Oooooh, I’m so excited. 2015 is going to be a great year. My first blog post ever was published August 28th, 2008 and since then I haven’t been a serious blogger. Google Analytics who? SEO, Schmess-E-O, A Plan? All of that’s going to change. Instead of asking myself, “What do I want to write about?” 2015 is going to be about, “How can I best serve you.”
I’ll be paying close attention to what you want and need. Listening to your comments and interacting with you. Here’s what I’ve learned from our 10 most popular posts of 2014:
1. Slow Cooked Biscuits and Gravy –I wrote this post from my attic kitchen. I normally don’t cook with canned soup and refrigerator biscuits but after so many months trying to feed a family of 8 without a kitchen, I was desperate. This post has ugly pictures but is by FAR the most viewed post on my blog. What I’ve learned…You guys are desperate too. You need fast easy recipes that will fill your family up without breaking the budget. A few convenience items are a welcome relief from making everything from scratch. And thank you for not shaming us for needing it.
2. Blueberry Coconut Muffin in a Mug This post was created for a recipe contest with the Blueberry Council. I didn’t win, but this recipe still gets the 2nd most traffic of anything on my blog. What I learned: You want to be healthy too. Make it fast and yummy, please.
3. Menus #3 most popular is finding out about our menus. My take-away: You are struggling with meal prep and fitting it into your busy every day. You wonder what to fix that everyone will eat and still be healthy and within budget. You are not alone.
4. First Steps #4 most popular is our step by step instructions for how to shrink your budget. My take-away? You want real, practical, easy things to do to help your family financially. (Look how tiny those kids are!)
5. Doll Quilt As you Go Tutorial I blame Stacy for making this post popular :). What it tells me about you? You’re talented and brave enough to try a sewing project now and again. The rest of you think, “I should take my machine out of the box sometime.”
6. $400 a Month to Feed 8 Desperate times call for desperate measures. Last fall we had a catastrophe….a whole stream of them, that made reducing our food budget to $400 a month necessary. We kept it there for 7 months then raised it back to $500. My takeaway: You want more success stories. Show us real families that are reaching their goals and how they did it. And some step by steps on how to eat for $50 per person per month (If we ever have to) would be perfect.
7. Plywood Countertops Along with reducing our food budget, our stream of woes also ate up our life savings. We kissed granite countertops goodbye in our new kitchen and slapped some plywood countertops in place. My takeaway: It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful (thanks, Nester for that.) My takeaway: You are interested in super low budget (a step above dumpster diving) ways to improve your home, even if it’s a temporary fix. And if we could test it out for you and make sure it doesn’t permanently wreck your space, that’d be even better.
8. Weight-Loss — Holly Rigsby (aka Fit Yummy Mummy) has changed my life. Her sensible eating plan and 15 minute workouts allow me to loose fat and maintain a healthy weight even though I’ve been pregnant and given birth 6 times. My takeaway: Most mamas struggle with weight and low body image. What I want you to know: Your beauty and worth as a person is not dependent on your size. Just ask your youngest child.
9. Homemade Eggrolls — These are delicious and the filling can be eaten alone (without the shell or frying) for a fabulous weight reducing meal. As far as why this post is in my top 10? I’m stumped. Why do you like it so much?
These floors are seriously gorgeous, are cheap and easy to install (over plywood — don’t you dare cover up hardwood floors with these.) And hold up well (but not over vinyl–I’m warning you about this–not over vinyl.) They are easiest to install in small spaces–my dining room took me exactly forever to install. My takeaway — see #7.
What would YOU like to see more of in 2015?
