January in Review

Here in Maryland, January has been a bit rough. With temperatures hovering around the 20s, we are so over winter. However, that hasn't stopped me from exploring some new opportunities and having a bit of fun - though, that fun has been mostly in doors as of late.

January Reads

2017 was a very bad year for reading for me. I started off so well, but then I got a little bored and a little restless - having a ridiculous President and a 24 hour news-cycle will do that. But this year, I'm hoping to find my way back on track by completing a challenge I read about on Adventurous Kate's blog. She is reading one book per month around a certain theme. In her case, she's reading authors from countries she's never traveled to. In my case, I'm reading Young-Adult fiction. There's just so many good books out there that the former Elementary school teacher in me is dying to have an excuse to read. I'll be reading many more books along the way - hopefully. But at least one of those - or in the case of January, two books - will fall in the young adult category.

~ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Before you say anything, I've read them all before. But each Christmas, I receive the illustrated versions of the books (Gorgeous!) I've been loving re-reading them. I've forgotten so much because I don't watch the movies, and it's sort of like discovering them all again for the first time. 

~ The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark: I'm a sucker for a Mary Higgins Clark mystery, even though they're sort of predictable at this point.

~ Green Glass House by Kate Milford: Oh, how I LOVED this book! It was so well-written that I could picture each scene perfectly in my head. I've heard rumors of them turning the book into a movie, which simultaneously excites me and scares me. I loved Harry Potter too but hated those awful movies!

January Travels

Like I said, January was a very cold month, that was mostly spent hibernating under many, many blankets. But BroadwayCon is also held in January so that meant a weekend getaway to New York City. While there, we explored Chinatown a bit and then pretty much hit the convention for the rest of our trip. Both of which will be posted soon. One of my favorite things is just exploring New York City, so having the chance to do so for a few hours was exciting even if it was a bit chilly.

January Shows

During BroadwayCon, we didn't see a Broadway show - sacrilege I know! - but we did attend Broadway Sings Curtains at 54 Below. Now I've never seen the show Curtains and I know nothing about it. However, the show was still pretty great. Richard Kind and Michael Reidel were the true stars of the event, however, the supporting cast (which was huge!) were just as talented. I always enjoy shows at 54 Below because where else can you eat so well, surrounded by recognizable stars?

After arriving home from New York, I saw Waitress at the Hippodrome. Now, I don't really enjoy seeing shows at the Hippodrome only because the seats were made for teeny-tiny people with very short legs. To say it's uncomfortable is an understatement. But I do enjoy many of their shows. This production specifically was unbelievably good. I was pretty hard on Waitress when I saw it in New York, but I've re-thought my original feelings. I loved the cast, the music and the experience, plain and simple.

January Moves

After a whole month of Yoga, I am enjoying it even more than I thought I would. It's working out the weird kinks I have in my back, and I can almost feel myself getting more and more flexible. Okay, maybe not flexible, but more able to do the moves and stretches that everyone else is seemingly having no issues with. It may not be a hard core workout, but it's good to know that I'm doing something that relaxes me.

I'm also working on learning Spanish again, for no other reason than I thought it might come in handy in the future. Even if I never use it, it fun to realize I can still recall so much of what I was taught in high school. Duolingo is the app I'm using, and if you're interested in learning, I strongly recommend using it. It's amazingly well-formatted and if you keep up with it - you're awarded extra points if you keep up your streak which is a great motivator for some reason - you will most definitely learn.

January Eats

I recently discovered Chuys in Annapolis which is a Tex-Mex chain, but honestly, I'm pretty sure I've become obsessed in a short period of time. The real appeal for me is their happy hour special - unlimited queso, chips, salsa, beans and ground beef. You can pretty much make a meal out of it. It doesn't hurt that their queso is basically made up of unicorns and rainbows - it's so delicious! 

So there you have it, January in a small nutshell. Not all that groundbreaking, but pretty good when you consider I'd rather live as a hermit when the temperature drops below 45...