Thursday, June 4, 2015

(Besides the Obvious) 5 Reasons I'm Happy to to Be Home From the BlogPaws Conference

For the most part, conferences (especially when they're in popular vacation spots, like Las Vegas and Nashville, for example) are fun. So much fun, in fact, that I need about three days to recover after returning home. 

(Note: Recover = sleep and minimal mental exertion = for example, {to child} "No, I can't drive you to X place at 8 a.m." and {to husband} "Sorry, but am I going to have to actually get up, get dressed and talk to the irrigation people when they get here? Or will they just remember what you told them on the phone, do all the work and leave quietly?")

The good news is that it's been three days since I returned home from the BlogPaws Pet Blogger and Social Media conference in Nashville, TN, so I'm refreshed and raring to put to use some of the many things I learned! The bad news? I have to deep clean my whole house in preparation for events surrounding my daughter's graduation from high school this weekend, so those ambitions will have to wait until next week. (Also, yes, I am aware that it's almost Friday, which doesn't give me a lot of time for chores. Let's just say the "deep" in "deep clean" is relative.☺)

That's me, walking the red carpet before the BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Awards gala. My blog was a finalist in two categories: Best Blog Design and Best Humor Blog. I did not win.**  I was, however, awarded a certificate of excellence for my blog's About page.
image courtesy BlogPaws and bybecka.com

Here is the full, live-streamed Nose-to-Nose Awards ceremony, if you care to see it. The video will start (I'm sorry, I'm just so thrilled my little blog was mentioned, I had to cut it right to the chase!) where the Best (pet blog) About Page is announced.

But back to BlogPaws for a bit: Holy dog and cat, what a flipping good time! There is so much I could say about the learning (in acclaimed author and Vietnam veteran, Lon Hodge, aka "Mr. Gander's" creative writing session, titled, The Raccoons Stole My Peanut Butter; award-winning writer and blogger, Maggie Marton's authenticity in writing session; and the Web-building genius, Jill Caren's advanced SEO session, just to name a few places). But, I won't - because I'd bore you and you'd leave, and I don't want you to leave because I have an important list for you to read. (In only 3.5 more minutes, I promise!)

And, don't even get me started on the fantastic people (I can't name them all, so I won't even try. If I talked to you at the conference, consider yourself included. Except for that one person who looked at me like I was a five-headed alien...KIDDING! No one looked me that way {not to my face, anyway})! ☺ 

Then there were all the pets...oh my gosh, SO many (besides my own, who were chilling at home)! Here's just a small sample (shot with my cell phone). 

So this is Adorable Sleeping Foster Kitten (I don't know his real name, nor who was holding him, because I was running. If someone else knows, please let me know in comments so I can correct!)

And here we have the lovely (and terribly modest) Luna and her mama, Jessica S. (fellow Virginians, I will add), from the budget-conscious and DIY dog-blog, Beagles and Bargains

(Nope, I am not sh^tting you.☺) Any Instagram-ers out there? If so, you might recognise Priscilla here! She and her bro, Poppleton (who is smooshed down in the stroller beside her), the mini-pigs are BIG Instagram stars, with nearly half a MILLION followers! (@prissy_pig) (I still can't believe I saw these two at the conference.)
And last, but not least, for Corgi Nation...

This is the lovely Eve Corgi Coulter (aka "VP of Princessology"), who, along with her brother, Ty Coulter, are the stars of the popular blog and Facebook page, Corgilicious! (Miss Eve was the ONLY corgi at the conference, and meeting her made my whole day!)

Y'all, this was my fourth BlogPaws conference, and let me tell you, it takes massive will-power (and practice, I've learned) to get anything "serious" accomplished with all the critters running around! And they are all so well-behaved!

Do you wanna know a secret? I started pining for Jon Farleigh, Dewi and (most of) my cats by the second night. Yep. Turns out it's hard for me to sleep un-cramped in a queen bed, in relative silence (relative to the humming of the kitchen exhaust fan, just beyond the balcony). So even though I had a wonderful time in Nashville (including getting out on the town for a day), it was really good to get home to my furry family (and, I suppose, the un-furry family, too). ☺

That's not all. I've realized, this week, a few other (less-obvious) reasons I'm happy to be home, too. Perhaps you can relate. 

5 Less-Obvious Reasons I'm Happy to Be Home From the BlogPaws Conference

1. No more loneliness in the bathroom! Seriously. I never know how much I appreciate furry potty-time companionship until I'm without it for a stretch. 

2. (And speaking of potty-time...) REGULARITY! As in, it's back! (Can someone please tell me what it is about not being able to go when one is away from home? Especially when one has a roommate? I mean, it's not like (in my own experience) I eat any less, or fewer fiber-rich foods (I might even eat more fiber), or that I'm actively trying to will off the urge for several days straight - it just simply DOES NOT HAPPEN. But when I'm home? {hurry! insert mental image of baby foxes in a hollowed out log, to cancel out the other...image of a baby panda in a bamboo thicket!}

3. Less-than-casual Fridays are back! OK, less-than-casual ALL the days! (Less-than-casual = pajamas or too-embarrassing-for-even-the-grocery-store sweats. Oh, and no makeup.) Hoorah!

