A Ward

Me and Nellie.  She thinks I rock.

Hi everyone, Katie here.

My Real Housecats friend, Penelope a.k.a. Nellie, gave me this cool award!  It's called the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Nellie is the star of the fabulous blog, The Cat From Hell.  It's one of my favorite blogs in the whole blogosphere.  She told me that I ROCK.  And she even used CAPITAL letters.

So the rules, though I don't often follow rules, are to divulge seven things about me.  Even though Glogirly is not nearly as fascinating as I am, I'm going to share her answers too.  If for no other reason than to make MY answers look good.

I'm most creative...
Katie:  When I'm sleeping and when I'm awake.
Glogirly:  With my Macbook on my lap...since Katie won't sit there.

If I were a color...
Katie:  I'd be black & white.  Perfect.  Oh wait, I already am.  Perfect.
Glogirly:  I can't possibly choose.  I love them all.

I often imagine myself...
Katie:  While I'm looking in the mirror.
Glogirly:  Carefree as Katie.

I really wish I knew how to...
Katie:  Serve up my own salmon.
Glogirly:  Fall asleep fast.

I'd love to spend a lazy Sunday...
Katie:  Watching Puss In Boots.
Glogirly:  Watching Puss In Boots.

I'm most excited about...
Katie:  The possibility of serving up my own salmon.
Glogirly:  The possibility of Katie cleaning her own box.

My secret talent is...
Katie:  I have no secret talents.  I happily flaunt them all.
Glogirly:  I can tie a perfect bow.

The next rule is to pick a bunch of blogs we love and have you all do the same.  But we love ALL our friends (even though a few of you are dogs) and it's just too hard to choose.  So if you've not had a chance to divulge YOUR seven, please accept this award and give us some dirt!

DUH!

Hi everyone, Katie here.

You know, you just can't get good help these days.  Remember the tee shirt design I made for Glogirly to submit to BlogPaws?  Well, thanks to your comments, I realized SHE actually put the WRONG DATES on the tee shirt. That's about as stupid as forgetting how to spell your name or where you hid the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

I thought all was lost until I went to the BlogPaws website and discovered the BlogPaws angels had extended the tee shirt deadline to tomorrow.  Phew.  I dodged a bullet and Glogirly dodged a big wet hairball on her pillow.

In addition to the date discrepancy,  I loved Sparkle's idea of having more animals.  So we killed off a dog (no great loss) and tossed in a rabbit, ferret and a bird.

I'm going to watch my back with that ferret.  But the bird and rabbit...well, let's just say I have *plans* for them.

Wanna See My Tee?

Hi everyone, Katie here.

I'm trying to win my girl a free pass to BlogPaws.  So out of the goodness of my crusty, little, kitty heart, I entered the BlogPaws tee shirt design contest.  Here's the design I submitted.

Yes, I know.  Those are DOGS.  A sad but true requirement.  Dogs are always begging for attention and praise. They're needy that way.  So I put THREE of them on the tee shirt, just to keep them from yapping.

I rather prefer my ORIGINAL design.  You know, something with a touch of Katie.  Not in-your-face-Katie, but subtle and discreet.  A souvenir of ME for all the BlogPawers.  Glogirly did not agree.

SureFunny Guest Blog

Hi everyone, Katie here.

The fine cats over at What's New Pussycat?, the UK blog sponsored by SureFlap, invited me to be a guest blogger for them.  Obviously I put Glogirly right on it.

If you're wondering what SureFlap is, it's that kitty pet door thing that opens only for pets with a matching microchip imbedded in them.  You can read all about it HERE on their blog.  I have to admit, I'm liking the idea of keeping intruders out.  I just have a few questions.  

1. Can it keep out the cat sitter, the UPS man and the neighbor that smells of DOG?  
2. What if I just want to be alone.  Can I keep out Glogirly and Gloman?
3. How attracting desirable intruders?  Say, a squirrel or rabbit?

You can read my guest blog over at the What's New Pussycat? blog by clicking HERE.  I've written an account of a harrowing incident that occurred right here in the townhouse.  I wrote about it long ago, when I had about two furriends following my blog.  So I had my girl dust it off (literally) and send it to SureFlap.

IT'S CALLED - 

Kitties, I must warn you.  It contains graphic images and language that may not be suitable for young kittens.

