What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I'm taking an interest in my blog again. I even spent tonight doing a little redesigning. Some of it's the same, but I changed up the fonts and I made a new blog title header. Here are some headers that I made, but decided not to use. For those wondering, I used the website Be Funky for the new headers.

This is the previous header

I'm loving...

That I'm slowly feeling better. I got sick last week-allergies turned into a horrible sinus infection-which had me in bed for four days. I'm still congested but my cough is A LOT better. I'm still taking it easy this week, just to be sure I'm 100% better. I'm just thankful it wasn't the flu. Yes, I got my flu shot but evidently there is a flu strain going around that the shot didn't protect against).

I'm loving...

That I got my Rangers season tickets for this year-this is my 9th year as a season ticket holder. That means that my Opening Day ticket at the NEW Rangers Ballpark is SECURE! This will be my 15th straight Opening Day. For those who only keep up with me through my blog (and who don't follow baseball), the Rangers said goodbye to their old ballpark last year (it was very emotional) and are moving next door to a new one (that will HOPEFULLY be finished by March 31). This one will have a retractable roof and AC (meaning no more days of sitting out in 112 degree temperatures watching baseball). I wasn't too excited about a roof at first, but I'm trying to tell myself it's a good thing. No more sunburns. No more heat stroke. No more boob sweat (seriously, it's horrible). No more sitting for 4 hours just to have a game delayed or canceled due to rain. Hopefully we will have some pretty days where the roof will be open and we can enjoy baseball the way it's meant to be played- in the open air.

I guess I won't be needing my Steve Avery fan at Rangers games anymore.

Not gonna lie- I'm gonna miss this view.

T-shirt giveaway for the last game.

They started the countdown in 2018, I think it started at 100 games left. Got my photo by the sign before the last game.

My last photo at a Rangers game at the Ballpark.

I'm loving...

The ever-changing Texas weather (okay, maybe I'm not loving that too much). Last Friday morning it was 72 degrees. That evening we had tornadoes and severe storms come through the Metroplex. Saturday morning we had snow (not a lot, just enough for people to flood social media with "it's snowing in Texas" posts. Today we had a high of 81. Tomorrow morning when I leave for work it will be 48. It's a never-ending fun game of "will I use my AC or heater today?" Sometimes you use both in the same day. This is probably why I can't get to feeling better. Lol.

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Wednesday Ramblings...

Wow, I haven't done one of these posts in a long time (I think the last one was in 2013). I love when I can just ramble on and on and my thoughts don't have to make sense (although that is what my blog is the majority of the time). Lol.

First of all, thank you for all the sweet texts and messages about my blog post from yesterday. I really appreciate it. And I promise to work on being better about being honest when I'm "not okay". :) Love you all for being so concerned!

Oh, I can't post today and NOT wish a very happy birthday to The Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio. Yes, I'm totally using this as an excuse to post (AGAIN) the picture of me with Ralph a few weeks ago at the Dallas Comic Con. 

So, since I canceled my cable (suck it, Time Warner), I've been watching my shows online. Thanks to two sweet friends, I can stream a lot of my current shows with one's Hulu password and the other's Direct TV password (they are too good to me, I love them both. Okay, I would love them both even WITHOUT the passwords). I should have canceled my cable a long time ago. :) Although I'm behind on most of my shows. I've been spending more time in the evening reading (I know, I owe you more book reviews). I was texting my best friend last night and joked that I needed a day off work just to catch up on shows. That's tempting. :)

I've gotten back into working on craft projects. I really need to organize my craft closet, but that is an all day project, and I just don't have time (meaning I haven't MADE time). I'm working on one project right now, but it's for a friend's birthday, and he claims to read my blog, so I won't post anything about it until after his birthday next weekend. :) I'll try to remember to take pictures of it. :)

I'm really excited that I've blogged three times this week. I might try and blog tomorrow, just to say I blogged FOUR times in one week. That's a record for me (lately at least). 

I've had several people compliment my blog this week and say how much they enjoy my posts (even when it's just pictures). That means so much to me. I know some people have fancy blogs and post important information. It means a lot that people care what weird stuff I ramble on about. Seriously, thank you.

Hang on, the weekend is getting closer!

XOXO!

One Word...

I was going to write a deep and thoughtful post about this, but honestly, the words are not formulating into coherent sentences, and I don't want to keep putting this post off. So, you lucked out, you will get something shorter.

Thank you to everyone who sent me what word they felt describes me. I'm trying to surround myself with positive thoughts this year. I actually told a friend of mine that this is the Year of Optimism (he's had to call me out a few times when I've slacked on it, but overall, I'm doing okay). Having wonderful friends who are always there for me is a great start to staying positive.

