Sorry I haven't been updating my blog lately, it makes me sad how neglected it looks. :( Things have just been really busy around here. HOPEFULLY it will slow down soon and I can get back on track. THANK YOU to everyone who has said they have missed me updating my page- I feel so loved!! :)
I saw this idea on Scenic Gloryand it seemed like fun, so I decided to link up and try it!! :)
The ABC's of Me!
Age: 32
Bed size: Double (and yet Mordecai* still manages to steal the covers) ;)
Chore you hate: Dusting or doing the dishes
Dogs: I don't have one now, but I want one! I like pugs! :)
Essential start of your day: Dr Pepper
Favorite color: Blue (kind of a darker blue- like the Texas Rangers jerseys)
Gold or silver: Silver
Height: 5'8
Instruments I play (or have played): Piano and clarinet (yes, I was a band nerd)
Job title: Creative Project Manager
Kids: none yet
Live: Texas
Mom's name: Georgeanne
Nickname(s): Rach, Ray-ray
Overnight hospital stay: None so far. When I had my wreck a few years ago they didn't make me stay overnight, I was released after a few hours
Pet Peeves: People who put down others all the time (bullies)
Quote from movie: "I'm a Texas woman, which means I don't need the help of a man to keep things running." -The Rookie
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: I have 5- three brothers and two sisters!
Time you wake up: On work days, I wake up at 6am.
Underwear: Yes I wear it, and that is all I'm saying! :)
Vegetables you dislike: Okra, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower
What makes you run late: My own laziness, or traffic
X-ray: Plenty. When I cracked my tailbone in college, after both of my wrecks and oh, do teeth count?
Yummy food you make: HA HA HA, like I cook! I do make a mean 5-minute rice though, I'm just saying- move over Rachael Ray!! ;)
Zoo animal: Either the monkeys or the penguins. Both are my favorite! :)
Hope you all have a great day!! XOXO!!
*for those who don't know, Mordecai is my teddy bear! ;)
1. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I've been thinking about how I was going to answer this question, and I'm going to say...........nothing. Meaning, I wouldn't change anything about me. I'm the way I am for a reason. My friends and family love me (most of the time) the way I am- why change it? I mean, could you imagine if I was a shy, quiet girl who didn't like sports? **shudders at the thought**
2. Write about at time you got lost.
Before I moved to Dallas, I was in town visiting one of my college roommates and her family. She gave me and our other roommate, who was also in town visiting, directions to get back to school (we had carpooled to Dallas together). She accidentally told us to go the wrong way on one of the (many) interstates, and we ended up at the DFW International Airport. Meaning, we somehow took a road that led us to the front gate of the airport. We had to go through the airport to get back out. DFW airport is huge. I'm pretty sure it's bigger than Rhode Island (many not, but close). At one point I was fearing we were going to end up on a runway because the signs were so confusing. When we finally got out, we had to stop and call our other roommate to find out how to get back on the right interstate. This was all taking place during the B.C. portion of my life- before cellphones. I had to stop and call her from a payphone (yes kids, before cell phones, there were these things called payphones, for a quarter, you could make a local call). What should have been a 2 hour drive home ended up taking us almost 4 hours.
3. Camping or a 5 Star Hotel?
I'm going with the 5 Star Hotel. My idea of "roughing it" is staying in a hotel with no cable. Now, I like going hiking and being outside, I just like a hot shower and comfortable bed at the end of the day. :)
4. Have you donated blood?
No. I REALLY HATE needles. I know, I should just get over it and do it. I will, maybe, one day.
5. Do you have a budget, or do you "fly by" most months?
I have a budget. There are times I don't always stick to it, but I have one!
It's Wednesday, right? I haven't gotten a lot of sleep this week, so my days are kind of running together. Three guesses why I've been up late the past few days. (Let's go Rangers). I know, there are 157 games left in the season and we have a long ways to go, so I'm trying to not get too excited right now, BUT, starting the season 5-0 feels nice. Keep it up guys! I love it!
So, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Boys' hit song Elvira. For those of you who have been deprived your whole life and have never heard this song, here it is (this video has to be from the early 80s- picture quality is a little off but the sound is good).
I LOVED this song when I was little. No really, Iloved it. I even named my cat Elvira when I was 3 (I might have been 4, the early 80s are a little hazy!) ;) I would also dance around my room singing it.
Me and Elvira on Easter 1982
American Idol 1982: Me singing Elvira into a curling iron. Thank goodness there is no video!
My sweet friend Martha bought me this shirt last week. I LOVE IT! :) Thanks again friend!
So, my awesome friend Katie over at Words by Katie tagged me the other day on a "getting to know you post". I'm finally finding time to answer those questions. (side note: 6 weeks until Katie makes her trip to Texas- wahoo!) :)
1. What is your dream job?
I have a journalism degree and I love to write (I was a sports writer for a few years right out of college), so if I could get back into a job that allowed me to write, that would be cool. But I also agree with Katie, I would love a job that allowed me to travel, be around sports, and meet new people. I told her we should just marry professional athletes and travel with them. hehehe...
