Thursday 13 - What I Love About Opening Day!

With Rangers Opening Day tomorrow, I thought I would devote my Thursday 13 to it. 

13 Things I Love About Rangers Opening Day

1. It's the official start of baseball season. I know, duh, right? But seriously, there is just a feeling of excitement in the air. It's like Christmas morning. I may or may not start dancing!

2. Taking pictures in the bluebonnets on the way to the game. I'm not sure if it's a "Texas" thing to take pictures in wildflowers or not. Pretty much most of the friends I have from Texas, at some point in their lives, they have a picture of them in bluebonnets. :)

3. Tailgating with friends. I started tailgating with some friends and their group in 2007- it's so much fun! We all get together every year (a few of those in the group I only see once a year- at Opening Day). We have burgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks, peanuts, sunflower seeds- there is one sweet girl who even gives out "party favors" every year, including a pack of baseball cards!

Hope my pale, pastely white arms didn't blind you!

Tailgating in 30 degree weather!

My peeps!

4. The ever-changing Texas weather can make the day very interesting. I've been at Opening Day when it was so hot I was in capris and a tank top and other times when it was so cold I was wrapped up in a blanket. Per Greg Fields at WFAA, it's supposed to be sunny and 85 tomorrow, so it's PERFECT baseball weather!!

We learned the hard way in 2006 to ALWAYS take sunscreen with us. I had the weirdest sunburn after this game.

Opening Day 2007- oh so cold. It snowed the day after this game! The guy behind us in the T-shirt was crazy for not having a jacket! Brr!!

 

 

 

 

Opening Day 2008- this day is unforgettable because we were in a wreck on the way home. I had my first (and hopefully last) ambulance ride that day!

Opening Day 2009- colder than 2007!

It was comfortable last year- although in the afternoon it got a little cooler.

5. The singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Yes, I know they sing it before every game, but before Opening Day, the presentation of the colors and the huge American flag on the field just gives me chills. I'm excited that Mercy Me is singing the National Anthem before tomorrow's game- I love them!

6. The traditional flyover. About the time the singer(s) get to "O' say does that star-spangled banner yet wave..", be prepared for the flyover. It's exciting!

I stole, borrowed this last picture from the internet! ;)

7. Knowing it's a work day and I'm NOT at work. There is something about it being a weekday when I should be at work, but yet, I'm out having fun at a baseball game. It just makes the day better! And the majority of my co-workers know where I'm at (it might be because I've had a countdown outside my office door since December!)

8. Being able to hang out with friends. One reason I love baseball is that it's a great sport to watch and still be able to socialize with friends. I even have friends that aren't as obsessed passionate about baseball that enjoy going to games.

 

9. Ceremonial first pitch. It's exciting to find out who it's going to be (we've had everyone from former presidents to local legends throw it out in previous years). This year it's going to be former Rangers players Jeff Burroughs and Charlie Hough.

10. The bald eagle. I don't know if they do this at all ballparks, but every Opening Day I've been at over the past 7 years, a bald eagle has flown down from the top of the scoreboard to his "keeper" on the field. He is so beautiful (the eagle, not the keeper!)

My friend was able to snap this close up picture of the eagle a few years ago!

11. The team introduction. Opening Day is one of the few times the WHOLE team is introduced (and not just the starting line up).

12. The raising of the AL Championship flag. Okay, this is a new one for Rangers fans. Hopefully next year it will be a World Series flag! But we'll take the AL Championship for now!

13. Good luck kisses. Okay, I made that up, but I couldn't think of anything else for my list. :) But I do have a few pictures of getting kisses on Opening Day, so I decided to use that!  (They are innocent cheek kisses mind you! I'm not that kind of girl!) :)

Baseball kisses

For more Thursday 13 blogs, go here!

I don't have a drink for Thirsty Thursday today, but please go check out my friends at For The Love of Blogs!

Peace, love and Blue Bell ice cream to you all! XOXO!!

A Tuesday Helping of Ramblings

Did you ever have a lemonade stand when you were a kid? I remember one time some friends and I set up a lemonade stand (convinced we were going to make thousands of dollars- we were like 11 years old at the time). I think we only made about $5 (which was split four ways). But still, you don't see a lot of lemonade stands anymore. Kinda sad. 

For those wondering, yes, my train of thought does have a caboose with this topic (I'll get into my rant of how mad I am that cabooses were taken off trains another day). My beautiful and creative friend Vic over at Freckles and Fudge has started making lemonade stands for blogs. What is a lemonade stand? Go check out her page here for all the info. She is sweet enough to let me proudly display the lemonade stand she made for me here on my page! You rock girl!

