101 in 1001 Update (A VERY LONG UPDATE)

I know, I don't update for weeks and now I'm going to bombard you with a long post. But hey, it's my blog, I can do what I want. :) Also, who knows when I'll update again, I have to get you caught up! And I'm REALLY bad about updating my progress on my 101 in 1001 list. As always, you can keep up with my progress here.

101 in 1001 Update

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

I can FINALLY add one to this goal. Last month I went to Comiskey Park, excuse me, US Cellular Field- home of the Chicago White Sox. When we got to Chicago, it was pouring down rain, I was so afraid the game would get rained out. Of course, after buying a $5 White Sox rain poncho, the rain stopped (it was worth it to have a rain-free game though). But I felt like a traitor wearing a White Sox poncho. That brings my grand total of MLB ballparks to six: Ballpark in Arlington (Rangers) Minute Maid Park (Astros), Turner Field (Braves), old Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park (Red Sox), and now US Cellular Field (White Sox).

Thanks to my buddy Brian for getting us amazing seats just 10 rows from the field

6. Attend a George Strait concert.

After talking about it for nine years, the BFF and I FINALLY saw George Strait in concert. Not just any concert, it was the last concert of his Farewell Tour at Cowboys Stadium (excuse me, AT&T Stadium).

Giddy BFFs!

The King himself

"Oh the last goodbye's the hardest one to say...

...This is where the cowboy rides away." 

9. Visit five states I've never been to before 

I am able to add three more states to this list after I went to visit friends in Indiana last month (we made side trips to Michigan and Illinois while I was there). Since I went to Iowa earlier this year, I just have to visit one more state and I'll be done with this part of my challenge! 

Visiting The University of Notre Dame

Was able to visit my friend Christie and her kids, Mini M and T, while I was in Indiana!

Me and Christie at Lake Michigan. And yes, when we crossed over the Michigan state line, I did announce we were in the home state of the great Steve Avery. :)

While in Illinois, I was able to meet up with my lovely friend Harrie, who lives in Chicago. She was brave and wore her Cubs gear over to the White Sox part of town!

15. Take a trip to the beach. 

Since I didn't specify if it meant ocean beach or lake beach, I'm gonna count my trip to Lake Michigan as a beach trip. The water was FREEZING, so I opted to lie on the beach and read. :) I did stick my feet in at one point.

Yes, I know, I'm pale

18. Vacuum apartment weekly for a month.
I've actually done this for two months! Yeah, go me. :)

29. Pay off personal loan.

HOLLA! Tomorrow I make my final payment on my personal loan. That leaves me with only a credit card, my student loans, and my car loan. Then I will be debt free (again- holla). 

42. Volunteer at the annual company seminar
I've already done that. In fact, it starts this week. Boom.

49. Learn to cook 10 new meals

I can finally add one to the list. Well, it's not necessarily a complete meal, but I tried a recipe for roasted broccoli and I REALLY enjoyed it (click here for the recipe). NOTE: I did NOT use garlic on mine, mainly because I didn't have any. But I did use the olive oil and pepper and it turned out really good. I just recently became a fan of broccoli, I didn't eat it growing up.

50. Try out 10 restaurants that I've never been to before 

I was able to add two more to this list, making the total 5. I am only counting restaurants in the DFW area, not the ones I go to on vacation.

March 15- Old Texas Brewing Company in Burleson

This place is awesome. Next time I'm in Mexico, I mean, Burleson, I want to go again. :)

Hanging out with my favorite Burlesonian...or is it Burlesonite? Anyways, hanging out with my bestie Chance at Old Texas Brewing Company. Yes, we are very silly. And he just LOVES when I make him take pictures. :)

June 6- Esperanza's Mexican Cafe and Bakery in Fort Worth

From the outside, this place looks like a little hole in the wall, but the food was really good. It's off Main Street in Fort Worth (like you are heading towards the Stockyards). I went there when some friends of mine were in town visiting. 

56. Go on 20 walks
Okay, so I've only gone on one, but hey, it's a start!

57. Read at least two new books a month

I'm so far behind on my weekly book challenge (six books behind to be exact), BUT, I've read 21 books so far this year, so that is averaging more than two a month, so for this challenge, I'm doing great! :)

One of the books I read was Special Heart by Bret Baier. I met him at a book signing at SMU back in June. He's a super nice guy, and it was a great book. I highly recommend it!

59. Complete three group Bible Study courses

My Bible study and I completed one about Ruth and Esther earlier this year. Some gals in my group didn't care for it, but I personally liked it.

