5 Things I'll Miss the Most at #BlogPaws 2015

Today I'm hoping you'll all allow me to indulge in a bit of a pity party. Many of my pet blogging friends are currently at BlogPaws 2015 in Nashville and once again Truffles and I must watch from the sidelines. As the sole caregiver for both of my parents who have had major health issues in the past year, travel just is not an option for me right now. This is the third year I have wanted to attend the BlogPaws conference, but for some reason it's hitting me a little harder this year.

So while many bloggers will soon be writing posts about their favorite BlogPaws moments and products, I decided to write about the 5 things I'm missing the most by not being there:

5) Nashville. As a lifelong country music lover, Nashville has always been on my bucket list of places to visit. The opportunity to see Nashville while getting to meet my blogger pals (and their pets all dressed up in their adorable cowboy duds!) would have been priceless.

4) Education. I've been blogging for almost 4 years now but still have so, so much that I want to learn. SEO, photography, monetizing...the list is endless. Two panels/workshops that I would have been first in line for were titled, "CWA Writing Track - Bridging Journalistic Excellence and Blogging" and "Branded Content Workshop: How to Create Authentic Sponsored Posts".

3) Swag. I'm not going to lie...I love free stuff. Truffles loves free stuff. Who doesn't???

2) Meeting with brands. The chance to meet face-to-face with the brands I would love to work with would be a great opportunity. I feel like not attending blogging conferences makes it look like I'm not a serious blogger, and nothing could be further from the truth.

1) Meeting online friends "in the fur". This one tops the list for me. The friends I have met through pet blogging are "my people"...people who view their pet as family. In many ways I feel a greater kinship with them than people I see everyday in my "real life". Even better, many of them are bringing their famous pets!!! I wish there was someplace online to stream Katie and Waffles' Kitty Cocktail Hour.

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So what's a girl to do with a brand spanking new media kit and nowhere to go? I'm looking on the bright side. I do everything I can to grow my blog in ways that work for me. I do that with Truffles, my inspiration, by my side. My parents are doing better and for right now, things are good.

And today we're starting a campaign: in 2017 the conference will be back on the east coast, and we have our fingers, toes, and paws crossed for a northeast conference! We want BlogPaws to know that Burlington, Vermont has some really great pet-friendly conference centers, and the weather is just purr-fect this time of year too!!! 

Just sayin'...