Thursday 13: Dick Van Dyke Movies

Back in November, I did my Thursday 13 on my favorite episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. I decided today to list 13 movies starring Dick Van Dyke. Because I'm too lazy to type out movie storylines, you can just click on the title of the movie, and it will take you to the IMDB link so you can read about it. So here they are in no particular order...

1. Mary Poppins: Of course my favorite movie OF ALL TIME would be listed first. Don't act surprised. :)

2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: I always thought this was a Disney movie growing up (maybe because the music sounded similar to Mary Poppins) but it's not. The Sherman Brothers (who wrote the music in Mary Poppins) wrote the music for this movie as well.

3. Night At the Museum: Am I the only person who stood up and started cheering in the movie theater when he first appeared on screen? Don't judge me...

4. Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.: I grew up watching this movie on The Disney Channel. I recently bought the DVD off of Amazon. I can't wait to watch it again.

5. Fitzwilly: I came across this on TCM one day. Loved it! It also stars Barbara Feldon, AKA Agent 99 from Get Smart. 

6. Bye Bye Birdie: Not my favorite musical of all time, but worth it to see Mr. Van Dyke. 

7. Murder 101: This was a TV movie that aired on the Hallmark Channel back in 2006. I believe there were four of them in the movie series. His son Barry and grandson Shane also starred in them.

8. Diagnosis Murder: This was a TV movie that eventually kicked off his TV show by this name. The roles of Jack and Amanda were played by different people in these movies.

9. Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb: I liked this one almost as much as the first one in the trilogy. I didn't like the second one as much, maybe because Mr. Van Dyke wasn't in it. :)

10. Divorce American Style: It's difficult watching any movie where Dick Van Dyke is married and doesn't play a happy, wholesome, Rob Petrie type character, but still worth a watch. :)


11. Diagnosis Murder: Without Warning: This was the TV movie that ended the series Diagnosis Murder (after an eight year run).

12. Curious George: Granted this is a cartoon, but he provided the voice of Mr. Bloomsberry.

13. Dick Tracy: He had a very small role but I had to mention it.

XOXO!

Happiness Is...

...a much needed text conversation with one of your best friends

...finding a Whataburger gift card in the back of your wallet

...spending time with a good friend who always sends you home with a bunch of books to read

...your friend trying to convince you to take up a new hobby (I'm not sure I'm gonna have the patience for knitting)

...receiving text messages with cute pictures of your nephews

...spending time with a dog (no, he isn't mine, he belongs to a friend) 

XOXO!

Thursday 13- Baseball Season Is Near!

This week pitchers and catchers reported to their Spring Training camps. HALLELUJAH! The start of baseball season is getting closer. For my Thursday 13 post, I decided to post 13 gifs that sum up my reaction to the start of baseball spring training (most importantly, spring training for my Texas Rangers). :)

1. I just want to high five everyone!

2. I can't contain myself around my baseball friends

3. I have no control over my balance I'm so happy!

4. When I see the updates the Rangers have made at the Ballpark this winter

5. I can't wipe the smile off my face while reading baseball articles

6. What I want to tell the "experts" who criticize my team

7. Tears of joy when I see pictures of players arriving at camp

8. Reuniting with my Twitter peeps who disappear during the off season

9. The need to start hugging strangers

10. Walking around dancing like this

11. Or dancing like this

12. I feel my life has meaning again

13. What I want to tell all my non-baseball friends who just don't understand 

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I got to spend time with my BFF Mandy last weekend! After five months of talking about it, we finally took our trip to Houston for the Supernatural convention. Even though the convention was fun, just being able to spend alone time with the BFF was worth the trip (she has two little kids, alone time never happens for her). :)

Her husband had roses delivered to our hotel. He also convinced the hotel to upgrade us to a suite room at no extra cost (he did this while we were driving to Houston, we didn't know until we checked in that he did that). He was very understanding seeing that she was spending Valentine's Day with her best friend and two actors instead of him. :)

This sign in the hotel lobby made us laugh. I wonder if the good folks of Miracle House of Prayer knew that the Supernatural convention was for a TV show, and not actual supernatural stuff. :)

First celebrity sighting of the convention was the Impala. I'm not sure if this is a car actually used on the show, but they had it all decked out as if the Winchester really drove it

We were able to hear Jim Beaver's (Bobby) panel. Since he's not a regular on the show anymore, he doesn't go to all the conventions, so it was cool to hear him speak

Rob Benedict (Chuck) ran down the aisles and went right by our seats

So the only main reason we went to the convention was to get a picture with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. Do not ask what we paid for this trip- we will lie because we don't want to be judged. It was worth it though. Even though the whole photo op process took less than 20 seconds, BUT, I did shake their hands, Jared acknowledged that he liked my shirt (it is one of his Always Keep Fighting campaign shirts), and the picture turned out better than I expected. (I was convinced for the four hours that it took for them to print out all the pictures that I had closed my eyes). Lol.