63. Attend a symphony

Back in April, the BFF and I went to see Radio Days: A Salute to the Troops presented by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. It was amazing. I really enjoyed it. It had a lot of "big band" music, which I enjoy.

I didn't get a picture of us at the symphony, but here is one of us at a sports bar dinner afterward.

67. Spend a day at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Okay, so I didn't spend a WHOLE day, but I did spend the whole afternoon with some friends- we went to the see the Indiana Jones exhibit. It was A-MAZ-ING.

Actual costume worn by Harrison Ford in the movie. Queue Rachel freaking out.

My museum peeps!

81. Treat a friend to a nice dinner (non birthday related)

I wasn't sure if I should count this one because I owed him a dinner after losing a bet, but I'm going to (I hope you are happy Brian). :) When I was in Indiana, I took my friend Brian out for a nice steak dinner. Stupid Cardinals. Or in this case, stupid Braves couldn't beat the stupid Cardinals. I'm never making a bet with this guy ever again. You think I would have learned after the first time I lost a bet to him (we don't talk about the first bet I lost. Let's just say it happened in 2011. That should say it all). 

84. Treat myself to a manicure

I may have done this one more than once. :)

85. Treat myself to a pedicure

As I'm sure you can tell, I had to force myself to complete this task. :)

87. Set aside one night a month for "me time"

I've actually been a homebody lately, I probably have had more "me time" than "social time". 

88. Watch a sunrise

I'm not a morning person, but when I flew to Indiana, my flight left at the crack of dawn, so I got to watch the sunrise from the plane (that was cool).

89. Watch a sunset

On July 3 some friends and I went to my office to watch a fireworks show (we had a better view, and we weren't outside being eaten alive by mosquitoes). We got there early and were able to see a beautiful sunset from the office windows.

90. Treat myself to a Chick Fil-A milkshake once a month

Did you really doubt I would be able to do this? Lol.

Hope you are doing well!! Thanks for taking the time to read my very long post!

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...that it's WEDNESDAY already. Yesterday felt like a Monday all day long, then I realized on my way home from work it was actually Tuesday. So, we are already halfway through the week! :) Wahoo!

I'm loving...my ticket rep Jon who works at the Texas Rangers box office (I have a "mini plan" this year). He has been so sweet all season long. Somehow I didn't get the emails for the presale of the first round playoff tickets (it was held yesterday for "10 pack" ticket holders, which is what I am). He was able to get me "the hook-up" so I could buy my ticket today instead. So my friends Monica, Julie and I will be going to Game 1 (at the Ballpark) of the ALDS (well, God willing that the Rangers make the playoffs. Fingers and toes crossed!!) :)

I'm loving...that I made my first casserole last night. Oh yes, Cooking Adventures with Rachel continues! Oh, I should so trademark that title, I could have my own show!! I'll post the recipe later on, but here is the finished product: Tuna Casserole (for the record, it's the only time I'll eat tuna OR green peas).

I'm loving...the "cooler" temperatures we've been experiencing in DFW the past few days. On Monday I was able to turn off my AC and open my windows. In fact, I sat outside on my balcony and read for a few hours. It was so nice! Sadly it will be in the mid 90s by the weekend, but anything is better than 106! 

I'm loving...that on Friday night my friend Aaron and I will be seeing Dick Van Dyke and Jerry Van Dyke live and in person. Words cannot express my excitement!! **happy dance**

Hope everyone has a great day! XOXO!!

101 in 1001 Update

I'm SO BAD about posting updates on this, which is sad since I'm supposed to blog like once a month about my progress on my list. For those new to reading my blog, back in November I created a 101 in 1001 list (click here to view it). It's 101 things I want to do/complete in the next 1001 days. I started on November 30, 2010 and have until August 29, 2013. I know, I know. I still have over two years, but, I don't want to be like I was, I mean, some people were, in college and wait until the last minute to try and finish a project. ;) Just as an FYI, you can always find the list via the header at the top of my page. I try and update it as soon as I complete (or start) a task. I'll try and be better about blogging at least once a month about my progress!!

Completed tasks (since my last update):

#28. Carpool to work 2 times a week for 3 months. I've actually done better than this. I've been carpooling for over three month. There are three of us in the carpool and we drive in together Monday-Thursday. Two of us are off early most Fridays, so we don't carpool that day. It's really nice only have to drive every two weeks. It has saved A LOT on gas money!

