2014 // year in review

the end of the year is all about making lists, which is something i can totally get on board with. this past year was definitely a game changing year. so many incredible things happened. here are my “tops” of 2014. cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store…

top four in 2014

• tis the season // the minneapolis holiday market
• the story of my #realbloggerbeauty
• our angel in the sky ((Haley Ellen))
• the story of our wedding // part 1 {the engagement}

worth mentioning

• Apples & Brie Appetizer {recipe box}
• gather up your scattered dreams & build a life you love ((goals & intentions))
• the story of our wedding // part 2 {the ring}

blog milestones

• over 8,000 views in 2014
• over 1,000 views in one day
• 100 blog followers
• attending Go Blog Social in april [game changer for my blog]

social media diva highlights

• presented my half day workshop on social media for the 2nd time at EXHIBITOR2014 in Las Vegas, NV
• and again at EXHIBITOR FastTrak in Boston, MA
• spoke on a panel on event planner at the 2014 Cvent Corportate Meeting Summit
• was featured in an article on mashable (!!!) on top stressful jobs
• had my first [paid] speaking gig on social media for the Upper Midwest EDPA
• spoke on a Power of Live webinar on Amplifying the Social Experience at Every Touchpoint hosted by Cvent and BrandRepublic

life + family + travels

• got ENGAGED to my best friend and love of my life [b] on the beaches of st. eustatius in march
• traveled to: florida (x5), the carribean, las vegas (x2), texas, kansas city, cincinnati, niagara-on-the-lake, on (canada), nashville, phoenix, san diego
• celebrated 2 years with [b]
• met my social media soulmate, dick vitale. and he said i was Awesome with a capital A
• went to my first, second and third concerts of my life. (imagine dragons, iggy azelea, garth brooks)
• sold the townhome & bought a first home together in st. louis park (sidenote: moving is the absolute worst)
• my big brother bought a house + got a job! my baby brother graduated from high school + started college! my momma & daddy celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary!

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2013 in review | a year of changes and blessings galore

2012 roundup ((WOW… that was a busy year))

[2011 roundup] a year of changes and growth

the one where we celebrate the awesome things

i’m not good at giving myself credit. nothing is ever good enough. i am never good enough. it could always be better, stronger, smarter, funnier, prettier, etc. striving for excellence is a wonderful thing; striving for perfection will leave you with nothing but disappointment. perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order. part of this is just being human. but part of it is because of my obsessive compulsive personality disorder. my ocpd makes me so focused on unattainable perfection that it keeps me from doing anything. it makes me feel like a fraud when i do achieve good things; that i wasn’t good enough or didn’t deserve them. [b] introduced me to the term, imposter syndrome and it completely describes how i feel sometimes. and so often when we want to celebrate our own success we feel like we are “bragging” or “showing off” and it makes us feel guilty for something we should be proud of.

thanks to some wonderful people in my life who are always there to support me, i’m working at getting over this. we need to own our successes. i didn’t get lucky by chance; i worked my (excuse my language) booty off. i put myself out there; i went after what i wanted; i took chances and risks; i made the most out of every opportunity that i’ve been given. at the ripe age of 25 i’ve been fortunate enough to have some pretty damn awesome opportunities. i am not perfect. i am not an expert. but i am someone who struggles with anxiety and depression and ocpd and despite it all has powered through to do some pretty snazzy things.

today we celebrate the successes with no guilt, just pride and happiness and smiles. in the past months i have had some incredible things happen in my life, and i’m excited to share them with you…

• gave my first paid speaking engagement on social media to the Upper Midwest EDPA. best part? it was in a CAVE!

• will be giving my session on ‘unleashing the power of social media’ for the 3rd year at EXHIBITOR2015

• participated on a webinar with cvent on ‘amplifying the social experience at every touchpoint‘

• was featured in an article in mashable on the top 5 stressful jobs; representing my fellow event professionals (yes mashable, the website i read daily and always refer my attendees to as a resouce of information… this is real life.)

let’s all start celebrating our success. our stories. i may not be perfect; but parts of me are pretty awesome.

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the story of my #realbloggerbeauty

gather up your scattered dreams & build a life you love ((goals and intentions))

a new year is a great time to take a look at where you’ve been and where you want to go. a couple of weeks ago i posted the review of how my 2013 goals and intentions panned out and thus it is time to formally announce my plans for 2014 . i really enjoy the idea of setting plans for the coming year, but have much grief with “resolutions” because they are so black and white. and because of that they are easy to just give up on the one time you “break” your resolution. i fancy goals and intentions because they are flexible, adjustable, and open to changing as life changes. this is going to be a year of focusing on overall health, wellness and happiness…

healthy living

overall i just want to keep being active and continue to be more aware of what i’m putting into my body. no diets, no programs; just clean eating and good ‘ol fashioned exercise.

• continue going to the gym at least 12 times/ month
  • shift to running outside when if spring ever comes
• run Goldy’s 10 Mile & the Color Run 5K
• find a half marathon and complete it in >2 hours
• strive to get more steps daily thanks to my fitbit flex
• get my wellness fx assessment

growing my smarts

i love to learn. for reals. it is something i miss about being in school. though it’s not the right time for me to head back to grad school (yet) i want to be sure i’m always growing and expanding my horizons in new ways.

• read 4 books; my mom and i are starting our own little book club. though i love to read it gets easy to put it off so this way we’ll be held accountable. our first book is, i thought it was just me; women reclaiming power and courage in a culture of shame.
• go to a wine tasting and become more educated on how to pair it with meals (i mean any reason to drink more wine is a good goal, right?)
• brandon and i are taking a cooking class later this month at local d’lish on vegan cooking – while we aren’t vegan, it should be a fun time and hopefully teach us (me) some things

social media diva

my blog is one of my favorite things. i love coming up with an idea for a post, and feeling so accomplished once its finished. it gives me pride and happiness. and yet, it’s what gets the shaft when life gets busy. i want to carve out time each week to blog or do social media diva related tasks.

• rock out my presentation on Unleashing the Power of Social Media at EXHIBITOR2014 & the EXHIBITOR FastTrak
• attend my first social media/ blogging conference, Go Blog Social (my ticket is officially purchased!)
• post no fewer than 3 times per month on my blog
• continue defining my personal brand, “social emma”

full of thanks and grace and love

likely the most important goal for this year is to practice thanks, grace and love everyday; towards myself, towards others, towards my job, towards my hobbies, towards the world. deep, i know. i want to be present and enjoy all the blessings i am given each day. with my anxiety, i tend to live in either the past, the future or the what if. this year is already filled with amazing experiences and opportunities and adventures and i know that list will only continue to grow. i want to be there and truly enjoy each moment.

• i purchased an app last year called day one – it’s like a daily journal. what i like about it is that you can add tags so last year i started a tag called “itsthelittlethings” so that i could look back at all the wonderful things that happen daily/ weekly/ whatever that are so easy to forget, and remember them.
• start practicing yoga; whether its something i do every morning, every evening or just taking some classes at the gym i think the meditation of it will help keep me focused and present
• potentially and maybe try acupuncture. i am terrified of needles, and that’s no exaggeration. so obviously, the thought of acupuncture is almost unbearable. (ok, that may be an exaggeration) but there are many benefits. so maybe. maybe

of course, this list will be ever evolving throughout the year. but i like having something to keep me in line and give me some focus. we’ll see what becomes of this all. stay tuned for updates as we get further into the year. i’m sure you’ll be on the edge of your seat.