North Carolina Wedding Recap!

No, not my wedding, settle down people. Please, I've only been gone from my blog for two weeks. I didn't have time to meet Craig Gentry the right guy and get married. Trust me, you'll be the first to know when that happens (well, maybe not the FIRST, I'll probably tell a few other people before I blog about it). ;) 

Two weeks ago I flew to North Carolina to be in the wedding for my good friends Katie and Donny. Quick story on how I met them (and how they met). I met Katie a few years ago through a blog hop. We quickly discovered that we both loved sports, especially baseball (we just don't discuss our favorite teams around each other). ;) After a year or so of blog following, emailing, and talking to each other on Twitter, she decided she wanted to come visit the great Lone Star State, so in May of 2011 she made a trip from North Carolina to Dallas (read a recap of her visit here.) While she was here she asked me who I knew from Twitter in real life. I mentioned some of my friends that I knew she talked to. I also mentioned that I had met our Twitter friend Donny at a Rangers game earlier that year (they started following each other on Twitter through me). So, long story short, he met up with us at the Fort Worth rodeo, they hit it off, started dating, and now they are married. So, yeah, basically two people that I met online met in person through me and got married. Weird, huh? I call it a total God thing. Oh, I'm also reminding them that when they have kids, Rachel is a beautiful name for a girl. ;)

Before I get to the wedding recap, while I was in North Carolina, I was able to meet up with another blogging friend, Jenn (who just happened to live near the town where Katie lives). She was one of the first blogs I started to follow, it was so nice to finally meet her in person!! :)

Blogging buddies!

Disclaimer: I am using some pictures from the website of Katie's photographer. They are all "watermarked" so you'll know which ones are theirs. Katie said I had permission to use them on my blog, so I just wanted to put that out there (so I didn't get nasty comments that I was using "watermarked" pictures. ;) Thank you McCardell Photography for allowing me to use these pictures.

Fun pictures before the ceremony. Photos courtesy McCardell Photography

Despite looking like he would rather be anywhere but there, Katie's brother Drew was very nice. I noticed most of the groomsmen had this look on their face as we were leaving the ceremony. What is it with guys not smiling in pictures? :) Photo courtesy McCardell Photography

I will leave out the very long story of how the bridesmaids got lost on the way to the reception and showed up 25 minutes late to the "pre-reception" picture shoot. I was one of the bridesmaids from Texas and not driving, I had no control over it! ;) But it was good bonding time with the bridesmaids! We are all great friends now!

Bridal party pictures before the reception (after the bridesmaids FINALLY got there). Photos courtesy McCardell Photography

 

I have no clue why I'm making this silly face. We've decided either someone said something shocking or someone grabbed my butt. Right now we are going with the latter. ;) Both groomsmen deny the charges!

It's hard to tell but I'm dancing in these pictures (yes, we danced in our chairs at one point- I think that is what I'm trying to do). There are reasons why I DON'T dance usually. Perhaps I had a little too much sweet tea. ;)

I was also able to meet up with another blogging buddy of mine at Katie's wedding. Jodi and I have been blogging friends for several years and she came down from Boston to the wedding (she and Katie are also friends).

Great friends all because we started blogs! :)

The picture at the top right is Katie with her Texas friends!

Me with the happy couple!!

I'm so happy for Katie and Donny!! I'm looking forward to their next Texas visit (or my next visit to North Carolina!) 

Hope y'all have a great day!

XOXO!

It's OK...

It's OK...

...to watch the really cheesy CW show Beauty and the Beast (don't judge). I remember the Beauty and the Beast TV show from the 90s and wanted this show to work. I don't think it's gonna last, but I could be wrong. I have to admit that Jay Ryan makes a MUCH hotter Beast than Ron Perlman.

(l-r) Ron Perlman and Jay Ryan.

 ...that I'm super excited I already ordered my Rangers season tickets for next year. Is it April yet? :)

This will be my view next year! :)

...that I had my first gel manicure last week, and totally loved it.

...that this is how I feel right now.

The election is over people. Shut up already!

...that I really like this song. We've all been in this situation before, haven't we? :)

...that I'm thinking about starting my Christmas decorating this weekend (don't judge) just because I'll be out of town next weekend for Thanksgiving and the weekend after that I'm super busy. Also, I've been in a funk lately and I think a little Christmas decorating might cheer me up.

...that I had a somewhat loud verbal disagreement with the scale in my doctor's office last week. I told her to subtract the weight of my boots, which was 10 pounds...each. :)

...that a friend of mine at work has made "Rachel warning levels" so he can tell how upset I am when I'm having a rough day. 

We have come close to Apocalypse level once since he made the list. Right now I'm feeling "Mellow Yellow". We were at "Safety Orange" level earlier today though. :)

...that I'm excited I finally blogged TWO DAYS IN A ROW for the first time in a while. That's just sad!

What's OK with you today?

XOXO!

My Trip to Blue Bell Country...

