A Palette of Tortitude #CaturdayArt

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop.

The Pet Blogger Bloopers Round-Up – May

Meows from Mudpie!

Today we're joining the The Pet Blogger Bloopers Round-Up, hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull. It's the place to be on the second Friday of each month to see your favorite bloggers' blooper photos. This is a blog hop dedicated to showcasing the results of those photo sessions that have gone off the rails!

Apparently our monthly CatLadyBox post is blooper central because that's when ours took place again this month! Mommy says I'm like the Tasmanian Devil when I get new toys so she never knows what she's going to end up with when she starts snapping pictures of me playing.

Mostly they just turn out blurry...

But when Mommy scanned through pictures from our latest photo shoot this one really cracked her up...where on earth is my head???

With a Grateful Prayer & a Thankful Heart

How many times have you heard someone say "it's just an honor to be nominated" and rolled your eyes? I'm going on the record today to say that it's true.

A few weeks ago I asked you to consider nominating us for the 2016 Nose-to-Nose Pet Blogging and Social Media Awards. Tuesday evening I received an email that my dream came true...Truffles' farewell post Dispatches from the Bridge: Remember Me is a Finalist in the Best Blog Post category. I feel like I've been floating on Cloud 9 since hearing the news and have shed more than a few tears too. My precious, tragic little angel is still touching peoples' hearts nearly a year after her death.

Blogging sometimes feels like a very solitary endeavor and it's easy to feel like a small fish in a large pond. Many amazing bloggers never get the recognition they deserve, so to receive such an honor for a post that means more to me than anything I've ever written is almost beyond my comprehension. It's 100% the truth when I say that I still can't read that post without crying and I doubt that I ever will.

A friend on Facebook wrote that Truffles is purring with pride from above and I'm sure that's true. I only wish this post never had to be written and that she was still here with me today.

“This is one of the highest honors in the pet social media world, awarded across twelve categories to some of the most talented pet writers and bloggers on the planet,” BlogPaws’ co-founder, Yvonne DiVita said. “With some categories receiving hundreds of nominees, this honor is very prestigious for all finalists.”

Winners will be announced on Saturday, June 25th at the BlogPaws 2016 conference in Phoenix, AZ.

A complete list of finalists in all 12 categories can be found here. Please join me in congratulating everyone for a momentous achievement, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your love and support!

* Credit for today's blog post title goes to one of my all-time favorite movies Muppet Christmas Carol

Spring Cleaning

Meows from Mudpie!

During the long, cold winter I've practically been living in my KatKabin. Mommy even added a fleece blankie to make it extra cozy for me. 

Over the weekend our temps climbed into the 70s so I decided to do a bit of spring cleaning and attempted to push the blanket out as it was way too warm. It was exhausting work and before long I settled in for a snooze, at which point I decided the blanket made a pretty good pillow too!

Mommy noticed, the flashy box was grabbed, and the squeeing was out of control :)

Mudpie Interviews...Petey from J R Pearson's Josie Rizzo Mystery Series (w/Giveaway!)

Meows from Mudpie!

Today I'm so excited to introduce you to a new friend...Petey the pup from the Josie Rizzo Mystery Series by J R Pearson! 

If your human hasn't discovered this hit series yet put your paw right here to be taken to the Kindle store. Each book is currently only 99 cents so you won't even get in trouble for spending their money!

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Mudpie: Welcome Petey! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Josie?

Petey: Hi-Lo! Thank you for having me :) My best friend, Josie, gave me the full name; Petey Herbert Rizzo, but the other two-legged--talking creatures call me Petey. Though sometimes my Josie says it reeeeaallly loud when I've done something wrong. ; )

My Josie adopted me from a little shelter in JewelCove, our old home-- (Do I smell chicken?) --I was just a couple months old when she got me. My brothers and sisters were adopted too, but I'm reeeeaallly lucky to be picked by my Josie.

What is a typical day like for you?

Let me think...Oh!

--first, my Josie interrupts my precious slumber, I get kinda grumpy, bu it goes away when I see she's filled my yum bowl.

--We then, unfortunately, go for a walk, because my Josie "claims" I need the "exercise", whatever that means--(Squirrel!)

--After my Josie goes to work, I'm left alone in our apartment and that is when the party starts! :)) I like to pretend I'm an adventurous explorer and climb on the coffee table. Though, most times I have to try extra hard due to my short legs and big bottom.  A little lady bug use to keep me company, but he left to go on vacation...okay, that was a lie, he's not on vacation, I accidentally ate him........

--When my Josie comes home, she and I go to Tony and Jade's house to have dinner. Jade is my furry best friend. She's a huge great dane, and we run around in Tony's backyard while he and my Josie get all kissy face.

