Day 158 of 365: Skins!

Order confirmation for my (soon to be) new Skins series 1 and 2 DVD! Yet another reason the internet rocks! Plus, my DVD player is region-free, so I won't have any trouble actually watching it once it gets here. Wooohoo!

Day 157 of 365: Hamsterlie

I love when she pokes her head out of her volcano bed like this. Generally it is her way of saying "Why are you bothering me again human? Can't you see I'm sleeping in here??"

Day 156 of 365: Venus

Not a great photo, but this is the best I could do from the top of my car at night! It's supposed to be the moon and Venus. Trust me- it looked pretty cool in person!

Day 155 of 365: There's no place like home

Some days, you just want to get home. These long nights kill me sometimes, especially when there are several in a row. I stopped here at the gas station on the way home from the running shop since the light had come on for low gas level! Plus, prices have been steadily increasing again. I wanted to get filled up before it shot up. Of course, afterwards I got caught at the red light waiting to turn left. I wanted to get out and push the other cars out of my way! Fortunately, a few minutes later, I was finally walking in the door to home.

Day 154 of 365: Room with a view...

View from my bed. I like this view because it means I'm in bed! Heh. It's a bit messy there in the corner at the moment because of some clothes that don't fit into the drawers and some random items on the dresser. Oh well. I live here and have stuff. ;) I only wish I could stay in bed more hours of the day! 4 or 5 hours of sleep just isn't enough.

Day 153 of 365: Don't hate me..

..because I'm organized. Okay.. maybe a bit too much, but I like having the pages flagged like this. Then I can make notes and once I've gone to the place, I can remove the flag! It's a system- really!

So maybe I'm just a little anxious to start my trip.

Day 152 of 365: Sweet!

This is an assortment of old time candy that was given out as a party favor at the baby shower I went to this morning for a running shop co-worker. If you couldn't guess, she's having a girl! The idea was for the theme to be "sweet little thing" in honor of the baby! I haven't had Bit o Honey since I was a kid! They set out about 10 different containers like you would see at a candy store and empty plastic containers on the counter. Guests were instructed to help themselves to whatever assortment they wanted. I thought it was a fun and creative idea!

Day 151 of 365: Clean up

Always the best part of a dinner party.. the clean up. Sigh... It was a great success, though. Many complements on dinner and we had fun chatting and catching up for a few hours. Well worth the few dishes I have to clean up afterwards!

Day 150 of 365: Slingbox

Can I just say how AWESOME the internet and technology is?!?! A friend of mine in England has a Slingbox attached to his sky TV. And he generously lets me steal his cable through the internet!!! I love it. It even gives you a "remote" that functions just like the real thing. I can change channels, record shows and get into his sky+ recorded shows! It's sweeeet! Of course, if they are watching the tv, I can't really go changing channels and stuff... but tonight, they let me watch the new Skins series 3 premiere that he recorded last night for me! :) I really don't take enough advantage of this like I should! Thanks, Matt!

Day 149 of 365: All because of U...

I LOVE this cereal! I can't get enough of it. Sadly it's kind of expensive at $4.19/box. However, it's worth it. I like how it claims to promote your mind. Heh. I guess I definitely feel smarter for eating it!

Day 148 of 365: Twins!

No, you're not seeing double! These are my new salt and pepper shakers! They were a gift from my sister for Christmas. I love them! I'm having a dinner party at my place this weekend.. perhaps I should use them- at least as table decoration.

Day 147 of 365: Inauguration Day

No matter what your politics are, it is always interesting to watch the presidential inauguration. Obviously, this one is a lot more significant than any in recent years for many reasons. We were allowed to watch the ceremonies in class today with our students (they even adjusted the class schedules for it!!) I have to say, I am quite surprised at how quiet and attentive a class of 33 thirteen year olds was!! They listened completely to the swearing in of the vice president and president and to the inaugural speech. Obama must be quite a powerful speaker to catch the undivided attention of 33 kids for nearly 20 minutes!!!!

Day 146 of 365: Progress!

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Now playing: The Enemy - Father And Son
via FoxyTunes
Why a photo of an empty laundry basket you may ask?? Because I'm so happy to have this chore taken care of for another few weeks! I've been taking advantage of my 2 (ish) days off to get some much needed cleaning/straightening done around the apartment. I really wish I had one more day off because this place would be sparkling by then!

Day 145 of 365: The Greenway

This is the start of the trail I like to run on whenever I can. It was cold and a bit windy today, but after about a mile, I started to warm up. I love having access to this trail right around the corner from my place.

Day 144 of 365: Brrrr

Even the hamster has buried herself under her bedding. This below freezing crap is for the birds! Or some other animal that likes bitter cold weather!

Day 143 of 365: On my way up

View going up the huge escalator from the Georgia Dome/Philip's Arena Marta station. This is about 1/3 of the way up even! I have to say, I love coming up this escalator. It reminds me of the Charles de Gaulle/Arc de Triomphe escalator in Paris. :)

Day 142 of 365: Oops!

Since apparently my life was too busy on Thursday to take an actual photo, here's another one from casino night since there have been requests for photos of the dress (with me in it). This is really not the best photo since I'm doing a partial sorority girl lean in... but, oh well! It's the best I've got....

Day 141 of 365: Gift

Not a great photo (uh, sorry about that...) but this is a calendar a friend who knows my plans gave me for Christmas. I put it up in my bedroom next to my chest of drawers. It's on the wall directly facing the bed and next to the doorway out, so it's one of the first things I see every morning! Yet another reminder as to why I'm doing it all everyday....

Day 140 of 365: The shoes!

By popular demand.... ;) Here are the shoes I was able to repair (just missing a buckle on one) for the casino night! They aren't the most comfortable, but they definitely worked for the evening!