Created by Vic at The Lemonade Blogs

My sweet, lovely friend Katie over at Words by Katie is having a "Favorites Giveaway" in honor of her blog reaching 100 followers! Go check out her post here for details on how to enter and win. Tell her that I sent ya! :)

Katie's blog giveaway! Picture courtesy of Words by Katie

For those who haven't noticed the countdown at the top of my blog, it's almost Rangers Opening Day!! Can you believe it? I know I can't. Today the Rangers showed off some of the new "improvements" around the Ballpark, including the new scoreboard. It's beautiful!

I don't drink beer, but they have a new way of filling beer cups now. That means the lines won't be as long! I wonder if they will fill Dr Pepper the same way? I also heard a rumor of a three pound giant pretzel (my personal favorite Ballpark snack!)

For those wanting to know the new Rangers slogan for this year, here it is...

And last, but certainly NOT least, a few weeks ago I went to visit my BFF Mandy and her new baby. I am finally getting around to posting pictures (I know, I'm a slacker, so sorry!!) Here is Aunt Rachel and baby Effie. She is so tiny!! I think my purse weighed more than her. She is so beautiful too. I can't wait to see them all again. I am so happy for Mandy and her husband Andrew (who will not admit it, but is slowly getting wrapped around Effie's little finger!!) ;)

Yes, my first picture with baby Effie, and I'm wearing a Rangers shirt. Are you surprised? :)

Not to brag, but I was able to get her to stop crying when she was handed to me. Being the aunt to 16 nieces and nephews (and 4 great-nephews), I'm a professional when it comes to taking care of babies! :)

Hope that everyone has a great day!! We are finally seeing some rain here in Dallas, we are in desperate need of it so we welcome it with open arms (as long as it stops by Friday for Opening Day!!) Right now the forecast is calling for partly sunny skies, and a high of 77 for the start of baseball season here in Texas. Wahoo!!

XOXO!!

I'm Featured!

My beautiful and talented friend Lindsay over at Scenic Glory has a post up today spotlighting her March sponsors. She did a beautiful job with them! She was sweet enough to let me display a screenshot of my feature below (I wish I had her talent- I LOVE the layout she did!!) It's AWESOME! Please go check out her post here and say hi! Also, go visit some of her other sponsors! While you are there, you need to check out her posts where she talks about her wedding. The pictures are BEAUTIFUL!!

XOXO!!

This was designed by my friend Lindsay over at Scenic Glory

FRIDAY!!!

I'm so glad it's Friday, how about you?

Sorry for the short post. I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm heading to my folks after work today. I haven't seen them since Christmas so I'm really looking forward to it!! :) Tomorrow is my momma's birthday! (Go here to see my post last year for her). XOXO!

Don't forget to head over to For The Love of Blogs and meet some new friends!!

Thursday 13- Spring Time in Texas

Since it's "officially" spring, I thought for my Thursday 13 I would list 13 things I love about Texas in the spring time (yes, I did something similar to this last year- bear with me).

1. The start of baseball season (if you are surprised that this is the first one I listed, you don't know me at all!) ;) EIGHT days and counting until Rangers Opening Day! I'm beyond excited!! :)

My tailgating posse last year at Opening Day

2. Texas weather. Now, in the middle of summer I can't swear I'll be saying great things about the weather in Texas, but for now, I'm enjoying these temperatures!

3. Wildflowers. I'm a bit biased, but I think Texas has the prettiest wildflowers! :) I've already seen patches of bluebonnets around town!

A picture of me in a field of bluebonnets (this was taken in college- see how young I look!)

4. Pedicures. Yes, I get pedicures year round. BUT, I like having pedicures and showing them off. I think I'm overdo to be pampered and go get a "deluxe pedicure"- anyone want to join me? :)

5. Flip flops. What's the point of having a cute pedicure if you can't show it off? I love boots and stuff, BUT, I like being able to just slip on (or off) a pair of flip flops.

6. Ice Cream. Again, ice cream is acceptable all year round (especially Blue Bell), but I'll always look for any excuse to eat a bowl of ice cream (or a pint, in my case).The start of spring sounds like a good reason to have a pint, doesn't it? :)

I want to know where Blue Bell is priced $1.77!! :)

7. Capris. Can I just say whoever invented capris is a genius! I LOVE THEM! Have you tried to buy shorts lately? Yeah, I'm not showing that much skin (when the pockets of the shorts are longer than the shorts themselves, THEY ARE TOO SHORT!!) **stepping off soapbox** Also, I would blind people showing off that much pale, white skin! :)

8. Motorcycle rides. My mother will NOT approve of this one. But I have a buddy who has a motorcycle and we've been out riding a few times. He and I were just talking the other day how we needed to go for another ride (you listening B? Let's go!) ;)

Bad to the bone!