#39. Check out job postings in other departments, preferably the public relations department. I have been doing this on a monthly basis. Unfortunately we don't have many new job openings right now. I'm not saying I'm not happy in my current work position (I love my department and my boss is the best), but I'm always looking at opportunities to advance! And if I could write again, I would love that. It would be nice to use my Communications degree!! ;)

#42. File away old jobs at least once a month. We recently went "paperless" on most of our jobs so I no longer have a mountain of paperwork to file each month. **insert happy dance here**

#62. No video, computer or iPhone games for seven consecutive days. Okay, after I got over my Angry Birds addiction (don't get me wrong, I still like it, I'm just not playing it every day anymore), this wasn't that hard to complete. I might have even gone two weeks without playing. I rarely play computer games (maybe an occasional game of Spider Solitaire) and I don't own video games. This was really more for iPhone related games, I just wanted to include all kinds!

#79. Give a generous tip for a job well done (either at a restaurant, hair salon or nail salon). Two weeks ago a friend and I ate at Uno Chicago Grill in Fort Worth. The poor kid who was our waiter had to put up with me and my friend debating like 20 minutes over the menu (and we asked A LOT of questions). I had never been there, I needed to be sure I knew what I was ordering. :) There was a TV with the Rangers game on right in front of us (you know where my attention was- not the menu- so every time he came by I was like, "I'm sorry, I haven't looked yet"). He thought our comments about the game were funny though (they weren't that busy so he came by our table a lot). Then after the game he was nice enough to put on the closed captioning on the TV so we could at least read what was being said during post game interviews (they aren't allowed to turn up the volume). He made sure we had plenty of Dr Pepper throughout our meal (which in itself is a reason for good tip). So, I left him a pretty good tip, he deserved it!

#91. Go a week without complaining in traffic. You know, I didn't specify that I had to be driving while I was in traffic. On weeks I don't drive the carpool, I don't complain at all! ;) 

#95. Be in bed before 10pm every night for a week. A few weeks ago, I was pretty much asleep by 9:30 every night (granted, I wasn't feeling good, but still, I was in bed early that week!) 

#96. Watch a sunrise. I woke up extra early one morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched the sunrise from my apartment window.

#97. Watch a sunset. A few weeks ago we were having awful thunderstorms/tornadoes watches, etc. One of those days, late in the day, the sun came out. I watched the sunset from my living room. The sky looked so pretty. I wish I had thought to take a picture! :)

In-Progress tasks (since my last update):

#17. Go through my closet once a year and donate clothes to Mission Arlington (1/3). About two months ago, I filled up 4 bags of clothes/shoes to donate to Mission Arlington. And yes, I used that as an excuse to go clothes shopping! :)

#47. Go for a walk 20 times (6/20). I've found myself doing this more often than I thought, I probably could have made it 40 times (but I'm not changing it). :)

#50. Eat at 10 restaurants in Dallas/Fort Worth I've never been to before (1/10). I've already mentioned it, but I went to Uno Chicago Grill in Fort Worth a few weeks ago. I know it's not a "Dallas only" restaurant, BUT it's the only location in the state of Texas! :)

#51. Learn to cook 10 new meals (that don't include the microwave) (1/10). I made chicken spaghetti a while back (maybe two months ago). It was pretty good! I love pasta....yummy!

#60. Create 3 new craft projects that aren't scrapbooking related (2/3). At Christmas, I made a tissue box cover for a friend. And at Mother's Day, I made a "brag book" for my mom, sister and niece. 

Tissue box cover

 

Brag book I made for my mom for Mother's Day. I used layouts found here and inserted pictures of my great-nephews in them. I then pasted them on 4X6 index cards and punched holes in the top and put ribbon through it. I made a similar one for my sister and niece!

 

 

Just a sample of what the inside pages looked like. Top is pictures of C and E. Bottom is pictures of G and B.

#71. Make a donation to a different charity twice a year (1/6). I've actually already made two donations, but they were both to C.J. Wilson's Children's Charity. I'll make a donation to another charity before the end of the year! :)

With C.J. Wilson at his charity event a few weeks ago. I made the picture black and white because I looked so pastely-white next to a very tan C.J.

#72. Send 10 snail mail letters to friends/family (not including holidays or birthday) (1/10). I mailed a "thinking of you" card to a friend not to long ago.

So, that is my latest update. I promise to be better about keeping you up-to-date. As always, check my progress here. 

I know that I'll be able to mark a few more off my list after my friend Katie's Texas visit next week! We have a road trip planned, as well as some museum visits (and we are going to try out some local restaurants). Wahoo!!

Have a great day! XOXO!!