Long Overdue Thank You!

I have received some awards, and would like to thank the people who gave them to me (finally). I have learned that being a blogger made me part of a big, giant, always-growing blogging family of friends, and I LOVE that. If you are reading this and you would like to share any of my awards, please grab the badge and go for it. If you don’t do awards, and would just like to share a smile, see something different, or learn something new – take a minute to visit these special blogs.

My friends at Collies of the Meadow awarded me the Blog of the Year Award. I could add another star to my former badge, if Mom could figure out how. Those collies make so much mischief, they may have stolen the stars. (Ginger is like that, sometimes…) To see the rules for this award, click here.

My friend at Another Boomer Blog gave me the Sunshine Award. She always shows me interesting, unusual photographs (sometimes with Duke, Lou, or Augie). She has such a great eye. Click here to see my answers to the Sunshine questions.

My deep-thinking, profound friend at Wiley’s Wisdom surprised me with a new award, that I never had before. Leave it to Wiley to dig up something brand new – The  WordPress Family Blogging Award. Since then, I have also been awarded this honor by SIX more of my cyberfriends. That proves that this is a big family and it keeps growing and growing! Thanks to Granny and Little B. at AngelsWhisper, Chelsea at JennyMac Book Blog, the whole zoo at DogDaz, Buddy, Basil, Nutty, and Nibbles at Hutch A Good Life, Savannah at Savannah’s Paw Tracks and Sue at Kid-Lit Reviews. You all bring us tons of smiles and giggles and great information.

Thanks, friends! xoxo

Park Day

I am celebrating Park Day with some blog friends named Finn and Gizmo. Mom takes me to the park a lot. I am very happy there. Yes, this is my happy face….

One of my favorite parks is in Nutley, NJ.

It has BABY SWINGS!

When I am on the swing, I think, “I can stay here forever.” and “I hope some of my friends see me over here.” and “I wish we had a swing at the house.” and “I wonder if I’ll ever be big enough for the grown-up swing…”

The park is a great spot for dogs, and also for writers. Ideas are all over the place. When Mom looks at the swing, she thinks, “What if….” there were an alien on the swing, or a bully or a fish or a clown. And “What if…” the swing were magic, or broken or a spaceship or a nest. And “What if the swing…” tossed a kid up into a tree, or started talking or had a fight with the slide or started growing. And “What if…” someone got stuck in the swing, or was afraid of it or wanted to build one or figured out a new way to use it.

I think Mom wants to stay there forever, too! But we can’t. We have other things to do….

I Am NOT a Jedi

Renn is a brave, little boy spending some not-so-fun time at the hospital this week. Mom and I are writing a special blog post today just for him. You can read about Renn at The Brain of a Jedi.

Mom’s author friend, Susanna Leonard Hill has  links to lots more well wishes for Renn on her blog. Take a look, and while you’re at it, send along some prayers and happy thoughts for a tough, smart little Jedi and his family.

Mom is afraid of Jedi warriors (No, she’s not. I am…). In fact, she’s afraid of warriors of all kinds (No, she’s not. I am…). Light sabers scare her (No, they don’t. They scare me…). And forget about Darth Vader’s voice. She’s terrified of that guy (No, she’s not. I am…).

So, we’ll have to work with what we have. My cuteness!!

Here I am dancing like a cute ballerina.

If you want to see how smart I am, here I am solving a problem while looking cute.

If you’ve never seen a dog eat Cheerios, watch how cute I am using my Cheerios machine.

And if you need a laugh, watch me tame the laughing mechanical dog (still while looking cute).

And when it’s time to sleep, stop by my booth for the cutest kiss you can get for a nickel…

Hang in there, buddy! xoxo

Merry Christmas!

Move over Rudolph! I’m Santa’s new right hand man.

Mom saw this at her friend, John’s blog called Native Michigander. It’s the most adorable Christmas Story ever!

 

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Take-My-Picture-Tuesday

This is my new bandana which Mom picked out at Mollie’s blog.  I think I look adorable and Christmas-sy in it. 

I also have a couple of awards to say thank you for today. 

Thanks to Easy for the Super Sweet Award.  He definitely got it right.  I AM super sweet… except when I’m not….  See my super sweet answers here and help yourself to the award if you’re sweet most of the time.

Thanks to AngelsWhisper for the Seven Things About Me Award. 

For this award, I need to tell 7 things about myself, which I love to do. I will also invite anyone who likes telling about themselves to take this award and tell us about yourself.

1. I am part Jack Russell and part something else.  Mom thinks I might be part monkey because of my long monkey tail.

2. I love treats.  My new favorite is called Gooberlicious. It’s not what you think.  They look and taste like peanuts. Yum.

