LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 30

Day 30: Picture or gif that express your reaction to the movies/books?

Something like this.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 29

Day 29: Favorite creature?

The Balrog of the Mines of Moria is super cool looking, as well as the Elves, and the Eagles.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 28

Day 28: Scene that makes me cry?

None of the scenes make me cry, but some that make me sad are when Boromir dies, Eowyn's cousin's funeral, when King Theoden dies, when Frodo tells Sam to leave, and right before the Eagles save them, they look all sad and dead looking.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 27

Day 27: Favorite scene or quote?

The Council of Elrond scene, Flight to the Ford, and any of the battle scenes.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 26

Day 26: Character you hate?

Grima Wormtongue and Saruman. I hate them both. And orcs, any orcs. So gross.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 25

Day 25: Favorite overall character?

Aragorn and Gollum

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 24

Day 24: Saddest death or casualty?

Boromir's death was the saddest, I think. Poor Sean Bean, he just can't catch a break. First Boromir, then Ned Stark...will it ever end?!

-"One does not simply WALK into Mordor"

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 23

Day 23: Favorite female character?

They all kind of annoy me, but I guess Lady Galadriel.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 22

Day 22: Worst death scene?

Gollum's death is the worst. If only he hadn't turned all evil and stuff. Poor little guy.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 21

Day 21: Best death scene?

Gandalf's death in Fellowship, and Denethor's death in Return of the King, because I hated him.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 20

Day 20: Where in Middle Earth would you live?

The Shire or Rivendell, for sure!

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 19

Day 19: Worst battle sequence?

Frodo's fight with Gollum and Shelob, and when the hobbits try to fight the Nazgûl on Weathertop.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 18

Day 18: Favorite battle?

The Battle at Helm's Deep is my favorite! I always love how Gandalf rides to save the day!

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 17

Day 17: Scene that makes you cringe?

I hate the scene where Gollum bites off Frodo's finger, and the scene in The Two Towers when Merry and Pippin are being taken to Isengard, and Pippin says Merry needs water, and the Uruk pours what looks like blood into Merry's mouth. That part always makes me gag.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 16

Day 16: Ugliest Orc or Uruk?

How am I going to choose?! They're all soooo disgusting. I know they're not THE ugliest, but these two have always grossed me out.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 15

Day 15: The spiffiest dresser?

Really any of the elves, they just dress so fancy!

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 14

Day 14: Scene that always makes you laugh?

Any scene where Legolas and Gimli annoy eachother, Merry and Pippin have some funny scenes too, and anything with Gollum and his over dramatic reactions.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 13

Day 13: Least favorite sound?

Nazgul screams, it's like nails on a chalkboard, ugh.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 12

Day 12: Favorite scene in Elvish?

Flight to the Ford. It's pretty darn epic.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 11

Day 11: Favorite horse?

Brego and Shadowfax are my two favorite horses.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 10

Day 10: Favorite male character?

Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gollum. Oh, Gollum, you weird creature, you.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 9

Ooops, forgot yesterday!

Day 9: Favorite member of the Fellowship?

Aragorn! He's loyal, smart, and a great warrior! But if Gollum were part of the Fellowship, he would so be my favorite.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 8

Day 8: Best use of magic or supernatural gifts?

Gandalf's fireworks, of course!

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 7

Day 7: Film you've seen the most?

Definitely The Return of the King. It has the most action!

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 6

Day 6: Favorite song from the sound track?

I can't choose one favorite song, I love them all equally! 

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 5

Day 5: Favorite weapon?

Narsil, the powerful sword belonging to the Heir of Isildur.

"...and the sword of Elendil filled Orcs and Men with fear, for it shone with the light of the sun and of the moon, and it was named Narsil."

—The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 4

Day 4: Favorite feast?

 Post War Feast at Edoras. The Extended version of the scene is hilarious! Love Gimli and Legolas's drinking game, it's the best.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 3

Day 3: Least favorite location in the movie?

Minas Morgul

Minas Morgul, Shelob's Lair, and the Dead Marshes. All three are super creepy and I don't enjoy them.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 2

Day 2: What is your favorite location in the movies?

Rivendell

My favorite locations are any of the elf dwellings, Rivendell and Lothlórien, as well as the Shire, and Minas Tirith in Gondor.

