What I Learned: The February Edition

And just like that, it’s March. And freezing.

 

Saturday Mikael and I took a blissfully long walk around the park.

And last night I went to sleep under four blankets and still woke up shivering.

Gotta love Texas weather. In like a lion, or a snow leopard, or something like that.

  

But the crazy nature of Texas weather is hardly newsworthy.

What is newsworthy? How ‘bout some super random stuff I learned in February?!

Yay! 

 

 
1.)  I really do love to read. I learned that last year when a friend inspired me to aim for 52 books in the year. I failed miserably at the challenge, but it rekindled a forgotten romance with the written word all the same.

And this year, I feel like I’m finally hitting a bit of a stride.

Instead of playing it safe with my book selections I’m stepping outside of my comfort zone. In February I read the super short, super crass, but still moving play August: Osage County, another classic by Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, and a modern beast of a novel, Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. It was super long and emotionally intense, but a great foray out of my literary comfort zone and a very interesting read. More on those books later, I hope.

2.)  On a lighter note (pun intended) I will never outgrow my love for teal. But, I’m obsessed with mint this season. It’s like teal’s younger, preppier baby sister, and I love it. Clearly.

 

3.)  I absolutely hate to admit this, but making our bed each morning has made a huge difference in my mood and productivity throughout the day. I’m going on week two, now, of forcing myself to develop this habit. I hope I’ll keep it up. It really has been a positive change.

  4.)  I could not have meme’d this any better myself. This is completely my personal, beautiful, and wholly unsubstantiated view of heaven.

 

5.)  If you’re gonna bother to invest in new tennis shoes (for the first time in six years!) you might want to invest in some good socks too. I killed both my ankles at the start of this month thanks to the “cool looking” ankle socks I just had to have. Blister Bandaids were a God-send, that helped them heal fairly quickly. Still, it’d have been better to save the trouble, and just buy some sensible socks to start with.

 

6.)  Parks and Rec is, literally, the greatest show ever. At least, I love it, and I like it. And thankfully the husband does too.

We’ve been binging on it most nights, thanks to Netflix. Between Ron Swanson’s bacon-inspired prose and Leslie Knope’s unbreakable patriotism, not to mention her love of waffles, there’s a little bit of something for everybody. Mostly, I guess, we just like food humor.

 

7.)  A good friend will meet you downtown for lunch. A great friend will drive halfway across the state (or an hour at least), to catch up over sandwiches and not pass an ounce of judgement while you eat your weight in bread pudding. 

 

8.)  It turns out the girl that never knows where she wants to eat, or what to wear, and finishes half her sentences with question marks can totally take a stance!

That girl is me, by the way, and I discovered in February that I can be super bossy if need be.

I had the honor of shooting my sis-in-law’s engagement photos on Valentine’s Day, and thanks to advice from Mikael, I took charge of the shoot. We ended up getting some great shots. And even more importantly I learned there’s a time and place to speak up, like when you’re losing light fast and want to capture some sun flares.

9.)  While we’re revisiting V-Day, I learned this year that a laughter-filled lunch at Cheddar’s trumps a stuffy, fancy Valentine’s dinner every time. Who needs escargot or expensive wine when you can have spinach artichoke dip and sweet tea?

10.)  EOS not only makes great, egg-shaped chapstick, which is wonderful ‘cause it’s quirky shape makes it harder to lose, it also makes great hand lotion in equally adorable (odd) packaging. The scent is pretty, not overwhelming, and it really does moisturize well.

 

So there ya have it. A bunch of stuff you didn't need to know.

Hope you've enjoyed your ice day, local friends, and that your year's off to a great start.

 

And for the good folks playing along with Emily Freeman's linkup over at Chatting at the Sky, hello, and thanks for stopping by. What a fun writing prompt, and great group of (mostly) girls.