Q, R, S, Tee, U, V

Hi everyone, Katie here.

In an effort to get my girl to BlogPaws this year, I've entered their official Tee Shirt Design Contest.  Can't show you the *real* design yet.  I don't want any of those DOGS out there swiping my design.  They're stupid that way you know.  They can't think for themselves, so they just copy whatever their human is doing.  I can't possibly trust them with my design.

I had to incorporate DOGS into the design.  Despite that unfortunate requirement, I don't think it's ruined. Once the deadline for entries has passed, I'll show.

These Boots Were Made For Something

Hi everyone, Captain Katie here.

I have a new pair of boots.  And a new pair of heros.

So we're a little late to the party here at the townhouse.  That's only because my girl was too cheap to take me to the movie theatre last year when Puss In Boots - The Movie - was first released.  She tells me they'd have never have let me in with my hat and sword.  How ELSE am I supposed to commandeer my popcorn?  Sheesh.

Well we finally watched it on DirectTV this weekend and I must say...I am in AWE.  Puss In Boots and his sweetheart sidekick, Kitty Soft Paws...well, let's just say the three of us must have been separated at birth.

Besides a snappy pair of boots, they have given me a wealth of ideas for the upcoming episode of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere.  There was a dance/fight scene at the Glitter Box...oh yeah!  This is going to be good.

Left to Right:  Kitty Soft Paws, Captain Katie, Puss In Boots

Ten-thousand-gajillion paws up for Puss In Boots.  If you haven't seen it, you must.  If you have, you should again. If you don't know what it is...well, there's just no hope for you.

History Lesson

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Congratulations!  If you've made it this far, despite today's title of History Lesson, you are indeed brave.  Or crazy. Glogirly wasn't much for history in school.  Could have been the blue-bee-hive-headed history teacher. Could have been the class was right before lunch.

Cool illustrations by Pizza Party       Ok...I did add a few things to them!

Either way, she's not much of a history smarty and there's not going to be a test at the end of this post.

So we discovered that Glogirly made a mistake on our Real Housecats Audition Page.  That's the page where all the cool cats go to find out how to submit their photos and bios to us.  This dizzy girl of mine typed the WRONG email address!  Good grief, how hard can it be?

Our email address is G L O G I R L@ blah-de-blah-blah dot com.
She typed G L O G I R L Y@ blah-de-blah-blah dot com.
(ok, it's not really blah-de-blah, but you get my drift)

So it got me thinking... WHY on earth is our email address "glogirl" and not "glogirly" for crying out loud?

Here's where the history lesson comes in.  You were wondering weren't you?

So how did Glogirly get her name and Y, oh Y,  is our email address missing the all-important Y?

Well, the girl was just a girl until one day when she tap-tap-tapped on a strangers door.  When that door opened, she met Gloman.  It was a chance meeting, love at first sight and a day that changed the course of history for the girl and Gloman.

Gloman is Gloman because he's adorable and sweet and wonderful and cute.  (ok, I REALLY didn't say that.)  He's also Gloman because the first three letters of his last name are Glo.  Just before the girl and Gloman were to marry, the girl thought about what kind of wonderful gift she could give her new husband.  Many of her friends had asked her, "so are you going to keep your last name?"  The girl loved her name.  She'd had it for almost 40 ::gasp:: years.  Gloman's name was a mouthful.  NO ONE could say it OR spell it. That's when she knew. There was a very special gift that only SHE could give her Gloman.  The gift of taking and loving his name.

Cool illustrations by Glogirly's friend, Kristin.

So on their wedding day, the girl that married Gloman became Glogirl.  

And what about the Y???  When did Glogirl become Glogirly???

Well we've got Blogger to thank for that.  Poor Blogger so often gets a bad rap.  Everyone hates the word identification thing.  The WordPress people think their all that.  Blah. Blah.

Poor Blogger gets a bad rap.

When my girl and I decided to try our hands and paws at this blogging thing, we started with Blogger.  My girl was SO mad that someone ELSE had already snatched up her name, Glogirl.  And they weren't even using it!  What, oh what, was she going to do?  We thought long and hard over it.  I'd like to think it's my girlish kitty beauty that inspired her.  But it was actually her best friend from junior high school, who to this day calls her Girly.

So THAT'S how Glogirly was born.

This concludes our History Lesson for the day.

Class dismissed.

