This year, the Charlottesville Ten Miler wasn't so much a running race as it was a social event. No PRs were set by this set of tired legs, but I did run the whole way, chatting through the whole course with my friend Courtney. We were salty when we finished - proof that we broke a sweat. And we almost shed tears when we tried to walk down a flight of stairs after the race. But a late afternoon hot tub session soothed my aching muscles and let me enjoy the runner's high long enough to plan future races this year

Will and I have been so lucky to spend lots of time together during the last few weeks. His parents hosted a "going away party" for him last weekend and then he came down for a tour around Charlottesville and Williamsburg. Two gorgeous days in the 'Burg made me remember how magical it is in the spring. Not to mention all the work they've done to bring the city up to the 21st century - it might actually be a fun place to live these days! We loved walking down DOG street, crossing the Crim Dell and drinking MUGS at the Leafe! Then we spent an absolutely gorgeous day at Busch Gardens. In Charlottesville we actually did a touristy thing and hiked up to the Monticello visitors center. I guess it's not that touristy if you don't ride a charter bus. We went for a run through grounds and caught a movie (his first in a theatre in 3 years) to cap off the day. Next week we are heading to Chicago for some epic wedding dancing and a deep dish pizza pie. More pictures to come when we consolidate and organize...somehow we ended up with pictures on three different cameras.







Oh, and then we ran into Nina and the girls after her run!

Fondant travels amazingly well....Will's going away cake made it from Charlottesville to Williamsburg to Clifton in one piece!

As promised - perfect self portraits!

At first glance, it's just a cute army green purse with a hot pink interior. But the best part about my Valentine's Day present from Will, is that he used to wear it. This bag was handmade from one of his old flight suits. Now it's like I have a little piece of him to take everywhere with me. I'm thrilled about the bag but I also requested the remnants of the flight suit just in case the Martha Stewart in me figured out how to make something else with a needle and thread, or maybe just hot glue. This little gem only rivals the quilt my mom made out of all my old t-shirts for "best gift ever."

I couldn't be more thrilled about my most recent purchase....a digital camera with an LCD screen on BOTH sides! I've always been a fan of the self portrait and recently, that's all Will and I have taken when we get together and have a camera in hand. I don't know how many self shots I've butchered by cutting of his head or missing the key element in the background, etc. This is sure to make all our self portraits one hit wonders. Why didn't anyone think of this sooner?! It is the most genius idea I've ever seen (except of course for all the creative inventions that Katie B. Nauman and I plan to develop and launch). The next blog post is sure to be filled with picture perfect self portraits - just you wait!

Dating around the world continues with a trip to Las Vegas over superbowl weekend. It wouldn't be complete without some travel dilemmas and thanks to Snowpocolypse 2010 on the east coast, we were forced to pull out the back up plan to the back up plan. Good thing Will always has some of those up his sleeve. I nearly missed my Friday morning flight out of D.C. and literally made it to the gate within seconds of departure. The flight was actually delayed 10 minutes which was my saving grace. But, because I was so late to board, they had given my seat in the back of the plane to another passenger, forcing me to endure an upgraded economy plus seat for the first leg to Denver. Flights on the way home were cancelled due to weather and I nearly got stuck in another storm in Charlottesville Tuesday, but managed to thwart the jet stream just long enough to get home. Not that being stuck in Vegas would have been such a bad thing! Anyway, we had an incredible weekend and even got to revisit a few of our favorite Paris landmarks.

The Eiffel Tower, Vegas style by day
And by night

Gondalas in Venice - The closest I got a few weeks ago was the Venice Airport
They really sing as they paddle

We stayed at the NY NY - just like the real skyline. It was incredible.

Spent a night dancing at Tryst
At the fountain in front of the Paris hotel

Dancing the night away

At the top of the Venetian