My Blogging Year End Review

My Blogging Year End Review

I’ve never actually thought about putting together a year-end review for my blog but after reading one of my newest blogging buddies Dawn at I’m A Disney Nerd’s post and seeing a few statuses on Facebook I knew it would be a great way to end the year.  So much has happened for me in 2014 as far as my blog goes and I think it would be cool to have a look back at some of highlights of my year as far as blogging goes.

There are lots of great things that happened this year for me as far as my blogging goes.  I’ve had some amazing opportunities and sometimes I still can’t believe how awesome it’s been for me this year.  One of my goals in blogging is to strive to live by the quote of the famous Walt Disney – “All our Dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  I had big dreams entering 2014 for my blog and what I didn’t know was very early in the year (January) to be exact I received my first press trip invite with Disney Home Entertainment.  That’s where I’ll start with my great adventures of 2014.

 Frozen was one of the biggest movies of 2013 and 2014, dare I even say this decade?  No matter how you feel about the movie you know it was a blockbuster hit and it’s still making major waves in the toy, apparel and other consumer product industry as well.  My first press trip included a full day of Frozen fun including an interview with filmmakers Peter Del Vecho, Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck.  They were all great to chat with and answered all our questions.  They were so down to earth and passionate about their film.  When Frozen won the Oscar it made me appreciate this opportunity even more because they truly deserved it.  Read about my chat with the Frozen filmmakers.

This trip included a visit to Disney Animation Studios and while there I had the opportunity to step into the recording booth and lend my voice to Olaf.  I even have the video to prove it.  Check it out.

This is video of me recording my voice as Olaf.

This is the video of the film with Olaf using my voice. Cool isn’t it?  We were in the recording booth that the stars from the movie actually recorded their voices for the film.  I learned so much about the process and trust me it isn’t as easy as it look.  Read about me briefly lending my voice to Olaf.

The second day of my press trip included a visit to Disney Toon Studios where we learned all about the Pirate Fairy.  We meet the filmmakers and the people responsible for creating the characters, costume design, animation and the head of story.  It was a fun informative day that I truly enjoyed.  My favorite part was checking out all the amazing decorations they had up for The Pirate Fairy.  You can about my chat with the Pirate Fairy filmmakers and the animation team.  I promise you’ll learn something from those posts about movie making.

Here I am with some of the bloggers from our trip inside the Animation Research Library.  To visit we had to turn off our GPS on our phones.  The location is top secret, this picture is inside one of the many vaults that house priceless Disney art pieces.  They make sure to handle all these pieces with much care, to ensure its preserved for future references.  Read about my time at the Animation Research Library.

This year I started my blogging partnership with the WWE as a WWE Moms Blogger and it’s been one of the best organizations I’ve worked with to date.  I didn’t expect to start blogging with WWE but when I reached out to them about sharing about shows they offered me tickets for me and my family to attend the show in Baltimore.  I am not the aunt of the century thanks to my WWE connections.  My oldest son, husband, brother and nephews have been able to attend two shows so far, I’ve gotten lots of surprise goodies in the mail and it’s been a great partnership in 2014, I can’t wait to see what 2015 holds as far as my relationship with WWE but I hope it’s as great as this past year and even better.

This summer I attended my first blog conference.  I headed to Philly for Disney Social Media Moms On the Road with Mom Select.  I learned so much about blogging, meet some Disney parks legends and even got to meet up with my blogging buddy Susan of Susan’s Disney Family and meet Heidi from What’s Inside Heidi’s Head.  I had worked with Heidi for her Homeschool Mosaics group so it was great finally meeting her in person.  We had a half day filled with all kinds of wonderful surprises.  I even won a suitcase from American Tourister.  You can read more about Disney Social Media Moms on the Road – Philly.

I got to interview the kids of the black-ish cast.  In October I received my second invite to LA from Disney and ABC Television and it was filled with once in a lifetime moments for me.  Sitting down and chatting with these kids were awesome.  They were super friendly and so funny.  Check out my black.ish cast interview.

Be sure to also check out my post about being on the set of black.ish.  I was all over their “house” and it was amazing.  It felt so warm and welcoming, at times I forgot it was a set on a studio lot with no roof and fake walls.  I share a secret about the set and how you can get some of the items from the set yourself in my On the Set of black.ish post.

I attended a live taping of Dancing with the Stars and it was both amazing and tiring.  I have to say that while I loved having this experience I don’t think I would attend live shows regularly.  By the end of the night I had almost lost my voice from cheering and screaming, my hands were sore my clapping and my shoes were killing my toes and feet.  I needed my own personal stroller after this night was over but it was amazing and after the live taping I had the opportunity to meet some of the celebrities and the dancers.  Read more about my DWTS Live Tapping Experience.

I met Fergie and she was indeed Fergalicious.  I wish I could share with you how lovely her voice, she sang to us and she sounded amazing.  She was so sweet and talked to us about her family and being a mother, coning back into the music scene and her upcoming appearances.  She’s hosting the west coast Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve celebration tonight so be sure to check her out.  Read about my Fergie interview.

I went back into the recording booth again and this time to record my voice as Baymax.  This time was harder than the first time but I had loads of fun this time around.  I wasn’t as nervous as I was the first time but I did have to do it twice.  You can see my video and read about my return to the recording booth.

As a part of my Big Hero 6 press trip we interviewed Genesis Rodriguez and Jamie Chung from the movie.  They were both fun and provided great insights about their role in the movie and how they liked how it inspired young girls to be smart.  Read my interview with Genesis and Jamie and see why Science Rocks.

I attended the Red Carpet Premiere of Big Hero 6 at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angelos.  I never dreamed of walking the red carpet for anything but I had such an amazing experience walking the red carpet.  I saw some celebrities and even went to the posh after party (although I left early because my feet were killing me).  This by far was one of the greatest things I’ve had the opportunity to do this year.  You can read all about my red carpet experience.

I’m not sure what 2015 has in store for me but let’s hope it’s as good at 2014 and even better.  I hope you continue to follow along with me as I make some changes and improve on my blog.  Here’s to a great new year for you as well.  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed all my posts from some of my top experiences this year.

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