Happy Birthday to Expat with Kids

Tomorrow is a birthday! It is not my birthday and not my children's birthday! There are no decorations hanging across the house and no birthday cake decorated. Nevertheless, I feel as happy as if it were Christmas Eve tonight. There will be no presents to open tomorrow and many of my friends won't even realize that tomorrow will be a very special day for me.

One year ago, on October 27th I entered a new universe, submerged myself into it and never looked back. I started blogging. I cannot even tell you why I began. An American girl I had met a month earlier during a dinner party had spoken to me about her blog. I had no clue what blogging meant. On that Wednesday afternoon while staring into my computer screen I decided to test my IT knowledge by creating a blog. It started as a challenge and became an obsession. I googled endlessly for tutorials. Every single part of my blogdesign as well as all the lists are homemade. I did not stop rearranging the layout until I had it just the way I wanted it. At this point blogging had turned into a passion!

Further I realized that I had stumbled onto a market niche. What was the likelihood of finding an English-language guide on Lugano? Et voilà: Expat with Kids was born! I tried to come up with a mix of useful information about life with kids in Lugano, yummy recipes, inspiring photos and fun facts that would make readers smile and want to come back for more.

I refused to have any advertising. This blog is MiNE!!!

I have been posting nearly every day. To date my count is 369 posts in twelve months. I have never run out of ideas to write about and I love sharing wacky information. Did I mention that I moved away from Lugano four months ago? Never mind: my heart remains in Lugano and so does my blog.

I am grateful for all my readers that follow me. 101 connected on Google friends, 82 via facebook, 68 by twitter and 26 through Networked blogs. Feedback and comments are not frequent but via the grapevine I do get the impression that my blog has made its way into blogger's world thanks to 43'000 pageviews.

Another fantastic fact about blogging is the first-hand information that is available. When moving to Paris this summer I never even bothered buying a guidebook. I discovered all I needed to know thanks to my blogging "friends" and believe me there is a whole army of them in Paris! There's lots of good advice out there - you just need to ask! Discovering other blogs and bloggers is half the fun.

While Expat with Kids is a personal blog, I try not to make it too personal. No portrait photos, no names. I guess if I had to put my feelings into words, I'd say that this blog is a story about our lives, not the story of our lives. A little bit of distance works for me. Nevertheless my personal branding is bright and clear: it's PiNK. Haven't you noticed?

So, if you happen to bump into me tomorrow and my smile is plastered across my face from ear to ear, all you need to say is HaPpY BiRtHDaY!!!