Starting over

fiftysister

So many women share with me that they feel their life is over, they are past their best and on a slippery slope downhill into old age. Hitting 50 is a significant milestone, but not everyone can appreciate how incredible it is to be able to celebrate their half century.


But this is OUR time. Time we never had available before. Through college, courting, children, cooking, caring and careers, we have given ourselves completely to others. But how about some ‘me time’ for a change? How about doing everything you’ve ever dreamed of? Obviously, world travel is off the list at the moment, but what about; picking up your paints and creating art, writing that book that’s been sitting in your head for so many years, learning a new skill such as web design or …..well….anything you’ve ever dreamed of?

Starting a new business or venture in our 50’s and beyond should be a breeze, we’ve learned a lot of lessons. Sure, the landscape has changed and everything is online, but it’s so easy to educate yourself using tutorials on YouTube. I taught myself to build my website, to design my T shirts and to use social media, which just over a year ago was mind boggling to say the least.
In the words of Freddie Mercury, ‘don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball’. I’m enjoying this beautiful ride and there’s nothing in my way!

Are you starting something?


#bossbitch #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #silverhair #over50 #bossingit #boss #over50blogger #midlifemayhem #midlifecrisis #midlife #middleage #over40 #overthehill #makeithappen #dontstopmenow #careerchange #maturewoman

Dream Tees

fiftysister

Some of you may know that one of my hobbies is beach combing and cleaning. Each time I head out on a hike I go prepared to pick up litter and garbage along the way. Sometimes there is more than I can carry so I head back the next day to the same location to collect it. I’ve been doing this for 20 years or more. Swipe left for a sample haul from a beach clean in the winter.

Some of you may also know that I design T shirts and that I tried to fulfil them through Amazon. Sadly, the quality was very poor so I abandoned the T shirt idea……until now!

I found a company with a factory which runs on renewable energy in the UK & USA, who ship worldwide. They are an ethical company and all the T shirts are organic. I’m so excited I can hardly breathe! The quality is outstanding. You can check out all my designs on my website: https://fiftysister.com/t-shirts/

So now I can combine two of my passions, designing T shirts AND keeping the ocean clean as the profits from the T’s are going to my beach clean project to enable me to increase my efforts. I could not be happier. I wanted to find a way to physically make a difference. Lots of plans for more beach clean projects which I will share with you along the way.
I design T shirts for women like me. I’ll be running giveaways soon, so stay tuned for more information!

This is one called ‘Ocean Kiss’ xxx

Have you ever had wanted to do something for so long that you never thought it would or could ever happen?

#dreamscancometrue#organicclothing#vegan#suportsmallbusiness#beachcomber#beachclean#ethical#organic#renewableenergy#ethical#ethicalclothing#designedbyme#cleanup#silversister#bossbitch#femaleentrepreneur#over50blogger

Almost at 25k followers!

fiftysister

Welcome to all my new followers! I may even hit 25k by my birthday – how exciting would that be?!?! When I started this account, I figured that I’d be sat here posting on my own and soon give up hope of inspiring anyone to embrace aging positively.

I know I need to thank 2 people for a boost in followers over the past couple of weeks, as Instagram still keeps me hard to find. Firstly @thesilverlining_70 who shared my profile to her followers, as she suggested following me as an inspirational ageing woman. …how chuffed was I? Her posts are creative and colourful and she is beautiful. If you are not following her head over to her account and check out her hair as she transitions to silver!

Secondly, @isthistooyoungforme who gave me a shout out yesterday. She is full of energy, fashionable and fun. Her IGTVs give you a glimpse into her life, she uses them as a daily escape – her ‘me time’. She always looks effortlessly stylish. I wish I had an ounce of her style. Check her out, it’s better than TV!

I bumped into @tallywhitecrafts on the beach yesterday, which was so lovely. Her whole family were busy scavenging for seaglass on the receding tide for her jewellery business. Check out her giveaway ending tomorrow for these stunning seaglass earrings. Handmade in silver in her workshop just around the corner from me.
My day didn’t go to plan yesterday. Seb and I headed out for some quality time together but we hadn’t been in his van for 2 minutes before we had a collision. We are both fine but it kinda (almost!) ruined the day. It’s nothing that a new door and some paint won’t fix. All the fun of living in a small town with even smaller roads.


#over50 #over50blogger #ditchthedye #naturallygrey #agepositive #greyhair #grayhair #gosilver #silverandfree #loveyourage #flyageless #embracethegrey #greyhairdontcare #silversistersinternational #openlygrey #greyhairmovement #greyisthenewblack #cottonhairedwoman

Feeling energetic

fiftysister

So many people ask me where I get my energy from. If I’m not hiking, I’m swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, working (of course!) or thinking of new projects. My mind is on fire!

This wasn’t always the case. 10 years ago I could barely walk, my legs so swollen and painful that I panicked at the prospect of standing for any length of time. My thyroid was in meltdown mode and went undetected for quite some time. It was only when I felt I couldn’t go on and begged my GP to help me that everything changed.

The first Doctor I visited told me I was fat because I was lazy and ate too much. If I lost weight I would be able to exercise and would feel better. But I was living on 600 calories per day, and that is no exaggeration. When your Thyroid becomes underactive, it saves all your calorie intake as fat and leaves none for normal functions. I wanted to sleep 24/7. Getting out of bed was a major task, and work became almost impossible.


I commuted several times per week to London which was a 412 mile round trip. I pinched my legs to stay away whilst driving, had a sleeping bag on the back seat to grab a snooze any opportunity I could.


My underactive thyroid caused weight gain, hair loss, brain fog, muscle spasms, severe fatigue, sensitivity to cold, depression, muscle aches and weakness, muscle cramps, heavy periods (I also had adenomyosis which meant I was bleeding so heavily I was severely anaemic), brittle nails & hair, dry skin, difficulty thinking and memory loss.

Fast forward and I am now feeling on top of the world with the correct medication and a plant based diet. I feel I have my life back. I am a little bit sad that I lost almost 10 years of my life feeling so ill, but I’m making up for lost time now.
Leggings (they are stunning and so comfy!!) : @famaraonline


#hypothyroidism #hypothyroid #chronicfatigue #plantbased #vegan #thyroxine #autoimmunedisease #foodasfuel #fitafter50 #healthyaging #over50 #silverhair #adenomyosis #anaemic #anaemia

Eating plants changed my life

fiftysister

I’m blending like a chameleon today!


Eating only plants changed my life. I have more energy and stamina to exercise longer, hiking the steep and hilly South West coast path around Devon and swimming all year round in the bay. It really was a gamechanger for me, and there is a good film on Netflix with the same name ‘Gamechanger’ that you may want to watch if you are at all interested in diet and fitness.


Most days I fit in a minimum 3 hours of strenuous hiking and put aside some time for swimming. I try to stay in the water 30 minutes, but it does depend on the sea temperature. In the winter 10 minutes is quite an achievement!
Today Seb and I took a dip in Fishcombe Cove. We swam and chatted our way across to Churston Cove, which wasn’t a long swim, but long enough to catch up on each other’s news and wash away the stresses of the past few weeks. Our client finally paid the outstanding invoice which I’ve mentioned before as the cause of some sleepless nights over the past couple of months. I’m very happy to say that the money hit our account today so I will be sleeping like a koala tonight!


Stunning bamboo clothing from @bamboo_clothing


#devon #bamboo #hiking #southwestcoastpath #over50 #wildswimming #over50style #minimalist #seaswim #fitover50 #midlife #happy #aging #maturewoman #minimalistlife #over50lifestyle #over50women #over50blogger #gamechanger