Spring Starts In January // 1.18 wrap up

In Florida, Spring does not start in the months following February. Rather, you can often see the beginnings of spring happening towards the end of January. 

Right now, in the second day of February, I'm sitting wearing no coat at an outdoor patio of my favorite cafe. A blooming (though, a bit lackluster) flowering plant right beside me, and I can hear seagulls whistle to each other, even though I'm nowhere near a coastline (in the cooler months when people no longer densely populate the beaches, seagulls tend to move inland in order to continue bumming food from people. Florida seagulls are lazy birds). 

I'm not overly fond of Florida. I don't care much at all for the heat, the humidity or the shortness of cool weather.  The hurricanes are troublesome, and we still, frequently get tornados too (did you know that a hurricane can actually spit out tornados along its storm edge? yeah, it can, and it's terrifying. Like, can't we just, have one and not have to worry about the other at the same time??)

But there is something fond about our early, bumbling spring. It doesn't come all at once. We'll continue getting cold snaps for a few months still, and planting anything that is not extremely cold hardy isn't usually recommended. But in January, you start to see peaks of blooming greens and pinks return after December made everything brown and brittle. 

The New Year opens for us, and the greenness of new life starts returning all at the same time...it's almost magical. 

January Third:

It snowed! It actually snowed in Florida (not all of it). While not everyone got to witness the incredible and unprecedented act of fluffy white stuff coming down, I was able to spot a couple minutes of pretty intense flurries before heading in for work (and caught it on video so I could flaunt it at my friends who, while they only lived an hour or so to the west, didn't get to see any Florida Snow at all). It was quite literally the sole conversation for everyone I interacted with that day, and I heard from a good many people who said that it had actually settled up to an inch on the ground before noon (when the sun climbed high enough and everything melted in true Florida fashion). 

Books Bought: 

I did not finish any books in January (someone, please, I need a shame squad if I don't finish at least one in February). 

However, I did add The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo and The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace to my collection via winning them in a giveaway (do giveaways count? I didn't buy them so I don't think it counts) and I bought The Perfect Nanny by Leila Silmani. 

Honestly, I'm probably going to finish The Perfect Nanny within the next few days, as it has me entirely spellbound. I bought it not at all aware that it was a murder mystery.  When I was younger, I devoured murder novels (Agatha Christy was MY GIRL) but I've gotten out of the genre because either I know too soon who'dun'it, or I don't know at all and the author made me purposefully feel like a fool by making it go unnoticed and I just don't like the feeling of realizing the author didn't want me to be able to figure it out on my own.

However, The Perfect Nanny tells you who the murderer is; right from the first page, it is completely obvious who brought the death about.

The mystery comes in you trying to figure out why. It's a delicious dive into hidden ques, the subconscious and the stress between employer and employee. 

I Bought A Snake:

You heard it right, folks! 

I completed my transition into being totally and completely Slytherin by adding a scaley-baby to my pet list. 

He (I don't actually know, 100% that he is a he. I could figure out how to sex him myself, but the act requires essentially a lot of sticking my fingers into places most animals do not like having fingers stuck, and as I don't ever plan to do any breeding, I don't think it's very important. So I'm calling him a he and hoping I haven't caused the poor snake any offense) is a one and a half foot Ball Python named Monty.  Actually, Monty "Pep" Python. Because I think I'm hilarious (and the "Pep" comes from my friends. Who insisted I should name him Pepto Abysmal and when I refused, they refused to acknowledge my refusal so...Pep. Pep happened).  He is actually my first snake, although my brothers used to have a massive Corn Snake named Corn Pops (omg we are the cheesiest).  I didn't realize just how complex Ball Pythons are. I, naturally did a ton of research and reading, so I know my stuff, but it never really prepares you for how bratty and reclusive your Ball Python is actually going to be.  I bought him a hiding rock, and basically, he refuses to ever leave it without giving me an attitude. Also, he sleeps, a lot. Like, he can honestly go three days without ever leaving his rock and still acts grumpy when I wake him up. 

Ball Pythons are also surprisingly gentle, though. After getting over his "I've been woken up and I'm not pleased" grumps, Monty is as docile as a lamb. He lets my younger siblings pet his head, hold him, and he has never seemed stressed out by multiple little hands. 10/10 would recommend if anyone wants to start with a snake that is a brat but a good brat. 

Coffee and Writing:

My primary New Years resolution was to rejuvenate my interests. It had been awhile since I had honestly written in my novels (and didn't feel like I was forcing myself into it), even longer since I had written any letters and almost 500 years since I had journaled my life in my private journals.  All of those things are vastly important to me and since I hadn't done them, willingly, for so long, I was beginning to feel like a shell of myself. So I pledged to do all of them more, even if it meant breaking my usual rut and purposefully setting aside time for those things. 

So, I've been frequenting my favorite coffee shop in order to get in the mood and mindset of writing. It's getting so bad, that the other day, I ordered a Coconut Latte instead of my usual Cinnamon-Cinnamon Latte (Cinnamon syrup and cinnamon powder sprinkled on top of the foam) that the barista looked at me funny and asked if I was sure. "That's not your usual," she mentioned, skeptically, "I know...I just kinda thought I'd change it up, keep ya'll on your toes," I said, sheepishly. "Fair enough!" She chirped right back. 

You know you go places a lot when the workers not only have your face memorized but your usual order too. 

It has been working, though. I'm nowhere near groundbreaking on the writing front, yet, but I've written three letters, two chapters and multiple pages inside my journal, which is so much more than I had been putting out and I'm pleased with that. 

First Bar:

Disclaimer: I am 21. I've been 21 for almost a year now, and I drink. Not obsessively, or anything, but I do love a good fruity cocktail or a bubbly beer. 

I have never, however, been to an actual legit bar. 

That changed this month. It's a long story how I ended up there, but basically, me and my parents were going to a trivia night (The Office trivia night. I was so ready) at another bar, only to find out that the place was packed. Like, there was no standing room. It was insane. So, we chose to leave, but rather than waste our night out (we were all dressed up, after all), we decided to visit another close by bar/lounge that was smaller and less populated. 

BEst. DECISION. EVER. 

The place, called The Fox and The Stag, was cozy, private and perfectly aesthetic. It breathed a sort of Lord of the Rings charm and had an amazing selection of on tap beers (as well as a cocktail called The Sly Fox, which is what I got, that was full of blackberry taste and absinthe).  It might seem odd to have your first bar be introduced to you by your parents, but we actually had a blast together and I would definitely do it again. 

There were lots of smaller, less magnificent events that happened during January, most of them work or family related (that takes, like, 75% of my time), and not all of them were good.  I was plenty stressed, plenty frustrated and not everything is bubbly and cheery. But all in all, January was a great month for starting off 2018, and I'm looking forward to February.

What about you? Did you do anything interesting in January? Experience anything new? Read new books? I'd love to hear about it! Leave a comment telling me about it, or if you did a wrap-up post, let me know and I'll definitely pop on over to read it!

First Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash