Today, we say goodbye to January 2025 and tomorrow, we turn the calendar to February. It couldn’t come at a better time as does this milder weather. We saw more than our fair share of snow, extreme cold, and it just seemed to drag on. While the weather is the biggest loser for the month, there have been parts of the month that have been good.
I cut back on the content this month after completing a record setting 2024 by publishing over 200 blogs. I did this last year as well and look how the year ended. Case in point? You’re just getting started and the year is young.
While the snow and extreme cold didn’t do me any favors last month, I still made the most of January. I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions but I’ve begun to listen to podcasts more this month. I’ve listened to rewatch podcasts before, related to the Office. It was on Brian Baumgartner’s podcast that he interviewed Danielle Fishel from Boy Meets World. She talked about her new rewatch podcast for the show, Pod Meets World. The pod has now covered five seasons of the show and they interview other actors and producers. While I do enjoy rewatch podcasts from 90s TV shows, I’m also trying to branch out and find other ones to listen to as well. Enter Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown and YaJagoff!.
I picked a book back up that I got on Amazon during the pandemic. Three things in the book are John Hughes, the Brat Pack, and his work and impact on that generation that grew up with his movies. I’ll start a new chapter tomorrow morning and very soon, I’ll be learning about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Aside from the Brat Pack movies, this was another classic from the decade.
Towards the end, Christmas Vacation and Home Alone will get a mention as well. Hughes didn’t want to known for just high school age movies, so that’s why he would branch out with more comedies like Uncle Buck, and holiday films like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I will have to check out Say Anything and Some Kind of Wonderful at some point.
The NFL postseason began on January 11 with the Wild Card Playoffs and boy were all the games good? The Steelers ended the season on a disappointing note, so yeah we won’t discuss that. But that doesn’t mean there were good games elsewhere. Denver was happy to be back in the playoffs despite getting blown out at Buffalo, and Philadelphia has cruised through the playoffs with a great defense and effective ground game led by rushing champion Saquon Barkley. I’m hoping the Eagles spoil the three-peat for Kansas City. However, this will be a Super Bowl that no one wants to see a winner. I’m at a crossroads on how much longer this game will pique my interest and may be done with it for good after the Super Bowl. Never say never though.
With the end of the NFL season comes college basketball and golf to keep me occupied, sports wise. I’m not a NASCAR or NBA All-Star game fan and I wait until the playoffs to get excited about hockey.
Coming in February will also be area speech contests in my Toastmasters district. The 18th will be our area contest in Monroeville, and Area 21 will be February 21 in Johnstown. Our division contest will be March 22 in Blairsville. All of these I plan on attending. The contests are International Speech and Tall Tales.
As I said earlier, the biggest loser for last month was the weather. We were below average for the month despite getting to 50 degrees on Friday. We fell below zero for the first time in ten years and had our coldest morning since 1994, when we dropped to minus-22. To say I’m happy to see February is an understatement. Winter’s not over but if it’s not frigid, I’m OK with that.
Finally, another winner for the month of January was the new Valentine’s Day menu at Cutie’s Coffee Company. I’ve gotten three drinks so far and uploaded the pics to my frame, which I’ve had for over a year now. They’ve all been really good. My first drink of February will hopefully be the Teddy Graham Latte but it’s only there for a limited time.
Stylish 🍒 