The ABC's Of Me- Blog Challenge Day 2

Day 2: What is something that describes you from each letter of the alphabet?

A: A.D.D. Seriously, I have the attention span of a two year- ooh, what's that, something shiny!

B: Baseball. If you have read any other posts on my blog, I'm sure you are quite aware I love baseball.

C: Chick Fil-A. I could literally eat there every day.

My love of baseball and Chick Fil-A in the same picture! :)

D: Dr Pepper. Seriously, it's like sweet nectar from heaven.

E: Elvis. I'm a big Elvis fan (and I mean that as in Elvis Presley AND Elvis Andrus). :)

Seriously, how could you not like either Elvis? :)

F: Friend. I try to be the kind of friend I would want. 

G: Guns. Nothing like going to the shooting range to let off a little steam.

Say hello to my little friend...

H: History. I love learning about history. I've been known to plan vacations around what kind of museums I can see while I'm there. :)

I: Ice cream. I love me some Blue Bell!

Me and my sister touring the Blue Bell factory

J: Jesus follower. I think this speaks for itself!

K: Kindhearted. Well, I try to be. Unless you cut me off in traffic, then I unleash my wrath. :) But seriously, I hate hurting someone's feelings, so I try my best to be nice in (most) circumstances. 

L: Laugh. I love to laugh and to make other people laugh. I make myself laugh all the time, I feel I'm quite funny, I could have my own comedy TV show. :)

See, my nephew E thinks I'm funny! :)

M: Musicals. I enjoy a good Broadway show, or a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein production.

N: Nerd. It's true, and not like book smart nerd, I'm just overall nerdy. ;)

O: Old movies. I love watching the classics. Especially anything with Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, or Cary Grant. I love them all. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is my favorite cable station!

P: Pictures. I take lots AND lots of pictures (in case you haven't noticed).

Q: Queso. I love queso, oh so much. I'm pretty sure it should be in a food group all by itself!

R: Reader. I love to read. I have so many books my friends borrow from me instead of a library! 

S: Silly. I tend to be very silly sometimes. Again, have you read my blog at all? :)

I also have silly friends! :)

T: Talkative. If you ever meet my family, you'll know where I get it from. Good luck trying to get a word in at any family function! :)

U: Unique. I know, it's cheating to use this word because EVERYONE is unique. But, I'm using it anyways! How many other gals do you know who love Steve Avery, Chick Fil-A, Dick Van Dyke, and will spend money to go see the surviving members of The Monkees in concert? Yeah, didn't think so. Side note: Yes, I'm going to a Monkees concert tonight. Be very jealous. :)

V: Vivacious. Someone I work with used this word to describe me recently, I had to use it, it made me laugh.

W: Writer. Obviously, I mean, I have a blog, I must love to write. I also used to be a sports writer for a newspaper (I know, shocker!) :) And I've been trying to write a novel for some time, it's a slow process. :)

X: X-ray. Thanks to a few car accidents and also my own clumsiness, I've had more than my share of X-rays done. And seriously, how many words start with "X"? I never played the xylophone so I couldn't use that one. 

Y: Young at heart. I sometimes forget I'm not as young as I used to be, but hey, you are only as old as you act feel, right? ;)

Z: Zoo. I love going to the zoo. I'm hoping my sweet great-nephews and my new great-niece will come see me soon so we can go visit the Dallas Zoo again! :)

I just realized this picture is three years old. My little monkeys need to come back for another zoo trip! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! Thanks for all the positive feedback on my challenge! Again, leave me a link to your blog if you participate. I look forward to your posts!

XOXO!

DID YOU MISS ME??

No need to adjust your computer/phone screens, you are seeing what you think you are seeing- I'm actually posting on my blog! I hate that it's been so long. I've missed y'all. I could bore you with the details to explain my absence, but I won't. The "Cliffs Notes" version is that a lot has been going on at work and in my personal life, so blogging has taken a backseat. I hope to be back to posting on a regular semi-regular basis now!

I thought I would catch y'all up with a Thursday 13:

13 things I've been doing since I last blogged 

(which was in August. Sheesh- where did September go??!)