2. What is your favorite drink?
Do I really need to answer this? Have you not figured it out already? Okay, in case you are new to my blog, I'll let it slide, this time. My favorite drink is Dr Pepper. Speaking of which, I think I need an afternoon DP!
3. What is your most important beauty secret?
I'm not sure if I'm qualified to answer that! ;) Katie said to drink water, so I'll go with that (since I drink a lot of Dr Pepper, this might explain my problem!)
4. If you had an all expense paid trip to anywhere, where would you go?
Europe- there are SO many places I want to see over there. London, Paris, Rome, Madrid..the list goes on and on and on.. ;)
5. If a genie popped up right now, what would you wish for?
1. Enough money to pay off my debt (I don't need to be insanely rich, but to be debt free would be nice).
2. Either the job or guy from question #1.
3. And like Katie said, more wishes! (Katie had all the good answers, which is why I'm agreeing with her!)
6. If you could only have one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Um...Italian. I love my carbs, and there are plenty of them in Italian food! :)
7. What one talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could sing. Both of my sisters have a lot of musical talent. Me- not so much (hardly at all). I joke that I got the height and they got the musical talent (I'm about 4-6 inches taller than my sisters).
8. Who is your biggest celebrity crush?
Who me? Crush on celebrities? That's just silly. Okay....you know I'm kidding. Who am I NOT crushing on might be a better question (I really thought I would outgrow this, but evidently, you are never too old to crush on celebrities). It's a tight race. I have it narrowed down to three. CJ Wilson (of the Texas Rangers), Zachary Levi (from the TV show Chuck) and Joe Mauer (from the Minnesota Twins- shhh, don't tell the Rangers I like another team's player- they wouldn't understand). For the record, I don't cheer for Joe when he's playing against the Rangers! :) And I would never be a Twins fan. He would just have to accept me loving the Rangers. :)
CJ Wilson
Zachary Levi
Joe Mauer
9. If you could look into your future, would you?
No way. It would be like reading the end of the book before you started reading it.
10. What made you start a blog?
My friend Lindsay had a blog that I would read and I thought I would give it a try. I'll be honest, I never thought that anyone other than my parents and a few friends would ever read it. I'm now over 200 followers! Y'all are the best!!
I'm supposed to tag others, so I'm tagging all of you reading this! If you participate, please let me know, I'd love to see your answers! :)
Hope everyone is having a great week!! We are halfway to the weekend!!
XOXO!!
Love, hugs and Dr Pepper ice cream floats to you all! :)
I am officially in my happy place. Baseball season is under way. In case you are new to my blog, I am a fanaticobsessed, passionate about baseball (more importantly, Texas Rangers baseball). Last Friday I attended Rangers Opening Day for the sixth year in a row. As I posted here, I love so much about Opening Day. If you follow me on Twitter (shameless plug, go here to follow me on Twitter), you know that most of my tweets from April-October are baseball related. You have been warned! :)
As promised, here is a recap of my weekend. On Friday morning, my friends Monica, Julie and I got to The Ballpark (official name is Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, but I will always refer to it as The Ballpark) about 10:15ish. For those local to Dallas, I love listening to The Ben and Skin Show on 103.3FM ESPN from 9am-noon during the week (no, they aren't paying me to put this in my blog)! :) They were broadcasting live from The Ballpark on Friday so we stopped by to listen to the show. During one of the commercial breaks, I asked Skin if I could have my picture taken with them (fan girl moment). He said sure and asked my name. When I said Rachel he stared at me for a moment and was like, "Are you Averyfan on Twitter?" When I said yes, he was like, "We love your tweets, you're our greatest fan." I got worried he thought I was a stalker but he assured me they didn't think that. He said they appreciated all the tweets and shout outs (they should read my blog then!) :) Ben said he could retweet my stuff every day. They were impressed I was such a big sports fan. :)
Pic with Ben (r) and Skin (l)of ESPN radio
After listening to the show for a while, we headed down the street to meet up with some friends we were tailgating with. Since the game had a 3pm start (instead of the normal 1pm start), we were able to tailgate a little longer than usual.
Baseball kisses from my friend Tim (AKA Big Brother)
The ladies of the tailgating crew
More of the tailgating posse
We finally headed over to The Ballpark about 2:15 to get ready to watch the Rangers take on the Boston Red Sox. It was close to 90 degrees on Friday (which is unusually warm for early April- even in Texas). THANKFULLY our nose bleed seats were in the shade (and had been in the shade for a while).
Sure, those on the lower level were closer to the field, but they were in the sun most of the game!
During the off season, a new jumbo tron was installed. It's beautiful. I may, or may not, have said this a few times on Twitter and Facebook! :) It's bigger and in HD. LOVE IT!
The new jumbo tron!
This was the old jumbo tron
There are so many little details about the game that I could share, but I would say 87% of you probably wouldn't care about all of it, so I'll spare ya! :) I'll just post more pictures!
Mercy Me sang the National Anthem
The raising of the American League Championship flag!
