Although it’s only 3 days into 2013, I’m still having a little bit of trouble grasping the fact that another year has ended and a new on begun. As I have been preparing to write this post, and began looking back at all the things we did in 2012, I am amazed at how much we did as well as how quickly I’ve forgotten all of our hard work and efforts! That alone is one of the many reasons I continue to write NOH and love every minute of it. Although it’s not always easy to get posts written or determine just what to say and when — blogging is something I really, truly love, and I’m so blessed to have not only made so many strides forward with my family this year, but also here on NOH.
But before I get too sappy, let me mention some of the BIG stuff that we did as a family this past year:
- In April, we visited Berlin for the first time ever and thought, “Yeah, I think we could enjoy living there.” And then we began the biggest cleanout and decluttering effort EVER at the farm…which left the place virtually empty when we were done.
- In July, we packed up all our belongings and moved them down the road a piece — from Frankfurt, where we’d spent the last 11 years, to Berlin. Within weeks, we were all in love with the city and thrilled to have made this change that we never could of anticipated.
- In November, Mackenzie started preschool in a place she adores which is far better than the experience in Frankfurt — and she turned 4-years-old! She’s truly a little person now with more opinions than ever — and making us laugh and cry on a daily basis. 😉
- In December, we began to refocus our efforts on our businesses, which had sadly taken a bit of backseat with all the other commotion going on — and we celebrated our first Christmas and New Year’s in Berlin!
Now in addition to all that, I was still happily writing away here at NOH, and thankfully and I also started making a list of placed NOH and I were featured during the year because I surely would have forgotten something from what was (IMO) a rather impressive list!
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In March, my article about fun things to do with kids in Frankfurt was published on Women’s Web — and is in the process of becoming part of a book for expat families!
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In April, I was one of several expats featured around the globe in the Where on Earth Is series in Delish Mag
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In May, a super observant NOH fan (Maria S.) pointed out to be that NOH had been featured in the print edition of NY Times Global Edition!
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And also in May, my insider’s guide to Frankfurt was published for Cheap Flights
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In August, shortly after our move to Berlin, NOH got a major face lift!
Remember this old thing? 😉
- In October, my currywurst recipe was featured in Ocala Style Magazine!
- In November, got to finally meet a long-time fan of NOH in person who lived in Berlin and is such an awesome person, but unfortunately just moved back to the US with her family to start new adventures in New York.
- In December, became a Small Business Ambassador for Evernote and got to go to Paris to attend the LeWeb conference!
Whew! What a year, right? I’m so very thrilled to have been given those opportunities to showcase NOH and to reach new audiences. And I’m looking forward to even more of that in 2013. Plus I’m blessed that I was able to share it all with you, because without my readers, NOH would cease to exist.
But as if that wasn’t enough, I was also working toward some very ambitious social media goals and focusing more on turning NOH into an actual business instead of just a hobby. And while I didn’t meet all of those goals, I’m still happy with how things went with things like Twitter and Facebook because I was able to meet a lot more of my followers and get to know them on a personal level — which is far more important than just a few numbers!
NOH Numbers for 2012
- Published 3 free ebooks about Thanksgiving, pantry moths and aromatherapy + a running beginner to 5k training plan
- Increased newsletter subscriber numbers by 123% (1,067 subscribers)
- Had 41,656 visitors in December 2012 (81% growth)
- Got “liked” by 1576 people (48% growth)
- Was “followed” by 959 people (12% growth)
- Got a new direction for a cookbook project related to NOH & Germany 😉
Going forward into 2013, I’m going to set some rather lofty goals again for No Ordinary Homestead, but I also have some ideas on how to make them happen as well — which is always the most important part of the equation! Set big goals, build in milestones to get there and then break it down even further into baby steps that you can take every day to achieve the large goal!
NOH Goals for 2013
- Continue posting more free ebooks and worksheets to help you improve your life!
- 2500 mailing list subscribers
- 60,000 monthly visitors
- 2300 “likes” on Facebook
- 1400 followers on Twitter
- In the second-half of 2013, I will be working on the German cookbook under its new premise and focus!
 What goals are you trying to achieve this year, for personal or business reasons (or both)? (Be on the lookout tomorrow for my own personal list of resolutions!)
What would you love to see me write more about on NOH?