I know, I know. I'm slacking with my blog posts again. Is there any way we could add like two more hours to the day so I have time to blog? Since we "fell back" with the time change, by the time I get home from work it's already dark. Am I the only person who is all of a sudden worthless after 7pm? I'm exhausted by then.

A few weeks ago I went out of town to Brenham (home of Blue Bell ice cream) and attended my nephew Jake's senior night football game. His team's win that night made them the district champions! My folks and both of my sisters were there. My nephew James (Jake's brother) made the trip from Texas Tech to support his brother, and my niece Alice brought her two boys, my great-nephews C and E. 

Before the game all the seniors were introduced with their parents. My brother-in-law passed away in 1999, so James helped my sister Mary escort Jake out when his name was called. 

My sister with her two boys. Their height comes from their dad's side of the family. :)

I don't believe C and E had ever been to a football game, so this was a new experience for them. C loved it and loved cheering with the crowd. E thought that Aunt Rachel cheered too loud (this may or may not be true. Okay, yeah, it's true. My family gets VERY animated during sporting events). :)

High school playoffs start this week- go Cubs! :)

Left: Me and my sister Mary; top right: Before the game with my nephews James and E; bottom right: me and my niece Alice. We are about six years apart in age, and our whole lives people have thought we are sisters. We are very close, so we practically are! :)

After the game, Jake took time for pictures with his grandparents and his favorite aunt!

Me with my beautiful sisters Mary and Martha. Yes, we have very Biblical names!

Brenham Cubs-District champs! I believe these are the seniors on the team. Jake is on the back row to the right (#10).

While I was in Brenham, I FINALLY made it to the Blue Bell Factory! (I can mark that off my 101 in 1001 list!) They don't have tours on Saturdays, but the gift shop and ice cream parlor portion is still open. They do show a video in the parlor area which basically shows everything you would see on the tour. Honestly, I just wanted the Blue Bell, I was okay with no tour. :)

About to enter "The Promised Land".

Blue Bell Country!

I learned that Blue Bell employees get ALL THE BLUE BELL THEY CAN EAT in their break room. FOR FREE. I think I would weigh 600 pounds if I worked there. I guess they take their motto of "We eat all we can, and we sell the rest" VERY seriously!! :)

Me and Mary rocking our Blue Bell hats!

While I was visiting, we walked around Brenham for a while. It is a cute little town (well, little compared to Dallas). There are a lot of shops in the downtown area, including some antique shops (which I love). If you ever find yourself in Brenham, I recommend taking the time to walk around. The residents are super nice, and you can pretty much find Blue Bell ice cream anywhere! :)

I like to think this sign is on the gates to heaven.

I made a new friend at one of the furniture stores in town...

There were hand towels in a booth that was set up in one of the shops. I liked these the best.

Oh, since I am talking about nephews in the playoffs, I have to give a quick shout out and good luck wish to my nephew Peter, who is also a senior. His football team is in the playoffs this weekend too!! Go Cougars! Thankfully Jake and Peter's schools are in different divisions, so they wouldn't end up playing each other in any games during the playoffs. There will be peace in the family! :)

Peter after his last home game of the regular season.

Hope everyone is doing well!! I'm trying to catch up on all my blog commenting (sometimes I have a bad habit of reading, but not leaving a comment). I'm still reading your blogs though!! :)

XOXO!

What I'm Loving...Thursday

I had a post all ready for "What I'm Loving Wednesday", but didn't get a chance to upload it yesterday. So, I decided to do a What I'm Loving Thursday post instead!!

I'm loving... 

That I got to attend my great-nephew E's birthday party last weekend. A portion of my family was there and it's always fun to hang out with them!

If you couldn't tell, E had a Sesame Street theme!

Aunt Rachel and the birthday boy!

I'm loving...

That I got to spend so much time with my two snuggle bugs this past weekend!

C sitting on Aunt Rachel's lap, showing her a game on the iPad.

E showing Aunt Rachel his new Jake and the Neverland Pirates ship!

I'm loving...

That my company allows employees to bring kids to go trick or treating around the office. Granted, we get no work done the afternoon they are here, but the kids enjoy it. We also have a few employees that dress up for the occasion!

I'm loving...

That I can stream Netflix on my iPhone. Not that I would ever do that at work now that we have WiFi. And not that I'm watching Thor right now.

Hello there Thor...

I'm loving...

My new T-shirt from Norma's Cafe. They sent me a tweet a while back saying next time I went in, I could have a free shirt. Weehoo!!

Best chicken fried steak (and sweet tea) in the Dallas area. A must visit if you are in town!

I'm loving...

That I'm going out of town to see my sister Mary this weekend. We are going to my nephew's football game on Friday night then "painting the town red" on Saturday. Please have bail money ready. ;) I'm excited that my sister Martha will also be there on Friday night for the football game (it's senior night for the players).

Me and my sisters with our dad last year at Thanksgiving. (l-r) Martha, my dad, Mary, and me. Yes, I know, I'm the tall one of the bunch.

Have a great day!!

XOXO!!