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!

Quick note...

I'm short on time today, but I did want to post an update real quick. I have to say that I'm very proud of myself for getting my apartment cleaned this weekend. I was able to get rid of three bags of clothes to donate to Mission Arlington. I didn't organize my hall closet, BUT I did organize the closet in my bedroom (we'll see how long this lasts). This will shock many of my friends who have seen the disastrous state that my closet is usually in! Picture proof below!

Blouses, shirts and skirts that I can wear to work (we have to dress semi-fancy at my job)

T-shirts (yes, my baseball shirts are all grouped together). :) Also in the picture, a random teddy bear and stuffed penguin.

Belts, slacks and "non work" blouses. We aren't allowed to wear sleeveless or spaghetti strap blouses to work.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I promise to post more tomorrow! If you were lucky enough to have the day off work/school today, I hope you are enjoying it! I guess I can't complain about having to work today, I mean, I've had five free days off work this past month thanks to ice/snow. Also the commute to work wasn't too bad today with so many people able to stay home.

Happy Monday friends!

XOXO!

My new room

So I spent the good part of my weekend cleaning and rearranging my "spare room". I have a two story apartment (my living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are all downstairs). The upstairs "room" is really an open loft area that has been a storage area for my old computer and desk, piano keyboard, scrapbooking materials, and sports memorabilia. Since I now have a laptop, I decided I really didn't need a computer desk anymore (I rarely use my old computer), so I decided to donate the desk to Mission Arlington.  On Saturday afternoon a friend of mine came over to help me move it downstairs into the back of my truck (not only do I have stairs in my apartment, I also live on the second floor. The desk is by no means "light" (thanks again Branson for taking time to stop by, I know you had a lot going on!!) :)

Here are the "before" pictures of my loft (you will see my "slightly used" pilates equipment is up there as well!)

Getting ready to move the desk downstairs.

 

The desk loaded in my truck and ready to go to Mission Arlington!

And here are the "after" pictures. I bought a few new shelves for some of my sports memorabilia. I also moved my all my craft materials up there (I also plastic canvas stitch). I bought some plastic storage drawers to store my scrapbook paper and yarn in. We'll see how long this organization lasts!! :)

Yeah Friday!

I wanted to start my post today by congratulating my nephew Jonathan on his high school graduation last night. I'm so proud of you!
 

Me and my sweet nephew Jonathan

Now, TGIF!! It's finally Friday. Once again I've decided to participate in Five Question Friday. Welcome everyone visiting today, I hope you enjoy your visit!! :)

1. If you could go back to college would you change your major? Or, if you were to go to college right now...what major would you choose? 

If I could be better in science, I would go back and think about studying meteorology. As I posted a few weeks ago, I'm fascinated by tornadoes. I would love to be a storm chaser (I would just prefer to know what I'm doing before I'm out there chasing one!) :)

2. What do you love most about your home?

I live in an apartment, but I think it's cozy. I'm starting on the reorganization of my "spare room" this weekend. I'll try and post pictures once I'm done. Right now it serves as an office/sports memorabilia room/pilates equipment storage room/scrapbook storage area. 

This is a glimpse of my very messy, unorganized, spare room.

3. What types of books do you like to read (if you like to read at all)?

I love mysteries/suspense novels. I try and post what I'm currently reading on the right hand side of my blog. I also have a list of some of my favorite authors over there.

4. What is the grossest thing you've ever eaten?

If you know me, I'm probably one of the pickiest eaters ever (I eat like a 6 year old). I'm sure a lot of people would disagree, but I thought cottage cheese was pretty gross when I tried it. Blek!

5. If you HAD to be a character on a TV show, whom would you be?

I would love to be a character on Criminal Minds or CSI (that way I could work with Shemar Moore, George Eads or Eric Szmanda!) ;)

  

Have a great weekend y'all!! :)

Five Question Friday

I have some blogging friends that participate in Five Question Friday, so I thought I would give it a shot this week!! First of all, welcome to all of those visiting today, thanks for stopping by!! :)

Five Question Friday

1. Is there something you've always wanted to try but just can't muster up the courage to actually do it?
If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm not a fan of flying. I can count on one hand how many times I've flown in my lifetime. The longest flight was from Texas to New York City a few years ago (about 3 hours). I REALLY want to go to Europe. I just need the courage to be on a plane for 8+ hours. I'm gonna do it, one day.