4. (Here's one that many of us probably take for granted...) I'm the best blogger in the room! (I'm just saying, there should be an award for that. And if you're NOT a blogger? Well, just insert whatever it is that you ARE: freelance writer, mom, bookkeeper, painter, 900# phone operator, WHATEVER! If you're the only one in the room, you're the BEST! ☺

5. And, finally (this one is pretty confined to my personal situation, I have to say), 99.42% confidence (after all the learning I did in the advanced SEO class at BlogPaws) that NO ONE is going to find this blog post through a Google search! (.58% of me is still hopeful that someone will look up "SHY BOWELS WHEN AWAY FROM HOME + BLOGPAWS," because then, I win! Woo!) 

And to Dorothy...you were right: There's no place like home! (♪♪ Dun dun dun dun dun...dun dun dun! ♪♪)

OK, what did I leave off the list, you guys? Anything? Did you go to BlogPaws (or any other conference, ever)? Why are you glad to be home?



* BlogPaws '16 is going to be in Phoenix, AZ! Will you be there, too? 

** The Nose-to-Nose award for Best Blog Design went to Jessica W. and You Did What With Your Wiener. The award for Best Pet Humor Blog went to Jennifer C. and My Brown Newfies & Me. If you haven't already, check them out!

27 comments:

  1. Great wrapup. As someone with IBS, TW was glad for #2 otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten to any of the sessions. She was thrilled to meet you. That first photo is Miss Jeanne from Random Felines and Queso. At least I’m pretty sure than was Queso but it could have been Taquito or Salsa cos they were all present.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why can’t you edit comments? That should read “pretty sure THAT was Queso."

      Delete
    2. Oh dear, well then I'm glad for #2, too! (Also, I'm glad for the absense of #2.) ;) :) Thanks for the name of the lady and her kitten (whichever Mexican yummy food he is!! I'll get it updated as soon as I get her blog link! (P.S. Blogger is so dumb about not allowing comment edits.)

      Delete
  2. I admit I came to to your site to check out your About Page (which is hilarious), and got sucked into reading more and more of your posts. No. 2 (is that why you numbered that one 2?) gets me everytime too and I thought I was the only one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "We love comments almost as much as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Thank you!" more humor! I love it.

      Delete
    2. Anne, thank you and it makes me happy to know you smiled after reading a few of my nutty posts! :) You know what? I hate to admit it, but NO! I didn't even realize #2 on my list was about #2 until someone pointed it out! (That is SO unlike me. To miss something so juvenile.) And, no, you're not the only one - you should see how many Google results come up for that topic! ew!

      Delete
  3. Somehow we missed the dog with the yellow flower on her privates ;) Great to hang out with you a bit here and there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha. :) Yes, agreed! Having time to chat a bit was a wonderful treat!

      Delete
  4. The mom wants to know how she missed seeing you this year at BlogPaws?? Oh well. Congrats on your special award for your About Page. That's pretty cool.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, now I need you to ask your mom how many of those fancy beverages she had at Glogirly's meet-and-greet. Because I accosted her on my way out the door (she must have not heard me say my name and blog over the room volume, and that's OK!). :) Thank you!

      Delete
  5. Well, I had to laugh out loud at Luna's flower! This reminds me that I need to go and stalk your About Page as I haven't had the chance to do so yet. Congrats on your nominations and your certificate! I can only imagine how tiring the conference must be! Looks like fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ann! I hope you make it to AZ for next year's conference; would really love to meet you! It's tiring, yes, but so worth it getting to talk face-to-face with people I care about. :)

      Delete
  6. What a great review! You're so funny, making real life problems funny. I want to give you the biggest THANK YOU for #4 on your list, I'm forever your biggest fan because of it.
    You included everyday people like me!! I read blogs, comment, etc. but at these events, when I read peoples write ups about them, it sounds like an exclusive club! I can't begin to thank you for this blog, I'll treasure it, truly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, as usual, Connie! I'm so glad I make you laugh. :) And you are absolutely the best blog-reader, commenter, communicator, PERSON, in your own way! It is so NOT an exclusive club (though, I can see how it might seem so). I have 5 years of experience and have known many other bloggers for a long time. Believe me, in the beginning, I was lost and green. (Though, again, I need not have been.)

      Delete
  7. Oh dear Luna's flower lol; so sad I missed the conference but it has been really fun reading all about it and seeing all the lovely photos & videos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope to see you next time? And congratulations again on your win for Best New Blog! I rang the cow bell Glogirly gave me SO hard when they called your name!

      Delete
  8. So much fun!! Hope we can go one year
    Lily & Edward

    ReplyDelete
  9. No plans to attend any of the upcoming BlogPaws, but I do still kick myself for skipping the Tyson's Corner one. Practically in my own backyard and I didn't go....what was I thinking? Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You were thinking it would eventually come back to Tysons. So did I. Maybe it will one day. I am really loving getting to see the other cities, though. I don't get to travel much!

      Delete
  10. What a wonderful wrap-up! It's always great to get home and get back to your "regular" routine, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the update. I couldn't make it this year, but will see about next year. It sounded as though there were more cats in attendance this year. Congrats on your award!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Now I'm tempted to do some SEO stuff and see what search terms do bring viewers to your page. If you know, you just MUST tell us! I'm so curious!

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Jean, where would I begin with the things I rank for? :) How about "broken dishwasher," "why do dogs sit on cats," "funny turds," "aquasaurs"....I could go on. :) I also rank for my blog name, and Jon Farleigh (my fluffy corgi)! I guess that's good?

      Thank you for stopping by and saying "hello"!

      Delete
  13. It was wonderful to see you! That picture of Luna cracks me up still! We have our tickets for next year, so see you there!
    -Jessica from Beagles & Bargains

    ReplyDelete

We love comments almost as much as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Thank you!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...