Pee S  - In case you're thinking I've gone soft on Gloman.  Well it's his birthday tomorrow and I'm cutting him a little shred of slack.

Pee Pee S - For you cats that either tried to email your audition stuff or still want to, the email address on the application page is fixed!  Just click HERE.

WooHoo!

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Oh. My. Cod.  Glogirly and I are finalists in the BlogPaws-PetSmart Build a Business Blog Contest!  The prize? A chance to work with PetSmart on turning our blog into a legitimate business!  How cool is that!!!

Glogirly would also get to attend the BlogPaws Conference in Salt Lake City this June.  I could go too, but I'm not much of a traveler.  Instead she could bring a life size cut out of me.  Katie on a stick.  We entered the contest a couple of weeks ago and had to tell them in just a few words how awesome we are and why they should pick us. There are TEN finalists and there will be TWO winners.  The other finalists are SUPER talented and have great blogs.  We are so honored to be in the finals.  When we got the news we could barely breathe.

There are even ::gasp:: DOGS!

So now comes the hard part.  We have about ten days to submit a 2-minute video elaborating on all the stuff we wrote on our initial application.  We wish we could just send them a link to Real Housecats or a case of salmon, but that's not going to fly.  They want to see US.  Glogirly is going to be super mad when I hiss at the camera. She's considering using a mustache on a stick so that we BOTH are wearing our girly-staches.

We need your help.  We'd like to know what your favorite part of our blog is.  We're not fishing for compliments. (salmon, maybe.)  We just know it would help us alot to understand what you enjoy when you're here as we come up with our video submission concept.

Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much!  You are the best and we love you!   (whoa! ...that's a little mushy for me)



Pee S:  Don't worry, this isn't going to slow the production of Real Housecats one bit!

Pee Pee S: We've almost got a full cast for the next Episode of Real Housecats!  But there's still a little time to send your stuff to us!  Click HERE for instructions.

Pee Pee Pee S:  If you're just coming out from under that rock, click HERE to watch the latest episode of Real Housecats.

Photo Tricks

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Thank you SO much for all the fun comments on the latest episode of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere!  We had a blast working with all of the kitties and their photos.  Glogirly has been secretly wanting another ::gasp:: cat, so this project, and my intense glare, is keeping that desire at bay.

We've already received some great submissions for the next cast line up!  As a result, many of your humans have asked for advise on photographing us kitties.  Of course it's nearly impossible to capture such beauty on a tiny little memory chip.  And I could go on and on, advising you on tactical avoidance techniques.  But let's throw them a bone, shall we?

The secret to successful flashy box performance is really quite simple.

1. Light
2. Light
3. Light

Did we say light?
Light is your friend.
It will make or break the photo.

OUTDOORS

When outside, avoid direct overhead sunlight.  Stick to shade or overcast days.  The prettiest and softest light is early in the morning, we call it First Light, and late in the afternoon.  The sun is lower on the horizon and a really gorgeous color.  What does this mean? We won't have harsh shadows under our eyes and chins.  The beautiful color of the light will enhance our eyes, furs and our surroundings.

INDOORS
When inside, try to avoid using flash.  Choose rooms with windows that let natural light in. Kitties, you don't want that light behind you though.  Have your human positioned with their back to the light source and the light filtering in towards you.

In this photo of me, there is a big sliding glass door just to my right and I'm looking towards it.  Don't try this at night. Keep it bright.





FLASH
If your human does use a flash,  they should take the photo at a slight angle to avoid the flash bouncing directly off your eyes.  This will cut down on laser-eye.

STILL
Tell you human to be very, very still.  When using natural light and shooting without a flash, it's even more important to hold the camera still.  They should be especially careful when they press the shoot button.  If they gently roll their finger over the button instead of pressing it, there is less chance of shaking the camera.  Even a slight shake will result in an out of focus image.

GET DOWN
Ok, I'm not talking about grooving to the music here.  Your human should get down to your level, not look down on you.  Truer words were never spoken!  Hardwood floors?  Kneepads.  It will give you something to MOL at. Notice that every one of my photos here is taken at MY eye level.  Not my human's. See what a difference it makes?

SUMMARY

All of my photos today were taken inside with natural light either late in the morning or early in the afternoon in rooms with lots of windows.  

