What I'm Loving!

I'm loving...

That I was able to go see my folks for Easter. I was deathly ill on my deathbed writing out my will on the bathroom floor suffering from food poisoning on Thursday night and Friday, so I wasn't able to go to their house until Saturday, but I still had fun with my family. I was sad I wasn't up to having Easter lunch (it took a while before I was brave enough to eat again), but I have almost fully recovered right now. :)

For the record, I did wear a dress to church (my mother would NOT have approved of me wearing a T-shirt on Easter Sunday). This was taken right before I left to drive home

Yes, for the 38th time in my life, I got an Easter basket

I'm loving...

The new windows in my apartment. The complex installed new windows and put up new blinds (they are sturdier than the flimsy plastic ones I used to have up). While they were working in my apartment, I had to take all the stuff off my walls. I spent about three days putting everything back up in my study. I also bought some new bookshelves so I'm happy to report I no longer have books stacked up on the floor. 

My "Woman Cave" 

I call this my celebrity wall. Pictures and autographs from different celebrities

I had to buy another bookshelf for my bobbleheads

I'm loving...

That I have a busy but fun weekend coming up. I'm looking forward to hanging out with a lot of different friends. :)

Please leave a comment if you have a WILW post! :)

XOXO!

Mobile Monday and Blog Challenge Update

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I FINALLY got the last of the boxes unpacked at my apartment. Yes, I know, I've been there two months. For the most part it was pretty much done, I just had been lazy about unpacking the crap junk stuff in my bedroom. I also spent a good part of the weekend cleaning my apartment. This might be the time to have people over while it's actually clean! Let's be honest, it won't last long. :)

Thursday night I went to the Mucky Duck in Addison to see my favorite radio duo Ben and Skin. They are hoping to get back on the air next month and I cannot wait. My days are not the same not being able to listen to them!! I hadn't seen them in a long time, so it was good to catch up. It was kinda late when I finally left and I got an escort back to my car so I didn't have to walk by myself (aren't they sweet?) :)

Me and my friend Emily with Ben and Skin

Was able to see my Twitter buddy Austin!

Jessica, Emily, and I after our team won the trivia contest!

Met my Twitter friend Bryan. We discovered that he actually went to high school with one of my cousins. Small world!

Friday evening my friend Art had an extra (free) ticket to the musical Wicked, so I met up with him and his girlfriend to go to Fair Park. I've seen Wicked twice before, but this performance was probably the best one I've ever seen. The whole cast was PHENOMENAL!

Getting ready last minute...

Our view...shh, don't tell anyone I took a picture

Saturday I woke up early (hey- 7am is early for a day where I could have slept in). I finally talked myself into getting out of bed. I may or may not have gone to Whataburger in my PJs. Don't judge. 

I'm terrible about checking my mail, so I went by the box Saturday afternoon and found this gem.

Yes, I own seasons 1-3 as well. I know, I'm a nerd.

I didn't get pictures of my whole apartment, but here are some...

I like that my new kitchen actually has counter space. My old apartment had none.

I like that I can actually see the floor!! :)

I had to wish Steve Avery a happy birthday yesterday. I mean, he is the Avery behind my Twitter and Instagram handle. :)

Blog Challenge Update

Day 12: Something you don't leave your house without

My cell phone. I know, that's sad. But it's true, I always have it.

Day 13: Talk about your piercings/tattoos (if you have any)

My ears are pierced, I have two holes in each ear. I got the first set when I was 16 and the second set when I was 20.

Here's a picture of my tattoo that I got in college.

Okay, so it was a henna tattoo that washed off after a few days...needles freak me out! :)

Day 14: Something you miss from your childhood

I think I just miss being a kid. I miss not having to worry about responsibilities, or a job, or paying bills. I miss being able to go over to my best friend's house and hang out there all afternoon (only to go home and then spend 2 hours on the phone with her). I also miss the innocence. I miss not having to know or worry about all the evil and bad stuff going on in the world. I miss when my only heartache was when Kelly broke up with Zack on Saved by the Bell (don't laugh- that was a very upsetting episode!) 