Day 139 of 365: Beets!

I found golden beets at Whole Foods tonight. I had them last week at Seasons 52 and came across some recipes on a forum this weekend. I immediately copied and pasted the recipes to make sure I made them this week! I used these golden beets and regular beets in a roasted beet salad. I modified the recipe a bit, but basically it was mixed greens, onions, carrots, tomatoes, beets, and a lemon/olive oil/tarragon dressing with goat cheese on top!! Heavenly. Seriously. Oven-roasted beets- where have you been all my life?!

Day 138 of 365: Casino Night (or hot hockey boys in tuxedos ;) )

This is Ilya Kovalchuk making his acceptance speech after finally officially being named team captain for the season!! Many people have been hoping for this to happen (including me!) and it was amazing to be just a few feet away from him when he found out and they presented him with the C jersey!

They had just introduced all the players on stage when Don Waddell said "I need Ilya to come up front, please." Ilya then said "Am I being traded?" Everyone chuckled at that! It was just the beginning to what turned out to be one of the most amazing nights! There were many surreal moments all evening! I learned how to play blackjack and even won (sort of) $12000 in chips! The guys were sort of helping us along with making sure we had winning hands most of the time, but it was a blast! I'm ready for Vegas or Mississippi now!

I have to admit, I'm already thinking about going again next year if I'm still here (most likely). Do you think they'd notice if I wore the same dress??

day 137 of 365: The dress!

I'm so excited I was able to find this dress! Phew! I suck at dress shopping and it was stressful just trying to find something appropriate for the event tomorrow, much less that fit and was flattering. Only thing now... shoes. I couldn't find any at DSW tonight and was really worn out at that point. Cross your fingers I can find some tomorrow or I'm not sure what to do!

Day 136 of 365: Fun meetups with a friend!

Not my best angle, but this is Amy and me after our run at a local park! We had a good time running and got to eat again at the Seasons 52 place from the other night. Yummy! I had the same entree. We tried their flatbread appetizer. Whoa. Delicious! I can't believe I had never been to this place! It was a great change of pace seeing Amy this week. We headed to Taco Mac afterwards for a beer! Good times!

Day 135 of 365: Ah, Parree!

A gift from a student at school who went to Paris during the Christmas/winter break. Wasn't it sweet of her to bring me something?? She was even worried I might have one already. I told I didn't and I unofficially collect Eiffel Towers since I've got several other things at home. She seemed excited to have "guessed" and I promptly put it on display on my desk! I told her I'd look at it and it would remind me of how wonderful Paris is everytime I see it.

Day 134 of 365: I wonder if he knows...

This is the best I could do when I noticed this on the car in front of me. He turned off right after this photo, in fact. I giggled when I saw the bumper sticker with GIT in bold letters. It looks like it stands for something legitimate, but all I can think of is "git" of course!!

Day 133 of 365: Now THIS is what I call dinner!

I met a friend who's in town for business for dinner tonight. We went to Seasons 52 which has a seasonal menu depending on what's fresh at that time of year. Also, all of their entrees are 450 calories or less! This was the "Winter Veggie Plate" that I ordered. Holy cow! Now THIS is what a veggie plate should look like! Everything was grilled/roasted- no butter, light oil... The part with salsa on it in the front is actually tofu! It was amazing and I ate every bite. I think we'll be going back there on Friday! Either way, I will be going back before the winter veggies go out of season!

Day 132 of 365: Calm before the storm

In less than 24 hours, these desks will once again be filled with students, eager to start a new semester of inspired French learning! Haha. That almost sounds convincing, doesn't it. ;) I will say that I am grateful for the school board's wise decision to give us a Monday work day (instead of Friday like the past few years!!) It makes the transition back much easier for us teachers. Only 90 more, right??

Day 131 of 365: How may I direct your call?

An antique operator's desk that is in the lobby of the Francis Marion Hotel in Marion. It's not the picture I had in mind, but I was trying to hurry while checking out at the same time. When I see the desk however, it makes me think of the Grand Hotel and the movie Somewhere in Time where Christopher Reeve goes back in time to the 1920s! There's also an antique key/letter box behind the check-in counter. I'll have to get that one next visit.

Day 130 of 365: Sleepy sleepy!

She is simply an angel! I loved watching her sleeping. I think it's cute how she always has her arms raised above her head! Even when she stirred, the arms stayed up! Hmm. What could this mean? Future cheerleader? Football referee? Nascar "start your engines" girl? Oh lordy!!!

Day 129 of 365: Marion, VA

This is the front window of the hotel where we always stay here in Marion, VA when we visit my brother, sister-in-law and now baby Willow. I've always loved this frosted window sign. Unfortunately, it was already late and dark once we arrived and this was the best I could capture, with the crazy light reflections in the glass (you can see the snowflake light around the street lamp in fact). Still, this is a beautiful old-style hotel. It's very elegant and I love staying here. The thing we look forward to is the wonderful french toast at brunch on Sunday morning!!

Day 128 of 365: Resolution kept

[From L-R: Elizabeth, Heather, Charles]

In the interest of starting the year off right, I decided to make sure I ran something on New Year's Day. So, when Elizabeth suggested we meet up for the Atlanta Track Club's yearly Resolution Run, I figured I'd give it a go. Discovered the night before that Heather was also going to do the run, so we made plans to meet up beforehand. They had 5 and 10K options- basically one or two loops of the course. I hate double loop courses and just did the 5k while everyone else did the 10k! I did pretty well (for me) despite my recent lack of training up until a week ago! After the race, we all headed over for lunch at TGI Fridays. This photo was taken after we'd all filled up on a nice meal! Definitely a great way to start the year. Hopefully a sign of things to come this year. :)