Welcome to the #14in2014 Wrap and Link-Up!

(Link-Up details are at the end of the post) 

The year went fast, didn’t it?

I’m sort of back from my blogging hiatus.

I didn’t get as much work done on the blog as I intended when I planned my hiatus but I did get a chance to regroup, take care of a few things and GSD.  So it’s time to get back to work.

2014 is over and it’s time to look back on the progress made on the goals, resolutions or intentions that were set nearly a year ago.

In 2013, I made the commitment to goals for the year and I followed up on them every 3 months.  I did the same thing in 2014 and invited anyone who wanted to do it with me to join in on the effort.  Today is the wrap-up post for #14in2014 (here’s the first quarter check-in, the second and the third).  My ambitions were high for 2014 (as they should be) so let’s see how things turned out:

 

Professional:

1.  Fully launch a Women’s Health Focused Nutrition Private Practice by 3/31/14 (Revised to 12/31/14).  No.

• There were definitely some glitches in my plan for fully launching my practice this year – some were self-induced and some that were unavoidable.  However, this is a goal that I haven’t abandoned and it will be a priority in 2015.
• I’m still the Registered Dietitian on staff with The Family Room, a resource center and community space for new and expectant parents and families in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles.  I plan to expand my presence and practice from that location.

 

• I’ve also recently done some diem gigs as the RD/Nutriton Expert providing nutrition education in schools and corporations in Southern California and I hope to continue to do so (in addition to seeing private clients) in 2015.

 

2.  Cultivate at least 5 professional referral sources for nutrition clients – YES!

• 2014 was a year of fabulous connections!  I can’t thank Kim@KHNutrition enough for connecting me with a great per diem gig (see #1).
• Social media connections rock!  I definitely owe thanks to some of special groups that have enhanced my personal as well as professional development – like the communities of FitApproach, FitBloggin’ and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Dietetic Practice Group, Nutrition Entrepreneurs.

 

3.  Redesign blog and promote to raise traffic and subscribers 25%. – Not really.

• Not much has been done since the small refresh in 3Q.   It will come in time.
• When you take unexpected breaks, traffic and subscriptions suffer but honestly, my definition of success with regard to my blog has changed.
• Success used to be defined as improving blog statistics, increasing subscribers/followers and/or getting a brand campaign.
• Now, a successful blog is more about writing about what is meaningful to me: food, fitness, family, Duran Duran (and other music) and being able to share more of my nutrition expertise and philosophy with others.

 

4.  Develop (and stick to) a system to maintain/grow social media presence/blogger interaction and achieve life/work balance. – System and Work/Life Balance – No.

• I failed completely at finding a system to become more organized and better engaged in social medai.
• My social media building skills might be piss poor but with my new philosophy (see #3), I realize that my blog doesn’t define me as a human being and I’m ok with that.
• Realizing that the the delicate unicorn known as “balance” does not exist provided me a lot of freedom in the last quarter of 2014 and it’s helping me shape my goals for 2015.

 

5.  Become an ambassador for a favorite brand and/or receive revenue from blogging.  More than I could have hoped for!

• 2014 brought me some fabulous brand relationships which included Lozilu 5K Mud Run (Ambassador program suspended shortly after the Feb 2014 event), Live Ultimate 5K Run LA (with Ryan Hall),  Live Well 360,  New Balance for the Reach The Beach Relay, Run Hard Rock Cafe 5K and Momentum Jewelry. 
• Revenue came in more forms than money through these relationships and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities.  I hope to continue to work with these companies in 2015.

 

6.  Showcase at least 50 women for the weekly Friday’s Featured Female series. – #Fail.

• 50 was a number that was too difficult to reach.  I’m still immensely proud of the Friday’s Featured Female series.  Being able to share the stories of amazing women is one of my favorite parts about having this blog.  In 2015, I’ll continue the #FFF series with the quality of women featured in 2014 brought without the pressure of quantity.

 

7.   Engage in a monthly Professional Development endeavor. – Achieved!

• I did attend a few conferences like the Scripps Natural Supplements Conference and Evolution Fitness Conference Now and Fit Expo in January, the Natural Products Expo West in March, the Today’s Dietitian Symposium in May, FitBloggin’ in June and IDEAWorld BlogFest in August.  I learned a lot in 2014!  I know there will be some more learning to be done in 2015!