LOTR 30 Day Challenge, Day 1

Day 1: Who is your favorite hobbit?

I have to choose Samwise, because he is such a loyal and caring friend to travel to his almost certain death with his best friend.

Merry and Pippin are in second place. I mean, who doesn't love those two?

Fun Facts

A male baboon can kill a leopard.

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night!

More people use blue toothbrushes than red ones. Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, every time you breathe. In the White House, there are 13,092 knives, forks and spoons. Slugs have 4 noses.

Owls are the only birds who can see the color blue.

A person will burn 7 percent more calories if they walk on hard dirt compared to pavement.

A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear. Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie. The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year. One in every 4 Americans has appeared on television. The average American will eat about 11.9 pounds of cereal per year. Over 1,000 birds a year die from smashing into windows. The State of Florida is bigger than England. Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning. During your lifetime, you'll eat about 60,000 pounds of food. That's the weight of about 6 elephants. 101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don't die throughout the movie. 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily. A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average. A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside. A hummingbird weighs less than a penny. On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield" and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner. A jellyfish is 95 percent water.

DIY Glow Orbs

Check out this super fun, and super cheap DIY tutorial on how to make these pretty, outdoors, garden glow orbs!

http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/glowing-orbs/

LOTR FTW!

Munoola's Toes, Chapter 3

By Teal Rain and Camille Kay

A few hours later, Munoola awoke to the sound of grunting and shuffling. She must have fallen asleep. She looked up, and saw the strange bear was squeezing through the cave entrance, carrying a tray of weird looking cheese.

"Bird pretty cheese hungry?" he asked, holding out the tray of smelly cheese. Munoola looked at the cheese, then him. "It took you that long to get a platter of cheese? What kind is it, anyway?" she asked, sniffing it. It smelled like feet, cabbages, and horse hair.

"Home cheese is cheese," the bear answered. "Best cheese is home is." Munoola doubted this greatly.
"I'm not hungry," Munoola said, trying not to breathe too deeply. The bear frowned.
"Bird pretty eat must," he said.
"No, than--" Munoola started, but the bear interrupted her.
"BIRD PRETTY EAT!" he roared.

Munoola shrank back it shock. "O-okay, okay! I'll, um, I'll eat it!" she managed to choke out. The bear smiled, and held out the tray. Cringing, Munoola grabbed the smallest slice.

"Eat now cheese now, bird pretty!" the bear said in excitement. Holding her beak with her other wing, she took a small bite.

The cheese tasted even worse than it smelled--like an expired peach. Not that Munoola knew what that tasted like. But she didn't want to anger the bear again, so she forced down the bite and smiled weakly at him. He beamed.

"Bird pretty sleep now," he said. "Tomorrow day is big!"

"Why?" Munoola asked. Ignoring her again, the bear cartwheeled to the door.

"Day big, day big, day big..." he muttered to himself.

Munoola just stared after him, her mouth hanging open. "Wait! What's tomorrow?" she cried. The bear turned back to her,

"Day big bird pretty sleep big day big!" Munoola groaned in frustration as the bear moon-walked out the entrance. She face-palmed.

Munoola looked helplessly at the rope. She tried chewing through it, but it tasted like sweat. Then she spotted a particularly sharp rock sticking out of her "bed." Gripping the rope as well as she could in her wings, she began to rub it back and forth on the rock.

Ignoring the slight pain of the sharp rock, she kept sawing the rope, until just a few fibers remained. In her excitement, Munoola failed to hear the shuffling and grunting at the cave entrance.

"Bird pretty sleeping?" the bear asked, loud enough to wake her up if she had been asleep. Nearly gagging with fright, Munoola flopped onto her side and pretended to snore. The bear shuffled into the room and peered at her.

Suddenly, he growled. "Bird pretty rope broken," he said. Munoola tried not to move. "BIRD PRETTY ROPE BROKEN!" the bear roared.

Munoola jumped up and tried to run, but the bear caught her. "Bird pretty no should cage be," he said. "No choice have." He dragged her out of the cave into an adjoining one with a cage in it. "Cage??" Munoola asked. The bear nodded.

"Bird pretty must stay," he said and locked her in the cage.

