It gets a little old to start every blog post off with “Where did the last month go?” but here I am, once again, thinking the same thing!  So I’ll recap my month in the only way I know how – by listing the highlights and the things that have made me happy since I last blogged! With pictures!  

There were some games:

• The Superbowl happened – I worked but made it to the party before halftime.  Not much of a game, but the pool on the score always makes it entertaining when those final seconds tick down each quarter.  
• Got to a few of Trajan’s basketball games.  His season is over now, but I look forward to watching him in the years to come!  
• Went to one of Gracie’s Rochester tournament games.  Her season is over now, too,  but again, many years ahead!  

There were epic weekends: 

• SocialICE 2014 was a lot of fun!  We warmed up with cocktails and Trivial Pursuit questions at my house, enjoyed some warm and cold beverages at the ice bar, went underground to The Doggery, and sang some karaoke at the Viking Lounge!  The next day we went to Newt’s too late for brunch, but it was good nonetheless.  
• Marissa’s Birthday 2014 was also a lot of fun!  The drive to Minneapolis was treacherous, so it took a long time to get there, but I made it with plenty of time to spare before the Jeremy Messersmith concert at First Ave!  First we ate at Kieran’s, a favorite pub, and then we were at First Ave right after the doors opened – which meant we were there a LONG time before the main event!  
• Jeremy Messersmith is just such a good songwriter… I love that you can understand every word he sings and that his songs always have a little twist in them.  So clever and fun.  After the concert, we went dancing at a club where the average age was likely 25.  Very much not my ‘scene’ but it was a fun night.  Saturday we laid low and read and watched TV.  I had decided not to face those roads again, so we worked on getting tickets to Mike Birbiglia, a great comedian!  He was sold out, but we found tickets and we went! 
• Mike Birbiglia at the Pantages was amazing!  It was nonstop laughter about “earlies and late-ies,” the uninhabitable city Minneapolis is, as evidenced by its skyways, and swearing in front of Muppets.  Funny stuff.  Afterwards we celebrated National Margarita Day with “made at the table” guac and fancy margaritas at Rosa Mexicano!

There was an early Valentine’s Date:

• Chris and I both worked on Valentine’s Day and that weekend, so we planned to celebrate on Wednesday 2/12, so it was perfect that I won tickets to Jim Brickman in concert for his”Love Tour” for that night!   Beforehand we went to Chester’s for a delicious dinner, and the concert was very fun!  He has a good sense of humor and a good ‘tell’ that shows he’s done.   Chris brought me the most beautiful roses and a box of chocolates.  It was a good date.  
• The next night, the Cosmo Girls went to a local nursing home and made Valentine’s with and for the residents.  It was a fun time, followed by a pot of tea at Press Coffee House.  

There were books and discussions:

• I had my first class of the semester, requiring a ton o’ reading, online discussions, and case study papers.  Psychopathology will be good for me, good for my job, but it confirms my dislike for professional reading in large quantities.  Ugh.  I was nervous, as it’s been a LONG time since I was in school, but it will be good.  
• I had lunch with Cindy at India Garden, and that always involves mega book discussions.  Planning the next book party is underway!  
• The ED book group discussion was held at Tonic last week – we discussed Winter Garden, which had been in my TBR pile for years!  I always felt like it should be read in the winter, and I’m glad it was.  It was a good book about mothers and daughters, forgiveness and understanding.  And it had a secondary story which took place in Russia, so it was timely with the Winter Olympics!  Next up is Divergent!  We’re going to the movie together.  
• There was a brief visit with Sarah and her kiddos in the warmth of their home.  That also means that books were discussed.  Look forward to another visit!    
• I’m still listening to The Goldfinch and just started reading Questlove’s book Mo’ Meta Blues.   Next TBR is a book for a book tour – I can’t wait!  Details to follow… 

There were movies and award shows:

• The night before the Oscars, Jenny and I watched 20 Feet from Stardom, the documentary about back up singers.  We also went to see The Lego Movie, which was a lot of fun!  I loved the ‘meta’ of it and loved the voices.  Maybe it’ll be Oscar nominated next year!
• I love watching the Oscar’s every year.  I blogged about the nominations when they came out and you can read that here.  20 Feet from Stardom was not a favorite to win the Best Documentary category, but it won!  That was so fun… I loved the acceptance speech and that Darlene Love sang her heart out during it!  Other things I loved were
• Ellen’s selfie
• Cate Blanchet and Lupita Nyong’o acceptance speeches
• Pizza for everyone!
• Spike Jonze winning for best screenplay for Her – the movie about relationships and intimacy.  A great discussion piece!
• All of the songs performed live
• Following along on Twitter all night – until it broke for a while!  Crazy selfie retweeting overload!  
• The jokes following John Travolta’s major introduction fail.
• I’m sure there’s more, but for now, that’s it.  

I’m sure that’s an overload.  I either need to blog more often or remember that people probably only read one paragraph before moving on!  If you made it to the end, I’d love to hear from you.  What made you happy in February?  It was a brutally cold month with horrible weather where I live, so you gotta look for the good to stay sane!  

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