Patience and lots of memory cards are key.  These shots don't just magically happen.  For each perfect photo, there are probably 50+ that we cast aside. I know, you thought ALL of my photos were perfect. Well, shhhhh... don't tell.

We have much more in our bag of tricks, but we'll save that for another lesson.  Let's keep it simple today.

Let there be LIGHT!











Pee S  If you've been living under a rock for the past couple of days and haven't seen the latest episode of Real Housecats, hurry up and click HERE.

Real Housecats Episode 2

Front Left - Right:  Katie, Wally Spitty, Artemisia, Cody, Penelope

Back Left - Right:  Cathy Keisha, Mario, Kite, Figaro, Kjelle Bus, Austin

Hi everyone, Katie here.

I suspect you've been pacing back and forth, refreshing your computer again and again, twiddling your paws. The wait is over!  Dim the lights, turn UP the volume and hit PLAY.  Then REPLAY.  Then REPLAY again. You've got it.

But first, we want to welcome two new players to this episode's cast - Cat Chat's Cody and Spitty from Spitty Speaks!  Former crew members Cody (Pub-lick Relations) and Spitty (Royalties Negotiation) are making a splash ::literally:: in the latest episode.

Are You Ready?  
Watch Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere - Episode 2 on our YouTube channel or just click below.

Two Important Announcements

1. CALLING ALL CATS!

We're taking submissions for the next cast of Real Housecats.  Deadline is April 1, no fooling.
Click HERE for how to apply.
Get those peeps of yours in gear.

2. SHOPPING!

Did you know that we just opened The Official Real Housecats Store? Whether you're a cast member or not, you've got to check out all the cool designs!  Please, no pressure intended...we don't expect that everyone will want or be able to part with their green papers and that's okey-dokey.  We just wanted to have some fun.  It's Gloman's birthday this week, so I've got shopping to do!

Just click on SHOP at the top of the page or click HERE to teleport over to our snappy new Zazzle store.

Special Thanks

A big ME-OW to this episode's Housecats!

Click on their names to visit them.

Artemisia

Austin

Cathy Keisha

Cody

Figaro

Katie

Kite

Kjelle Bus

Mario

Penelope

Spitty

Wally

O'Katie

Hi everyone, O'Katie here.

Even though it's only a Photoshop hat, I still hate it.  I'll never understand the whole whoop-d-do about St. Patrick's Day.  Whoop-d-whatever is more like it.

Gloman, I have a message for you:  

Step AWAY from the green food coloring.  

Ok, on a WAY funner note...

We are taking submissions NOW for the next Real Housecats cast!  Click HERE for details.  Get those humans of yours in gear.

And don't stray too far from your computers.  The next episode of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere begins airing THIS SUNDAY NIGHT!

We Want YOU

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Auditions are officially open again!  We're calling all cats for the second Real Housecats cast.

Friend and cats, old and new, have been coming out of the woodwork meowing about how much they love the show. And what better way to keep it going, than to bring in more cats!  In fact, it's our longterm plan to have a rotating cast of amazing cat-talent.

That doesn't mean that some of the original cast members won't make a cameo here or there.  It's going to be hard to keep them away from the set.  ...you know, with all that salmon and nip.

We've refined the entry instructions in the Real Housecats Tab and placed a link in the sidebar.

Tell your friends.
Tell your family.
Tell anycat you think has that special something.
...ok, we all know that means EVERYCAT!

The deadline for the next cast submissions is April 1, no joke.  So don't be a fool and miss it!

The next episode will begin airing THIS SUNDAY EVENING!  The Housewives may be Desperate on Sunday night.  Especially with their show coming to an end soon.  But the Housecats are REAL and READY!

Better make sure you're ready too.

Sneak Peek

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Production is running late into the evenings for the next episode of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere.  

We promised you FUN.  

We promised you DRAMA.  

We promised you SECRETS!  

And I promise you this - We will NOT disappoint!

Just look at these exclusive never-before-seen stills from our most recent shoot.  

L-R:  Gossip Girls Katie, Cathy Keisha & Nellie dish.  

Meanwhile "someone" has had a bit too much nip.

Figgy is lost in love with Kite.  Really lost. 

He's got enough fur for both of them.

Stay tuned.  The next episode is less than a week away!

Extra Extra

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Well the Real Housecats are another step closer to worldwide fame and recognition.  Would you believe that a news reporter from Cathy Keisha's local rag has contacted both CK and Glogirly requesting exclusive (well not really exclusive...) interviews!!!

