Happy New Year! I must say, I’m excited about 2012. 2011 was a fantastic year for me full of exciting e-mails and big opportunities and lessons learned and growth and friendships. I feel like even more exciting things are around the corner, though, and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time. I keep clinging to the fact that God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power and love and discipline. I’m purposing to step into this new year and face the opportunities it will bring with courage.
So, what’s on the calendar so far? The focus of the first few months will be writing and photographing for my book. Everything’s due in March, so it’s going to be an intense couple of months. I also have some freelance articles to finish, a magazine photo shoot and another exciting thing going on. In April I will start ramping up for my biggest sale of the year, the Lucketts Antique Market in May. It was huge last year and I’m excited about preparing for it this year. I’m already praying for beautiful weather. June brings our first ever DIY/Home Bloggers conference, Haven, and I’m so honored to be a part of it. My parents put a contract on a house in Gettysburg while they were visiting over Christmas, so I hope I’ll be helping them move up here this summer. My book is slated for release sometime this fall, so that will be a very exciting time. I’m have no idea what to expect from it…maybe it will just be a little blip or maybe it will be huge. I have no idea and I’m just leaving it in God’s capable hands and I’ll enjoy whatever happens.
To kick off the new year, I’ve been asked to be a part of a series on growing your blog. I love sharing what I’ve learned with others and this is a wonderful group of ladies, so of course I agreed!
Check out The Nesting Place tomorrow for the first installment on Authenticity. Join Thrifty Decor Chick on Tuesday to hear some opinions on Monetization and Tatertots & Jello on Wednesday to discuss Community and Social Media. Come back here on Thursday to get some advice on Photography and Styling and finish at Centsational Girl on Friday to see what we have to say on Balance and Time Management. I have a feeling some of this information is going to be gold for anyone who wants to grow their blog, so don’t miss it!
Lastly, I want to end with some thank yous. I have made many very dear friends this year, but I want to highlight four of them.
Karen aka The Graphics Fairy has been an amazing mentor and friend to me. Not only do we have fun together, but we’ve partnered on business ideas and even share a space at Lucketts. She’s made it possible for me to stay there while I work on my book. She always listens when I’m talking through my struggles and sorting out priorities in my mind. Karen’s also super savvy and shares her knowledge with me.
Barb from Knack called me out of the blue this spring and we became fast friends. She’s been such an encouragement to me this year and has been the one I call when I need a friend to cry to and pray with. She’s also helped me think through some business decisions, always balancing those with the truly important things in life.
I met Shaunna from Perfectly Imperfect at Blissdom and immediately connected with her. It was natural since we are both furniture lovers, work in youth ministry, have kids the same age, etc. I am the sort of person who wants friends who are “real” and our conversations are always right to the heart of things. I look forward to getting to know her even better this year.
And, of course, Donna from Funky Junk. She’s been my friend from the start…well, almost. She e-mailed me when I had 75 followers and we’ve been friends ever since.
Thanks also to my top fifteen referrers of 2011…
And lastly, thanks to all of my other blog friends, readers, subscribers, cheerleaders, encouragers and, of course, my family.
Here’s to a great 2012!
Since so many people asked…you can order those adorable card calendars from The Lemonade Paperie Esty Shop.
