What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That modern technology allows my BFF to "go shopping" with me even though she's hundreds of miles away. I texted her on my shopping trip last weekend to get her opinion on some outfits. 

I was concerned these shorts were too short. After wearing them the other day, I think I was right!

I actually asked some friends on Twitter about this outfit as well. I wanted to make sure the pants and top went well together (I have no sense of style). Lol

I'm loving...

That I saw my second musical in a month! I saw Ragtime with my friends Aaron and Mel last weekend. We plan to see another musical in June!

The three amigos! 

Dallas Summer Musicals at Fair Park. As you can tell, I bought the outfit pictured above. Lol

Aaron bought me this bobblehead and shot glass for my birthday. My nickname is Wonder Woman, so she's obviously one of my favorite superheroes. :)

I'm loving...

That I drove 200 miles to get a Nolan Ryan bobblehead. I could lie and say I just wanted to see a minor league baseball game, but y'all know me too well. I went to Round Rock on Saturday to see an Express baseball game (the Rangers AAA team). I stopped in Waco and picked up my Bubba and his family (minus his oldest son who had to work). I always love seeing a game with my Bubba (he's the reason I love baseball). :)

Gates opened at 5:30. This was the line to get in by 5:10. By the time the gates opened, the line went around the parking lot. I wasn't the only one who wanted a bobblehead!

The newest addition to my bobblehead collection. And yes, Whataburger sponsored the giveaway (this bobblehead was made for me). :)

On the wall at Dell Diamond

I've been to several minor league ballparks and Dell Diamond is one of the nicest

Our view for the game. We paid close attention since there was no net in front of us

My sweet nephew A. I think he had a lot of fun.

Me and my Bubba (and A photobombing us)

My beautiful niece Ashlyn

I love the shoes my friends got me for my birthday. I sent this snap out after the game was over on Saturday (shameless plug, I'm averyfan on Snapchat if you want to follow me)

I'm loving...

That I got to hang out with my friends Laura and Rich on Monday. They live in Oklahoma so I don't see them as often as I would like. Their boys C and O are ADORABLE!!

I wanted to put O in my purse so I could take him home with me, but I figured they would notice he was missing

I hadn't seen C in so long, he's gotten so big!

Me and Rich- he is a top-notch friend

We spent the day at Laura's folks house lounging by the pool

My beautiful friend Laura!

This is C's new puppy. I also wanted to put her in my purse and take her home with me. She was so cuddly!! 

I'm loving...

That Yu Darvish is back with the Rangers. He had surgery last year that kept him out all season and part of this season. He pitched on Saturday and did an amazing job. I hope to see him pitch in person on Friday at the Ballpark!

I'm loving...

That I have TWO trips planned for this summer (so far). I'm so excited!

What are YOU loving?? Comment below! :)

XOXO!

Wednesday Ramblings...

As promised, here are a few more pictures from my trip to Atlanta (see yesterday's post for the ones from Turner Field and the Braves game). We were actually staying in Roswell, GA and got to tour the childhood home of Mittie Bulloch, Teddy Roosevelt's mother (one of my friends that went with me is a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt). I love historical sites, so I really enjoyed it too!

A view of Bulloch Hall

Standing on the front porch waiting for the tour to start

Our very sweet tour guide Colleen.

Three guesses what this chair in the bedroom was used for!

 

A view of the attic- it was huge. The stairs in the middle of the room went up to a trap door in the roof. That way if the house caught fire, they were able to get water up to the roof.

A picture for my friend Linda- she loves spinning wheels!

Like I said yesterday, I took a ton of pictures. But again, I don't want to bore you with a picture of every room in the house. (which yes, I took pictures of). I love touring old houses like that and trying to imagine what it was like living back in the 1800s and early 1900s. There are so many things we take for granted these days (air conditioning and indoor plumbing being the two main ones that come to mind!!) :) For more information (and to see more pictures) of Bulloch Hall, go to their website here.

I tried to edit my video of the tomahawk chopping Chick Fil-A cow at Turner Field, but I can't get it to upload onto Blogger properly, so I'm cheating and pulling someone's video from Youtube. They got a better shot than I did. I was across the field so mine was blurry. Seriously, this thing made me laugh- I love it!! :)

I've been tagged by my sweet blogging friend Jenn over at Brown Eyed Girl's ramblings (check her out, she's great!)! It seems I need to answer her 8 questions, then think up my own 8 questions and tag 8 friends. So, here I go!

1. What is your favorite beverage?

If you have been a reader of my blog for at least a week or so, you probably know by now that my favorite beverage is Dr Pepper (I seem to mention it every other post or so!) ;)

2. What is (are) your must have item(s) when you leave the house?

My iPhone, my keys (duh) and chap stick (I'm a compulsive applier of chap stick).

