A KITCHEN SINKFUL OF HAPPY – Behind the Paw #2

Today I’m going to catch up on Thank You’s  I owe for gifts of time and technical expertise, gratitude for blog awards bestowed and prizes we’ve won…It’s been a very busy week in all those areas and it’s time I got it all into (virtual) print.

The look of this blog has changed completely and for that I owe huge thanks to Alasandra of Alasandra, The Cats & Dogs .  Alasandra gave of her time and talent to create the new header for this blog. She was patient as I dithered, and came up with something I love. Thank you Alasandra!

Next I have to give a shout out to our pals Oz and Gina of Oz the Terrier , who provided great suggestions for cleaning up the overall look, adding a background and even figured out the custom colors that matched. Thank you Oz & Gina!

Over on the sidebar you’ll find my OneWord2013 button. I first read about the OneWord project on The Doglady’s Den and it caught my imagination. I followed the link over to the wonderful Melanie of Only A Breath.  Melanie has offered to create unique blog buttons illustrating the word you choose as your OneWord for 2013.  The word you choose represents what will inspire you, challenge you and provide focus for the year. I chose ‘Joy’ as I think pure joy has been in short supply around here…I need to let loose, look around and remember how to find my joy in everyday life. I contacted Melanie and within minutes she responded with my finished button. I have it printed out and posted over my desk, on the fridge & tucked into my wallet…I even “sing” it to Gizmo as we wander along on our morning walks.  The “string of pearls” design shows the progression from baby steps at the start of the year to larger changes as the year goes on…Thank you Melanie!

Monday was like Christmas around here…Gizmo had four packages delivered, 3 with  cool prizes he’d won from some great blog contests and one was something special for both of us from our great twitter pal @NancyCakeFace and her mom Carolyn that we won at a recent #nipclub twitter pawty. Here’s a shot of all the swag:

On the left, from sweet Nancy,  is a  wonderful pink leopard print Bone Dry Dog Drying Towel for Gizmo and a cool coffee mug for mom reading “Shoes, Chocolates, Dogs. You can never have too many!” Isn’t that the truth! I promised Gizmo I wouldn’t embarrass him with a “bath photo” , but the towel is large and soft and really does do a great job. You do not want to see what I look like first thing in the morning when I’m drinking coffee from the mug, I promise

The orange ball is a Bionic Ball from Bionic Play Company. Gizmo won this kewl toy from buddy Chazz the Dog at his blog Adopted Mom To Chazz . it’s a stuffer toy and chew toy combined and Gizmo has enjoyed figuring it out.

In the middle is the fabulous Pet JetSetter bag that I was so lucky to win from Carol & the Fidose of Reality online magazine .  I can’t tell you how much I love this bag…Gizmo and I travel a bit and his “belongings” usually end up under the front seat or in my bag or in the “wayback” but never in one place or where I need them.  The Pet Jetsetter is a way to keep both of us organized…Labeled pockets for all his “stuff” like bowls, water bottle & treats (it even comes with 2 perfect sized stainless bowls).  Inside there’s plenty of room for that Bone Dry Towel, a weekend’s worth of food, a couple of stuffies, an extra lead & collar, and anything else Gizmo might find essential. The folks at Pet Jetsetter were kind enough to monogram the bag for Gizmo so he knows it’s his. I’ve  ‘customized’ it by clipping on a container of doggie “pickup” bags. Right now all I have to do is toss in some food, fill the water bottle and we’re ready to hit the road.

And our last package came from Flea of Dog Treat Web, the Jones Natural Chews blog. Flea read and reviewed the book Rin Tin Tin The Life & Legend. Her enthusiastic review, coupled with the fact that I loved The Orchid Thief by the same author, Susan Orlean, made me want to read the book and I was very pleased to win it. I’ve already started reading and will post my own review when I’ve finished, and maybe even pass my copy on to the next reader.

This has also been a big week for awards…there has been so much blogger love around here Gizmo & I are positively glowing. Mom even created a special Awards page here on my blog to show them all off.

