Day 14: Man's.Best.Friend.

There is no doubt about it... a dog truly is a man's (or boy's) best friend. I'm not even kidding when I say these two were in the middle of an intense conversation. Not sure why, but I find this to be a precious picture. Sorry this is the third pic involving Tucker in 2 weeks... maybe I should have made this project 365 days of cute things Tucker does. 

Day 13: Oil.Lamp.Flame.

I received this beautiful oil lamp for Christmas. While I was using it tonight I thought it would be a great chance to take some "in the dark" pics. It's kind of amazing how long the shutter stays open when you have the camera steady and on a flat surface. I need a tripod!

Day 12: Relaxing.Saturday.Afternoon.

Woke up today to a cloudy, cold and gloomy day. Decided to postpone my 14 mile run till tomorrow when it's supposed to be warmer and sunny (which means more chance of melting the snow on the trail) and took the afternoon to relax with the pup and read! I put down this book several months ago and need to finish it! Also, notice the hummus in the background. There are pita chips on top of the container. I've been on a 2 week binge of this stuff... it needs to stop!

Day 11: Skyping.Colby.

A few weeks ago I found an amazing invention... SKYPE!!! I know, I know, I'm a little far behind in technology, but whatever! Tonight I was able to talk with my bestfriend since the 4th grade and her amazingly adorable son from three thousand miles away! I miss Laura and Colby more than anything and am so happy that I at least get to see him grow through video chat. I even got a tour of their new home! Oh and the greatest thing? I got Colby to wave to me, which apparently he doesn't do very often. I guess that's what happens when you're his favorite Aunty Cat!!! LOVE YOU COLBY!

Day 10: Masonic.Temple.

Today has been a pretty annoying day for me. We received about 6-8 inches of snow here in Alexandria, but somehow whoever makes the closing decisions missed the memo that we received that much snow, the roads weren't clear, and it was unsafe to get to work... and we were the only city/county government in the metro area to not have at least a 2 hour delay. This OBVIOUSLY made me a very angry person when I realized I had to get up for work this morning and shovel my car out. So anyways, I took it upon myself to take my sweet time getting to work and stopped at the George Washington Masonic Temple on my way in. This is a very historic landmark in Alexandria and is absolutely gorgeous, especially when it's covered in snow. The Masonic Temple was charted in 1783 and was a place of meeting for the Free Masons. George Washington became the Charter Master in 1788 (for more info about it go to www.gwmemorial.org). I love the way the clouds kind of swirl around the top of the Temple, that and the snow make for a great pic!

I have to make a side note... my coworker, Erin, and I took a walk through Old Town to the waterfront during lunch and I took tons of pics... however, they didn't turn out as good as this pic so I had to choose this! Sorry Erin! But thanks for joining me!

Day 9: Snowy.Night.

Finally. Our first REAL snowfall of the winter! It went from being a miserable cold and rainy morning/day to BAM inches of snow on the ground! And now it's coming down so hard you can barely see anything (as of 6:20 p.m. EST). Let's just hope this benefits me by giving me a day off from work tomorrow... doubtful :( 

Day 8: Captains.Row.

Yes, another picture from Old Town! I just love this street and think it makes for such a pretty place to start my runs every day. I always wondered why there are random streets in Old Town that are cobblestone and don't allow trucks to enter, so I came home and did some research. This portion of the road (Prince St.) is called Captains Row and was built in 1783. I never cared too much for history, but I think it's pretty cool that those stones were laid out over 200 years ago. Some of the houses (Federal Style) on the street were built in the late 1700s by sea captains (these are all marked with the Historic Alexandria Foundation plaques). I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but straight ahead is the Potomac River. The only thing that would make this better is if all the cars would disappear but I don't have a cool enough photo editing program to take them away!

Day 7: Sad.Puppy.Face.

Oh.my.goodness! I can't believe this is the 7th day and it's taken until now for me to post a picture of my amazing puppy Tucker! Today is a rest day for my marathon training which means I'm at home being lazy with the laziest dog in the world! During this lazy time, Tucker was Skyp-ing with his bestfriend (and I'm being completely serious about this), I was about to take a picture of him in front of the computer but my camera died and this was the only picture I could get... when him and Chris talk to each other on Skype, it is quit possibly the cutest thing you will ever see. Tucker goes crazy and smells, licks, paws, and cries at the screen, but also makes the funniest faces and this one was just too priceless to not take a picture of!

Day 6: Beautiful.Sunset.

There's nothing in this world like a beautiful sunset! This is one of the things that I miss most about the West Coast, watching a sunset on the beach. But, I guess I'll have to deal with this kind for now! I came back from my 12 mile run today and took Tucker out for a short night walk and came back upstairs to be greeted with this wonderful back drop. Love it!

Day 5: Homemade.Pizza.

Homemade pizza made just for yours truly? Yes, please! This is yummy whole wheat crust with portobello mushrooms, red peppers, unions, and mozzarella! I absolutely love to cook homemade dinners, but I also absolutely love to have dinner cooked for me! Had to grab a shot of this wonderful masterpiece before it was stuffed in our faces... awesome Saturday night meal!

Day 4: Dodgeball.On.Wizard's.Court.