3. What is your favorite vacation spot?

I would say anywhere away from work is a great vacation spot. :) I haven't been to the beach in a while, so I would say some place along the coast would be fun!

4. Vanilla or chocolate?

If we are talking ice cream, I'm all about Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate. :)

5. Where do you spend most of your time outside of work/home?

This year it has been The Ballpark in Arlington!! :) Otherwise, any place where my friends are at.

6. Are you a reader? If so, who is (are) your favorite author(s)?

Oh, I LOVE to read. It's hard to pick my favorite author. I really like the following authors (click on their name to go to their website). The majority of these authors write mystery/suspense novels (my favorite!)

Kay Hooper: A number of years ago I was out of town and forgot to bring a book (I always take a book wherever I go- I'm such a nerd), so I went to Target to see if I could find one to read. A book called Haunting Rachel caught my eye (gee, I wonder why?) ;) It was by Kay Hooper. The summary sounded interesting so I bought it. I was officially hooked on her writing after that. Many years and trips to Half Price Books later, I probably own most of her books now. ;)

Nevada Barr: Many years ago I was on vacation and was wanting a book to read in the car (I am blessed that I don't get car sick while reading). I came across a fiction mystery book about Carlsbad Caverns (a place I had just visited the day before), so I bought it and another book by the same author, Nevada Barr. Another author I got hooked on immediately. Most of her books follow the adventures of a park ranger named Anna Pigeon. The author actually visits and researches all the National Parks she includes in her book (so there is some real life history in them).

Heather Graham (not the actress): I don't remember how I came across this author, I think my friend Martha might have introduced me to her. Her writing style is similar to Kay Hooper. Another one of my top  favorite authors.

Karin Slaughter: A girl I used to work with introduced me to this author. Most of her books that I've read are part of a series. I'll admit I was tempted to go "Kathy Bates" on her when she killed off a character in that series (remember the movie Misery when Kathy Bates freaks out that her favorite author killed the main character in a book series?) Yeah, I have a few other friends that are reading the series who agreed with me on that part. But I'm willing to continue to read the series, despite that! :) But if she wants to make that one book all a dream, I would greatly appreciate it!! :)

Allison Brennan: My friend Monica introduced me to this author last year. The series I'm reading right now is basically three trilogies (so it's 9 books in the series). Most of the characters overlap within the series. You can read them out of order, or just a few from the series, but it helps to start with Book 1. I'm almost done with that series and she just started a new series on the 7 deadly sins.

7. Other than Blogger, what is your favorite website to visit?

I visit Facebook and Twitter pretty much every day (I have apps for them on my iPhone, so that is how I usually update my statuses). I also go to the Money Saving Mom's website daily (also known as My Dallas Mommy). She posts coupons, discount codes and general money saving information for stores, businesses and entertainment places around DFW. Sometimes the discounts/coupons are good nationwide, so feel free to check it out here. Oh, and I usually visit ESPN and the Texas Rangers website daily as well. :)

8. Who was your childhood best friend? Are you still friends?

That would have to be Mandy, I've known her the longest (well over 20 years!!) And yes, we are still friends! :) I don't get to see her as much as I would like, but hopefully this fall we can plan a trip to see each other.

Me and Mandy a few years ago at the San Antonio Riverwalk.

If I tag you and you don't want to play, no hurt feelings at all!! If I didn't tag you and you would like to participate, leave me a comment so I can check out your answers!! It was hard only choosing 8 blogs, I have so many that I read daily!! :) Here are the questions for you to answer.

1. What is your "guilty pleasure" food?

2. If you could guest star on any TV show, which one would it be?

3. What is your biggest pet peeve?

4. Scary movies- love them or hate them?

5. If someone was to make a movie of your life, who would play you?

6. If you could only shop at one store for a year, which one would it be (not counting grocery stores)?

7. Are you a MAC or PC user?

8. What would your friends say your best quality is?

Now for the 8 blogs:

1. Freckles and Fudge

2. Adventures of a Betty Crocker Wanna-Be

3. Adventures of Gastric Girl

4. Beautiful Collision

5. Cranberry Morning

6. Little Thoughts By LT

7. Sweet Tea and Sunshine

8. Legally Brunette

Happy Wednesday friends!! The weekend is almost in sight!! :)

Georgia On My Mind...