3. I love stuffed animals, but not the mechanical ones.  I think mechanical toys are evil, and I’m pretty sure they’re trying to kill me.

4. I help Mom with her writing a lot.  I take her to the park and for rides in the car so she can get ideas. I bring toys to her while she’s working, so she can get up and play with me and not sit still too long.

5. I want Mom to write a book about me so I can go to school visits with her. I know how to behave… except when I don’t…

6. After I eat my food every day, I try to eat my bowl.  That’s just how delicious my food is!!

7. I love to wear dresses.

Winning!

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and there’s SO much to be thankful for.  Mom and I have many blessings in our lives.  We’re super grateful that we were fine through the storms, and we continue to say prayers for our friends and family members who are still dealing with the sadness and nightmares of what the storm left behind. 

I have a lot of friends to thank today. A ton of awards came our way last week. And I even won a Thanksgiving contest!

Oh and Mom is kind of a winner, too. Her story came out in Turtle Magazine.

It looks really cute with all the fancy illustrations, and she is proud and excited and Blah. Blah. Blah…

But seriously – back to me and my awards. 

Thank you to Chelsea for sending us The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. She inspires us, too. To see some Inspiring facts about me, click here. If you’re inspiring, feel free to take the badge and tell 7 Inspiring things about yourself.

Thank you to AngelsWhisper for another Super Sweet Award.  Mom says there’s no such thing as too sweet. To see my Super Sweet questions and answers, click here. If you are Super Sweet, feel free to take the badge and answer the questions on your blog.

Thank you to Chuck and the Collies for giving us The Champion of the Heart Award. Such a special award from the brave and beautiful Trevor.

Thank you to Misaki for the Blog of the Year 2012 Award. It has stars and everything. Plus a ton of rules!

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Yes – that’s right – there are stars to collect!

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!

When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star!

There are a total of 6 stars to collect.

Which means that you can check out your favourite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

For more information check the FAQ on The Thought Palette.

Whew! That’s a lot of rules (to break), but I can handle it! Feel free to take this badge and follow the rules, if you like stars (and rules). 

Mom sent in my picture for a What Am I Thankful For contest at Pawsitively Pets and I won third place! Yay me! Here’s what I know about numbers – 3 is bigger than 1 and 2. That makes me the biggest winner of all! Thanks Lily and Ann!  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Happy Dance

Some people dance when they’re happy. I dance every day. Move over, Snoopy!

Mom makes me dance for my treats. She thinks it will keep me from getting fat and that it will strengthen my core. Core? Really? If that’s something like “corn” then I’m OK with it. Once I licked a corn cob till Mom’s hands got tired of holding it. So, I dance, whether I’m happy or just feel like a snack. 

Feeling happy is always good. Mom feels happy because of her story in Stories for Children E-Magazine this month and her story in Turtle Magazine next month. She is also happy to be keeping up in her 12×12 Challenge, and she’s thinking about starting another challenge called PiBoIdMo in November.  That one also scares her a little.  I know about being scared.  You should see the freak-head-jack-o-lantern that my neighbor puts in the hallway every year. *shiver*

Something else that’s making Mom happy and excited is the Katie Davis Webinar she is ‘attending’ this week. For an hour, she will look at the computer and learn things about writing and submitting and how not to be a one-book-wonder. I am also excited about this Webinar because Mom doesn’t have to go in the car to get there. That means I can stare at her the whole time…

…and not have to watch out the window or “wait quietly like a big girl.”

Both of us are SUPER-happy that our friends at Our Furever Family let me tell a whole entire story about ME on their blog. Yay me!  What are you waiting for? Get over there and read about me!

How Sweet Am I?

Prizes! Yay! We have won another award or two or three. We were given the One Sweet Blog Award from our friends at Hutch a Good Life and the Super Sweet Blogging Award from our friend Clowie and the whole zoo at Dog Daz.  Take a look at them!

Cupcakes! Like my name! Mom named me Cupcake because I am so sweet and now my blog is also sweet, just like me!

Mom bakes cupcakes sometimes. She mixes up butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and baking powder.  She says, “Baking is like writing.  All the ingredients need to be in there.” and “If I leave anything out, the cupcakes won’t be any good.” and “Get your head out of the oven!”

When Mom writes a new story, she has to get all the ingredients into it. Right now, she’s working on two stories at once. Each one needs original characters, an interesting setting, some scene changes, a fun plot with lots of conflict and a satisfying resolution, opportunity for illustration, poetic language, humor, tension, and dialogue. And vanilla and eggs. (I’m lying about that last part.)

