Welcome to my 200th blog post! plus contest and giveaway!

(I totally "borrowed" this photo from someone on Google, because I can't make things look pretty like this)

Hello!  Thank you so much for stopping by and celebrating my 200th blog post with me!  I can't believe it's been 3 1/2 years since I started blogging!  Odd story, but I actually started this blog solely because I was trying really hard to get on an author's (Ronie Kendig's) promotional team and one of the requirements was having a blog - I wasn't chosen that time around, but found I actually really enjoyed blogging, despite the fact I don't post nearly as often as I intend to.  That being said, since this seemed like an important milestone, I thought we might do something (hopefully) fun to celebrate!

It was suggested to me (thanks, Gary!) that it would be fun to have a writing contest and I completely agreed!  So, whether you aspire to be a writer, or if the extent of your writing endeavors is confined to post-it-note reminders, please join me and have fun!

The Details:

To be entered, email me a short story, poem, or shopping list (no longer than 1,000 words, please) by midnight (EST) Friday, October 6th.  I actually just have one guideline to follow, beyond the 1,000 word limit (I hate that I have to even say this, but): as this is a Christian based blog, please write your entries with that in mind.  Any entry containing profanity will be excluded, as I will not share that on my blog.  Now, with that out of the way - 
 I'll read all of the entries and, probably with the help of a friend or two, will choose a winner (if I get a large response, we might have a post to vote for your favorite).

Please send your entry to bookluver1492[at]gmail[dot]com

What You Win:

The winner will have their story/poem/shopping list as a guest post on my blog Saturday, October 7th!  And, they will receive a package of randomness that I will put together between now and then! (right now, it includes a journal, pens, maybe some chocolate, and possibly a book)

So, if this sounds like something you or one of your friends (please let them know) would enjoy doing, please email me!  Oh, and be sure to make the title of your email something I'd recognize in my spam folder like "contest entry" or "200th post contest" or the like.  Just in case Google can't handle me actually getting emails from real people for a change.  :)

Anyway, thanks again for stopping by and if you've been with me since I started, thank you so much for sticking around this long!  I so appreciate you!

And if you have any questions about the contest, if I left out some important detail, or my brain didn't translate to typing well, please comment below or email me and I'll get back to you! 

Have a beautiful day!