Munoola watched as he dropped onto his bottom in front of the cage, watching her suspiciously. She had no idea what to do, so she started wailing very, very loudly. The bear roared and clutched his ears, but Munoola refused to stop. She kept screaming, and screaming and screaming.

BIRD PRETTY STOP!" the bear roared. Munoola kept wailing until the bear threw a piece of disgusting cheese at her. It landed in her mouth, and Munoola coughed. "Bear not hurt bird pretty," the bear said. "Bird pretty must sleep for day big tomorrow. Tomorrow day bird pretty leave!"

Spitting the cheese out, Munoola threw it back it him. It hit him on the head. "What do you mean, leaving? Does that mean you're letting me go?" she said, her voice was dry and scratchy from all the screaming.

"No, bird pretty other bears go," the bear said cryptically and left the room. Munoola slumped against the bars. The cage wasn't ideal, but at least she would be free in the morning. "Psst," a voice hissed. Munoola opened her eyes. It was... the goldfish from the lake! He had a key tied to his tail, and he flopped toward the cage.

"Unlock yourself," he rasped, clearly uncomfortable on land.

"But I'm leaving tomorrow," Munoola replied.

"Bears... use ostriches... as decoration," the fish coughed. "This bear... sells them."

Munoola gaped at the goldfish. "Sells them?" she asked in horror. The fish nodded, then started coughing.

"Unlock yourself...quick, before...he comes back..." Munoola decided she better listen to him. Reaching out a wing as far as it would go, she scrabbled to get the key untied from the fish. At last, she got it free, and quickly unlocked her caged. Munoola was already headed for the entrance, when she heard the fish cough again.

"Take me... with..." he dissolved into coughing.

"Oh, I forgot!" Munoola said. She rushed back, scooped the fish up in her wings, and dashed to the entrance of the cave. "How did you get here, anyway?" Munoola asked.

"This cave is... underwater..." the fish gasped.

Munoola stopped dead. "UNDERWATER? How do we get out?" the fish gave her a look like she was stupid.

"We...swim...duh..."

Munoola spluttered. "I-I-I- can't s-swim! I don't have my toes!"

The fish opened his mouth to retort, but coughed instead. Munoola decided to deal with the swimming later; the fish needed to get in the water. She followed a skinny corridor down yet another cave. When Munoola ran inside it, she gasped. Instead of a stone roof, the ceiling was made of water. Munoola threw the fish as high as she could.

Unfortunately, it wasn't high enough, and the fish dropped back down, landing on the stone ground with a grunt. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Munoola cried. She picked him up, and despite his objections, Munoola threw him again. This time, thankfully, he soared up and landed in the water.

The fish swam around in a gleeful circle, then poked his head through. "Climb the wall and swim up!" he said. "The bear could come back any second!"

"I told you, I can't swim!" Munoola cried.

"Use your tail!" the fish answered. Munoola swallowed and glanced around the room. She spotted a ladder carved into the wall--presumably, it was how the bear got in and out of the water. Shakily, she pulled herself up the wall and into the water.

Holding her breath, she followed the fish up. Or at least she thought it was up. It was hard to tell. Finally, just when Munoola thought she was going to passout from lack of air, her head broke the surface of the water. Taking in huge gulps of air, she looked around for the fish. He was swimming circles around her in delight. "So, what's your name?" Munoola asked.

"Skoyuchnel." it replied.

"Skychanel?" she repeated the strange name.

"No, Skoyuchnel."

"Skochonono?"

"No! Skoy-"

"Skochminney?" Munoola tried again.

"NO! Sk-"

"Skychovski?"

"It's--"

"Zoltair?"

"What?" the fish asked. "You know what, fine. I'm Zoltair."

Munoola grinned and Zoltair rolled his eyes. As Munoola looked around, she noticed that she was back in the clearing where she had met the elf.

"How did the bear make the water grab me like that?" Munoola asked. Zoltair eyed her like she was insane.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Never mind," she answered. "So... why did you come back for me?"

"Questions, questions, questions!" Zoltair stormed. "Sheesh!"

Munoola stared at him. Swimming closer, she slowly moved her face closer and closer to Zoltair, still staring. "Gah! What are you doing?" he cried uncomfortably. Munoola didn't reply. An inch away from him, her eyes widened slowly, until they were the size of dimes.

