Thankful Thursday: The Blogger Recognition Award

Through the years Cody and I have been blessed to receive a number of blogging awards from our peers, we are also blessed that some of them we have received numerous times. As a result, (and due to my laziness), I had pretty much stopped blogging about many of them, but have ALWAYS thanked whomever was kind enough to think of us.

That being said, back on August 9th, we received an award from our friends at Eastside Cats that we hadn't received. It is the:

Cody and I are DEEPLY HONORED and are touched to have received this and we thank our friends at Eastside Cats, from the bottom of our furry and non-furry hearts.

As is the case with all of the blogger awards there are certain "rules" that are listed:

-Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.---Check!
-Write a post to show your award.---Check!!
-Give a brief story of how your blog started---see below and sorry, since we have new readers over the years it isn't "brief!!"
-Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers----see below -Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to--I decided long ago that I would NOT do that. Why? Inevitably someone's feelings will be hurt. Let me put it this way, if we are commenting on your blogs (even just once a month), we LOVE YOU. If we didn't we wouldn't follow, that's how we roll. Sometimes due to life "happening", we can't comment as often as we would like to, but if you hear from us AT ALL, we LOVE YOU. ALL OF YOU are worthy of this award and by all means GRAB IT!!
-Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post that you created.--since we aren't nominating 15 specific blogs we are passing on this.

HOW OUR BLOG STARTED

(I used excerpts from a post I did on January 9th, 2014 where I was celebrating our 1000th post.)

Flashback to 2001: I resigned from an advertising position I had with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio for 21 and a half years to take a leap of faith. I moved to Michigan to be with my now husband.

NINE JOBS LATER I lost my last job in 2007 due to downsizing. Four months after that, I lost my 18 yr old "Soul Kitty" Bobo, (who this blog is dedicated to, along with my precious Cody).

"Bobo" Portrait done by Becky Sorrentino Studio

I am not a person who is normally prone to depression, but believe me when I say that from 2007 until Fall of 2009, the entire world seemed dark. I felt as if I had no purpose, it would be an understatement to say that I felt that life was bleak.

Enter Glenn Gilbert. Long story short, after I attended a meeting where one of our local newspapers,  The Oakland Press was seeking Citizen Journalists,(thanks to my husband for seeing the original ad), Glenn contacted me to come in and meet with him.

Glenn Gilbert, executive editor of The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich., and group editor for 21st Century Media’s Michigan Cluster, is retired Jan. 3, 2014, after 45 years in journalism. (Photo by Tim Thompson/Oakland Press)

What I didn't know until my meeting with Glenn, was that he had   lived in Ohio for 14 years and knew of the stellar reputation that my former newspaper had, (at that time they were the 14th largest in the country), he also was familiar with my father's editorial cartoons.

We discussed the Citizen Journalist position and I told him that while I would be happy to do it, I just didn't feel that I was a good fit. I'm loud, quirky, creative, nuts, and sitting in boring City Council meetings just wasn't my cup of catnip tea.

I mean seriously,
THIS WOMAN
as a CITIZEN JOURNALIST????
NOOOOO WAY!!!!!

 I had recently seen the movie "Julie and Julia" and after having heard that The Oakland Press had recently begun featuring blogs on their website, I asked "How about a blog?" Glenn told me to go home and email him some ideas. I sent three, Cat Chat With Caren and Cody was the first on the list. (At that time the name of the blog was "Cat Chat", until Martha Stewart grabbed the name and copyrighted it!) He agreed, I started the blog in October of 2009 knowing NOTHING (and I mean NOTHING) about uploading anything, let alone writing a blog. The Oakland Press paid for my link at the time (long time readers know my old link was http://opcatchat.blogspot.com or something like that, can't remember the rest! I didn't purchase my own link until a few years ago.)

Soon after I began blogging I found BlogPaws where I feasted on a banquet of information designed to help me learn how to become, and BE a better blogger. Had I never found BlogPaws in 2009, (ironically I found them virtually at the same time THEY STARTED),  I would never have learned how to blog and all that goes with it. Also, I have been blessed to have been afforded various opportunities, from sponsorships, to various events requiring travel, (many of you probably do not know that I am the original founder/creator, along with Barbara Strunin, of the BlogPaws Conference Newbies Group, which I ran for approx. 4 years, that still exists today), and other opportunities. Had it not been for BlogPaws none of the experiences I had and some of the opportunities that I have been blessed with, would ever have taken place. I will forever be grateful to BlogPaws for that.

