Happy New Year - Honesty, Blogging And Life

At the risk of sounding repetitive Happy New Year :) I hope you all had a lovely night whatever you did. Mine was quiet - me and Mummy Lou caught up on some TV, had some eats and some drinks, and reflected on the year gone by.

To be fair 2013 wasn't the best year that I've ever had - for a lot of it I just seemed to be running on empty and I think that reflected in my blog

The blog definitely took a backseat last year and there were times when I thought about giving it all up. At times blogging felt like a bit of a chore, and somewhere along the line I fell out of love with it. I didn't have the energy and to be brutally honest I was frustrated with my lack of progress. I still firmly believe that blogging shouldn't be about followers and statistics but when newer bloggers seem to be streaking ahead of you there is inevitably a bit of frustration and questioning whether the years and years of time that I've put into it have been worth it.

I'm not stupid though I know it has been worth it I've worked with some fabulous brands and some amazing people over the last few years - I've been very lucky.

Blogging for me though isn't just about brands and PR, for me it's about making new friends. Chronic illness can be very lonely and  I know I've said it before but blogging really has been my lifeline, I've made so many online friends and in 2013 I was lucky enough to actually meet some of my fellow bloggers which was an amazing experience and something that I would love to repeat in 2014.

Over the last 12 months I've also received several lovely emails including one in the last week from a lovely lady called Sarah that made me cry. Emails like that, where people say such sweet things and are so supportive really make a difference. They make all the frustrations and bad days worth while and lift my day no matter whether its a blogging day or whether it's a spoonie day.

So where is LouLouLand headed in 2014, well over the next 12 months I'm continuing with new enthusiasm and energy -  I really want to make the blog better than ever. I enjoyed doing a few lifestyle posts last year so I'm definitely going to be doing a few more in 2014 maybe some craft and home style posts, and obviously lots more food posts. I'm going to talk more about my weight loss journey on Monday but that's also going to be restarting and continuing into 2014.

Beauty is still my first love, so the majority of my posts will still be beauty related and I'm hoping that the acquisition of a new camera will help with some better quality make up pictures. I'm also going to try and do a few more fashion posts - I haven't felt confident enough with my body for a long time but lately I've been reading a lot of plus sized fashion blogs and they've really helped with my self esteem so hopefully my new camera can do its thing :)

I'm not big on new years resolutions but I do have a few personal hopes and dreams for 2014. I'm very much looking at this year as a new broom sweeps clean. I really want to clear our some of my mental and physical rubbish this year. Although I have limitations that I can't change I really want 2014 to be the year when my life starts to change for the better. A song I remember from my younger years is this one by Wilson Phillips.



The truest line in the song is "no one can change your life except for you" and that is so true. If I want things to change I need to make changes myself. I have a few ambitions and goals that I want to achieve this year so I'll hopefully keep you posted as and when x

This isn't probably the best written post ever but there is no time like the present for a bit of honesty. I want to thank you all for your support in 2013 and I hope that it will continue in 2014. I hope you all have an amazing 2014 and you managed to achieve all of your goals and dreams x Happy New Year x