What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I had a wonderful time with my great-nephew Christian last weekend. He spent the whole weekend with me and we did SO MUCH. I took him to his first baseball game (Frisco Roughriders) on Friday night, we spent most of Saturday at the Dallas Zoo, and then we went swimming that evening. I also introduced him to the greatness that was the 1970s TV show version of The Incredible Hulk (I had his mother's permission to let him watch it). He liked that the Hulk was a "real" guy and not a "computer graphic". 

For his first professional baseball game, he not only saw a win, but he got to meet two players, got a hug from one of the mascots, AND we got to sit on the field to watch post-game fireworks. And Aunt Rachel bought him a Riders teddy bear.

He was enjoying the fireworks show so much, I had to try and get a photo of it

We had matching tattoos for the game

His first trip to the Dallas Zoo with Aunt Rachel in 2010 (left) and then our visit on Saturday (right). He's getting so big!

We rode the DART train to the zoo, he was super excited about that!

This boy loves elephants. We take a picture of this same pose each time we go to the zoo (2010, 2014, 2016). This might be my last time to hold him though, he's getting heavy!

We ate lunch at Chick Fil-A one day (I know you are shocked)

One last picture before I took him home

I'm loving...

That the Rangers came back to beat the Yankees after a 3 hour (plus) rain delay last night. They were down by one run in the ninth when the game was delayed due to rain in NY. Over three hours later, the game resumed and the Rangers took the lead and went on to win the game 9-6. I love this video of Adrian Beltre giving the Rangers the lead. The two kids jumping up and down are Beltre's son and Prince Fielder's son. I love it! :) This win was the Rangers 50th of the season. They are the first MLB team to hit 50 wins so far this season.

I'm loving...

That by the time this posts (I'm typing it on Tuesday), I will be on the road to St. Louis. My friends and I plan to leave Dallas by 8am . We are making a quick stop in Little Rock, AR so I can cross the Clinton Library off my presidential library list.

I'm taking a little carry on suitcase for the trip. I tried the "rolling" technique for my clothes. Supposedly they won't wrinkle if you roll them. If all my vacation pictures show me in wrinkly clothes, you'll know the technique didn't work. 

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I got to go home last weekend for Father's Day weekend. I surprised my folks by showing up on Friday afternoon, they didn't know I was going to be there. My sweet kiddos (AKA my great-nephew and great-niece) live next door and when they saw my car, they immediately came over to see me (well, they came to see my phone, they love taking pictures, especially with SnapChat).

I'm loving...

That I got to dog-sit for my neighbor last week. She had to go out of town and needed someone to stay with her dog Holly. She's a good dog, we went on a few walks and she got spoiled with belly-rubs (she's quite the diva). :) 

I'm loving...

That I'm going to cross two ballparks off my Major League Ballpark list this summer. Next week I will be in St. Louis and just got my ticket to a Cardinals game (I'll refrain from spitting on the sidewalk). ;) They will be playing the Royals next week, so I'll be there for a Missouri showdown! 

I'm loving...

SnapChat. It can be very entertaining (especially when you are bored or can't sleep). I know, there are selfie haters out there, but SnapChat makes them funny, at least to me. The filters are fun. Here are a few snaps that got saved to my phone (these are over a span of like two weeks, they were NOT all sent the same day). For the record, the one of me in my car was taken while I was NOT driving. There was construction and a wreck on the way to my folks last Friday and I sat for almost an hour NOT moving. I was about to get out of my car and make friends with people around me. If you want to follow me on SnapChat, my handle is Averyfan.

I really don't care for West Coast games, they start too late!

I'm loving...

That my BFF's sweet five-year old felt I needed cookies delivered to my office when she heard I was having a bad day. Tiff's Treats will deliver freshly baked goodies to someone (seriously, they were so fresh the cookies were still warm). They have locations in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and I believe Atlanta. They also deliver ice cream, because there was a pint of Blue Bell included as well. :)

I'm loving...

That I can update some of my 101 in 1001 list. I'm so behind with it. I only have until October to complete it. Looks like I probably won't get it all done this time.

17. Organize storage unit

This was actually done a few months ago, I've just been HORRIBLE about posting updates to this list. I got rid of about six Rubbermaid containers. Now the majority of the stuff in my storage unit is all my Christmas decorations. :)

27. Take books I'm not going to re-read to Half Price Books or library donation drop-off

This was also done a few months ago. I took most of my CD collection (that I possibly ripped to my laptop before getting rid of them) and a bunch of books to Half Price Books. 

44. Volunteer for company's Habitat for Humanity team.

Sadly my company is no longer partnering with H4H, so I had to remove this from the list. BUT, I just found out that my church DOES volunteer for H4H, so I'm going to do that instead. I missed this year, but I will volunteer next year!

66. Attend 7 musicals/plays I have never seen (4/7) 

Since I saw some of these in early 2015, I've been REALLY bad about keeping up with this one!

