Vampire Diaries Writing

Boy, have I been writing like a maniac lately or what.

I'm part of an art community called deviantArt.  It's a place where you can submit art, photography, writing, etc. and receive critique, or just appreciation.  I'm part of a group on this site dedicated to (yes, I'm a fangirl) "The Vampire Diaries."  They're having a competition right now that has a written category, so I decided to enter.

I've entered a piece about one of the main characters, named Damon Salvatore.  He's sort of the bad boy that's actually good.  You can find that one here, if you're interesting in reading it. This is the one that I'm most proud of.  I really, really like it, and I've gotten a lot of feedback for it!

I also wrote one about Jenna Sommers, the aunt and guardian of the main character.  That one is here. I do really like this one, but not as much as I like Damon's.

And today, I wrote one about Tyler Lockwood. Until now, he's been a very minor character. But this next season, we're going to be seeing a lot more of him, seeing as he's a werewolf... ;) Here is the piece I wrote about him after he finds out about the death of his father.

I've also been doing a lot of writing on my story.  :D  That's super exciting for me.  Buuuuut I'm not going to tell you much about it.  Why?  Ohh... I have my reasons!

Thanks for reading!
Krista

Go to Arches National Park

My mom brought me back up to school after my Spring semester home.  We had a blast!  We laughed a lot, and even managed to not kill each other.  She trusted my driving a whole lot more, and even slept in the car some.  On the second day up, we stopped at Arches National Park.  The only one I hiked up to was the double arch, which was absolutely breath-taking.

You know, I really love the fact that my mom is so supportive of my photography.  She stopped numerous times for me to take a picture, drove with her window open, waited for me for an hour, and so much more.  She really is amazing.

I used to be absolutely obsessed with rocks.  I still love them.  When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist or a geologist.

Mom thought this one was really cool.  I think it's called "Balanced Rock."

The double arch!!!  Isn't it magnificent?

In the arch looking up.

Petrified sand dunes.  Cool.

The delicate arch!  I did have to hike a little ways to get to a viewing point to see this one.  Ugh.  That was when I realized...  I'm *so* not in shape.

NOT a very photogenic day for me.  So this is the best you're gonna get. :)

What adventure would be complete without the perfect sunset at the end?

Arches really was great.  But the adventure didn't end there!  Oh no.  We still had to get to Provo through the mountains that night.  After the sun went down, in construction, without the lines painted on the road.  Mom absolutely refused to let me drive, so I had to settle for telling her when the road curved, and watching for deer.  She was terrified, and rightly so.  It was not a good driving situation.

But we pulled through. :)

Thanks for the adventure, mom.  Love you!

Go Skiing/Snowboarding

For a joint birthday celebration, Julie and I went to Sundance!  She'd never been skiing or snowboarding before, and opted for two pieces of wood strapped to her feet as opposed to one.  I, on the other hand, have done the civilized sport several times, and chose a much more reckless route: snowboarding!  I've always wanted to try it, and this past March, I got the chance!

Matching! (sort of) Socks!

Ugh.  I hate disposables.  Luckily, Julie brought her small fantastic camera. :)

I probably spent more time on my bum than on the board.

View from the lift.

Top of the mountain!  LOVE this picture. :)

Lookit!  I look like I know what I'm doing!  This was toward the end of our run, so I definitely had learned some things...

All I need now is that Jamaican hat with the dreads from Johnny Tsunami.

Julie actually got pretty good.  Not bad for her first day!  Not bad at all!

And here you thought *I* was the photographer.  Julie's pretty awesome.

At the end of the day, we sat in the trunk of my car with our lunch boxes (Julie's was actually a box!), munching on healthy (an not so healthy) goodness and freezing our little toes off.

Julie also took this really cool picture which we're both in love with on the way up there.  Is this the best tunnel picture you've ever seen or what?

Julie in action!

The girl got me to wear pink.  Gracious.

Those pants were SO BIG I had to walk around like a gangster.  I had suspenders...?  Right, well.... umm... you know.  It just felt right.

Best hat ever?  Maybe.  Best winter hat ever?  YES.

And thus we ended with me sitting on the floor with a cup of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows because I was absolutely too tired to stand up.  Haha.

I spent a LOT of time falling on my face (which hurts a lot more than I thought it would), falling on my bum, and falling in every direction you could possibly imagine... with a board strapped to my feet.  Julie fell a lot too, which was slightly comforting.  I definitely loved the experience and would definitely do it again.

Except, next time, I'm going to buy lots and lots of icyhot patches ahead of time. :)

Julie and I had such a wonderful time together.  And, for once, I have more pictures of me than anyone else from an event.  That's kind of cool.

What shall our next adventure hold?

Get Chinese Take-Out

This is actually one of the first times Julie and I hung out!  :)  We went on a little adventure in downtown Provo and ended up in this little hole-in-the-wall place called Rice King.  We discovered they did take-out, and just had to take our meals home in those little Chinese boxes with chop sticks.

We also took the opportunity for me to introduce Julie to the magical world of "Supernatural"!  Best show on the planet.

There's just something about those little folded Chinese boxes that makes you feel like you're doing something really, really cool.

Go to the Zoo

A live list item! :)  When I went home for Spring semester, I was chaperon for Allie's grade when they went to the Ft. Worth zoo.  The teachers didn't really care that I was there, but I helped out Kathy and Jesse, and Allie was thrilled that I was there.  At least nobody asked me whose child mine was...  Somebody asked me that when I went with Carly's fifth grade orchestra to Sandy Lake.  I mean, realy?  Eleven-year-olds?

The big cats are my favorites... Always have been!  I remember seeing a black panther for the first time in the Ft. Worth zoo as a three-year-old.  That's when I fell in love!

Aren't tigers just beautiful?  I wonder how Hobbes would feel about these guys?

It never fails that whenever I go to the zoo, all of the tigers are sleeping.  Sometimes the lions are prowling around or playing, or the Cheetah is pacing, but the tigers are always asleep.

This guy is my school's mascot. :)  Not this one in particular, but... Cougars.  Which, in Texas, is called a Puma.

I was disappointed I couldn't get a very good picture of this guy.  He just kept on following the path he'd made.

This sign always makes me smile, but it was especially profound this time around.  Boy do I miss my home state.

I'm rather glad this thing was turned around.

Allie and one of her classmates.  Ever the silly girl. :)

I never really realized how ferocious these guys really are.  I would *not* want to run into that on a mountain.

All the kids got a kick out of this giraffe.  He just stuck his tongue out at everybody!

We all thought Jesse was going to be really excited to see the elephants, because he can make one heck of an elephant sound.  Turns out, he just likes making the sound.  He didn't care about seeing them, haha.

I always feel bad for the apes and monkeys.  They always just look sooooo bored...

After getting home and looking at the pictures, I realized I should have taken more pictures of the kids' reactions.  Those are the pictures that are going to be golden, that are going to be precious in the later years.  Those are the ones that should have mattered more.  But, being just as obsessed with animals as they are, I had to get some pictures of my favorites.  Maybe, since I've officially got my animal pictures, now, next time I'll be able to focus more on them. :)  See, I've never been to the zoo when I could really pay attention to the animals.  I was always with a class that was being pushed along at a rapid pace so we could get somewhere, or see something else.  It was kind of similar this time, but this time I had a fantastic Nikon camera up my sleeve.  Er, around my neck.  Perhaps these pictures will have me satisfied. :)

Over and out,
The Coolest Aunt In The World