Yes, I am aware, this photo is not right side up... I have been sitting here for minutes now trying to figure out a way to rotate it and it's not happening so I give up. Anywhoooo, yes, this is the Verizon Center. I am standing in the center of the half court line. It's pretty awesome and you should definitely be jealous! The dodgeball league that I'm a part of got group tickets to the Wizards vs. Suns game tonight (although they suck and none of us were really paying attention to the game). We then got the opportunity to play some dodgeball games on the Wizard's court. Excellent night was had!

Day 3: I.Hate.Parking.Enforcement.

The title of this blog speaks for itself... however, I'm going to take this blog as an opportunity to vent... be prepared!

We employees at the 18th District Court Service Unit absolutely DREAD seeing these tickets on our windshield way too often. Let me give you a bit of background information: As you saw from my picture yesterday, I work in a city-like community. The disadvantage to that is that parking is scarce and most have to rely on street parking. Unfortunately, my coworkers and myself are not an exception to this (even though we spend 40 hours a week serving the public and protecting our community) and do not get the luxury of utilizing a parking garage unless we want to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a spot. So, instead, we are forced to park in the residential areas behind the courthouse, which just happen to be 2 hour parking. This means that we have go outside in the freezing cold, rain, snow, ice, humidity, storms, etc. every 2 hours to move our cars to keep from getting a parking ticket. Some might think this is nice because you get a short break from working, which sometimes is nice. However, when you are stuck in court during a trial, have a mandatory meeting, or are busy writing reports, this can be quit an inconvenience. Take today for example: I'm sitting in a meeting with a family I have just met and the parents are crying because they are concerned about their daughter who keeps running away to her boyfriend's house, who by the way is only 14 years old and actively trying to impregnate her. Do you think I really have the ability to stop during this meeting and say to the parents, "I apologize, I realize you are crying hysterically, but I need to leave for 15 minutes to avoid getting a parking ticket." Ya... that can't happen. So instead, I wait till after the family has left, grab my keys, and head out to my car. Then, I see this awful awful sight... that STUPID white and orange piece of paper printed out on my windshield telling me that if I had made it out there just 15 minutes prior, I would have avoided a parking ticket... UGHHH.I.HATE.PARKING.ENFORCEMENT. I might as well just start giving them back the paychecks they give me every 2 weeks, because now it feels as though I am actually paying the City of Alexandria to go work for them.

Day 2: King.Street.at.Sundown.

After work tonight I completed a 7 mile run from my office to Reagan National Airport and back (taking the waterfront park trails and Mt. Vernon Trail/G.W. Parkway - Alexandria). Man, I would do absolutely anything to figure out a way for me to comfortably bring my Nikon with me on my after-work runs. Especially on a day like today - 50 degrees with a gorgeous sunset and only partially cloudy. Throughout most of my run I get the chance to run next to the water and look over at Washington D.C. and all beautifulness that it has to offer. Unfortunately, I can't share these views because, with my luck, I'd either break my Nikon or have it stolen from me while I run back into Old Town through not so nice areas. So anyways... on to the picture above... location: King Street, Old Town Alexandria... By the time I'm done running, the sun has gone down and I'm running up King Street from the waterfront. The year round Christmas lights are lit up, people are out walking their dogs after a day at work, couples are walking to their fancy dinner reservations, and runners like myself are getting their run on! So immediately after my run tonight, I went to my car to grab my camera and started shooting. Doing this made me realize that I realllllly need to learn to use my camera at night. I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to shutter speeds and all that stuff (plus, I need a tripod). But hey, that's why I started this project to become more knowledgeable about what my Nikon has to offer. Back to the topic at hand, not only do I get to see this view at the end of my runs, but I get to enjoy all King Street has to offer every day of the week because this is where I work! I'm very fortunate to be employed in such a wonderful and beautiful place like Old Town... I'm sure you will be seeing more blogs from here as the year progresses!

Day 1: Running.Essentials.

I am currently on Week 10 of my marathon training, however due to bronchitis and the flu, some snow and icy trails, and pure laziness, I have been on a running hiatus for the last 3 weeks :( Although I've probably screwed up my training, I have to start back somewhere. So I sucked it up on this gloomy day and hit the trail for a 3 mile run after work. Surprisingly, I did pretty amazing... but we'll see how I feel tomorrow during my 7 miles!!! I realized today that (besides my clothes) I have three essential items for my running routine. I never thought I would run in ADIDAS shoes (they're for playing soccer right?) but these have been some amazing running shoes and provided me with the best run ever during the Army 10 Miler last October. Then there's my Garmin GPS watch - it motivates me like none other! Who would have ever thought that this little device could track your exact location, speed, and distance? And last by not least, my iPod... best invention EVER! There's nothing like running to the beats of "Teach Me How to Dougie" and "On to the Next One." Without these things, I'd feel naked and my run wouldn't be complete! I have no idea how Pheiddipides ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens without this stuff!!!! So here's to amazing technology and me getting back into my training! 

So, yay for my first post! I know that most of these things are supposed to start on Jan. 1st, but whatever, when have I ever done anything on time? NEVER! So why start now! Wish me luck in completing another 364 posts!!!! And hope you enjoy the adventure along side with me!