Hey everybody! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I’m having a little contest – winner takes home a dozen Valentines Day special cupcakes from Crumbs Bakeshop! Only catch: you have to be based in LA, or know someone based in LA who can pick up the prize (there are five LA locations.)

All you have to do is tell me how you’re planning to spend your VDAY – it can BE ANYTHING – and my favorite response gets the prize.

Send me your answer via Twitter, using these tags: @tarynsouthern #VDayContest. If your response is longer than 120 characters, you can post links to twitlonger.com, twitpic, dailybooth, youtube, or even just a comment on this blog! :-) I’ll pick my favorite by Thursday, Feb 10 at midnight.

Happy Valentines Day!

Wow – gotta admit, was quite flattered this weekend to receive not one, but THREE fan videos from people hoping to help Nancy win the Lashes to Riches Contest. I get a lot of comments and emails, and even some very cool drawings, but videos are a first for me!! Thank you so much!!! I thoroughly enjoyed them. Here they are, for your viewing:

Last Sunday (on a very boring Sunday, mind you), I stumbled upon Nancy. Nancy Roder. She’s the girl you always overlooked on the middle school playground. The one who never got picked in gym class. She never had cool clothes, and was more likely found by herself in the lunchroom than surrounded by friends. But you won’t meet a nicer person than Nancy.

I’m not really sure how Nancy’s specific character came about (it’s an odd amalgamation of my 4th grade art teacher and several kids I remember from middle/high school), but it’s safe to say that when I put on the wig and the glasses and the fake zits and braces I bought from a local costume shop, it’s not difficult to remember how I felt growing up.

So you’re probably wondering what the point of all this is? Nancy’s the part of me who never felt good enough. She wants to help those who never got a real chance and maybe make a friend or two in the process. Maybe I’m crazy, but I don’t want Nancy to leave. So I entered her in a contest. There’s a $100,000 prize at the end of the pot, enough to fund my first independent film. About Nancy. Here is her video entry:

She’s never been able to travel outside of Sherman, Oklahoma. Her dream is to see the world, make a few friends, and help other people achieve their dreams along the way. And when it’s all said and done, she’s going to buy an RV for her parents so that theycan see the world, too. It’s weird. I’ve almost taken on Nancy’s dreams as my own.

I want to make this project happen. In my head, it’s a feature/web series/personal quest that will allow me to reach my first dream of making a movie, Nancy’s dream of seeing the world, and helping at least ten individuals reach their dreams, too. (If Nancy wins, I’ve pledged to donate $10,000 to ten people for their assistance in the contest.) I’m also planning on handing out a few other little surprises along the way, but more on that later.

So here’s the deal. To win, Nancy’s entry needs to have the greatest number of ratings and comments. I’m coming into the contest a month after it began (so there’s a little disadvantage there), but I know with the help of friends and new media mavens I can help Nancy’s dream (and mine) come to be a reality.

Please, please, rate the video and comment everyday (which also helps increase your chances of winning one of the ten $1,000 prizes). Beyond the $10,000 I’ll give away if Nancy wins, I will be giving away some additional little prizes to people who include a link to the video on their blog. (I’ve got a Google Alert up on “Nancy Roder.”)

The contest ends Dec. 20, and the video with the greatest total of comments and ratings wins the prize. I just need you to embed, Tweet, Blog, Facebook, Digg, and/or email the YouTube link to anyone/everyone.

Thank you all so much for your help! And, if you’d like to see the original Nancy video that got this all started:

Without a doubt it will be the most over-used costume this Halloween – but how will YOU do Palin? Are you going to play it straight or give her a ‘lil twist?

Send me your photos or video of your best Palin costume to tarynsouthernwebsite@gmail.com, and just for fun, let’s see who can do it best!! Whomever gets the most creative with their Palin costume wins a surprise gift bag filled with items that would even make Palin proud.

I can’t reveal the contents of the bag yet (otherwise that would ruin the surprise!) but I’ll give some more hints as we get closer to Halloween. So start working on those costumes!!

All emails must be received by Nov. 2nd. Winner will be announced on Nov. 4th!