I've eliminated a lot of things (including some people) that were causing negativity in my life. Nobody has time for that, and let's face it, it's just not healthy.

I wrote down all the words I received from y'all and put them in a jar. If I'm having a bad day, I can take a word from the jar and know that despite what is going on- someone out there thinks I'm "fun" or "unique" or "beautiful" or "thoughtful". It might sound silly to you, but reminding myself of this is a good way to keep negativity from creeping in. And let's face it, a kind word can go a long ways.

Again, this post might not make a lot of sense (I'm having the worst case of writer's block at the moment) but even if it doesn't, thank you for being a friend (insert Golden Girls theme here). Much love to you all....

"No man is a failure who has friends." -Clarence, It's A Wonderful Life

XOXO!

Thoughts For Thursday...

-I'm still working on my blog post where I asked people to tell me one word that describes me. I was hoping to post it today, but alas, it didn't happen. Hoping for next week! I promise, I did have a reason for asking! :)

-We had nine link ups yesterday for What I'm Loving Wednesday! I like that we are growing each week. Maybe next week we can reach double digits! :)

-I seriously need Mother Nature to stop it with her mood swings. This going back and forth between warm and cold is killing me. And my sinuses. I will never breathe normally again. 

-I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers. Saturday morning I was driving to the Fort Worth side of town to see one of my best friend's son play in a basketball game. I got a flat on my way there (along I-30, for those familiar with the Metroplex). Now, I know HOW to change a tire, I just suck at it (my upper body strength needs work). This nice stranger named Mike stopped to change it for me (he probably took pity on me standing by my flat tire with a look of "well, crap", on my face). I'm also thankful for Discount Tire's warranty and the fact the new tire I had to get only cost me $18 (which was the price of insurance for the new tire). 

-After reading my Facebook news feed and Twitter timeline this week, I think I'm the only person who didn't watch the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary special. I didn't watch the show growing up and I don't watch it now, so I really had no desire to watch a special on it. That being said, I also feel like I'm the only person who doesn't watch Saturday Night Live.  Lol.

-I'm not sure I have ever found a quote that described me better than this one. Thank you Danu Grayson.

-Hope everyone is surviving the week. The weekend is in sight. Stay strong! 

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

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So, my sweet friend Jodi decided to help me with this blog hop and will be my co-host! I'm new to setting up a blog hop, so I'm hoping everything works out with the link up below. If not, we will try again next week (it's a learning process). :) The above button will be for this week only, I'm going to create a new one that includes Jodi's blog as well. To make a long story short, I've been sick so I haven't been able to devote as much time to set this blog hop up. But, I didn't want to skip this week after saying last week I would do it!

If you are just stopping by my blog and don't have a What I'm Loving Wednesday post, please feel free to leave your blog name and blog address below so we can swing by and say howdy anyways! 

I know a lot of blog hops require that you comment on so many blogs if you are going to link up. I don't believe we are going to set any rules, BUT, it wouldn't hurt if you stopped by a new blog and made a new friend. Drop them a line (because everyone loves getting blog comments). In fact, Jodi and I became friends through our blogs! :) It was through some blog hop a number of years ago, I just can't remember which one. Lol.

Okay, enough of all this, on to What I'm Loving Wednesday....

I'm loving...

That a second Harper Lee novel will be published this summer. To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite book of all time and I never dreamed we would get another novel from Ms. Lee. It seems this book was actually written BEFORE To Kill A Mockingbird, but it is basically a sequel (since it takes place with Scout as an adult). I cannot wait to read it. I'm possibly nerding out a lot a little over it. Lol.

I'm loving...
That I got to hang out with some of my sweet friends last Saturday night. I hadn't seen them in a while so it was good to catch up.

I'm loving...
That I have someone helping me out with this blog hop (thanks again Jodi!) Like I said, Jodi and I actually met through our blogs. I'm really blessed with great friends that I met through my blog and social media.

I'm loving...
That I have friends who text me just to see how I'm feeling (it's nothing serious, just a sinus infection). I feel bad enough to be miserable, but not sick enough to stay home from work. Sigh.

I'm loving...
The projected forecast for this weekend. Last Saturday it was rainy and kinda cold (I can hear all of my friends up north laughing at what I call "cold"). This Saturday looks like perfect weather to sit outside and read. :)

I'm loving...
That football is now over so we can focus on what is really important in my life....BASEBALL!! The Rangers home opener is April 10. I already got my ticket ordered, I will be there! :)

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are having a great week! Please link up below. Like I said, even if you don't have a What I'm Loving Wednesday post, please link up anyways!

