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A huge shout-out to all our service men and women who put their lives on the line for us so we can have our backyard BBQ, fireworks, parades, and daily celebrations.

I have a confession to tell you:

I never really “got” it until recently. I never really understood our Veterans and what they’ve given and done and sacrificed to our country. Isn’t that kind of sad? But I wasn’t raised in a military family. I had a few acquaintances who had ties to the military, my uncle sends regular care packages to troops overseas, a former roommates’ grandma makes blankets, a friend’s daughter graduated from the Air Force Academy.

But me, I never really GOT it.

Until last August when I started dating a wonderful man who had spent seven years in the Air Force. Yep, he was an officer. No, he wasn’t a pilot. He did two tours of duty, ON THE GROUND, in Afghanistan. Through his stories, I think I finally started to understand what these men and women do for us, for the country. He’s told me stories that made me laugh, he’s told stories that made me cry. And he’s told me some stories that left me shaking — stories that ended well but could have ended so badly; stories that meant that he may never have lived to even meet me, let alone help an average American woman understand what this day really means.

Now, when I thank a Veteran for his or her service, I feel I can look into their eyes and say, “I have no clue how you do it. I know the barest bit of what you give for me, and I am eternally grateful.”

So, happy Independence Day. Eat a hot dog, watch some fireworks, thank a Veteran. I appreciate you.

This post started out as a way to offer a 4th of July discount on my Publish Your eBook Blueprint: Home Study Course that I’ve created to help you publish your eBooks for Kindle and Nook. But as I sat down to write, I realized that it needed to be oh so much more. So I’ll make a deal with you: Here’s your coupon:

4TH

It’s good for 20% off through the weekend. But if you choose NOT to use it, I’ll donate that same 20% to Wounded Warriors.

Barely.

 

Chino High grad is now author

By Matt Santos. Published 12/19/12 in the Chino Valley Review.

From spooky campfire stories to cookbooks and travel guides, local author Kimberly Eldredge does it all.

The 1999 Chino Valley High school graduate spent this past Saturday at Kathi’s Books in Chino Valley, signing copies of her paperbacks “Scary & Silly Campfire Stories,” a three-part series based on part fiction and real life adventures.

“Not everybody is interested in the traditional scary campfire stories, so my books are about half scary and half silly,” said Eldredge. “The scary ones have that urban legend feel to them, but some of the silly ones are definitely based on real experiences that I’ve had.”

Eldredge has been writing for as long as she can remember, but really got serious about telling stories when she realized she could make a career out of it.

“I’ve been writing all of my life, but then I realized you could get a degree in writing and how cool is that,” said the University of Arizona graduate.

In addition to her trilogy in paperback, she currently has eight e-books available on Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, through her web site TheOutdoorPrincess.com and through Amazon.

Her e-book titles include “Easy Camping Recipes From The Outdoor Princess,” “33 Great Camping Recipes,” “Must Know Trout Fishing Tricks, Tips, & Techniques,” and her most recent work published this past week, the sixth edition of “The Flagstaff Snow Guide,” a guide to all things outdoors in the Flagstaff area.

Eldredge recommends her campfire stories series to readers of all ages, but says she gears the writing style to fourth- and fifth-graders. Her advice to young writers?

“Don’t be afraid of it. You can do this,” said Eldredge. “Two, get a good editor, start with your local grammar Nazi or your English teacher. Three, your title and cover are key. You have to have a good title and cover or you won’t sell.”

Eldredge also teaches online e-book publishing classes to help new writers. Information on her classes is available at OnTheBeachPublishing.com/KillerTitles.

Kathi’s Books, located at 318 W Perkinsville Rd., Suite 10, hosts similar book signings and also a readers’ tea party every Tuesday afternoon.

Information on all of Kathi’s Books events is available by calling 928-636-2450 or online at kathisbooks.com or on Facebook.

 

Happy Labor Day, America!

I had planned on having a “Ringing In Statehood” geocaching flashmob event, but tax season just beat me up.

 

I just wanted to announce that EatStayPlay.com has a new shop! This is where you’ll be able to find all the cool eGuides that I write.

