys.

But you'd better not laugh, alright?

So I was in the newspaper office when I just thought of something.

"I really don't like the newspaper," I whispered. "And I always get paired with the jerks that I hate."

So I went and resigned.

Pretty much.

Noah: *at lunch* Why on earth?! Now I won't show up on the newspaper's front cover as much!!

Me: Um, excuse me??? Is that all I really am to you? Your publicity?

Noah: Well, of course not, I mean...

Me: You mean the only reason that you're friends with me isn't because I'm amazingly funny and everything interesting happens to me but because you just want to be in the newspaper...? I can't believe that you would DO that to me!

Noah: Of course not! Calm down, Jessie!

And that's when I came up with the great idea.

"Noah," I started, "I want to be over the intercom."

He looked at me. "What?"

"You know," I snorted. "Like I say the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning, I give out all of the reports, I tell people they have to go to the principal's office... Look, didn't you know that an eighth grader girl did it last year?"

Noah laughed. "Yeah, but you're not an eighth grader. You're a seventh grader."

I glared at him. "That's not the point. That's the job I want to do."

"Jessie," Noah sighed, "are you sure?"

I snorted. "Of course I'm sure! What could possibly happen?"

So then I got myself signed up. Like everybody in the entire school knows me, so of course they wanted me to work the intercom.

At first it was pretty awesome--"Zach Hall, Zach Hall, please get down to the principal's office" "Everyone must turn in their reports for Girl of the Year before Tuesday" "I pledge allegiance, to the flag..."--but then something really awful happened.

OK, that's the end.

Just kidding.

I was sitting in side of The Box, as I called it, and was about to get started on the huge list of things I had to say over the intercom when somebody knocked on the glass.

It was, unfortunately, Maya.

I groaned and opened the window. "What on earth do you want?"

She just smiled, handed me a note, and walked away. I turned it over. It read please read over the intercom immediately. I rolled my eyes. Really, Maya?

I sighed, turned on the mike, and started reading.

"Marcus has a secret crush on... oh my gosh, I'm going to puke!" I couldn't believe I'd just said that. I stared in horror at the mike, and then quickly switched it off. "MAYA!" I shrieked.

And that's not even the most horrible part.

I get back to my house, horrified, tell Mom and Dad, and then what happens? I get a phone call. No, no, not from Marcus, from Noah.

Me: Hello?

Noah: It's true. He confessed.

Me: What're you talking about?

Noah: Um, the thingy on the intercom? He just confessed to me that it was true.

Me: YUCK I'M GOING TO PUKE RIGHT NOW!!!!

Noah: Just relax.

Me: How can I?! It's not like it said "Maya has a really huge overly noticable crush on Noah" it SAID "Marcus has a secret crush on Jessie Bender"!!! I'm going to DIE!

Mom: *from the other room* Oh, lighten up. It's not like you're really going to marry him.

Me: ?!!!!!!?????

Noah: Jessie, just relax.

How can I? I'M GOING TO DIE!!!

Love,
Jessie

P.S. MAJOR HELP!!!!!!!

Secret Story Contest--results...

Today is March 25... aka the day that I announce the results of the Secret Story Contest!! :)

I was sooooo happy. SO MANY of you guys entered!! :) Thanks so much!!

I had like the hardest time in the world narrowing down the choices. I finally got to my top favorite three, but then I was having the hardest time choosing different places...

I want to assure each and every one of you that ALL of your entries were just AWESOME!! :)

But, unfortunately, I had to pick winners.

Please remember that the prizes are...

A. Blog design.

B. Being featured on this blog.

C. Personal interview.

First place will get to pick first. Second place next. And third place gets whatever is left.

OK, you ready? :)

First place goes to........

.........Lena Elizabeth!!!

Click to view the awesome entry. :)

I really liked her cover and story. Really awesome!! Please go and check it out!! :)

Lena? Please contact me right away with what you want, so that the other two winners won't have to wait. ;)

Second place goes to.......

