YOUR Top 10 Posts of 2021 & MY Top 10 Posts of 2021

What I’ve enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn – I love it!

Jamie Oliver

Happy New Year!

I have seen countless memes, tweets and sentiments that explain how TERRIBLE 2021 was. Maybe it was. However, having a positive mind will bring about positive changes for the new year not lamenting about the dumpster fire that was. You know what I mean?

Let’s all agree that there were parts of 2021 that were down right awful. BUT let’s all count the good things that happened too… I know there were good things that happened, come on now… let’s start small. I will start with this very blog! Last year I said it was going through some major changes. I said it was getting a facelift. It hasn’t happened… yet, but it will! In 2021 I got the ball rolling and hopefully my vision will soon be a reality! That could have been a major setback for me, if I let it. I’m not going to! I’m choosing to see a few incredible things that happened to my blog this year like,

this year I was consistent. I had something to say and a recipe to share every week and I made my thoughts a priority. In the past I have found it hard to find the time between life, kids, work and meetings to maintain a consistent schedule but this year I did it! I didn’t miss one post! I made some quality dishes and paired them with what I think were some insightful commentaries on parenting, the world and mental health. I tried to use humour during some pretty difficult times like fires, floods, heat domes, polar vortexes, COVID, and watching our democracy crumbling. I questioned myself, my beliefs and the very system in my weekly posts which have always been more of a journal/photo album/recipe book to pass down to my children and their children. 52 posts! That’s a win for sure!

This year I hit a major milestone when I published my 500th post! 500!!! When I started this blog I didn’t even tell anyone about it! I couldn’t have imagined that I would be doing this somewhat consistently for going on 9 years! In the first year I would put out 5-7 posts a week! I had a lot to say 😂. After Mom passed my heart was so broken, I didn’t know if I would ever post again. But I did. Once I began working again, I slipped and was NOT consistent but after a while I found my groove again. Right before the pandemic, I lost my voice. I didn’t have anything to say. I was too busy, too lost and too “going through the motions” to have anything I felt relevant enough to write about. The world paused and I found my words again. This post will be my 545th post and I am proud of that.

This year something weird happened. This year my viewership went up, like WAY up. Although I have always been blown away when I see that 500 people have read a post, this year not just random posts but EVERY post began getting thousands of views! I am gobsmacked. This year my little blog received over 95.7k views! WHAAAAT??? That is mind blowing to me. I’ve never really looked at numbers because I do this for myself but it’s hard not to feel heard, seen and accomplished when you see that what you put out there has resonated with almost 100,000 people from across the globe. I am so very grateful. I am so happy that someone may see my blog and think, “hey I can cook that”, and try out a new recipe. They might even find their love for cooking! They might read my stories about how parenting is HARD and know that they aren’t alone. They may see that although the world is going through something unprecedented, someone on the other side of the world is going through the same thing as you are. We are all in this crazy thing we call life together 💛.

This year you were very clear in what posts you loved! Here are YOUR top 10 posts that received 1000’s of views and shares! I also made a list of MY top 10 posts (in no particular order) because there are a few recipes that I LOVED and a few posts that really came from my heart and I felt that they were worthy of a second read.

Thank you for following me on this journey. Thank you for sharing my recipes. Thank you for having conversations with me about the tough stuff and the easy stuff.

I appreciate you.

Your Top 10 Posts of 2021

10. My Birthday & Tex Mex Tortellini and Enchilada Sauce HERE

9. Sunshine & Hawaiian Beef HERE

8. Living Under A Heat Dome & Tequila-Lime Chicken Kabobs HERE

7. Dance Mom Hacks & Stuffed Egg Wrap Tortilla HERE

6. Summer Reading Challenge & Creamed Corn Chicken Pasta HERE

5. Social Media, Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Pineapple Rice & Zucchini Double Chocolate Muffins HERE

4. Our First Visitors & Huli Huli Chicken Meatballs HERE

3. First Place: Sparkles! Plus, BBQ Pulled Pork Baked Potatoes HERE

2. BBQ Chicken with Avocado Sauce & Corn Salsa PLUS Panzanella Peach Salad HERE

1. OMG They are Moving HERE!!!!! Plus Stir Fried Honey Ginger Sesame Noodles HERE

MY Top 10 Posts of 2021

8 Years Without My Mommies & Breakfast Skillet Hash HERE

Missing Mom, Asian Glazed Meatballs with Rice & Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie HERE

Mom Guilt, Thai Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw & Easter Thumbprint Cookies HERE

1 Year Later & Chicken Pot Pasta HERE

An Emotional Mother’s Day & One Pot Mexican Skillet HERE

An Emotional Week & Garlic Mushroom Fettuccine HERE

The Noise & Thyme Pork Chops With Pan Gravy HERE

Parenting is HARD & Honey Mustard Chicken Salad HERE

Halloween, 1 Pot French Onion Pasta & Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream HERE

Decisions and A 52nd Anniversary Dinner Menu HERE

Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #257 Twenty Two Too HERE! Ring in the New Year with us! Topics: Ollie, mydrinkbomb.com, holiday cold, Christmas 2 and 3, New Year’s, hockey update, World Juniors, BC 2021 quiz & My 2021 Wrapped.

This week we were all healthy enough to celebrate with our family! After getting through our quarantine, snow shovelling, rapid COVID tests (all negative) and puppy snuggles, we finally had our Christmas gift exchange with Ninja’s parents on Thursday. The next day we celebrated New Year’s Eve with Sis and her family! We made appies, played minute to win it games, counted down and popped the confetti! The next morning we opened up presents with my Dad, J, Sis, BIL, SPea and CPatch. It was the first time I’ve been able to watch the Girls open up our presents in person and it did not disappoint ❤️. After getting spoiled… again, we ALL went to my Inlaws for an amazing “Christmas” dinner! We even had a cheese buffet and champagne punch to start. It was the BEST. I am so grateful and so happy to be beginning the new year surrounded by so much love. Happy 2022!