Meet Me in St. Louis…

This past weekend I flew into St. Louis (as I have many times over the past 6 months) ready for a weekend in Greenville.  It would be my first weekend in the new digs…new digs that I have to admit, I was not overly excited about.  However, I had mostly accepted it and was looking forward to a weekend with Trent after a long week that included a Valentine’s Day party at school.  I was ready for some R & R.

Trent picked me up from the airport and turned the opposite way than we normally do when we leave the airport.  My radar immediately went off, but I decided to go with it and be spontaneous for once.  Maybe he had picked out a new restaurant for us to try.  After a little drive Trent announced that we were going to be staying in St. Louis for the weekend so I could cross something off of my 30 Before 30 list.   I was very excited to find out that on Saturday we would be visiting the Arch!

On a side note, I would not have guessed that trying to eat dinner at 9:30 on Valentine’s Day would be that tricky, but it was.  After finding out it would be a 45 minute wait at Olive Garden and Applebee's, we settled on a lovely Italian meal at Fazoli’s (no complaints on my end) where I presented an e-mail coupon for a free slice of cheesecake on February 14th…bonus!

So, after a lazy Saturday morning at the hotel that included a run at the hotel gym and some cable TV, we headed downtown St. Louis for the main event of the weekend.

Number 5 on my 30 Before 30 list can be checked off!  One down…29 to go!

The view of downtown St. Louis…

Me and the man behind the plan at the Arch…

So fun to see it up close…

After visiting the arch we headed to my favorite restaurant in St. Louis, PW Pizza where I devoured the cheesiest calzone in America that guarantees a bellyache.  It was definitely a fun weekend getaway!  Lots of eating unhealthy food and exploring new things.  Looking forward to crossing some more items off my list!

{The Launes}

30 Before 30…

It dawned on me at the beginning of January that this year I would be turning 30.  30 seems so old to me.  To be honest, I don’t feel a day over 22.  I don’t think I could possible be turning the big 3-0!  When someone asks my age I really have to think about it.  I decided to make the transition a little easier I would create my 30 before 30 list.  There are a lot of things I would like to accomplish in the next 8 months.  I started creating my list and working on it the beginning of January, but everything on it must be accomplished between January 1st, 2014 and October 4th 2014.

So, here goes my list…in no particular order.

1) Visit a new state

2) Visit Africa again

3) Run 500 miles

4) Read 15 new books

5) Go to the top of the Arch in St. Louis

6) Swim in the ocean

7) Hike a mountain

8) Start to read the Bible in a year…be caught up to October 4th on the one year plan

9) Get a massage

10) Go camping

11) Take photos of nature

12) Run a new half marathon

13) Express gratitude more often and write it down

14) Send more snail mail

15) Explore St. Louis

16) Try 5 new restaurants

17) Go to a Cardinals game

18) Visit the Missouri Botanical Garden

19) Blog more…I have been seriously lacking in this area!

20) Attend a live music event

21) Take a trip to visit someone I know

22) Go fishing

23) Get a facial

24) Finish our wedding scrapbook

25) Complete a new 30 day challenge each month February-September (fitness, photography, whatever!)

26) Get a hair cut

27) Learn to make chicken enchiladas and 4 other new recipes

28) Complete a random act of kindness

29) Build a piece of furniture (with Trent’s assistance)

30) Golf a new golf course

I have a lot to accomplish in the next eight months!  I am working on making a dent towards running 500 miles and reading 15 books.  Of course there will be blog updates along the way to knock out #19.  Hoping this list keeps me motivated and excited about the big 3-0.  This will be an interesting year with the big move, but it did add a few opportunities to the list.

In the meantime, I am going to snuggle up on this snowy night with a cup of hot chocolate and watch a movie.  Snow days are the best…even when you are a grown up!

Until next time…

{The Launes}