Ultimately, without Glenn Gilbert, I wouldn't have met all of you.  . I wouldn't be writing about a subject and animal that I CHERISH: CATS, and doing something, that is incredibly time consuming, (much more so than my normal 8 to 5 job EVER was, AND INFINITELY MORE REWARDING IN MY SOUL, than  any of those jobs EVER were),  that I love, and have a fierce dedication to.

Glenn Gilbert gave me purpose, he brought back my belief in myself, he gave me a reason to wake up every day, he introduced me to the world of electronic media, he made it possible for me to grow, to teach myself things that I never would have dreamed I ever would have been learning, let alone doing.  He opened my World, he BELIEVED in me.

 We thank YOU our faithful readers, for joining us, we thank Glenn Gilbert for opening a cat door, the likes of which we never even knew existed.

I TOLD YOU IT WASN'T BRIEF!!!!

Visit Stunning Keisha

GIVE TWO PIECES OF ADVICE TO NEW BLOGGERS:

The advice I am going to share came from a fellow recipient of this award, our good friend CK over at Stunning Keisha .  CK and CK's human, "TW" are one of the first people (and cats) that I met when I began blogging in 2009. What I have always loved about CK and "TW" are that they "tell it like it is" and they "keep it real." Anyone who knows ME well, and knows "TW", will agree that in that regard, we are quite similar. I believe in "telling it like it is" and "keeping it real." That can be polarizing. So be it. I would rather be honest and LIKE the person looking back at me when I look in the mirror. My theory has always been, if someone can't handle honesty, they can move on. Period.  So, I am going to share excerpts of "advice" given by "TW" that I completely agree with:

"Humans and pets these days get me hissing mad cos they want instant gratification. They cry when their first posts gets only a couple of hunnert views. They want to monetize right away. I guess this will be one of my tips to new bloggers. Take the time to find your voice and your audience before you panic about not becoming a millionaire with a million followers. No one believes in paying their dues."  Like CK and "TW" we haven't stopped paying our dues. There is nothing that we have obtained by blogging that has come easily. NOTHING.

"Comment on tons of blogs every day. If you don't visit them, they won't visit you. That stinks cos it takes time away when you should be creating but it's a necessary evil." I could NOT agree with this more. We all get busy but I feel if someone is kind enough to comment here, even if I can only read/comment sporadically, I should read/visit someone's blog that took the time to visit mine. You would be AMAZED by the number of people who do NOT do this. I WILL tell you, that after a number of months, if someone doesn't reciprocate, I "unfollow." Plain and simple. "You get as good as you give." For more tips from CK you can click here

If you read this far down the page, I THANK YOU. There are tons of other tips that I could offer but those you can learn from reading some of the other blogs where they shared their own tips. Cody and I THANK YOU for being a part of our journey. I have said it many, many times,  "without YOU, there would be no US."

Much love and gratitude

from Caren and Cody

Happy to be One of the Top 50 Cat Bloggers (As Chosen by Thoroughly Reviewed)

Visit Thoroughly Reviewed

Cody and I are happy to be among a wonderful list of Cat Bloggers (many of whom are our friends!), that were selected by Thoroughly Reviewed as the "Top 50 Cat Bloggers."

"Thoroughly Reviewed is an independent review company focused on delivering the most up to date and relevant information to consumers who are researching products and services. They have a team of researchers/writers who perform an in-depth analysis and review of all products mentioned on the site. This process involves some or all of the following: hands-on time with the products, speaking to customers, aggregating review data, speaking to industry experts, analyzing specifications from manufacturers and more. The bottom line is they want to provide you with all of the information you need to make the best purchasing decision."

Here is what they wrote about us:

Cat Chat with Caren and Cody

Author: Caren Gittleman

www.catchatwithcarenandcody.com

Caren is a life-long Clevelander who worked in advertising at The Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper.  She is now a professional blogger who also does freelance writing.   Caren started her blog after her current snuggle-bug and co-author Cody came into her life.  Cody helped ease Caren’s heartache after her beloved Bobo crossed the rainbow bridge.  She hopes that her blog will be a warm, cozy and inviting place for cat lovers around the world.

THANKS FOR INCLUDING US!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!

Visit the entire list of Top 50 Cat Bloggers

Thankful Thursday:Sunshine Blogger Award

Today Cody and I are  excited because we were  presented with  a fun and happy award from our friends over at Four-Legged Furballs. It's the Sunshine Blogger Award, "which is meant to shed light on those fellow bloggers whose positivity and creativity you admire." Thank you so much for nominating Dakota and I for the Sunshine Blogger Award! We have received this award before, but it was all the way back in 2011!!! We figured we HOPEFULLY have some new readers who have joined us since then, so it is an honor to participate! We are super grateful to have received this award! Thank you Four-Legged Furballs for including us!!