Howdy friends!! I'm back in the great Lone Star State after my long weekend in Atlanta, GA! It was so much fun! Oh, where to begin. First of all, as I mentioned in previous posts, I'm not a big fan of flying. I think I did okay. We started the trip with a 45 minute delay leaving DFW (I think it was either mechanical related or weather related. we never did get a straight answer). The flight itself was pretty good. My friends and I all had our Mp3 devices and books to keep us occupied. I noticed after about an hour and 45 minutes it seemed we were going in circles. It turns out we were. Due to storms in Atlanta and  the surrounding areas, we were having to circle until we were cleared to land. I'm not one to get motion sickness, but maybe the circling on top of my nerves kinda upset my stomach. Thankfully I didn't get sick. Although when we finally started to land, we hit some turbulence which caused my stomach to feel like I was riding The Viking Ship ride at Six Flags. If you've never ridden it, basically it felt like my stomach was in my throat!

I won't bore you with ALL the details (if you really want to hear them, feel free to email me and I can share more). Friday night we had dinner with my friend Beks' family (we were staying with them). They were also our drivers for the weekend. (they were such wonderful people, I had a blast getting to know them). They were very sweet and rearranged their schedule so we could go tour Turner Field Saturday afternoon (this was mainly for me). We toured the museum, Braves Hall of Fame and the actual ballpark. Yes, I turned into a giddy 15 year old. For those new to my blog, for the 1990s and the 00's (I don't know what to call the new decade after the turn of the century), I mainly watched Braves baseball on TV because I couldn't get Rangers games where I lived. Make no mistake, the Rangers are my main true love in baseball, but the Braves are my second favorite (seeing that they are in different leagues, I think it's okay that I love both). But if by some miracle both landed in the World Series, the Rangers would have my full support.

Anyways, I'm typing more than I had planned because I'm about to bombard y'all with a lot of pictures. I know it seems like a lot, but I took over 400, so y'all are coming off easy!! Yes, I went "picture taking happy" on my trip!! Thanks for letting me share!

Waiting to board the plane

Me and Beks killing time during the delay at the airport

A view from the plane

 

 

My Steve Avery Braves jersey (I've had it since I was like 15 or 16) And yes, the Avery in the "Averyfan" in both my blog address and my Twitter account are for him. I swear I'm not a stalker, just a fan! :)

 

Arriving at Turner Field

Had to represent Texas and wear my Rangers cap!

  

Group shot with Monica and Beks

  

An insanely giddy Rachel standing by Steve Avery's signed jersey. It was almost embarrassing how excited I was (yes, I'm a nerd, let's move on!)

 

I thought it was funny that Steve Avery's and Mark Wohlers' jerseys were next to each other in the display. My BFF Mandy will understand the significance of that. I might explain it another day!

 

The Three Amigos, err, Amigas. Who would have thought that three girls would travel to another state just to see a baseball game? And yes, I have a Texas Rangers purse!

Greg Maddux, Hall of Fame pitcher

The 1995 World Series trophy

 

The display about the Braves on TBS (the reason I started watching Braves games)

 

The land of the free...and the home of the Braves (that's what the sign next to this said!) :)

 

The tour took us up to the Sky level of Turner Field

 

Possibly my favorite part of Turner Field- the tomahawk chopping Chick Fil-A cow. I got video during the game of it, I'll try and upload it later this week!

 

View of downtown Atlanta from Turner Field. For those who don't know, the 1996 Summer Olympics were held here. If you look in the background towards the right hand side, you can make out the Olympic "rings". The blue wall in the background is the original wall from the Braves old stadium. It's now in the parking lot of Turner Field.

 

View from the Braves TV announcers booth-so many of the announcers from TBS have sat here!

 

Sitting in one of the TV announcers chair. I could so do this job!

I have now had my picture taken in 2 different MLB dugouts!

 

Beks, me and Monica along the side of the dugout

 

Standing by the field. We were told not to get on the grass. I may, or may not, have accidentally "tapped" the grass with my foot as I was walking away. ;)

  

The entrance from the Ballpark side of the Museum and Hall of Fame

 

Yes, I realize I'm a nerd. Moving on...

 

There is a Chick Fil-A INSIDE Turner Field. Chuck and Nolan: can we please get this at The Ballpark in Arlington?

  

A view from our seats

 

Texas girls at a Braves game!

 

Chipper Jones had season ending knee surgery on Saturday. :( This is his press conference saying he's hoping to come back to play one more year in 2011. I'm SO going back to Atlanta if he does! Rumor has it that during Alumni weekend Steve Avery usually makes an appearance. That would be a great time to go! :)

 

Top of the Braves dugout

 

Braves manager Bobby Cox for the past 25 years. He is retiring after this year.

 

Instead of the Dot Races (like we have at The Ballpark), they have a Tool Race where mascot tools race around the park.

  

I really liked the big screen!

This is Braves Country- that slogan was everywhere around Atlanta!

Like I said, I have tons of other pictures, but I'm sure this was enough to bore y'all. On Sunday we went to Bulloch Hall in Roswell, GA, which was the childhood home of Teddy Roosevelt's mother. I will try and post pictures from the rest of our trip tomorrow.