#1 Read 30 books - The Great Gatsby (book 1)

I love to read but I didn't have a lot of time to read leisurely while I was in school.  While I don't think this will be a particularly challenging goal on my list, I know that if I don't set, I will spend my time watching tv or reading magazines all of the time.  Originally, I set the goal to read 12 books from The Board's Best Novels list but I realized that I wanted to be able to read some fun, current books too.  So I modified my list to challenge myself to read 30 books of all genres, etc.

I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in high school but that was over 12 years ago so it felt like I was reading it for the first time.  This book is a classic, listed on almost every Must Read list I saw.  I'm sure I had to write a paper or do a project on the symbolism of certain things in the book (i.e. the green light) so it was nice to read the book just for fun, without having to continuously stop and take notes for use later on.  I loved the glimpse into America in the 20s.  There were lots of references to the big, jazz parties and frivolous spending before The Great Depression.  I loved the imagery of the costumes, cars, and East coast, where most of the story takes place.  I can appreciate the book more now than I did in high school (that rings true for just about everything though!) and really did enjoy reading it.

I'm sure I'll pick it up a couple more times throughout the years and it will still surprise and captivate me.  To me, that's what makes a book classic.

#26 Visit Chicago

St. Louis is only 5 and a half hours from Chicago yet I hadn't had a chance to make it up there yet.  A friend that I cheered with at EWU moved there after graduation and we've been trying to meet up but never could.  Our favorite author, Jen Lancaster, posted on her blog that she would be doing a book signing in Chicago.  (Read her blog, she's hilarious www.jennsylvania.com).  We knew that this was a sign to finally get together after not having seen each other in 11 years.  In addition to the book signing, Jen was also hosting a screening of the movie Sixteen Candles, a champagne toast, and a Q & A to promote her book If You Were Here. 

I took the train into Chicago early Friday morning.  Not a bad trip at all.  It still took 5.5 hours but it was much better than driving, especially since gas is hovering around $3.95 a gallon in St. Louis and even higher in Illinois.  I got in to Chicago at 10 and met Amy and her husband at Union Station.  We took the L (elevated train) to their place and settled in.  The weather was crummy so we spent the entire day/evening catching up on 11 years' worth of our lives.  It was great! 

Saturday was the book signing so we headed over to Theater Wit, watched the movie (how have I never seen that whole thing before?!?), and met Jen afterwards. 

 I also met a Gamma Phi from Purdue while waiting in line to meet Jen.  I love that I can have an instant bond with a stranger because we're connected in Gamma Phi.

After the signing we had dinner at Giordano's.  I've never had real Chicago-style pizza and I am in love!  It was so delicious.  A friend told me we could have it delivered here in St. Louis and I am seriously going to consider doing that so that my husband can try it.  Yum.  We spent the evening at a nearby bar and got to spend more time catching up.

Sunday was tourist day and we headed Downtown to Millennium Park and Michigan Ave.  So. Much. Walking!  St. Louis isn't so much a walking city so I was not quite prepared for all the walking we had to do in Chicago.  I'm pretty sure I lost 5 lbs while I was there but the weather was great on Saturday and Sunday so I can't really complain.  After shopping we headed back to Amy's so that I could pack.  She drove me to Union Station and I hopped back on the train.  The ride home was uneventful and I was able to start and almost finish Jen's book (I'll review it in a later post).  I got home safe and sound and rested up to get back to reality Monday morning.

I had such a wonderful time in Chicago.  The city is humongous and a bit overwhelming.  It's very pretty though - the trees and tulips had bloomed and I miss seeing water (I don't count the ugly ol' Mississippi River).  I'm hoping that Amy can make it down to St. Louis in the near future so that I can show her around here.  It's not as big and maybe not as pretty, but it's my home and I love showing it off.  I'm sure this won't be my last visit to Chicago but I know that the next time I go, I'll be bringing better walking shoes!

#12 Attend a St. Patty's Day parade

St. Louis throws 2 big St. Patty's Day parades.  The first is in the area known as Dogtown and the second is held in downtown St. Louis.  The Dogtown parade is always held on March 17th while the downtown parade is always held on the Saturday before March 17th.  This year they both happened to fall on the same day.  I decided to take my youngest to the Dogtown one since it's closer to our house and I had a great friend who offered to share her private party viewing area with us. 

I paid $20 to park in a big lot a few blocks away from St. James the Greater where we would be watching the parade.  We met up with friends Kayla and Andrew and made the trek together.  St. Louis weather is completely unpredictable and some parades are held with snow on the ground and 30 degree weather but we completely lucked out (at first) and had a warm 70+ degree afternoon.  Lauren was pretty entertained by all of the crazy costumes and accessories people were wearing and enjoyed the parade itself.  2 hours into the parade it started to rain so we decided that we would start walking back to the cars before the weather got worse.  We got a little wet but it wasn't too bad.  The worse part was that the drive home that normally takes 5 minutes, took an hour and a half!  There were cars everywhere and no police to help direct traffic.  I couldn't believe the mayhem of trying to get home.  We got to the car just in time though because there were downpours, lightning and thunder while we sat in traffic. 

The weather was gorgeous for the first part of the parade, we had a great place to watch it from, and great friends around to make it even more fun.  I'm not sure I've been converted to a faithful parade goer, but I had a great experience with my first one.