I don't want to jump the gun, but I think I'm going to make it through February again this year. Accomplishments of the month include going to the gym two consecutive days, almost filing my taxes correctly, and getting a haircut. I don't like bragging on the internet, but, look at that list! I'm now convinced that I'm at least partially divine.

I've been on a bit of a blogging  hiatus, as I met two of my sisters in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a long weekend. It was a wonderful time and I'm grateful that I had the chance to go. We saw Old San Juan (including Castillo de San Cristobal and El Morrro) and El Yunque (the national rain forest) as well as spending a lot of quality R&R time on the beach.

Also, amazingly, all 12 of the flights the 3 of us had to take to get to and from PR worked out smothly. To say I constantly stress about missing my connecting flights is like saying I kind of like Harry Potter. Hello, understatements. I'm totally nonchalant about actually flying but SERIOUSLY the anxiety I have about tight connections stays on my mind for days prior to the flight, and in the hours leading up to flight one I chew my finger nails down like a rabbit with ADD. On the way there, I had myself convinced I'd be stuck in Atlanta and have to sail to Puerto Rico after hitch hiking to Florida.

so green! 

El Yunque via windows up to the Observation Tower

Anyone else wish hitch hiking was still a thing? I once did pick up hitch hikers - they were two boys from my high school, it was summertime, and I was driving down a road in my township, probably a junior in high school. They looked absolutely shocked when I pulled over to pick them up. I knew them, we weren't friends, but I drove them home. Because, why not? They wanted to go home.

Old San Juan

I understand safety is important so hitch hiking is a thing of the past, to only live on when my grandma talks about her childhood - but I think helping people get home is important too. At some point, all the walls we build to protect ourselves block out everyone else. Coming home is always a refreshing part of vacation, and I was happy to sleep in my own bed last night.

I'm hoping these photos are a reminder to assure you that MARCH IS COMING  :) I'm sure none of you have calendars to let you know when dates change and stuff, so thank goodness I'm here to fill you in on the seasons. If they had an Oscar for "the must useful blog of the year" we all know who the winner would be and anyone who's ever walked next to me knows I'm better at falling up stairs than Jennifer Lawrence.

I came to the conclusion that I'd like to vacation in February every year for the rest of my life. Not sure if that will be possible but I'll give it a shot. It was a nice way to end the month I dread....I can smell the Shamrock Shakes and imagine the green grass patches of March, and I'm already fantasizing about my March Madness bracket! Happy Tuesday! :)

"Don't be a defeatist, it's very middle class"

Is anyone else obsessed with Downton Abbey?

If you took my advice and started following me on twitter, then you'll know that most of my free time is spent oscillating between Downton in the 1920's, and the seven Kingdoms of Game of Thrones.

I care about Matthew and Mary's relationship more than I care about most of my personal relationships. Also, I'm only on the first episode of season 3 so NO ONE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS OR GIRL I WILL CUTTTTT YOU.

Obvious statement: Bon Qui Qui is my role model.

I've actually had to monitor my twitter to avoid Downton spoilers. I still remember who told me about the heartbreaking death of HP book 5 before I got to it, and will hold that grudge to my grave. Same goes for Thrones, I finally finished book 1 after recovering from THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO A CHARACTER SINCE DUMBLEDORE and, no, I'm not going to spoil it for people here who haven't read it yet, but, you guys, I wore black for a while.

Everyone (co-workers, friends, my officemate, my boyfriend) warned me not to get attached to the characters when I started reading Game of Thrones. And they all said it like they were not suggesting I betray the very core of my being. Me? Not get attached? I get attached to bloggers I don't even know. (e.g. totally cried when dooce got a divorce.)

I consider myself empathetic to a fault. Not being able to have a good time unless everyone else at the party is having a good time really decreases your chances of being able to have a good time (take that, probability.) I've definitely gotten much better over the years with handling it in social situations, but, seriously, asking me not to get attached to fictional characters is going to have the same impact as asking Hermione not to raise her hand in class. Aka none.

But seriously? J.K., we do care about Harry's kids, I promise. I'll read about Dudley's sex life at this point.

Back to Downton: best thing that's happened on PBS since Arthur. Bar none. How can you not be captivated by dowries, daughters, suitors, servants, dinners, weddings, fortunes, and more? All with the absolute best quips coming from Professor McGonogall Violet Crawley.

