George- Thanks....I took that in Kalaloch, WA last week.  We got to that beach shortly before sunset, and I have several as the sun was setting until you couldn't see it anymore.  I also have some of the sand and a picece of driftwood that never before have I seen such coloring, the sand had almost a magical tint :)

Ann & Sally- Thanks....and if either of you see an entry I missed email me the link please so we can include it. I too am anxious to read many entries :)

Thanks Gita-are you going to enter?

Regina- I am just a Judge, Sally Cheeseman was the one that came up with the Contest.  Instead of just reading them, have you thought of entering :)

Deb-I am just a Judge, and Keeper of the entries :)  We do have some great Judges, that's for sure, and I am excited to see different people entering this year.  Acceptance is a varied subject and it's interesting to see how it affects our friends....Holiday Hugs to you too .....

Elizabeth- Great...I will look for the entry.  Sally picked the theme and I agree it's a good one :)

Elizabeth- Thank you for entering...your entry is now included :)

Sally- perfect...see where there's a will there's a way....you found a way to circumvent the AR "issues" and get our entries in on time ....LOve it, and thanks to all those that have entered.

I have included one of the Judges Posts because it is what the Gift of Appreciation is all about......even though it's not an entry please read Ann Cummings Post-Ann writes with such a depth of soul that I was right there with her emotionally.  Thank you Ann, and again, I am so glad you are OK......later this experience will be one that could be a turning point for you in your grieving process.  Whatever Thank you for sharing with us.

Linda- thanks yep this was perfect...I got it here and Sally emailed me also :)  Thank you for entering .....

Connie-I am glad that even though you aren't entering you are supporting other members of our Group ....and don't worry about your writing, we all go through periods where we question ourselves, or just can't think of anything to write :)

Thank you to everyone that has entered so far....as you can see posting to the Group isn't working right now, so thank you for sending Sally the links, or posting here....we will make sure everyone is included.  Sally is emailing me the links as well just in case ........

Inna and Ann-Marie- OK thanks both are entered now.....and no it's not a Canada thing.....all that work the AR guys are doing has messed up the Groups....but you see we figured a way around this and the Judges have all been updated and will continue to be.  Once I input the entries we all can see them :)

Thank you both for your extra efforts to enter :)

Chuck and Leander- Both are in....thank you for entering :)  And Happy Holidays and/or Merry Christmas to you both.

Rosalinda and Elizabeth your entries were Posted....so sorry about the problems with getting them Posted into the Groups. but it's here now :)  thank you both for entering.

Joan-I didn't know you were without Power too....it sure has affected a lot of people.  Glad you were able to get your entry in.  But even more I am glad you have your electricity back.

Elizabeth- Your entry is also in....thank you, and don't worry if it's long....some things need more words than others to tell the story.

Ginger-got it...we are being lenient with the time right now because of all the mess ups.  So as long as the entries are in before I log off in about an hour and 1/2 it'll be OK.   Anyway, glad you did one, and will go read it :)

Ginger- Thank you for catching that....I was wondering when you got a new name, but as you know that's all I did was wonder LOL :)  OK, your name is corrected......and thank you for entering the contest.

Rebecca- I have added you as a late entry.

Rebecca- I have changed the late entry to a regular entry.  All Judges have been notified of these last 2 entries that didn't show up before, and we are waiting a bit to see if anyone else's didn't appear before making our final choices.  Thank you for entering, and please accept my apologies for the error.

Richard-Your entry was also included :)

Jean-Sorry about the glitches you encountered, it has affected all of us. Your entry is now in, and thank you for taking the time to put it here.  The Judges are all aware of these issues and are waiting until we are confident that we have all the entries....we are giving people some time just in case theirs isn;t on the list.

I just erased Jeans' entry (was the #48 ) because it was just brought to my attention it was already here #21.....see what happnes to the gatekeeper LOL :)  Thank you Ann....oh my....and Gene as you see you were here all along :)

Michele-at 6:30 am CA time I included your entry above, and emailed the other Judges so they would know.

To ALL: We are going to close this for good at noon CA time (3pm EA time)....I know Sally sent an email to everyone in the Group yesterday about the glitches and for everyone to take the personal responsibility to check and make sure we did indeed have your entry.  But at some point we have to move on.  So last night, as Head Judge I made the decision to wait until 3 PM today and close it.  Apologies in advance to anyone that might realize too late that their entry wasn't included. 

I also want to personally thank Sally, Ann, Tami, and Kristin (in no particular order) for Setting up and/or Judging one of the hardest contests I've been involved with to date.  Not only because of the excellent entries, but also because of the AR Problems that kept messing up with your Posts. 

Once again.....thank you to all, contestants, Group Members and Judges.  We will have the final results ASAP I guarantee it :)