Family & Winners

October 13, 2011 by 1 Comment
you capture

First off, I'd like to thank the "family" of NOH readers who entered the Refueling Power Moms Giveaway this past weekend. What an amazing response from your all and I absolutely appreciate all the support and love you have not only shown to me, but also to all the sponsors. You guys totally rock! Well over 400 entries in just 5 days really blew my mind. So thank you all and I'm glad to have you as part of this family. In case you're wondering, the US winner is Anji Beane & in Europe it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogmania 2011, Expat Life, Family Life, Giveaways, Photography Tagged With:

Refueling Power Moms Giveaway

October 6, 2011 by
refueling power moms giveaway

I know from comments on NOH that many of you are moms with very full schedules, just like myself. You may work from home, or outside your home. Or you might be a full time homemaker and mom, which is already a whirlwind job. Plus you're balancing housework, kid's schedule, finding personal time, keeping the romance spark lit and so on. It's a juggling act that so many experience each day -- so I wanted to give something back to all of you who inspire me daily. (Power dads and others, you are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Blogmania 2011, Featured, Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , ,

Making your life more secure

October 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
McAfee-All-Access

In the world we live in today, almost all of us have a higher risk of having our data compromised or getting viruses in our systems than ever before. We not only access the Internet via our computers (and some of us via multiple computers in our own homes) but also through netbooks, tablet PCs and smartphones. And yes, even Mac users are seeing an increase in the number of malware bugs being created. Does that mean that we need to shut ourselves off from the Internet and stop interacting with … [Read more...]

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Positively unique calendars for life

October 4, 2011 by 1 Comment
personal calendar

If you've been reading NOH since last March, it will come as no surprise to you that I think prinz apfel calendars are some of the coolest time planners I have ever seen. They are wildly unique and unlike anything I've ever seen before. Unless maybe you're an artist yourself, and your calendars look like this at the end of the year. I personally am not much of a doodler -- so my calendars would never end up being this cool! The furthest my doodles have ever gone is a square or circle in the … [Read more...]

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End the cord chaos

October 4, 2011 by 1 Comment
dotz_surge_identifers_2

Take a look behind your desk.... Is is a jumbled mess of cords, cables and dog fur? No? Oh. I guess that's just at our place. ;) I have never really found a way that ideally manages cord chaos in our lives although I have tried here and there over the years. For example, a few years ago I created tags for our home entertainment system by using some paper and tape. I put a tag where the cord plugged in to the stereo amp and I think I even put one on the other end of the stereo cable … [Read more...]

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Control your blogging time and your life

October 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment
simple blogging

I get emails all the time from people who are bloggers like myself, who want to really take their blog to the next level but are struggling. Bloggers know that there are a million things to keep up with and there never seems to be enough time to take care of it all. Running a business from home, working a "normal" job, managing your household...those are all full time jobs of their own. So how do you add the time to run a blog which is successful (which can easily occupy 40 hours of time each … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Blogmania 2011 Tagged With: ,

Growing your website or blog

October 1, 2011 by 3 Comments
search engine optimization

Just a few short years ago, No Ordinary Homestead was a fledgling blog which was mostly frequented by only my friends and family. It was just a place to share information about our lives in Germany so I didn't have to write the same email 30 times a day. Then I realized how much I really enjoyed blogging and I started to figure out how to make my posts interesting to more than just people who already knew us. But how do you actually get your blog out there? Over the last few years, I have had … [Read more...]

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Stylish, warm & eco-friendly fashion

September 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
arm warmers pia barile

It's no secret that Etsy is home to thousands and thousands of incredibly talented designers, artists, creatives and really handy folks. Pia Barile is one of those incredible folks, who makes fun and trendy eco-fashion from recycled products. In 2004, Pia began El Topo Jewels where she began creating one-of-a-kind jewelry from ceramic beads. She specializes in taking items that no longer are being loved and giving them new life. And in 2008, she realized she enjoyed making much more than just … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogmania 2011, Natural Living Tagged With: ,

Low cost doesn’t always mean low value

September 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
low-cost-web-hosting

If you've got your own business, you know how important it is to have a web host you can rely on. And if you're a blogger who makes some money from our blog (whether it's a large amount or small), the last thing you want is for your blog to crash all the time or suddenly disappear. Believe me; I've woken up before to find my blog and several other sites I own hacked -- and it really wasn't fun. There are hundreds of web hosts out there, and many of them either seem to be trying to scam you or … [Read more...]

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Follow your passion and make dreams reality

September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
have-your-cake-and-eat-it

Have you ever heard of Mandi Ehman? How about the Your Way network of blogs? Everything is covered in those 10 brilliant blogs, from Life to Blogging, Technology to Food, Organizing to Finances (and more in between!) I have been a fan of those blogs and Mandi for quite a while now -- and am just amazed by the amount of energy that she brings to the able. I mean really, managing a family with 4 kids, a huge blog network, being active and networking all over the place, and still looking like a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogmania 2011, Family Life Tagged With: , ,
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