Wordful Wednesday: Destined to Lead

I am participating in Wordful Wednesday, sponsored by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

Founded by three Detroit area Lions Clubs members in 1939, Leader Dogs for the Blind provides dog guides to people who are blind and visually impaired to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life.

Leader dogs are raised by volunteer puppy raisers. Leader Dogs could not be provided without the assistance of volunteer puppy raisers.

There are nearly 400 puppy raisers in 22 states and Canada. Puppy raisers travel to Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, Michigan, to pick up and return their puppies.

Seventy percent of puppy raisers raise more than one puppy in their lifetime.
Puppy raisers receive their puppies at 7 to 8 weeks of age and return them to Leader Dogs for the Blind between 12 and 15 months of age.

Puppy raisers teach puppies basic obedience, house manners and good etiquette while exposing the puppies to all types of environments, such as:

• Churches, stores, amusement parks, sporting events
• Different types of people
• Different types of floors and stairs
• Different sorts of animals, including squirrels, cats, birds, dogs and farm animals
• Loud sirens
• Busy sidewalks and bicycles.

Some puppy raisers are able to take their puppy to work with them . Puppy raisers are responsible for meeting at least monthly with their puppy counselor. Volunteer puppy counselors are regionally placed. Counselors organize obedience lessons and exposure opportunities for the puppies.

Puppies who see and experience a large variety of environments during the first year of their lives will be more confident when exposed to future experiences .
Raisers provide health care, food and necessary supplies for the puppies.

Raisers have the privilege of naming the puppies.

Puppy raisers follow very specific guidelines, such as:

• When puppies are in public wearing their “Future Leader Dog” bandannas or jackets, they are expected to be clean and well mannered.
• Puppies will be taught to stay off furniture .
• Puppies are expected to lay quietly at meal time and not beg.

Each month, approximately 30, 1-year-old puppies are returned to Leader Dogs for the Blind to begin formal training .

My friend, Kristi, has raised 9 puppies to date. They have all been Yellow Labs up to this point.

Moses, the love of our lives, was her first. He went everywhere with her, restaurants, church, the grocery store. No place is off limits to Future Leader Dogs. Anywhere a blind person would be welcome, these puppies are welcome.

After a year with Kristi, Moses was returned to start training, and Kristi took another puppy home. Not long after, she got a call. One hip was not perfect, and did she want him back? That was easy! So I picked him up part way home, and drove him the rest of the way to her house. Two of my boys rode along, and fell in love. How could you not? But Kristi had plans for him. We bid a tearful goodbye, and I whispered "If your plans fall through, call us." And that's what happened.

Kristi is devoted to raising these wonderful dogs, and giving them a terrific head start for the life they are going to lead. This German Shepherd/Lab mix will be her tenth! Moses was a "Career Change", one is undergoing training now, and 7 have been placed as Leader Dogs.

Which brings us to the puppy at hand.

Your task, privilege, is to come up with a name for this puppy. She will be picked up in Rochester, Michigan on October 3. The name will be decided before then, so that it can be put on the formal documents. (Once she has the puppy home, I'll be able to publish a photo of the actual puppy you have named. The one that has appeared so far is a photo furnished by Leader Dog of a former Shepherd pup).

Tomorrow, check back for names Kristi used for previous puppies. And I'll have info on the prize for this new Great Poprs Giveaway, too!

This Little Girl Has a Very Big Future

She is going to be a Leader Dog!

And you can help name her!

Details of this new Great Poprs Giveway coming soon, so check back with us every day.

Crabby at the Beach

This little guy is a ghost crab. He blends in really well with the sand. It's fun to go out on a the beach at night with flashlights and look for these guys. They scuttle into their holes when they see you coming. And THESE guys...

are what we had for dinner. DELICIOUS! Enjoy your week. I'll take care of things at the beach! By the way, the reading is going great. Thanks for all the suggestions you gave me in my Great Everybody Wins Poprs Giveaway!

I'd already read My Sister's Keeper, thank you very much. And I loved it, too. Didn't see the ending coming, either. I have another Jody Piccoult book, but forgot it at home.

More about books later. And hey, all you winners, remember to let us know how the Poprs went over! Enjoy!

Pop'rs Grab-Bag

!*Pop'rs Giveaway Alert*!

