Wednesday Ramblings...

Oh so much to ramble about today. First of all, it was made official yesterday that the Dallas Stars hockey team would not offer long time player Mike Modano another contract. Mike held a press conference today saying he will weigh his options and either retire or see if another team wants to pick him up for next season. He has been playing hockey for 22 years. I personally would like to see him retire a Dallas Star, but I don't want him to pull a Brett Favre and retire, then decide in a few months to come back. 

So, in honor of Mike, I found a few videos on YouTube to share. Thanks for the memories Mike, best of luck!You will be missed!

This is highlights of his last game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. He scored the winning goal. Very fitting!

Who says there is no crying in hockey?

If you go to minute 4:08 of this clip, you can see Mike's cameo in the Disney hockey classic The Mighty Ducks. Let's hope he doesn't try and take up acting when he retires! :)

 

So, today is the day that Twi-hards all over have been waiting on. The premier of Twilight Saga: Eclipse hit theaters at midnight last night (this morning?). No, I was not there (but according to Facebook status updates, I have a lot of friends who went). I'm actually going tomorrow night with a group of friends (including one friend who has come out of the "Twilight closet" as I call it. She's a fan now, she can deny it all she wants, but she likes the series now!) ;) Luv ya LC!

Who will Bella choose? Oh wait, I've read the books, I already know!! :)

Finally, I meant to post some of these pictures earlier this week but haven't had time. Last Saturday I got to go to a celebrity baseball game in Frisco. Ironically enough, part of the proceeds went to the Mike Modano Foundation, which helps improve the quality of life for at-risk and under-served children in the DFW area. It was a lot of fun. Mike Modano's "White Sox" beat the "Blue Sox" 12-8.

 

Mike Modano being interviewed before the game

Me and Donald Faison. He was on the TV show Scrubs. He was hilarious!

Me and Geoff Stults. He was on the TV show 7th Heaven and the movie She's Out of My League. He was a super sweet guy!

Me and my friend Beks waiting on the game to start. I'm wearing my Brazil cap (my parents got it for me when they were missionaries in Brazil). Since the USA got eliminated from The World Cup, I'm cheering for Brazil now!

Former Dallas Cowboys player Daryl "Moose" Johnston (in the blue)

Former football player (and Dancing With The Stars contestant) Warren Sapp

Dallas Mavericks player Jason Kidd

Happy Wednesday to all!! We are halfway through the week (although tomorrow is my "Friday" since I have a four day weekend!) ;)

Learning to Swim

Okay, I think the blogging issues have been fixed. Whew! I have a lot going on today, BUT, I wanted to post this adorable video of a mother otter teaching her baby to swim! Glad my mother didn't hold my head under water until I figured it out! :)

Happy Tuesday!

Having Blog Issues

First of all, something is wrong with Blogger today. My fancy fonts aren't showing up and the page is running really slow. For anyone stopping by for the first time, I apologize. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. As soon as it is, I will update a new post.

Have a great day!

:)
Rachel

Vote now to send the Texas Rangers to the All-Star Game!

 

If you have taken a look at the sidebar of my blog, you may have noticed the Major League Baseball All-Star logo with a note to please vote for the Texas Rangers. With only three days left in the voting, I'm campaigning for our guys one last time. :) Oh yes, we are VERY proud of our Texas Rangers around here. Like I've said before, "for better or for worse, in wins and in losses, in cold temperatures and in the ungodly Texas heat, I'm a Rangers fan for life!" If you have time, would you mind please voting for the Rangers? It's VERY simple. You just click here for the link. You will be asked to submit your votes for the American League and National League (for you none baseball folks, the Rangers are in the American League). If you don't have a National League team you would like to vote for, might I suggest the Braves? ;) I also like them. You can vote up to 25 times. The best part is that your votes aren't erased, you just have to click submit again. It takes maybe 5 minutes to vote 25 times.

For all of you local folks, if you vote 25 times and list the Rangers as your favorite team on the ballot, you will be emailed a voucher for two FREE tickets to a Rangers game (restrictions apply to what games the vouchers are good for).

Thanks for your consideration! Voting ends at 11:59pm EST on July 1.

I now return you to your regular scheduled Monday already in process!! :)

Happy Friday to All!

TGIF!!!

I love Fridays, but I especially love Fridays where I'm off work at 11:30! Wahoo! The countdown is on!

It's Five Question Friday Time!

1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?

I played the clarinet in junior high and my freshman year of high school, but I haven't played since then. I know how to play the piano, I'm just not that good (I took piano lessons for about a year when I was younger). I know how to read music so I'm sure if I just took time to practice, I would get better. I have a really nice piano keyboard at home. 

