Randomness with Rachel: Oh hey- I still have a blog

For those of you who only keep up with me through my blog, yes, I am alive! Barely. But I'm alive! No, I don't have a good excuse why I haven't blogged since October. There are times where I sit down and think, huh, I could update my blog. Then ~~Netflix happens~~ something else comes up and I don't get around to it. For those wondering, yes, I do miss blogging. I think back to when I would update my blog almost everyday. I miss those days. I miss the motivation to update my blog. I'm sad that I only updated my blog 34 times last year. ONLY 34 times. That's so sad. That doesn't even average once a week.

I've gone through a lot the past two years. Some of it I have shared on here (like this) and some of it I've kept to myself. I've kept a lot of things to myself lately, so don't feel left out. I'm not really talking to anyone about it, so I'm not excluding my blogging friends. Last year I became almost a recluse (which is SO unlike me). I only made it to about 20 Rangers games (if you know me, you know that's NOT a lot). I even turned down free tickets to some games (this is going to cause a lot of you to panic about my well-being). There were so many times I wanted to just sit in my apartment by myself instead of going out and being with friends. I know some of my friends definitely noticed it and expressed their concerns. It happens though.

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and she mentioned that I got so used to going 100 miles an hour and being social all the time, that it feels "abnormal" for me to want to be myself. I guess there is nothing wrong with that, it just feels weird to me. I definitely need more "me" time than I used to. But I'm hoping to get back to my social self where I actually go out and have a life. Lol.

Okay, this post is so not going how I wanted it to. It sounds so depressing. Let me cheer it up some. Oh, I can update my 101 in 1001 List. That should be a little bit cheerier! :)

5. Visit three Presidential Libraries that I've never been to before (2/3)

I can cross another one off my list. Over Christmas I went to visit the George Bush Library (41) in College Station. I really enjoyed it. I remember all of his term (I was a kid, but I remember it), so I found it very interesting.

My first order of business as president would be to make Opening Day of baseball a national holiday.

A piece of the Berlin Wall. I remember so well when it was torn down.

11. Visit a National Park that I've never been to before

This isn't exactly what I thought of when I put this down as a goal, but I went to Seattle in November with some friends, and we visited the Klondike Gold Rush museum, and it's a registered National Park. Check out the website here if you don't believe me (or the sign in the picture below). We didn't originally plan to see it (it was recommended by someone at another museum we visited). It was really interesting. If you are ever in Seattle, check it out!

26. Make clothing donation once a year to local charity (1/3)

I did this back in late October. I made the donation to a charity that was helping kids raise money for a school trip. My closet seemed so empty afterward. I had to go shopping for new outfits. :)

40. Take some online classes offered by my company

I actually just signed up today for some classes!

47. No sweets for a week (not including sugarless gum), 4 times (1/4)

I did this last week! I have to admit, after the week was over, I had a glass of sweet tea, and it tasted amazing.

48. Cook dinner at home every night for a week, 10 times (1/10)

I'm pretty sure Chick-Fil-A is going to put an APB out for me since I haven't been there in weeks. I've been good about not eating out this year.

94. Spend a weekend away from electronic devices

I did this back in November. It was nice, I spent the weekend cleaning my apartment and reading. I should have given my friends a heads up I was doing it though. I turned off my phone Friday afternoon and didn't turn it back on until Sunday night. I had six voice mails and over 500 text messages. Oops!

**Attend games at five MLB ballparks I've never been to before**

I can't count this since I didn't go to a game there, but when I was in Seattle in November, I did go by Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Mariners).

Just a Rangers fan outside Safeco

More pictures from my Seattle trip:

We stayed in this Hostel, it was very cool. It was one time a hotel that actors stayed in when they were filming in Seattle.

My travel buddies- Mel and Aaron!

On a boat tour of Seattle

We had wonderful weather for our trip. We were there five days and it only rained once!

Made a new friend at the aquarium

We had a great view of Mount Rainier

I was fascinated by this alley full of gum

Look what I found!

This sports bar was next to our hostel- we went there a lot.

We (well, me and Aaron) had to watch the Cowboys game that Sunday morning. It was weird having the game start at 10am (PST). We found some fellow Cowboys fans though!