Guest Bloggers Wanted

Here I am again, wondering what I was thinking starting a blog. Well, yeah, I wanted to write about the cats, the craziness of being a multi-cat household, dole out the cute stories along with real tried and true advice for pet owners, and everything in between. I've mostly been hitting that target. However, I do tend to fall off my routine of posting regularly.

I do bits and pieces of "research" here and there about how to get more followers/readers, how to make money on the blog, and all that good stuff. Honestly, I never truly believed I could support my lifestyle on income from a blog. My life is interesting, but not money-producing interesting!

Recently, I went down the rabbit hole of how to make money on the blog - advertising, paid subscriptions, selling items, etc. All the usual things I have seen a million times over. Currently, I don't feel anyone should pay for my content (I'm barely getting a once-a-week blog posted, let alone extra content for paid subscribers). One thing I absolutely despise - advertisements, commercials, you know the deal... wait 30 seconds for a video to play before you close it. X out of a million pop-ups just to read something that takes you a total of 3 minutes. So yeah - letting advertisements pop up on my blog - hard NO. I get I'm essentially turning down free money there. But it's not worth it - feel differently? Please try to change my mind.

Now, if I just look at trying to get more followers/readers of the blog, I stumbled upon something: guest bloggers! What?!?! That means I could potentially get more than one post hitting the internet every week, not to mention about different topics. Win/win/win, right?!

I know a few people who have things to talk about—they could just as easily write it. Bloggers don't even have to use their "street" names! I'm going to dig a bit deeper into finding some "guest" bloggers or even someone who wants to blog on a regular basis.

Blogging success seems to be directly related to the topics you write about, if that topic is currently trending, etc. Much like everything else in our lives—what's trending is the major focal point. So, got some good finance insight, amazing healthy dinner recipes, or some lifestyle tips & tricks? You could be the next top blogger or my guest blogger!

To my dedicated readers: What topics would you like more of? Pets, technology, psychology, politics, video games, food? Share your thoughts in the comments or email me. I'm also looking for guest bloggers. If you're interested or know someone who is, please get in touch. Anyone can write a blog; there's no right or wrong way to do it.

Till our tails cross again,

Melanie

#blogger #guestblogger #hottopics #trending

Just one more job

You read that right! I have added one more job to my list of jobs. Don't ask how I'm fitting this into my already over filled schedule - because I haven't figured that out yet. This one is one I'm truly excited for (I love all my other jobs still!). It's part of a new venture with a friend that I never thought would happen in my lifetime. This solidifies that if you want it and put in the work, it's absolutely possible.

What is this job? Teaching craft classes - something I have been doing for free at the local library for the last year. I had been kicking around a way to monetize the classes, but since I originally volunteered to do the classes for free/at cost, I couldn't just say, "Hey, now it's going to cost X per person per class." So now I'll get paid to do something I love - crafting, and I'll get to share my knowledge and experience with others.

A huge shoutout to Becky from @Rebekah Jane Art. She's been teaching classes longer than I have and has the ability to rent a studio space. I'm excited to collaborate with her for classes and community crafting! It's going to be great having a dedicated space we can schedule around our own schedules.

How did this all come about? I took one of her classes at a local coffee shop, and at the end, I said it would be amazing if we could open a studio kind of place offering classes, open studio time, etc. A few months later, a lease was signed, classes were scheduled, and we are ready to be crafty! Fingers crossed this year goes as well as we both hope and plan it to.

Becky does a lot of "upcycled" crafting, which is absolutely amazing, while I tend to do more crafting with newer materials. With the two of us teaching, there's a good mix of classes to attend. We also both sell our own completed items at craft shows. I tend to keep my craft shows to a handful each year right now. Adding teaching will keep my life full and hopefully balanced.

Currently, I have 2 classes scheduled for September at a local winery—I'm interested to see how those go. Let's hope those classes fill up! I also have 3 classes scheduled at Becky's Studio for September/October. As I get classes set, I'll be adding them to my website home page so you can easily sign up.

I want to know: what kind of craft classes would you sign up for? Something that you can complete in one class, or something that you complete over the course of a few classes? Would you pay for "studio" time just to come and craft with other crafters?

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

#lovecatsandeverything #rebeccajaneart #crafts #teaching #craftypeople

Cat House is full

To say our house is full is a drastic understatement—but it's absolutely true. We are filled to the max with cats. We have no more room for cat beds, toys, towers, litter boxes, and feeding spaces. Cats, despite being so small, take up a decent amount of room. Well, maybe it's just my cats that do. From preferred litter box locations to needing a certain spot for water/food and the right amount of space to snooze and play. Our house is big enough—and would be even bigger minus all the cat necessities they think they need (and I more than happily provide!)

As I was doing my usual routine of scooping litter, sweeping floors, spraying some Odo-Ban to help keep things fresh between washes, I noticed Roughy getting wound up. What could he be getting so wound up for? He's in his favorite space—the sun porch! None of the other cats are bothering him. Rather, none of the indoor cats are. What is bothering him? An orange and white cat is sitting on the step outside of the sun porch and hitting the window right where Roughy is sitting. So for a good 10 minutes, they are playing hit the window. Being dark out, it was hard to notice that there was a cat outside—until his face is pressed up against the window and Roughy starts "talking." He's worked up, and it's hard to say if it's "Hey, I want to be friends," or if it's more along the lines of "Get out of my territory."

Like the crazy lady I am, I'm talking back to Roughy. Surprise, surprise... I know. Telling him that it's okay, the house is full, that kid is not coming inside. He is only an outside cat. The house is full, so even if we wanted to, we can't bring him in right now. Roughy keeps talking back, so we carried that on for the next 10 minutes or so. Yep - I sound absolutely crazy. Meanwhile, I tell Gene that if Roughy starts acting wild or peeing places, it's because there's a cat outside tormenting him.

Is this the first cat to come calling at our doorstep? Nope. Will it be the last? Nope. In fact, there are currently 2 cats that come to our doors. One is orange and white—and clearly has some spice. The other is a tiger stripe with white. The tiger stripe had all the kittens wound up because he was sitting at the front door. I was made aware of this cat - courtesy of Gene. He said you have to come see this... Is that one of our cats outside? I don't think it is, but it could be.

In my head I'm like - if it's not, it's about to be! If I open this door and I can pick the cat up or it walks into the house, it's now our cat. Fortunately for Gene (and reluctantly, me), the cat ran across the street instead of into the house. It truly looks like one of our cats that is inside, and with so many looking the same and so many hiding places, we do question when they show up outside.

Stray cats seem to instinctively know which houses are safe, gravitating towards ours for food, water, or shelter. They sit at our door, ignoring neighbors, perhaps guided by a silent code from our indoor cats indicating we're a welcoming home.

Sadly, our house is full; otherwise, I would be taking in ALL the strays that come into our yard. It pains me to know that there are so many cats in need, and nowhere has space for them or the ability to help them. Please do your part: keep your pets inside, get them spayed/neutered, and help TNR when you can. The stray population is out of control and feels like it always will be.

So - roughly - sorry to say your new bestie or enemy will be staying outside for the time being. Unless you and he can convince Gene to let him in.

As I finish writing this post, there is now a third new cat hanging around—a beautiful calico. As Gene says, NO MORE CATS, they have to stay outside and no more reproducing!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

#lovecatsandeverything #straycats #orangecats #spiceoflife #fullhouse