What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I was able to attend Dallas Fan Days last weekend. I wasn't going to go until they added Bruce Boxleitner to the guest list. When I was six, I would watch Scarecrow and Mrs. King with my sister Mary, so I HAD to meet him. He was so nice. I even got a hug. And yes, I even bought Scarecrow and Mrs. King off of Amazon Prime instant streaming so I could reminisce. :) I also met Ruth Connell from the show Supernatural. Her character Rowena is so horrible but she's really super sweet in person. She's also very soft spoken (her character is very loud). 

Ran into my friend Matt while I was there!

Mandy and I met at my first Comic Con back in 2014- we were so excited that we got to see each other again!

I'm loving...

That I don't have to have shoulder surgery (at least the orthopedic doctor doesn't believe I will have to have it). Last month I started having a pain in my shoulder and when it didn't go away after a few days, my primary doctor recommended that I see an orthopedic surgeon. Two office visits and one $500 MRI later, it was discovered that I have subacromial bursitis. I got two cortisone shots in my shoulder and have been doing at-home physical therapy to see if that fixes the issue. So far the pain has gotten better, so I'm hoping it's a good sign. I have one ugly looking bruise from the shots though (see photo below. If bruises gross you out, keep scrolling). 

Before my MRI. I couldn't wear any clothing with metal on it, so I wore this

This is 10 days after receiving my shots. I assume this is normal?

I'm loving...

That some friends and I got to go to the Lone Survivor Foundation celebrity softball game a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun and we got to meet several celebrities, including former NFL player Jermichael Finley, former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens, and country super star Toby Keith. Matthew McConaughey was also there, but he didn't come over to take photos or sign autographs (so we tooks pics from afar).

Fun times with friends!

More celebrities who have had the honor of meeting me

I'm loving...

That some of my siblings and I were able to work on our folks house a few weekends ago. Their house is over 100 years old and was in need of some work, including painting the front door and window panes. Guess which youngest, tall sibling got to stand on the ramp railings and paint the window panes? And this is all WITH a shoulder injury. You can't say that I'm not a trooper. Lol.

My sister Martha added this decal to their front door windows, which makes it look so much better!

Window before

Windows after

I'm loving...

That I got to see my BFF Brandy last Saturday. We sadly don't see each other too often (despite living only an hour apart). We spent the morning and early afternoon in downtown historic Grapevine. We just walked around and shopped, it was fun to just hang out together.

I'm loving...

That my church's Trunk or Treat is this Sunday evening. I was nominated again by my class to work on the decorations for our trunk. I chose a Dr. Seuss theme and have been busy the last two weeks trying to finish it all up. Here are some of my craft creations.

I'm loving...

That I got my James Avery Whataburger charm a few weeks ago. It was only available for a limited time and I think I ordered it within the first hour. Lol. 

I'm loving...

That I'm finally trying to cook more at home. Part of my 40 by 40 challenge is to learn one new recipe a month. I guess as long as I learn 12 new recipes by May, that will work. I've decided to catch up on the past months, so I've learned two so far this month (so we will count that as June and July). It's my challenge- I make the rules. :)

Teriyaki stir fry

 I didn't get an after photo of my food, so I took a photo of the seasonings (I took a before photo but I decided y'all probably didn't want to see raw chicken). I tried a new baked chicken recipe. It called for a garlic seasoning but I decided to try four different seasonings out instead: Lawry's Seasoned Salt, lemon and pepper (I forgot to take a photo of the lemon), Sesame ginger teriyaki sauce (THIS STUFF IS AMAZING), and Roasted Peach Whiskey sauce. I didn't like this one as much, I don't think I liked the roasted peach flavor, but it was still okay.

I'm loving...

That I was able to attend the State Fair of Texas before it closed last weekend. I went last Thursday and had a blast meeting up with friends. And I caused WWIII on social media by putting ketchup on my corny dog. Lol. Haters gonna hate.

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!!

Thankful Thursday

I know I haven't posted lately, it has been a rough few weeks. As you all know, Texas got hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. I wasn't up for posting last week as I had friends and family dealing with the aftermath of the storms. I'm thankful that everyone I know personally is safe. My heart breaks for those who lost loved ones. My sister's apartment in Houston had over four feet of water in it and she lost a lot of her belongings. Thankfully some photos were salvageable but she lost all of her furniture and clothes and a few other personal items that meant a lot to her. Thankfully she and my niece are safe though- material things can be replaced. She continues to remain positive through all of it. A few people messaged me on Twitter asking how they could help her out. Right now she's waiting on FEMA to go through, but if you are interested in sending her a gift card, please comment with your email and I will be in touch. Right now my thoughts are with everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma, especially my Florida friends and family. Praying for safety for everyone. 

