In my book, the new year (and thus the new year’s resolution) doesn’t really start until all the holiday cookies and candy are gone. And by “gone” I mean “eaten.” Generally by me.

So that’s why I am 10 pounds heavier than a month ago, and just now getting to our new year’s announcements here on All Over the Map, nearly two weeks into the new year. It is still January, so I feel like it’s ok.

We have some very exciting news for the new year!

We are offering travel coaching services

You can call us travel consultants, travel coaches, or travel concierges – just don’t call us late to board our flights! We are launching our travel coaching service to help travelers like you plan excellent vacations for your family. Read all about it here, and please get in touch if you’d like some help planning your trip.

We are bringing two new writers into the All Over the Map family

We are really excited about this. We’ve got a new writer/photographer over on our sister site, Belgium with Kids. Martha Hepler has spent a third of her life living outside the U.S.–though often wrapped in the overprotective embrace of the U.S. military. She has SCUBA dived Panama’s reefs, broken bones in the Dolomites, birthed a child in Japan, been to church in Berlin, swum in the Andaman sea, koala-stalked in the Australian bush, and found her grandfather’s tiny birth-village in Spain’s lush northern hills, but she’d say that the greatest and toughest adventure of all can be getting out the front door with her beloved offspring in tow.

She, her husband, and their two kids are thrilled to now live in Belgium. She is excited to share the sights, sounds, tastes, and unexpected low country adventures with you. You can also find her on her blog, Our Gypsy Camp.

Paul Carlino and his family are getting ready to embark on a one-year camper van adventure through Central and South America, and we are delighted that he is going to document their adventures here on All Over the Map. As they get ready for their departure this summer, we’ll run a series of articles on how to prepare for long-term travel, and follow along with their experiences.

We’re launching a new website

We’ve been planning and discussing and designing and soon it will be time to launch East Coast Escapades, a website about quick trips from the East Coast of the United States. We’ll feature city weekends, country retreats, spa getaways, and Caribbean escapes.

We’ll be traveling, of course

In addition to featuring Martha’s travels in Belgium and Paul’s travels in Central and South America, Paige and Vero will be doing some traveling of their own.

Paige will be traveling to the New York Times Travel Show in January, then taking a mother-daughter trip to Austin, Texas.

In April, Paige will travel to the Costa Brava region of Spain where she will attend the TBEX conference, one of the largest gathering of travel bloggers in the world.

This summer, Paige will be traveling to Newfoundland with Writing Walking Women, a group of, yes, women writers who will walk the East Coast Trail after a week of writing workshops in St. John’s.

Vero and her family will travel to Scotland, where her son will perform with his high school drama department in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The family will extend their trip into northern England as well.

What’s new with you?

So now you’ve heard our news, and we’d love to hear yours. What do you have planned for 2015, travel or otherwise?