 

This is just a soft opening (since I can’t 100% guarantee that it will WORK). But I didn’t want to wait to have my readers check it out:

 

EatStayPlay.com/Shop

 

 

Right now, I have three eGuide titles available for download but more will be coming soon. At the moment, I am only accepting PayPal but I might look into other payment methods as well.

 

To celebrate the THREE WEEKS that it took to get the programming behind the shopping cart up and working, I’m offering a discount coupon of $2 off. (You can use it an unlimited number of times.)

 

The coupon is

 

TESTING

 

So go check it out! And PLEASE let me know if something is broken, not what you expected, doesn’t work, etc. The coupon will work until 5/31/11.

 

Future updates will include more eGuides, free downloads, and maybe even REAL products. (Of course, I’d have to figure out SHIPPPING… Oh well, maybe I’ll just do the free-shipping digital downloads for now!)

I am pleased to announce that my father, ESP_Boss, has FINALLY picked a name for his new puppy. And, without the excellent contest from last week, the poor pooch would STILL be nameless!

The winner of the Name That Pup Contest is:

Drum roll please

Jon B. for submitting the name ‘Sir Charles’

And, because that’s only the name for when he’s being good and wise, I’d also like to extend congratulations to

John K. for submitting the name ‘Chuck’.

Both Jon and John will get the value tee shirt of their choice from the EatStayPlay CafePress.com shop.

Thank you so much to all the wonderful people who helped ESP_Boss name the puppy. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Since I can’t send EVERYBODY a tee shirt, as much as I’d like to, what I can do is offer you a very special deal on outdoor cooking eGuides. What I’ve done is put BOTH the “Camp Cooking from the Pitch Your Tent/Set Your Hook Newsletter” eGuide and the “Set Your Hook – How to Catch Trout” eGuide into ONE download. I typically sell each of these eGuides individually for $5.95 but I’m offering you the COMBO for just $4.25.

In this combo eGuide, you’ll get over 80 pages filled with great outdoor cooking recipes PLUS all my tips, tricks, and hints for catching the wily trout.

And Chuck’s two siblings that also went to homes in the EatStayPlay.com family? Jacque named her puppy ‘Gracie’ and Isabel named her pup ‘Boogie’.

Now, we’ve tried, and rejected several names. In fact, if you scroll down, you’ll see that the puppy’s name WAS “Baron”. But, from last night (3/29/10) to this morning (3/30/10), ESP_Boss has rejected “Baron” too.

So, here’s where YOU come in. We’ll be running a contest to all newsletter subscribers called “Name That Pup!” I’ll post all names on my blog and the name that ESP_Boss likes the best will get a free value tee-shirt (your choice of design) from my shop at http://www.CafePress.com/EatStayPlay

Contest will run through 2:00 pm (Arizona time) on Thursday April 1, 2010. Just email me your puppy name! (Or post a comment on either this post or the original!)

If you want to know a bit more: the puppy is just 9 weeks old and a little boy. He’s half Lab and half Australian Sheppard. ESP_Boss wants him to be a dog that loves outdoor adventures: camping, geocaching, hiking, etc.

And, in other news:
Today, my two helpers, Jacque & Isabel each got a puppy from the same litter as well. Jacque has a girl and Isabel a boy. I promised I’d share names with them as well, just in case!

Thanks for your help!

*********************************

A few names we’ve received so far:

(Um, I still have 60 emails to go through and it is 10:45 pm. So look for more names tomorrow!)

*Note from Kim: I tried to keep the names together as they were submitted. And, if people told me the meaning or reason, I included THAT as well.

this may seem a bit obvious, but how about Cache? Or any other spelling.  But if  ESP_Boss enjoys geocaching as much as I do, it sounds like a lock.

What else would you name a Geocaching pup……..Cacher…;-p

“ASHER”. THE NAME ASHER MEANS HAPPY OR BLESSING AND HE JUST LOOKED VERY HAPPY TO ME.

The first name to come to mind is “Geo.”

Lucky  Is a awesome name.

Mittens

Butch

Camo

Cache

Tracker

I really think a better name would be Duke or The Duke as in John Wayne

I would name him Agiro.

I think his name should be Zeek!

Jackson, Mika, or my personal favorite Huckleberry (after my last fish Huckleberry Finn who lived for three long years)

I’ve always thought the name “Royal” would be a cool name.

