Year in Review & A Look Ahead to 2010

It’s hard to believe that this year will come to a close in only a few short hours. It’s been a great year and while I don’t often share too much about myself, I wanted to share with you a re-cap of the last year for me. Email subscribers, I apologize in advance because the paragraphs will not break correctly.

One of my first adventures of the year was attending the BlissDom Conference for mom bloggers in early-February. I was hesitant to go at first because I was still a relatively new blogger with just 9 months of blogging under my belt, but I immediately felt at home. I was taken in by a huge group of Ohio bloggers, including Marcy at Stretching a Buck and Andrea at Mommy Snacks. Both are as true as they come and I was so glad I went.

Then March came and I was let go from my job at AOL after five years. As many of you know, I handled PR for Shortcuts.com, AIM, AOL Mobile and others while I was at AOL. Everyone who handled product PR, including me, was laid off. I can’t say I was sad though. It was a nice comfortable job, and I probably would have stayed forever had I not gotten this push in a new direction.

So, I decided to dedicate more time to Coupon Cravings, and then as fate would have it, I got an email a few weeks later from an AOLer who was working for a start-up with a focus on moms. A few more weeks later I was working two days a week for a company called ZipList, and I’ll be launching their new online grocery list tool shortly, so stay tuned.

My boss is fond of using the expression “kismet,” and this truly was kismet for me. Honestly, had I heard from ZipList a few months earlier, I would have said no because I was happy as a clam at AOL. A few months later, I also would have said no because I would have been busy with a newborn. It’s funny how life works sometimes.

Then summer came and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work as a social media consultant for All You magazine. I had worked with them previously through Shortcuts.com, and it was a perfect fit to be able to work with them to help spread the word about the re-launch of their web site and their Grocery Challenge. I even had the opportunity to go to New York to participate on a panel at their annual sales conference, along with Mercedes at Common Sense with Money, Briana at Bargain Briana and Andrea at Mommy Snacks.

I capped off the summer with the birth of my fourth child and first son. Thomas Paul (we call him Paul) was born August 4^th. It was definitely an adjustment, though I’ll say that going from three to four children was easier than going from two to three, at least for me. He’s going to be five months old next week. Time really does fly.

It took a while to get back into the swing of things, especially with school back in session and the girls being involved in sports and religious education. Then in November I attended an event for frugal mom bloggers that led to quotes in Mashable and The Wall Street Journal, and even an on-camera appearance on Good Morning America. I also got to know Rachel at Surviving the Stores and Crystal at The Thrifty Mama, though I think I actually go to know them both better after the event thanks to Skype!

In December, I got this beautiful blog re-design as done by Joy at Five J’s Design. I’d wanted to make the move to WordPress and to get a new design for ages, so it was the perfect holiday gift to myself.

Throughout the year I also saw my blog grow a great deal, from less than 4,000 subscribers one year ago to over 25,000 subscribers today, so thank you so much for your support and dedication to Coupon Cravings.

Who knows what the new year will hold. I’m starting to get some goals down on paper, and would love to make changes to the site, maybe adding more content (I always love writing tips style posts (e.g., 5 Ways to Save on XYZ) or incorporating more useful features. I’d also love to write more outside of the blog and even hit the national TV circuit, so we’ll see.

Is there anything you would like to see on Coupon Cravings in 2010? How was your 2009 and what are your goals for the new year? I’d love to hear from you. Happy New Year to everyone!

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