2. If you had $100 handed to you in cash without your significant other knowing about it, what would you spend it on?
Well, seeing that at this moment I don't have a boyfriend/husband, I would spend it on whatever I felt like! :) Maybe a new outfit, or two, from Kohl's. Or perhaps I would finally buy a new DVD player, my old one is starting to show its age.


3. What was your favorite piece of playground equipment as a child?
I always loved the swings. I remember in elementary school we would see who could swing the highest, then jump off. It was a lot of fun, unless you landed wrong on your foot or ankle.

4. Do you prefer a sweet or hearty breakfast?
It all depends on what is available. We have a cafeteria at my office, and some mornings I get a plate (to-go- carton) of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, or a breakfast taco. But today, we had donuts in celebration of my birthday last week and a fellow co-workers birthday this weekend, so I pigged out on that! :) Yum...donuts!

5. Are you a Neat Freak or Messy Bessy?
I'm somewhere in between. I'm by NO MEANS a neat freak. Just ask any of my friends. BUT, it does get to a point where I go on a mad cleaning spree. I TRY and keep things neat and tidy, it usually lasts about a week or two. Don't get me wrong, it never gets to the point of "disgusting", I just have a lot of crap junk stuff, and my apartment is small. So, it looks messier than it actually is.

Have a great weekend y'all!!

Being still....

For the first time in I don’t know how long, it’s Sunday night and I’m not asking myself “where did my weekend go?” I’m not saying I’m necessarily thrilled tomorrow is Monday and I have to go back to work (but let’s be honest, no one looks forward to Mondays). But, I actually woke up this morning feeling well rested, something I haven’t felt in a while.

I got up at an ungodly hour on Saturday and started cleaning, although it was not my intention to get up that early. For unknown reasons, someone thought it was a good idea for the garbage trucks to empty the dumpsters at my apartment complex at 6 a.m. on a weekend. After lying in bed for over an hour trying to get back to sleep, I realized it was a lost cause and got up to start my cleaning frenzy (which, by the way, my apartment looks great. I even cleaned and organized my pantry- I was a mad woman!) :)

Before the start of the Texas/OU game (Hook 'Em Horns, by the way), I was on Facebook and noticed my nephew Danny’s status was that he was trying to find the Texas game online to watch. As some of you know, my nephew is a missionary in Finland, he just moved there in June. (For anyone who isn’t familiar with my family, this nephew is 28). There is a program called Skype that allows you to make phone calls/video calls on your computer, so I called him. Since he was running a video program to watch the game, we just used the phone call portion of the program. It was so cool. I was talking to my nephew, who was watching the same football game as I was, but he was halfway around the world. I still had cleaning to do, so I moved my laptop around as I did the dishes and cleaned my living room. We talked for four hours. We hadn’t talked since July so it was great to hear his voice. I have missed my chats with him, so I have no doubt it was a God thing that I was home watching the game and was able to talk to him. If I had gone out, I would have missed that chance.

After Saturday night church services, I went to a party at my friend’s new house. It was a lot of fun to just spend time with some of my wonderful friends that God has blessed me with. They helped me forget about my bad week by just being their typical goofy, loveable selves. It was awesome. I definitely needed that time.

Like I said earlier, I woke up feeling very refreshed this morning. For as long as I can remember, I go through “fits” of having sleeping issues (going back as far as high school). Sometimes I’ll wake up and I’m not able to get back to sleep. Other times I’ll wake up every hour or two, but eventually fall back asleep. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I think I slept 8 hours without waking up. I got up and went grocery shopping (so that is out of the way for the week). I made it in and out of the Duncanville Kroger in 30 minutes, which is a miracle in itself!

I had a very relaxing afternoon. I watched a Cary Grant movie I had never seen before (The Awful Truth) as well as Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. I’ll never be able to watch My Three Sons or Christmas in Connecticut the same way again after seeing those two play “bad guys”. :) For those of you who aren’t fans of the classics, in Double Indemnity, those two plot to kill someone (I’m not spoiling anything, it’s written in the description of the movie). I had never seen those actors in that kind of role before, it was almost like watching Dick Van Dyke be the killer in an episode of Columbo! Nevertheless, it was a good movie!

