How I wish I was on a beach this week…  Not that I don’t like winter or Christmas time,  you know I’m a bit crazy about Christmas.  But the dark weeks before the snow sets in,  everything grey,  cold and muddy really makes me long for warm sand between my toes,  salty air,  fresh seafood and tropical fruits…   So,  instead of booking a flight I turn to my photos and imagine I’m still there…   

I love this time of year!  I really do!  I love the candy canes and glittery ornaments.   I love the warm light the tree spreads across the entire living room.   I love my mistletoe ball hung in the entrance,  everyone has to go under it before leaving the house…  It’s all those little details that make the season magical.   It’s the time I take to  make it happen.   It’s the cookies I bake and the gingerbread we decorate.   It’s the stockings hung on the mantle,  waiting to be filled.   It’s the slowing down and taking it all in…

There are days when confusion takes over,
Days when I find myself doubting.
There are nights when my mind wanders,
Nights where I feel like crying

When I find myself not knowing
where to look for myself
When I feel like escaping
where time is limitless

I should only focus on what I see
In these beautiful eyes of yours
Holding the truth that will free me
From my ever worrying mind…

I feel the need to slow down,  to focus inwards,  on what really matters.  On things that I’ve wanted to do for a long time but never had time for.  On what brings me pleasure,  without pressure. 
I managed to do all the things I wanted business-wise so far this year,   I’ve released the sets I was working on,  released the jewelry pieces I wanted to create.   Now I choose to dedicate the next month and a half remaining in the year to myself and my family.   Crafts,  baking,  renovations that still need to be completed,  little things I enjoy and kept putting aside.

I’ve always been an avid reader,  for as long as I can remember.  I read anything and everything!  My mom taught me to read when I was four,  before kindergarten.  I never stopped reading since that day when a new world opened it’s secrets to me.   And such amazing secrets they were!  I used to read all day.  I remember being as old as my youngest and waiting for the public library doors to open.   They would open only once a week where I lived at the time.  For the young reader that I was,  once a week was simply not enough,  so the library ladies made a deal with me,  they created a special card for me,  that had no book limits on it.   I was the only one with that special card.  Everyone else had that 5 book a week limit,  but since I probably read 5 books a day,  well,  it just wasn’t the right card for me!  I would even write my own stories at that young age too,  mysteries solved by a group of kids,  me and my friends mostly.  None of these pages still remain though,  but the exercise was a good one.