Day 15: A confession/secret of yours

I have nightlights all around my apartment- kitchen, bathroom, living room, hallway, and study. I hate the dark. I also have to fall asleep with the TV on (I have a timer set so it goes off after an hour or so). Don't laugh.

XOXO!

Mobile Monday, Friday Edition...

I've been told I needed to update my blog, so I decided to give you "Mobile Monday" on a Friday (it's my blog, I can do what I want!) :) Pure laziness is the only reason I haven't updated my blog in a week. There has been something about going home and doing absolutely nothing that has been very appealing this week. Side note: I have gotten up early and worked out the past two weeks. I'm so proud of myself. I'll admit it's nice to get home from work and NOT have to worry about working out. Although getting up early is a beating. Maybe it will get easier.

So, here is what's on my iPhone this past week:

I decided to finally unpack the spare room at my new apartment last weekend. I call it my "study". This was the before picture.

I know, scary, right? I put a note on Facebook that if I was never heard from again I was lost somewhere in this room.

After working hard all afternoon on Friday, I finally had one corner organized. Yes, I have a lot of books. No, that is not all of them (there is another bookshelf not pictured).

That wall is where I have some of my "non sports" autographs. They include Dick Van Dyke, Bryan White (country singer that I met back in the 90s), Christian band MercyMe, and an actress named Deanne Bray.

Had lunch with some friends on Saturday. I was feeling cute that morning, so I took a picture. ;)

How you doing?

After lunch, I spent the rest of the day organizing my study (let's be honest, it's really a sports room). :) I literally spent about 6.5 hours getting it all put together. BUT, it's finally done (insert happy dance).

For those wondering, I got that "Thespians Do It On Stage" bumper sticker when I was in high school. I was in the drama club, they gave those to the seniors every year. We won't mention how old that bumper sticker is! :)

I tried to get a panoramic picture with my iPhone.

My bobbleheads. Looking forward to getting more at the Ballpark this year!

For those who didn't believe me, my Washington Senators pennant autographed by Ted Williams. Yes, it is one of my most prized possessions. :) And yes, that is a comic book with Steve Avery on the cover below the shelf. :)

My sister texted me this picture of five of my nephews at the park. I wish I would have been there with them! They are Aunt Rachel's sweet boys (well, most of the time)! ;)

Dove chocolate has a "fortune" inside each wrapper. Not sure how I felt about this one.

Look what came in the mail this week!! :)

And look who made a ticket!! ;)

My new cap finally came in. I bought it from the Broadway musical Mary Poppins. I think it sums me up quite nicely, don't you think? :)

I love my new weather app (and the temperatures we are having right now!)

I saw these online after the new Pope was selected. I have Catholic friends who found these funny, so I don't feel bad about laughing. Come on, God has a sense of humor too! :)

My poor sweet Tony Romo, always the butt of jokes around here.

Come on, this is funny!!

My niece Alice texted me this picture, I sighed laughed! :)

Okay, I promise to be better about updating next week. Sneak peek- I'll be conducting my own kind of "March Madness" bracket. ;) I can't believe I'm actually going to post it on my blog (it all started as a joke with some friends, BUT I've been convinced to put it on here. Yes, I'm a nerd (and so are my friends!) :)

Stay tuned next week....

Happy Friday!!

XOXO!

Wednesday Ramblings...

I'm going to start my post today with a short rant (okay, you are right, none of my stories are ever short). For those new to my blog, go here for some past issues with my apartment complex.

So, as you know, I live in Texas. If you are not familiar with what a week in June looks like in Texas, let me show you our ten day forecast. And this is actually "cool" for our summers. Starting in July, we will most likely hit triple digits.

