![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Teri-BZ-Robin.jpg\" "\\"Teri-BZ-Robin\\"")
<\/a>The best part of BlogPaws is catching up with friends \u2013 some I was meeting for the first time like Bz Tat on the left, and others like Teri Thorsteinson and her cat Coco, and Robin Olson on the right, I had already met a few times.<\/p><\/div>\n
From the moment you get up to head for breakfast to the moment you crash in exhaustion for the night, BlogPaws is a virtual whirlwind of non-stop activity, learning, bonding, and socializing. Breakfast, keynote speakers, the inevitable hallway conversations and photo ops, meeting old friends, meeting new friends, seminars, visiting vendor and sponsor tables, dinner receptions,\u00a0awards and more! Whew\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/a>Robin shows off her leopard print glasses. Surprisingly enough, these glasses are actually used to improve her vision and are not a cat inspired prop! Go figure...<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>My roommate, Christine<\/p><\/div>\n
Since this was my second BlogPaws, the initial shyness I had at the first one had long since worn off. Soon after landing I unpacked and quickly donned my cat ears in pursuit of meeting up with old friends.\u00a0 Ingrid King of Conscious Cat<\/a>, Angie Bailey of Catladyland<\/a>, Robin Olson of Covered in Cat Hair<\/a>, Kate Benjamin of Moderncat<\/a>, Janea Kelly of Paws and Effect<\/a>, Janiss Garza of Sparkle Cat<\/a>, Stephanie Harwin of Catsparella<\/a>, Karen Nichols of Mousebreath<\/a>, Teri Thorsteinson of Curlz and Swirlz<\/a>, Tamar Arslanian of I Have Cat<\/a>, Dorian Wagner of Your Daily Cute<\/a>, Rachel Shubin of\u00a0 We Have a Situation<\/a>, Lorie Huston of\u00a0Pet Healthcare Gazette<\/a>,\u00a0and Christine Michaels of Riverfront Cats <\/a>just to name a few. You will note as well that Christine and\u00a0I were sporting lovely purses with images of our cats on them throughout the days of the conference. Here she is with her cat Geisha and you can see me everywhere with my Zoey on one side of the bag, and Zee on the other! If you are interested in one for yourself or as a great gift for one of your cat loving friends, please\u00a0click here\u00a0<\/a>for details.<\/p>\n I know Caren Gittleman of Cat Chat was heartbroken she could not make it to BlogPaws. She and I are like Lucy and Ethel when we get together and I decided to have her show up one way or another. She was hoping to meet Debbie Glovatsky of Glorgirly, so now she can say she did!! For those that don't know, Debbie is in the center, and Caren on the right.<\/p><\/div>\n I also got to meet some of my new friends that I am just crazy about \u2013 Joanne McGonagle of The Tiniest Tiger<\/a>, Debbie Glovatsky of Glogirly<\/a>, Amy Palmer of\u00a0 My Life in Words<\/a>, Molly Mednikow of Amazon Cares<\/a>, Steve Dale of Steve Dale’s Pet World<\/a>,\u00a0 Peter Wolf of Vox Felina<\/a>, Bonnie Koenig of My Siamese.com<\/a>, Vicki Stringfellow Cook of Bunny’s Blog<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0Jo Singer of Petside.com<\/a>, and\u00a0Julie Shubin \u2013 Rachel\u2019s mom. Conspicuously absent were two of my favorite friends in the cat blogosphere \u2013 Caren Gittleman of Cat Chat <\/a>who had to back out at the last minute due to an illness and Layla Morgan Wilde of Cat Wisdom 101 <\/a>who has an ailing cat at home (Merlin). If I have missed ANYONE, it was not intentional \u2013 I have high regard and props for all of my fellow bloggers, but this is a lot to type (especially with links) and remember!!<\/p>\n Hmmm... Just what is Miss Moderncat, Kate Benjamin, up to with that whip... Oh, never mind, it's just a clever cat toy being introduced at the Catification Lounge!<\/p><\/div>\n The local high school hangout, so to speak, was the incredible Catification Lounge sponsored by Kate Benjamin and Jackson Galaxy. A dizzying delight to any cat lover, the room was filled with every toy, litter box, scratching post, feeding dish, fluffy bed, and cat condo imaginable to meet the needs of discriminating cats everywhere. Great prizes were given away and this was just a wonderful place to chill for some cat conversation in a room\u00a0clustered with people that did not think it odd at all that cats were wearing clothes, in strollers, and revered like a parent showing off pictures of a newborn baby… In this case, we all showed off our feline family members via electronics – phones and computers!