2. What is your pet peeve while driving?

Either people who don't use their turn signals, or people who wait until the last minute to move over into a lane that is backed up. It's like they feel they have the right to sneak in up front. And yes, I'm one of those drivers who does everything in their power to not let them in! ;)


3. Would you rather have a housekeeper or unlimited spa services?
Right now I'm going to say unlimited spa services. I have a small apartment, so I really don't need a housekeeper. I'm sure one day when I am married with kids, I'll want to change my answer. But right now, unlimited spa services sounds WONDERFUL. I'm down for a massage, facial and mani-pedi right now!!

4. Is there a song that you hear that will take you back to the moment, like a junior high or high school dance? 

They would always play Take My  Breath Away at our junior high dances. This was maybe in like 1991 and 1992. I think the song came out in 1986 though (I just remember it being the "love song" in Top Gun). Ah, I loved Top Gun. Back when Tom Cruise was still "normal". And taller than me (I'm 5'8 now. I believe he's what, 5'4?) Back in 1986 at the ripe old age of 8, I was maybe what, 4 feet tall?

5. What song best represents your life right now?
You are going to laugh, but I'm going to say Take Me Out To The Ballgame. And only because tonight will be the fourth night in a row I'll be going to a Rangers game. (The Rangers, by the way, have an 11 game winning streak going and are the second best team in baseball). ;) It's TIME!!




Have a great weekend!!

Thursday Thirteen

For my Thursday Thirteen I thought I would list some of my favorite, "You Know You're From Texas When" sayings.

1. You can say 110 degrees without fainting.

2. You discover that in July it takes only two fingers to drive your car. 

3. You know the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance. 

4. You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m. before work.

5. It's so hot the birds have to use pot holders to pull worms out of the ground.

6. You've been trick-or-treating when it was 90 degrees outside. 

7. People grumble about Noah letting coyotes on the ark.

8. When it rains, everyone is smiling.
 

9. People wonder when Jesus fed the 5,000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish.

10. It's a common misconception that everything is twice as big in Texas. Really, everything is 1.965 times bigger, but we round up. 

11. It's a common misconception that the women have big hair. In fact this was outlawed in July 1977. There is a task force and they are doing their best to reach every last woman. Bear with us. 

12. It's a common misconception that J.R. Ewing still lives here. That was a TV show people! Come on! Chuck Norris, on the other hand, is a real, karate-choppin' Texas Ranger. 

13. It's a common misconception that everyone speaks with a Texas accent. Y'all just don't know what y'all are talkin' about! :)

Wednesday Ramblings...

"GGGGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!" Okay, if you aren't a fan of soccer (or if you haven't turned on a radio/TV today), you might not be aware that the U.S. soccer team has advanced to the World Cup's second round by beating Algeria 1-0. If you want to read all about it, go here. The goal was scored by Landon Donovan.

If you would like to see the gaming winning goal, here it is.USA! USA! USA!

Just a quick note to all you Twilight fans out there (or "Twi-hards" as they are called). On ABC tonight, Jimmy Kimmel is hosting a special with the cast of Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It's going to be on at 9:00 CST. T-minus 7 days until the movie hits theaters.

Blog Award

My sweet blogging friend Laurie gave me the following blog award. Thanks girl!! I enjoy reading about Laurie's adventures and I love her comments on my posts! If you would like to check her page out, go here.

As part of the "award ceremony", it looks like I have to list 7 things about myself you may not know. I know I've done this before in a previous post, I'll try and think of new ones. 

1. I am on a "mission" to visit all the baseball ballparks/stadiums in the U.S. (and the one in Canada). I guess this probably isn't a surprise to any of my regular readers. I have a long ways to go. I've obviously visited the baseball ballparks in Texas (The Ballpark in Arlington and Minute Maid Park in Houston. I also got to see a few games in the Astrodome, the former home of the Houston Astros, before they moved next door to Minute Maid Park). When I went to New York three years ago I was able to catch a Yankees game in the old Yankee Stadium. Some friends and I are in the process of planning a trip to Atlanta this August, so I can cross Turner Field, home of the Braves, off the list.

2. I have a bad case of stage fright (this surprises a lot of people since I'm so outgoing and talkative). But if you get me in front of crowd, my knees start shaking and my voice squeaks. And I usually feel like I'm going to throw up.

3. If I can't fall asleep at night, I watch kid shows on The Disney Channel. It's gotten so bad that I know some of the theme songs now. **hangs head in shame**

4. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 11 years old.

5. A friend and I are in the process of trying to write a novel (we have a ways to go!)

 
6. When I was 12 my friend Tanya and I were riding a roller coaster and the bar flew up during the ride (there was some malfunction with it, obviously). There were no seat belts, so we were holding on for dear life until it came to a stop. It took me nearly 10 years to get on another roller coaster. And even to this day, I've very picky about which ones I'll ride. And when I do get on one, I'm usually halfway up the hill before I start thinking, "why am I doing this again?"

