{A Month of New Experiences}

January has seriously been flying by! My nights and weekends have been packed with lots of friends and activities, and this month has felt busier than ever. It’s also been a month of many new experiences, and that’s exactly how I wanted to kick off 2014!

This weekend I took a little road trip north (more snow and cold…what was I thinking?!) to Minneapolis to spend time with a dear friend and her mom. Madison blogs over at Espresso and Cream and is incredibly talented. Not only is she chock full of talent, but she’s an amazing friend and encourager. She has really been a blessing in my life over the past year, and it was a joy to spend a weekend with her and see where she lives in the blustery north.

Earlier this month I celebrated my dear friend Emily’s birthday, who blogs over at The Dish on Des Moines. She and I have become really close over the past year, and I am so grateful for her friendship. We celebrated her birthday with some bowling and karoake (Wannabe by Spice Girls, anyone?!)! Although I didn’t bowl nearly as well as I did on NYE, which was a sore disappointment.

This month I also had the new experience of trying sushi and actually liking it! I have to be honest that when I tried sushi before it really wasn’t my thing (and never thought it would be), but my friend Megan was dead set that she was going to find me something I would like. She and her husband are regulars at a downtown Des Moines sushi restaurant, so with their special request the chef whipped up a special sushi concoction…and it was really good! Sushi win for me, and a major win for Megan.

I also attended my first Iowa State basketball game this month at Hilton! I went with my dear friend, Ashley, who is a huge KU fan and we had such a great time (I have to admit I did some cheering for the Jayhawks)! It was also my first NCAA basketball game, and it was such a fun atmosphere to soak up. I absolutely loved the experience even though it was the Cyclones…no friends, I am not converting over!

This month I also had the really fun experience of being live on the radio for the first time! I absolutely loved it…maybe it’s a new day job calling for me. I joined our President of AMA Iowa to share about our Experience event on January 31st. Listen to the recording of our radio show here. And check out more details on AMA Iowa’s Experience event here!