You can see how high the water was in my sister's apartment

I decided today to try and focus on things I'm thankful for right now (no matter how small it might seem).

I'm thankful...

That I get to go out to lunch with my friends. Sometimes it's a much needed break in my day. And of course, I love hugs, so getting hugs is nice too. :) 

My friend Eve hadn't been to Whataburger in months and was dying to go, so of course, I made the sacrifice and went with her. :)

Celebrating the birth of my friend Bob at Norma's Cafe

I'm thankful...

That I got a promotion at work. It's been a rough few months at my office so this was a nice way to wrap up some of the madness. I feel very blessed.

I'm thankful...

For all the generous and loving people who made (and are still making) donations to victims of Hurricane Harvey. My church took donations last week and I went by one day to help sort the donations. This was what we collected in one day- it was amazing. 

I'm thankful...

That I still have one month of baseball left (sadly, Rangers fans only have one month left because I don't see the playoffs in our future this season, BUT now that I've said that, watch them make the playoffs and show me up (I would be okay with that). Lol. Even if they don't, I've had fun this season at the Ballpark- I might not like the outcome of all of the games, but I still have fun regardless. I do love going to baseball games with my friends. :)

Chilling with my homegirl Monica in my company suite at the Ballpark

The Rangers gave out a bobblehead of a now former player (talk about awkward). BUT my friends and I think it looks like my friend Larry, so we all have Larry bobbleheads now). :) 

Celebrating Misti's birthday!

Always good to see my friend Andrew at a game

Love getting hugs from my sweet friend Corina. She always has a smile on her face, no matter what is going on. She's an inspiration to me! :)

I'm thankful...

For time off work to just relax. I had myself a six day weekend, as I was off work from last Friday until yesterday. I cleaned my apartment (and organized my craft closet- which took a whole day to complete). I also finished a scrapbook (we won't say how long I've been working on it), and I read two books. It was nice just to have time for myself. It's also nice to have a clean apartment. :)

A before and after picture of my craft closet

This was a "during" picture. Yeah, it was pretty bad. It looked like a craft store threw up in my study. Lol.

What are YOU thankful for today?

XOXO!

Thursday 13: My Recent Top Tweets

Thirteen tweets that you have missed if you don't follow me on Twitter (yes, shameless plug, follow me on Twitter here.)

1. 

I didn't sleep well that night. Lol 

2.

Some friends and I were watching the Rangers game together when the Odor/Bautista fight broke out. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch it here on YouTube. My friend Corina and I got a little passionate during the fight. We were possibly cheering Odor on. Lol

3.

Odor became a Rangers legend that day

4

This was rude...and I apologize to 5th grade girls everywhere for comparing them to how the Blue Jays fight. ;)

5.

Rangers fans were not happy that this one Blue Jays player didn't get any sort of punishment for his part in the fight. I took my frustrations out on his hair. But come on, seriously, who thinks that looks good?

6.

I love my friends with all my heart so it hurts me so much to know there is nothing I can do to help them when they are making poor life decisions

7.

I'm not lying, this was the creepiest hotel I've ever stayed at. Since all Lubbock hotels were booked because of Texas Tech graduation, we had no choice but to stay. See pictures below. I'm so leaving a horrible review on Yelp. 

We discovered the next morning that there was blood on the lampshade. BLOOD!

I don't even want to know how it got there

My sister's room was horrible. She told them it hadn't been cleaned and the front office assured her it had and got a little snippy with her. She noticed this behind the door. They just swept the dirt into a line and LEFT IT THERE.

8.

Yes, I know, my bangs. And eyebrows. Don't even mention them.

9.

My bestie sent out this tweet on my birthday. Love him so much. Or maybe I just love his dog Dobby. I'm kidding of course, although I'm pretty sure I love Dobby more. ;) 

10.

One of my followers sent a tweet to the Rangers telling them I wanted a hug. I didn't get a hug, but I got this tweet. 

11.

Don't get between this girl and her taquitos

12.