.........Sarah Elizabeth!!!

Click to view her awesome entry. :)

Hey.... Elizabeth must be on a roll..... =D

And, finally...

....third place....

....goes to.....

.........Piano Bookworm!!!

Click to view HER awesome entry. =D

Congrats, winners!! :) Please talk to me right away about your prizes. ;)

And congrats to everyone who entered!! You were all awesome!! :)

Today's.... PALM SUNDAY!!!

Yay!!

I'm so happy. :)

Hopefully by this time next year my knee will be healed....

But who knows?

It's all apart of God's plan.

And that's what I'm going to trust.

I've already asked God to show me why He had this happen.

He'll show me in His own time.

If there was even a reason I'd understand.

I'm choosing to trust Him.

And not to worry.

He's got me in His hands.

What's there to worry about?

I'm going to try and get my knee as good as I can, and then I'm going to go back to the doctor. Will I need surgery? Maybe. Will I be fine? Maybe. It's all in God's hands.

And that's where it should stay.

Happy Palm Sunday!!

And God bless each and every one of you. :)

The bird who didn't seem to have a brain

I don't really remember when this story was, but it's kind of interesting--one of those strange things that happens to you that you're totally not expecting.

OK, so, the main jist of the story is that I was in the barn and this bird got stuck in there, and the strange little thing just WOULD NOT come out. My sister and I were trying like crazy to get that thing out of the barn--tried to herd it towards the ladder hole, tried to herd it out the hay door.... It just wasn't working.

Not to mention that my cat decided that the bird looked like a mighty tasty lunch and was watching it and making it really nervous.

And then the bird decided to wedge itself like in between the roof and and the wall. And the roof and walls are tin. So it was like squishing itself, and we were at a loss about what to do with it.

So then, finally, I believe that I went out and stood below the spot where the bird was wedged with a butterfly net and my sister pushed it out.

Either way, the bird fell and flew away. Nope, I didn't get to use my butterfly net. (I kind of wanted to...) But it got out. And that was the main thing.

Kind of strange, isn't it?

What stories do you remember?

Pinterest Post {linkup with Britt}

I'm doing a Pinterest Post linkup with Britt from Encouragement for Everyday Struggles. (yeah... this is kind of the reason I do linkups, too..... ;)) Anyway, so here are some photos that I find inspiring (quotes, things, pictures, etc...):

Take&Edit Photography Contest

What:

A photography contest, where you take and edit a photo, post it on your blog, and leave the link here so that I can judge it along with the others.

Rules:

1. The photography MUST be yours, and it MUST be edited by you.

2. You can only enter once.

3. You must be a follower of this blog (Rubberboot Girl).

4. For the duration of the contest, take off the above picture and display on the side of your blog so that others will know.

5. Share the post on Google (if allowed--if not, don't worry about it) so that others will know about it.

6. This contest ends the first of April.

7. First, second, and third place will choose out of the following awards (first place chooses first and so on):

A) A guest post on this blog

B) Featured on this blog

C) A personalized interview
8. Leave the URL of your post with your picture in it on THIS POST. If it's not on THIS POST, it won't be counted.

9. Thanks so much for entering, and God bless you all!! :)

Centering Post Footers [give away title =P]

Hola!

This is Storyteller with some more designing tips.

I do these posts so that if you're a person like me, who likes doing things themselves, you CAN do things yourself! :) But if you don't like doing things yourself, I'll do it for you. (haha *I love designing* ;)) Anyway, so today the topic's going to be....

dot.dot.dot.

(hmm, what secrets should I unleash?! mahahaha JK)

OK, got it. ;)

Have you ever wanted a more simple post footer? Like not a whole bunch of junk?

Well,  if you're like that (as you can tell by most of my footers, I'm not like that =P), then I have something that makes this look even more awesomer. ;)

It's called.....

