BlogPaws Conference

10TH ANNIVERSARY BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE

Day #2

Another busy and fun day at the BlogPaws Conference started with breakfast hosted by ComfortZone®. Kitty Cat Chronicles‘ Kylo Ren found something on the wall more interesting than breakfast or the speaker. We’ll be telling you more about ComfortZone® in a future post.

 

ComfortZone BlogPaws 2018

 

It was a full day of learning sessions both before and after lunch. I attended a great session on how to start a podcast and one on getting and building relationships with brands.

Lunch was provided by Seresto®, and I couldn’t resist having my photo taken with the giant Seresto® dog, especially as I was wearing my The Cat on My Head t-shirt and a velvet cat hat, complete with ears.

 

Seresto BlogPaws 2018

 

The evening included a trip to the park across the street from the hotel where Kylo Ren had a photo session with none other than our resident photographer, Dad Tom. Check out KittyCatChronicles on Instagram to see the model with his sleepypod® Air.

The humongous baseball shirt gifted to me, as an Official Partner of Remember Me Thursday ® (#RememberTheRescue), by the organization reps, made a cozy nightshirt as I snuggled in bed to write this post. Kitties Blue are great fans of Remember the Rescue. This year’s Remember Me Thursday® will be September 27. Watch for more information here later in the year. Or check out our 2017 post, Remember Me Thursday 2017.

 

Remember Me Thursday BlogPaws 2018

 

Today will be our final day, with more learning sessions, another Keynote Address, the Nose-to-Nose Awards and the banquet. Lots of our friends are finalists for awards. You’ll be able to watch the awards ceremony live on the BlogPaws Facebook page beginning at 6 p.m. CDT.

Watch for my final report from BlogPaws next week. And don’t forget to check out all the tweets from BlogPaws on Twitter at #BlogPaws.

10TH ANNIVERSARY BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE

Day #1:

  • Spent time with lots of our blogging friends and met with some of the brand sponsors.
  • Enjoyed seeing lots of kitties and woofies.
  • Met some cute six-week-old kittens from Kansas City’s Wayside Waifs no-kill shelter.

 

Kitten Kelly at BlogPaws.

 

This is Kelly and Dad Tom. She’s already learned to pose for the paparazzi. Litter mates, Ken, Kevin and Karen were all there as well. Karen is the grey tabby.

 

Kittens at BlogPaws.

 

  • I made an honor flag for Lily Olivia. Last year I made one for Fiona and one for Sammy (Two Spoiled Cats). To see those flags, click here to go to our blog post, “Glimpses from Blog Paws 2017.”

 

Honor Flag for Lily Olivia created at BlogPaws.

 

  • We each received a huge bag of swag, which included this special item for our little PTU Pooper, Sawyer. If you missed that post, you can see it at “Sawyer’s Sleepy Selfie.”

 

 

  • Frontline® hosted a happy hour, opening remarks and dinner.

Learning sessions begin tomorrow and more opportunities will be available to meet with the product sponsors.

If you aren’t doing so, you can follow me on Twitter at @KittiesBlue, #BlogPaws.

Thankful Thursday

Each week we enter Brian’s Thankful Thursday blog hop. This week I am thankful for the opportunity to attend the 10th Anniversary BlogPaws Conference. To participate, just tell for what you are thankful on your blog, click on Brian’s badge and link to the hop.

 

Tomorrow I will report on day two of the conference.

 

 

LUCKIEST KITTIES EVER!

Kitties Blue

Mom and Kate, sporting their cat ears.

Cat Style Lounge 

We kitties barely finished cleaning up the house before our humans got home from the BlogPaws Conference on Sunday evening. We were happy to have them home but sorry to see our five-day nip and treat party come to an end. Well, that was the case right up until the moment the swag bags started piling up and the most magnificent cat tower we’d ever seen came through the front door.

One of the best things about the BlogPaws Conference, according to our mom, is the Cat Style Lounge. It is packed with all the newest products available for kitties. And it is all provided by one of mom’s very favorite people, Kate Benjamin, of Hauspanther. At the conclusion of the Conference Kate gives away every item in the Lounge.

Mom and Dad have brought home some cool “goodies” previously, but this year they hit the jackpot. Check us out enjoying the Sauder Natural Sphere Cat Tower featuring a banana leaf sphere perched on top of a three-legged base standing 44″ tall.

 

Kitties inspect new tower.

Cooper Murphy was the first to check out the sphere as Mau looked on from the lower platform.

Cooper Murphy shows the other kitties how to get in and out of tower.

Mau is second of the kitties to investigate the tower sphere.

Astrid finds the sphere quite comfy.

 

 

 

The sphere has both a front and a top opening and a washable cushion on the inside, making it the purrfect spot for napping. One leg is wrapped with sisal for scratching and the raised bottom platform is carpeted for lounging. If you think this looks like something you’d enjoy, you can find it at Amazon.

