And the winner is...

So, this was a really hard choice for me, because y'all did a far better job than I had been doing and strayed far away from J.K. Rowling's choice of character names.  (Although, apparently I forgot to rule out Madeleine L'engle's character names?)  Thank you.  You accomplished my goal.  But then, you all did well.  Seriously, everyone left me pondering the correct answer.  Which means that some of the other names may show up... Maybe even in reference to Charity... as in, I may or may not already have some ideas for how to use all of my favorites.  (Don't worry, if that happens, I'll be sure to send you some love.)

That being said, I'm doubting you want to read my babble today, so... on with the show.

The winning name was, I think, entered as a joke. However, it turned out to work on many levels for everything that I want Charity to be. It includes foreshadowing and symbolism... so, if it really was a joke, that's pretty awesome. Now, I will leave you to ponder who and what Charity could possibly be, as I announce that her name will be:

The actually entry was Charity Steward, submitted by Greg Steward (see why I think it was a joke?), but subtle differences in meaning, based on spelling, led me to change the "d" to a "t."

Greg, go ahead and contact me, and we'll talk about what you want and how to get it to you.

Where you go to subscribe

Meanwhile, everyone else can check out his blog here.

Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any further possibilities to be a winner!

Blimey Cow photo of the day 26.  Big Head Kid impression

Big Head Kid shows up in a lot of the Blimey Cow videos.  He's pretty awesome, in that he vocalizes what my brain often thinks.  This is my 5-minute impression of him.  Luckily, we have the same hair color... ish.

The dirt on the giveaway

I need a good last name for a character in my story.  First name: Charity.  She's kind of a third-party plot-line.  (For those of you who read Stephenie Meyer, think Bree Tanner.)  I want her name to feel older and more sophisticated than the character does herself... if that makes any sense.

The person who comes up with the best name will win a giveaway.


Here's how this is going to work:

1. Make sure you leave your name in the comment section.
2. Make sure you leave your surname ideas for Charity.
3. Make sure you pop back in next Tuesday to see if you've won.
4. If you win, I will send you something cool and exciting from Korea.  AKA - your choice of a sampling of my favorite beauty supplies from here (and trust me, if there's one country in the world that knows skin, it's Korea), a sampling of my favorite snacks from here, or a combo of both.

Beauty is sure to include some of these:

Snackage is sure to include some of these:

Ready?  Go.


(I'm not really sure how to fulfill the photo of the day for today <21st Century America>, soooo... we'll go with some 21st Century Korea.  I'm picking the Barbie beauty supplies to cover that shot.)

16. Inspiration

I was in the middle of writing an entirely different blog post to you, when, suddenly, I got up, changed into jeans and just left my apartment.  I had no intention of doing it; it jut happened.  I started by stopping by the kitten area from yesterday's photo.  I hadn't seen a mom with them, so, as per my friend Nick's request, I went to see if they had someone/something caring for them.  I'm pretty sure I saw a momma cat today.  But, instead of coming back home, I started wandering around aimlessly.  I'm pretty sure I saw the Korean version of the mob, but I kept on moving.  I didn't stay around long enough to confirm it for you.

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 16. Inspiration
This is a photo of my receipt from Applebee.

I didn't know where I was headed, but my feet beelined for the most expensive restaurant I know here: Applebee (not to be confused with America's Applebee's).  It's this expensive buffet place that offers some high class food as well.  They're really good, and my pastor is always desperate to take people there.  But, in being there, I broke almost every rule I'd set for myself.  I broke my budget (the meal was roughly $25), I broke my water rule (I couldn't find the water filter at first, but was surprised to find that I didn't like the pop I had at all {as KelliTaylor said would happen} -too sweet!), I broke my unwritten "no eating out alone" rule, and I actually even broke my kosher rule (I'll come back to that).  To tell you the rather embarrassing truth, I didn't even have on socks, makeup, or deodorant.  My brain hadn't intended on going there, but, surprisingly, it was really refreshing and just what I needed.  Go figure, the introvert had an almost extroverted night.  Almost.

The entire staff there went out of their way to help me out.  We played charades for a bit, because Applebee has this not-so-complicated-but-feels-complicated-at-first system of placing plastic coins in the receiving bucket of your choice to order the food item of the corresponding picture above the bucket.  I knew this, but they really wanted to explain it to me, so I let them, first in Korean, then by a guy grabbing me by the hand and leading me across the restaurant to pantomime the whole process not one, but two times.  I later found out that one of the bus boys studying English in the US for 8 months, and, consequently, spent the rest of my meal pondering why they hadn't just grabbed him.  Either way, the directions were given and understood, so I grabbed one of the coins and went to place an order.  My mime, however, came running after me with my other coin, saying "Two!  Two coin!"  As it was the only thing he had worked up the courage to say to me, I figured it must be important to him.  Thus, I read through the Korean names, only recognizing one word: Creme.  I figured that was a pasta dish and ordered it.  Everything else looked to be meat, but I selected one that looked like it had the possibility of not being so.  I was right and wrong at the same time; it was shrimp.  Thinking of what Paul would say if he was there, I ate every last bite of that shrimp, and it was surprisingly delicious.

I was also surprised to find myself writing more of my novel in my head while sitting at my table.  I rather wished I had brought it with me.  For some reason, sitting and people watching gave birth to a new character, who I think will help get everything moving.  Well, I guess it's not really "for some reason."  When you meet her in the story, she'll be exactly where I was, doing exactly what I was doing.  She's just going to have a slightly different motivation.  She's going to be a lot of fun to write.  I

I'm thinking of naming her Charity, but I need a good last name for her.  My gut is saying Cambridge, but I'm thinking that's more of because J.K. Rowling named one of her characters Charity Burbage.  I'm thinking it would be better to not copy her so much, so, if you can think of a sophisticated, older-sounding, somewhat cooly intimidating surname for her, please list them off below.

In fact, how about this?: The person who comes up with the best name will win a giveaway.


Here's how this is going to work:

1. Make sure you leave your name in the comment section.
2. Make sure you leave your surname ideas for Charity.
3. Make sure you pop back in to see if you've won.  I plan to introduce her in the next chapter, so, I should be needing a name by next week.
4. If you win, I will send you something cool and exciting from Korea.  I haven't decided what yet, as I just decided to have this giveaway, but I'll go out soon and browse for the perfect prize.

Looking forward to your names!