Win pounds of chocolate...

It's the moment you have all been waiting for... it's time to announce the Ultimate Chocolate Contest of 2009.

Because it's a contest, not a giveaway, it requires you to do a little work. Yes, you must work for your chocolate!

*cue mad scientist laughter*

So what hoops will you have to jump through, what secret potion will you have to come up with, what monstrosity will you have to create?!?

*wrings hands together*

There are Five things to remember before you can officially enter the contest...

1. You must be a human. Please no aliens, I can't ship to other worlds. Countries yes, worlds, I don't think they accept US Postal mail. Any human can enter... only one will win.
2. You must like chocolate, or else know someone who likes chocolate, because this is a WHOLE BUNCH of chocolate. And if I send it to you and you don't even like it... where is the fun in that?!
3. You must send me your address. Unfortunately, I am not physic and you will have to give a stranger your address. So if you aren't okay with sending me your address then you might not want to play. My rap sheet is clean... :) So when you win, you will have to step out of your comfort zone and send it over. I can send it to work addresses as well, just include the c/o.
4. Your entry must be original and each human may only enter once. Please do not use the four pseudonyms you have created for your net presence. Just the one... please? 
5. You must have a blast while completing your contest entry. Or else! I am not sure what else... but I can think of something. *evil eyes*

So now that you have the rules down, time to get the wheels turning... here is what you must:

First: Blog, tweet, send out smoke signals, call on your pigeons... get the word out about the contest. If you tweet about it, be sure to include @EisleyJacobs so that I can see the word. If you blog about it, tell me in your comment include your blog address. If you send out smoke signals, your coordinates will do. If you get out the birds, warm me first so I can put on a hat. Please?

Second: You need to write a true or fictional short story, note, prose, words in a legible order, something readable and answer this question:

What have you learned in 2009 that will make you better in 2010?

Include how you learned it and why it's important. It doesn't have to be about writing. It can be about life, love, the pursuit of happiness, giving, caring, blogging, laughing...

Be creative but please don't make it novel length ;) A few hundred words or less will suffice.  For this contest, the comments will be moderated. So as I read them, I will post them.

Your entries must be received by Wednesday, December 16, 2009 and I will read through all of them and choose a winner by Thursday and announce the winner on my blog. If they are all too good, I will pick a random number and that one will win.

Also as an added bonus for the twitter people... my 500th follower will get themselves some chocolate, as does the 600th... the 700th... the 800th... the 900th... and if we make it to 1000... I will give away another $40 brick of chocolate ;) No following and re-following either, I can see that ;)

And if we make it to 100 blog followers... well I will *faint*... after I awake. Chocolate... I will give away Chocolate.

I think my next giveaway will be coffee... cuzz I *heart* coffee too...

Well what are you waiting for? Hop to it! And may the best words win! :)

The Chocolate Prize

Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark from California World Market Triple Berry Dark Chocolate from California Swiss Army Energy Bar Chocolate with Guarana From Switzerland Carffarel Puro Cioccolato Latte from Italy Milk Chocolate Euros.. Yah from Germany Milk Chocolate Pencils (cuzz who has those?!) from Spain Tabasco Branch Spicy Chocolate from Louisana Milka Marzipan - Creme from Germany Raspberries in Dark Chocolate from Good Ole Colorado Tolberone from Switzerland Cadbury Dairy Milk with Caramel from South Africa Turkish Delight covered in Chocolate

Love and Hate...

I hate to love... and love to hate... Follow me?

If not, there are handy little tools below that will help. (Also located in the bottom right corner of my blog)

   

This won't guarantee you will understand me, but at least you will get a better glimpse of my humor or lack thereof.

But this is not what this post is about... it's actually about LOVE and HATE... the most beautiful and dreaded four letters words in the whole wide world.