After Mom gets to the end of the story, she has to leave it alone for a while. That’s like when the cupcakes have to cool off. When the story cools off for a while, Mom will put frosting on it.  Oh no! That’s the cupcakes. She’ll revise the story A LOT.  She’ll cut words that slow the story down, add words that move the story along, read it out loud ten million times, do everything she can to make it better, and cover the top with sprinkles. Wait. What? I love sprinkles. And frosting.  And cupcakes. And stories!

There are no rules for the One Sweet Blog Award (except to be sweet). For the Super Sweet Blog Award the rules are:

1. Give credit to the person who chose you.

2. Answer the ‘Super Sweet’ questions below.

3. Nominate a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) blogs.

Super Sweet Questions:

1. Cookies or Cake? Both. And bacon. And anything from the garbage pail. And goose poop.

2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate is poison, for dogs, so I’ll say chocolate.  I like eating poison every chance I get.

3. What is your favorite sweet treat? Mom’s homemade frozen yogurt dog pops.

4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Every minute of every day.

5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? I already have a sweet name!!

Now I will name 13 blogs that I like.  If you already have the award, then congratulations. Either way, we picked you because we like you, and want lots of other people to like you along with us. 

1. Jenny

2. Charlie Eve

3. Bubba

4. Mollie

5. Misaki

6. Sammy

7. Susanna

8. Hamsters

9. Doggy

10. Collies

11. Bassa

12. Marcie

13. Donna

I wish a baker’s dozen was 100, because we really like a LOT of blogs!

Five Word Friday

Today’s five words are about the dark.

1. Fall. Now that it’s fall, it stays dark for a long time in the morning. That means it’s slow-starting around here. The longer it takes to get showered and dressed and get finished with “writing time” the longer I’m waiting around to do something fun.

2. Fall. Now that it’s fall, it gets dark really early. That means when we go outside after dinner, we only stay for 2 minutes. That’s absolutely NO fun.

3. Monsters. There could be monsters out there in the dark. Mom is not afraid of monsters, but I am! She writes about them sometimes, so she can make them nice or mean or scary or friendly. I guess if I could dream up my own monsters like she does, I would not be so afraid.

4. Dark thinking. Sometimes a writer might have some dark thinking. Dark thinking is: “I’m completely out of good ideas.” and “I can never cut an extra 300 words from this story.” and “Book Number Two will never happen.” Dark thinking is bad. If Mom starts to do it, I will always cheer her up.

5. Light! We are lit up over some awards we received lately. Thanks to our friends at Bumpy Road to Bubba for the Addictive Blog Award, to Collies of the Meadow for the One Lovely Blog, and Wonderful Team Member Readership Award, and to AngelsWhisper  and Come Wag Along for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. 

You can see our Addictive Blog reasons for blogging here. 

To be a Wonderful Team Member, I must complete this sentence: A great reader is…

I think a great reader is someone who laughs at the right times, says, “Awwww,” at the right times, and thinks I’m cute. 

Now I will take the lazy way out, and list a few of the new, fun blogs that I’ve been visiting, and invite ALL of my blog friends to feel free to take any badge/award that you don’t already have and share it.

Easy

iPhone Photoblogging

Sammy

What I Meant to Say

Doggy

Our Furever Family

Surprises

Mom shopped online a whole bunch last week. Now, packages keep coming to our house. Each one is a surprise. Mom says, “Yay!” and “I wonder what this is!” and “Stop barking at the UPS guy. He is our friend.”

One of the surprises was not even something Mom ordered. It was a gift from my bloggie- friend, Mollie. Her awesome Mom made me a bandana with cupcakes on it to match my name. I think I am very cute in it. Thanks, Mollie!

Sometimes surprise ideas pop into Mom’s head. She gets ideas from people-watching, kids talking, names, signs, games, shopping, the newspaper, driving, the park, the neighborhood, the laundromat, the garage, ….everywhere!  She gets ideas from spider webs, eyeglasses, the broom, flowers, baseballs, the ice cream man, ….everything!

Once, she thought she was fresh out of ideas, but then – SURPRISE- something on the news made her think of an idea. She googled it, got more ideas, thought about it in her head and got MORE ideas, and now she’s writing it into her computer and getting even more ideas. Surprise! She wasn’t out of ideas after all.

One more surprise Mom found on my blog was that I FINALLY have 100 followers.  101, actually.  After blogging for so long we thought we never get to 100, so yay and thank you to everyone who clicked the follow button! I wanted to celebrate with 101 treats, but that was a no-go.

What kind of a celebration is this??