What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I know, it's been a week since I last posted! Sorry about that- just blame laziness. And I was out of town over the weekend, but mainly it was due to laziness. :) And Netflix. Blast you Netflix. 

It's time once again to link up with yours truly, and Jodi, for What I'm Loving Wednesday! Be sure to tell your friends and followers about the link up, we would love to have more blogs to check out! :) As always, please be sure to link your post back to our link up (feel free to grab our nifty button located on the sidebar). Also, check out and leave a comment on the blog listed ahead of yours. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see my best friend Mandy over the weekend. If you are new to my blog, this is my best friend I've known almost 27 years. She lives in Austin so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like, so we make the most of any time we have with each other. Sadly my time on Saturday was just about six hours, but we had fun. Yes, I drove (round trip) 7.5 hours to spend six hours with a friend. Totally worth it! :)

I'm loving...
The sweet hugs and kisses I got from these adorable kiddos (Mandy's kids). It was Miss E's birthday the other day, and she invited me to her party last Saturday (that was the main reason I made the drive to Austin, but spending time with Mandy was a bonus!) :)

I can't believe Aunt Rachel's sweet girl is already 4!! I love our "duck lips" picture in the right upper corner. She's slowly perfecting it. Lol. 

It was harder to get pictures with A, but we managed a few good ones! :)

I'm loving...
My sweet Twitter friends Will and Brandon for talking me off the ledge when I wanted to throw my laptop out the window last night. I was working on my blog post when my computer just shut down (no warning). I got a message that it was updating (which lasted about 30 minutes). Then I got another message that said the update didn't work and it was undoing all changes (that took almost an hour). At the 45 minutes mark, my laptop was in danger of taking a flying leap out my apartment window. Now it's almost midnight and I'm trying to get this blog post done before I go to bed. I know, it's my fault for procrastinating.

I'm loving...
Free steak dinners. I mean, who doesn't? Well, besides vegans and vegetarians. A friend of mine was invited to a seminar (she's in the medical field) that included a free dinner at Chamberlain's Steak House. She was allowed to bring a guest. Technically the guest was supposed to be in the medical field as well, but we overlooked that part.

The steak was not that dark, I know it looks burnt here, but it wasn't. I think it was the lighting in the room. Trust me, it was just perfect. As were the mashed potatoes. I'm getting hungry looking at this picture.

I'm loving...
This picture of my sweet little great-niece, Miss L. I can't wait to meet her!!

I'm loving...
The features on PicMonkey. I'm so addicted to this website. I make a lot of my picture collages for my blog on this website. It's also how I put the watermark on my pictures. They just added a new feature that allows you to make pictures into comic books. I had too much fun with that! Lol.

I'm loving...
That I can update my 101 in 1001 list. I made a tater tot casserole the other day. My sister makes this sometime, but I followed a recipe on this blog here (because I couldn't find the recipe my sister sent me). The only thing I changed is that I used broccoli instead of green peas. I also altered the cooking time to 25 minutes instead of 30 minutes (my oven seems to cook faster than what most recipes call for). While the broccoli was okay in it, I think next time I'll just leave it out and have it as a side dish. :)

101 in 1001 List. #49. Learn to cook 10 new meals. I am now at 5/10. :)

I embraced my inner Baptist and made a casserole... :)

Thanks to everyone who links up with us!! If you didn't get a chance to link up today, we do this every Wednesday, be sure to come back next week!! If you didn't do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post, but want to comment below with what you are loving, I'd love to hear it! :)

XOXO!!

My weekend!

Hello my sweet friends! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Mine was pretty relaxing. It started on Friday with SNOW in Dallas. Okay, I'm sure all of you up north will laugh that we were excited with the little amount of snow we got, but hey, it doesn't snow that often, so when we see any amount of it, we get excited. We also get stupid when driving (but alas, that's a story for another day). 

It started snowing about 9 am. I was already at my office, so about 10:30 I asked a co-worker if she would take my picture in the snow. Yes, we are also nerds that have to document the snow with pictures. My office had once again allowed us to wear jeans (I tell you, this NEVER happens, much less twice in the same week). 

Yes, it wasn't a lot, but hey, it was snow. The picture on the top left is my new favorite picture of me. :)

Fridays are usually my half-days at work anyways, so I left by the early afternoon. I decided to go to the grocery store then, just so I wouldn't have to worry about it later in the weekend. It was still snowing pretty hard by the time I got home, so yes, I took more pictures. Lol. 

I'll have to remember what my pool looked like covered in snow when it's 107 this summer. 

I was told that I needed to do a Mary Tyler Moore pose (I guess the picture of me looking up at the snow reminded people of the Mary Tyler Moore Show intro.) For those who don't know it, here you go...