"What are you DOING?" Zoltair asked.

"Are you a Shape-Shifter?" Munoola asked slowly.

"NO!" Zoltair yelled. "Honestly! You ask the most idiotic questions!"

"She's right to be careful," a quiet voice said. It was the purple-haired elf! "You never know who might be a... Shape-Shifter..." At these words, the elf's face bubbled and her limbs distorted and began to stretch.

Oh, Gollum, so pretty.

Munoola's Toes, Chapter 2

By Teal Rain and Camille Kay

By the middle of the day, after hours of walking, she came to a beautiful green field of wildflowers. There was a bubbling, chattering creek under the cover of some willow trees. All around were little buzzing bees, colorful butterflies, and all sorts of pretty bugs.

Gratefully, Munoola fell to her knees by the stream and plunged her beak in, slurping the water loudly. It had a faint aftertaste of something Munoola couldn't identify; something vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember what it was. Slightly spicy, but also sweet. She drank until her stomach was about to explode, then curled up in the shade of a willow tree to take a nap.

Right as she was about to doze off, she heard a strange sound behind her. Flying up in fear, she grabbed a long willow branch that had fallen on the ground. Waving it around like a madman, she screamed, "Who's there?" After a moment, from under the shadow of a willow tree, out stepped a beautiful elf, reminding Munoola of her elf family in the Dark Forest of No Light.

The elf had long, flowing purple hair that brushed the ground and swirled around herself. Peeking out from under the hair were the most splendorous toes Munoola had ever seen. The ostrich gasped as she stared at the elf girl's beautiful feet.

"Those are the most wondrous toes I have ever seen!" Munoola breathed. The elf looked at her, big brown eyes sparkling.

"Indeed, I have the best toes of my village. All the young elf men battle for my attention. My name is Lizabella."

"I'm Munoola," Munoola replied. Then, looking up shyly, she asked, "Did you get your toes from the Toe Fairy? I'm looking for her. You see... I don't have any toes." She showed the elf her shamefully bare feet. "A fish told me to go to the Buttermilk Mountains, but I don't have any mangoes," she continued.

Lizabella cocked her head curiously. "My dear girl, the Toe Fairy is the Queen of the Buttermilk Mountains. If you want toes from her, you must be willing to pay a price."

"A... price?" Munoola asked.

"Surely you didn't think the Toe Fairy simply gives toes away," the elf said, looking down her spiral-shaped nose at Munoola.

"Well..." Munoola stared at the ground. "What kind of price?" she asked.

"The Toe Fairy will decide," the elf replied airily. "No toe-seeker pays the same price, you know."

"But I don't have anything with me," Munoola said. "I gave my bag of worms to the fish." The elf said nothing; only flipped her long hair with her hand and walked back through the branches. "Wait!" Munoola cried. The elf-girl ignored her.

Munoola sank to the ground in despair. Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't she get her toes like every other good little boy and girl? She let out a wailing sob at her hopeless situation.

Munoola heard a whooshing sound behind her. She looked up and saw a giant hand made of water rising out of the stream. Munoola began to gag as the giant hand picked her up and pulled her into the stream. Down, down, down she went into the surprisingly deep stream. Munoola's lungs burned from lack of air. All she could see around her was water, water, water, and then darkness as she lost consciousness.

When she came to, Munoola slowly opened her eyes. Her head was throbbing badly, and her tail was very tender. She looked around. She was in some sort of cave. It was dark and dank, and very cold. Munoola shivered. She was lying on a hard bed of rocks, and there was a small table next to her. On it was a single pink sunflower.

Munoola sat up slowly and sniffed the delicate flower. It was out of place in this cold stone cave. She stood up and tried to walk to the wall, then discovered why her tail was so tender--a rope was tied around it, not allowing her to stray far from the stone bed. Munoola fumbled with the knot, but her clumsy wings couldn't untie it.

Just then, there was a 'pew pew' sound, and Munoola whipped around towards the entrance of the cave. In stepped a large bear. It was black and hairy, and wearing a top hat. Munoola stared gagging and screaming at the same time. The bear screamed too, the sound was so horrible. It covered it's small ears with it's large paws.