And, in honor of a post dedicated my favorite books and a splendid show, I leave you with a thought-provoking quote from Downton to mull over during your most likely miserable Monday morning meetings:

P.s. I had no intention of writing about HP at all in this post and just counted five references. Those who hate the wizarding world should likely never visit this site again, but hopefully all the haters figured that one out a while ago. :)

Fun Dip and Tweets

I was invited to a Super Bowl party, and asked to bring a dish to share with others. So I obviously brought Fun Dips. If only my high school had the superlative of "least likely to be re-invited to a Pot Luck."

 Probably the only people who brought a better "dish" than me were the guys who stopped at 4 different fast food places (KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell) to get the cheapest, most unhealthy, most delicious assortment of fast-food entrees.

The only thing more American than bringing fast food to a Super Bowl party is when I brought a J.Crew bag full of Bud Lights to an Olympic party over the summer.

If you don't believe me here's a tweet to prove it:

I had to black out of friend's name because I didn't ask for his permission to share his personal information with millions of people on the world wide web. I'm not sure he could handle the endless internet fame the way I do.

But you guys should follow me (@supernova35) if you don't already (YOLO). I'm a lot less annoying when I have a character limit. I currently have 2012 tweets, and I'm considering tweeting once a year for the rest of my life. However, it's pretty likely I'll tweet 54 times the next time I'm stuck in an airport.

Real talk: if you don't have twitter, get one. #hashtagsarefun

A lot of bloggers do "My Year in Review" with photos of their cute kids, cute outfits, cute vacations, etc. I was going to do "My Year in Review" with sarcastic tweets, but couldn't pick just 12. Also, laziness.

Another gem worth sharing:

Proving that Miley Cyrus is not only a rockstar named Hannah Montana in the evenings, but also moonlights as an inspirational philosopher. WHO KNEW! She's totally the original source of that whole believing-in-yourself concept, right?!

But, I've digressed from Fun Dip to inspirational tweets so you guys probably fear I'm going to talk about the Second Amendment next. BACK TO CANDY.

I have time for one last Fun Dip story before I need to go snort some colorful sugar in the bathroom. (New question for my roommate: How many Fun Dip stories do you need before you know you have a problem?)

So, I told you about these co-workers before wherein I learned about the "Hark!" game. Sometimes we take it a step further to spice things up while working. Last time we were on-site, I was dared to casually pull out my stash of Fun Dips from my coat and offer them to everyone in the room, because, professionalism.

As if there was any chance I wouldn't do that. Nailed it. Want proof? The only thing more trustworthy than tweets: Facebook statuses:

But seriously, what can I possibly say is my goal at my two year review after accomplishing that milestone? #absolutelynothing. Apparently I need to find some more inspiration. Maybe Miley Cyrus can hook me up.

Winter Escape

I consider February the Monday of the calendar year.

Today's the first Monday in February, so, as you can imagine, I was basically a radiant beam of sunshine all day long. Especially since I had to wake up at 5:45 to drive a rental car through snowy roads to Chicago. Super exhausting since I'm pretty beat from performing as a back-up dancer in last night's half time show. In my living room.

One good thing is I've realized over the years how much I despise February, so I've developed coping mechanisms. Maybe you think I'm stupid to hate a month, but you know what's way dumber  and way more common?  People hating other people. I generally like people. So you can't blame me for not adoring the dreariest 28 days of the earth's orbit around the sun.

This year to survive February I planned two trips. I spent the first weekend in Arkansas with  my boyfriend and will spend the last weekend in Puerto Rico with my sisters!

If you have any ideas of fun things to do in Puerto Rico, let me know! If you have any ideas of fun things to do in Arkansas, you obviously have never been there. (Just kidding, Stephen!)

We actually just had a wonderful weekend in the Rock! (Or as my sister calls it "tiny pebble").

First off, it was zero degrees in Madison when I left. So I would have been happy if I were going to a warm prison. We hiked Pinnacle mountain on Saturday, and I wore shorts, a Bucknell tee, and a Bucknell hoodie. Stephen told me to leave the hoodie in the car, but I just couldn't - it was February 2nd! It's the principle of the matter. Of course, I was sweating half way up the mountain. Of course, we also saw a couple of Stephen's friends that I got to meet while looking like a hot mess. Queen of first impressions. Holler.

view from the top!

It was really relaxing to sit on the top of the mountain and watch hawks circle around Arkansas. My escape to the paradise of the Midwest really helped start my month off right! I do think the general gray-ness of February can damper people's moods, though, as well as the post-holiday/post-NFL dip in general levels of excitement. But stick it out...it's the shortest month of the year for a reason :) 

Here's a super old post to check out - but I stand by my 2-year-old recommendation - be nice to people in February, especially girls :) Is anyone else super relieved they aren't still in high school freaking out over whether or not they'll get a carnation during homeroom?

Quote of the month!