I never want to disappoint, so I went ahead and took a picture like that...along with some other ones. Lol.

"I'm gonna make it afterall..."

Despite the crummy weather, my friend Monica and I rode the train to the American Airlines Center to see a Stars game for our friend Beks' birthday. I guess the weather must have scared off a lot of people, because there was hardly anyone at the game. Or it could have been the fact that the Stars are stinking it up this season, but why go there.

We got to see our good friend Michael (bottom L) and I got to meet the infamous Grubes (bottom R) ,who is a Twitter friend. I also finally met the new Stars mascot, Victor E. Green.

Starting at top L: Me and the birthday girl Beks; spending some time talking to Beks' husband Chuck; The Stars paid their respects to Mr. Spock. I never watched Star Trek, but I know Leonard Nimoy was loved by millions; Me with Beks and Monica- my hockey homegirls!

When we got back to the train station after the game, it was still snowing/sleeting. The drive to my apartment wasn't too bad, there was a little ice on the one bridge I had to cross. I was happy to finally get home. The rest of the weekend I spent pretty much inside my apartment. I got caught up on some DVR watching (I possibly watched about 10 hours of TV on Saturday- don't judge me). I did workout both Saturday night and Sunday night (after a guilt trip from my friend Matt-lol). I also drank a lot of hot tea (I couldn't seem to get warm), and I read a little (yes, I'm still reading Harry Potter. As God as my witness, I will finish reading this series. Lol). I've been in such a reading funk lately. I can't seem to get motivated to read anything. :( 

Picture proof that I actually worked out. Also, my favorite tea mug that my sister Martha gave me. And the 5th book in the Harry Potter series.

So, how was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting??

XOXO!

Mobile Monday

Current pictures on my phone...

Last week I had to go see the nurse practitioner at work for my sinus infection. This is me killing time in the waiting room. 

I know someone who had dental work done last week. I obviously have no sympathy. Lol. 

This was recently installed in the third floor break room at my office. My diet is officially over. Lol.

I should never be trusted in a bookstore. I went in to buy ONE book. I walked out with four. 

So Saturday night I was in bed and all sorts of comfy (watching Netflix on my laptop) when a friend called and told me he was at a party near my house. After a little guilt trip (possibly some bribing), I agreed to make an appearance. I ended up with a hat to wear while I was there. Lol. I had fun though, I'm glad I went.

If you live up north, don't read this. Yesterday was a beautiful 72 degree day in the Metroplex, so I sat outside by my pool and read for a while. 

I love Gobstoppers. I will eat this whole bag in two days if I'm not careful. I gotta pace myself. Lol.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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!

It's OK...

I know this isn't a real link up anymore, but it's a good fallback to give me a topic so I can actually post twice in the same week!! :)

It's OK...

...that I seem to be the only person who doesn't care about the Oscars (as in the Academy Awards). I care fondly about a lot of Oscars, as in Oscar the Grouch, Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior of the Chelsea Football Club, and even Oscar Wilde. But when it comes to award shows, I just don't care- at all. Also I looked at the nominee list, I hadn't heard of 85% of the movies listed. And the ones I had heard of, I didn't see. Oh well. 

Three Oscars I actually care about...

...that I didn't meet my Reading Challenge last year. I wanted to read 52 books. I only read 30. That was still a good number of books though. I'm doing another reading challenge this year, and I also joined a book club. I'll try to be better about writing book reviews. I failed big time last year with that. I've already read two books this year, I HOPE to post those reviews soon! :) OH, shameless plug to follow me on Goodreads here. 

The books I read last year

...that I'm more excited than I should be about the movie Sharknado 3. I shall host a watching party at my house whenever it airs. Come on, who doesn't like a bad Syfy movie? :)

...that I was happy that Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell replied to another one of my tweets. He tweeted that he had a Cowboys cap and I told him I wanted a picture of him wearing it. He sent one!

I have to say that Dennis Haskins is the best about talking to fans on social media. He will forever be Mr. Belding to all of us

...that the Cowboys lost last Sunday. Wait, NO, it's NOT okay. Never mind. I don't want to talk about it. Moving on...

...that I'm just randomly posting this picture of my nephews and niece (just because they are too cute).

Aunt Rachel's little Ninja Turtles!

Have a wonderful day my lovely friends!

XOXO!

Blog Challenge Day 9-Two Recent Pictures

Day 9: Two recent pictures

Supporting my Rangers, through thick and thin, through wins and losses (although lately it's been more losses than wins). :(

Supporting my second favorite soccer team in the World Cup, Team Brasil!

I know, my 10 day blog challenge is taking like two months. Life. It happens. Blogging takes a backseat. It's all good though!

XOXO!!