There are some rules to follow with this award, and these rules are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog. (See above. But also, thank you again to the adorable Four-Legged Furballs family and their sweet Mama!)
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers, adding their links and asking them 11 new questions.
4. Notify the bloggers you have nominated.

Our friends over at Four-Legged Furballs came up with some great questions.

1. How many animals have you had in your lifetime thus far?

Eek. I haven't had NEARLY the number of pets that others have had. Let's see, when I was born, we had a Boxer named "Brandy" who lived with us til I was 7. She was the sweetest dog, but died quite young. She passed at age 7. From what my family had told me, she would "guard" my crib and get my parents if I was crying. I also had two turtles, some goldfish, a hamster, my first cat was my Angel Bobo, we shared our lives for 18 years. Then Cody, who I adopted 2 weeks after Bobo passed, then Dakota, my first dog as an adult, came that October.

2. Do you have a favorite blog topic, blog hop, or blogging day?

My favorite Blogging day is Wednesday when people participate in Wordless Wednesday. My favorite posts that day are the ones that ONLY use words in the title of the post. To me, those TRULY "wordless" posts beautifully convey the true meaning of the quote, "a picture is worth a thousand words." and what "Wordless Wednesday was originally intended to be.

3. What is your favorite book?

This one is pretty much impossible to answer. I have read soooooo many books that I have adored. Many are classics, many are cat and/or dog related. If you click book reviews , many of our favorite cat books are listed here, but not all! It is impossible to just choose one.

4. If you had to change your first name, what new name would you choose?

That is a great question! I have never thought of that before. I actually like my first name and am happy that my parents spelled it in such a unique way. Being a child of the 50s, at that time "Caren" with a "C" was virtually unheard of. I think it helped make me the creative person that I am. I like to think that I march to my own drummer, I have never been a "follower", and I don't always do what is the expected thing to do or the "norm."  I often wonder if I am that way because of my name.

5. Are you an early bird or a night owl? 

Both. I often stay up til 1 or 2 and get up at 6 am. It isn't healthy to do that, but I do. I find that I am my most alert in the morning. One thing I am NOT is an afternoon person. I am usually pretty dead at 3pm, then I perk back up from 5pm on.

6. What is your favorite holiday?

Thanksgiving. I love the time of year, I love what it represents and OF COURSE I LOVE THE FOOD!!!! All of my favorite foods are present on Thanksgiving!

7. What is your dream job?

Another tough one. I used to have a dream of being an Olympic Swimmer (I was a lifeguard all through college, and was on a swim team when I was young.) At one time I wanted to teach Early Childhood Education, specifically kindergarten. Now, believe it or not, probably doing what I am now doing, blogging and working part-time in the world of Pets. Pet people, as we all know, are special people. I LOVE that I am able to work from home. I worked for approximately 26 years outside of the home, where EVERY morning I had to get up at 5:15am, I had intense deadlines to meet as well as steep sales quotas, working from home is something I never thought I would ever be blessed to do. If I am lucky enough to still be able to make ends meet at home, it is something I would do as long as I possibly can. One day, I would love to discipline myself to write a humorous children's book involving cats and dogs. That would be fabulous.

8. How many siblings do you have?

one older sister and one younger brother, I suffer from "middle child syndrome."

9. What is your favorite candy?

Almond Joy!!!

10. What is your absolute least favorite food?

LIVER!!!! Have to add another Bleu Cheese.

11. What do you call it: pop or soda? (Or something else altogether?)

Pop...of course (hehehe)

Next up is nominating 11 other bloggers.

To quote the Four-Legged Furballs Mom: "All of the blogs we read in this blogging community give us inspiration. We know so many bloggers deserving of this award, as all of you are so positive and creative in your own ways. That's what makes this community so great!"  For that reason, and others, we always break the "rules" of these hops. I don't want to list other bloggers because inevitably I would unintentionally leave someone out who is deserving and I don't want to accidentally hurt anyone's feelings. If I follow your blog, it is a pretty safe assumption that I enjoy your blog. So, if any of you are inclined to complete the challenge using the same questions above, (because I am lazy), feel free!

BlogPaws 2013 Nose-to-Nose Social Media and Pet Blogging Awards Are Here!

The BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose awards are here and it is YOUR chance to nominate ALL of the pet blogs/bloggers that you love!

From BlogPaws: The “Nose-to-Nose” Awards is the only awards program in which pet bloggers and microbloggers are judged on their expertise, creativity, and performance in one or more of 12 categories by a panel of distinguished professionals. The BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Awards are not a popularity contest!