CENTERING YOUR POST FOOTER

An interestingly strange designing post by Storyteller

who sounds more like a writer

[and is]

but amazing knows some designing things =D

OK, so this one is pretty easy. Like the others I did, it's CSS. (CSS. IS. THE. BEST.)

OK, so here's what to do:

-Log in

-Click on the blog you want to do it on

-Go to template

-Click customize

-Go to Advanced

-Click CSS

-Paste this code and press return afterwards:

.post-footer {
text-align: center;
font-family: ‘Port Lligat Sans’, sans-serif;
font-size: 18px;
padding-top: 5px;
padding-left: 0px;
padding-bottom: 2px;
border-bottom: 1px solid #c7c5c5;
}

-Save template

Easy peasy, right? ;)

It won't show you that it's done until you go and check out your blog, but it definitely works.

I hope that this is helpful!! :) If you want more like this, tell me in some way--vote on the poll, vote on the post, share this post on Google, comment... etc. ;)

The Wind in the Willows #4

Right click; click Image in New Window; grab the URL; put in post. ;)

Hello!

Sad to say, nobody answered The Wind in the Willows last time.

*sadness*

Somebody please do it this time. It really IS fun.

And how do you do it? Just drag off the above picture and my questions (which I'll have below) with your answers. I answer them, too, just for fun. :) And if you leave the URL of your Wind in the Willows post in the comments, I'll go and check it out!! :) And you can put it on your sidebar, too... just for fun.... ;)

Here they are this time:

1. What's the most traumatic (I don't care if it's a broken fingernail, whatever...) thing that's happened to you this past week?

Uh, my knee getting hurt. =P

2. If you could choose somebody to be president, who would you pick?

CLINT EASTWOOD!!!! very big JK =D haha ;D Oh, I'd probably pick Ron Paul. ;)

3. Are you excited or sad for spring?

I'm. way. psyched. ;D

4. What's been your favorite post on this blog (Rubberboot Girl) so far?

Um..... for myself, as the author, probably one of the Jessie Bender ones. Just because they're wayyyyy too much fun to write. =D

5. If you changed your blogger name, what would you change it to?

Uh.... Jessie, maybe? ;D Or maybe like Agent Archer... haha.... or Agent Rohan..... JK..... or Agent Eowyn. =D Oh, wait, we haven't really told you about Agent Eowyn yet (psst The Agent Files ;)). MOVING ON..... --->

6. Why'd you follow this blog?

Because it's mine. =D bahaha

7. What would be more horrible--having pizza thrown on your beautiful new school clothes the first day of school, or get tripped down the stairs where you bump right into the most popular kid?

Oh..... oooh........ probably the tripping, because it'd not only hurt but it'd be embarrassing... =P (like a Jessie moment or something..... hey, that's an idea....!!! =D)

8. Have you ever had to use crutches before?

Yes. Three times. =P

9. Picture in your mind the most epic blog design. What would it look like?

Oh my word, I almost forgot I had to answer that. =P Um..... OK, I'm not really sure.... Oh! Oh! I know! OK, so the background would be simple and white, right? ;) And then I'd finally figure out how to make page titles go italic when hovered over, so we'd have that just above the header, but kind of set into the header. (saw that once--totally awesome ;)) And then I'd have a pretty, simple header, and really awesome fonts on the page, and maybe some kind of special background for the sidebar... not really sure.....

10. What kind of posts are you most likely to comment on?

Oh, wow....... Well, probably "my life" posts, quizzes, randomness posts, picture posts.... mostly a lot. =P

Quotes to Read

<3 this verse

Indeed.

You better believe it.

I love this song. It's so true. <3

God's looking out for you.

Spring is Here

Hey, everybody!

I have been having some physical struggles lately, which you can read about over here. Please be praying for me. This is really hard and pretty scary for me.

It seems like the weather has finally decided that it's spring. The air just smells gorgeous. We opened the windows, and now I'm sitting here smelling a beautiful breeze. I can't wait for the times of shorts and T-shirts, and when I can complete my 2013 Summer Bucket List.

