Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

(You're totally singing the song now, aren't you?)

Hi friends!  Let's discuss some exciting bloggy bookkeeping things, shall we?  Boring, yes, but if you get to the end, you get a prize.

1. I'm very excited to tell you that All Kinds of Yum is now part of the Daily Meal Culinary Content Network.  A couple weeks ago, I got a nice email with the subject "We Love Your Content", because clearly someone intuited how easily I am swayed by flattery.  From there, I was easily sold:  it's a group of great blogs around the country, all tied together by thedailymeal.com.  I'm thrilled by the chance to gain feedback through the group, and hope to bring some new eyes to this space and more voices to the conversation we have here.  And as you're seeing already, it's motivating me to spend more time here.  Good thing.  Here's hoping it lasts.  You'll see the Daily Meal's footer at the bottom of the page.  If you ever get bored with my blahblahblah, just click through for tons of delicious reading and viewing material.  
2. Lots of link cleanup.  Now the links to the right point to pages I actually read.  Today, in 2014.  Cleaning house, see. Click around -- lots of good stuff from people I've grown to love.
3. All Kinds of Yum has a Facebook page!  Horray!  Huzzah!  I'm super excited about it.  Throughout the week, I see so many things I want to share with you -- restaurant news, awesome LA stuff, sweet food art -- so many things.  Things that inspire me, and that hopefully inspire you, too.  Just as I believe that the real power of food is the way it connects people, I kind of dream that the page can be a place where food connects people, too -- through the conversation of the future, Facebook comments.  I encourage you to join in.  Like the page right over here.

And on a serious note, I love this time of year -- everyone is filled with so much hope and potential, so much motivation and positive energy.  2013 has been so crazy for so many people that it almost makes me believe in unlucky numbers (Almost, but not.)  I was pretty absent here in last year.  I tried to write once this summer, but the end result was so depressing that I couldn't bear to post it.  I mean, I was writing through tears.  I've had my share of ups and downs this year, but the end result has been deep awe and serious gratitude.  There were a few weeks in September when I couldn't stop saying to myself, over and over, "Everything is amazing."  It is.  

I'm super excited to be back writing here, and I'm deeply grateful (like, kind of to a psychopathic degree) for every single click, every comment, every share.  It means a great deal to me.  I wish each and every one of you a very happy new year.  Here's to a 2014 filled with slow peaceful time with nature; moments of buzzing ecstasy; unexpected surprises; challenges to keep us aware, alive, and grateful; sparkly connections with old friends and new; soul-satisfying food and drink throughout it all; and most of all, love.  Everything is amazing.

Oh! The prize:

it's a cat.  dressed as a shark.  chasing a duck. on a roomba.

Truly, everything is amazing.