I Had a Pretty Great Title in Mind, BUT I FORGOT IT!! >:(

These last few weeks have been pretty crazy. Correction; these past few DAYS have been pretty crazy! I'll start from the beginning, so you can understand everything. :)
I go to a Christian school, and we compete in fine arts competitions every year. They start at the in-house level,go through regional and state, and end at nationals! In the state of Virginia, we call it

ODACS:Old Dominion Association of Christian Schools.

Once it reaches the national level, though, we call it AACS Nationals.
Last year, my school took home 1st place in the nation for BAND! It's kind of a big deal to us. :)
I also went to nationals for my art project. I entered the TEXTILE category with a cross-stitch I had worked on, but I didn't place in the national level. It was kind of a let down, but, then again, I was competing against FOURTEEN other people, so it's ok. But, the one thing I took back from that nationals trip was, not only did I want to go this year, but I also wanted to PLACE. I don't really care about FIRST place..just, that I can actually place, period. So, I chose a cross-stitch pattern that was about 3x bigger than last year's, and started working on it May of 2010.

Other than actually competing in ODACS, you also get completely stressed!! In the last three days, I've broken out maybe, THREE TIMES, OR MORE. People, that never happens :(

Boy, let me tell you, I totally underestimated the size of that project!! Not only have I worked an average of more than 600 hours, but I didn't 100% complete it by ODACS REGIONALS. I actually stayed up until 2:30 this morning, trying hard to finish it! Sadly, I didn't. I had about 1/4 of the thread missing..you couldn't really tell, but if you were judging by the pattern, YOU KNEW. It was a major let down to me. Yes, I cried over it. But do you think I gave up? Not a chance. I'm the kind of person that accepts a challenge, and runs with it. Unfortunately, in this case, there wasn't much I could do.
So, I tried my hardest, and finished what I could. Then, I turned it in. In my artist idea statement, I told the judges everything. I told them the hours I had put into it. I told them the changes I would make if I made it to state competition. And, I prayed that they would take all of those things into consideration for how hard I had worked on it.
Trust me guys, I was dead set on being disappointed. I had given myself the pep-talk. I had cried over it. I was ready to be 2nd place.
Well, the time for the awards ceremony came around. It had been a pretty good day. Aside from textiles, I had competed in a small instrumental ensemble with 2 other clarinet players, a home ec. test, and some other band things. Being in LEVEL III, I had to wait two whole levels before they even started in on the awards for my categories. I was a wreck. All I could think about was that it was ok if I lost textiles. I wasn't gonna be angry, or cry. I mean, I didn't totally finish my project! Sure, I put in ALOT of hours! But, if I did lose, I would lose to worthy competition. (the girl I was up against made this dress for a toddler, and it was good!)
The first category to be announced is always Bible..Bible teaching, Bible quizzing, Bible testing. Next is music. This was a semi-stressful time for me. We won in band, large instrumental ensemble, small instrumental ensemble, and placed 3rd in large vocal ensemble. After that, speech. By now I am trying not to think about it. Trying not to cry.. Finally, we get to the art section. Drawings..paintings..photography..textiles.

 *DON'T LISTEN, DON'T LISTEN*

Second place is always called first. "Second place... ...(first name) Lambert."

Wait, WHAT? Did I hear that correctly? That means..

"First place..Nicky Newman."

I DID IT!! I WON!! Sure, it was only the regional level..but, if I won on the regional level, WITHOUT 100% completing everything, imagine what I could do at state, once everything is finished!!
Needless to say, it was a pretty good day/night.! Other than that first place, I received 1st in the home ec. test too. Which is actually hilarious, seeing as this is my third year taking that test, and the passed two years I've gotten 2nd place..always against the same girl! And, this year, I didn't even study! Nope, I was too focused on my corss-stitch! haha I guess that just goes to show what the Lord can do for you!
As celebration, we went to Olive Garden..yummy :)
The only bad thing about winning is: now, I have to finish it! Which means a few more hours with no social life, sitting on my butt in my room, working on my corss-stitch, and FINISHING it for state! I guess it won't be too bad, considering I only have alittle more to do..and I will (hopefully) be well rested to work on it!
Considering the fact that, within the last couple of days, or weeks, I've been staying up until midnight or later working on it, and have gotten barely ANY sleep! Thank goodness those nights are over..or almost over :)

So, being as this is the first night I might actually get a decent amount of sleep, I think I'll go to bed now. Sweet dreams!