I have a two story apartment. My upstairs is just an open loft area I keep my sports memorabilia and craft supplies in. So, anyways, if you read my previous post, you'll know two years ago I had issues with my AC unit. I got home from work yesterday about 5:45 pm (and let me just say I was excited because it was the first night in weeks where I had nothing to do. I could be at home, I could read a book, watch the Rangers game on TV, watch a movie, whatever. It was before 6pm and I was home for the evening. It felt great. Until I walked inside my apartment. You guessed it. My AC was blowing warm air. I called the front office immediately and they said they would send someone over. About 20 minutes later maintenance showed up and said I just needed the air filter changed. So, after he did that he said to give it about 30 minutes and it would start cooling off. I was nicer. I gave it until 8 (about an hour and a half) and it still wasn't cooling.

So, I called the 24 hour answering service and they said they would put in a work order to emergency maintenance right away. I was told I would get a call. An hour later, still no call. So I called the answering service again. Was told again I would get a call, but most likely no one could come out because it was dark (funny, it was light when I called the first time). So about 9:30 no one had called and it was 90 degrees in my apartment (I wish I had taken a picture of the thermometer to prove that). Thankfully  my sweet friend Martha (I call her my adopted mom) let me stay the night at her house, which was nice and cool!

This morning I got an email from my complex saying the situation with the AC had been fixed: they added coolant. Now, it's not that I don't trust them, but I didn't want this evening to be similar to last night, so I called my BFF (who works near my apartment) and asked that she go by during her lunch break to double check. She called after her lunch and said she was there almost an hour and the AC hadn't cooled down (it wasn't even on when she got there). Have I ever mentioned the wrath of Rachel?? Yay, I was ready to unleash it. So, I called the complex office. Sadly the manager wasn't available, but I told the girl (who knows me by my voice) about the situation. She said she would put in a work order. Just to be sure it got put in, I emailed the office as well. I just got this reply from the manager himself (the man who fears me):

"I will make sure that your air is up and cooling before the team goes home today. I will send him back out now. :)"

Oh yes, he included the :) himself. I'm sure he was saying under his breath: Please don't call your lawyer.

So, since my complex office has a habit of closing "a little early" from time to time, I am leaving work early myself to guarantee that my air is indeed back up and cooling. If it's not, the manager and I will have a little "heart to heart". I promise I will try and be nice! But if you hear on the national news about an apartment complex manager in Texas being beaten up by a resident, I might not be updating my blog for a while! ;)

I don't like leaving my post on such a "downer" so I decided to post a picture a friend put on her Facebook page a few weeks ago. This is one of my all time favorite baseball fights. So, here's to Nolan  Ryan (who, by the way, kicked Robin Ventura's butt that night!!) I'll try and find the video and post it sometime!! It's greatness!!

Wednesday Ramblings...

So, did you watch LOST last night??? O....M....G.... Okay, if you don't watch the show, bear with me. Just two episodes left until the series finale. I cannot wait to see how they tie all of this together. Does anyone else have questions?? I have LOTS OF questions. :)  

Two of my favorite characters, Jack and Sawyer

So, since I'm talking about LOST, I had to post these videos from YouTube. Turns out that C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers is a big fan of LOST as well. He got to meet with the executive producers a while back and ask them some questions about the show.  **SPOILER ALERT**: If you watch LOST and are not caught up this season, OR if you ever plan to watch LOST on DVD, you might want to watch these videos with caution. There are some spoilers from season 6 as well as previous seasons in here. If you are all caught up on LOST, or just don't care for it, you should be good to watch!

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

Oh, a follow up to my apartment complex situation (for more info on that, see my post from last week here.) Yesterday as I was leaving for work, my apartment complex manager was out there again. He said he was trying to find a way to keep the sidewalk from flooding while the sprinklers were on. My suggestion would be to run the sprinklers about 4am or 5am, that way they aren't going when I'm leaving at 7am. But oh well, it was nice to see he was trying to figure out a solution to the problem. Again, I tell you, the man fears me!!