Our friends Princess Zena from the Princess Tails and The Kirbster from Kirby’s Dawg Blog have both chosen us to receive  the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

Here are the Rules of Acceptance:

1] Link back to the person who nominated you

2] Post the award image on your page

3] Tell seven random fact about yourself

4] Nominate fifteen other blogs

———>   #’s 1 & 2 are done…here’s #3

1. In the geocaching community I’m known as LittleGizmo

2. I was born in Bartow, FL.

3. My original name was “Lance” (really? Lance?)

4. I’m such good friends with my mail lady Pamela that she gave me a Christmas present.

5. I don’t like to swim, but I’ll chase the ducks in the lake even if it means getting wet

6. Mom lets me sleep anywhere I want…I OWN this house

7. I like to do pushups to impress the ladies. That’s my girl Sparky (in my dreams) and her mom Terisa in the video…you can hear my mom talking in the background.

Gizmo does pushups for his girl Sparky

Now for #4…and this is the tricky one cause it seems like the gauntlet has been thrown down to make the nomination in a clever graphic form…Anyone who reads this blog should know that I am graphically challenged, but I’ve tried….Best of luck to my nominees!

 

We received our 1st 2012 Blog of the Year star last week and this week we added our 2nd and 3rd stars thanks to good friends Gina and Oz of Oz the Terrier and Ann of Pawsitively Pets.   This was a very exciting way to end the year and hope that in 2013 our blog  lives up to and exceeds all expectations

I’m not nominating anyone here, as 2012 is gone, but I’m sure there’ll be opportunity to recognize the worthy in 2013.

And finally I’ve got to thanks both Hannah of Animal Tails and Ann of Pawsitively Pets  for nominating us for the Liebster Award.

This is a new award for us and it does have a number of tasks associated with it…

First, I have to tell you 11 things about me. Then, I must answer the 11 questions asked by Pawsitively Pets. And lastly, I need to ask the blogger(s) that I nominate 11 new questions which they will need to answer… am I up to this?

Well, Gizmo listed 7 things about himself earlier, so I’ll just add 4 more about me to bring our total to 11:

8. I once ran a dive shop on Christiansted wharf in St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

9. When I was in college I drove a taxicab in New York City

10. My favorite color is black

11. I love to take my Jeep Liberty 4-wheeling in Ocala National Forest

Here’s the questions Ann has asked me, along with my answers:
Why did you start blogging? For fun and to keep talking to the folks I’d met on twitter

What’s your favorite animal? dogs, hands down no contest

What was your favorite toy as a kid? my treehouse for reading and my bike

Cats or Dogs? need you ask?

Would you rather eat a bug or sky dive? bugs! there’s no reason on earth to jump out of a perfectly good airplane

If you had a magic lamp with a genie in it, what 3 things would you wish for? unlimited free time; the ability to travel everywhere; a house on a tropical beach and the means to get there

If you could pick any animal to be, which one would you choose? one of my  dogs – they have a good life

How often do you cut your hair? rarely

What’s the last movie you saw that made you cry? The Music Never Stopped…wonderful, touching film & I recommend it

What’s your favorite board game? scrabble

How did you think of your blog title? I love alliteration…I had the Terrier part and just ran words through my head till I hit on one that sounded good to me & I still like it

Now for my nominee…I’m only nominating one blog for this award…it’s a blog that I’ve only recently discovered, and I’m nominating it because I really want to read this bloggers answers…

My nominee is theLady Georgia Little Pea Ratatouille  whose blog Little Dogs on Long Leashes is an absolute delight…If you haven’t met Georgia yet I urge you to do so.

Here are the questions I’ve come up with for Georgia and her folks to answer:

1. What major obstacle are you most proud of overcoming?
2. If you had to choose between 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s music for the rest of your life, which era would you choose and why?
3. What are you looking forward to the most in 2013?
4. What do you wear to sleep in?
5. What genre would a movie about your life be in? And who is playing you?
6. Are you a collector? If so, what do you collect?
7. Do you dance in your car? In the shower? What song really gets shaking your tail?
8. If you owned a boat, what would you name it?
9. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be
10. What is the strangest talent you have?
11. If you could move anywhere on earth, where would you live?

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve learned a lot about us and realize that we are really grateful for all the kind words and support we’ve received.

Here’s today’s 30/30 Ticker (can’t forget that)

We’re joining host Pepi Smart Dog for this week’s Thankful Thursday blog hop

And we’re joining Jodi and Heart Like a Dog for the Follow-Up Friday blog hop, the blog hop that lets you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend…

And we’re also linking up with Two Little Terriers for the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop

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