1. I hung out with Al Capone. Okay, not really (duh-he's dead), but some friends and I went on vacation to Memphis and made a detour through Hot Springs, Arkansas where we visited the Gangster Museum of America. This is really a must see if you visit Hot Springs, it was so interesting! After the tour, we even got to hold a replica of Al Capone's gun (that sucker was heavy, I'm used to a Glock 19 myself). ;)

Chillin' with Al Capone

Say hello to my little friend...

More of our Hot Springs adventures (we got there late in the day so we only had time to tour a bath house and the gangster museum).

2. I FINALLY made it to Graceland!! This was the main reason my friends Aaron, Mel, Monica, and I made the seven hour drive from Dallas to Memphis. It was awesome. The tour was cool. They gave you an audio guide so you could go through at your own pace. If you go visit, I recommend getting there first thing in the morning. We got there at 9am (when it opened) and there were already a lot of people. It just got more crowded as the day went on. You can only tour the first floor (the second floor is roped off out of respect and privacy for the Presley family), but it was still cool. I'm only going to post a few pictures here. I took about 1500 of my whole Memphis weekend trip (sadly, I'm not lying). If I upload any to my blog's Facebook page later on, I'll post a link.

I loved that Elvis had a pink Cadillac. I wonder if he sold Mary Kay?? :)

What can I say? I'm a rebel (and don't follow orders well). :)

3. I stood on the exact spot where Elvis was standing while recording songs. Well, at least according to the guide at Sun Studios. :) It was still cool to think that at one time Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis were all in this exact room just hanging out.

4. I learned how to make a guitar. Well, I took a tour at the Gibson Guitar Factory in Memphis and I know the process they follow. It takes three weeks just to make one guitar. We couldn't take pictures inside on the actual tour, only in the lobby and in the gift shop.

My group looking awesome wearing the safety glasses required for the tour. I really liked that blue guitar so I snapped a picture of it. It cost about six grand so I decided NOT to buy it. :)

5. I met a man named Smokey on Beale St. while in Memphis. He worked at this record store my friends and I went into. He was so sweet and very funny. He hugged all of us and kept calling us "visions of beauty". I think he danced with my friend Mel at one point. He was so honored we wanted to take a picture with him!

6. I successfully completed a project I discovered on Pinterest. My nephew's fiancee is a first year teacher and I made this little "survival kit" for her. To see details on how to make it, click here for the Pinterest link. BTW, I mailed it to her and she loved it. :)

Teacher Survival Kit

7. I thoroughly cleaned my apartment (and got rid of about 7 boxes of clothes and unwanted items). I don't have a before picture (trust me, it was bad), but here is the after picture of my living room (taken from the upstairs loft).

8. I tried not to sink into a deep depression after the Rangers lost the AL West title. They still have a chance of being a wild card team if they can win tomorrow, but honestly, they've been playing like crap. I'm not getting my hopes up too high, BUT REGARDLESS, I still love my guys. Some of them a little more than others. We've been spoiled the past two years. I know they can't make the postseason EVERY year. I'm still a little sad though.

Remembering the good times with the Rangers this year...

9. I went to my nephew Peter's high school football game. It was a great game, they won 55-14. Go Cougars!!

Friday Night Lights.

Aunt Rachel's star athlete!

10. I was super excited to receive gifts from my friend Harrie. She used to live in London and bought me these during the Summer Olympics. I love them!!

11. I went to a Cowboys game at Jonestown (AKA, Cowboys Stadium). The game wasn't that good, but I had fun hanging out with my friends!

A view from our seats and hanging out with my friend Michael before the game!

My buddy Brian flew down from New York for the game (although I think he really flew down here because I lost a bet and owed him a steak dinner- which I paid for). Regardless of the terrible outcome of the game, we still had a good visit- it was fun!