I think you should name him “Ozzie.”  It sounds like an Australian shepherd!

Gizmo

I could not think of just one, so here goes: Buster, Tucker, Sarg, Rascal, Bandit, Winston, Bentley, Max, Riley, Jake, Murphy, Hunter or M.D.I.

How about Roscoe! Love that name!

Magellan

Garmin

Columbus

Trex

I think you should name the puppy  1. Diablo    2. Churchill   3. Danali

It appears the “ie” names (the most statistically common names for pets) are not so popular with the ESP Boss.  So, in my humble opinion, which is worth absolutely nuttin, “Hunter” would be an excellent name for a manly pup with a career of caching ahead of him.

GEO

Mr. Bill
Jeremy
Signal (I am sure I am not the first to try this one!)
Kittycat
Bob (You can’t go wrong with a classic!)
Ammocan
FTF!
Foundit!

Call him “cacher”.

Thor – the DOG of thunder

We think his name should be Shadow, since he will most likely be shadowing your father where ever he goes.

Name it Hazzard!

My choice for the pups name is “Pariah”

Ok, due to the white at the end of his paws, I say either Mittens or Socks for names!  After reading the blog, I’d say Wizzer!

I think that Kohl (pronounced coal) as in the color of eyeliner, would be a good name for him.

I have always liked the name “Scratch”

Espy!

Thanks a bunch Kim. you have started something in our house– a real contest to name your dads dog. We do rescue and always name our special friends, so my children are very interested in helping you. It is kinda funny to get this email now, seeing that we have just picked up 2 10 day old boxer/mastiff– and they still have no names. But here is our guess for your pup…
My pick:: Putter, Bentley, Scout, Sprocket, Amos, Preston
Tamarah’s pick: Stripe, Mojo, Dash, Rusty, Pepper, Rico,
Jaiden’s pick: Nick, Sun, Shadow, Rainbow, Lucky, Charley
My favorite is below!
BODHI: Bodhi is both the Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English as “enlightenment.” The word “buddha” means “one who has achieved bodhi.” Bodhi is also frequently (and more accurately) translated as “awakening.”
Although its most common usage by far is in the context of Buddhism, bodhi is also a technical term with various usages in other Indian philosophies and traditions.

My name for the pup would be Winchester.

I think that the puppy’s name should be Cookie. He looks like an Oreo 🙂

I have always wanted a dog and I’ve always loved the name Woden  (with a long “O”).

A good name for the pup is Scout Works for male or Female

Our best outdoor GEO dog was Oscar. He passed a few mounths ago at the age of 15 after A good action packed life. My five year old son Ace thinks he looks like another OSCAR, Then he said “or just name him ACE”. Hope we were helpful.

Ranger

An good and easy name to come up with, “Duke”. John Wayne is a hero of mine and he enjoyed the outdoors, he would have been a great geocacher.

I would like to suggest a few puppy names!  I think the name Angus  would be a good fit…it means outstanding and exceptional man!  Otherwise, I think Hunter  or Shadow would also be good fits, due to the nature of geocaching, being outdoors, and being one’s ‘partner in crime’!

Our dogs are named Bingo & Clover not Baron

“TOKEN”

ESP_Boss wants a Buddy…how about “Buddy”

I think either dingo or walkabout  my work for him

Bingo!

What a handsome young pup!! It sounds to me that he is going to be a “SCOUT”

Oreo would be a good name for that pup. He is a cutie!

Snarfy is a great name for a young pup that loves the outdoors and going after FTF’s.

My choice is “Duke”

Does your pup like to swim? Whether you are Kayaking, camping, geocaching, RV’ing, or any other outdoor activity, we all know that you are up a creak without a PADDLE! So I think you need to have a PADDLE with you. Paddle the pup, can help you when on the lake, in a stream, or just navigating the current of Geocaches that you are looking for.
Or Charles sounds like a kingly name.
What about Sir Charles?
OR just go with “campy”, you wouldn’t leave campy behind would you?
(make sure you try these names on the pup prior to feeding, or going on a walk, that way you will notice the ears perk up better J)

geoboss

Ed suggested: Bruno, D.O.G. (you have to say it fast to sound like Deoggie)
Charlie suggested: Cowboy, Soldier, Lightning, Midnight, Oreo
More from me: Ebony, Deuce, Dakota