7. I never learned to parallel park in Driver's Ed (okay, if you have driven with me, this is not a surprise). In the Driver's Ed course that I took, we had to have 8 hours of driving and 8 hours of observing before we could get our licenses (in addition to the 8 week classroom course). On my last "hour" of driving, the instructor was like, "okay, the last thing we have to complete is the parallel parking, are you ready?" and I said no. He was like, "well, that's okay, we'll just say you did it", and he marked it as completed. I hope that doesn't get my license taken away by saying that!! : )

With the honor of winning this award, I now have to pass the award on to five fellow bloggers. ONLY FIVE?? I enjoy all the blogs I read, so I hate to just list five. I would like to pass the award on to everyone (but alas, I cannot). So, here are five blogs that I love reading every chance I get!! Check them out!!

-Kristin at Adventures of a Betty Crocker Wanna-Be 

-Vic at From Here to There

-Sheriliee at Sweet Tea and Sunshine

-Frenchy at Le Chateau des fleurs 

-Lindsay at Little Thoughts by LT

 

Happy Friday!

Okay, this time I will use all the questions from this week's Five Question Friday!

Have a great weekend y'all! Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! I'm heading "home" this afternoon to spend the weekend with my dad! : )

1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?

Would you be surprised if I said going to baseball games? ;) I know, I NEVER talk about baseball on my blog! ;) I also like going out with friends, either to the lake, an outdoor concert, or perhaps a BBQ at someone's house.

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)? 
I would like to travel once I'm retired. So I'm not sure where I would want my "home" location to be just yet.

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?

No, I haven't lived there since I graduated high school. And that's been 14 years ago. WOW, it's been 14 years since I graduated high school. Where does the time go?

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?

I honestly can't think of a "nervous" habit. I know I had a bad habit of smacking my chewing gum when I was little. I HOPE that I've gotten that under control. ;)

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?

When I was working as a sports editor of a weekly newspaper, I was covering the local rodeo (I had to write the article and take the pictures). I wanted to get better pictures of the bull riding, so two cowboys offered to lift me up to the platform where the shoot was (the area where the cowboys get on the bull). They weren't paying attention (and neither was I), and when they lifted me up, I hit my head on this metal bar that was used as a railing. I played it off like I was okay at first, but later that night I went to the ER with a concussion. The next week at work I had roses delivered to my office. They were to: "The cute reporter at the rodeo from [the name of the paper] with the tan shorts, blue blouse, white tennis shoes and beautiful smile. From: A secret admirer." I'm so glad they didn't include "concussion" on that description!

Thursday Thirteen

Here is my weekly Thursday Thirteen! I hope you enjoy!!

13 Random Things About My Week (in no particular order)

1. At 5pm last night they finally fixed the AC in my apartment (despite telling me it was done at 9am yesterday morning. I'm letting it slide, this time. Next time I will unleash the wrath of Rachel!) It took a few hours for it to finally feel comfortable. I went to Subway for almost 2 hours and read while it was cooling down. It was 90 degrees in there when I got home. This morning it was finally about 75.

 Sorry so blurry. The left is when I got home yesterday. The right is when I left this morning.

2. The past few weeks (okay, maybe a month or two) I've been having that feeling of, "Are you there God? It's me, Rachel?" again. I got this email from my sister yesterday. It was one of those, "Oh good gosh, I so needed to read that!" And yes, I just said "good gosh"! ;) Why do I ever doubt God? Why do I ever question His ways? One of these days I'll learn.

3. I'm very excited that Michael Young of the Texas Rangers got his 1,748th hit last night. He passed Pudge Rodriguez's record of 1,747 hits as a Texas Ranger. Young is now the All Time Hit Leader for the Rangers. And the best part about the hit is that it scored two runs, helping the Rangers with a 6-3 win over the Marlins. That is four wins in a row (on the road) for the Rangers.

Michael Young's at bat (photo courtesy of the AP)

Michael Young in a post game interview (courtesy of Fox 4 Dallas)

4. My sweet friends Steve and Linda gave me my birthday present this past week. It was a "Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock" shirt.

The game has been around for a while, but we learned about it on the CBS show, The Big Bang Theory.

5. I started re-reading Eclipse this week (that's the third book in the Twilight series). It's been well over a year and a half since I read it, and with the movie coming out June 30, I want it to be fresh in my mind. I know, I'm a nerd. I can already tell by some of the previews that that they have changed it up a bit.

6. I just realized I haven't been to Chick Fil A in almost 2 weeks. I think that is a new record. I might have to go there today. I'm starting to go through withdrawals! I can feel my eye twitching as I type this!!

Chick Fil-A milkshake: Manna from heaven

7. I got my dad a really cool Father's Day gift. Since he sometimes reads my blog, I won't post about it until after Sunday. I'm excited about going to my folks tomorrow and seeing my family. It will be the last time I get to go "home" for a while. July and August are pretty busy months for me at work and I can't get away.