Kate told Mom that we’d probably need another platform to use as a step up into the sphere. But the three of us who have been checking it out have leapt right up from the floor. Easy Peasy!

We are anxious to see what else Mom and Dad brought home, but we know nothing can beat this. “Thank you, Kate, for this most amazing prize. You are the cat’s meow!”

Mom will be sharing a variety of photos from the BlogPaws Conference tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

 

CATURDAY ART FEATURING GUEST, SOPHIE

Caturday Art

I suspect I’ll pay dearly for this post when I get home. I most likely will be getting the cold shoulder and silent treatment all around. Did I hear you ask, “Why?” I’ll let you see for yourselves.

 

Sophie Hall as Caturday Art

 

Can you tell what the problem is? This cat may look a bit like Lily Olivia, but it isn’t. This is the sweet, birthday girl from yesterday, Sophie, from Kitty Cat Chronicles. She is here with Mom Emily and Dad Bobby as well as two of her brothers, Kylo Ren and Caster. Most of you know by now that my Astrid married Emily and Bobby’s Sampson at BlogPaws last year.

Sophie is so beautiful and charming, loves everyone and has no idea she has CH (Cerebellar Hypoplasia). I have delighted in watching Dad Bobby as well as Dad Tom walking her around on her leash. She exudes exuberance and unabashed joy. I cannot help but smile when I see her.

I created today’s art selection using PicMonkey. This is not my original version, which I unfortunately lost in a computer hiccup. When I tried to recreate it, I couldn’t remember in which order I’d used the various effects and filters. Consequently, this does not look as good as the original art piece.

Here’s the photo of Sophie I used as the base for today’s Caturday Art. She was sitting on Mom Emily’s lap.

 

Caturday Art - before

 

This is my entry into Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To submit some art of your own and/or see the beautiful art created by your fellow bloggers, please click on her badge.

I’d like to say, “thank you” to Athena and her mum, Marie, for having this hop each week. I always look forward to “playing” with all the various on-line, photo-editing apps.

Sunday Selfies

Here’s your usual reminder to get those selfies snapped for tomorrow’s  blog hop. Since Dad Tom and I still will be at the BlogPaws Conference, a good chance exists that I will not be featuring one of the Kitties Blue. I doubt this will get me into any trouble with them.

Please keep in mind that you do not need to post on Sunday to participate. The hop always remains open through Thursday.

If you’d like to know what’s been happening at the conference, check-out Twitter for items posted with #BlogPaws.

FRIENDLY FILL-INS FROM BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE

Friendly Friday Fill-Ins: Week #54

1. I have googled anything and everything for which I’ve needed an explanation or answer. It sure beats having to go to the library to check an encyclopedia, like I had to when I was a kid.

2. I have purchased many things on Ebay, including a replacement wedding ring for Tom after he lost his original.

3. I think the BlogPaws Conference rocks! Here are a few photos from today.

 

BlogPaws 2017

Emily (Kitty Cat Chronicles) felted a mini Fiona for me. She’s purrfect!

 

Samson - BlogPaws 2017

I met Samson at BlogPaws 2016 when he was just a kitten. To see my photo with him from last year, click here. It is the photo in the bottom left of the bottom collage.

 

Sophie's birthday party at BlogPaws 2017

Sophie Hall, in Emily’s arms on lower right, celebrated her upcoming 5th birthday with a party in her honor.

 

Sophie at BlogPaws 2017.

Sophie playing at her party.

 

4. Mauricio thinks his wife Allie (Friends Furever) is the gentlest, kindest and most gorgeous cat in the universe.

Friendly Fill-Ins is hosted each Friday by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). It is a blog hop. To join click on their badge. It will take you to Annie’s blog where you can enter your link.

 

I’ll be back tomorrow with Caturday Art and more from the BlogPaws Conference. You can follow the conference on Twitter at #blogpaws.

CALISTA JO IS IN TRAINING

Sunday Selfies: Week #101

 

Calista Jo's Sunday Selfie and report on her harness training.

 

Mom asked me to be your host this week so I could share what has been happening with me. First I must apologize for the less than professional quality of my selfies.

So here’s the scoop. Mom wants to take me to BlogPaws 2017 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. As she and Dad will be able to drive, Mom thought it would be fun for one of us to pawticipate in the conference. After weighing the pros and cons of each of us attending, she and Dad selected me for my even temperament and laid-back nature. So I am now in training.

Step one of my training is to get comfy wearing a harness. I have been doing that for a couple of hours each day for the last four days. When I can do that for a few hours at a time, Mom will add a leash and start walking me around the house and yard if I don’t balk. MOUSES! I don’t know if I’ll like that.

Anyhoo, if I get accustomed to that and with visiting places where other humans and pets are present, Mom will get me a stroller. Providing everything works out, I will see y’all next May in South Carolina. Mom and I will keep you posted on my progress.