Formal name should definitely be Sir Tuxedoed Cachepup    AKA – Tux

I did a little research trying to come up with a name for the pup.  I looked for names of Gods, specifically Gods of  the Hunt, since geocaching involves hunting for “treasure”.  Funny thing, as I was checking out the Google suggestions up popped a link for Cafe Press with a t-shirt for Odin, the chief God in Norse mythology. There is even a shirt for the dog.   Labs are used in hunting and are athletic and love the outdoors.  Australian Shepherds are great as Search and Rescue dogs, detection dogs, guide dogs, disaster dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs and wonderful family and companion dogs.
So I say what better name than Odin for your new pup? Maybe Odie for short…..or maybe not.

Thor-the norse god of sky and thunder

Freyr (pronounced Friar)–the norse god of success

Keeping with the Geocaching theme I liked two names. My favorite is Tracker. My second would be just plain GEO.

I will go with “Shep” I hope ESP_Boss likes it.

BOOTZ   A good name because of his 4 white “BOOTZ” on his feet.

Domino
Dingo
Sombra (Spanish for shadow)
Boots (for the white paws and the hiking boots an outdoor dog might wear)

duke
marlin
remington (remi)
colt
ruger
stoli
cooper
blue
bear
bently.
These were all names of dogs i had or my family has had over the years.

I think he looks like a good camping and hiking companion.  I would call him “Bruiser”

I submit the name Cache. A good name for an outdoor dog as supply caches are something you can find in the wild esp. on long hikes.  I figure you’ll be getting Cache has own pack to carry his food in.  And it fits with geocaching.  I agree Baron is awful for your cutie.

If your dog will be an outdoor dog, it should have an Indian Name.
The Choctaw Indian name for dog is “OFFIE”  it is pronounced Long O than Fee   like saying the letter O than saying Fee.
because he is a dog of importance the 2nd name of CHUKOMA should be added (pronounced as Choo K Ma)  the Indian name Chukoma means “One of Importance”.
So you could name him    “Offie Chukoma”  meaning “Dog of Importance”.
When you call him you could shorten it to “OAF” because as we all know most dogs turn out to be just big loveable oafs.   So the name I am entering is the Choctaw Indian name Offie Chukoma.

I like the names Cole, Shadow, or Oakley.

Re:  Target,  Bullseye,  Hunter,  Shotgun,  Pierce,  Caliber, Special,  Walleye,  Stealth,  Johnson,  Mercury,  Blanco,  Cochise,  Tonto,  Arrow.

He would be a great Getty!!! what a sweet pup!

Well personally I think the little puppy looks like a Sebastian or a Shakespeare.  Just a thought!

Now, I looked at that sweet fellow – (and  I used to show dogs) – and the name Mastah came to mind.  He looks like he is going to master anything he tried and become the master of his Universe.  A cute fellow and I hope you enjoy him.  Course we Maine folks would have a bit of a twange to that name.

“Stewie”

This might not be very macho, but I like “Socks” for his name. When you look at those cute little paws, that’s what you think of!  I suppose if you want to get boy-ish and outdoorsy with his name, you could instead name him “Hiking Boots” and call him “Bootsie” for short.  Or, how about “Rocky”?  That’s outdoorsy and goes with the geography of our area.

Diohgi (D O G)

Sage
Hawk
Forrest (or Nahele in Hawaiian
Kekoa – Hawaiian – the brave one

Dusty

I think a good name would be ESPIE pronounced (s-pee)  And my 6 year old son Tyler says to call him GEO.

First thing I think of for a name if the pup is supper friendly, loyal, and not a tripping hazzard is “Spot”.

That one is almost a carbon copy of one I had that I named Kapu, which is Hawaiian for “Keep Out”. I had just returned for school in Hawaii, and that word was what we repeatedly had to tell the puppy to train her to what was off limits.  Several years later, after she was gone, a carbon copy was dropped off, (abandoned at the local library), so we addipted her too. Since she was the second one we named her Kapu-Pu. She had a hard time getting house trained, so I guess the poo-poo part fit her too.

My wife said Napper but I like AUSSIE so we will try both I hope he gets a name soon .

To me he looks like a “Buddy”

That puppy looks like “Onyx” to me.

