What I'm Loving Thursday

I'm loving...

That I'm trying to improve on my 5K time. After participating in my first 5K last year, I've decided to actually train for my next one. Last time I did it "cold turkey". I downloaded an app called Couch to 5K and I really enjoy it. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see my BFF Mandy last weekend while I was in Austin. We are going on 30 years of friendship this year!

I'm loving...

That two non-beer drinkers made a 45 minutes drive to a beer brewery just to support one of our favorite actors. Mandy and I love the show Supernatural and one of the stars (Jensen Ackles) just opened a brewery last week. We decided to show his business some support and went out there on Saturday. It's an awesome place (even if you are a non-drinker)- it's in Dripping Springs (just outside of Austin) and it is beautiful out there. They have a lot of seating (inside and outside) and there is a food truck available. They have a gated playground for kids and have a lot of areas for people to bring their dogs (on a leash, of course). We went out there on Saturday afternoon, and I really didn't expect Jensen to be there, but after sitting down for a few minutes, he walked by us. We didn't say anything the first time he walked by, but the second time he walked by, I stopped him and told him how much we enjoyed the atmosphere and that the place looked great. He stopped and chatted with us and expressed his appreciation that we were there checking it out. And he agreed to take a photo (Mandy's daughter was super excited to meet "Dean"). This was much cheaper than the time Mandy and I paid to get a photo with him at a Supernatural convention. Lol.

They also serve non-alcoholic drinks

I'm loving...

That I got to hang out with old friends this past weekend. My friend Thomas turned 40 and I went to his birthday party (I've known him since college). Another college friend Kris was there, it was great catching up with them and reminiscing on old memories. I also got to meet up with my friend Justin while I was in town, we went to high school together and hadn't seen each other in 20 plus years. 

I'm loving...

That I got to stay with my "summer mom" while I was in Austin. During the summer of 1998 I lived with this wonderful lady and her family. She has been calling me her "summer daughter" for 20 years now. :)

I'm loving...

That I got to visit the church I grew up in, I hadn't been by in about 13 years. This church will always be very dear to me. Sadly there aren't many members left from my time there, but there was one lady who remembered me. She kept saying "I can't believe you are little Rachel." :) I attended that church from age 5 to age 18.

Ms. Pat

I'm loving...

That I got to hear author Mike Cox speak on his book Legends & Lore of the Texas Capitol. Mandy and I went to hear him speak on Sunday (last thing I did before I left Austin). I can't wait to read the book- I'm a history nerd (especially Texas history) so I look forward to it.

I'm loving...

The cold weather. HA. Just kidding. Going to work when temperatures are in the single digits is not for me. I live in Texas for a reason (well, many reasons, but not having to deal with freezing temperatures in a main one). Lol.

I'm loving...

That I got to have lunch with my amazing friend Devin. You should just be jealous (even if you don't know him). :)

I'm loving...

That I got to attend a farewell dinner for my (now former) manager. When I interviewed at my place of employment ten years ago, she was the second person I interviewed with and she has been nothing but 1000% supportive of my career from the beginning. She retired last week and is going to sail the Caribbean with her husband. I'm going to miss my daily chats with her (and the never-ending supply of chocolate candy in her office). Lol.

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!

Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day!

Last week I was honored to once again join Norma's Cafe on their Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day tour. If you remember, I was asked to go last year and had a blast (see that post here). Basically, we rode around on a bus and stopped at different places to eat chicken fried steak all day. ALL DAY. Yes, all day. Have I said all day yet? Lol.

If you are a regular visitor of my blog, you know I LOVE Norma's Cafe. If you live in the DFW area (or come to visit), you must check out one of their five locations. This year proceeds from Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day at Norma's Cafe benefited the Dallas Stars Foundation (click here for more info on them). 

Our day started early at the Norma's location in Frisco where we had our first chicken fried steak of the day along with other yummy breakfast entrees. After last year I learned to pace myself early, so I only had one piece of bacon and some eggs along with my chicken fried steak. From there we headed just down the road and made a stop at Dr Pepper Arena, which is the practice location of our hockey team, the Dallas Stars. We were given a private behind the scenes tour by former Stars great Bob Bassen. Although the arena is open to the public to watch the team practice on the ice, not just anyone gets to see the locker room, workout room, and video room. There was a member of the Dallas Stars Foundation on the tour and he said in the eight years he's worked for them, he's only been back there twice. It was very cool!

We got to see their entertainment room, which has a ping pong table- it was folded up against the wall when we were there. There is also a kitchen area where a private chef cooks for the team and there is a long table for the team to enjoy a meal together. They have a theater room where they can watch film from previous games (we were told depending on how well the game went, that yelling can be heard while they are watching game tapes). Lol. We also go to see the training room.

It was so cool to be able to go into the locker room. We were told that the locker room in the American Airlines Center (where the team plays their games) is about the same size as the one at the practice arena. FYI- it's not that big. We were able to see where they store their equipment, and yes, I had permission to pick up a hockey stick, I didn't break any rules. :) Also, it is bad luck to step on the star logo on the floor. There were several so we were all walking around like it was hot lava. Lol.

In the workout room

Bob Bassen- super nice guy!

