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Meet me in St. Louis

By Jess
Aha! Hotel reservations have been made! Baby G does much to inspire a carpe diem attitude, so after much idle talk and an on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again business trip, I'm proud to announce that we will be going to St. Louis, and we will see the Chihuly exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It's a trip we've only discussed since last February.

I like to play Hotwire roulette for these little excursions. This time around, we got a great deal on the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, which could be especially interesting depending on how tonight's game goes. (I did have the foresight to check that any necessary World Series games next weekend will be played in Detroit.) The last time we stayed at a Hilton, it was at O'Hare on AirCanada's dime. We most fondly remember the $5 bottled water laid out so invitingly on the dresser.

Besides the Botanical Gardens, we hope to visit the zoo (free admission!?) and the St. Louis arch, and generally enjoy the tastes and sights of the city. Paul was there in May 2005 for a conference but didn't get to do any sightseeing; this will be my first trip. We also hope to visit Cotton Babies in person, as we continue to weight the pros and cons of cloth diapering. As luck would have it, they're having some sort of cloth diaper garage sale next Saturday, which could be a great opportunity to meet real, live, cloth-diapering people and possibly score a few deals.

LOTS more to talk about here... The family room and nursery should be painted by the end of the week. Beginning Monday, the crew from DialOne will be installing our new dual-zone blah blah blah heating and cooling system. We're doing a complete overhaul of the old, ineffective system. The work will take two weeks, but we will be rewarded by warmth and efficiency -- two important factors sorely lacking in our current setup. Really, this could be a whole 'nother post.

I've got to run -- tonight's my first Ladies' Gourmet Dinner with the Ball State Women's Club. I'm hungry and looking forward to it!

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