Hair New Era

A week ago I opened my Etsy shop. That was a really big leap for me, something I was scared of and excited about at the same time.

I had been dreaming about my Etsy shop for quite some time - way too long, actually, before I finally started to make it happen. Even before Kelly Rae's "Flying Lessons" did I know that I wanted my shop, my own little space where I hoped to sell the pieces I created.

Why did it take so long? In the end, it certainly was fear. But I think it also was being sick for such a long time without knowing it. When your body isn't healthy, it lets you feel that without you realizing it. You're tired all the time. Your energy level is extremely low. Your optimism shrinks quite a bit. There are times, sometimes several days in a row that you feel downright depressed. You're the worst company you can imagine.

Since my surgery almost three months ago I do feel like a new person - just as my surgeon had promised. I feel healthy, energetic, optimistic. These days I have more energy than I had for a very long time - I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be healthy. I will never ever again take that for granted.

With this new energetic me I've felt confident enough to deal with my fears and see them as a challenge. I told myself that opening my own Etsy shop really does not carry a big risk - I can't lose anything, but I can gain a lot instead. So why not try it? In the worst case I am not selling anything. That would hurt, of course, but it is nothing that would ruin me. And I can tell myself that I tried and it didn't work out. Still better than not trying at all because I'm scared.

With these thoughts on my mind I set up my shop and finally opened it last week. I only told a handful of people. Of course I feel like a complete newbie which I am, but everyone at Etsy once was a newbie. I'm slowly making my way, finding connections, building up my "circle" and just getting familiar with the Etsy environment.

Yes, it is scary. It is also exciting and exhilarating. It's discovering new things every day.

It makes me feel ALIVE !!!

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I’m 51 today.


Turning thirty and forty was no big deal for me. However, when I turned fifty last year, it dawned on me that more than half of my life was already over. How many years would I still have? Twenty? Thirty, if I’m lucky? And how was I planning to spend those years?

Those were the questions that occupied me for the first half of last year, and I only knew that I didn’t want to go back into an office job I didn’t enjoy, but do something where my heart was in it and that nourished my soul. I read books, I took my first e-course with Visionary Mom that helped me to name my dreams and formulate what I really wanted to do. Exactly around that time I started reading “Taking Flight” by Kelly Rae Roberts. She mentioned her blog in her book, and just out of curiosity I switched on my computer and visited her website.

Oh boy… She advertised her very first e-course, “Flying Lessons”. I read the outline and I knew that this was the course for me. This was exactly the answer to all my questions and my search. This was IT. I signed up the very first day – and it was the best thing I did for myself this last year and it has changed my life quite a bit.

I started my own blog without really knowing what I was doing. I “met” people in blogland who have become friends. I found enormous support and was amazed at what others were doing. I became serious about my photography, found so much inspiration that led me to try new perspectives, to take pictures of completely different motives than I did before. It was fun and incredibly encouraging. I made more art than before and I even showed it on my blog. It was a whirlwind.

Years ago I had stopped to make any New Year’s resolutions because I knew that I usually wouldn’t keep them. And honestly, who cares whether I loose ten pounds or not (actually I did over the past year! Without a resolution – but a lot of exercise). So no resolutions for 2011 either. But I have a few wishes for my birthday.

I want to be truly authentic. When I write or comment, it’s ME who spills out those words, my thinking and feeling. It’s not what I think others want to hear or read, but something that is ME no matter whether it is “popular” or not. It is okay to be different and to think differently. It is also okay if I can’t express myself perfectly. Everybody who comes to this site knows that I am not a native speaker, that some sentences will sound funny or weird. What the heck? It doesn’t matter. Being authentic means that I’ll be vulnerable. It needs a lot of courage, but I want to do this. Perhaps it’ll hurt sometimes, however, I can gain so much from that. It is perfectly okay to be imperfect.

There are other wishes – like doing more art, getting more serious about my photography, opening my Etsy store, read, write more and worry less, but being authentic is the most important one. Many bloggers had a certain word for the new year - my word for 2011 is

Guess what I found in my mailbox today? A small parcel from Kelly Rae. Oh my! I had thought that the items I had ordered from her shop would ship at a later date. What a lovely surprise! She simply made my day! The datebook is so beautiful with lovely quotes for each month, and she wrote a personal little sentiment on the first page. How lovely is that! The necklace is very cute - I love the mother/daughter theme. You can also see her postcard that she told us about in her Flying Lessons.


The entire day has been so nice so far. In the morning I went to Michaels - because another store that I actually wanted to visit was still closed. I don't shop at Micheals very often, but every now and then I stop by and just wander the aisles. Today rubber stamps were 40% off and they actually had a few very nice ones. Others were on clearance. Plus some nice little brads. I also found the Tim Holtz idea-ology paper pack which I really like.


All in all - some nice little surprises during a good day. I am so grateful.