My friend Glenn took me to the Rangers game for my birthday and decided to do a live Facebook video of our drive. I'm not a fan of being on video, but I humored him. Yes, I look VERY uncomfortable in the video. And I realized I say "awesome" A LOT. Next time I won't be chewing gum when I do a video (so gross, sorry about that). It's too long to post here, but here are quick highlights. I got excited when Six Flags was open because I have a season pass and can park there for free when I go to a Rangers game (as long as the park is open). :)

13.

He's a bullpen pitcher for the Rangers. He used to be our closer, but he hasn't been doing too well lately. Twitter freaks out whenever he's in the game and gives up a run.

For more Thursday 13 posts, click here!

Thursday 13: Dealing With Negativity

I've mentioned it before but I'm so tired of all the negativity going on in the world today. Lately it seems there are more and more negative thoughts, attitudes, news stories, and social media posts out there. Maybe they have always been there and I have just been immune to them. I'm not talking about the occasional post where someone has had a bad day, I understand those happen and it's okay to vent from time to time (I know this all too well). I'm talking about straight up negative talk ALL OF THE TIME. There are ways to have opinions and not tear down the people who disagree with you. There are ways to be happy for your friend even if it's something you don't care about. There is good out there in the world, if you look hard enough, you will find it.

I try to be a positive and happy person but when I'm around negative attitudes for too long, I find myself taking the negative route as well. I have found some ways that help me escape that negativity when it starts to bring me down.

13 Things I Do When Life Starts to Be Negative For Me

1. I listen to music. Lately I've rediscovered my appreciation for classical music. Amazon Prime has some great classical playlists and I listen to many of those. Third Day is one of my favorite Christian bands. When I feel life is just too overwhelming, I usually listen to their playlist on my phone. All of their songs have a great message.

2. I write. Since I have a blog, it's obvious that I like to write, it's definitely therapeutic for me. I'm trying to write a novel (maybe a novella, I'm not sure how long it will be). If I need a break from the world, I take myself into a world that I've created.

3. I surround myself with friends. When I'm having a bad day at work and feel myself getting agitated, I have a handful of friends I can text or call and I know they will meet me for a quick lunch. Just an hour away from the stress of work can do so much good (and getting hugs also help!)

My awesome friend Bob met me for lunch today!

4. I call my mom. Sometimes just talking to my momma is enough to make the bad world not seem as horrible.

I found some old pictures of my mom over Christmas, I compared pictures of the two of us to see how much I looked like her! :)

5. I treat myself to a Chick Fil-A milkshake. Okay, so life doesn't have to be negative for me to do this, but a milkshake does indeed cheer me up when I'm feeling down.

6. I get rid of things that are cluttering my life. This is usually material things, but sometimes it means unfollowing someone on social media who is bringing NOTHING but negativity into my life. 

7. I read. When I don't feel like writing, I let another writer take me into the world that they have created. Shameless plug, follow me on GoodReads to see all that I've read (or want to read).

8. I remind myself of everything that I do have. We all fall victim to the "woe is me" syndrome (I'm not pointing fingers, I'm so guilty of this). I don't have a nice car. I don't have enough time off work. I don't have enough time by myself (these are just examples, these aren't my personal thoughts). Remember there is always someone out there who would want your life. Don't like your car? There are some people out there who would love to have ANY car. Having a bad day at work? There are many unemployed people who would LOVE to have a bad day AT WORK. Tired of your spouse constantly hogging the television? There is a single person out there who would love to have your life.

9. I text my friends. Sometimes even a short text conversation with a friend is enough to make my day brighter.

10. I go for a walk or jog (light jog- I have bad knees and can't jog too fast). Sometimes just being outside helps clear my head. 

11. I watch reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show (are you really surprised)? I can't help it, the man makes me laugh. It's practically impossible for me not to be in a good mood while watching one of his shows.

12. I work on crafts. I scrapbook, cross stitch, and am trying to teach myself to knit. Sometimes focusing on things like that helps me escape the world.

13. I pray. I know, that is such a "Sunday School" response, but it's true. It's not my job to fix everything bad going on. It's not my job to even understand why bad things happen. It's my job to know He's in control. I feel people hear that I pray and expect that it's the sweet "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer. My prayers aren't always like that. Sometimes I get mad. Sometimes I yell (yes, I yell at God, He can handle it). Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I'm at a loss for words (yes, that does happen with me- don't be shocked). He can handle whatever kind of prayer I send up to Him.

XOXO!