Holy Cow! Where has January gone?

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a difficult time believing that January is almost over! It seems like mere days ago that my family and I returned from a fabulous trip in the Riviera Maya!
The first image was taken from the beach front at the resort. The next photo is of the ruins of Tulum. We had a wonderful time.The food was amazing (it always is when someone else cooks it !) and the people were even better.
 I found myself  in vacation mode for at least a week after our return but then it was back to work as usual. Funny how when you’re away there’s always more than enough time for everything, but once you return home there’s never enough time to get everything done.  I spent the first week of the new year just cleaning out my closets and getting rid of things that I haven’t used in ages.  It seemed that I just needed to purge and un-clutter my space before I could be creative.  I re-decorated my computer room. I love the look of white painted furniture so that is what I finally have in there now.  Everything feels so much calmer now.  I had been avoiding my computer before but now I enjoy being in that space so I’m getting so much more accomplished now.  I finished one article for Polymer CAFE, (It will be in the April issue so I’ll tell you more about it when the date gets closer.)  and I’m already working on another one. I may even be done before the actual deadline!! 
I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions so the only one I made is to keep my work areas free of clutter.  I want to put things away as soon as I’m done working with them.  So far so good.   Oh, I guess there is one more resolution that I have made. I just haven’t spoken it out loud yet. It is to be kinder and gentler to myself.  I’m finally starting to realize that I can’t possibly do everything myself.  I’m a  bit of a control freak when it comes to doing most things, but now I realize that I’m the one that loses if I don’t delegate.   I need to let go of some of the control.  Things might not get done exactly the way I’d like them to be but that’s OK (at least that’s’ what I’m’ telling myself) Yep, I’m finally realizing that if I spend so much damn time doing the things that just NEED to be done that there’s not enough time for me to just enjoy.  Yep, this year I am go to try to enjoy the art of doing less. 
I really do enjoy simple things.  Like watching the flames in our fireplace and I enjoy lighting candles, curling up and reading a good book.  This year, I will feel less guilt about the “nothing” when I can actually accomplish the “nothing” if even for a moment.  Enjoy your life and all the little things that come with it.  So many of the simple things go unnoticed as we rush through our days to get to the destinations.  Enjoy the route that you take each day to get there.   I know that I’m going to try.  Ahhhhh, gentle is good…….