Archive for June, 2010
Paw it Forward progress
We have our first Paw it Forward recipient! Mel in Lawrence and her dog Bhodi will be receiving a Paw it Forward package soon! If you want to be one of the other two winners, comment on THIS post.
Love from Sacramento,
Becka and Beale
Shamless plug for Mom’s other adventure
This month I am buckling down on my goal to become America’s Next Top Game Inventor. A few months ago, Jack (Beale’s dad) and I accidentally invented what will someday be a card game. It’s called Kiss Me Like an Octopus and involves players kissing in the manner of all sorts of animals. Those of you with puppies out there can imagine imitating THAT, I’m sure!
So, our game is in the first phase of testing. We are collecting information about our first list of animals… we want to know if people can figure out how to kiss like an octopus, a llama, a raccoon, etc….
If you and yours would like to participate in our test group, send me an e-mail at kissmelikeanoctopus@gmail.com and head over to our Kiss Me Like an Octopus website for test subject instructions and a list of animals.
Thanks for your help!
Becka
Pyramid Scheme -or- How we got a Paw it Forward package!
Jack calls it a pyramid scheme, but really, the package we received in the mail yesterday is more like a chain letter. It was a Paw it Forward package!
Here’s how it works:
I received a package from Sarah and Vance over at Operation Puppy Raiser, who received their package from Megan and Paris, who received their package from Natalie and Bob… etc. it’s my duty to prepare three packages for other bloggers with dogs! I already have some ideas of what to put in them.
This is what was in Beale’s present:
And, of course, this:
(Beale wouldn’t let us take the toy back for the picture… of course, we didn’t try that hard!)
If you’d like to receive a Paw it Forward package, be one of the first three people to comment on this post! Be sure to tell me a little bit about your canine friend who will be opening the package when it arrives! If you are one of the lucky three, I’ll e-mail you to get your mailing address!
Love from Sacramento (and Thanks SARAH!),
Becka and Beale
The fine print: You do not have to be a service puppy of any sort to receive a Paw it Forward package. The only requirement is that you commit to continuing the Paw it Forward chain!
A bionic cat!
Check out this story:
http://gawker.com/5572837/worlds-first-bionic-cat-has-prosthetic-paws
Want!
National Sports Center for the Disabled
Check out this awesome postcard created by the National Sports Center for the Disabled. I first saw this image as an ad without the puppy or the text while in the Denver airport. The center repurposed the image to welcome its new Kansas City office!
Guest blog: Dad writes about a day with Beale
The day began like most, with me waking up to the gentle sounds of a blaring alarm and Beale wailing from her kennel. Yay. I’m going to need coffee and/or quaaludes.
For those of you who might not know, we Californians wait in long lines to buy our coffee from shops because we cannot be bothered to prepare it for ourselves. These shops are all the same. They sell bags of the latest (see also: trendy, disgusting, tasteless, “Fair Trade”) whole-bean coffee harvested with loving care by the hardworking indigenous people of some third world country you’ve never heard of right next to shelves stacked with The New York Times, brightly colored commuter mugs and iTunes gift cards. Californians have also gotten pretty lax when it comes to standards of cleanliness. There are plenty off interesting things on the floor for Beale to salivate over. These stores also contain a never-ending stream of people willing to pet/scratch/whistle at/call her without asking. In this place, Beale is in heaven. This will be the highlight of her work day.
8:15 a.m. – We arrive at the office and Beale settles in. I immediately attack Powerpoint/Youtube simultaneously.
My desk. As you can see, Becka's claims about my maturity have been greatly exaggerated... and yes, that is a 55" inflatable marlin hiding behind the monitors, directly below the LEGOs.
10 a.m. – More Powerpoint for me.
Beale does what she does best.
Noon – Powerpoint and Web meeting for me.
working hard...
2 p.m. – Teleconference with a product manager.
...or hardly working?
4 p.m. – Powerpoint for me; Beale gets frustrated and decides to fix her boredom.
Beale gives up and starts watching Secret Life of the American Teenager on Hulu......
6 p.m. – E-mails to project manager; Beale finds more entertainment.
Beale moves on to Make It Or Break It on Hulu.
6:40 p.m. – Beale’s episode ends just in time for us to leave.
I force her to listen to NPR on the way home (she prefers Top 40) but the day is saved when we arrive home to find a present waiting for us. I’m sure Becka can (and probably will) tell you why exactly Beale is receiving registered mail, some kind of Twitter thing I think, but I’m fairly convinced its a pyramid scheme.
A Box.
"But Jack, I can't open it. I don't have opposable thumbs!"
A conflict immediately erupts over the package contents.
Beale taunts her opponent by taking the toy... and his bed.
Fin.
Love from Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and the road in between,
Jack
Working girl — Kansas Journalism Institute
Beale did a beautiful job at the Kansas Journalism Institute last week. She worked with more than 120 high school students who were learning about journalism in a camp/college environment.
Beale attended all of the morning sessions and traveled from class to class during the day. In the evenings, we stayed at the Best Western in Lawrence. She did a great job at the hotel and was off-leash for much of our week.
I was glad to get this chance to see how Beale would act with high school students. She, as expected, was under control the whole week!
Love from (back home in) Sacramento,
Becka and Beale
failures of a puppy raiser 