********************************

A few more names from 3/31/10 at 3:30 pm

Garmin

Kohl, Forrest, Jasper, Lief, Malachai, and Digger are some boy names I like.  Also Kuro means black in Japanese.  Ashwin means “a star” in hindu.

My girlfriend and I have come up with Scooter or Felix.

Ricochet is a fitting name for your puppy, because the little fellow no doubt bounces off the walls, when going after a ball, or bone.

He looks to be very intelligent…a prerequisite for having so many hobbies…I would name him “Webster”

Or now my wife thinks that whenever you are out in the woods, you would need a COMPASS to keep from getting lost. I think everyone would love to have a COMPASS along to keep them company. Compass the companion that always knows where it going. (or at least thinks he does!)

Cricket

Levi – I just like it.
Angus – my parents dogs name
Argus, defined as- “A fabulous being of antiquity, said to have had a hundred eyes, who has placed by Juno to guard Io.”

and finally, our dogs name
Loki – The Norwegian god of mischief.

Pfleuger

I think he should name him Tupper! You know like tupperware since geocachers find a lot of tupperware lol

Mortimer aka Morty
Bubba
Herb
B.F. (Pronounced Biff)(Big Foot)(or just Biff)  lol
Lazerous aka Lazy

Puppy name I would choose Chance

Avalon (meaning free spirit, to love to roam)

Name the puppy Boss.  He will be the Boss of your dad anyway.

have a black lab puppy about 4 months, name is buck. your more than welcome to use it.

Well I don’t have a dog yet but I have 2 names I picked out for when I do and you can try both if you want.   First Gibbs (I just like the name) and second Cache (Because I’m always looking for him LOL) But when I do get a dog I will name him one of those 2 names.

I think Mac-  a good rugged name for an outdoorsy pup!

That guy right there looks like a “Chuck” to me.

Cute pup! He looks like an Oreo to me! 🙂

I think you should name him Chowder 🙂

Name for Puppy (he’s cute btw)…. I have 2. Spectre or Sherlock

Boomer or Boomerang

Cache (or cash)

Minion (since this is the Boss’s pup)

Riley (just a cool name)

Shep (cause he’s an Austrailian Shepard)

Chaucer (Canterbury Tales author)

Drake (Sir Frances Drake, the famous explorer)

Magellan
Cabot (Second famous to Columbus in discovering America)

Oregon!

Name suggestion:  Chili. That’s what we named our dog, so now she’s our little Chili-dog.

Hi Kim, name for the new puppy: Moose

How about “Toe White”

I think a good name for your little guy would be “Rocky.”

How about ‘Magellan’!!!!
alternately..’Walker’ or ‘Strider’

Duke or nano or astro

Hi Kim,

He’s so adorable!  How about “Denali”?  Can’t pick much of a better name for a great outdoor pup!

Can only give you my doggies’ names:  Bosco, Knucklehead, Doobie, Rocky, Blackie and Sweetness (for Walter Payton)

ESP     I’m sure someone else has thought of this name, but in case they have
not, I think it would be appropriate.

Puppy Name: Zorro

1.  Cache
2.  Muggles
3.  Geo

So I asked my 4year old daughter what she thought his name was since she loves to give little nicknames to pets and she told me Duke…so my entry is Duke

This may sound like a foolish name but how about “CACHE”.    My pup is named “cash”, and when we go caching he becomes the “cashenator”

Titus!

Can I guess more than one!? Because if so, I say either: Ranger, Dallas, or Jake.

Why not name him Royal since hes the newest member of the “royal” family and he’s a male as well.

You should name him Cache !

Easton

how about naming him “Compass” ?- what a cutie!!!

My 9 yr old son, Ben, thinks his name should be “White Paws”

He looks like an Oreo to me…

I have two puppy names that I thought would be fitting! Either DASH or RADAR. Each would fit the mold of a wonderful, outdoorsy puppy! Personally, though, this little guy looks like a DASH to me!

Name your dog… GARMIN!  Here Garmin.  Sit Garmin.  Stay Garmin.   See, it has a natural sound to it and I bet ‘boss’ will love it.

