Wordless Wednesday- Walking on the Beach (on our hands)....

Beach Bound!

(I cannot take credit for this picture- downloaded it from the internet!)
Keith and I leave tonight for Destin, Florida. We are going for one week, with his parents, to a beachfront condo. The beach, in general, is one of my favorite places in the world, so I have been looking forward to this for weeks now! We are driving down there (about 11 hours), leaving tonight around 7:00pm, arriving first thing tomorrow morning. I was hoping to get there in time to see the sunrise over the ocean, but think we will miss it, especially if we have numerous bathroom stops.

I still have to pack. The only thing in my suitcase are my swimsuits and the new books I bought especially for the trip (5 in all- this is where I meet my goal for Alexis's Summer Reading Challenge!).

Our condo has Wi-Fi, so I won't be shut off from the world of internet. :)
Hopefully there won't be alot of residual rain from Hurricane Dean.

Here's to sun and sandy beaches....

Most Helpful Blogger.....

If you look at my next post, you will notice all the links!!! (A first for me!!!)

A BIG, BIG THANK YOU to Val for explaining how to create a link! (again, notice the link!)

Val, for your quick help, as promised.....

I deem you "The Most Helpful Blogger!"
You have forever changed blogging for me! :)

Award-Winner....Me?!?!

My friend, Val, over at Purple Valley emailed me, telling me to check out Alexis' blog, Ramblings From Life.
Alexis gave me an award! It is my very first blogging award and it completely made my day! (A big thank you, Alexis!!!)

I am so glad that I started this blog. I have "met" some amazing women through the wonderful world of blogging and have had the chance to become closer to a few others that I already know. Bloggers are some of the most supportive people I have met. It is it's own lil community and I love it! I look forward to discovering new blogs and meeting new people. If you happen to wander over to my place, please leave me a comment so I know you were here and let me know where I can find you!

Thanks again for my awards, Alexis and Val! (Did I mention that Val awarded me in her blog too?!?!)

Oh, and if anyone reading can let me know how to be able to link to another's blog with just the word, that would be helpful. I can't figure it out..... Do you know what I mean when I say that? When I type Alexis or Val, letting you be able to click on their name and take you straight to their blog.... I haven't been able to figure it out on my own, or from blogger help. So, whoever walks me through it, I will gladly give you a Helpful Blogger award! :)

Happy Friday to you all!!!

A drivable Popcycle

I was walking by a store yesterday on my way to lunch and found this super-cute scooter in the window. It was pink just like this one, but the one I saw had a little bit of yellow on it too.

Anyway, I fell in love with it. It is a Popcycle! (the play on words is a huge selling point for me). It is on sale for $999. It has a 1.2 gallon gas tank, and gets 90 mpg! I can totally envision myself with a cute lil helmet and a backpack, riding the Popcycle down Grand to work!

What do you think? Scooters- a do or don't?

Wordless Wednesday- Summertime Fun

Books, Books and More Books....

As some of you may know, Keith and I are leaving for Destin, FL on Saturday. We will be staying in a beachfront condo for one week. Can't wait for the R&R!!!

My favorite place to read is on the beach or by the pool. I went to Borders last night to stock up on some vacation reads.
I bought two books by Karen Kingsbury, Waiting For Morning and Divine. I also bought two Christian authors I have never read.

I got a message today from Alexis over at Ramblings from Life, who reminded me that the new Karen Kingsbury book, the second in the Sunrise series, came out today! Looks like I will be making another trip to Borders!!!

Pardon my Esthetics....

I started uploaded Boston photos to the blog I had saved as a draft (see the post below, "Back from Beantown.... Barely).
I had about half of the photos uploaded when I realized I was loading them to the left, instead of centered. It took awhile to upload them and I just don't have the patience to upload them as centered.

So, forgive the "look" of the next post....
Normally I am such a perfectionist that I couldn't stand for the post to look like this, but in this case, it has been so long since my last post that I just want to get it up!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!!

Back From Beantown... Barely

I have been so busy, I haven't had time to post about our trip to Boston. Take a deep breath, grab a cup of coffee or a bowl of ice cream, get comfy, this post could be a long one.....

So, as you know, my husband was able to get a plane ticket to Boston so he could enjoy the city with me. We woke up Monday morning at 3:55 am (yes, A.M.!) and left for the airport at 5:00. We drove to the Casino Queen, parked there, and rode the Metro out to the airport. We got to Lambert around 5:55 and the lines were ridiculous! Keith's flight departed at 6:30am, so he had NO TIME to check in and get through security. I was boarding another airline, so we had to seperate. While I was standing in my own line, I could hear them announcing "last boarding call" for Keith's flight. I kept praying that he had made it through the lines, but I was seriously doubting it. He text me at the last minute, saying he had caught his flight. He had to cut in front of people in the security line and sprint down the terminal, but he made his flight and that was the important thing!

We were able to meet up at the hotel, Nine Zero, once I landed in Boston. The hotel cost a fortune (on the City of St. Louis) and was not worth it. The room was small and didn't even have a kitchen or coffemaker! Oh, and here was our amazing view....



On our first night, we walked down to Fanuiel Hall and Market. We ate at the oldest tavern in America, The Bell in Hand.