Nominations open at 12:00 PM EST on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 - and close at 3:00 PM EST on Friday, March 8th.

Yep, that's right! You don't have to experience angst wondering who you are going to nominate, you can nominate ALL of your favorites in as many categories as you would like!

As an example, Cody and I have already begun nominating blogs in the categories of:

Best Blog Design

Best Blog Writing

Best Humor Blog

Best Bark Blog

Best Meow Blog

Best Wiggle Blog (for animals other than cats or dogs)

Best New Blog

Best Cause Blog

Best Blog Video

Best Blog Photo

Best Facebook Design

Best Twitter Design

and you know what? There are a number of blogs that we feel are deserving in EACH category and we aren't going to just nominate one per category, we are going to nominate ALL of our faves for EACH category! That way, EVERY FURRY will be considered! How cool is that?

One thing that we love about the Nose-to-Nose awards is that even if you are just nominated ONCE, you are in the running, AND, you CAN NOMINATE YOURSELF!

Every blog that is nominated will be reviewed by the judges panel, but just once.

Please, please nominate ALL of the blogs/bloggers that you love for whatever category!

To read more about the criteria that the judges will be taking into consideration for each category, click here

Now...here is where we have to eat some crow. A while back we blogged about how it was becoming confusing/cumbersome etc. to acknowledge every blogger that blessed us with various small blog awards that travel the net on a daily basis. We mentioned that we are deeply appreciative of the awards we were given by so many of you, YOU are the reason that we are here, but we couldn't devote multiple posts per week to the zillions of small blogging awards being created every day.

 We are HONORED and FLATTERED that so many of you visit us on a regular basis, or even that you visit us at all! That being said, if there was a post that made you smile, a photo that you loved, a book review that inspired you to buy/read a book, a contest that you won, a product that you learned about here or anything else that you loved, that we work painstakingly and with all of our heart to share with you, we would be HONORED if you wish to nominate us for whatever category you see fit.  Well, except best bark blog since this isn't a dog blog! MOL! Our chances of being a finalist or even of gasp, WINNING...are next to none, but it would mean the world to us if we were even to be considered.

Should you wish to nominate us and we THANK YOU if you do, you can click on each category that we mentioned above and it will take you right to the nomination pages.

Here is our info that you will need:

Blog Home Page http://opcatchat.blogspot.com/

Contact Name for Blog Owner: Caren Gittleman

Email for Blog Owner: cgittleman at mi dot rr dot com

Twitter Page for Cat Chat: https://twitter.com/CatChatCaren

Cat Chat With Caren & Cody On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cat-Chat-With-Caren-Cody/208923585790514?fref=ts

Now, Cody and I are off to do some more nominating for other deserving blogs/bloggers ourselves!!

Good luck to all!!

Flattered Friday

Hi everyone and Happy Friday! It's Cody! Mom and I were flattered a couple of weeks ago when we received the:

from our dear friends Sammy and his Mom, Pam, over at One Spoiled Cat. If you have never visited Sammy and his Mom before, please do! There is always something fun going on there!

We are deeply honored, as well as surprised to receive this award because we truly don't think we are very inspiring at all! There are a lot of blogs out there who are deserving of this award, but we are flattered and thrilled that Sammy and his Mom have this opinion of us!

As with any award there are requirements that must be met before you can accept it, and the  requirements for accepting this award are that we must answer more questions to give you a little more insight as to what makes us who we are, whatever THAT is!

As always, we will each take a turn replying:

I'm Most Creative...

CODY-when I am hungry and Mom won't give me a snack. I am so "creative" that I just taught myself how to open the kitchen cupboard where my kibble is kept. I taught myself this amazing feat this week! Pretty creative, eh?

MOM- after a few rousing rounds of Words With Friends at about midnight.

If I Were A Color I Would Be...

CODY-RED!! I am an Aries kitty and the color for Aries is RED! That is probably why my red mousie is one of my favorite toys.

MOM-GREEN. Forest green, kelly green. The color of nature. My eyes are green (like Cody's and I don't wear contacts!) Green is my color!

I Often Imagine Myself...

CODY-Face first in a bowl full of kibble. I live to eat.

MOM-living on the island of Kauai, my favorite place on this earth. If not living there, I want to return to Kauai Beach Resort where my husband and I honeymooned almost six years ago.

I Really Wish I Knew How To...

CODY- open a can of cat food by myself so I could eat whenever I would like to!

MOM-there are many things I wish I knew how to do. A few of them are knitting, crocheting, and ice skating.

I'd Love To Spend A Lazy Sunday...

