Special Edition: Camp Award

So last week I went to girls camp as a leader. When we had our award night on Wednesday, my fellow leaders surprised me with the award they gave me.
The Top Ten Award.
They listed ten things that they noticed about me while up at camp, and had an item to go with each one.
So for today's Ten Reasons, I'm going to share my camp award.

1. Superstar. I tried to be a pretty cool leader while up at camp. The item for this was a little balloon in the shape of a star.
2. Spiritual. I tried to be a righteous example to the young women, and to help them strengthen their own testimonies. The item for this was a little journal.
3. Organized. I always try to keep my equipment in order while camping. The items for this was a pencil cup and a paperclip cup.
4. Energetic. When I go camping, I often rise with the sun and feel full of energy. The item for this was two double A batteries (which are coincidentally my favorite kind of battery).
5. Calm. I'm not the kind to freak when a beetle lands on my arm while camping. The item for this was a scented candle.
6. Problem Solver. When a complication occurs at camp, I try to help fix it. The item for this was a book of simple logic puzzles.
7. Adventurous. I love exploring the woods. I was able to help lead some of the girls on a five mile hike. The item for this was some rope.
8. Lifesaver. I try to help my fellow leaders so that no single person has too much on their plate. The item for this was a roll of Lifesavers candy.
9. Knowledgeable. I like knowing things, and try to study what the young women will be certifying while at camp. The item for this was a bag of Smarties candy.
10. Awesome. Well, I try to help the young women have the best camp experience possible. The item for this was two Cup o Gold candies.

Susan and the camping trip: part three

The drive home was long. Susan fell in and out of sleep throughout the journey.
When the car finally pulled into the driveway, Susan groggily opened her eyes. "Are we there yet?" She asked with a yawn. Susan's mother turned to look at her daughter as she parked the car.
"Yes. We are home."
Susan unbuckled her seat belt and climb out of the car. It had been a long week of camping. Surprisingly, Susan had come to the decision that her cousin Tiffany was actually alright. She still wouldn't be Susan's first choice to hang out with, but camping would have been much more boring without her.
Susan got her bag from the trunk. Susan's mother looked down at her. "See? Camping wasn't so bad." Susan's mother said, eyes soft as she smiled. Susan rolled her eyes and held back a sigh.
"I still wouldn't choose it over hanging out with my friends." Susan grumbled. Then the corner of her mouth twitched. "But I suppose it wasn't a completely wasted week."
Susan's mother gave a quiet chuckle. "You still have the rest of the summer to do what you want." After giving her daughter's head a pat, Susan's mother headed toward the house with her bag.
Brushing off her hair with a hand, Susan headed after her mother. As she lugged her bag through the doorway, Susan was glad to finally be home.

To go outside

1.  So you can enjoy summer activities.
2. Because writing in the rain is fun under a tree.
3. There are interesting bugs and animals to see.
4. Camp chairs are easy to transport.
5. The campfire is close for making s'mores.
6. Entertainment is available from many sources. The weather, friends, and sunsets are only a few possibilities.
7. Wood carving and other sometimes messy crafts are easier to clean up.
8. Playing outside provides an opportunity to get fresh air and sun.
9. Taking a nap in the grass can be pleasant.
10. You can learn new skills from others in an open environment.