I love winter. I love all of the seasons, frankly. But I'm ready for spring--ready to embrace the weather, the sights, the smells... I'm just ready.

I'm so glad that God made seasons, and not just one season. Can you imagine being perpetually stuck in one season?! I think I'd go crazy. I'm so thankful that God did that for us. Isn't He a great God?! :)

What's YOUR favorite season, and why? Are you excited for spring?

I want to thank all of you for the lovely entries in my contests. I love ALL of them. They're soooo awesome!! :) I'm sooooooo proud of you guys. I loved looking at them. I was just like "oh, wow, I really want to read this" and "oh, wow, I really love this cover". It was so awesome. So you guys can just give yourself a pat on the back. :) (special pun between PB and I... haha, remember? ;))

I have lots of stuff planned for when the weather gets better--and school gets out for everybody--so I hope you stay put and enjoy the ride. :)

Thanks for all of your lovely comments, blogs, and words.

Love,
Katrina
who needs a new name
perhaps Constance (Connie)?
Or maybe Willow...
Some help, please... ;)

P.S. I need to pick up chopsticks soon..... ;D

Embers|pictures that inspire #4

Right click; image in new window; grab image address; put in post.

Yes, we're here with Embers|pictures that inspire.

You can sit back and enjoy the pics or join the fun!

How to play?

1. Grab the above picture and put it in a post.
2. Follow it with as many inspiring pictures as you want.
3. Have fun!! :)

Here are mine this time:

Oh my word! It's Georgie Henley/Lucy!! Isn't she just gorgeous?? :)

<3

<3

The Magic Quiz

So so so sooooo sorry for being gone for so long!! :/ There was the play and then I got sick and.... yeah, anyway... =P

To make up for being boring for so long, what about a quiz? ;D Yeah? OK, let's start... ;)

(Modern Day)

Do you have a modern day, but seemingly different kind of magic? This is kind of referring to the kind of magic in books where it's a normal every day story, and yet something seems a little... magical.

(Olden Day)

Do you kind of have the olden day, beautiful, crystal kind of magic? This is referring to like when you walk into an old bookshop and think of, say, Inkheart or if you walked into an old mansion and immediately get a story idea. That kind of old time feeling magic.

(unique)

Do you kind of have that out of this world, and yet still in this world magic? This is kind of like my Danielle Panabaker story. It sounds like it's in our world--maybe in the future--and yet, it's totally different. Magical.

(beautiful)

Do you kind of have that beautiful, delicate, mysterious magic? That feeling you get when you see the elves of LOTR or you read a beautiful, happy magic book.

Take this quiz to find out! :)

(And by the way... the answers aren't all realistic, but try to think of yourself in the sense of that you're a book character. What would you want to be your story? Hmm? ;))

1. You're told by your parents that you're moving. You're just sure that...

A. ...the house that you're moving to is going to be plain, old, and dusty.

B. ...the house that you're moving to is old and mysterious, with lots of mysterious for you to unlock while you stay there.

C. ...the house that you're moving to has a secret staircase that will lead you to a magical place.

D. ...that it will have a huge library full of magical books waiting to take you on adventures.

2. You just found out that you possibly have magical blood in you. You're sure that...

A. ...you're probably really like some awesome writer's daughter or something.

B. ...you're definitely going to be some kind princess of some kind.

C. ...you're some kind of reclusive sprite or something.

D. ...you're definitely an elf or a fairy! :)

3. What you love most is...

A. ...old watches, dusty bookshops, and compasses.

B. ...ball gowns, fancy gloves, telescopes, old love letters, trunks and chests.

C. ...satchels, caps, scarves, beaded hair, stained glass, a beautiful magical place that's more futuristic than anything.

