A Little Thanks Before The End

This year started out with so much hope and so much trepidation. I gingerly walked on eggshells into the new year just hoping to crawl my way up from the dismal days of 2011. I didn’t start out my year with big goals, just tiny seeds of ideas that I wasn’t yet ready to expose to the elements.

I carry so much fear with me when I vocalize a goal. I picture failure more than success. And I believe that if I simply don’t try I can never fail, which is of course a dreary way to live.

Early last year I told my husband that I was considering opening up some advertising on my blog. That was all I was willing to say at the time. I didn’t know what my final goal with it was, or at least I was too timid to say. In fact, I still don’t know what my longterm blogging goals are, but I knew I wanted to move forward. I knew I wanted to receive some recognition for the time and effort I put into this blog and I knew I wanted to continue to create content that was dear to my heart.

As this final day of 2012 is upon me, I have so much to reflect on. The year rebounded from the previous in such a beautiful way. I have had my little baby Gavin in my life for eight months now and thanks to him, our lives are fuller and brighter. I opened myself up to partnership with brands, and Hipkiddo Cloth Diapers was the first to extend an arm back to me. I am so grateful to them and am excited to continue our relationship into 2013. Since that moment, I have learned to seize opportunities as they avail themselves to me and have been pleased with the results.

My blog has evolved over this past year, but I hope it has been for the best. I have been added to top blog lists, companies and brands have chosen my words to stand beside their names, and I have taken a real pride in what I have produced here and elsewhere.

Things haven’t been perfect. My inbox is flooded with unanswered requests that I simply wasn’t prepared to handle (hello New Year’s Goal!). Despite my best efforts some comments have remained unanswered, and I fear a few posts have missed publication. But I have poured my heart and soul and every extra moment I have been granted this year into this little corner of the Internet, and for that I am proud.

So today, before I reflect on new things to come, I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have been on this journey with me. Thank you to those who found something to like enough to spread my links. Thank you to those brands who have believed in me enough to partner with me. And thanks most especially to you, my readers, who come to share in these simple words. I hope you know that I always want to tell a story. I hope you trust that I will only share those brands that I think you would like to get to know. And I hope you continue to stick with me, giving me am opportunity to get to know you just as you are getting to know me.

As this new year begins, I am excited to see what will come next. Happy Old Year. Happy New Year.