My Top 8 Blog Highlights of 2014! #Blogging

1. Disney Social Media Moms in Disneyland:

We were invited to our third Disney Social Media Moms conference this past April and it was held in Disneyland. As always it was a phenomenal conference with some incredible highlights such as Elle Fanning/Maleficent re-enactment of a scene from the movie, Levar Burton chatting with us about reading programs, and there no line for taking pictures with Elsa and Anna! One of my absolute favorite things to do in the blog world is to hang out with other bloggers, and that was another highlight! And of course, the family and I enjoyed our time together in Disneyland, our first family trip there!

2. Guardians of the Galaxy/100 Foot Journey/ABC Family Disney Press Trip:

This was my third press trip in three years. Every trip is a fantastic experience and this one was no different. The ABC Family channel shows were included in this trip and we got to have breakfast with stars from three different shows, and they were wonderful! We also got to go on set with Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth, that was a first for me! We cooked at Le Cordon Bleu LA as a way to get to know the 100 Foot Journey movie better, and we interviewed four of the stars of Guardians of the Galaxy. Regarding those interviews, Dave Bautista, with over 5 million FB followers, posted our interview pictures on his FB page before the interview was over. Vin Diesel danced into the conference room. Twice! Zoe Saldana opened up to us and I got to chat with Chris Pratt for the second time in eight months. More that that, we were there watching as Chris Pratt went from supporting actor in Delivery Man to super star in Guardians!

3. Paid Twitter Party Host:

For the first time in my blog career I was paid as a Twitter party co-host. Several times. I have worked hard to grow my twitter following and I work hard at twitter parties trying to engage the audience. Having that recognized was one of my biggest accomplishments this year.

4. Family Forward Conference at Universal Studios Orlando:

This conference is run by Mom It Forward and gave my family a day to spend working together as a way to bond, and also an opportunity to visit the new Harry Potter area in the park. Alone. I mean with just the conference folks. And we paid conference prices for all of this, instead of triple to have a party in Diagon Alley! I am grateful that as a blogger I get to give these amazing experiences to my family.

5. Mom 2.0 Summit Conference in Atlanta:

More bloggers! I love bloggers! And it was a great conference! And there was a wonderful dinner with the crew from Fandango where I am now an Ambassador!

6. Into the Woods Press Conference:

This was my second major Disney movie press junket in NYC. My first was the year before for Frozen where the Lopez’s sang to us and Idina, Kristen, and Jonathan chatted with us one at a time at a round table. This year the talent was up on a dais but I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row just steps away from Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, and Tracey Ullman. But more than that, these folks had me in hysterics, they were having a great time hanging out with us, so that the press conference was more like a party than a serious, monotone press chat. I am at celebrity interviews all year long, this was at an entirely different level, and these ladies were only half of the experience! We also chatted with Chris Pine, Anna Kendricks, Emily Blunt, and the awesome English actor, James Corden! They all made this one of the most enjoyable press conferences I have ever attended!

7. ABC Family Red Carpet and Christmas Party:

The ABC Family folks who met me in July in Los Angeles invited me to participate in the press event they held at Rockefeller Center in NYC this past month. I was one of two bloggers invited. Stars from six different ABC Family shows were present and I go to chat with them all. And take a few pictures with them! I love that as you know. Two of the actresses were folks we met back at the July event and they remembered us!

8. “Annie” Movie AOL press conference

At the end of the chat, Mr. Moviefone brought out a blue tooth speaker and starting playing some funky music. Some kids from Jamie Foxx’s charity were brought up on stage. Mr. Moviefone saw a 55 year old chubby Jewish guy dancing in the audience and brought me on stage as well. I proceeded to show my moves and was brought to the front of the stage after having the famous Jamie Foxx give me kudos for my moves. That doesn’t normally happen to me.

In conclusion, I am very grateful to have found this career. It works perfectly for my personality! I get to bring some great experiences to my family: private parties at Disneyland, private parties at Universal Orlando, ice skating lessons from Jean-Luc Bilodeau (from ABC Family’s Baby Dadddy) for my son, and opportunities to hang with other bloggers. I am very grateful.