A little bird told moi that you should start looking for a Great New Pop'rs Giveaway sometime around Saturday, the 25th. It's Getting to Look a lot Like Halloween around here, so Uncle Lynn and I thought a Ghosts and Goblins theme would be divine! Make sure to tune in Saturday, and join in the fun!

Record Numbers Enter for Pop'rs!

Amanda recently had a Pop'rs Giveaway herself. And Guess What? She had a record 113 entries! Yes, yes, I know...some of you have 800 Gazillion Million Trillion entries in your contests...More than the National Debt and the Deficit combined! But we're talking Uncle Lynn's tiny little family-owned company here. We're super-excited, and can't wait to congratulate the winner!

Well, Kiss My Grits!

Lula, the Commander-in-Chief of Lulaville, is a previous Pop'rs Giveaway Winner. She left me the cutest little ol' comment yesterday. "Thought of you today...put butter-flavored Pop'rs in my grits. YUMMY!" See, It Takes a Village to market Pop'rs. We up here in Northeastern Wisconsin need to pay more attention to our clientele South of the Mason-Dixon Line!

Thanks for the Compliments!

Cute Karla, The Lovely Mannequin and I must have a Mutual Admiration Society goin' on here in Cyberland. We've been Trading Sugar, as My Nana used to say, for a good long while now. Karla (known to you Super-Bloggers as "Z's Mom") and Mannequin, however, put the Icing on the Cake with these Quite Comfortable Comments, which I had no trouble at all trying on for size: "You never seem to be at a loss for something to say," gushes Karla. "And I love hearing about the POP'rs Family!" "There is NO ONE quite like you!" Mannequin pronounces. "You come up with the most creative topics!" Both these Great Gals are Previous Pop'rs Giveaway Winners, but I didn't pay 'em to say this...I promise!

Wrap-up Wednesday

Help Save Ratchet!

I first heard about the Campaign to Save Ratchet from Z's Mom. Sgt. Gwen Beberg befriended puppy Ratchet while serving in Iraq, and sent regular dispatches to her home in Minneapolis charting the dog's process, with hundreds of fans tuning in on Facebook to follow the pup's life. But the US Army takes a strict line on soldiers befriending animals, and confiscated Ratchet just as Sgt. Beberg was getting ready to fly home last weekend. To keep Ratchet with his new "Mommy" and allow him to live (the military usually executes pets found under these circumstances), please Sign the Petition to Save Ratchet. Also, please consider donating to Operation Baghdad Pups, which tries to rescue animals such as Ratchet.

Amanda's Hosting a Pop'rs Giveaway!

Today's the last day for Amanda's Pop'rs Giveaway! One winner will win a Box of Pop'rs, containing eight delicious flavors of this oh-so-good-for-you-seasoning! Try Buffalo on chicken!Chocolate in milk! Raspberry on cereal! Butter on potatoes! Strawberry on ice cream! Taco on cut corn!Color Burst in yogurt! Cinnamon on applesauce! Pop'rs are the Healthy Way to encourage you and yours to Eat Your Veggies!The Secret IS in the Sauce!

Thanks so much to Heather and Tiffany, who are the Head Honchos over at The Secret is in the Sauce. SITS hosted a day-long Blogathon yesterday, with lots and lots of Awesome Prizes. No word yet on whether Veggie Mom's a Winner, but let the chips fall as they may--we still had loads and loads of fun! Thanks, thanks and More Thanks to those of you who stopped by yesterday to Share the Comment Love!

Lizzy for President!

Remember, everyone--Hot Tub Lizzy is Running for President! Support The Plaid Party and check out Lizzy's Latest Interview today with Melissa B., The Scholastic Scribe. Talk about a Hoot-and-a-Half!

101st Post: An Explosion of Questions & Answers!

Today, we'll wrap up our Sweet Centennial Celebration: Day 2.

We have a few more questions from Faithful Readers, who are also in line for Our Great New Pop'rs Giveaway. Remember, Uncle Lynn starts handing out Pop'rs prizes tomorrow. We'll have a finalist every day until Saturday, when we'll announce our Grand. Prize. Winner! Uncle Lynn is fielding these questions, unless otherwise noted. Here We Go!

