Project 365- January

In typical Heather fashion I have decided to change a few things about how I post my pictures. I originally planned on posting weekly (it's like I don't know myself at all) then I decided bi-weekly (but again...do I know myself?) and then I finally decided on monthly, which is definitely more doable. However, I had already sort of started posting here and there...and then (like most parts of my life) it became a hodge-podge of unorganized chaos. I figured while I am on Spring Break and have a little motivation I will try and clean things up! I am going to delete my old posts (January and February) and start fresh. I have also decided that I will include other pictures from the month in my posts as well. This way you don't miss out on the beauties that didn't quite make the cut ;)

Now onto the fun stuff...Project 365 January edition!!!

I know I already posted this picture...but my Type A personality won't let me post the January pictures without one, so here it is again. Deal with it :)

This day was a teacher work day and my first day back at work after 2 full weeks off! All I can say is thank goodness that it was a teacher work day and the kiddos weren't there yet! I definitely regretted not going into school over the break!! After a long day I stopped at China Panda (my favorite) and headed to Trent's house. We have been sloooooowly working our way through all of the True Blood seasons. We only made it through one episode this night because I was tired and had a long day with the kiddos to look forward to!

Since we had a snow day on our last day before break, we weren't able to have our holiday parties. Luckily, this little treat was there to greet me on my first day back! I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but I have a great group of kiddos and parents who spoiled me rotten for Christmas this year!

After 2 looooong tiring days back to work, Friday night was spent staying in eating dinner and watching movies! Despite what most think, I can sort of cook...well...at least "simple" dishes-right AJ? ;-)

Day 5 started with lunch at Red Robin and ended with an afternoon on the couch watching the NFL playoffs. This was a disappointing day because the Packers beat the Vikings. Pretty sure we are bad luck for any team we cheer for.

Day 6 was spent much like day 4 and day 5. Spending an entire weekend being lazy was exactly what we needed. Comfy pants, leftovers, and football are what this day consisted of. As always, our day ended with disappointment when the Redskins lost :(

Day 7 was spent watching more football, but this time it was the National Championship game. If you think we were cheering for Notre Dame...you would be correct. Another loss in the books! I am not sure why we even try anymore. :) Luckily, we had great company, because not only was the game not in our favor, but the service was TERRIBLE!! Our poor waiter didn't have a clue what he was doing and we ended up getting all of our drinks taken care of by the owner. I can't say that we will be returning to the Sports Cave any time soon.

It was a good thing we spent the entire weekend in because after going out Monday night to watch the game day 8 was spent at The Foundry for my dear friend Kelli's birthday. Taco Tuesday and margarita pitchers made for a great night!

I may be one of the only people who enjoys sitting in the waiting room. On day 9 I got my oil changed and enjoyed an hour of reading, cheez-its, and Pepsi...definitely 3 of my favorite things :)

Day 9: I love Lauren...and I love McDonalds, and after surviving a LOOONG day at work I rewarded myself with both  :)

Day 11: P.F. Changs for Jackie's going away party...it still hasn't hit me that this is really happening :(

I'm not sure I can even begin to put into words how "interesting" this night (and game) was! On day 12 Caitlyn and Brandon invited AJ and I over to play games and hang out. After playing a couple of competitive rounds of marbles, Brandon presented us with this little gem (I'm not sure where he got it, or where he had been hiding it because Caitie didn't even know they had it!) This game had Caitie writing songs, me doing the hula, AJ wearing a napkin bib and tie, and Brandon making fantastic sculptures of cobras. In the words of my pregnant sister in law "This would be way more fun if I was able to drink"

I'm not sure there is ANY better way to wake up on a Sunday morning...Day 13 was pretty fabulous!

This was actually a very special/sad/sentinmental night. For the the last 4 years or so a group of us have gotten together each week for dinner. Not only do we have dinner together, but we have gone on vacations, spent birthdays together, gone through weddings, babies, and so much more. This night was our last dinner with our dear friend Jackie, who moved to Minnesota. Luckily Kristen brought some interesting pictures to lighten the mood. Saying goodbye is never fun...but we definitely made the most of it (like usual)

I prefer morning workouts because I am the "Queen of Excuses" after work. I always have something I "need" to do or somewhere else I would like to be (like vegging out on my couch) so needless to say my afternoon workouts usually get skipped. Morning workouts aren't bad unless it's cold...I struggle to get up early when it's warm, but when it's cold it's absolute torture. Thankfully I have remote start and heated seats...this makes getting up and out in the cold a little bit easier.

Yep, a picture of food (you will notice this is somewhat of a trend of mine.) I took this picture because I was so proud of my resourcefulness. I was scavenging through my kitchen looking for ANYTHING to eat and this is what I came up with. Honestly, this isn't really that bad considering it had been almost 3 weeks since I had gone to the grocery store.