-Ragtime

-My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra

-The Sound of Music (I've seen the movie, but never the live musical)

-Newsies (again, I've seen the movie but never the live musical)

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: Dropped Third Strike

**All reviews on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.**

Dropped Third Strike by Micah K. Chaplin

It is NO secret that I'm a HUGE baseball fan, so I LOVED the baseball aspect of this book, but even for a casual or non-baseball/sports fan, this book is an enjoyable read and I loved it.

In so many books today (especially romance books), the characters are so perfect and "flawless" that it's not only unrealistic, it's ridiculous. Who can relate to someone who is so perfect? I know I can't. I love that the characters in this book have their own individual imperfections, so they are easier to relate to and seem more "real".

Now, I don't work for a major league baseball team (I could only wish), but I could relate to Kate in some ways. She has insecurities and hang-ups that we all have (even if we wish we didn't). I can also relate to what she goes through with her singleness- the struggle can be very real.

I love that the author included a glossary of baseball terms (to help out those non-baseball fans). I hope that this encourages a non-fan to give the book a chance. You never know, you might also fall in love with the sport of baseball! :)

I have high hopes that this will become a series because there were some minor characters in the book that could have their own story line. I look forward to the next one! :)

Why yes, I did order an autographed copy! :)

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That a new Chick Fil-A opened by my office and the manager gave everyone in my building a promotional card for a free chicken sandwich.

I'm loving...

That Bath & Body Works brought back limited edition "Flashback Fragrances" this month. I possibly stocked up on some of my favorites from college. 

I smell a whole lot like 1996. Ah, memories!

I refuse to admit that I have a Bath & Body Works addiction. Stop judging me...

I'm loving...

That my best friend is letting me read the newest story she is writing. She sends me a few chapters at a time. I spent last Saturday night reading the first five chapters. :)

Picture blurred for obvious reasons (I can't have part of her unpublished story on the internet, come on people)

I'm loving...

That I spent my Friday night organizing my closet (well, I'm loving that it's finally clean and organized, not that I have no life and was home on a Friday night). Lol. 

I organized my Rangers shirts by color. For the record, it will NOT stay like this. After the next load of laundry, I'm sure they will all get jumbled up again. :)

I'm loving...

That I saw seven consecutive Rangers games last week. They won six of the seven games. Yes, I'm crazy. Yes, you knew the Rangers would make this post at some point. I tweeted out that my attendance streak would end at six games because game seven was last Thursday during the day. I said I couldn't get off work. My friend Corinne tweeted that I needed an excuse note to miss work, so the Rangers tweeted me a note to show my boss. I jokingly showed it to my boss and she was like, "fine, if the Rangers are excusing you, you can have the afternoon off", so I went to a little day baseball (which is always fun). Yes, I have an AMAZING boss and work for a great company that they would let me have a day off with such short notice.

I forgot to wear my cap to the sixth game and they lost that game. The Rangers teased me about it

Day baseball with friends is fun! The picture on the bottom left shows mine and my friend Misti's reaction to Prince Fielder's home run. We had possibly been talking smack about him and we felt that he showed us up by hitting the home run. :) My nephew Peter (top left) was at the game with his church so I had to get a picture with him. Yes, in the picture of the shoes, I'm the one with the ghostly white legs. Lol. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see two of my Twitter peeps at the games. I got to sit with my friend Steve last Wednesday night and I met up with my friend Phillip at the day game!

I'm loving...

That TCM was streaming one of my favorite movies online this week. This movie starred Nancy Reagan (when she was Nancy Davis). I also love TCM On Demand streaming. It's great for classic movie fans such as myself! :)

I'm loving...

That my friend Micah is mailing me a copy of her newest book. I've already read it (I helped her with edits), but I can't wait to read it again. It's great! A review of the book will be up on my blog SOON (so stay tuned!) :)

I'm loving...

That BMW stopped by my office today and allowed employees to test drive different cars. I test drove an electric car (which was different). There is no coasting so as soon as you take your foot off the gas pedal, you come to a stop. It was fun though! All of these pictures were taken when the car was STOPPED (just do you know that I don't take pictures while driving). :)

What are YOU loving this week?

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

Rangers baseball. I know it's a long season and we are only in June, but man, the Rangers have been playing great baseball lately. I've been there the past five nights (well, it was an afternoon game on Sunday, but I was there). Yes, five games in a row, you read that correctly. I MIGHT have an addiction. And it looks like someone is trying to talk me into going tonight. We will see. 

My Rangers baseball adventures Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thanks to my friend Dawn for the ticket on Saturday! It's always a blast seeing a game with her!

Sunday evening ShutdownInning.com hosted a Twitter party in one of the RoughRider suites. It was fun hanging out with my baseball family and meeting up with some Twitter friends!