1. Tracey P. is a Minnesota Vikings Fan. They like to taunt their Green Bay Packers Bretheren, across the Mighty Mississippi: I would like to know who is Uncle Lynn's favorite player on the Minnesota Vikings! :-) Anyone who gets beat for a Packer’s touchdown!
2. And also for Uncle Lynn, from Tracey P.: When is he planning to come out with a matched set of purple and gold pop'rs (I'm thinkin' butter and cheese flavors) for us to put on our popcorn while we watch football? 'Cuz that would totally rock! Think green and gold!
3. Tiffiney wants to know: What is the best flavor of Pop'rs you have tasted? :) Love them all!
4. Gombojav Tribe is kinda silly, but has a point: Can Pop'rs make brussel sprouts taste like truffles? :-) Hmmm–chocolate truffles? Maybe not, but only Pop’rs can make brussel sprouts SING!
5. The Tribe has another question, too: How long have you been using Pop'rs? Pop’rs are brand new!
6. And The Tribe weighs in with one more: What's your comfort food--the one you will eat without any Pop'rs needed? Carrot Cake!
7. Tiff, she of no Linky Love, has a question, nonetheless: OK, I'd like to know which Pop'rs flavor makes the best tasting drink! Now, that is a neat idea for us to work on. Should we make one to change water?
8. And, here comes Tiff again: Can you tell us some fun Pop'rs cocktail recipes? Meaning, which two or more Pop'rs can you mix together to make an awesome flavor? That is a tough one–I am not sure any of them improve by mixing together. But, thinking about it, I think we may introduce a “plain” Pop’rs so that you guys can have some fun trying out different things to mix in and shake on–you would have to share your ideas with us, though.
9. Simply Anonymom, who's also celebrating her 100th Post, asks: What was your inspiration for Pop'rs? Kids!
10. She's not trying to be very anonymous in her questioning, is she? Can I use them on my popcorn? Yes, I especially like the Butter Pop’rs! Popping popcorn!
11. Anonymom has another: Can I put the Pop'rs on my vegetable soup and will it still work? Very cool. The hotter the soup, the quicker the noise will be gone, though. We do this all the time. We are playing around with a formula which will last longer in hot foods, and will keep you posted!
12. And, one more from Anonymom: Can I use Pop’rs in place of salt? Pop'rs are a good-for-you seasonings, but they don't taste "salty." They'd be a good option to "wean" you off of salt, though!
13. Tiffiney was all about Marla's Poppin' Video! Very cute video! How often do you use Pop'rs? Every day!
14. Z's Mom, a previous Giveaway Winner, has another question: Hey, any plans for vanilla or banana-flavored Pop'rs???? Yummy!!!! We do now! How about this one: We just started adding Pop’rs to Chocolate and making popping chocolate candy bars!
15. Vicki, our Bloggy Friend who also happens to be the proprietress over at Best Posts of the Week, asks a poignant one of Veggie Mom: How are you enjoying your empty nest? I think I've mentioned before, I can't wait until I'm at that stage :) It’s pretty lonely around here. And awfully quiet. But Moker and I talk more, and get to watch the TV in the family room, so we can get used to it!
16. Tabitha Blue sounds like a gal who doesn't necessarily stick to the everyday life: What are some of the more “exotic” (not everyday) veggies you've served to your family that they like and that aren't too hard to prepare? Veggie’s kids love artichokes and acorn squash!
17. Angela has a great question: What is your favorite recipe of those you have posted to use Pop'rs for? Veggie thinks Taco and/or Buffalo-flavored Pop'rs would taste good in Oven Stew.
18. Melissa B. has a thought: Do you recommend eating Pop'rs straight from the container like that, or are they better on food? Oh, it's FUN to fool around with the Popping Part of Pop'rs, but we prefer them on food! BTW, Lula, one of our Giveaway Winners, recommends the Buffalo flavor on baked potatoes!
19. Marrdy wants to know: At what age did you become a Packers fan? We are all born that way!
20. Nissa asks a question that actually comes up quite a bit in our family: Do you prefer your drinks with or without ice? :) Veggie Mom is an ice-lovin’ gal! But no ice-crunchin’ around Aunt Julie!
21. Channah, every the curious sort, throws this out: Has there ever been a Pop’rs flavor that didn't make the cut/make it past the family taste testers? Well, this wasn’t Pop’rs, but we made a carbonated hard candy once in BACON flavor that was particularily nasty! The jalepeno was pretty bad, too!