Munoola tried to scramble away and tripped over the stone bed, falling flat on her beak. The bear rushed over and tried to pick her up, and Munoola screamed again. "Please," the bear said in a peculiar accent. "Please to not struggle. I want to the helping you. I wanting not to harm the bird pretty."

Munoola stared at the bear in confusion. "What kind of an accent is that?" she asked.

"From away land far, from is I. Is called me Yorkston bear home." it replied.

"Why did you tie me up?" Munoola pointed at the rope around her tail.

"Because since the bird pretty might scared of Yorkston bear me," the bear replied. "No good is running is. Be outside is the danger. Cave safe. Bird pretty must stay."

"No," Munoola replied. "I have to get to the Buttermilk Mountains to find the Toe Fairy!"

The bear ignored her. "Cheese be getting for eat," he said. "Bird pretty enjoy the cheese eat?"

"NO! I want to leave! I need to get my toes!" The bear frowned.

"Enjoy cheese not eat?"

Munoola glared at the bear. "I. Need. To. Leave." she said very slowly. The bear just stared at her.

Munoola pointed at the rope. "Take if off," she said. The bear shook his head.

"Bird pretty not must," he insisted. "Danger the outside is. Cave safe."

"I know the cave is safe," Munoola said angrily, "but there aren't any toes here!" The bear nodded.

Munoola smiled--the bear finally understood! But then it said,

"Cheese," and walked out of the cave. Munoola sat on the stone bed and rested her head in her wings hopelessly.

A Letting Go Activity

From "Ophelia's Oracle" by Donna DeNomme and Tina Proctor.

On a piece of paper or in your journal, write down three of the most negative things you have ever said to yourself, or that someone else has said to you.
Take this paper and tear it into the smallest bits you can and throw it away.

Say, "I release these negative words and thoughts. they no longer affect me."

Munoola's Toes, Chapter 1

By Teal Rain and Camille Kay

Once Upon a Time...

There was an ostrich named Munoola. Munoola lived with a family of elves in the Dark Forest of No Light.

Munoola was a sad little ostrich, for she had no toes. An ostrich's greatest pride is it's toes. Frankzoo, the Father elf, always told her that one day the Toe Fairy would come and give her toes.

Munoola smiled at this, as was expected, but secretly she knew that a fairy would never come to the Dark Forest of No Light. It was dark. So she decided to set out in search of the Toe Fairy.

It was late in the night when she slipped out of her cottage, making sure the elves didn't wake up. Hoisting her bag full of worms over her wing, she took off running through the Dark Forest of No Light. After about an hour, she came to a black, creepy lake.

Munoola's stomach grumbled, and she wondered if there were any fish in the lake. She had never tried fish, but Frankzoo often went fishing. Munoola pulled a squirming worm out of her bag and stared at it, wondering what to do next. How, exactly, did on go about fishing, anyway? Finally, she flung the worm as far out into the lake as she could, calling,

"Come to me, fish, out of the deep!"

The surface of the water trembled, and out popped a little goldfish. It looked at the worm, then at Munoola. It snorted. "Don't you think it would have been a good idea to attach it to something?" It asked snottily. Munoola didn't know how to reply to this rude little fish.

"Catfish got your tongue?" the goldfish sneered. Munoola blinked, then threw a worm at the goldfish's head. "Oi!" the fish shouted. "Watch it!"

"But I'm hungry," Munoola replied weakly. The fish's expression changed to one of concern.

"Oh, you poor dear. Why don't you build a fire and I'll jump on it? I recommend squirting me with lemon juice."

"You'd do that for me?" Munoola asked, stunned by the fish's kindness.

"NO!" the fish shouted. Then it splashed Munoola in the face.

Munoola gagged. That's what she does when she's stressed. So when Munoola collapsed on the ground gagging, the fish simply stared in confusion. Not quite knowing what to do, it finally cried, "Here! Just take this!" It then chucked something at her head. Munoola stopped gagging, and looked at the heavy object that hit her in the head. It was a...foot!

"TOES!" Munoola cried in joy. "Beautiful TOES!" She rubbed the foot, smelly though it was against her face. "You must be the Toe Fairy," she said to the fish. "Thank you, Toe Fairy, for this gift of toes all to my own. I shall cherish them forever!"

"I'm not the Toe Fairy," the goldfish said. "I'm a fish. Fish don't even have toes."

