A Duet of Versatile Blogger Awards

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

All I can say is that I must be incredibly versatile. I've received this award twice is the past couple of weeks and have managed to be so versatile as to not yet respond. Today is the day. 


Thank you to The Elka Almanac and Kol's Notes for proffering this award. I feel so special and completely enveloped in versatility. I'll be working on enhancing my skills in that area, simply to rise to the level of your expectations. Wish me luck!

Before I hand off this beautiful, lime-colored award, I'm supposed to bore entertain you with 7 things about myself or my family. I'm sure I can bore them too. 

• I enjoyed raising three wonderful kids who all surprised us with exceptional athletic ability and accomplishments, taking us all over the country (and more) to compete in  gymnastics, tennis, barefoot waterskiing, pyramid waterskiing, volleyball, karate, baseball, basketball and diving. Whew!
• No wedding bells in the works yet, but who knows what surprises the future may hold.
• My eldest is an attorney in Virginia.
• My middle son, having graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last year, spent a year teaching high school science in Thailand and is now doing a 3 month tour of Southeast Asia.
• My youngest, a daughter, is studying abroad in a program to enhance her education about primates. She's a biology major.
• Hubby is a huge reader and a golfing fanatic--said with all due respect!
• I believe you've met Tanner, Oliver and Patches, the furry members of my family, so let's move on to the winners I have chosen. In no particular order, please join me in congratulating:

Nanny McFur

Life with Claire

Autumn and Jasmine's Playground

The Pet Lady's Blog

Doggies and Stuff

Gardening with Wyatt

Paw Luxury

Paw Print City Times

Alfie's Blog

I invite these bloggers to have a little fun exploring the blogosphere to bestow their award on new winners. Please let me know when you pass it along, so I'll get to hear who your choices are, while knowing that you've also had a chance to enjoy your time in the limelight (pun intended!). I believe the prescribed number of winners was supposed to be 15, but I decided to be a rule breaker and go with my top 9. It's a nice number; don't you think?

Back to my pets. I think I was successful at boring them. Check out Tanner:

© Carrie Boyko
Zzzzzz........

The Versatile Blogger:An Award for Me?

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Today I had a surprise package come wrapped up in the unlikely form of a blog comment. And not just any blog comment. This one included an award from a 'mom blogger.' Despite myself, I giggled. After all, I'm a mom. Just not in the same generation. My current 'kids' are furry. At least I can't say I'm a grandmother yet; that would really make me feel awkward. Now on with the acceptance speech.


Angela of Mommy Time Out found me only recently. I'm not sure how she located me, but one day she appeared on my site with a comment, and I was duly delighted to see her, as I always am with new visitors. She shared this award with me and instructed me to pay it forward by passing it along to 15 bloggers that I have recently come upon. Fifteen!


In addition I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself. Hmm... how much can I fudge on this? I guess honesty is the best policy, so we'll start there and pick carefully:

1. I have 3 grown kids. My eldest is a defense and family attorney in Virginia. My middle son is an environmental scientist. My youngest is my only daughter, and is a senior in college.
2. I have been happily married to my best friend for 33 years. Without him, well, I certainly would not be here telling you about him. I know; terrible joke!
3. Although I have lived most of my life in Central Florida, I lived 11 years in Charlotte, North Carolina, where all of my children were born.
4. After spending 10 years in HR and a successful entrepreneurial adventure, I did some freelance writing. I still have one book in print, although it is doubtful you will find it on a bookstore shelf.
5. My family worried that I might have empty nest syndrome when our last kid left for college. Boy, did I show them!
6. Tanner, Oliver and I enjoy trying new ways to stay active, and particularly enjoy biking, dog park visits and swimming together as diversions from the daily walk.
7. I have little time for pleasure reading these days, but enjoy listening to audio books. My current favorites are the Michael Connelly novels about Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer of recent movie fame. As usual, the book is always better than the movie.

Many thanks to Angela for finding me and sharing this award. I only wish I knew what I did to impress her! Now, I'd like to bestow the same honor on some of my own newly discovered bloggers. In no particular order, here are some blogs I have recently found and enjoyed:

1. April at A Mommy's Sweet Blog Design
2. Richa at Find Me a Happy Pet
3. Nicole from The Pomeranian Trainers
4. Caren at Cat Chat
5. Vet Wisdom Cafe
6. Carly at Green Dog Love
7. Sheryl Bastien of Timely Recipes
8. Stacey of Little Boys are Made of Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
9. Boondocks the Wonder Dog
10. Ann at Chronicles of Sage
11. Sarge Speaks Out
12. Free Hot Samples
13. Pat Wahler at Critter Alley
14. 24 Paws of Love
15. Crystal at My Life with Flyball Dogs

I encourage you to visit these blogs. Each has a unique niche, something that made me think of the series I am working on at Blogpaws right now. If you're interested, you may wish to check it out: Niche Blogging Clarification. There will be a number of installments in this series, which began with an introduction a couple of weeks ago. The linked installment is the first meat of the series. I hope to see you there, and feel free to leave comments with questions or thoughts. 

© A. Boyko
Oliver and I Share a Moment

Congratulations to all of you on this award list, and thanks again to Angela. To the newest group of winners, I encourage you to reach out by email so we may become better acquainted. I'm at LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. Happy tails!