22. Nik asks: Was there a different name that was considered that almost beat out Pop’rs? Sparkling Spice–we still use that to talk about the product, but just decided Pop’rs was best. It has more POP! to it, don'tcha think?
23. KKJD1 must really like spicy food! What do you think the Buffalo Popr's would taste like on hot wings? Awesome!
24. Always thinking of family dinner plans, KKJD1 also wants to know: Do you have a certain flavor for chicken or other meats? Taco and Buffalo are great on chicken and also on tacos, sausage pizza, and burgers!
25. Kally comes back with a thoughtful question: Buffalo...hmmm very interesting. Wondering what this tastes like? Just like the seasoning on Buffalo Hot Wings--nice and spicy!
26. Sarah, a curious reader who didn't Share the Linky Love (at least with us, anyway, has the first in a series of questions: Are there any health benefits to using Pop'rs? Every Pop’rs seasoning contains kid-targeted vitamins as developed for us by our friends at Fortitech –check them out, they are outstanding at this stuff! Also, the whole idea of Pop’rs is to make Pop Rocks relevant–soooooooo...Pop’rs are designed to bring the same popping excitement, but applied to GOOD foods to make the GOOD foods more fun and interesting to your kids.
27. Sarah has another one for Uncle Lynn: How did you come up with such a fun name--"Pop'rs"? Thank you very much for the compliment–I wanted to have something that had the word POP in it, be simple to say, simple to make into a logo for our products, and maybe shirts and hats, but still be totally unique so we could begin to build a following; we think we got it right!
28. Sarah also wants to know: Are you going to come out with a Pop'rs recipe book anytime soon? It'll be fun for both adults and kids! Wow–We will need some help with that one, since the best laboratories and kitchens are the ones that belong to our customers.
29. Always thinking about Eating Healthy, Sarah asks: Are your Pop'rs flavors vegetarian/vegan friendly? Of course–just don’t shake them on the wrong stuff!
30. Sarah's also up for the challenge: Please tell us how you went about creating these flavors. Was it a challenging process? We work with some really good companies to help us with our ideas, like Fortitech for the vitamins, and a really cool company named Van Druenen Farms for the real fruit flavors. We, our kids and their friends, come up with ideas, then we get samples of the flavors and materials we need and Aunt Julie, our lab “cook” Lori, and Uncle Lynn (me) all play around until we think we have it right–then we let Soccer Boy share it with his friends to see what they think. For instance, the boy shaking Pop’rs on the Broccoli in our Giveaway photo at the top of the blog is Soccer Boy's friend, Eric.
31. Here's Sarah with another quick question: How did you first react when you were featured in Rachael Ray's magazine? Scared, then excited, then scared–it is a big responsibility when someone like Rachael notices you!
32. OK, Sarah, give us another one: How would you describe Wisconsin in one word to someone who has never been there? Friendly!
33. And one more question from Sarah: What are Veggie Mom's, Aunt Julie's and Uncle Lynn's favorite Pop'rs flavors? Veggie Mom’s faves are Taco (natch; she’s a Native Texan!) and Colorburst, 'cause it tastes so good and is so pretty! Julie also loves swirling color changing in yogurt, & Lynn. of course. luvs them all!
34. Simply Anonymom has a couple more questions: Did you like vegetables before Pop'rs? Some of us did; others, well, now you know part of why we invented Pop’rs!
35. Simply Anonymom also wants to know: What is the best combination of Pop'rs and vegetables? The very first one we ever did was Butter Pop’rs on a nice warm bowl of cut corn–nice.
36. And the Lovely Mannequin, a previous Giveaway Winner as well, asks our final 100th Post Centennial Celebration Question: Any plans of adding even MORE great flavors? Maybe a holiday edition? Yummy. YES! Watch our site, and we will of course let Veggie Mom know, so she can spread the word when we are ready–we won’t have this one in time for this year, but I promise next year we will have a Pumpkin Pop’rs! Shaken on vanilla ice cream–there goes my diet again!

That's all, Folks! We did get a few Giveaway Questions after the deadline had passed. We're sorry, but rules are rules, and we have to stick to 'em, or we would incite a Bloggy Riot! Tune in tomorrow, for the first Giveaway Prizes of the Week. Remember, we'll be awarding Popr's Prizes all week, culminating in our Grand Prize Winner Giveaway on Saturday! Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my Sweet Centennial, and Good Luck!