The Day of the Pancakes is upon us

So apparently I just check in at the end of the month now. Okay. Hi.

It's finally Pancake Day at least - I can't believe I've had to wait the entire month for it, I'm sure it wasn't this late last year.

We had Valentine's Day which was nice. I think I've mentioned this before but the cards Jack gets me always have dinosaurs on them, but he said he couldn't find one that he liked enough, or that he hadn't already got me in the past. So to make up for it, inside the card he did get me were two postcards from Paperchase, one of which has a T-Rex on it (the other has a turtle). Everytime I go into Paperchase I always look through their postcard rack to see if there's any good ones, and if there are I'll pick one up and stick it on my bedroom wall. Before Valentine's Day I had 4, and when I stuck the two new ones up next to them I was dismayed to see that they weren't the same size as the others. And I mean, postcard sizes are standard, right? The four original ones I had are all the same size. But the T-Rex one is slightly wider and slightly longer than the others, and the one with the turtle is slightly thinner and slightly longer. The size discrepancy has aged me prematurely, and I don't know why it annoys me so much but it does.

Jack said: "You could just cut them."

And I said: "That's not the point."

I suppose there are bigger problems in the world. But still.

It's been another fairly good reading month; not as many read as January but I'm still sitting pretty at 11/40 books read so I'm pretty chuffed. I don't have a least favourite this month as I've liked everything, but my favourite was probably History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. It's not all that long but I finished it in one sitting because it was so painful that I wanted to get it out of my system all in one go. I felt like someone was clenching my heart the entire way through and it stayed with me for daaaaaays.

Finally, Spotify does this thing where every week they generate a playlist of 30 songs that they think you'll like based on what you listen to on there, called 'Discover Weekly' and I've found some new songs because of it that I keep playing on repeat:

Drive by Gretta Ray

Say No More by Fickle Friends

Honey by Swim Deep

See you at the end of March! Or sooner! Or never! Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.

Currently reading: I just finished A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab so I'm probably going to start A Conjuring of Light next because there was a cliffhanger and I have questions that need answering.

Song of the Day: Honey Bee by Seahaven (I think that you deserve some form of apology/ So here I am, and here it is, I'm sorry)

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Excuse me while I get all mushy for a minute...

So according to Ghostbusters II the world is going to end tomorrow, on Valentine's Day 2016. Which would be a bit of a bummer in all honesty. So just in case it does, here's a gross blog post about why Jack is the greatest (but don't tell him I said that).

1. His favourite song is Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush and for some reason I find that so endearing.

2. Anytime he gets me a card (birthdays, Christmas, valentine's) it always has a dinosaur on it. It began one Valentine's Day when he hated all the cards he found so got me one with a dinosaur on it instead, and it's become a tradition and I love it. Dinosaurs are cool.

3. He calls my feet 'little trotters' in a funny voice.

4. He talks in his sleep sometimes and it's hilarious; he will have entire conversations with me and not remember a thing in the morning.

5. He never takes anything personally. Sometimes I have days when I just want to be alone, even on a day I would normally see him, so I'll send him a message saying so, and it's never an issue. He understands that it's not a slight against him, it's about me, and I don't have to feel guilty about it on top of whatever else I might be feeling. It's incredibly reassuring.

6. He asks me for book/music recommendations (and actually listens to them) which makes me feel like my opinion is valued.

7. He never belittles me for being passionate about things that I enjoy, specifically fictional characters because I'm a nerd. It's nice to be able to talk to someone about those kinds of things.

8. He's funny which is obviously a plus, but he also thinks that I'm funny (I like to be the funniest in the room, always). Making him laugh is one of my favourite things to do.

9. He doesn't judge me when I dance embarrassingly around the kitchen, he just smiles at me affectionately.

10. There are a lot of things I'm unsure of, but the one thing I do know is that I have the ability to brighten his day. That despite the fact that I'm a grumpy, anti-social recluse, Jack will come round to my house and be happy just to be in my presence, and I like knowing that I can do for him what he does for me. I don't think I deserve him, but I'm glad he's here all the same.

Sorry if this made you want to vomit. I was feeling unusually affectionate. It has passed now, I'm back to my usual disdainful self.

Song of the Day: You're So Great by Blur ('Cause I feel the light in the night and in the day/ And I feel the light when the sky's just mud and grey/ And I feel the light when you tell me it's okay/ 'Cause you're so great and I love you)

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Roses and Hats

This Valentine's Day, I got bought flowers for the first time ever.

The boy did good :)

Also, Jack's mum made me a minion hat from Despicable Me.

I think it's pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

Song of the Day: Prophets by A.C. Newman

Currently Reading: I've gone back to slowly reading Smoke & Mirrors. I'm getting there.

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Merry Love Day

There's a lot of hatred for Valentines Day, isn't there? I don't understand why so many people are vehemently opposed to it. And yes, I know it's easy for me to say that because I'm in a relationship, but it's not just single people who hate it; I know several people in relationships who hate Valentines Day just as much, if not more.

Arguments against it are things like this:

1. It's been over-hyped by card companies to make more money.
2. It's a day designed to make single people feel shit about themselves.
3. You shouldn't need a specific day to do something romantic for your partner.

Ah crap, I had more but I can't remember them right now. Anyway, you get the general point.

Firstly, of course it's been over-hyped by card companies. You can hardly expect them to ignore the fact that the whole day exists - it would be downright irresponsible for them from a business point of view. You can't escape all the advertising, cheesy cards, and happy smiling couples professing their love for each other over facebook, so you might as well embrace it and try and enjoy yourself.

Secondly, it's not designed to make single people feel bad, so stop going on about it because it makes you sound bitter and twisted. Especially as (in my experience) most of the people who exhibit this self-deprecating behaviour on Valentine's Day are actually the worst culprits of shoving relationships in peoples faces when they are in one.

And thirdly, no you don't need a specific day to spoil your partner, but isn't it nice to have one? Very few people have the time or money to constantly think up spontaneous and/or romantic surprises for their significant other, so it's actually quite nice to have this one day set aside. It takes the pressure off a bit, if you think about it. That's not to say that you should only do nice things on Valentine's Day, but you certainly shouldn't ignore it. The people who are in relationships but who don't do anything for Valentine's Day out of principle because it's "not a real holiday" are just plain mean.

Oh, and if you're single, do something with your friends, have a girls night (I doubt boys care as much). Stop shitting over everyone else's happiness.

Tonight, I'm off out for a meal courtesy of my lovely boyfriend, and then we're going to eat the Thorntons chocolates I bought and watch Glee. Perfic'.

Here's some funnies that I found. Enjoy them, I did.

 

I found them on Google Images.

Today I'm loving: The sunshine and the fact that I'm getting a free meal tonight.

Today I'm hatin': Haters.

Song of the Day: Going Away To College by Blink-182. Chosen because it has the word 'valentine' in it.

I haven't been this scared/In a long time/And I'm so unprepared/So here's your valentine/Bouquet of clumsy words/A simple melody/This world's an ugly place/But you're so beautiful to me