It is hard to believe that another year is over but I am
excited about next year and what is in store.
For me, 2014 was a year of highs and lows. Our family started the year by spending 8
weeks in our caravan travelling the NSW coast.
Nothing beats quality family time away from home – spending time with
the kids with no chores to occupy your time.
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| Kids with their pile of dead fish they found on the beach - eeew!! |
While I was in a beachside town in NSW, I visited
a small bookstore to ask if they were interested in stocking my book. I met
with the owner and it turns out he owns a small publishing house and was
interested in publishing my next cookbook!!
This is perfect for me as it is a lot of hard work when trying to do it
all myself and I can only reach a small percentage of the population under my
own steam so hopefully they can help me reach a wider audience.
On the personal front, I have had a few friends go through some
really tough times this year which is difficult because we don’t live close and
I feel totally helpless. Life just isn’t
fair and sometimes a hug can make a small difference. I know they have other people standing in line
support them but that doesn’t make it any easier. Look out when we see each other – hugs all
round!!!
After a whole lot of cooking and photographing, I also finished
my 2nd cookbook which is with the publisher but we all know that
when a 3rd party is involved,
things take A WHOLE LOT LONGER!! If it was up to me, the book would be in your
hands by now but I can only ask that you be patient and stick with me. I am a little bit of a control freak
(surprise, surprise!) and like things done quickly and NOW and everytime I
speak with the publisher he hoses me down and keeps me in check – LOL!! I need this sometimes.
Another big thing this year was the change of name from ‘Food
before 5’ to ‘Simple home cook’. I am
happy to admit that I think I got it wrong when coming up with the original
name because I was going for the angle of ‘make ahead meals to prepare ahead of
time so you don’t have to cook at 5pm’ but in hindsight it probably didn’t hit
the nail on the head. ‘Simple home cook’
is very self-explanatory and if anyone asks me what ‘Simple home cook’ is about
– I think I’ll cry (or laugh..).
I often email websites & blogs and ask if they would
like a guest post from me (as a way of advertising without costing me my house)
and to be honest, responses are hard to
come by. Kelly from ‘Be a Fun Mum’ manages a huge Facebook page and website and
was kind enough to extend me her hand and asked me to be a regular contributor
on her page. This is really awesome for
me as my page is very small and trying to grow it can be a struggle at times. I am
extremely grateful to Kelly for this
opportunity to reach more people.
I’ve been working on an app which is due for release in
January 2015. It has 80 recipes that you
will have access to which will be great when food shopping and you can’t
remember what is in that recipe – happens to me all the time and I can’t wait
to share it. I am a little scared about
it but fingers crossed you will download it and find it useful xx
The best part of my cookbook journey is interacting with all
of you. I am lucky to have some really
awesome people on my page and have never
had any issues with negativity or trolling. I read every comment and appreciate every like
that my posts receive so please keep them coming! It is what keeps me going.
2015 will be a year of big decisions for me and my future.
My littlest man goes to Kindy and I have to start thinking about a sustainable
career. By the end of 2015, I am hoping
it will all fall into place.
Thanks for reading and I wish you and your families all the
best for 2015. Thanks for all your
support!!
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| From my family to yours - HAPPY NEW YEAR! |
Cheers,
Amanda
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