Tonight I attended a reception in Arlington celebrating the premier of an HBO feature documentary, "Homegrown." It depicts the story of young Muslim-Americans who grow up in the USA and then, unfathomably, choose jihad. It also portrays the families left behind to pick up the pieces.

There's no quicker way to start a fight in the State Capitol then to file a bill or make a speech on guns.

Governor McAuliffe ran for Governor as an advocate for more gun control. He's been that advocate as Governor. But he's also a pragmatist who recognizes that Second Amendment rights run deep in Virginia, and many Virginians responsibly exercise those rights.

For the last 100 hours, the sole issue has been "snow," followed closely by "snow removal." My Richmond office (804-698-7534) answered over one hundred phone calls today and I've personally talked to countless homeowners still waiting on a plow.

Biggest complaint: some neighborhoods have been done repeatedly, while others are not done at all. So an issue of inconsistency. But we're getting there.

OK, we're buried up here. In my back yard, it's measuring 26 inches in fresh snow (29.3 was measured at Dulles). Just a shocking amount of snow.

Just got off a conference call with VDOT. With the situation under control elsewhere, they are moving all spare resources to NOVA, including 26 trucks and 59 drivers from Hampton Roads and Richmond. A few key statistics:

o 4,233 pieces of equipment (4,158 contractors) in use statewide

o 26,000 tons of salt used

o 60,000 gallons of brine used

o 4,500 tons of sand used

This afternoon, the Senate Courts Committee took up all bills dealing with felony threshold. That included my bill (SB 235), as well as bills filed by Senators Lucas, McEachin, Reeves and Surovell. All these bills would raise the felony threshold for property crimes from $200 to $500.

(Notably, the Commonwealth's Attorney in Lynchburg testified before the Committee that his office treated all property crimes under $500 as misdemeanors).

It's 9:30 pm and I'm back in my apartment in the Fan, having survived the first full day of the 2016 session.

[Yes, I'm watching "War and Peace" on the History Channel, aren't you?]

I had four bills up in Courts of Justice Committee this morning. A couple were passed, a couple failed. Failures are always more interesting.

A couple months ago, I took my family to see the movie "Creed." I'm a huge Rocky fan and had heard good things about the latest sequel.

It was all that and more. The movie was not just a great story; it brought you into the lives of the characters and the ancient sport of boxing (Afterwards I actually dusted off the gloves in my basement for a couple rounds with my son). I left the theater convinced I had seen one of the most memorable movies of my life.

I was a freshman Delegate starting my second day on the job. It was about 4 a.m. and I was sound asleep in my Shockoe Bottom apartment. My cell phone was not activated due to user incompetence.

There was a pounding on the door. I woke up and stumbled over to open it. There was a Capitol Police officer standing there in full uniform with snap-brim hat. (Yes, I remember his name).

"Delegate Petersen," he told me. "Your wife is in labor and you need to go home."

This morning dawned chilly and cold in Richmond. The day began with the annual Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast at the Richmond Convention Center featuring Ravi Zakarias, M.Div., as keynote. Having heard Dr. Zakarias, I can verify that he is the most dynamic Christian speaker in the Anglican Communion (if not the world) today. Very inspiring.

Then it was a quick walk over to the General Assembly building for constituent meetings -- and radio interviews on my "repeal the car tax" legislation. Then over to the State Capitol, where the Governor gave a pep talk to our Caucus.

Aaron Greedy Henderson had a long commute to Sunday's playoff game. He left his home in rural Farmington, New Mexico and drove to Durango Colorado. From there he caught a short flight to Denver and then a longer flight to Washington D.C. A ride from a buddy brought him to the Red Lot at FedEx Field and a tailgate for his favorite team: the Washington Redskins.