We saw a Halocaust Memorial. They had six, tall, glass monuments- one for each concentration camp- with all of the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the wrists of the Jewish prisoners. There were quotes of the prisoners etched into the glass, along with the numbers. I didn't take a picture of the memorial, something about it was too sacred. After that, we walked to Paul Revere's house. The house he left from to warn Boston that "the British were coming". That was really amazing and surreal to think that hundreds of years ago, he jumped on his horse to deliver his message, right where I was standing!



Oh, and I heard somewhere that Bostonians eat more ice cream than any other city residents, so I had to have some myself.....



On day #2 of Boston, I went to class, while Keith toured the Samuel Adams Brewery. He learned how to brew beer, while I learned how to facilitate small group discussion about condom use and negotiation.



Oh, while walking to the training site, I learned that Dunkin' Donuts are about every 5 feet in Boston. We had a 10 minute walk from our hotel to the site of our class and we passed 4 Dunkin' Donuts!


After my first day of class, Keith and I walked through Boston Commons (a 50 acre public park), down Newbury Street (the Rodeo Drive of Boston), over to Cheers (had to!) and all the way over to the Bay, where the Boston Tea Party was held. I love how pedestrian accessible Boston is. St. Louis isn't walker-friendly. I love the mix of old and new in Boston. You have such wonderful architecture and history, combined with the "moderness" of a city.



Keith got to tour Fenway Park while I finished up my last day of training.

After my class, we took the subway to Harvard! I was so excited to see the campus of one of the most well-known universities in the country! I wish I could have seen where Legally Blonde was filmed, but Keith wouldn't let me ask. (Is that embarrassing?) We did walk around and see dorms, classrooms, Harvard Law, Harvard Square and about 1,000 more buildings that I have no idea what they are.





After 3 days of walking, we were so tired. But, I was pleased knowing that there was no way I had gained any weight on this trip!
Keith's flight left at 6:30am on Thursday, so he was up and gone before I even woke up. My flight didn't leave Boston until 5:45pm, so I still had most of the day to explore. I grabbed a cup of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts (where else?!) and walked around the city by myself for about 2 hours.

We (a co-worker and myself) had to check out of our hotel by noon, but they kept our luggage while we sat in the park and people-watched.

We took a cab to the airport at 2:00. Wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get through the lines at the airport. By the time we pulled up to the curb, I was so ready to be home.

We sat at the airport for 3 hours before our flight was CANCELLED! That's right, cancelled! We were connecting in Pittsburgh and they had bad weather and lost power. I don't even know how I would describe my feelings at that point- frustrated doesn't even begin to cover it. LONG story short, we were booked on an 8:30am flight the next morning, connecting in Atlanta and arriving in St. Louis at 12:35. So, we had to get another hotel room (minus our checked luggage) for the night. Woke up Friday morning at 5:00am in order to catch the 6:00am shuttle from our hotel to the airport. Once we got to the check in counter, we were informed that they in fact DID NOT book us on the 8:30 flight to Atlanta. Of course, the flight was full. The next flight they could book us on left Boston at 1:40, connected in Cincinatti, arriving in STL at 5:40pm. I could not bear the thought of sitting in an airport for another day! They booked us for that flight and put us on standby for the 8:30 and 10:30 flights to Atlanta. We were the last 2 people to get on the 8:30 flight, standby. Got to Atlanta around 11:00 and had to sit until our flight left at 2:30. I did manage to finish a new book while sitting in all of the airports. We finally touched down in STL at 3:00 Friday afternoon. Even though it was about 100 degrees, compared to Boston's comfortable 80, I was SO glad to be home!!!

Not in any hurry to get back to Boston.....Whew... makes me tired even typing about it.

Red Sox, Baked Beans and Cream Pie

If you haven't figured it out from the title of this post, we are going to BOSTON!
I have a training for work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I am flying in on Monday and staying until Thursday so I can do a bit of sightseeing. My job is paying for my flight, hotel, and food for the 4 days. I am so excited- never been to Boston and I have heard *great* things about the city.

Of course, I wanted Keith to come with me. He is on a break from classes for another 2 weeks, plus, the college that he works at is on summer break too! Perfect timing, right? The only thing he would have to do is rearrange some of his personal training clients on Monday and Wednesday night. BUT, by the time we knew I was going, tickets to Boston were between $575 and $900. OUCH! There was no way we could pay that much money for a ticket. I almost would have bought the $575 ticket because we didn't pay anything for my trip and our hotel is covered. (Our really, really nice hotel- Nine Zero) Thankfully, my husband had a logical head on his shoulders and would tell me time and time again that $575 is way too much money for a flight to Boston and he would just have to go next time.

If you know me at all, you know that I would not give up.

I kept checking airline prices everyday, just in case a last minute sale was posted. Finally, I had almost come to terms with the fact that I would have to enjoy this amazing, historical city on my own..... almost......
On Friday afternoon, we were sitting in the living room and I asked him if I could get on priceline and bid on a flight. I asked him if he would go if they accepted an offer of $175. Long story short, they accepted! We got him a flight to Boston, three days in advance, for $203! The EXACT same flights are selling on AA for $1200! Can you believe that? He even got non-stop flights!

So, we are going to Boston. We leave EARLY tomorrow morning and will be there for four fun-filled, action packed days! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! :) (When I get excited my uber-dorkiness comes out).

Basically, the whole point of this long, drawn out post, is to see if anyone has been to Boston. What activities or sights were must-sees for you? What did you do or see that you could have passed on? Since we only have a few days, we want to make it worth our while!

Boston, here we come!