I did learn some things this weekend by “being still”. I had more than one friend message me this weekend asking if I was being still and listening. :) It’s amazing the things God will show you when you give Him the time. I think I might do more of these “me time” weekends in the future. They are really a blessing.

I hope everyone has a great week. Be blessed!

TGIF!!!

Have you ever had one of “those” weeks? You know, one of those weeks where you just want it to be over with. One where you are screaming “DO OVER!” and it’s only Tuesday? I am so happy that it is Friday that I’m not sure I can even put it into words. Well, obviously I’m going to try. But I honestly feel like I should be in a Judy Blume book. “Are you there God? It’s me, Rachel.”

It started Sunday with the “Great iPhone Near-Disaster of 2009”. Then Monday I had to leave work early in order to get my car worked on. By the end of the day, I was $157 more in debt, but my car problems were fixed, at least for now. It’s amazing how much work has to be done to a vehicle AFTER it is paid off. I paid my truck off in March. Since then I have had to replace the starter, the battery, the timing belt, miscellaneous thing-a-ma-gigs under the hood, and the flux capacitor. I guess I can add a new tire to the list now. Oh, despite my car woes, I need to give a big shout–out to Randy at Petrik’s Auto (located on Main St. in Duncanville). He’s getting a shout out because 1) he was nice and didn’t treat me like the dumb car-clueless girl that I am, and 2) he didn’t charge me for the brake fluid or advice about my tires. Sadly, at Discount Tire, they did not take pity on me and give me a free tire. But Nate, the kid that helped me, was very nice.

Tuesday I went to the dentist and found out I need to go back next month because it's time for my yearly X-rays. I don't understand why they couldn't have done it then. I mean, I was already there and no one was in the waiting room. But no, I had to set up another appointment. But on a more positive note, I still have a credit at the dental office from when my insurance overpaid them when I got my crown.

Wednesday I got my second jury duty notice of the year. I went over 30 years and never got called for jury duty, now I've been called twice in less than 6 months. It's not that bad, but I do have to serve the week of Thanksgiving, that is kind of a bummer. At least it's the Tuesday before and not the day after. The first time I got called for jury duty was for a murder trial (obviously I didn't get picked). Maybe I'll just remind them I'm a conservative Christian who is pro concealed handgun laws and the death penalty. That seemed to work last time in me not getting picked! :)

So, on top of all the "petty stuff", it’s just been one of “those” weeks at work. I try not to complain because I am thankful I have a job, and that I no longer work at the evil place that is AHFC. I’ll just leave it at I’m having work woes. I won’t go into gory details. Who knows who might stumble across my blog on the Internet!

So after a week of feeling like God is sitting there, looking down, going, “Okay, nobody move, no one help her, she needs to figure this one out on her own”, I think I figured it out. I thought of this verse last night. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Be STILL?? As in, SLOW DOWN? My friends joke that there is a 2 month waiting period and a down deposit just to spend time with me. They are kidding, of course, but I do tend to overextend myself. I mean, I have had friends plan events from house warming parties to weddings around my schedule before. I can’t help it, it’s in my blood. There are other members of my family (who shall remain nameless since they can read this blog too), who tend to overdo it and take on too much as well.

Last night I was going over my plans for another jammed packed, fun-filled weekend in the life of Rachel, and I got exhausted just thinking about it. Couldn’t I just stay home on Saturday and clean while watching the Texas/OU game? WAIT- CLEAN?? “Georgeanne? Is that you??” (for those who don’t know, Georgeanne is my mom. She is a cleaning queen.) Okay, now that has to be divine intervention when I would rather clean than go out with friends and watch football. So, new plans for the weekend. Besides going to church on Saturday night, and my friend’s house warming party afterwards (which yes, was semi-planned around my schedule), I’m taking a “me time” weekend. God obviously wants me to slow down, so I plan to be obedient and do so. I have no clue what He wants me to hear or get out of this weekend, but I guess I need to “be still” and listen to find out.