Pet Blog Challenge, Better Late Than Never!!

Yeah, Yeah I'm waaay late. Cut me some slack, I didn't find out about this til later, then I was trying to decide whether or not I was going to be a late participant and yep I have decided to be!

Me!

1. When did you begin your blog?
I started blogging October of 2009. At that time I was lucky if I blogged once a month. I didn't start blogging regularly til approximately April of 2010.

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?
I had lost my job in 2007 due to downsizing.  I was feeling worthless, depressed, not at all like me. I had worked my entire life and I knew I needed a "purpose".

Cody in the "original" Cat Chat Chair!

I  saw an ad and attended a workshop that The Oakland Press (a local S.E. Michigan newspaper who "houses" my blog) sponsored for individuals who wanted to become  "Citizen Journalists". I was offered (and turned down)  the opportunity of covering City Council meetings (boring, boring, boring). I knew that WASN'T for me! I knew the online world was booming and I noticed they had a number of blogs on their website but NONE about Cats.

  I wanted to write about something that I was passionate about and writing about cats was the no-brainer choice.  "Cat Chat" was one of the blogs I suggested, I also suggested a food blog and a Reality TV blog but they chose "Cat Chat!". I had never done a blog before and actually was terrified at first. I dedicated "Cat Chat" to my Angel Bobo and my Cody..... and ran with it!

Angel Bobo

3. Is your current purpose the same? 
I would say overall yes. I am a very passionate person who has tried throughout her life to ONLY be involved with people and things that I am passionate about. If you don't believe in your gut and don't have a passion for what you are doing it will never work. The day I stop being passionate about cats (which will NEVER happen) or lose my passion for my blog is the day I need to give it up.

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?
As I mentioned when I started the blog I was lucky if I was doing one blog a month. In April I started blogging on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. That is the basic schedule I try to adhere too. This past Fall/Winter I was blogging nearly every day. For me I think that is a little too much. I know how hard it is for me to keep up with blogs that post nearly every day and I don't want my blog to become a  bother for someone to read.  Don't get me wrong, if I have something to say or to post then by all means I will. Otherwise blogging on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are what I shoot for.

5. Are you generating income from your blog?
I am lucky, yes....a little bit!! Not enough to pay the bills  by any means but I am lucky to be making any money at all. I would love to earn more money with the blog but if that doesn't happen I am ok with that too. Ultimately my blog is for my regular readers (who I value more than anything) and to convey my love of cats. If extra money happens fine...if it doesn't I am fine with that too.

Cody

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular? 
I think what I like the most is the incredible people I have met along the way. It is amazing how close I feel to so many of the bloggers after not having been blogging that long. Pet Bloggers are a generous, warm, caring and supportive community that I am honored and proud to be a part of.

My favorite times on my blog are when I am blogging as my cat, Cody.  I love the reactions I get from my readers when I am Cody. Cody has an attitude, he is sarcastic, fat and sassy but fun and loving....hmmmm...an awful lot like his Mom! I have ALWAYS loved to make people laugh. That is a characteristic I have had since childhood and speaking as Cody truly is a vehicle for me to be able to make people laugh. There is no better gift to me than when I experience a good laugh and I want to be able to give the same gift of laughter to others.

I love doing book reviews and am trying to get my paws  ooops hands!! (Cody slipped in! Sorry!) on product reviews. I think that would be a ton of fun! I love supporting various causes pertaining to cats/rescue/neutering etc and I love the kind people who have been featured as Guest Bloggers.

I also  love constantly learning and trying to improve my blog. I have a long way to go, it is a work in progress.

7. What do you like least?
The fear of having nothing to say (Writer's Block). The constant fear that I am just not good enough! But I keep plugging away!

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2011? 

I don't like to try and predict too much because life/God has a way of leading us where we are supposed to be but I would like to finally become adept at using my video camera and shoot videos.  I want to become much more technologically savvy than I am now. I have a digital camera and NEVER use it and I know I need to! I want to work even harder than I have thus far because I am one that believes with hard work, passion and a belief that you CAN DO IT...the sky's the limit!!!

Cody and I

Thanks for taking the time to read and sorry I am so late! Thanks to all of the bloggers out there who touch my heart both through your comments on my blog and through your posts on your OWN blogs, who make ME laugh and learn and ponder on a regular basis....you guys rock and you are my idols!