What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I know, it's been a week since I last posted! Sorry about that- just blame laziness. And I was out of town over the weekend, but mainly it was due to laziness. :) And Netflix. Blast you Netflix. 

It's time once again to link up with yours truly, and Jodi, for What I'm Loving Wednesday! Be sure to tell your friends and followers about the link up, we would love to have more blogs to check out! :) As always, please be sure to link your post back to our link up (feel free to grab our nifty button located on the sidebar). Also, check out and leave a comment on the blog listed ahead of yours. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see my best friend Mandy over the weekend. If you are new to my blog, this is my best friend I've known almost 27 years. She lives in Austin so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like, so we make the most of any time we have with each other. Sadly my time on Saturday was just about six hours, but we had fun. Yes, I drove (round trip) 7.5 hours to spend six hours with a friend. Totally worth it! :)

I'm loving...
The sweet hugs and kisses I got from these adorable kiddos (Mandy's kids). It was Miss E's birthday the other day, and she invited me to her party last Saturday (that was the main reason I made the drive to Austin, but spending time with Mandy was a bonus!) :)

I can't believe Aunt Rachel's sweet girl is already 4!! I love our "duck lips" picture in the right upper corner. She's slowly perfecting it. Lol. 

It was harder to get pictures with A, but we managed a few good ones! :)

I'm loving...
My sweet Twitter friends Will and Brandon for talking me off the ledge when I wanted to throw my laptop out the window last night. I was working on my blog post when my computer just shut down (no warning). I got a message that it was updating (which lasted about 30 minutes). Then I got another message that said the update didn't work and it was undoing all changes (that took almost an hour). At the 45 minutes mark, my laptop was in danger of taking a flying leap out my apartment window. Now it's almost midnight and I'm trying to get this blog post done before I go to bed. I know, it's my fault for procrastinating.

I'm loving...
Free steak dinners. I mean, who doesn't? Well, besides vegans and vegetarians. A friend of mine was invited to a seminar (she's in the medical field) that included a free dinner at Chamberlain's Steak House. She was allowed to bring a guest. Technically the guest was supposed to be in the medical field as well, but we overlooked that part.

The steak was not that dark, I know it looks burnt here, but it wasn't. I think it was the lighting in the room. Trust me, it was just perfect. As were the mashed potatoes. I'm getting hungry looking at this picture.

I'm loving...
This picture of my sweet little great-niece, Miss L. I can't wait to meet her!!

I'm loving...
The features on PicMonkey. I'm so addicted to this website. I make a lot of my picture collages for my blog on this website. It's also how I put the watermark on my pictures. They just added a new feature that allows you to make pictures into comic books. I had too much fun with that! Lol.

I'm loving...
That I can update my 101 in 1001 list. I made a tater tot casserole the other day. My sister makes this sometime, but I followed a recipe on this blog here (because I couldn't find the recipe my sister sent me). The only thing I changed is that I used broccoli instead of green peas. I also altered the cooking time to 25 minutes instead of 30 minutes (my oven seems to cook faster than what most recipes call for). While the broccoli was okay in it, I think next time I'll just leave it out and have it as a side dish. :)

101 in 1001 List. #49. Learn to cook 10 new meals. I am now at 5/10. :)

I embraced my inner Baptist and made a casserole... :)

Thanks to everyone who links up with us!! If you didn't get a chance to link up today, we do this every Wednesday, be sure to come back next week!! If you didn't do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post, but want to comment below with what you are loving, I'd love to hear it! :)

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!!