But Munoola wasn't listening. She was dancing around in joy, cradling the foot to her face. She then opened her mouth and let out a keening, grinding wail. The fish covered it's ears in disgust. "What ARE you doing?!" It yelled over her wailing.

"It means I'm happy!" Munoola responded, as if it were obvious.

"Then be sad!" the fish yelled. "I've never met a stranger ostrich in my entire LIFE!"

"You have to come with me," Munoola said. "I have to show you to Frankzoo! Oh, he always said the Toe Fairy would give me toes! Come on, I don't live far from here--over in the Dark Forest of No Light!"

"Why on ocean would I go to the Dark Forest of No Light?" the fish sneered. "I'm perfectly happy here in the Miserable Lake of Gloom. And I'm NOT a fairy!"

"Oh, but you are! You gave me the gift of toes! That's all I've ever wanted in my whole life! You must meet my family! I just know they would give you a mango!"

"I don't eat mangoes. I'm a strict wormatarian," the fish said haughtily. "Although," he glanced around as if worried about who would hear, "I once ate a beetle." Munoola frowned. "But mangoes are a customary greeting in the Dark Forest of No Light," she said. "It's a form of protection--Shape Shifters can't eat mango, so that way, we can make sure our guests won't eat us." Then a look of horror passed over Munoola's beak. "But... you don't eat mangoes..." she murmured.

Munoola began gagging again, as she slowly backed away from this cruel fish, clutching her foot to her tightly. "Where do you think you're going, huh? If you want to leave give me all those worms."

Munoola furrowed her eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like a diet cankleberry more?" The fish sighed.

"What part of 'wormatarian' don't you understand?" the fish asked. Munoola opened her beak to say that she had actually never heard of that term, when the fish put his head in his fin. "You know what? Never mind. Just give me the worms or I'll... I'll shape shift into a... shifted shape and EAT YOU!"

Munoola screamed loudly as she flung the bag of worms at the fish. It grunted as the 6 pound bag hit it. Munoola took of running as fast as she could, screaming like a banshee all the way. When she finally stopped to take a breather, she realized that something was caught in her tail.

It was her foot! Munoola reached for her precious burden when suddenly, it crumbled away between her wings. "NOOOOOO!" Munoola cried.

she collapsed to the ground sobbing, cradling the foot dust in her wings. "Cruel, cruel world!" she howled at the sky.

Munoola stared at the dust, wondering what to do. She'd had toes for such a short time... But perhaps she could still find the Toe Fairy. Munoola wiped away her tears and stood up, determined.

Stomping back to the smelly lake, she hid behind a bush. The goldfish was still there, teasing a little guppy. "Hey, leave that guppy alone!" Munoola cried. The goldfish looked up and his jaw dropped. "You AGAIN??" it asked.

"M-my foot crumbled to dust," Munoola said, her beak trembling.

"I'm NOT THE TOE FAIRY!" the goldfish shouted. The sad-looking guppy took this opportunity to swim away. "Aw, great!" the goldfish said angrily. "There goes my dinner!"

"I though you were a strict wormatarian?" Munoola said.

"Uh, um...what are you doing back here?! Go find your foot somewhere else, you psycho ostrich! I'm NOT THE TOE FAIRY, for the last time!" Munoola stuck her tail at him, then, picking up a small rock on the ground, she flung it at him. "OOUCH! Stop throwing things at me!"

"Not until you give me toes!" Munoola cried, throwing another rock at him.

"FINE!" the fish shouted as the rock bounced off his skull. "The Toe Fairy lives that way!" He pointed a fin towards the distant mountains. "She'll give you toes! Now LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Munoola lowered her wing as she looked off into the direction the mean fish indicated. "Th-that way? But that's the But-Buttermilk-k-k Mountains...?" she whispered, horrified.

"Guess you don't really want toes then," the fish sneered. He disappeared under the water. Munoola looked at the mountains again, swallowed, and started walking tentatively forward. The Buttermilk Mountains, she knew, were the home of the Shape-Shifters. If only she had thought to bring some mangoes... but it was too late now. And Munoola refused to go home without toes.

Tips For Clear Skin

By Teal Rain

- Drink plenty of water. About 2 liters (1/2 gal­lon) of fil­tered water per day –  it may sound like a lot, but it will do the trick!