D. ...Blue Moons, moonlight shining on water, waterfalls, beautiful dresses, shimmering cloaks, and flutes.

4. You're most described by...

A. ...confident and courageous.

B. ...mysterious and smart.

C. ...unique and different.

D. ...angelic and beautiful.

5. What most sounds like the adventure you'd want to have?

A. Some kind of adventure in your hometown where the risks aren't very high and everything turns out alright in the end.

B. One full of mystery and intrigue, including an old house, some small magic, and lots of danger for you and your friends.

C. An adventure with lots of action packed adventure, with lots of danger, twists, and turns, out of which you don't even know if YOU'LL survive.

D. An adventure full of beauty, majesty, magic, mystery, danger, and everything else combined with a silver blue cloak.

6. If you were in a book, the story would begin...

A. ...there once lived a girl, in a very small town, and nothing ever happened.

B. ...once, a long time ago, there was an old mansion.

C. ...I have always loved adventure; but I never knew how that love would nearly kill me.

D. ...there was a Blue Moon, shining down on the waters; and that night a baby was born.

Now to calculate your results...

(aka this quiz is over, ya'll... ;D)

Mostly As is............ The Modern Day Magic!

Mostly Bs is............... The Olden Day Magic!

Mostly Cs is..................... The Unique Magic!

Mostly Ds is.................. The Beautiful Magic!

And I am......

(let's see... =P)

.......I'm the Beautiful Magic!! (Yippee!! =D) haha ;)

Thanks for taking!! I'd LOVE to hear who YOU are!!! :)

HTML/CSS codes

I'm going to spill the beans.

Alright? :)

So, you know, as a designer, sometimes it's kind of like "ooh, I want to hoard all of my secrets". But I think, "hey, if people still want a blog design from me, I'm free, but otherwise, why not let them do it themselves?" You might be thinking that this is a CSS/HTML code post, and if you are... why, you're correct. =D Here are some codes that I use when I design.

1. Centering gadget titles. This is really nice if you have a template where you don't have a white background. If you don't, then it's going to be really obvious if you put the pictures with the words above it. So that's why I like this. It's also a lot easier than inserting pictures above each gadget. I still do the pictures (like on this blog) sometimes because I think they're cool, but this is something that I would suggest knowing.

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog that you're going to want to use
-Go to template
-Click customize template
-Go to Advanced
-Go to CSS
-Enter this code:

.sidebar .widget h2 {

text-align: center;

}

-Click return afterwards to see how it'll play out
-Save your template

Pretty easy, right? CSS is. It's my fave. :)

2. Centering page titles, post titles, and date titles. This is also a really good thing to do. Not only does it make it look pretty professional, but it's also a nice style. :)

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog that you're wanting to use
-Go to template
-Click customize template
-Go to Advanced
-Go to CSS
-Enter this code:

.PageList {text-align:center !important;}

.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}h3.post-title { text-align:center; }

.date-header

{

text-align:center !important; 

}

-Click return afterwards to see how it'll play out
-Save your template

Sweet, right? :)

And, if you want to put them together, this is how you can put them all together in one:

.PageList {text-align:center !important;}

.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}h3.post-title { text-align:center; }

.date-header

{

text-align:center !important; 

}

.sidebar .widget h2 {

text-align: center;

}

Super duper easy. ;)

3. Keep your navbar but make it disappear until you hover. I do this on ALL of my blogs, just because it makes it better. And the best part? It's like the easiest code ever. =D

Steps:
-Log into your blogger account
-Click on the blog you're wanting to use
-Go to Layout
-Click add gadget
-Get the HTML/Java Script gadget
-Put in this code:

