❁❁❁WELCOME!❁❁❁

If you are looking for me (Vikki), stories about goats, flowers, adventures, recognizing awesomeness, you can find me here. You can subscribe to A Shiny Girl’s Blog right now (see below) or follow the link and try before you buy. You are cordially invited to check out The Goat Locker Podcast too.

More information that you may or may not be interested in:

Shiny Girl - because that describes me to a T. I am easily distracted by goats, flowers, music, sunshine and cornbread. The Rusted Bucket Project began as a container garden business. It was a glorious 3 year “project” that has now metamorphosed into a home base for my blogging, sporadic podcasting, workshops and countless not to be missed events at the farm.

I have tried to have an interesting life filled with love and adventure. I’ve worked as a beautician, bartender, waitress, vet tech, stall cleaner, Burger-King drive thru professional, intelligence specialist and operations specialist in the U.S. Navy, horse handler, garden center employee and gardener, just to name a few. I’ve lived in NC, FL, MD, VA, TN, IL, NE, MN, KS, PA, and Spain.

I created an award for recognizing awesomeness - when thank you just isn’t enough - and I named it
The Golden Goat Award. There is a link to the award at the top of this page.

Taurus, Enneagram 9, rule follower, conflict avoider, funny as hell (if you ask me), nature loving, “shiny girl”.

Currently building an awesome life back home in NC.

I intend on being a person who shows up, is consistent, can always see the beauty and goodness, recognizes awesomeness and encourages others.

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The Golden Goat Award

Short version of why there is a Golden Goat Award:

I intend to have an impact by influencing my world in a positive way. Recognizing someone’s effort and encouraging that goodness is easy and the cost is about 60 seconds of transformative time. There are zillions of people who do not experience encouragement. I can encourage a few and make a difference. And it will have a beautiful, positive effect on me too.

Extended version of Golden Goat story:

In 2016 I was living in Kansas City and working at a place that didn’t bring much any satisfaction. That dissatisfaction was instrumental in the creation of the Golden Goat Award.

My husband worked with Brenda, a wonderful woman, who went out of her way on two occasions to help him out of a bind when he was traveling for work. She was gracious, generous and did it with a huge sunbeam smile. Without a doubt, she loved helping people solve problems. When Barry told me about his experience with Brenda I thought to myself, I wish we could formally recognize her to thank her in a big way. The Navy’s award ceremonies impressed the hell out of me and made me so proud to be a sailor. It’s an experience that only a small number of Americans get to be a part of and I wanted to share that with Brenda. That was the epiphany. I thought, I’m a grown ass woman and I can make that happen.
So I did.

I bought some supplies at Hobby Lobby and I built the first trophy. Then it grew. Over 50 people have been recognized.

Recognizing someone’s effort and thanking them is powerful. It’s moving.

I believe the more we recognize awesomeness, the more it grows. It doesn’t cost us anything except a little effort to recognize someone else’s effort and it can make all the difference in the world. Recognition and encouragement feel good. They are mood and confidence boosters.

The Golden Goat “system” consists of two levels. The first is covered by our square business cards. These are carried in your wallet or purse making it easy to instantly show appreciation and recognize wait staff, cashiers, hotel staff, flight attendants, etc. Oftentimes, thank-you just isn’t enough. Elevate your appreciation with a Golden Goat card.

The second level is what I call “Military-Grade” recognition. This is for a business that exemplifies exceptional service or an organization that is impacting the community or improving lives. It could be awarded to someone that volunteers their time and talents. There is a nomination process. The trophy will be presented or it can be shipped. It will include a hand written statement of recognition and two Golden Goat cards.

It’s a beautiful thing to recognize awesomeness and encourage the hell out of it.

First Golden Goat Awardee from 2016 was Brenda Doubler.

If you are interested in recognizing someone with a Golden Goat Award, contact Vikki at GoldenGoat2023@gmail.com.