The Beginning of a Journey...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

This is a new beginning for me as I am embarking on a journey to fully discover my own creative self - exciting, scary and filled with endless possibility!

So far I've been very successful in ignoring that inner voice telling me to make things, to paint, to draw, to take pictures, and to write about it. But for some reason (maybe it's being over 40), this voice will no longer be silenced.

I grew up in Germany in a culture that highly values privacy. And for most of the years, I have lived a fairly quiet and introverted life. My family knows parts of me, as do friends - some know me more deeply than others. My sweet husband (and extremely talented artist), Daniel, is the one who knows all of me and who has encouraged me for many years to explore my inner artist, something I have - until now - been very shy about.

But suddenly I find myself wanting to paint, to draw, to take photos and - most amazingly - to write about it. I want to live this part of my life fully and out loud! And here, in this blog, I'll be writing about life, love, my family, my friends, and my experiences as my creative self begins to break out of its shell and starts to soar.

Some of you, who'll be reading this journal, I know and love already and others of you I haven't yet met. But I do know this - on this journey through life and love, we are all connected as we learn, and grow into our own beautiful selves. We need each other, we inspire each other, we love each other, we lift each other up, and we bear witness as each of us explores, dreams and discovers.

Ok, that was the deeper part of my post today! Now, to begin the journaling... I'd love to introduce you to my little immediate family. This picture of Daniel and me was a self-portrait (we have a whole series of these) we took on an incredible trip to Ireland last summer. It was pouring rain outside, but we found a cozy pub on the road where we had an amazing view and ate the best seafood stew!


And, of course, I must share a picture of the two creatures who run our family - our adorable dog, Winslow, and our sweet and very vocal kitty, Ramses.


All the rest, I'll write about little by little, so check back often!