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

Honor Your Pet With A Hand Blown Memorial Glass Pendant (Give-Away!)

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I was sent two pendants from Memorial Glass Pendants , in exchange for my always honest review.

With Monday having been Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, I wanted to continue to honor not only Bobo, but all of the many, many pets that have left their beloved families.

Recently I was  contacted by Dana from Memorial Glass Pendants asking if I would like to have a custom made necklace honoring Bobo, I was ecstatic and grateful. The necklaces at Memorial Glass Pendants are gorgeous "wearable art." Each piece is unique, no one else will ever have one exactly like mine or yours. They are handmade in a small Northern California studio.

The glass used is called "borosilicate", which is much more durable than standard glass, and all of the pendants are " kiln annealed". When you visit the Memorial Glass Pendant website, you will see a number of designs, each and every one are beautiful. Many of the necklaces are encased with the ash of someones  beloved pet. I did not want to upset Bobo's ashes, but Dana told me if I sent her some photos of Bobo she could work on a pendant for me that didn't require that I send Bobo's ashes!

The process was easy, and Dana was wonderfully patient.  She had me tell her more about Bobo and had me send her some photos, I sent her the two shown below.

The pendants that Dana created for me were both the Kindred Spirits pendant. Dana's goal was to incorporate Bobo's colors and a color representing me. The first pendant she created was an "experiment." Dana wasn't happy with it but I think it is beautiful.

The silver, black and white are the color of Bobo's stripes. Dana included it with the final pendant she made for me which also had some of Bobo's beige coloring, as well as a color that represents ME. I chose green, because green is my favorite color.

I think it is just beautiful and I love how the glass is blown with the colors entwined, symbolizing that Bobo and I are forever "entwined" and are forever "Kindred Spirits." It represents the two of us embracing.

Original photos courtesy of Memorial Glass Pendants
I just made them into a collage

For your pendant you can pick the colors of the two spiraling designs. The piece in the photos uses orange and golden tan, but Dana has  many other colors to choose from. If there are colors that you are curious about, just  ask her and she can show you examples.

Each necklace arrived in a beautiful black little pouch, tucked inside a darling box with a bow.  I love that they are on a black, sturdy cord necklace. For the first week they arrived, I wore both because I just love them!

 I will be cherishing my pendants forever, just as I cherished my Angel Bobo. They would make lovely gifts for someone who has lost a beloved pet, or a gift to yourself. You don't have to wait for a holiday to "gift" one of these gorgeous pendants. They are a gift that will be cherished and appreciated any time. 

It is the hope of Memorial Glass Pendants  that having one of these will bring some comfort to you, and that it will act as a reminder of the joy that you and your companion gave each other.

GIVE-AWAY! Dana is generously offering one of my readers who is 18 and over and who resides either in the U.S. or Canada a pendant of their own. (An approx. $60 value!) Entering is easy, simply enter on the rafflecopter below and good luck!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tabby Cat Tuesday

Back on August 8th, our furiends at Four-Legged Furballs did a post where they highlighted adorable Thimble's classic Tabby M  (If you click on the highlighted "Tabby M" you will read a delightful post by our furiend, Amy Shojai that she wrote last December).

Being a Tabby girl at heart I had to share Cody's "classic M" too. For a long time I thought his wasn't easy to see, that is....until I took a photo and REALLY looked!

It IS there in all of it's Tabby glory!!!

Happy Tabby Tuesday to all our fellow tabby furiends and to ALL OTHER KITTIES too!!!!!