My awesome friend Amber was in town last weekend and got tickets to the game Monday night. She was sweet enough to invite me. We had great seats! I also ran into my college buddy Marc and got to meet my sweet Twitter friend Wade, who was in town to see a game. And the evening ended with a walk-off Rangers win. I wish all my Mondays were as fun as that one!

Last night at the game I stopped by the season ticket holder office to visit my two favorite Rangers employees, Mike and Jon. Jon has been my ticket rep since 2011. He's awesome! If you ever think about getting season tickets or a mini plan for the Rangers, let me know. I'll give you Jon's information. He's the best!

I'm loving...

This interview with Stan Lee. He threw out the first pitch at the Rangers game on Saturday night. He is a NATIONAL TREASURE!

I'm loving...

That the Rangers Twitter account fully supports my baseball addiction.

I'm loving...

That I finally got to meet this cutie last Sunday night at a RoughRider baseball game (yes, I went to the Rangers game that afternoon then the RoughRider game that evening. Don't judge me.) Thanks to my friend Matt (B's dad) for letting me use this picture on my blog!! :) I tried to take him with me, but Matt and his wife wouldn't let me. Lol.

I'm loving...

When I'm able to meet up with a friend for lunch during the week. Last week my friend Bob and I went to Pei Wei for lunch (which is so out of character for us, we normally meet up at Whataburger). Lol.

I'm loving...

That no matter how many unread books I own, if Half Price Books has a clearance sale, I'm there. No book is over $2. You can't pass that up. I only bought 7 this time (opposed to the 20 I bought last time I went). I don't have a book problem... :)

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

It's OK...

It's OK...

...that I've had to bite my tongue so much this past week over news stories flooding my social media timelines. I've wanted to throw things. I've even become stabby in some cases.

And these aren't even stories related to politics. Everyone and their mother thinks they are an expert regarding the gorilla incident at the Cincinnati Zoo. School districts want to do away with valedictorians and members of the National Honor Society being recognized at graduations because it will hurt the feelings of students who didn't do as well. You know what, I'm done. I'm ready to check out. Find me my own planet, I don't want to live on this one anymore. Okay, I wasn't going to go all RAGE-y about it, but it's my blog, I can do what I want. Bear with me...

First of all, the incident at the zoo was sad and unfortunate. I love animals, I love zoos. I don't think zoos are bad places. I think it's a great place to learn about animals you otherwise never would see in person. Most zoos take great care of their animals and love and respect them and would never want to harm them in any way. But at the end of the day, a decision was made and in my book, a human life > an animal life (regardless who was at fault- I'm not even touching that part of the story). 

And the whole not wanting to recognize those students who received National Honors makes me really mad. I'm not ready to live in a world full of this generation that has been raised with the "everyone deserves a trophy" mentality. You know what, life isn't always fair. You don't always get what you want or what the person next to you has-SUCK. IT. UP. I wasn't valedictorian. I wasn't even in the top half of my graduating class (I was in the half that made the top half possible). And you know what, I've done just fine in my life. I've had many professional and personal successes. I'm happy. I have friends and a family that love me (or at least that tolerate me. Lol). I don't feel like I am less of a person because I wasn't recognized as a top scholar in high school. I'm so tired of people thinking they are entitled to something every time they get their feelings hurt. 

...that I just went all postal on here. Sorry about that. Rant over. I will now continue on with my usual silly and fun It's OK post. Lol.

...that I have this unhealthy addiction to teen angst TV shows. Thanks to my friend Cara, I watched season one of this TV show called Scream (loosely based on the movie series by the same name. VERY loosely based). It was only 13 episodes long, so thanks to Netflix, I watched it in about 3 days (okay, only a day and a half, I didn't want to be judged).

Yeah, that is what I said...

Each episode was super ridiculous, but of course, I kept watching (because it's an addiction, I just can't quit). And evidently there is a season two about to start on MTV. Hey- remember when MTV played music videos? Do they even do that anymore?

Cara and I are convinced we could do a TV show of us making snarky comments while we watch all these teen angst shows. It would be greatness. Maybe not as great as Mystery Science Theater 3000, but close. Oh, I also got sucked back into Pretty Little Liars on Netflix. I just started season 6. It's not quality television, by any means. Sometimes you just want to watch something where you don't have to think too much about anything. This is the perfect show for that.

I feel this way during a lot of the episodes

...that I'm over all of this rain. I KNOW we are going to go through some kind of drought later this summer and will be begging for rain, so I'm trying not to complain (too much), but seriously, it's depressing having rain every day. And we won't even go into all the flooding around the state. It's awful. You need a boat just to commute to work (or more importantly, to Whataburger).

...that my summer calendar is almost completely booked. I'm excited about my vacations I'm planning out though, and I'm super-excited that my great-nephew C is going to come spend a weekend with me this month. I'm taking him to his first Rangers game and then we will spend a day at the Dallas Zoo (because that boy loves animals). :)

My sweet boy!

What's OK with you today?

XOXO!