Swagalicious Cat Bag!

WAFFLES:  Hey Boss! Check it out! I think this is Glogirly's swag bag from the conference cat!

KATIE:  You mean from the Cat Writer's Conference. I'm pretty sure she said to wait until she was ready. 

WAFFLES: Um, Glogirly? Um, so are you ready? To open the bag? You know, the bag with the swag?

L-R: Nip Nibblers, Sticky Paws, Twice Mice

KATIE:  This has got to be the best swag bag we've EVER received. Tons of cool stuff. DEFINITELY worth the trip! More treats and toys than I– I mean Waffles can count.  

WAFFLES:  Yeah Boss, and almost all the toys came in twos! One for me and one for –

KATIE:  Yeah Waffles. NONE for me and TWO for you.

WAFFLES:  That's what I SAID! One for ME and one for... me.

KATIE:  *sigh*  And I suppose it's no coincidence that the cat on the Sticky Paws package looks just a little too familiar???

WAFFLES:  MY favorites are the Nip Nibbler Stix and the Twice Mice! 

KATIE:  Of course they are.  That's because we got TWO. 

WAFFLES:  Actually we got three nip nibblers. I already nibblered one.

KATIE:  Well mitts off this mouse. His tail is MINE. Go play with your ball.

WAFFLES:  Just because you're scared of balls –

KATIE:  I'm NOT scared of balls, Waffles.

We want to thank all of the generous sponsors of the Cat Writers' Association Conference for the wonderful swag they donated to all of us. And we want to thank Glogirly for finding enough room in her suitcase to bring it all home.

WAFFLES:  I hope she didn't have to leave any shoes or underwear behind!

Click HERE if you're interested in learning more about becoming a member of the CWA.

Catlady Fun At The CWA

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Glogirly finally found her way home from the Cat Writers' Association conference. She was quick to unpack the Muse Medallion awards she received for best color photography series and best black & white series. I question the sense of awarding HER the medallions for photos that clearly featured ME. ...and a couple of Waffles.

(If you're curious, you can check out the winning photos HERE & HERE.)

Those medallions are awfully big and heavy too. Not exactly cat-friendly. I can barely bat them around the townhouse.

And considering she STOLE my mouse for her so-called Halloween costume, I have nothing to bat around here except a certain orange ...ok, not such a bad idea after all.

Glogirly had a great time hanging with all the cat ladies. There were lots of laughs, lots of cat ears and even MORE awards. Big congratulations to our friends Angie Bailey of Catladyland, JaneA Kelley from Paws & Effect and Cat Wisdom 101's Layla Morgan Wilde for their Muse Medallion wins. And a special congratulations to Deb Barnes of Zee & Zoey for winning Friskies' Writer of the Year Award!

Glogirly's favorite part was rooming with Maxwell, FaRADay & Allie's mother from A Tonk's Tail. They stayed up late, painting their nails, talking about boyz and comparing wand toy stories.

Another exciting part of the conference was the unveiling of the new CWA logo that Glogirly had a hand in designing. She did the t-shirts and conference program covers too.

So Glogirly claims to have some special kitty swag for us in a bag that has yet to be unpacked.  Waffles and I are hopeful that she'll crack it open later sometime today. If not, we may have to resort to a joint covert operation.

Thank you so much to our friends & readers for so kindly visiting us while the girl's been away. We hope to catch up on our visiting and commenting very soon!

The Gloman Chronicles: Day 4, The End Is Near

Dear Glogirly,

Katie here. You're flying home today from your conference thing, and in the nick of time I might add. As per my previous communications, I've been extremely busy monitoring Waffles' activities.

He has now stolen my food in excess of 19 times, despite Gloman's feeble attempts to keep those sticky paws at bay. 

The most alarming development however, involves access to inappropriate adult-cat websites. I have photographic proof that he was surfing kitty porn late last night after Gloman went to bed. Clearly, he lied about his age when he logged on and how he got past the parental controls remains a mystery. 

Waffles, I am SO onto you.

The Gloman Chronicles: Day 3

Dear Glogirly,

Katie here. I hope you're having a good time at your cat conference thing. As promised, I'm continuing to monitor Waffles' behavior for you. 

As of 0800 hours, he's eaten my food 13 times. I don't need to remind you – he's messy. Hence I'm forced to clean up the carnage myself. 

Maybe if Gloman understood how to more evenly disperse the food inside the dish, we'd avoid these flying cannonballs of chicken pate Waffles shoots off the dining level of the cat tower. But the learning curve is steep. 

And another thing...

Everyday after the Gloman leaves for the office, I've caught Waffles displaying inappropriate contact with Black Cat. 

VERY inappropriate contact.

The Gloman Chronicles: Day 2

Dear Glogirly,

With only two days into your absence, I'm continuing to monitor Waffles' activities.

So far he's eaten my food 7 times. Four of these times, he horned in on my dish WHILE I was eating, exhibiting blatant disregard for common dining etiquette.

My plan to send him to the office with Gloman was looking promising.  Especially considering our usual cat sitter works at the same office AND she actually LIKES the orange terrorist. Surely Gloman cold handle a simple pass-off.

With the carrier strategically positioned by the steps leading down to the garage, I was certain I could lure him in for swift and easy transport. 