 

Cat4-001

 

Hope you’ll join us on the hop today. You can link up your post below. And you can add the hop to your blog with the code below. Should you decide to do this, please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head. Also, please try to visit and say, “howdy,” to some of the other hoppers. You never know who you might meet!

To Catch a Cat Winners

I am excited to have the opportunity to announce the winners of our latest giveaway for three copies of To Catch a Cat by Heather Green. They are:

  • Linda Szymoniak
  • Flynn
  • Linda Arthur Tejera

Congratulations. Y’all are going to enjoy reading this heartwarming story about the rescue of the kittens, Zero, Number One and Two Spot. For those who didn’t win, To Catch a Cat is available from Barnes & Noble ($9.16) and Amazon.com ($12).

Purrs and paw-pats, Calista Jo



THE LONGEST THIRTEEN PLUS TWO DAYS EVER

BlogPaws Booty Bonanza

Remember that BlogPaws Conference loot we were waiting for UPS to deliver? Well, it finally arrived last Friday evening. Then it sat for two days before Mom even opened it, turning 13 days into 15. Was it worth the wait? Yep! You bet! We have a little slideshow to show y’all a good portion of the booty. (To read the captions, do not have your cursor over or near slideshow.)

 

[slideshow_deploy id=’21477′]

 

Even though there are eight of us kitties, Mom says we cannot possibly keep all these goodies. She packed some toys and treats up today for cat sitter/housekeeper Chris’s kitty, Tinsley. She also gave him the zebra-striped cardboard cat cube we won from the Cat Style Lounge in 2015. She says we are running out of room with the addition of the pink kitty cube won this year. This was meant to be C.J.’s birthday gift, but she hasn’t even had the opportunity to try it yet. Mau and Astrid have found it to their liking.

Next Mom will let Mauricio and Lisbeth select some things to send to their significant others, Allie and Charles. After that she’ll put together a prize package to give away on our fourth blogoversary (Thursday, July 21). She’s also going to put some things aside for our local no-kill shelter, Angels of Assisi.

The only things we know we get to keep are the pink cube and the Original Hide and Sneak (craft paper cat tunnel) won from The Cat Style Lounge. Mom says that she also will be keeping all cleaning and odor relief products. And she’ll be letting us try the various foodables to see if there is anything the picky girls, Giulietta and Fiona, like.

Future posts will report on and review the products Mom received directly from Conference sponsors.

We are happy that our humans are generous with other kitties, but we certainly have our paws crossed that we will get to keep at least a couple of the toys. After being abandoned for five days, it seems only fair. Don’t you think? We’ll keep you posted.

GotMiceLogoDonation to Barn Cat Buddies

Thanks to everyone who commented on our post about the the steel mill kitties, Mom has donated $60 to our friends at Barn Cat Buddies to help rescue these poor cats. If you missed our post, “Please Help Our Barn Cat Buddies Friends,” you can read it here.  If you can afford even a few green papers, you can make a donation directly to Barn Cat Buddies by visiting their site. We’d like to thank our dear friend Marjorie from Dash Kitten for doing just that. If anyone else has done so as well, please accept our heartfelt thanks.

To Catch a Cat Giveaway

To Catch a cat book jacket.If you missed yesterday’s post, Mom reviewed this heartwarming book of kitten rescue by Heather Green. She has three copies to give away and is willing to mail worldwide. To have the opportunity to win, leave a comment on yesterday’s post. There’s a link at the bottom of this post. Winners will be selected using random.org.

If you visited yesterday prior to 10:30 a.m., you missed some really darling photos of the kittens. The publisher sent them to us after our post was published. Mom added them after several readers had visited and commented.

That’s it for us today. See y’all tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

BLOGPAWS SWAG DELAYED!

Today is the fourth week of Sammy’s Thoroughly Poetic Thursday and our prompt is the letter D.

 

 

Mom and Dad are on an overnight jaunt, so our poem and post are a bit off track. After a filet, a bottle of Malbec and some ridiculously decadent, dark-chocolate torte, our petrecary’s brain is muddled and befuddled.

The best she could accomplish is this pathetic haiku.
 
Tired of our toys.
Waiting for our BlogPaw’s swag.
Delayed…train derailed.

 

Our “D” is represented in both delayed and derailed. Add to that disappointment, and we think we have the bases covered.

The two boxes of goodies our parental units shipped home from the BlogPaws Conference via UPS were scheduled to arrive Tuesday, the 5th. The arrival is now scheduled for today. Dad checked and the boxes are in Virginia, so we have our paws crossed that we’ll be burrowing through the booty by day’s end.

 

Calista Jo pouts aout delayed swag,

Calista Jo is pouting as her birthday gift is among the BlogPaws’ loot.

 

If you haven’t visited and left a comment on our post, Please Help Our Barn Cat Buddies Friends, please do. We are having a Comment-a-thon to help them save some kitties living at a steel mill. Thank you.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo