2014 in Review

2014 was a year of challenges for me, a year of pushing myself a bit and setting and meeting goals.

The year began with changes with work, health, and, well...a milestone birthday!  I started a new part-time job, eventually gave up my two-year temp job, gave up gluten (ugh!), started going to the gym, started running with my daughter, and turned 40!

I ran my first mile EVER in April and my first 5K on Memorial Day!  A huge accomplish for me, the non-runner!  In August, I participated in a mud run with a group of friends and had a blast!  Through all of this, I realized that I CAN push through obstacles and reach goals!

Also during this time frame, I began my exploration of St. Louis through an area-wide cake hunt (See my last post here for details.), and I watched my two "babies" finish middle school and get ready for high school.

Our summer was a whirlwind of work and activities with a brief weekend getaway to Branson, MO, where we crammed as much as we could into a few days:  visiting the Titanic museum, the Dixie Stampede, kayaking, riding the ducks, and Silver Dollar City.

Then...school was approaching, as was another job change -- this time within the same company, but as a full-time employee.  Quite the change after spending 12 years at home or working part-time, raising and homeschooling my kids, etc.

It's been crazy...lots of adjustments - some good, some bad.  Some heartache that carries on to the new year.  As always, however, life is challenging, and we have to take steps forward.  Sometimes the steps aren't the right ones; sometimes we make mistakes that spin us into another direction.  Then we have to stand up, dust ourselves off, and look for the path to take next.  May 2015 be a year of positive steps!

Exploring St. Louis

St. Louis celebrated 250 years in 2014.  As part of the celebration, 250+ cakes were painted by various artists and placed at landmarks, popular spots, and some voter-chosen places.  

How did this work?  A map and spreadsheet were posted online with each cake location as they were placed.  So it was a scavenger hunt of sorts.

Once I found out about the cakes, I was hooked.  Some of my friends may have rolled their eyes, asked me why, or wondered why I spent so much time hunting for these amazing cakes.  However, for me, the reason was simple:  I love my city!  I love art!  I love a challenge!  This was a fun way for me to explore St. Louis and the surrounding areas.  

At first, my family was game for the hunt, but that soon faded.  :)  Usually, I had at least one person with me to ensure we had someone in the pic with the cake, but eventually I realized I would only get them all if I headed off on my own from time to time.  

My hunt began on April 19, 2014, in Belleville, IL, with this cake at Eckert's Orchards:

Along the way, I found some amazing cakes and will share just a few of my favorites so I don't bore you!

Busch Stadium after a St. Louis Cardinals game:

St. Louis Public Library.  Being a book-lover, this easily became one of my favorites.  At the end of the time the cakes would be on display (end of 2014), some of the cakes were auctioned off to raise money for a project for downtown St. Louis, and this was one of them.  Don't think I didn't have discussions about bidding on this baby to add to my yard!  :)  Unfortunately, it was out of my budget... 

The Soulard area is the home of the annual Mardi Gras Parade.  I loved this cake!  Fun art and bright colors!

Shakespeare Festival:

Imo's Pizza, home of some great St. Louis style pizza!

St. Louis University, home of the Billikens!

One of several cakes in Alton, IL.  This is one of the areas I had fun exploring and learned a bit about.

One of my favorite shots.  I love old churches.

An amazing cake in Collinsville, IL, underneath the largest catsup bottle!

And we can't forget the Arch:

I "ended" my hunt on December 28.  I knew that many of the cakes would start moving as the time for the displays came to an end.  My last day of hunting involved six hours of driving to some of the far away places, and I came home with eleven cake pictures.  That definitely wasn't a large amount of cakes to find, until you realize that the travel time between many of the cakes was 30-45 minutes.  I ended my hunt here, at Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing:  

This was my #235.  I was short of my goal, but pleased with the number I found.  THEN...several of the cakes were moved to the location of a big New Year's Eve celebration, and I found four more that I hadn't already seen.  I don't include those in my "official" count, because I didn't find them on location.  However, on NYE a brand new cake was revealed!  It's gorgeous and kind of a compilation of many of the other cakes that were displayed.  I was able to go see the cake on January 2, 2015, and finish my hunt.

Officially, I found 236 on location + 4 at the NYE cake gathering.  So. Much. Fun.  

I was born and raised in the St. Louis area.  I celebrated my 40th birthday this year, as St. Louis celebrated its 250th.  I stumbled across places I had never been to before -- some because I just had never gotten around to it and others because I didn't even know about them.  There are things on our list of things-to-do now that we've discovered some new places, and we plan to continue our exploration on our own as we celebrate our city.  

It's been a rough year for St. Louis; we've had way too much heartache.  However, we're strong and resilient, and I believe we'll grow stronger together as a people as we embrace both our similarities and our differences.