- Wash your face twice a day (never more), when you wake up, and before you go to bed, with a gentle skin cleanser. (not body soap) Moisturize after.

- ALWAYS remove any makeup before you go to bed.

- Never touch your face with dirty hands. Keep dirty hair off of your face.

- Change your pillow case regularly. Sleep on silk pil­low­cases to pre­vent hair damage/breakage and keep your skin look­ing youth­ful – your hair and skin will thank you!

- Make sure you get a full 8 hours of sleep a night.
To get better looking skin without using products, be sure to get plenty of sleep. Sleep is when your skin cells regenerate and a good night's rest can leave you looking younger and rejuvenated. Sleeping also causes your body to produce relaxing hormones, which can give your face a healthy glow.

- The perfect time to moisturize your skin is right after a bath or shower, and the skin is still damp. The steam from the water will have opened the skin's pores, which will allow the moisturizer to be readily absorbed beneath the skin's surface. A daily moisturize will combat any dehydration caused by day to day exposure to pollutants and weather conditions.

-To lighten dark spots and acne marks, dab on fresh squeezed lemon juice, or apply organic yogurt mixed with a little honey to your entire face and neck (leave on for 10 min­utes) to lighten and brighten your skin.

-Eat a well balanced diet, and make sure that you include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain quite a bit of natural vitamin A and vitamin E, which is essential to good skin care.

-Don't squeeze pimples, or pick at any sores. This can cause the spread of acne, and it can leave scars as well. Instead, treat the pimples and sores with ointments and creams, keeping your hands clean. Use cotton balls or q-tips to apply ointments and creams, if needed.

http://www.acneheroes.com/acne/10-tips-for-clear-skin.aspx
http://www.epicbeautyguide.com/2010/02/top-15-natural-beauty-tips-for-clear-skin/

Roxanne's Adventure

This is a story my friends and I took turns writing a few years back. Enjoy!
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Once upon a time, There lived a lonely little Hermit crab, named Roxanne. Roxanne lived alone on top of Mount Everest, where she was cold all the time. She had very little to eat, and what she could find, was disgusting. But poor Roxanne was to scared to leave the mountain, for she feared she would die quickly. One day, Roxanne was awoken from a dead sleep, by a loud Bang! Roxanne slowly got up, and peeked out of the opening of her burrow. What she saw scared her so much, that she flew back into her shell. Looming over her, was Voldermort, Edwardo's brother! He picked her up, and started shaking her roughly, trying to get her to come out of her shell.. His thumb was right at her shell opening, so she pinched. Voldermort howled in pain. " I will make your life miserable, little crab!" He took out a paper bag, and dropped Roxanne into it. "You will be a prize for my son!" Voldermort flew down the mountain. Yes, flew. After a while he climbed into a carriage at the bottom of the mountain. He dumped Roxanne on the seat next to him, and rolled down the carriage windows. "Back to my castle!" he yelled at the driver. They jerked forward. Roxanne was panicking, and rapidly thinking of a way out. She stuck her feelers out of her shell slowly, as not alert Voldermort, who was looking the other way. Then she sensed the window. "I can't! I just can't!" She whispered to herself. "You have to if you want to get out." Said a little voice in her head. Roxanne judged the distance between her, and the window. She looked at Voldermort, who was now arguing with the driver. With one crazy move, she was hurtling though the window! She ducked into her shell before the hit the soft grass of a beautiful meadow. "NO!!" She heard Voldermort scream. Roxanne slowly came out of her shell after a long time. She smelled something delicious. There. A few feet away, was an old, rotting mango. Roxanne made a running dash for it. She had the best meal of her life."Yum!" she said as she finished the last of it. She felt tired now. She dug a hole right where she was, delighted at how warm it was here. Just then..... A voice said, "PUT ME BACK!!!!" Roxanne looked around wildly, looking for the source of the squeaky, yet loud, voice. "I'm in here!" it said. "In your stomach! And let me tell you, it is NOT PRETTY down here!!!" "How did you get in me?" Roxanne asked. "You ATE ME!" it, whatever it was, replied. "I was in that mango!" "Um, I'm sorry?" "Is that the best you can do? GET ME OUT!!!!!!!!!!" "I don't know how!!!" "Well then find out!" "You aren't very nice." "You wouldn't be either if you were in the belly of an over-sized spider!" "I'm a hermit crab!" Roxanne said indignantly. "What are you, anyway?" "I'm a maggot." "EEEEEEEEUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!" Roxanne screamed. She took off. "Where are we going?" the maggot asked. "The vet! I'm getting you out of my belly you worm!" "I'm not a worm!" "I don't care!" "You can't take me to the vet. Vets hate me! They'll KILL me!" "I don't care! I want you OUT OUT OUT!!!!" And so, Roxanne and the maggot set off...