We made three stops along the tour for chicken fried steak: Cartwright's Ranch House in Denton, Bono's Chophouse and Saloon in Decatur, and Ranchman's in Ponder. 

Everyone has been asking for my reviews of the tour, so here you go. Not counting Norma's, the best chicken fried steak of the day was at Cartwright's. Hands down. It was so good. And I really liked the atmosphere there. It's located right across from the Denton County Courthouse. The square around the courthouse seems to have some nice shops, I should go back and check them out! Bono's Chophouse had the best sides, including homemade cream corn which was AMAZING. They have something called Armadillo Toes which is jalapenos stuffed with cheddar cheese and wrapped in bacon (they had me at wrapped in bacon). Delicious (and I'm not usually a fan of jalapenos). They also had the best bread pudding I have ever tasted. I was sad we only had a little sample of it. Ranchman's served us chicken fried steak tenders (which honestly was nice since it was towards the end of the day and I'm not sure I could have handled another whole chicken fried steak). Their tenders were very good. They also had cobbler, which I didn't try, but everyone else said it was great. I would recommend trying out any of those locations if you are nearby. Our day ended back at Norma's where they sent us home with chicken fried steak sliders (our FIFTH meal of the day). I didn't eat it that night though. I didn't eat anything until late in the day on Friday because I was so full. Lol.

My chicken fried steak meals. Top (l-r) Bono's, Norma's. Bottom (l-r) Cartwright's, Norma's, Ranchman's (this is not my plate though, I only managed to eat two tenders). Lol.

Ranchman's in Ponder is next door to the Ponder State Bank, which according to local legend, was once held up by Bonnie and Clyde. They tried to get into the safe by coming through the back of the vault. They got in but were unable to open the safe. There was a man named Bill who was inside renovating the bank. We just wanted pictures outside but he opened the door and said we could come and take a look inside if we wanted to. He was so nice. Evidently he was on an episode of American Pickers recently. He is working to restore the bank to how it looked when Bonnie and Clyde were there. Everything there is original (some of it has been in storage for many years). He even let us going inside the vault to see the safe. They are going to open it up as a tourist attraction at some point. I would like to go back once they are done to see it again.

Just like last year, I had so much fun on the tour. It's nice to meet new people and go new places. I had never been to Decatur or Ponder before, despite not living too far from them. It's also fun to try new places to eat. I'm so thankful for my friends at Norma's for inviting me along! 

Bill and Ed crack me up!

My tour group!

Along with dinner, Norma's sent us all home with a goodies bag. I also won a wireless waterproof speaker and free pie for three months as part of the bus tour raffle. :) 

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Grab the button on the sidebar and link up for What I'm Loving Wednesday!! :)

I'm loving...

That I got to have dinner with my sweet Twitter friends Rachel and Kelsey last week. Well, we've met in person now, so we are no longer just Twitter friends. I'm so glad they were in town visiting! :) It was a lot of fun hanging out with them!

I'm loving...

The Girls Weekend I had with my nieces Alice and Stephanie last weekend (Stephanie's husband Kevin was an honorary invitee to some of the weekend events). We had a lot of fun (despite the fact the weather did NOT want to cooperate for some of it). 

So the picture in the bottom right corner is one I took as we were being driven home from dinner on Friday (thank you Uber for your wonderful service). It was raining so hard that the streets were flooding. Yeah, the water was almost at the same level as the car window. SO thankful we didn't get stuck. Or washed away.

My nieces and I went to Galveston for some girl time on Saturday. We ate at this wonderful place called the Mosquito Cafe. If you go to Galveston, you must stop there. The picture at the bottom right shows where the water level was after Hurricane Ike flooded Galveston in 2008. I'm about 5'8 and that line was a good six to seven inches higher than me. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see my nieces compete in the Run Like A Diva 5K in Galveston on Sunday. I'm so proud of them! Maybe next time I'll run with them. Maybe. I'm not a runner. Lol.

I'm loving...

That even though we only got to put our feet in the water, we still had a nice time at the Galveston beach on Sunday. And I'm loving that the sun was actually out. When we were there on Saturday it was cloudy and rainy most of the time. There is something so peaceful about the ocean. If I lived closer, I would go there to "de-stress" after a rough week.

I met a cute Corgi who was experiencing her first beach trip. She was a little nervous about the water and the waves.

I'm loving...

That I get to update my 101 in 1001 list! (2. Visit 7 places in Texas that I have never been to before). On our way back from Galveston, we made a quick side trip to the San Jacinto Monument and Memorial in La Porte. This is the location where Texas won its independence from Mexico. You can read more about it in my post here. We were only there for a little bit so I definitely want to go back when I can spend more time exploring the battle ground. We only visited the monument and museum portion (thank you Kevin for riding the elevator to the top of the monument with me). 

You can't tell, but in the picture on the top left, I'm standing in front of the monument. Lol. I'm the dot in front of the steps. :) 

I'm loving...

This picture I took at the beach. We walked for a while in our bare feet and the picture made me think of this poem. It was just a little reminder to me that even though I'm struggling with different issues right now, God is walking beside me.

I'm loving...

That I get to have dinner with three different friends this week (on three different nights). I love being able to get some one-on-one time with friends to just catch up on life. 

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!!