Jam Hands is focused pretty tightly on recipes but occasionally I like to move beyond my comfort zone and share a bit with you guys. I thought I would take that opportunity to do a little year in review to discuss the blog, my family, a few of my favorite things and my plans for 2015.
Happenings on the Blog:
This September marked my 10th year blogging anniversary. I also just hit 10 million views this December. Crazy! I am proud of my little blog and how far I have come.
There is a struggle that is very real when it comes to blogging. Is the time and money you put into your blog worth it? As a single mom, it is extremely important that this blog be a money generator and not a money sink. In that past, it was more of a money sink, but finally this year that has changed.
I am so grateful for that. It allows me to homeschool my kids and pay for anything they might need. That is a giant relief to me. Let me say thanks so much to everyone who visits this site! I still get really embarrassed when my family members introduce me to people and tell them I blog for a living. I'm not entirely sure why, I suppose I just feel silly and inadequate. I'm trying to be at peace with myself that even though I am a blogger, that doesn't mean that I don't work hard and put in a lot of hours for my "job."
On a fun note, my recipe for Amish Casserole made it into the top 100 recipes for the RecipeLion website for 2014. I get a ton of traffic whenever I am featured at RecipeLion and all their sister sites, so I greatly appreciate their recognition.
On a bummer of a note, I have stepped back from doing any more recipe posts at Mom Spark, which I had been a contributor to for a few years I think. I appreciate the experience that Amy gave me by having me on board with her team. As far as how this might affect you folks, it simply means that going forward all the posts on my site will have recipes attached and you wont have to visit another blog to view them, which is a good thing I think.
As far as posting frequency went, I was disappointed in myself that I didn't post many recipes during the holiday season this year. I have been in a blogging funk the past few months, or just too plain busy or stressed to pick up the camera and take pictures. I am going to try to refocus myself for 2015 to bring you more affordable, family friendly, comforting recipes.
Happenings with the Fam:
My daughter Violet, the quiet, emotional, good natured, sweet, always mindful and helpful, turned 7 this year. Her reading skills have skyrocketed this year. She lacks the confidence but she has the skill. Officially she wants to be an artist when she grows up so I've been investing in some really cool art sets to try to get her to try out different styles. I'm hoping to get her started on an instrument this year as well to see if we can find one she really takes to. She learned how to swim this fall and her instructor said she was the most improved of the class. If I had to describe her in three words they would be: thoughtful, obedient and perfectionist.
My Son Jack, the hyper emotional, sweet, loud and affectionate boy, turned 5 this summer. J is a very different child than his sister. There are many more tantrums, meltdowns, crying fits and stubbornness. He is a much more affectionate child, but also much more frustrating in the way he challenges me. He has said a lot of funny things this year. One that he has been saying to try to get me to let him do what he wants is to threaten me that he will go to space without a helmet on. Another funny random moment was when he said to his sister, "Look, this will blow your mind!" Then followed that up with, "Look again! This will blow your second mind!" If I had to describe him in three words they would be: loud, affectionate and sensitive.
The birthday party: He chose Jake & the Neverland Pirates for his theme. This was a large party with a lot more guests, food and outside activities going on. This is one of my moments of the year where I am so mad at myself for forgetting to grab the camera as I was super stressed out trying to manage a bunch of guests, prepare the food, frost and decorate the cake at the last minute, etc.
It was after this large party that I said enough is enough to large parties for kids. We will be doing smaller celebrations from here on out. For the record, I decorated with a giant inflatable alligator, big balloons, pirate treasure chests filled with gems and gold coins. I made a brownie bottom ice cream cake that was decorated to look like ocean waves with a sandy beach (nilla wafers blitzed up in a food processor), then cute decorations on top of the cake. Then we had picnic tables outside, music, and water activities since it was so hot.
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| At the zoo this year where most of the animal exhibits ended up being closed. Bummer! |
Favorite Books:
I challenged myself to read 24 books in 2014 and ended up over my goal, reading 32! I branched out and tried audiobooks this year. A few were duds, a few were great though. By the way I am not linking this stuff to get money from Amazon. Just sharing what I enjoyed. A few of my favorite books this year were:
Suspense:
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (I read the whole series this year.)
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Love & Relationships:
Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
Dark & Depressing:
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Awesome Audiobooks:
The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Ready Player One Ernest Cline
Favorite Shows & Music:
I don't watch a ton of television but there are a few shows I absolutely love. Here are my recommendations based on what I watched in 2014:
TV/Music: Nashville - soap opera drama mixed with tons of incredible soundtracks. The soundtracks ,which you can pick up on Amazon, are fantastic. Just the right mix of country and pop.
TV - Hart of Dixie. I love all the outfits and I am not a woman who is obsessed with fashion. The show is syrupy sweet Southern with a good bit of silly drama mixed in.
TV - Comedy: The Goldbergs. If I need a show that actually makes me laugh out loud the entire episode, The Goldbergs are it.
TV - Drama: Game of Thrones. Oh the dragons! The drama! The gore (yuck)!
My plans for 2015:
One of my goals for 2015 for the blog is to post more frequently. I often feel like simple recipes aren't
blog worthy so I don't bother taking pictures and writing them up. This is pretty silly since as a blog reader myself I am drawn to the blogs that post easy to make, family friendly foods.
Another goal is to get more practice with my new camera and new editing program. As I write this I am waiting on my order for a new digital camera and a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I have no idea how to use this software which stresses me out a bit. I want to give my readers the best looking, true to real life photos that I can, so I will be getting a lot of practise in with the camera and the software.For financial goals, my plan for 2015 is to save, save, save. I got a bunch of major expense items in 2014 that the family needed. Now it is time to start making a safety net for emergencies.
My personal goals for the new year are to take better care of myself, have more patience, and push myself to put more hard work into the blog.
If you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there! This was a long post, especially for someone like me that only does this once or twice a year. It is a lot to pack into one post. I hope you have enjoyed the recipes I've put up over the past year and I hope you continue to read into 2015 and foward.
Happy New Years! -Ali