I know I have said procrastination isn't usually a fault of mine (except blogging)... well I might have left out one tiny detail...I am the WORST procrastinator when it comes to grading papers as well. I try to send work home every Friday...so I usually spend my Thursday nights grading a giant stack of papers. Talk about my favorite way to spend an evening ;)

I can't even begin to find the words to describe this picture...I mean the only thing that comes to mind is "I am so lucky" :)

Another thing I have learned lately is I can't hack it when it comes to drinking for long periods of time. This night we started early...I had a few beers while watching the basketball games and by the time the evening rolled around and we were celebrating Shannon's birthday I was done. I was in bed by 10:30 ish this night. Sorry Shannon ;)

Pizza is my bad luck food...especially for the sports team I am rooting for. EVERY time I eat pizza the team I am cheering for loses. This night I was responsible for the Falcon's loss and Tony G losing his chance at a Super Bowl...I am so ashamed ;)

It has been almost a year since I bought my last pair of running shoes...They say shoes last around 500 miles. I had put way more than that on my last pair...however I am a creature of habit and I loved my shoes...plus I am really cheap so the thought of dropping $100 on a pair of shoes that would last me about 6 months was not ideal. I got REALLY lucky with these shoes...I went to Dick's and tried to find a pair for a reasonable price. As I was headed to the register with a pair of shoes I noticed a clearance table...bad news was they were kid's shoes. I decided to give it a try anyway...lucky for me I found a pair of shoes that fit and were $27 dollars!!! If you know me at all you know this was the highlight of my week!!!

I have never had a huge preference between KU and K-State...having gone to Pitt State I always just cheered for any Kansas teams. Well, this year has been different thanks to AJ...he has maybe made a K-State fan out of me (or it could be that he tends to be in a better mood when they win...who knows?) This night we watched the KU/K-State basketball game with Jessica and Bob. Even though they are HUGE KU fans they contained their excitement and didn't make AJ feel too bad about the loss.

Remember how I said my girlfriends and I always have weekly dinners? Well, one of my favorite weeks is when it is Laura's turn to cook. She always whips up something delicious for us to try AND she always has dessert!! This week's dessert it was leftover homemade frosting and sugar cookies...I mean who doesn't decorate cookies for Valentines Day?

For quite awhile I had been seeing people posting pictures on twitter and instagram using the hashtag #TBT, so naturally I became curious and decided to see what it was all about. Apparently TBT= Throw Back Thursday and you post pictures from a long time ago. I of course had to get in on this! I have so many awesome memories and pictures from high school/college/and even the last few years that are fun to share. I chose this picture from my junior year in college. My 2 best friends from high school had come to visit me in Pittsburg shortly after my 21st birthday. We of course had a blast (as usual)

The PTA at my school is phenomenal...like we are talking OUTSTANDING! They do so much for the kids and especially the teachers, so when they were looking for "celebrity" bingo callers for TCE Bingo Night I just couldn't say no! On top of wanting to help out the PTA, I was excited to see my kiddos and their parents outside of school hours. I think it safe to say I have found my new calling ;)

I'm not even sure how to explain this game...ummm, well for KU basketball games we set up a grid like this and everyone gets to choose 10 squares. Throughout the game (at 2 min increments) we look at the score and whoever has chose that box drinks...simple enough?

On days that I forget to take a picture...or days that I do absolutely nothing (usually Sundays) you will most likely see a picture of my dog. I mean she is pretty cute so it's really not a bad deal :)

Hello 70 degree weather in January!!! Unfortunately this didn't last long...last winter I remember there were several days...even weeks like this. We were spoiled last year and we definitely paid for it this year.

Plain and simple...my dog likes AJ better than she likes me. In the evenings when I come home and sit on the couch to watch TV she will pace and stare at the door looking for him. It takes her almost an hour to finally give up and sit on the couch with me. However, even then she won't lay down...she keeps her eyes on the door and listens for him! She can hear him from the minute he shuts his car door...it's digusting ;)

My elementary school does a Chik-fil-A night every year to raise money for the PTA. A portion of all sales goes to us. It is an awesome evening made even better with the addition of a milk shake eating contest. I entered last year not knowing what I had gotten myself into...and lost shamefully to our librarian (who is a milkshake eating champion!!) This year when they were looking for volunteers I must have forgotten the embarassment from last year because I offered to participate again. And yet again...I lost, and when I say lost I mean I had only had about 1/4 of my shake down before Alan and Paula finished theirs! Next year I think I will get some pointers...or maybe I will just go to cheer on everyone else :)

TBT...I really miss college and the Villa. We had some really great times there...and to think while I was in college I couldn't wait to graduate and be done with school. There are days now (usually after a long day at work) that I would do just about anything to go back!

January Outtakes (most of these are unedited/cropped/or inappropriate)

Thanks to Jessica's new phone we can now take several pictures in a row and choose the facial expression for each person (great explanation huh?) this little gem is courtesy of that...one of my favorite pictures of all times :)

Happy Mother's Day!! Now don't be confused...this is a joke from college. One NYE my mom called to wish me a Happy New Year and Goose grabbed the phone from me and yelled "Happy Mother's Day Kelly!" So from that point forward NYE is referred to as Mother's Day :)

I'm not exactly sure how this picture came to be...all I know is I look creepy and AJ looks miserable

Clearly we can't take nice pictures together :)

Oh wait...here's one

Just another NYE together! I think this marked our 3 year anniversary...I mean not that I keep track of those kinds of things :)

There is always fun to be had when this guy is involved. I'm not sure what our motives for this photo were...but remember when I said some of the pictures were inappropriate, this just might be one of them.

Hot dog sledding fail...I am pretty sure this is when Garret broke the sled.

I just want to say you're welcome :)