12. I once again attempted to break up with Tony Romo after his less than stellar performance during the Cowboys/Bears game. I will never learn, this man is always going to break my heart. Sports are always going to break my heart. I tried to tell a friend I was giving up on sports, but he assured me it was an empty threat on my part (he was right). Why can't I be a normal girl who drinks wine and gets emotionally involved in shows like The Bachelor and Grey's Anatomy (BTW, no offense to any of you who watch those shows. I have good friends who love them!) :)

My Facebook status after the game. Yes, I am fully aware that I am a nerd. :)

13. I had a little too much fun on PicMonkey.com with their Halloween special effects. Seriously, it's addicting, y'all should check it out! You can upload pictures and create special effects (right now they have a lot of Halloween effects). Check it out here.

Vampire Ranger fans

Poster for the new movie: Night of the Living Dead Ranger Fans

That should catch you up for the most part on what's been going on. I really hope to get back to regular posting. Thank you for all the sweet emails, tweets, and texts asking if I was still doing a blog. It's good to know I was missed. Love y'all!!

XOXO!!

Blog Challenge 2012- Day 5

Day 5: What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now.

1. Jesus. I can't lie and say that my life is perfect and that I have everything I've ever wanted, but ya know what, at the end of the day, Jesus loves me, and that is all that matters! :)

2. My friends. I mention them a lot, don't I? :) I really appreciated all of them checking in on me while my mom was in the hospital. Thanks to everyone on Twitter and Facebook for your well wishes. Your prayers meant so much to me!!

Me with my baseball home girls at a Frisco Roughrider game on Friday night (Rangers minor league team). I'm wearing the new cap they got me for my birthday!

3. Baseball*

Dr Pepper Ballpark (where the Roughriders play). We sat on the lawn just past the outfield wall (gate?), they were actually cool seats! And only $7!

4. My trip to Memphis in September. Some friends and I are going to visit Graceland (finally!) I'm excited, I've always wanted to go! :)

I promise to take pictures of any Elvis sightings! :)

5. Netflix. Okay, maybe it's not really in the top five things that make me happy, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else at the moment. I have seriously become a Netflix junkie over the past week. I had to wait 2.5 hours at the DMV yesterday to renew my driver's license and was so thankful I had a Netflix app on my phone. I may shamefully admit a few TV shows that I have started watching on Netflix, but that's a post for another day!

 

*I am happy it's baseball season, but I am NOT happy with how the Rangers have been playing lately. I can't even talk about it. No really, I can't. As much as I *heart* Craig Gentry (he's an outfielder) when he comes in to PITCH during the game, you know it's has gotten bad. I wonder if Nolan Ryan could still pitch? At this point, I'm pretty sure my 3 year old nephew C could have pitched better than Scott Feldman. There, I said it. I'm not hitting the panic button YET, but I'm hovering over it.

It seemed shameful to mention Gentry and not post a picture. ;)

Hope y'all have a great day!

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That in less than 9 hours I will be on a plane to Arizona for my Rangers Spring Training Trip! Weehoo!! My goal is to get as many pictures with the players as I can (I prefer that to autographs, although autographs are nice too).

Just some baseball players who have had the pleasure and honor of meeting me. Starting at the top, l-r: Craig Gentry, Derek Holland, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton (okay, so I'm not really having my picture WITH him, but it's the closest thing I have), David Murphy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I know, he's no longer with the Rangers, but I miss him! And he's a cutie!) :)

I'm loving...

The musical Million Dollar Quartet. Some friends and I saw it last night at Music Hall in Fair Park. It is based on the fame recording session that included Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. For more about the musical, click here. If you live in Dallas, I recommend going to see it, it's so worth it. I think it's here through the weekend, check the Dallas Summer Musicals website here. I have to say the kid who played Elvis was awesome, he even looked A LOT like him. He had mad dancing skills too. I loved that all the actors were also musicians who played their own instruments. The guy portraying Jerry Lee Lewis nailed the piano playing. He probably could have stood on his head and played the piano. Here are some videos of the cast that I found via their website:

I'm loving...

That I will be off work until next Wednesday (can you tell I have nothing but VACATION on my brain today?)

Since I will be away from a computer until next Tuesday, this is my last blog post for a week. Try not to miss me too much!! I promise to post LOTS of pictures from my trip when I get back! If you just can't wait until then, you can follow me on Twitter here, I will upload pictures as often as I can! :)

XOXO!!