January 2018 Photo Challenge, Day One: I am here

Wow. It has been over three years since I've last posted an entry. I haven't dedicated as much time to my creative outlets as I used to. I was challenged by my husband to do a month photo challenge. This is (probably) more manageable than trying to do a photo every day for a year. Haha, how many times have I written that I would try that on here? More than once, for sure. 

Today's prompt was "I am here". I honestly thought about doing a selfie and talking about mindfulness and relishing the present, but I just didn't.  Today, being New Year's Day, I had the day off. As much as I would have liked to do a bunch of chores and things around the house, as my first holiday season as a married woman, my husband and I have been running around, doing everything like chickens with our heads cut off. I am a busy person, especially around the holidays, but this particular season more so since we just got married two months ago. So there's the moving, packing, unpacking, finding a place for everything. 

As of late, I haven't been sleeping well. I read into my dreams and they've been telling me for multiple nights now that I need to set aside time for relaxing and enjoyment. It's so funny how I dream about those things during the holiday season, but I guess I got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season that I haven't taken it easy. My husband and I then decided we should do whatever we wanted to today. So, we slept in, made a quick breakfast, and decided to go to the beach and see what would happen from there. Yeah, I know what your'e thinking. Going to the beach on New Year's Day?!  We are lucky to live in Southern California, and one of the perks is great weather, even if overcast during the winter.

I wore these shoes to the beach to explore the tide pools, and took them off after examining each tiny ecosystem; having enough of bouldering and avoiding slipping into the crevasses of the huge rocks. I guess the picture is kind of symbolic of how my days have been and how I wanted today to be. I took off my shoes to enjoy, relax and just be present. I could have thought about all the things I needed to do at work but didn't. I chose to be present, to tell myself, "you are here, just think about today and just think about how you're enjoying this right now". 

Hey today, I am here. 2018, I'm here and I'm going to make it great!