XOXO!

Mobile Monday

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Thank you for the sweet compliments on the redesign of my blog, I really hope that it motivates me to blog more! :) In an attempt to actually write more book reviews, I've added a page where all my 2015 book reviews can be found. The tab is at the top of the page.

I thought I would fall back on an old "reliable" blog post topic. I haven't done a Mobile Monday in forever (I honestly don't even know if it's still a link up) but anyways, here are some pictures that are on my iPhone. Oh, speaking of phones, I got an new iPhone 6 (which I'm loving). I just got the regular iPhone 6, not the mega iPhone 6 Plus. I really love the battery life on it. SO MUCH BETTER than my old phone. 

Going through my pictures, I realize that I really need to delete a lot of these, I still have photos from months ago on here. I'm so lazy. Anyways....

Interesting tombstone: Seems that Freddy Kruger is buried in the same cemetery as my great-grandmother. Yes, I know it's spelled Krueger in the movies, but still...

I didn't hang around this grave too long...

My trip to Seattle (back in November): My friends Mel, Aaron, and I went to Seattle on vacation. We had a blast. We were there five days and it only rained one of those days. It was awesome!

(L-R) The Seattle Great Wheel and Mount Rainier in the background; at the original Starbucks location; at the Seattle Police Museum (the dress up section was for kids only, I couldn't help myself); at the EMP Museum

At the top of the Space Needle

It seems I have my own beer in Seattle...

Fake Texas Historical Marker: I can't even remember when I took this one but it's still on my phone. If you have traveled around Texas, you have probably spotted these historical markers letting you know how long something has been there, and some history behind it. This was in some store in Fort Worth. It made me laugh. When I get a house, I'm totally buying this.

Random selfie: I think I took this for some Instagram challenge a while back, and then never posted it. So, here you go.

Family Vacation to Galveston after Christmas: I went with a (small portion) of my family to Galveston Island a few days after Christmas. We had a lot of fun!

With my brother-in-law, nephew, and parents (my sister took the picture) at the best seafood restaurant in Galveston. I had chicken (because we all know I don't like seafood). :)

With my sister on the ferry. It was very cold. And very windy.

At the Moody Gardens Ice Land Ice Sculptures. It was 9 degrees- they made you wear special parkas. I don't think I'm cut out for the cold. 

You can't go to Galveston and not take beach pictures. :)

Celebrating the New Year in style!

Chick Fil-A receipt (from College Station): I think they were supposed to remove this from the tray before I got my food. I always thought that everyone at ANY Chick Fil-A just knew it was me (because I'm such a big deal at Chick Fil-A). They would always walk my tray over to me without any doubt. Now I know they have a cheat system. Lol. I think it's funny the person who took my order was named Rachel as well. :) Although at the Chick Fil-A by my office, there is a lady that works there that knows my name and order when I walk in the door. I go to that one a lot. :)

At least it didn't say goofy looking girl in gray T-shirt. Lol.

Baby A's first birthday: I went to Austin a few weeks ago for a birthday party for my BFF's son.

Baby A loved his puzzles and stack-able rings that Aunt Rachel got him. He also loved his new Cowboys book and Rangers onesies. I got them a little big so they will fit perfectly come baseball season. :) 

Breakfast with Miss E: Baby A's big sister and I had breakfast together before I left Austin.

I don't remember why she is so deep in thought. I think she was just ready for pancakes.

Speaking of the BFF...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANDY!! Today is her birthday. She's 29...again. Which means I can be 29..again. :)

I'm grateful for 26 years of friendship with my best friend Mandy. Despite being thousands of miles apart (okay- only 209 miles), I know she is there if I need her. We've been through each other's good times and bad times, poor fashion choices (mine), and horrible hair styles (again, mine). I'm honored to be Aunt Rachel to her two kids. I hate that we don't get to see each other as much as we would like, but I cherish the time we do get to spend together (as well as the phone calls during our favorite TV show). I'm grateful that she's still in my life after all these years.

This tweet is pretty cool! I did a book review last Friday (click here for it) and the author tweeted out a link for it. :)

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

XOXO!

Oh hey- I still have a blog

For those of you who only keep up with me through my blog, yes, I am alive! Barely. But I'm alive! No, I don't have a good excuse why I haven't blogged since October. There are times where I sit down and think, huh, I could update my blog. Then Netflix happens something else comes up and I don't get around to it. For those wondering, yes, I do miss blogging. I think back to when I would update my blog almost everyday. I miss those days. I miss the motivation to update my blog. I'm sad that I only updated my blog 34 times last year. ONLY 34 times. That's so sad. That doesn't even average once a week. 

