I pretty much say this every December recently, but, WOW – what a year! My theme for 2013 was Brave, and there were times I really had to step it up and be brave. Not that my life is hard or anything, it’s so not. My life is great. But losing my job after working steadily for 15 years was pretty scary and came with a lot of feels. I guess it’s considered to be pretty brave to set out on a new career path, even if it’s forced. I love working hard and being my own boss and making my own hours. Sometimes I work 12 hours a day and sometimes I work 4 hours a day because I have other things I need to take care of. Sometimes I take Monday off and go to Disneyland and sometimes I work full days on Saturday and Sunday. It’s pretty awesome.
I noticed a few interesting things about my statistics when I was reviewing my 2012 Year in Review post. In last year’s post I mentioned I had just reached 100,000 page views (which was totally crazy and super exciting). Well, in just one year I am now at 330,000 page views! My readership basically grew by over 200% in just one year! THAT IS INSANE. In fact, all my blogs grew well over 100% verses last year’s numbers. It’s really exciting, and really encouraging, and I’m very grateful to all of you for reading.
I also noticed that, out of all my most popular posts in 2013, only two were Disneyland wedding related, and one of those was a sponsored post! And I’m happy to see that four out of 12 of my most popular posts were sponsored content. So thank you very much, to all of you, for reading, sharing, and generally supporting my sponsored posts. I do my very best to make sponsored content unique, fun, and relevant to you and I hope that these numbers prove I’m doing something right.
So just to sum up this year really briefly: life = awesome.
For more details, keep reading!
January – In January I launched Blogging It Forward, inspired by my time at Camp Mighty and the result of several sleepless nights and endless coding frustration. I’d be lying if I said the site was perfect, because it’s so not, but it will do for now. It hasn’t taken off the way I had hoped, but I also could be (and should be) promoting it more. Whenever I discuss the site with blogging friends, they seem every excited about it, but that hasn’t really translated to page views. Some more work is needed there and I’m totally up for the challenge! In January I also celebrated the first anniversary of our sister blog Disney Wedding Inspiration! Talk about crazy growth …. DWI’s page views increased 300% over last years, although the recent rebranding into InspiredByDis.com cost us some Google Juice and has set everything back little bit, but I expect it to be back and better than ever in a few months. I also attended Alt Summit in Salt Lake City and gained a ton of insight and knowledge into blogging as a business, along with making really great new friendships and business contacts. I’m so excited to be heading back there again next month!
January’s most popular post: Disneyland Wedding Pricing Update – January 2013
February – In February I crossed something off my Life List – Completing a 5K, thanks to The Color Run! I also participated in my first Dapper Day at Disneyland, which was really fun. Even the bears wore their finery!
February’s most popular post: Completing The Color Run with a Corn Allergy
March – March was when we found out our honeymoon cruise the following month was canceled. CANCELED. We quickly rebooked for a nearly identical itinerary and a much higher price tag but it’s only money, right? (Spoiler alert: We had an amazing time.) March also marked a big milestone in my blogging career when I was promoted to Ad Sales Manager at DIY Bride! I was only in this position for about six months but I gained valuable experience and earned a few extra bucks which is coming in really handy now that I’m funemployed. I also attended my first Disney Bride Baby Shower for my friends Courtney and Calvin!
March’s most popular post: Honeymoon Planning – Barcelona
April – The second half of April was our super duper amazing Honeymoon cruise through the Mediterranean! The first half of April involved me being super duper stressed about our last minute change of plans, but everything worked out wonderfully and we had the best time. My only complaint is that, like most vacations, the time flew by so quickly.
April’s most popular post: Budget Style with Firmoo Glasses!
May – May marked our one year wedding anniversary! We celebrated by spending the night at The Disneyland Hotel and dining at the Sixth Floor Balcony Experience. Now I need to start thinking about what to do for anniversary #2! In May I also joined the Blog Trends team as their Social Media Manager! The gig lasted a couple months and I’m so happy they let me help them out for a bit because it was a great experience. I still participate in their weekly chats, so if you’re a blogger check out the Twitter hashtag #blogtrends and join us every Monday evening.
May’s most popular post: Revisiting Our Honeymoon – All Aboard the Norwegian Spirit!
June – June was a bit of a slow month, which was good because I needed a little break! I had fun attending Becca’s Aladdin themed bridal shower, and had less fun being called in for Jury Duty (even though I only had to go for two days). June also marked Mr. BFT’s return to work, which was super awesome for our bank account.