Susan and the camping trip: part two

Susan sat outside of the tent, staring gloomily at the trees. They had been camping for a day, and she was ready to go home. There were so many bugs in the woods. Bugs and mud and icky tree sap. Worse of all, she had to share a tent with Tiffany!
Susan narrowed her eyes as she saw her cousin heading toward her. "What?" She asked with a frown.
Tiffany rubbed her forearm. "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a short hike with me." Tiffany said quietly. "I know of this place you might like."
Susan fought the urge to roll her eyes. A place she might like? Not in the woods!
Tiffany shifted, her eyebrows wrinkling. "Please? My Dad says I can't go if you don't come."
Leaning her head back, Susan gave a sigh. "Fine."
Tiffany's eyes widened as she offered a small smile. "Thank you."
So after filling their water bottles, the two cousins headed into the trees. Susan followed behind Tiffany, waving her hand to swat at bugs. The path they took was a simple dirt trail that weaved between trees and around bushes.
"How much farther?" Susan asked after they had be hiking for five minutes. Tiffany glanced back to her cousin. "We're almost there."
They reached a fork in the path. Tiffany turned right; onto a narrow path littered with rocks. "The left path looks easier." Susan said as she looked at the fairly flat path. Tiffany looked at the left path, then shook her head. "The left path leads to a meadow, but it's a long hike." Tiffany said. Susan looked at the left path for a moment longer, then gave a sigh and followed Tiffany down the right path.
The path remained narrow for a couple of minutes. Then it suddenly widened, and Susan came to a halt. They were at a pond. A family of ducks began quacking at their appearance and glided across the water to the far side of the pond.
"Aunt Clara told me that you like to swim." Tiffany said slowly as she turned to look at Susan. "If you would like, we could come back later and swim."
Susan studied her cousin for a moment, then offer her a smile. "That might be fun." She said. As Tiffany returned the smile, Susan decided that maybe camping wouldn't be a bad as she had thought.

Reader Appreciation Award

I received the Reader Appreciation Award from Ali. Thank you!

I'm quite excited, so let's continue on.

The rules are:
1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Attach the icon to your site.
3. Answer the attached questions.
4. Nominate six bloggers who you feel deserve this award and notify them about their nominations.

Here are the questions:

1. What do you like to eat for snack?
I like old fashioned beef jerky, granola, and chocolate covered peanuts.

2. What is your idea of a perfect day?
The day begins with my cat getting her claws tangled in my hair. After a lovely breakfast (likely of some food not typically considered breakfast fare in the US), I would read for a while. Following that, I would pull out my shuttle and tat. Lunch would consist of something containing cheese. I would then spend a little time with my family. Afterword, I would play either The Legend of Zelda or Pokemon. Dinner would have delicious meat. I would then go sit at the computer and write. Words would flow from my typing fingers, filling page after page with a story worth reading. Then in the wee hours of the morning, I would head to bed.

3. What does your favourite shirt look like?
It is green, with short sleeves. There is a red arrow which points to the right (→) . Written on the shirt above the arrow are three words:
I'm with illogical.

4. What's your favourite ice cream flavour? Why?
Mint chocolate chip! I enjoy the crispness of the mint coupled with the chocolate's sweetness. I prefer the thinner pieces of chocolate over the chucks, though either will work for a milkshake.

5. How many languages do you speak?
One at the moment: English. Though I did attempt to learn Klingon. Alas, I could not quite wrap my mind around it.

6. Why did you start a blog?
Terrarth Tales is an exercise of imagination. I wanted to share some of my writing with others, and get better at making deadlines.
Tatting Between Words is a place for me to share the tatting I make. It is an amazing craft, one that I am happy to know.

7. What is your best friend like?
Small. Gray. Fuzzy. Loves to sit on my shoulder. Other then my cat, I also have a human best friend.
She is one of the reasons I love writing. She is very kind, and has a contagious laugh.

8. Are you proud of being nominated?
Certainly! I am grateful that there is at least one person out there who enjoys what I share on this blog.

9. What movie genre do you like best?
I like the fantasy genre, as well as the adventure genre. I enjoy animated movies, and typically lean toward family friendly films.

10. Describe the best and worst things about yourself.
I procrastinate. I love my family. I don't easily open up to others. I'm left handed. My favored smile is a smirk. I am happy being me.

As for six nominations...

Cadva. Unfortunately, it looks like her blog is no longer up. But Cadva had really cool artwork on her blog.
Kathryn Cooper. Her blog Clean Teen Fiction is an excellent source to find book reviews for YA books. The reviews have four types of content rating: Sexual Content, Language, Violence, and Other (for things that do not fit in the other tree types).
Fox. A tatter, her blog tat-ology is one of my favorite tatting blogs.
Carole. Her blog Carole's Chatter has many interesting things from cryptic crosswords to food.
Hannah L. Clark. Author of Cobbogoth, she has a video series known as Writing Gems; where she shares some of her insight on writing.
Cera. Her blog has food, recipes, and knitting!