I've gone through a lot the past two years. Some of it I have shared on here (like this) and some of it I've kept to myself. I've kept a lot of things to myself lately, so don't feel left out. I'm not really talking to anyone about it, so I'm not excluding my blogging friends. Last year I became almost a recluse (which is SO unlike me). I only made it to about 20 Rangers games (if you know me, you know that's NOT a lot). I even turned down free tickets to some games (this is going to cause a lot of you to panic about my well-being). There were so many times I wanted to just sit in my apartment by myself instead of going out and being with friends. I know some of my friends definitely noticed it and expressed their concerns. It happens though. 

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and she mentioned that I got so used to going 100 miles an hour and being social all the time, that it feels "abnormal" for me to want to be myself. I guess there is nothing wrong with that, it just feels weird to me. I definitely need more "me" time than I used to. But I'm hoping to get back to my social self where I actually go out and have a life. Lol.

Okay, this post is so not going how I wanted it to. It sounds so depressing. Let me cheer it up some. Oh, I can update my 101 in 1001 List. That should be a little bit cheerier! :)

5. Visit three Presidential Libraries that I've never been to before (2/3)

I can cross another one off my list. Over Christmas I went to visit the George Bush Library (41) in College Station. I really enjoyed it. I remember all of his term (I was a kid, but I remember it), so I found it very interesting.

My first order of business as president would be to make Opening Day of baseball a national holiday.

A piece of the Berlin Wall. I remember so well when it was torn down.

11. Visit a National Park that I've never been to before

This isn't exactly what I thought of when I put this down as a goal, but I went to Seattle in November with some friends, and we visited the Klondike Gold Rush museum, and it's a registered National Park. Check out the website here if you don't believe me (or the sign in the picture below). We didn't originally plan to see it (it was recommended by someone at another museum we visited). It was really interesting. If you are ever in Seattle, check it out!

26. Make clothing donation once a year to local charity (1/3)

I did this back in late October. I made the donation to a charity that was helping kids raise money for a school trip. My closet seemed so empty afterward. I had to go shopping for new outfits. :)

40. Take some online classes offered by my company

I actually just signed up today for some classes!

47. No sweets for a week (not including sugarless gum), 4 times (1/4)

I did this last week! I have to admit, after the week was over, I had a glass of sweet tea, and it tasted amazing. 

48. Cook dinner at home every night for a week, 10 times (1/10)

I'm pretty sure Chick-Fil-A is going to put an APB out for me since I haven't been there in weeks. I've been good about not eating out this year.

94. Spend a weekend away from electronic devices

I did this back in November. It was nice, I spent the weekend cleaning my apartment and reading. I should have given my friends a heads up I was doing it though. I turned off my phone Friday afternoon and didn't turn it back on until Sunday night. I had six voice mails and over 500 text messages. Oops!

**Attend games at five MLB ballparks I've never been to before**

I can't count this since I didn't go to a game there, but when I was in Seattle in November, I did go by Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Mariners). 

Just a Rangers fan outside Safeco

More pictures from my Seattle trip:

We stayed in this Hostel, it was very cool. It was one time a hotel that actors stayed in when they were filming in Seattle.

My travel buddies- Mel and Aaron!

On a boat tour of Seattle

We had wonderful weather for our trip. We were there five days and it only rained once!

Made a new friend at the aquarium 

We had a great view of Mount Rainier

I was fascinated by this alley full of gum

Look what I found!

This sports bar was next to our hostel- we went there a lot.

We (well, me and Aaron) had to watch the Cowboys game that Sunday morning. It was weird having the game start at 10am (PST). We found some fellow Cowboys fans though!

View from the Space Needle

In the giant Ferris Wheel

At the EMP Museum (this is a must see if you are in Seattle)

Take On Me....

This one part of the EMP turned you into a monster's shadow. It was cool!

I didn't take any pictures in this section...

The original Starbucks sign

Just a non coffee drinker outside the original Starbucks

At the Seattle Museum of History and Industry

The Fremont Troll. There was a scene in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You that was filmed here

A night view from the Space Needle

I also recommend going on the Underground Seattle tour. It was amazing!

The Seattle Police Museum was a nice find! Very interesting!

Not sure I pull off looking like a cop

The Bruce Lee Museum was also fascinating. We couldn't take pictures inside but I took one in the gift shop. 

 I hope you are all doing fabulous! And I hope to see you back here soon!

XOXO!