June’s most popular post: Easy Sauteed Potatoes Recipe
July – July was a big month for us because it’s when we started house hunting! That was scary and fun all at the same time. It’s funny looking back on it now, knowing that we would find the perfect house for us just one month later. We totally expected to be going to open houses for months and months and months … or even years and years! In July we also went to San Diego Comic Con with the Community crew. I hadn’t been to Comic Con in a few years and I had forgotten how totally nutso it is. But we had fun. At the end of July we celebrated Becca’s Disneyland Bachelorette day! The last of our little Disneyland Bride circle to get married … sniff sniff.
July’s most popular post: Couture Minnie Mouse Ears in LOVE Magazine
August – August marked the second anniversary of this little blog, and the first anniversary of Pixie Dust Bride! Sometimes I’m shocked when I realize I’ve only been blogging here for two years, because it feels like forever. I also went to the semi-annual D23 Expo in Anaheim and got my Disney geek on in a major way for two days. Oh, and we entered escrow on our house … NBD.
August’s most popular post: Blogiversary Giveaway #2 – Disney Bride and Groom Hangers from Delovely Details
September – September was craaaaaaazy. During the first weekend of September I completed the Dumbo Double Dare, which was a 10k on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday. I will be doing that NEVER AGAIN but I’m so glad I did the inaugural running. A couple weeks later I returned to Disneyland for my birthday weekend and Becca and Mike’s wedding, my first time attending a wedding INSIDE Disneyland! It was pretty darn cool! Then later that month I crossed off another Life List item when I won a ticket lottery to see Paul McCartney in concert on Hollywood Blvd for the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Holy smokes. Seriously, so great. While all this was going on we also were in the middle of Escrow hell. We finally signed all our paperwork mid-September and started packing to move in the beginning of October. Like I said, craaaaaaaazy.
September’s most popular post: Rebel Belle is Ready to Rock Your Disneyland Wedding (Link was RT-ed by Dick Van Dyke and I thought my analytics program was going to explode.)
October – October was kinda sorta perhaps the most insane month of my life. The first weekend of October we moved into our new home. Three weeks later I was laid off from my job. Talk about the highest highs and the lowest lows. I immediately set a bunch of plans in motion and I’ve been working harder than ever before. The only difference is, now I’m working on what I LOVE instead of hating myself for 8 hours a day. Sure, aside from unemployment benefits there is not a lot of money coming in, and I’m still looking for a job in insurance, but I have enough in my savings to survive for a while and we’re just taking it month by month and seeing what happens. (It will be REALLY interesting to read back on this at the end of 2014.)
October’s most popular post: MORE Sexy Disney Halloween Costumes That Have Gone TOO FAR.
November – Aside from house repairs, decorating, and applying for jobs, November was pretty uneventful, which was good considering the entire month of October was totally insane. The “only” thing I did was a total re-branding of Disney Wedding Inspiration to Inspired By Dis. I created a whole new design, home page, Facebook page, and moved everything over to WordPress. I had been wanting to so this since the beginning of the year and when I was laid off, that same day I started putting the plan into action. I did a ton of research and everything seemed to migrate smoothly although I’m sure a pro could have done a much better job in a quicker time frame. But now it’s done and I’m very happy with it! I hope you all are happy with it, too. Other highlights for November were seeing screenings of Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks! The lowlight was falling at Disneyland and twisting my ankle (still so embarrassed).
November’s most popular post: Pumpkin Turkey Chili Recipe
December – Ah, December. December brings its own special kind of chaos and this year was no different. I was really thrown off by how late Thanksgiving was and I scrambled to get my gift buying in order. It’s a minor miracle we managed to get a few ornaments on our tree. My little office tree and all my Disney ornaments sadly never made it out of the box, but I was able to complete a few Christmas DIY projects for Inspired By Dis and that makes me very happy. December also brought a new addition to our family – kitten Vela! We adopted her from the Burbank Animal Shelter. She is wild and crazy and frustrating at time but she brings so much joy into our lives. I’m so beyond excited to watch her grow up!
December’s most popular post: Peppermint Bark Made Easy with McCormick
So there’s 2013 in a (very large) nutshell. Hopefully 2013 will be forever known as the year I was released from my unhappy job, my corporate shackles (like Jacob and Bob Marley!) and 2014 will be a happier year, whether that’s with a new company or being my own boss. I’m letting everything go and moving forward to a better future. That all sounds nice, doesn’t it? So my promise for 2014 is to keep working on improving myself, both as a writer, a business owner, and a friend.
I wish you all love and happiness as we transition into 2014. A special note of congrats to all you Disneyland couples getting married in 2014! Don’t forget to send me your stories and pictures!
xo,
Mindy