That's right, CK tapped out a compelling press release of her own and shot it off to the newspaper.  Next stop Associated Press, CNN.  Anderson Cooper, are you ready?

Glogirly and I have to break away from the production of The Real Housecats so I can coach her on the more salient points.  I can't have her putting her paw in her mouth with the press now, can I?  

...in case you're wondering, production is ON schedule with the next episode.  There's music, dancing, and LOTS of drama.  Some of the Housecats' most private of secrets will soon be revealed.

Stay tuned.

And The Winners Are

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Well you voted... did you ever! ...and we've got we've got some winners to congratulate!

But first -
Glogirly and I are absolutely thrilled at the incredible response we've received with the release of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere.  Cats all over the world have been tuning in.  Everyone loves seeing so many of their furry, blogging friends!

As I'm writing this, over 800 cats and a few people have watched the premiere episode on my YouTube Channel!

Production is already underway for the next episode and we think you're going to love it!

We've created a very special award in recognition of the Real Housecats Cast & Crew.  Oscar, you better move over.  There's a new gold standard and her name is CATTY.   As fun as it is for everyone to vote for their favorite cats, so many of our friends commented how hard a decision it was.  And let's face it, The Real Housecats are about ALL the cats.  (I didn't get enough votes anyway.)

So a huge PAWS UP to the entire Cast & Crew!

We've included links to everyone's blogs to you can teleport over.

Kjelle Bus

Penelope

Figaro

Artemisia

Mario

Wally

Kite

Cathy Keisha

Austin

Katie

Callie

Clooney

Cody

Ernie

Ginger

Hakeem

Noah

Spitty

Twix

Please feel free to proudly display your award on your blogs and Facebook pages. 

You've earned it!

And in case you were wondering - Over 200 votes were cast ...

 Kjelle Bus & Ernie were the big winners of our official poll!

(We're sure it was the sunglasses and salmon.)  

Real Housecat Sighting

Hi everyone, Katie here.

The Real Housecats are a smashing success and they're getting all kinds of great press.  If you haven't heard already, Your Daily Cute featured them today as, well... their DAILY CUTE!

Plans are underway for a second episode.  In the meantime, the Housecats have been spotted at a local fish market and bottle shop, where it's believed they've been "shopping" for party necessities.  This looks to be a celebration of monumental proportions.

As always, drama follows the Housecats.

Left - Right:  Wally, Katie, Cathy Keisha, Kite

Wally, incognito as the fish guy, has bound and gagged the real fish guy to gain access to the salmon case.  

Katie, a known connoisseur of fine seafood, takes charge of the haul.  Cathy Keisha and Kite are on lookout 

and ready to take down the authorities if necessary.

Bottom Left - Right:  Figaro, Penelope, Kjelle Bus     

In Basket and daydreaming:  Austin

The Real Housecats for Peace, representing 4 countries, can at least agree that the best bubbly comes from France.
Meanwhile, some of the Housecats are getting a little tired of Kjelle's sunglasses, accusing him of taking his
sudden leap into fame's spotlight just a bit too far.  Kjelle maintains he's simply shy.  

Left - Right:  Mario, Artemisia

Rumors indicate the behind-the-scenes romance between resident Catsanova (Mario) and Southern Belle 

(Artemisa) is  about to become even steamier as Mario invites his muse into the stockroom at the same 

local fish market.   As if Wally's takedown of the fish guy wasn't bad enough. 

If you're still living under a rock and haven't seen the premiere episode of The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere, just click HERE.

If you spot any of the Housecats out and about, PLEASE send us an iReport.

A Room At The Inn

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Glogirly has checked into the Fection Inn.  All of those late nights spent on Real Housecats production must have taken their toll.

The doctor said it's in her sign-us.  I don't know how our sign could have anything to do with making her feel icky.  But I guess that's why the doctor is a doctor and I'm a Real Housecat.

So we're laying low, catching up on some naptime here at the inn.

Thanks for all of your WONDERFUL comments on the Real Housecats video!  We've already received some VERY intriguing storylines for the next installment.   Like the video said, The Housecats are just getting started!

Pee S - If you've been living under a rock and haven't seen The Real Housecats Of The Blogosphere premiere episode yet, just click HERE.