9. Outdoor concerts. I love rocking out (okay, rocking it "country style" in my case) at outdoor concerts. Now, in the middle of August when it's 105 degrees at sunset, I can't say it's all that exciting, but yet, we still do it! :)

Me and my bestie Brandy at the Brad Paisley's concert last year!

10. Longer days. I don't know about you, but I don't like getting home when it's dark. I like getting home from work and still having a few hours of daylight to enjoy. That way, I don't feel like my day was wasted inside an office building.

11. Beach trips. I haven't been to the beach in a few years, but I'm determined to go this year. Maybe I'll even take a trip to North Carolina to visit their beaches (which would mean a road trip with Katie and Jenn!) ;)

My great-nephews C and E are at the beach right now! I stole got these pictures from my niece's Facebook page! Three guesses who bought E his shirt!! ;)

12. Visiting the zoo. If you live in DFW and haven't been to the Dallas Zoo lately, it's really nice. They did some remodeling recently and it looks really good!

Me and C at the Dallas Zoo last fall.

13. Sitting outside. I enjoy going out to dinner with friends and being able to sit outside on the patio. I also enjoy sitting on my balcony and reading a book!

For more Thursday 13 blogs, go here.

Happy Thirsty Thursday! Go over to For the Love of Blogs and say hello to my lovely friends!! 

This afternoon my friend Dennis and I are planning to take a break at work and have a Dr Pepper/Blue Bell ice cream float. He brought the Blue Bell, I brought the Dr Pepper. Yummy!!

 Have a great day friends!! Thanks for sticking by me while I've been so busy. One of these days I'll get back to daily blog updates!! XOXO!!

I can't believe it...

I did something tonight that I told myself I would never do. It was something that went against everything that I believe in and stand for. It was something that goes against all morals that I have. I....I....I watched Dancing With The Stars. I know, I know, I'm ashamed of myself as well. The ONLY reason I watched it (and when I say watched it, I only watched a very small portion of it) was to see Ralph Macchio. Oh yes, the original Karate Kid himself was on it. **sigh** I must say, the man had some good moves for someone turning 50 this year (really, he's turning 50 this year, I can't believe it myself!) 

 

Not sure how long this will be up on Youtube, but here is his dance:

An ET interview about Dancing With the Stars

 

And of course, how we all remember him (hard to believe he was 23 when he filmed this). Sweep the leg!! ;)

Sorry for the lack of posts, I'm still really busy. Thanks for the sweet emails/tweets saying that y'all miss me. I feel so loved!

XOXO!!

Thursday 13- What's in my purse

First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I thought about doing my Thursday 13 on St. Patrick's Day facts, but I figured EVERYONE was going to be doing that. I've seen some of my blogging friends doing posts of what is in their purse, so I'm stealing borrowing that idea (thank you Bobbi and Chrissy!!) ;)

Here is my purse (are you really surprised it's Rangers related??) ;)

1. Make up bag

 

I like this bag! :)

 

2. Brush

 

3. Perfume

(Thinking of You- one of my current favorites!)

4. Badge for work

Awful picture on my work badge!

5. Day planner

Yes, I'm old school and like having a handwritten day planner instead of an electronic one!

6. Fatal Secrets by Allison Brennan

 

 

I always have a book with me, never know when I'll have a free moment to read!

7. Big Red gum

I'm a fan of cinnamon flavored gum!

 

8. iPhone charger

Just in case I need to charge my phone at work!

9. Earphones

I am actually using my headphones right now (I listen to sports radio and music on my computer during the day)

10.Ibuprofen

To help with those work-stress related headaches

11. Ticket for the Dallas Stars hockey game tonight

Thank you Monica for the ticket!

12. Keys

You can't really see it, but my house key is a Texas Rangers key! ;)

13. Wallet

Yup, my wallet has a place to keep chapstick- genius! :) I love that it zips up too!

Again, it's St. Patrick's Day and a lot of people are doing "Irish" themed drinks for their Thirsty Thursday. Not me. After a two week sabbatical from fast food (okay 11 days, but close enough to two weeks- this is still BIG for me), a friend and I went to Whataburger for lunch (and it was so good!) I'm savoring the rest of my Whatasized Dr Pepper! ;)

Go check out the lovely folks at For the Love of Blogs!!

XOXO!!