I GOT IT, Boss wants the puppy to like outdoor stuff and geocaching.  Well hehe, because of the breed he is especially the Aussie Shep.  He will LOOOOVE being outdoors, they are HIGH energy dogs.  But the name is choose is perfect, and simple.
We all love geocaching, and so will he…. we should call him
SWAGGER!!  I think its perfect

Jimbo

He looks like a Rocky to me!  🙂

Ringo
Samson
Harley

How about Tippy for a your dogs name!

I would like to suggest the name “Timberline” or “Timber” for short.

I’ll toss “Ammocan” into the mix of dog names.

After a long conversation with my pups (Audrey & Sadie attached pictures) we agreed he should be named Bossco. That pup looks like a Bossco Big Paw.

How about “Kodiak”?

Paige thinks that he looks like an Oreo.

Hunter or Jack for the adorable puppy’s name!

I would name him Willie Nelson

My daughters who are 3 and 6 both chimed in (because they want a puppy) that they would name him “Scout”.

Pavarotti

I like “TIPPIE”

More Names

**************************************

(Some of these were too late for the contest, but I’m posting EVERYTHING I get anyway!)

Not sure if we can enter twice, but i also thought how about” TB” also give him a doggy tracking # or another name would be “Miles” since he may be putting on some miles and also give him a dogtag with tracking #

More names – Brendel, Ralston, Click (for you photo shot buffs)

I would like to submit the name for the pup : RINGO

How about “Ace”?

He looks like a “Rundall”  or “Butch”.   I like Rundall since he will be running around a lot when going camping/caching, etc.

Our family likes the name  “Foster” or “Fozzy” for a nickname.

I suggest Moses. Mose for short. After all Moses LOVED the outdoors (he spent 40 YEARS there!); he COULD have used a GPS to find his way out of the wilderness AND he came to his adopted family by “SURPRISE!” He also mosyed around and had his family follow him even when he didn’t know WHERE he was going!

__

I think a pup named Suh would be perfect as he would then grow up to be
a dog named Suh (pronounced Soo)

Now I will tell you I am a Nebraska fan and Defensive tackle Ndamukong
Suh (pronounced En-dom-ah-ken Soo) emerged as one of the Big 12’s most
dominant defensive forces in history and finished 4th in the Heisman
trophy as the best college football player in the country.

It also has the reference back to the Johnny Cash song as well…you
can’t go wrong with a pup named Suh!

__

Being that our ol’ boy (dog) was a 1/2 Lab-1/2 Sheppard mix, and a great outdoorsman himself, we were especially touched by your plea for help in naming your boy. Our dog recently passed, and rather than saddness, we have nothing but the best of memories with him. We hope that you have as many good years with your boy (dog) as we did with ours.

Our boy’s name was Cole because he was all black, but that name doesn’t look right for the dog you have posted a picture of. As soon as I showed my children a picture of your boy (dog) and shared with them the nature of your request, all three of my children and I concurred that we would name the dog Tracker if he were ours. Given that we took Cole on all of our hikes, camping trips, and basically any outdoor activity we enjoyed, we decided that we would have named him Tracker had we known all that we were going to do with him when we picked him up.

Cole was not a great tracker when it came to fishing, or geocaching, but he did love being with us on most of our finds. We hope, whatever you name your boy (dog), that you are fortunate enough to have as many good times with him as we did with Cole. Best of luck in finding and picking the perfect name.

—

Buzz (after Buzz Aldrin)
Clark (after Lewis and Clark)
Muggles (for geocaching-he can be your protection against them)
King Arthur

I say Bruce.

i think the name of the new pupy needs to be “Dega”.

I know I’m too late for the contest, but I like the name “Hitch” as in Hitchhiker.  You know outdoor adventures never go off without a Hitch, so you may as well plan on it.

since the dog’s trick is whizzing why not name him whiz or wizardor even geowizard

We figured it would nice to name him “Cache”.

I’m not sure if I sent my email to the correct address yesterday, so I’ll send my puppy name idea again.
Maybe a little obvious, but I think “Cache” would be a pretty cool name.  seeing how your father enjoys the activity.

rapscallion? or maybe rascal or raskolnikov?

1) Jeeps (for GPS)
2) Geody (for Jody or Geodog)
3) Navi (for Navigate)
4) GEOrge (for GEOcaching)
5) Muggles
6) Waypoint
7) Compass