In closing, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A friend of mine posted the picture below on her Facebook page with the caption, "Happy Cinco de Mayo". It made me laugh! Happy Wednesday friends!!

  

Wednesday Ramblings...

For the past month, leaving my apartment in the morning to go to work has been an obstacle course. Our sprinklers are set on a timer, and I guess the best time to water is the same time that I'm leaving for work in the morning. My work schedule changed back in February, so I started going to work an hour earlier. The issue with the sprinkler didn't start until right after we changed for Daylight Savings Time. I figured that the timers just hadn't been reset, so I gave it about a week. No change. At that time, the sprinkler was rotating so I literally had to walk halfway down my steps, wait for the sprinkler to start moving away from the building, and take off running. So, I called my front office and politely told them about the situation. They said they would look into it immediately. After the "Great Air Conditioning Unit Disaster of 2008", my front office is pretty good about listening to my complaints. For those who don't know me or my ongoing "situation" with my apartment complex, I'll try and be brief.

Two years ago my AC unit wasn't working properly. One of the complex's maintenance men even told me that I needed a new one. Basically, there was something malfunctioning that was causing it to overheat every other day, and also MAJORLY affecting my electric bill (for those of you in Texas, this happened in June-July-August, so yeah, during our triple digit days). After going round and round with my front office (who swore up and down that a $400 electric bill was normal for an 800 sq foot apartment), I called my lawyer. It's amazing how my front office's attitude changed once they received a call from an attorney. Within 48 hours, I had a new AC unit, the apartment complex owner's personal cell phone number and free rent for a month (and a discount on the next month). The complex owner swore this was the first she had heard of the situation and was not happy how it was handled. She apologized and said to call her personally if I ever had any more problems. SIDE NOTE: I noticed about a month after I got my new AC unit, other buildings were getting new units as well (I have a picture of my old unit somewhere. It looked like the first AC unit ever built!) I have no doubt that I'm known in the front office as "The White Girl With A Lawyer". BTW, my lawyer is like my second mother, she was not going to let anyone mess with me! : )

Okay, so that wasn't brief. Anyways, back to my current situation. I talked to the complex manager and he said he would come out and take a look at it. After a week, I noticed the sprinkler no longer rotated, it just sprayed one direction. But a new problem came up. Something was causing the sidewalk to start flooding (so I either had to run through the sprinkler or wade through water). I sent a friendly email to our manager thanking him for fixing the sprinkler situation, but now the sidewalk was flooding. Last Tuesday as I was leaving for work he was actually out there observing the situation. He said he could see the problem and would make a phone call (he also complimented me on how nice I looked. I tell you, the man fears me). Thursday afternoon as I was picking up my mail, I ran into him. He said he called the landscaping company to come out and fix the flooding situation ASAP.

So, all this rambling is to basically get to this: As of this morning, the situation is not fixed. In fact, the flooding is worse. I'd like to present pictures (or as I like to call them, "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit B".) ;)

As you can see, the sprinkler is right at the bottom of my steps, there is no way to go to the left. And to the right, we have "Lake Ghetto" (as I call it).

A closer look at Lake Ghetto. I have to jump over the water (landing in mud) to get around it. This is quite a challenge when wearing 3 inch heels I might add!

So yeah, that is my "venting" for today. Thank you for listening.

Next, I would like to publically apologize to C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers for all the ugly things I said about him last season (he blew a few saves, I got mad, we are moving past that now!) :) Anyways, he's a starting pitcher for the team this season and has done a phenomenal job! If the bull pen could have done their job, he would be 4-0 right now. But let's not go there. So, I'm sorry C.J. As of now, you are on my good list. I would have my picture taken with you if the opportunity came up. Just don't do that ridiculous looking Fu Manchu mustache thing again! :)

C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers

  

And lastly, a friend sent me this cartoon today. I wanted to end my post with it (I think it's sweet):