<!-- DROPDOWN NAVBAR -->
<!-- stylesheet for FF2, Op9, IE7 (strict mode) -->
<style type="text/css">
#navbar {
display:inline;
width:100%;
position:absolute;
background-color:transparent;
top:-30px;
left:0px;
height:60px;
z-index:999999;
}
#navbar:hover{
top:0px;
height:30px;
}
</style>
<!-- stylesheet for IE6 and lower -->
<!-- (not supporting element:hover) -->
<!-- first, unhide the navbar through css -->
<!-- second, hide the navbar and mimic -->
<!-- the effect with javascript, if available -->
<!--[if lt IE 7]>
<style type="text/css">
#navbar {
height:30px;
top:0px;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
var navbar = document.getElementById('navbar');
if(navbar){
navbar.onmouseover = function(){
navbar.style.top = '0px';
navbar.style.height = '30px';
}
navbar.onmouseout = function(){
navbar.style.top = '-30px';
navbar.style.height = '60px';
}
if (navbar.captureEvents){
navbar.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEOVER);
navbar.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEOUT);
}
navbar.onmouseout();
}
</script>
<![endif]-->
<!-- end dropdown navbar -->

-Save gadget

I think that's all for now... have any more questions? Maybe I can help!! :) And if you're seriously new to blogger, I have lots of great tips on my Help page on my blog Storyteller of Weston County. :)

Secret Story Contest

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, yes, I'm doing another contest. :) Yay!! :) OK, so this is a book cover design contest. So then why on earth is it called Secret Story Contest?! You'll understand in a moment. ;D

OK, so, I was thinking--what kind of contest could I do?? I mean, I've done several contests before, and you've all been kind enough to have enough entries FOR a contest. :) So I was thinking, "What kind of contest should I do this time?" And then I thought, "Book cover design contest!" And then I was thinking, "But what book??"

So here's the deal:

You come up with a book cover for a fake book (not one that you've made, not one that I've made, not one that anybody's made) and make like a fake summary of the story, and add a fake author's name on the cover, too (or use your own. I don't really care...). You know, like, the inside of the cover of a book?

Here is an example of what I'm thinking:

Brothers Jacque and Peter Bouvier had always been close, only three years apart in age. But when eighteen year old Jacque is drafted into the French army and fifteen year old Peter is left behind, both feel an ache for their other brother. Peter doesn't know what to do without Jacque. He's never done anything without his older brother. And when strange things start to happen, he suddenly realizes that something terrible has happened to his brother... and he's determined to do anything he can to save him.

This would be an example of a good entry. ;D

Kind of get my idea? :)

OK, so, here are the rules:

1. You MUST be a follower of this blog, Rubberboot Girl.

2. All entries must be left in a comment on THIS POST (otherwise an invalid entry).

3. If allowed, share this post on Google so that your friends will know about it, too. :)

4. This contest ends the 25th of March.

5. You must take the above advertisement for this contest and place it on the side of your blog for the duration of the contest. When the contest ends, you're free to do what you want with it. (I will have it available to drag it off from the side of my blog at all times during the contest.)

6. The three winners--1st, 2nd, and 3rd places--will get to choose between a blog design, being a featured blogger on this blog, or getting a personalized interview. (All of these, except for the blog design, do not include your email.)

7. For fun, you may include something about your fake author, like they do in the back of books. This will not add up to your points in most ways, but it might help me to sway towards you if I'm really impressed by it. ;)

8. Good luck and God bless!! :) (And remember not to enter more then once... this will get you disqualified. =P)

Hope you guys enter!! :)

Embers|pictures that inspire #3

Right click; image in new window; grab the image URL; put in your post.

Hello, hello! Today we're here with Embers|pictures that inspire. :)

Want to play?

Here's how:

1. Grab the above button and put it in a post.

2. Follow the button by putting several pictures that inspire you.

Have fun!! Hope you enjoy my inspirations!! ;)

P.S. If you leave the link to your Embers post, I'll check it out. :)

Abigail Jane Applegate--The Man in Black

Outside of New York City
1778
British Occupation of New York

I couldn't believe it. I was going to be hung as a Patriot spy. Which, of course, was true. As part of the Culper Ring, I knew the risk that I took every day. But until I saw the look in the British leader's eyes did I realize what he'd just told the men--I'm going to die.