As Roxanne was running the maggot was thinking of a way to make her stop,

finally it screamed "Wait!!! I can help you! How did you get here?!?!"

Then Roxanne realized that she didn't know where she was or where she was going!

She stopped and said "How can you help me, I'm all alone!"

Suddenly she felt really scared. Then she heard a loud noise be hind her, she looked around and

saw...

A giant dark green lizard!
AAAHHHHHH!!!!! screamed Roxanne
"What is it" said the maggot. Roxanne ignored it, turned, and ran for her life.
"Wait! Don't leave! I just want to be your friend! I heard about your dilemma with the maggot and I can help you. I have a long tongue and I can use it to get the maggot out."
Roxanne trusted him, so she allowed him to get it out. "Thank you. My name is Roxanne. What is yours?"
The lizard replied...

"My name is Big Hoss." he replied.

"Big Hoss?"

"Yep!" Big Hoss said.

"But why is yo-"

"epyepyepyoooh!Singalad singalad!" chanting sounded in the distance.
"What's that?" Roxanne asked, alarmed.

"It's my royal court." Big Hoss said. When Roxanne looked confused, he said "I am a prince. My real name is Prince Hossaelie of Rosemite. But I go by Big Hoss." he said proudly.

"You're a prince?!" Roxanne said, amazed.

"King, soon." Big Hoss was beaming. "That is Sir Hipple right over there." he pointed to a large light green lizard walking in front of a chariot. The chariot was being pulled by big purple grasshoppers. And sitting in the passenger seat, was a beautiful green lizard. She was wearing purple eye-shadow, and black mascara on her huge, thick eyelashes. But, the funniest thing was, she had a full head of long blonde curls, which were shining under the suns rays.

"Who is that?" Roxanne asked.

"That is my beautiful princess, Lucinda of Okaple." he sighed, love burning in his eyes as he looked at her. Just then....

Voldermort jumped out of the bushes, and grabbed Princess Lucinda of Okaple!

"My son can feed you to his snake!" and then he was gone.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Big Hoss wailed. He dashed after the princess.

"Stop!" Roxanne yelled. "We'll never get her back without a plan."

"We?" he asked.

"Well, I think I should help, seeing as you helped me... that is, if you even want my help..." she said, downhearted.

"Of course I want your help! You are the Chosen One! The prophecy told us you would rescue the princess!"

"If you knew that, why didn't you just keep Princess Lucinda away from here?"

"Uhh... um..."

"Let's just go."

They, along with all the soldiers, started after Voldermort and the princess.

" I don't ...think I can keep... up much longer" panted Roxanne.
"But we need to get Lucinda!!" cried Big Hoss.
"I know, but my legs aren't as fast as yours!"

"UUHHGG! Well, what should we do!" said the Big Hoss suddenly getting really mad.

"Here, I'll climb on your back and we you can carry me! I only way like 50 grams or something like that!"

"But I'm the prince! You can't ride on the prince! The prince is supposed to ride on you!"

Roxanne glared at Big Hoss for what felt like an hour.

" Oh, fine!" Big Hoss sighed. So Roxanne climbed on Big Hosse's back and they set off again on their perilous journey to find Voldermort and the princess...
They continued on and on until, finally, they came to Voldemort's castle. It was huge and the many lofty towers loomed above them. But Roxanne wasn't scared. At least, not until the giant guard platypus stomped his webbed feet to bar the way into the castle. Redamentorapademoso–that was the platypus's name, said, "Just take her, I'm tired today." It said in a booming voice. As it spoke it reached into the castle and grabbed Lucinda, handing her to Big Hoss. There was much cheering and applauding, and as they set home, Roxanne smiled. She finally had friends.