8. I won tickets for my company's suite at The Ballpark. The suite is nice. There is all you can eat hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn and soda. There is an inside section that is air conditioned and there is an outside section too. 

9. I started watching Season 1 of Chuck this week on DVD. So far I like it (I have a newly found love admiration nerd crush on Zachary Levi). He is absolutely adorable, especially in interviews. And he has that goofy, dorky quality that I seem to like in guys! ;)

10. As I've posted before, I played soccer in high school. Now, I haven't been watching every single game for the FIFA World Cup 2010, but I am looking forward to the final match-up. I'll be honest, the soccer playoff system confuses the snot out of me. The point system, the groups, etc, I don't understand it. But, I found this really cute picture I wanted to share it! Everyone has World Cup fever!

11. I just saw on my uncle's Facebook page that Blue Bell ice cream is on sale at Kroger. Pints are $1 each!! That just made my week a little bit better! 

12. I finally drove by where Texas Stadium used to be (I know, it's been gone a while, but I haven't had any reason to go over there until this past week).  

Yes, I took this out my truck window. But I was watching the road and just aiming my phone (one reason it's kinda off centered).

13. After a four month hiatus, I finally started working out again. I didn't go to my office gym,  but I worked out in the "mini" gym we have at my complex. I was very frustrated about my AC situation when I got home yesterday, so I used that energy to work out (probably not the smartest move to get even hotter when my AC was broken). But after a 45 minute workout, I went to Subway, had a turkey sandwich and read Eclipse for almost two hours. Not a bad way to spend my evening.

Wednesday Ramblings...

I'm going to start my post today with a short rant (okay, you are right, none of my stories are ever short). For those new to my blog, go here for some past issues with my apartment complex.

So, as you know, I live in Texas. If you are not familiar with what a week in June looks like in Texas, let me show you our ten day forecast. And this is actually "cool" for our summers. Starting in July, we will most likely hit triple digits.

I have a two story apartment. My upstairs is just an open loft area I keep my sports memorabilia and craft supplies in. So, anyways, if you read my previous post, you'll know two years ago I had issues with my AC unit. I got home from work yesterday about 5:45 pm (and let me just say I was excited because it was the first night in weeks where I had nothing to do. I could be at home, I could read a book, watch the Rangers game on TV, watch a movie, whatever. It was before 6pm and I was home for the evening. It felt great. Until I walked inside my apartment. You guessed it. My AC was blowing warm air. I called the front office immediately and they said they would send someone over. About 20 minutes later maintenance showed up and said I just needed the air filter changed. So, after he did that he said to give it about 30 minutes and it would start cooling off. I was nicer. I gave it until 8 (about an hour and a half) and it still wasn't cooling.

So, I called the 24 hour answering service and they said they would put in a work order to emergency maintenance right away. I was told I would get a call. An hour later, still no call. So I called the answering service again. Was told again I would get a call, but most likely no one could come out because it was dark (funny, it was light when I called the first time). So about 9:30 no one had called and it was 90 degrees in my apartment (I wish I had taken a picture of the thermometer to prove that). Thankfully  my sweet friend Martha (I call her my adopted mom) let me stay the night at her house, which was nice and cool!

This morning I got an email from my complex saying the situation with the AC had been fixed: they added coolant. Now, it's not that I don't trust them, but I didn't want this evening to be similar to last night, so I called my BFF (who works near my apartment) and asked that she go by during her lunch break to double check. She called after her lunch and said she was there almost an hour and the AC hadn't cooled down (it wasn't even on when she got there). Have I ever mentioned the wrath of Rachel?? Yay, I was ready to unleash it. So, I called the complex office. Sadly the manager wasn't available, but I told the girl (who knows me by my voice) about the situation. She said she would put in a work order. Just to be sure it got put in, I emailed the office as well. I just got this reply from the manager himself (the man who fears me):

"I will make sure that your air is up and cooling before the team goes home today. I will send him back out now. :)"

Oh yes, he included the :) himself. I'm sure he was saying under his breath: Please don't call your lawyer.

So, since my complex office has a habit of closing "a little early" from time to time, I am leaving work early myself to guarantee that my air is indeed back up and cooling. If it's not, the manager and I will have a little "heart to heart". I promise I will try and be nice! But if you hear on the national news about an apartment complex manager in Texas being beaten up by a resident, I might not be updating my blog for a while! ;)

I don't like leaving my post on such a "downer" so I decided to post a picture a friend put on her Facebook page a few weeks ago. This is one of my all time favorite baseball fights. So, here's to Nolan  Ryan (who, by the way, kicked Robin Ventura's butt that night!!) I'll try and find the video and post it sometime!! It's greatness!!