What I'm Loving in January

Here's what's making January a happy month for me.

NOT traveling - yep, you read that right!

Me with the CBC Christmas tree

Sometimes, it's just nice to stay at home and be lazy. Or stay at home and be super productive (hello, organized linen closet!) Or just stay home and just be. That's what January is going to be like for me and that suits me just fine!

I had a great time chatting with the team from CBC Radio's Ontario Today program about the trials and tribulations of holiday travel. My verdict? Just stay home.

My next trip (destination: London ON) is in February and I can't wait to go into it relaxed and refreshed. 

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Dreaming of Hawaii

Looks like our next big international trip will be a return to a destination we LOVE: Hawaii! We were last there in 2012 and we can't wait to go back to explore more about this incredibly special spot. Oh, and also to escape the Ottawa winter!

Movie night

If there is one thing I can't resist, it's the smell of movie theatre popcorn - which I ALWAYS order with extra butter. I wish I could say I'm busy catching up on all the award nominees but it's been silly comedies all the way. A Night At The Museum 3 gets an extra special nod for Robin William's last performance - both heartwarming and poignant all at once.

A surprise honor from colleagues 

I'm not sure which of my colleagues so kindly nominated me for the Canadian Weblog Awards but I'm so grateful that they did! It was a proud moment when TurnipseedTravel won second place in two categories - for top Travel Blog and top Product Review Blog. It's a great motivation to keep working hard in 2015!

A foolish dog

WORLD"S. BIGGEST. EARS! And I love him!

So Oliver thinks he's a lap dog. Life with this beast means always being covered in fur and never being able to safely sit down without wondering what might jump in your lap. Ever since he was named on Mapping Megan's Sexiest Traveling Pets list he's been insufferable!

Cone-free kitty

Behold the cone of shame

Trust me, it's a long story. But the short version is that Darwyn the cat has been wearing a cone for a ridiculous amount of time because she is obsessed with licking the fur off her back legs. But when we woke up on New Year's day, there was Darwyn - without her cone! A walk through the house revealed the carnage of the night - tufts of fur were everywhere! But since then, she hasn't licked once! We can only conclude she made a New Year's resolution to stop licking and went on one final spree to get the urges out of her system.

 PS - We did find the cone a day later. She had buried it in her litter pan.

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Magical Christmas Memories 

Our welcome-to-Washington White House selfie,

In December, I traveled to Washington, DC, for one of the most special trips of my life. Turnipseed Travel was invited by the White House as one of the 100 most influential travel bloggers / digital media outlets. Why? To attend a fantastic symposium about the importance of studying abroad and cross cultural understanding. This was such a humbling and proud moment for me! I spent a truly inspiring day with my colleagues and also enjoyed a peek of the White House Christmas decorations!

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Studying abroad has been one of the most formative and influential things we have ever done. I spent part of my undergraduate degree in England (and maybe saw a ghost while working in a haunted castle!), and then went to Ireland for part of my graduate degree. Meanwhile, Ryan spent his grade 12 year on exchange in Liege, Belgium, and we were fortunate to return there for a visit last year. After spending time talking about the importance of international education in Washington, we're eager to start sharing more stories of our own experiences overseas. Stay tuned for more posts soon!

Tell me about your January. What's making you happy and what are you looking forward to?

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