It really was a golden ticket! Lol

Waiting for our number to be called for the photo op 

We were both kinda wondering if the convention was worth it, until we saw how well our picture turned out. :) We also heard them speak during their panel. The guys are super nice and really seem to appreciate their fans.  

I'm loving...

That I got to meet up with one of my fav Twitter peeps last week. He owns the location that was hosting a Dallas Stars watching party so I stopped by. 

One of my fav Twitter peeps- Jerry! :)

That night two former Stars players were signing autographs so while I was there, I decided to get pictures and autographs with the two hockey players (I didn't want to be rude). :) Okay maybe that was the main reason I went by in the first place. :)

Former Stars goalie Marty Turco

Former Stars captain, Brenden Morrow

Slowly adding to my hockey memorabilia. Yes, I once convinced an usher to give me the "STOP" sign that they use at games while the puck is in play. :)

I'm loving...

That Lucy Holliday, the author of the book I reviewed here yesterday, replied to my post on Twitter. If you missed my review, check it out here. She retweeted it and her publishing company also responded.

What are you loving today?

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: A Night In With Audrey Hepburn

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and on one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

A Night In With Audrey Hepburn by Lucy Holliday

My wonderful niece-in-law Jennifer tagged me in a post about this book a few weeks ago on Instagram. I had never heard of it before then, but this is me whenever I see or hear anything about Audrey Hepburn.  

                                

I was intrigued. I immediately went online to see if it was available for check-out at the library near my house and I was sad to find out that NO branch of the Dallas Public Library carried it. After a search of local bookstores, I found a Barnes and Noble not TOO far from me that had the book in stock, so I "forced" myself to make a trip to buy a copy. I possibly bought two other books besides this one while I was there. I have no self-control in a bookstore.

First of all, this is a work of fiction. I don't want to lead people into believing this is some sort of biography of the great Audrey Hepburn by the title. This was a fun book to read, even if you AREN'T a die-hard fan of Audrey (like I am). The protagonist, Libby Lomax, in a kind-of-wannabe-actress who would rather spend her evenings at home watching Audrey Hepburn movies than be out socializing (I can relate to that-except being an actress part). When Libby goes through a life and career crisis, Audrey all of sudden appears next to her on the couch, ready to give her some much needed advice. What Audrey fan WOULDN'T like that?

I love how the author makes Audrey "come alive" in her writing. The stuff that Audrey says in the book is written in the style that Audrey would have said it. I could "hear" her voice in the dialogue. Libby is a likable character and next to Audrey Hepburn, I would say my favorite character is Libby's reliable best guy friend, Olly. I will admit to laughing out loud throughout the book, the characters are really great (even the ones you want to dislike).

This is a fast read (or at least it was for me) and is the perfect read for a weekend or vacation getaway. It's a simple plot (I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean it was easy to follow). I will admit, it starts out a little slow, but it picks up quickly. I like the author's writing style.

This is book one of a trilogy, I look forward to reading Libby's further adventures with classic Hollywood movie stars (book two has Marilyn Monroe in it).

XOXO! 

It's OK...

It's OK....

...that I got my feelings hurt this week so I've been grumpy for a few days. I'll get over it, I always do.

...that my grumpiness has caused me to feel like this around most people

...that I am 29 32 35 37 years old and I am FINALLY applying for a passport for the first time. Could I possibly be taking an out-of-country vacation this year? Stay tuned...

...that pretty much any text between me and my BFF this week mentions our weekend trip to Houston. Two. More. Days.

...that I don't have a totally free weekend until the end of April (okay, that's really NOT okay). I'm officially reserving that weekend as a "me" weekend. 

...that this is how I feel about working out lately. I had surgery on my toes last month and am just now able to wear "normal" shoes again. I had to stop my workouts while they recovered, so I got out of the habit. 

What's OK with you?

XOXO!