As for their questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. Do you have a favorite food?
3. Are you left or right handed?
4. What crafts can you do?
5. What is your favorite color?
6. Can you recite the alphabet backwards?
7. Which do you prefer: cats or dogs?
8. What is something you are good at?
9. Where would you like to visit?
10. Are you good at gardening?

To stay inside

1.  So you can avoid the heat of summer.
2. Because writing in the rain is easier with a roof over your head.
3. There are less bugs to annoy you.
4. Most chairs are more comfortable.
5. The kitchen is closer.
6. Entertainment is quickly available from many sources. Books, family members, and television are only a few possibilities.
7. Tatting and other crafts remain cleaner.
8. When the children are outside playing, you enjoy the peace and quiet.
9. Taking a nap on the couch can at times be relaxing.
10. You can try something new in a controlled environment.

Susan and the camping trip: part one

"Why do we have to go camping?" A girl by the name of Susan asked, nose wrinkling as she tried to shove a shoe into her already stuffed bag. The girl's mother hummed as she zipped her own bag closed, then turned to look at Susan.
"Uncle Gregory invited us. Your cousin Tiffany is coming. It will be a fun opportunity for the two of you to spend time together." Susan's mother said. Susan had to stifle a groan. Not Tiffany! From what Susan could remember about her cousin, Tiffany was a total bore. The last time she had seen Tiffany, her cousin had found a quiet spot to read and stayed there the entire night!
Susan gave a cough and rubbed her throat. "Mom," Susan gave another cough, "I think I'm coming down with something." She scrunched up her face, then gave two coughs. "I think I'd better stay home."
Susan's mother walked over to her. Placing a hand on her daughter's forehead, Susan's mother offered a faint smile. "Nice try dear, but you are going camping."
Leaning her head back, Susan let out a groan. "But it'll be so boring! There is nothing fun to do out in the woods." She waved a hand in the air. "And besides, my friends and I were going to do stuff together!"
Susan's mother gave her a look. "We are going camping." Susan's mother placed a hand on Susan's bag. "You need to repack and leave some of this stuff behind. We leave in the morning."
With that, Susan's mother walked back to her own bag. Susan looked at her bag with a frown. No matter what her mom said, Susan was certain that camping was going to be a boredom-filled disaster.

How to build a deathtrap

1. Select the location. Your deathtrap must blend in with the environment until the time to use it arrives.
2. Decide upon the animals. Will it have a pit of snakes or a tank of sharks?
3. Fine tune the sequence of events. This trap will begin with an iron ball rolling down a pipe and knocking a stapler off the table. The stapler will land in a bucket set on a balance scale, which will add enough weigh so that a burning candle is lifted toward a rope. The flame burns the rope, which causes a boulder to fall exactly where our hero will be immobilized.
4. Choose the style of trap. Spiked walls that move steadily closer or a room that fills with sand? Whichever you choose has its own set of tools required to make it work properly.
5. Know how many heroes the trap will need to accommodate. If the trap is too small, then it may miss some heroes. While if it is too large, a single hero may be able to slip past without setting it off.
6. Bait the trap. Is you hero insatiably curious? Then disguise the trap's trigger as something the hero will be drawn to. A big red button works quite well.
7. Have the trap contain the hero's weakness. If there something that can cripple the hero? Whether it is ornithophobia, the color yellow, or a green meteorite, make sure it has a place in your trap!
8. Build a fail-safe trap. If the hero somehow defeats the first trap, then a secondary trap may prove successful. Who would would expect there to be a trap within another?
9. Prepare a speech. Taunting the hero is one of the great joys of a deathtrap. Go ahead and give a speech worthy of the hero's demise.
10. Leave a flaw that the hero can exploit to escape. You don't want to have to find a new hero after all.

Birthday rhyme

When swamped by birthdays, you may not know what to do.
While anxious to give a good gift, your face might turn blue.

Remember to breathe as you learn these facts:
 1. While gifts are nice, your family may just want to interact.
 2. A birthday remembered is one well spent.
 3. Never reveal the birthday persons age without their consent.

Go on, plan a surprise party or two.
Even if the birthdays you celebrate are few.

What ever the day, whether in winter, spring, summer or fall,
Happy birthday! To one and to all!