Now I was being hauled out of the barn that they'd brought me into by the soldiers. They threw me up onto to a cart. The man's words echoed in my brain--She'll be hanged tomorrow morning with the rest of them. Where were they going to take me?

"Don't move," glared one of the soldiers. "We're watching you."

One of them sat in the back of the wagon with me and the other jumped up onto the seat and whipped the horses into a canter. I bit my lip to keep from crying. I was going to die. The thought just wouldn't go away. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. It kept on going through mind, time and time again. Was I ready to die? Was I really ready to face God for all of the sins that I'd committed in my lifetime? I felt like this was all wrong. There was so much more that I had to do. The wagon bounced me back to real life.

We were away from the barn and the farmhouse, traveling down a bumpy dirt road. I was thrown about by the ruts. My eyes strayed ahead, hoping, praying, that somehow I would find a way to get out of this. Some way. I didn't know how. But God was on my side. I knew that.

That's about the time when the man dressed in black flew on horseback in front of the wagon. In his hand was a gun.

To avoid a collision, the soldier driving pulled hard on the reins. The horses cried in protest but pulled to a halt right in front of the man. His gun was trained on the soldier driving's head.

"Let the girl go," he commanded.

I recognized that voice.

Nathan.

Lime Baseball

Dear Readers,

This is Jessie. You're not going to believe what happened!!!!!!

OK, so, the other day I got an invitation to go to Noah's house for a party. (I was pretty sure it was something about the football... [because, you know, I did save them by dressing up as the mascot that one time...... ONE OF THE MOST HORRIBLE DAYS EVER.] but my best friend's emails aren't always the easiest to interpret. =P)

Anyway, so I talked to my mom, and she was like...

Mom: Of course your going! Noah's your best friend!

Me: Are you sure? I mean, from Noah's email, it sounded like just him and his football buddies.

Mom: Of course! I know all of their parents. It'll be fine.

Me: OK, but I'm not going to be wrangled into dressing up as a mascot.

Mom: O course not!

So that's how I found myself standing in front of Noah's house.

"Hey, Jessie!" Noah ran out of the house. "Come on--we're about to start playing Imaginiff." He paused, and then leaned forward and hissed, "By the way, I've just got to warn you that Marcus is here."

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"WHAT?!" my voice squeaked. "Are you kidding!?"

"No," he answered.

"Look," I hissed, "I can't go in there. I hate that kid. I'll probably starting throwing food at him, and I don't want to do that."

"Look," Noah whispered, "it'll be fine. Come on."

He practically dragged me into the house, where his mom was trying to save all of her precious vases and picture frames. (I would've given it up.) Noah's football buddies were running around the house like crazy. (I'm serious. Middle school boys are so immature. =P) Marcus was sitting like a board, glaring, on Noah's couch.

"I need to leave," I hissed. "My mind's already thinking of ways to booby trap Marcus!"

"It'll be fine," Noah told me. "Just relax. Hey, you can go and help Mom in the kitchen, OK?"

I watched his mom catch a picture that was falling off the wall. "Noah, your mom's not IN the kitchen."

"Well, you know what I mean." He pushed me towards the door. "Go on."

I went into the kitchen. Paper plates and cups sat on the kitchen table, next to a bowl full of limes and oranges and a platter of sandwiches.

"What's this party really for, anyway?" I muttered, picking up a lime and throwing it between my hands like a baseball.

CRASH!!! The sound made me cringe and then run angrily into Noah's living room. Marcus was standing with a smug smile over a broken vase.

"YOU HOOLIGAN!" I shouted at him.

And then I did something really awful.

I threw the lime at his head.

"OOF!" He fell to the ground, rubbing the back of his head. Then he stood up and glared at me. "What was that for?!"

As you can imagine, I was horrified.

It ended up that I apologized, Noah's mom cut the party short, and we went home.

HAD I REALLY JUST THROWN A LIME AT MARCUS???????

Oh stink.

Love,
Jessie