January iPhone Pics

• I ended up booking this crazy trip to Europe with a stop-over in Iceland (here's the post on that brilliant plan).  I had big ideas of cool things to do in Iceland for the weekend (see first two pics below), and then rip off to Morocco for the week.  

And how did I choose Morocco?  Interesting story, actually.  Shannon's boyfriend, Ryan, got me a travel book for Christmas.  The last page had places to go in 2015 month by month.  I looked at the first place in January and said DONE.  Morocco it is.  And booked the flights. :)

After I booked the flight, I learned the Africa Cup of nations soccer
had been cancelled due to Ebola.  Yikes.

• I made my own calendar for work this year out of pictures from the previous year.  Shannon - and even Ryan - made it in several months pictures!  Apparently I spent a lot of quality time with them in 2014!

• I always love a little Facetime with my favorite Hunter man.  He couldn't talk long though - he informed me that "Paw Patrol" was on the tv so he had to go.  He's too much. ;)

• My first attempt at an omelet had to be documented.  It turned out pretty well, if you ask me!

• No month in Kansas would be complete without some gorgeous sunrise and/or sunset pictures.  These three happen to be sunrises -- all taken from my back deck.

• I made it down to Jason and Kelli's a couple of times this month to see the kids. I read books with Hudson...

...and made some sun catcher ornaments with Hadley.  

That whole kit was actually mine when I was little -- I remember making some of them.  Mom was cleaning out the house and sent the rest up for Hadley, and shockingly they still worked!

• A good, good friend of mine lost his battle with brain cancer this month.  The service was beautiful - it was obvious how special of a guy he was to so many people - but it still just sucked to face the loss.  CANCER. SUCKS.

• Work was really brutal in January.  I worked a lot of extra hours - nights and weekends - and that coupled with the funeral (above) made for one really crappy Friday.  My sweet sister-in-law made that a little better when she surprised me at work with her adorable kids and the coolest splatter painted flowers I've ever seen!

My day just got a whole lot better right there.

• I took Hadley on a Wal-Mart run with me later that night - I needed a new humidifier and she apparently needed a new Barbie.  And this bear blanket to send to Shannon. ;)

• My dogs are sisters and inseparable.  They were sleeping right next to each other - like they always are - but this time it was too cute not to capture.

They even moved spots to the other side of the ottoman, 

and STILL ended up in the exact same position!

• Another night at Jason and Kelli's.  Hadley was trying to very aggressively hug Hudson - but was really just choking him out.  He is going to be one tough kid by time Hadley gets done with him.

• Hadley's Christmas present this year was another subscription to Kiwi Crate.  I did this last year but she was a little young for some of the activities.  This month was about baking.  We decorated a cake and an apron and she enjoyed both of them!

• Shannon (and Ryan) made a last minute trip in to KC and we drove to Iowa for the weekend to see a dying friend.  (Again, CANCER. SUCKS.)  But at least she got some sweet kisses from a cute kitten. ;)

• Back in KC Sunday afternoon, we had to have some Jack Stack before they left.

Shannon and I tried and tried to get a good picture of the two of us -- with no avail.  The outtakes were way better than the actual pictures of us looking and smiling.

• Ryan took this picture of Shannon and I walking out of the restaurant, and then took it upon himself to overly edit it as horribly as he possibly could, hahaha.

• I kept getting these email and text updates on Sunday that my return flight from Iceland was delayed due to weather once again.  It ended up being about 8 hours delayed, which meant I would have missed my connection in Denver, been stuck there for the night, and missed at least part of the day at work on Monday.  This just reiterated the fact that I am so glad I made it back home when I did...

• Every few months I go through my closet and throw out stuff I haven't worn in awhile.  And every time I do it I get these giant piles - multiple trash bags full of clothes - and wonder how some of that stuff made it through the last round of cuts... 

• I took these pictures to show my sister-in-law that my hair doesn't look greasy at all when I dont' wash it!  I have dry hair and only wash it twice a week -- even after I get sweaty at work out class.  Sounds gross I guess, but it looks fine -- I think anyways. ;)

(This was after a super sweaty workout with her.)

• My new friend in Sweden sent me this picture and I literally gasped when I saw it.  No filter or anything.  This is just Sweden.  His family are reindeer herders and they were out in the middle of nowhere Sweden rounding up their reindeer and herding them back to lower elevations for the summer.  So cool.  I just love this picture. (Thanks, JT!)

• Just some cool gadgets I would get ... if I were rich. ;)

Christmas list??

• This place keeps popping up, and it' still high on my list of places to go.  Either this year or next year, I'm thinking...

Salt Flats in Bolivia

• I got roped in to attending Shaping Sound at The Midland on Friday night.  I was supposed to just meet some girls for dinner and drinks, but there was an extra ticket...so I had to go!

• Oklahoma Joes -- or make that Joe's Kansas City, I guess -- on a rainy Saturday.  I went at like 3pm thinking the line wouldn't be so bad.  But no, it was still out the door.  Good thing the food is worth the wait.

• And to round off the month of January, a Randy Rogers concert at Uptown Theater on January 31st!