Sadly, my plans were thwarted and the whole thing ended up with another incident of inappropriate touching. 

The Gloman Chronicles: Day 1 Halloween

Dear Glogirly,

Katie here. You left this morning for the airport. Off to the Cat Writers' Association Conference. All that packing yesterday, what with the shoes and the underwear ...but you forgot something. Or rather someone. 

Only an hour since you left and Waffles has already stolen my food 4 times. He claims to be tricking and treating. Obviously he's taken the whole Halloween thing WAY too far. 

Gloman isn't due home until dinnertime. Things may be touch and go. I hope I don't starve. 

FYI...I'm going to be monitoring Waffles' daily activities and noting all infractions. I will keep you apprised of the situation here in the Townhouse.

Waffles Wednesday: Uh Oh, Can Glogirly Fly???

Hi everybuddy, Waffles here.

Glogirly has the big black box with wheels out again. She's putting all her underwear in it. Shoes too. The Boss says she's flying to Dallas for a conference. She's going to meet up with a bunch of cats that write. 

Well I'M a cat that writes...why does she have to go see OTHER cats that write when she's got me? I mean my grammar isn't THAT bad is it??? Ok, I don't really know what grammar is. Is it like a cracker? 

And how's Glogirly planning on FLYING to this Dallas place anyway? I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any wings in her closet. And that suitcase is WAY to big to fit out this window. 

She's screwed.

CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Don't worry, the Boss says we'll be okay while she's conferencing. That is if Gloman remembers how to open our food cans. The Boss also says we get to send her postcards everyday right here on our blog. If you come back, we'll let you read them.

Bound for PetSafe's Paw Print Blogger Summit

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Word in the Townhouse is the Cat Sitter will be paying us a visit soon. No, not to take care of the sniffly-nosed Glogirly. Next week, our girl and her box of kleenex are flying to the Smoky Mountains. Knoxville, Tennessee to be exact.

The nice people at PetSafe have invited Glogirly to attend their second annual Paw Print Blogger Summit at their corporate headquarters in Knoxville! They even invited ME, however I need to stay home to watch over the Townhouse. And Waffles.

You might not recognize PetSafe by name...but we KNOW you'll recognize some of their awesome products. In fact, one of our most favorite that we use every single day is made by PetSafe - our Drinkwell Pagoda Fountain. We had a giveaway a few months ago for this fountain and cats across the country were falling over themselves to enter.

PetSafe specializes in pet behavior, lifestyle and containment product solutions. They cater to both cats and dogs. ...but we're not going to hold the dog-thing against them.

They also make the Come With Me Kitty leash and harness - right up Waffles' alley. They do treat and food dispensers, litter boxes, Lickety Stick treats and of course TOYS.

It's going to be an exciting four days for Glogirly and a dozen other pet bloggers. There's a variety of presentations planned about product innovation, philanthropy and shelter programs, tours, a vet school visit, doggy training (gasp!) and more. I'm pretty sure I saw dinner and cocktails on the agenda more than once and a concert too.

Glogirly's invitation was a total surprise and she's thrilled to be able to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity. The generous people at PetSafe have taken care of everything. In addition to her all-expense-paid trip, I hear she'll be coming home with STUFF. (!)

I wouldn't be surprised if there's another cool giveaway in our future!

BarkWorld Bound

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Well Glogirly sure laid one on us today. She announced that she's going to be attending BarkWorld next week. The name alone is cause for concern. Seriously? I think she needs to get her ears checked.

The nice people at Petco are sponsoring Glogirly's trip. ...do you suppose they realize we're all CATS here???



Well the gig will be up once they see her with Flat Katie & Waffles-On-A-Stick in tow.

She's actually super excited to be going and very proud to be representing Petco at BarkWorld's National Pet Social Media Conference & Expo. It's a mecca for the social media savvy with fur.

There's a number of learning sessions she'll have a chance to attend, great brands to rub shoulders with, and bloggers to get to know.

This year, they're rolling out the red carpet for the cats with their very own MeowWorld. This will be a highlight with special activities and benefits for cat lovers. I hope they're ready because really... who DOESN'T love cats?  A number of fellow cat bloggers will be in attendance. Do you suppose they'll spend their free time together playing with wand toys and rolling around in catnip?

One of the most exciting parts of the conference is an exclusive session called, Speed Dating for Bloggers. Now don't go getting the wrong idea...it's not THAT kind of dating. It's a chance for bloggers and brands to network one-on-one, in speed dating fashion, and learn about opportunities from both angles. It's fun, rewarding and will give Glogirly a chance to dust off that elevator speech.

Some of the learning sessions she's looking forward to include topics like migrating to WordPress, making your blog content more shareable, creating press & buzz, photography and more!

She'll be sharing updates and fun photos LIVE from BarkWorld on our Facebook page, via Twitter and right here on our blog.

Rumor has it there's going to be a cat grooming demonstration. ...all the more reason to send my doppelganger-on-a-stick.

To be safe, Waffles and I are going to hide the carriers.

Thank you to Petco and BarkWorld for making Glogirly's trip possible. 

We'll try to go easy on the cat sitter.

BarkWorld Pet Social Media Conference & Expo

August 22-24  •  Atlanta GA