<\/p>\n Some of the pawsome cat scratchers and condos in the Catification Lounge<\/p><\/div>\n There were enough toys in the lounge to make any kitties head spin in delight!<\/p><\/div>\n Also attending BlogPaws were my beloved Zee and Zoey Flat Pets who came for the first ever Nose-to-Nose Awards ceremony. We were nominated for Best Designed Blog and Best Twitter Page and they wanted to make sure they got their due claps, cheers, meows, purrs, and camera time. I woke up the morning of the awards with a nervous pit in my stomach, allergies, and a massive migraine that has just recently gone away, but Zee and Zoey seemed well rested and completely stress free as the next photo will demonstrate. But, please, for those of you with young children and kittens, proceed with caution\u2026 the picture is a bit, ahem, intimate\u2026<\/p>\n Zoey woke up from a wonderful cat nap hoping for a little morning delight. Zee, being the obtuse boy he is, was completely oblivious to her signs and grabbed the remote to watch TV...<\/p><\/div>\n Zoey dolling herself up for the big awards ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n Zee, Zoey, and I head downstairs for the big night. I hope I have enough leopard stuff on... maybe I need to go back upstairs and change...<\/p><\/div>\n Zee and Zoey get a great seat up front so they can quickly grab their awards!!!<\/p><\/div>\n When we got to the awards reception, the crowd was alive with anticipation \u2013 so many great award categories and so many talented bloggers!! Alas, despite me keeping my fingers crossed, praying to the cat awards Gods, and wearing my lucky leopard shoes, it was not meant to be and once again I was the Susan Cat Lucci of the night\u2026 But, we graciously give huge congratulations to Karen Nichols who won Best Designed Blog for\u00a0Skeezix the Cat <\/a>and to Cathy Kesiha of the World’s Most Stunning Cat <\/a>who won for Best Twitter Page. Honestly though, I have said this over and over – the caliber of talent and dedication in the pet blogging world is incredible. I feel all of us are winners in our own special way and I congratulate each and every one of us, nominees, winners, or otherwise for being our wonderful, unique cat-caring selves.<\/p>\n Okay, so I didn't win any awards... but, next best thing, I got to hang with my favorite Loews girls, Christine Michaels and Dorian Wagner!<\/p><\/div>\n Next year the event will be held in Tysons Corner, VA and I am already looking forward to buying a new leopard wardrobe, after all, I did learn in one of the seminars I attended that branding is very important. In closing, I would like to thank all the great people at BlogPaws who put this whole event together – Yvonne DiVita, Tom Collins, Caroline Golon, and Chole DiVita\u00a0 just to name a few. Without them, we would not have all the wonderful memories and renewed drive and knowledge to make the world a better place for animals. As amazing Keynote Speaker, Lena West of InfluenceExpansion.com, said to us on Saturday morning, “It’s either now or now.” How right she is! I know I’m ready and I hope everyone else is!<\/p>\n I’ll end the post by sharing some of my favorite pictures to follow\u00a0and don’t forget, tomorrow is the last day to nominate your favoire pet bloggers for a Pettie Award and vote for a rescue of your choice to win $10,000. Please click here for details<\/a>.<\/p>\n I don't know who this dog belongs to, or its name, but if it isn't the cutest thing on earth, I don't know what is!! I think the Snuggle Fabric Bear has some stiff competition!<\/p><\/div>\n Here I am with Snoopy of "Snoopy's Dog Blog" who was one of the winning recipients of the PetSmart Blog to Business Case Study. I gotta admit this guy stole my heart!<\/p><\/div>\n I wasn't the only one who fell in love with Snoopy. Here he is with Christine Michaels, myself, Flat Pet Katie, and Debbie Glovatsky who I graciously allowed to wear leopard print next to me!<\/p><\/div>\n Bev VanZant who is the brilliant creator of the "Flat Pet" concept orchestrated a Flat Pet Flash Mob Dance for the Friday morning opening ceremony. Here you will see Dorian Wagner (center) doing her part! I was asked to join the group, but had a massive panic attack and cold feet, so I backed out at the last minute!<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>