Ian Kinsler up to bat
This made me laugh. If you aren't familiar with Texas history, please go here to understand what this means! :)
Instead of the traditional "dot race", they had a "Texas Legends race". Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jim Bowie raced around the field. Sam Houston won. I hope they do this one more often! I thought it was great!
We met a new friend while at the game, she joined us for this picture. And some random drunk guy decided to pop in the picture behind us.
We even made friends with a Boston Red Sox fan named Travis. His friend Eva was funny. She loved heckling him!
Rangers win 9-5!
To see more (many more) pictures of my Opening Day adventures, please check out my Facebook album here (even if you don't have a Facebook account, you should be able to see them). If you are on Facebook, please feel free to "like" my page (no pressure if you don't want to!)
So, on Saturday night, Monica, Julie and I went to the Rangers game to see the presentation of the American League Championship rings to the team. It was a beautiful night for baseball- not too warm and there was a nice breeze (that might have been because we were the second row from the top!)
Another group shot!
Our view Saturday night
His "Nolan-ness" (Nolan Ryan) receiving his ring
A view of the ring
The team after receiving the rings
My BFF Brandy was at the game too!
My friends Jub and Jeanne
Ian being interviewed after a 12-5 win!
Again, more pictures from Saturday's game can be found here.
No, I didn't go to the game on Sunday (but I did watch it on TV). I may, or may not, be going to the game tonight. And tomorrow night. I kid you not, once I get out of debt, I am SO getting season tickets!! :) I also might be dancing around in circles too.
With Rangers Opening Day tomorrow, I thought I would devote my Thursday 13 to it.
13 Things I Love About Rangers Opening Day
1. It's the official start of baseball season. I know, duh, right? But seriously, there is just a feeling of excitement in the air. It's like Christmas morning. I may or may not start dancing!
2. Taking pictures in the bluebonnets on the way to the game. I'm not sure if it's a "Texas" thing to take pictures in wildflowers or not. Pretty much most of the friends I have from Texas, at some point in their lives, they have a picture of them in bluebonnets. :)
3. Tailgating with friends. I started tailgating with some friends and their group in 2007- it's so much fun! We all get together every year (a few of those in the group I only see once a year- at Opening Day). We have burgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks, peanuts, sunflower seeds- there is one sweet girl who even gives out "party favors" every year, including a pack of baseball cards!
Hope my pale, pastely white arms didn't blind you!
Tailgating in 30 degree weather!
My peeps!
4. The ever-changing Texas weather can make the day very interesting. I've been at Opening Day when it was so hot I was in capris and a tank top and other times when it was so cold I was wrapped up in a blanket. Per Greg Fields at WFAA, it's supposed to be sunny and 85 tomorrow, so it's PERFECT baseball weather!!
We learned the hard way in 2006 to ALWAYS take sunscreen with us. I had the weirdest sunburn after this game.
Opening Day 2007- oh so cold. It snowed the day after this game! The guy behind us in the T-shirt was crazy for not having a jacket! Brr!!
Opening Day 2008- this day is unforgettable because we were in a wreck on the way home. I had my first (and hopefully last) ambulance ride that day!
Opening Day 2009- colder than 2007!
It was comfortable last year- although in the afternoon it got a little cooler.
5. The singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Yes, I know they sing it before every game, but before Opening Day, the presentation of the colors and the huge American flag on the field just gives me chills. I'm excited that Mercy Me is singing the National Anthem before tomorrow's game- I love them!
6. The traditional flyover. About the time the singer(s) get to "O' say does that star-spangled banner yet wave..", be prepared for the flyover. It's exciting!
I stole, borrowed this last picture from the internet! ;)
7. Knowing it's a work day and I'm NOT at work. There is something about it being a weekday when I should be at work, but yet, I'm out having fun at a baseball game. It just makes the day better! And the majority of my co-workers know where I'm at (it might be because I've had a countdown outside my office door since December!)
8. Being able to hang out with friends. One reason I love baseball is that it's a great sport to watch and still be able to socialize with friends. I even have friends that aren't as obsessed passionate about baseball that enjoy going to games.
9. Ceremonial first pitch. It's exciting to find out who it's going to be (we've had everyone from former presidents to local legends throw it out in previous years). This year it's going to be former Rangers players Jeff Burroughs and Charlie Hough.
10. The bald eagle. I don't know if they do this at all ballparks, but every Opening Day I've been at over the past 7 years, a bald eagle has flown down from the top of the scoreboard to his "keeper" on the field. He is so beautiful (the eagle, not the keeper!)
My friend was able to snap this close up picture of the eagle a few years ago!
11. The team introduction. Opening Day is one of the few times the WHOLE team is introduced (and not just the starting line up).
12. The raising of the AL Championship flag. Okay, this is a new one for Rangers fans. Hopefully next year it will be a World Series flag! But we'll take the AL Championship for now!
13. Good luck kisses. Okay, I made that up, but I couldn't think of anything else for my list. :) But I do have a few pictures of getting kisses on Opening Day, so I decided to use that! (They are innocent cheek kisses mind you! I'm not that kind of girl!) :)
