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. :)