-- And then I'm home again in my cushy bed, asleep! Yeah! Sleep time!

We have something in common...we both live with bloggers! I'm my Mommy's co-blogger, though. Do you help Josie out at all with her food blog, Good Eatin' for the Curvy Soul?

Blogging buddies! :D I love my Josie's blog! She makes food and takes neat pics. My duty is a very important duty in helping my Josie with her blog: Taste-testing some of her yum-yum meals and providing my round belly (no shame) as a lap desk for her computer :D It warms my belly and I end up snoozing.

Job well done, right? ;)

(I do smell chicken, WHERE IS IT!?)

You must be a food lover too...what are some of your favorite snacks?

CHICKENchickenCHICKENchicken!

SHOW ME THAT GOOD STUFF!

How do you feel about kitties? (Not as a snack, as an animal! Just felt the need to clarify that...)

I like kitties! My Josie taught me love and be nice to everyone! Mew♡

Tell us about the Josie Rizzo Cozy Mystery series that you star in.

Hold on, I need a piece of chicken first before I start.......................
...............................................................................................Okay, I'm back! 

The Josie Rizzo Cozy Mystery Series is about me and my Josie settling in small town Greenville, away from my Josie's nutty family, and explore different culinary creations.(That's my favorite part!)
All the while, my Josie gets caught in the middle of murder investigations.

I'm super grateful and enjoy being a part of each hilarious and crazy ride. Hopefully readers will enjoy it too! :))

Has Josie put you in any dangerous situations or have you been able to help her solve her cases in any way?

My Josie has neeeevvvvverr put me in any danger. I very much trust her, in fact, In some cases she drops me off at home before she goes off investigating.

Anything you can tell us about your upcoming adventures?

Welllllll, from what I've heard my Josie and Tony whispering about, I will say BIG things are coming real soon. ;) As a lover of chicken treats, I don't wanna jeopardize any future servings by barking out any spoilers.

 

Tortie Shorties Review: In book 2, Sliced and Toasted with Murder, Josie and her best friend Brad are waiting in line at Greenville's famous pastrami-sandwich-producing hotspot Danny's Deli when employee Gordy Fitzgerald is found stabbed to death in the freezer. Everyone loved Gordy...who could have wanted him dead? Josie is determined to find out!

In book 3, Heated and Spiced with Murder, date night for Josie and Tony goes horribly wrong when Tony's close friend, chef Manny Epstein, is arrested for the murder of rival restaurant owner, Marco Gonzales. Tony knows the cops involved in the case are crooked so Josie and her twin brothers (who are cyber crime agents) join him in clearing his friend's name. My only complaint with this book is that since the action takes place in the city, forcing Josie and Tony to temporarily move in with her brothers, sweet pup Petey isn't a very big part of the story, but other than that I enjoyed every moment.

This series is a great deal of fun, stories that can be read in a single sitting that will have your mouth watering with every turn of the page. Josie as a character appeals to me because she's a blogger with aspirations to write for a popular magazine in her niche, which happens to be food. These two books show Josie coming closer to achieving that dream, while readers also get to see her friendship with Tony ignite into something deeper. Each book also gives us a glimpse into the life and background of Tony's father who everyone thinks is in prison, but he's really pulling the strings on something much greater. I can't wait to see what's next!

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Monday, May 16th for your chance to win an ebook set of all THREE books in the Josie Rizzo mystery series! This giveaway is open to readers worldwide!

Helping Shelter Kitties on #LostSockMemorialDay

According to the National Day Calendar, May 9 is National Lock Sock Memorial Day. It's a day to say “good-bye” to all of the single socks, the ones where their mates have been lost to the unknown.

But don't throw them away...your local shelter can use them and they can also be turned into fun craft projects! Here's a round-up of some of our favorite ideas:

Turn Socks Into Cozy Kitteh Sweaters

Make a rice sock as a supplemental heat source for animals recovering from spay/neuter surgery

Baby booties can be used to keep paws warm while animals are under anesthesia and recovering

Make Catnip Kickers for shelter cat enrichment

Make a Sock Hat For Preemies using just the toe of an infant sock

Operation Happy Sock is an all-volunteer, nonprofit project that takes unwanted socks and turns them into catnip toys for homeless cats in animal shelters. Downloadable instructions for this fun project can be found here. Learn how to have a Happy Sock Production Party in your own community too!

Can you think of any other cat-related projects that can be done with socks?

Mommy & Me #SundaySelfie

Mommy, if we're taking a selfie aren't we supposed to be looking at the camera?

Oh well...at least one of us knows what she's doing!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!!!!

We're joining our friends at The Cat on My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop.