2010: A Wild Ride, Plus Some 2011 News

Wow.  2010 has had some “career” and blogging ups and downs, that’s for sure…

The “Downs”:

The “downs” weren’t really anything more than me taking on too much with the Real Food for Rookies class, and learning not to try such a thing again unless all the other areas in my life are more under control:  If the kids are older and I have a housekeeper and a personal assistant, stuff like that.  (Yeah, right!)  I wrote, videotaped, audio recorded and totally developed my Real Food for Rookies class (still on sale for 20% off with the code RFM20), and it was not easy for a few reasons…  As most of you know, I am NOT technically inclined so the learning curve for many pieces and parts of this project was steep and time consuming.  Also, because it is not only a cooking class, but also a condensed course to teach the big picture (what, why, how) on Real Foods in only 12 sessions, there was a LOT of ground to cover, and I had to do it in a way that wouldn’t overwhelm the rookies.  This took many more hours than I ever imagined, and it doesn’t help that I’m a touch anal about wanting everything just right and not forgetting anything…  Plus I was determined to provide great customer service to my participants, along with being responsive to my affiliates, keeping up on questions at the members-only forum, etc. etc.  I’m proud of what I accomplished, beyond geeked that it’s finally completely up, and thrilled that it has already helped many people, but I don’t want to put my family through that again!

The “Ups”:

What a fun year otherwise!

• I met many new online friends, including you. 
• I hit the 1000th post milestone.
• There were well over a million page views here at the blog.
• I started posting more regularly at my Christianity 101 blog, which is still only once a week or so, and that’s when I’m on top of things.
• I wrote two e-books:  the Real Food Ingredient Guide and Real Food Party Planning Guide (Both also on sale for 20% off with the code RFM20 – only for a short time more.)
• I was a panel speaker at the Weston A. Price Wise Traditions conference in Philadelphia last month with my other blogging friends, which was so exciting and fun to be a part of!  (Pictured at right:  Kimberly of Hartke is Online and also Sally Fallon’s publicist, Jenny of Nourished Kitchen, myself, and Ann Marie of Cheeseslave.)
• For me, the Real Food movement has always been more about getting the truth out there than about making money (this niche is different than others because we aren’t promoting food or products with big advertising budgets), but recently an exciting opportunity came my way that will allow me to earn a little more AND help some people face to face!  Early in the fall I got an email from a local chiropractor, Steve, who also has a nutrition practice.  He asked to meet with me right at the time when I was crazy busy promoting my Rookie class in August, and I thought, “I don’t have time for this!”  I’d heard what a well-respected and great guy he is from others around town, though, so I went ahead and met with him.  I’m so glad now that I did, because he asked me to work in his office two days a week to help his nutrition clients get on the right track.  Essentially, I’ll be getting paid to tell people what to eat and help them become more healthy, which you all know I LOVE to do!  So I’m excited for that to begin in the new year, and this definitely means I’ll need to get in gear better than I have in the past with my meal planning!  Soon I’ll get to decorate my new office; it’s small-ish, but that’s OK, I can’t wait.  You guys will love this:  I special ordered some cool written wall art with the awesome quote by Hippocrates:  “Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food.” 
• That leads to my blogging goals for 2011. I’d like to be a little more consistent with my Tweets and Facebook updates, but when I get busy at home, that’s one area I tend to let go, so it will likely go in streaks like it does now.  Since I’m only working my new job two days a week, hopefully you won’t notice much difference here on the blog, except, as always, I will be trying to get better at putting boundaries around my computer time so that I’m able to meet my other personal 2011 goals like exercising and getting more regular sleep. 

Thank you all for being here and reading in 2010 and I hope you’ll hang with me in 2011.  I’m looking forward to kicking off the year with the Weight Loss and Wellness Adventure.  If you’re ready to join with many other Real Foodie friends in meeting your 2011 health goals, be sure to learn more at that post and sign up so you are up-to-date on all the upcoming giveaways!

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