 Things I hate:

• I hate getting my socks wet... PERIOD.
• I hate when my creamer is out and I have to put milk in my coffee. So.Not.The.Same.
• I hate the foamy stuff at the top of a good latte. NO FOAM PLEASE, is that so hard?
• I hate forgetting about things on the stove cuzz I am blogging (oops BRB)
• I hate brussel sprouts - Never had a good one. Now if Curtis Stone wants to come and make me change my mind... I am open to suggestions ;)
• I hate when computers have minds of their own... I know I saved that some place!
• I hate when people use hate so freely.... ouch

Now on to the things I love:

• I love socks. PERIOD. ;)
• I love coffee, usually. Lattes, mochas, plain cups of hot steamy yumminess.
• I love eggs and how forgiving they are when you leave them boiling 5 minutes too long (oops)
• I love Take Home Chef (Curtis Stone) not just because he is cute, but because he makes some great food that I can find at any local market!
• I love my computer.. cuzz all my friends live in it. Well okay, not all of them. But some do... *wave*
• I love when people realize how to really use the word love...

Hahaha, you are in for it now.

So, as you can see the last lines of my love/hate lists really point to something different then even my lists can identify.

In this day and age, love is an awesomely overused thing. I love that movie! I love that candy! I love it! Love it! Love it! Wow, so much love floating around, you'd think we were all living in a dream. Love, love, love...LOVE!

Although, dare I question if you really LOVE that "object, movie, thing" at all... do you know the true meaning of love? I know I forget often just what the true meaning of love actually is.

Some synonyms of LOVE include the affection which is defined as a fondness for others that is enduring and tender, but calm. Then there is devotion, which is defined as an intense love and steadfast, enduring loyalty to a person.

With any of those things I listed above... Do I feel this same kind of LOVE towards any of them?

*shakes head* no, no I don't. In fact, if coffee fell off the face of the earth, I would be sad but I would live on. The suggestion of love in most instances is a complete devotion to the object/person. So, if it was to fall off the face of the earth, you would be devastated.

Same idea applies to hate.

Do I really hate those things that I mentioned above? No, probably not. They are nuisances, that is for sure. But... do I really hate them?

As a mom, I try really hard to encourage my children to find another word to use besides hate. There is so much hate in this world, I don't need my kids to hate just because they think it's an appropriate word to use for their dislike of green veggies.

I do gently remind them to pick another word... because there are definitely things to hate... Like poverty, disease, etc. But your brussel sprouts... really? Don't waste your energy on hating them. ;) Dislike them, yes. I can handle that, but hate. No.

Don't be a hater.

On the flip side... don't give your "love word" so freely. Save it for times when it means the most. Save it for your husband/wife, your children, your parents, your creator. Don't use it on your coffee (boy, that was hard to type). In my opinion, while society may have changed and its "okay" to use love in this manner, it's almost like we are perverting the real meaning. Because to me, Love is something everlasting, something that can not be broken by a dissappointment, which unfortunately happens all too often.

If we as a household (or society) regarded love and hate with more respect, I wonder what would come of it. Would we hate less and love more?

Where did this post come from? Well, I was actually going to post and tell you how much I loved Anne Riley for giving me my first blog award here on Eisley's Ellipses...

Then realized that I really shouldn't be a contridiction to what I tell my children when I told her how much I loved it... So instead I will tell her I am completely honored and humbled by the award! Thanks :)

All that for a dang award... Good gravy, I have issues. ;)

(Edited to add) I guess I am suppose to nominate people for the scribbler award...  according to the rules, I have the task of passing on links to five blogs I read and enjoy.... who then deserve to be Super Scribblers along with Anne and myself ;)

1. The Colorado Adventure - A fellow homeschooler who makes me stand in AWE of her energy and awesomeness.
2. Michael Koby - Because he has some great technology reports and things that make you go hummm.
3. Carol's Prints - Though I just found her blog, I read through it eagerly and laughed. In the words of the terminator, "I'll be back."
4. Warm Fuzzy Freudian Slippers - Sense of humor rocks. `nuff said.
5. The words of a writer - Because she is going places.