 

Personal:

8.  Run 2+0+1+4 (7) races (including So Cal Ragnar Relay) – Passed with flying colors!

• I did a number of races including the LA Chinatown Firecracker Run, LoziLu Mud Run, So Cal Ragnar Relay,  Live Ultimate Run LA, The Race For The Stars in Wheaton, IL, my Duran Duran Appreciation Day 10K, Awesome 80’s Run, Reach The Beach and Feet To Feast 5K on Thanksgiving in FL.

• My back injury reared it’s ugly head few times and prevented me from participating in a few races this year but hopefully that won’t be the case in 2015.

 

9.  Perform 14 Random Acts of Kindness – I have no idea.

• I didn’t count my RAK’s.  I should have tried to keep a record for tracking purposes but in some ways, I’m glad I didn’t.  I definitely did some random acts of kindness and I work hard to be a good person every day.  I try to model and teach kindness to Wild Boy as well.  Looking back, I almost feel that keeping a record of good deeds might have cheapened the purpose overall.

 

10.  Improve self-care with focus on one monthly/quarterly goal – How big of a “NO” can I express here?!

• Every time I did my quarterly check-in’s I wrote monthly goals and then that was the last time I looked at them.  Major fail!
• Why is it so hard for all of us to make self care a priority?!?!

 

11.  Try one new fitness class/video per month – Not really.

• 1st Quarter, I tried 4 new fitness classes in one day (Insanity, Jillian Michaels BodyShred, Piloxing and R.I.P.P.E.D.) when I went to the Evolution Fitness Conference.
• 2nd Quarter I went to the JambaFit event and tried 4 classes (Pound, Pop Physique, Hoopnotica and SurfSET Fitness)
• 3rd Quarter: I went to a new yoga class while I was on vacation in Chicago but I never reviewed it.   I’ll stretch it and include 80’s Zumba at FitBloggin’ and PiYo at BlogFest. 
• 4th Quarter:  I tried a few YouTube workout videos this quarter but they were few and far between.  I did get to see my friends Melissa@MelissaRunningIt and Cynthia@LifeByCynthia while on a work trip at the San Diego debut of WundaBar Pilates (more about my WundaBar experience can be found here).

 

12.  Read 14 books (it’s scary that I need to make this a goal). Doubtful.

• If I could claim “Mommy Brain” after 7.5 years of being a parent, I would.  My ability to concentrate on even the best book is exceptionally difficult.
• I doubt I read 14 books (shameful but maybe next year!) but I did read a few good ones which included:  Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,  This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper , Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and I’m currently reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. 

13.  My secret goal:  To be revealed at year-end.  – Didn’t meet it but if you wanted to know what it was…

• 2014 was going to be the year that I trained and completed a half marathon without injury…but that didn’t happen.

 

• Even though I didn’t run a full 13.1 miles in a row, I did complete 10.4 miles during SoCal Ragnar, had a fabulous 10K with Jeff Galloway at FitBloggin‘ and even reached the very close 12.7 miles during Reach The Beach, so I’d call that a win!

 

14.  My shallow goal: Meet Simon Le Bon on the next Duran tour.  – Not in 2014 but there’s a shot in 2015!

• No Simon encounters in 2014 but I’m exceptionally hopeful for 2015.  There’s a new album scheduled for release (which always means an accompanying tour) so I’m already getting ready!
• I can’t complain because music was very good to me in 2014.  I got to attend some amazing events like The Grammy’s (still mind blowing), the Mad World Book signing (ooh, another book I read this year!), as well as some fabulous concerts – including Mike Peters at McCabes,  Billy Joel and Steve Martin at the Hollywood Bowl, the Retro Futura Show at the Greek, the Sirius XM Billy Idol show at The Troubadour, Spandau Ballet at The Jimmy Kimmel Show and Art Alexakis at The Roxy.
• My fingers are crossed that good Duran Duran karma will be bestowed upon me in 2015. Turning 45 should come with the perk of getting to meet your teenage obsession crush, right?

 

Overall evaluation for #14in2014 progress:  

Meh.  

In the sense of checking off goals achieved, my success rate  for #14in2014 was pretty lousy but the knowledge that was acquired can’t really be well quantified.

 

What about you?  How was your year?  Link-Up Details for #14in2014 are right here!

 

‘);

 

*There are affiliate links within this post.  If you purchase something via those affiliate links, I earn a few pennies toward the Duran Duran 2015 Tour Fund.  Many thanks if you choose to help the cause.