CODY-sleeping on my cat tower. Wait! It doesn't have to be Sunday for me to do that! I do that EVERY DAY! Well, why should Sunday be any different?

MOM- "lazy Sunday?" What's THAT???!! Haven't had one of those in AGES! If I were to have one again (and that won't happen for quite some time), I would love to read the 30+ magazines I have sitting here that I subscribe to that I have NO TIME to read.

I'm Most Excited About...

CODY-my BIRTHDAY!! My birthday is this Sunday (April 1st and that is NO JOKE!)  and I am going to be having a HUGE GIVE-AWAY! (also not a joke!)  I am going to be 5 years old and there are going to be PRIZES you can enter to win!! Our friends at Creme de la Cat and Petfinder have contributed some great prizes just for ME to give to YOU!

MOM-BlogPaws 2012! I have never been to Utah and I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery there. I am also looking forward to reconnecting with some of the amazing people that I met at BlogPaws 2011 and I am greatly looking forward to learning more and  meeting others who couldn't make it last year! Speaking of BlogPaws, Everyone LOVES a discount right? Going to BlogPaws and want to save on registration? Go to http://events.blogpaws.com/blogpaws-2012.html and enter the CODE BlogPaws2012-POPs-Caren when you register and you will get a 20% DISCOUNT!! What are you waiting for??? Get those paws moving NOW!

My Secret Talent Is...

CODY-I know tricks. My Dad says "show your trust" and I roll over and show him my wonderful belleh. My Mom snaps her fingers when she is in bed and I come running! I know more tricks than Dakota!

MOM-I have a few! I am an amazing cook (if I do say so myself!), I draw, and my most SECRET talent is that I can shoot water through the gap between my front teeth like a Dolphin!! Oh and I am a fabulous swimmer!

That about sums it up! Those of you who read Cat Chat regularly know that Mom and I are not big on passing awards on, we follow so many blogs that we just know when we do that we inadvertently hurt someone's feelings and we don't want to do that. We just want you to know that the fact that we follow you to begin with means that you are VERY INSPIRING to us!!! Soooooo...grab the award for yourself....with much love from Mom and I!!! And....don't forget about my Birthday Give-Away this Sunday, April 1st!!!! Here is just a teaser of something that you could win!

Hug Award-A-Little-Bit-Wordy- Wednesday

We received this wonderful award from Sammy and his Mom over at One Spoiled Cat

We are happy to receive it because everybody can use a hug!

Thankfully there are no rules involved in the acceptance of this award, the only requirement is that you pass this award on to one other blogger.

The heck with passing it to ONE blogger! Everyone can ALWAYS use a hug so we are passing this on to ALL OF YOU!


Speaking of hugs, I decided to pull out a photo from the past of the first kitty to capture my heart...my Angel Bobo

I apologize for the poor photo quality
and many of you have seen this before
It is just when I thought of a "hug"
this is what came to mind

"Walking On Sunshine" Sunday! And Happy 6th Birthday Adorable Rosie!

Mom and I were deeply touched to receive the "Sunshine Award" a few weeks ago from our catabulous friends Au and Target from Katz and Other Tales, it really was a surprise and made us smile!

We have to answer these questions and pass this award on to 9 people. We didn't want to just pick 9 so we wanted everyone to have this award who visits and comments on our blog and fills OUR lives with SUNSHINE! 

01. Our favorite color:Mom-green (look at the background of our blog, can't ya tell? MOL!) ,
 Me-anything that even resembles stinky goodness!

02. Our favorite animal: are you kidding us? What do YOU think?

03. Our favorite number: Mom 10 or 20,
Me-4 cause that is how old I am!

04. Our favorite non-alcoholic drink: Mom-COFFEE!!
 Me-water but it must be served from my brother's dog bowl
 
05. Social media? Of course!! Facebook, Twitter, BlogPaws Community, blogs, just to name a few! Mom and I work as a team on many of these!

06. Our passion: Mom-writing, reading, cats,  swimming, walking, art, Shelties, cooking, music, Weight Watcher's.
 Me-Eating, Sleeping  and playing with my mousies or Neko fly.


07. Getting or giving presents? Mom & I  both agree we love BOTH!

08. Our favorite pattern? Huh???

09. Our favorite day of the week? Any day we are both on the right side of the grass!

10. Our favorite flower? Mom-Mums or White Roses.
 Me-the flowers on my catnip plant!

We're passing this award on to:

YOU!!

Also...today is a special day!

 Happy, Happy
6th Birthday

 to our adorable kitty friend:

ROSIE!!!!

Rosie has "Easy Sunday" down to an art!

Happy Birthday Beautiful Rosie!!!!