Hello, February!

I love February for so many reasons. 

1. It’s my birthday month! Yay! Not only does it mean celebrating with friends and family, it also means several birthday perks from my favorite stores. Did you know some loyalty programs give you a discount or even an amount of money off a purchase in your birthday month? Check out stores like Kohl’s, Belk, Talbots, Pottery Barn/William-Sonoma, DSW, and more! Some restaurants do the same, all of which makes for a month-long celebration. 

2. It’s the birthday month for two of my dear friends! Mary DeMuth, Leslie Wilson, and I began critiquing together in 2002, and one of the first things we realized we had in common was our February birthdays! It’s fun to celebrate together. 

3. There are other family members who share this month with me: two nieces and a nephew, one of my nieces even shares my same day! And sometime in the next ten or so days, I’ll get to share February with a new granddaughter, which is really special, since my grandmother also had a February birthday. 

4. Part of all the joy of February birthdays is my birthstone. Amethysts are just lovely! I have several pieces of jewelry with amethysts in them, some given to me and some passed down from my grandmother. I tend to wear them most often in February.

5. In Texas, February generally means we are moving quickly toward spring. We have been known to have a late February cold snap, but mostly we’re warming up. I love the cold weather in December and January, but by February, I’m ready to ditch the coat and soak up the sun. 

6. This year, another February fun is the Olympics! We get a little obsessive about the Olympic Games at our house, whether summer or winter, which adds a little spark to February every four years. 

7. Valentine’s Day makes February fun, too. Not that we ever do anything big, but, you know, chocolate. It’s everywhere. And I might tend to buy a bit more than usual in February with Valentine’s Day as the excuse. Of course, these days I love putting together a bag of treats and trinkets for my granddaughters. And occasionally surprising my big kids with a gift card. I do love giving gifts! 

8. Finally, this year I am excited about February because we aren’t traveling! We got home from our last trip on February 1st and don’t leave again until March 5. Woo-hoo! A short break in a travel-heavy spring and summer.

How do you generally view February? Do you have anything this February that you are looking forward to?