Remember that time I had two posts planned last week but then Thursday brought a headache, no sleep and a phone that stopped functioning? Yeah. My bad. Also! When you read this, it will be Sunday, and I’ll be smack in the middle of my second trip of 2016 – because I’m in DALLAS, surprising my mama for her birthday. But in the meantime, it’s Thursday, and here’s what I’m currently doing…

Reading: More Tales of the City, the second in the Tales of the City series, which I started in January and unexpectedly loved. I also have All the Light We Cannot See out from the library to tackle next.

Wearing: Black jeans, striped short-sleeved t-shirt, brown ankle boots, Giving Key bracelet from my roommate (the word is ‘inspire’). The winter we were experiencing last month seems to be over, and it’s 55 here in Manhattan today.

Buying: Mostly groceries, at this point! I’m trying very very hard not to spend any extraneous money since so much is going into travel this year. I did just order a new frying pan from Amazon because I know how to party.

Listening to: My carefully curated Spotify playlist of country songs that remind me of Texas, trying to get in the right frame of mind for my flight tomorrow!

Eating: I had rice & veggies for lunch and am planning a dessert-focused outing with my best friend for tonight! It’s all about balance, right?

Watching: Not much. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the only show i keep up with, since Mindy Project doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. I finished Veep during my snow day and haven’t started anything addicting since (although I did watch an episode of Grace & Frankie and enjoyed that).

Planning: How to surprise Mom tomorrow! Dad and I have some ideas up our sleeves but we’ll probably just end up playing it by ear.

Excited for: This weekend in Dallas, immediately followed by three days in NYC with two dear friends from Phoenix! Nicole and Parisa are coming to town (it’s Nicole’s second annual visit) and we’re ready for some serious girl time.

Hoping: That I can cherish and enjoy these three days with Mom and Dad, and all the other adventures I have planned this winter! (Side note: Last month I put here that I hoped spring weather would come, and it has! Yay!)

Books read: 5/52

Trips taken: 2/12

This month’s challenge: A new French lesson on DuoLingo every day. If I make it, I’ll only have four left at the end of the month!

And how is YOUR February going?