Wow – January flew by, didn’t it? My birthday month came and went and I’m another year older and another year closer to having to change my bio because I’ll no longer being a “20-something blogger.”

How was your weekend? Mine was definitely fun and proof that there’s always something to do in Cleveland in the winter.

It started out Friday night at the Cleveland Winter Beerfest. B and I went with several of his coworkers and the night included quite a few beer tastings, dancing and other shenanigans. Definitely a fun event and it was awesome to see the new convention center so full! The night ended at what’s becoming one of our favorite local spots, Parnell’s.

Saturday started out somewhat slowly. We had done the weekend’s “long” run on Friday so we took the day off (yes, be proud of me) but eventually made it out of the apartment for a trip to the West Side Market to pick up this week’s groceries, a visit to Rising Star for some much needed caffeine, some baking (Ground Hog Day Cookies!) and then a succulent Chinese dinner with B’s friend from high school. B’s friend Joe moved abroad after graduating college, teaching English in Asia. It was in Taiwan that he met his wife, Ariel, and the couple now lives in Cleveland! We hit up one of our favorite Chinese food restaurants to enjoy some dinner in honor of the Chinese New Year!  Ariel ordered a great selection for us, and we had waaay too much good food.

Sunday included an easy workout (3.5 slow miles and then 25 minutes on the elliptical while watching Bones!), some cleaning, and then enjoying the Super Bowl with some friends while staying downtown. Not a terribly exciting game … or too many exciting ads, but I enjoyed the halftime show AND the online action. This year was definitely a year when most brands took time to tweet (still TBD how successful it was) during the game and even respond to one another and other ads.

A few of my favorite ads that I didn’t watch ahead of time (Cheerios and Budweiser ads were definitely awe-worthy, but I watched them in advance):

They even had a great online pay off- if you tweeted at @Radioshack during the evening you could win one of a few 80s-themed prizes that were announced during the evening on the microsite. It’s nice when an ad doesn’t just stand alone 🙂

I’m a sucker for anything with the Muppets.

I’ve been hearing Squarespace ads for a while now on podcasts and it was nice to see them playing with the big boys. And it was definitely a memorable ad for me.

Favorite tweets:

Sorry we let you guys down. Messages like this is the I my thing that make me feel better. pic.twitter.com/e6FTuzw7LC

— Shaun Phillips (@ShaunPhillips95) February 3, 2014

It’s so much more fun to watch FOX when it’s someone else being blitzed & sacked! #SuperBowl

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 3, 2014

And Tide was allllllll over the Twitterverse (and Vineverse?) last night. They commented on almost every ad. It was fun to see them being so nimble, but they went overboard in my opinion. I think 3-5 tweets would’ve been enough. Here’s one of my favorites

A slow clap can go either way @Carmax. @Tide is here for the messy ones #GetsItOut #SB48 https://t.co/vJvH84JeeN

— Tide (@tide) February 3, 2014

Some questions for you:

• What were your favorite Super Bowl ads? Who were you cheering for?
• Are you ready for spring? The groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter … but I’m ready for the warm weather, thawed ground and running outside! No brainer.
• What year (in the Chinese New Year) are you? I don’t know. I thought I was an ox. Then I thought I was a rat. Now I think I’m an ox again. Clearly I have multiple-personality disorder. 
• What’s your favorite type of beer? I like sweet, light beers. And non-hoppy IPAs. So Bell’s Two Hearted – or any sweet wintry OR summer beer. 
• Favorite tweets? Least favorite? I wasn’t a fan of the JC Penney stunt. I thought the Tweeting with Mittens concept was a little bit of a stretch and poorly executed. It did get everybody talking (and quite a few brands responding to their “drunken” tweets) but it just made me groan.