Blog Challenge Day 10- One Confession

Day 10: One confession

There was a time last year where I almost deleted my blog all together. I had absolutely no motivation, and I felt more obligated to blog instead of blogging for fun (which is why I started blogging in the first place). After taking some time away from blogging (I took time off instead of just deleting it all together), I decided to keep it. There is no rule that says you have to blog every day, every week, or every month. Instead of forcing myself to blog, I just write when I have time or feel like it. As you can tell, I'm not always motivated to blog, so there are days/weeks/months between posts. Another confession is that I'm TERRIBLE at commenting on other people's blog posts. If I have time, I'll read them, but I won't comment. How horrible is that? I'll work on being better at that!

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!!

Blog Challenge Day 8- Things I Want To Say to 3 People

Sorry for the delay in my blog challenge, life has gotten in the way of blogging again!!

Day 8: Three things you want to say to three different people right now

(Yeah, these are going to be vague because I never know who might stumble across my blog- the internet is a crazy place, anyone could see this. Lol.)

Letter One:

I'm not going to let what happened between us affect my future dating relationships. I am a stronger person emotionally because of you, and I'm also smarter. I know what stupid mistakes not to make in the future, and how not to be manipulated again, and for that, I thank you. I hope you have also learned from your mistakes and that you don't make them again. Congratulations and best wishes to you in life.

Letter Two:

I'm sure you feel I should start this letter with an apology, but honestly, I don't feel I have anything to apologize for. I don't feel that anything I said was intentionally wrong or hurtful- I believe I said it out of concern and love, and at the time, you misunderstood it. I'm not saying it was your fault, please don't think that. I just feel at that time you didn't want to hear what some of your friends had to say, and instead of just accepting it gracefully (whether you agreed or not), you pushed us away. I'm sorry that happened. I'm sorry you felt we were horrible, judgmental people, but just know it was out of love that we had those concerns, we were not judging at all. I wish you all the happiness in the world in your new life, you deserve it. I'm sorry not all of us will be there to celebrate your happiness, but I'm glad you finally have the happiness that you've always wanted. 

Letter Three:

I'm not sure what we have going on between us. Honestly, I don't know what I want it to be. But, I hope we figure this thing out soon, don't you?

XOXO!!

Blog Challenge Day 7- Guilty Pleasures

Day 7: Four guilty pleasures.

1. Binge watching TV shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Most of these are shows I never watched when they were originally on. I'll shamefully admit I'm currently watching Party of Five on Amazon Prime. I never religiously watched that show when it was on back in the 90s, but I would catch an episode here and there. Oh, there is so much drama on it- but it's laughable. But at least once an episode I want to tell Bailey to "man up". Sheesh, he whined so much! 

2. Singing when I'm by myself. For anyone who has heard me sing, you know this is not a pretty thing. This is why I take advantage of it when no one is around. :)

3. Taking a weekend to myself and doing absolutely nothing. I love making plans to have no plans. I have no problem ignoring phone calls or texts so I can sit around and watch TV or read a book.

4. Eating ice cream out of the carton. Hey- I live by myself. Why dirty up a bowl?

XOXO!

Blog Challenge Day 6- Turn Offs

Day 6: Five turn offs. I meant this as five turn offs when it comes to dating a guy (although some could apply to friendships as well).

1. Smoking. Now, I'm not judging people who smoke, and I don't mind if my friends smoke, but when it comes to dating a guy, I prefer a non-smoker. 

2. Bullying. I don't want to be with a guy who is constantly putting others down. This applies to my friendships as well. No one has time for a bully.

3. Unreliable. Now, last minute things come up and plans have to be broken, but if a guy is constantly canceling plans or not being somewhere when he says he will, that is a major turn off. I'll assume he's not really interested and just move on.

4. Negativity. Bad days are going to happen, and I don't mind if someone vents or complains about them, but when everything out of his mouth is negative, or he has to put a negative spin on EVERYTHING, yeah, it's not going to work.

5. Laziness. I don't think I even have to put a description down for this one, do I?

XOXO!

Blog Challenge Day 5- Ways to Win My Heart

Day 5: Six ways to win your heart. There are probably a lot more things I could list, but then I would look picky. ;) And I'm going to skip the obvious stuff like "love Jesus" and "don't bother me while I'm watching the game". ;)

1. Pray with me. I know that sounds cheesy to some, but seriously, a guy who will lead a prayer, even if it's just before a meal, that's a big deal to me. And when I say prayer, I mean, something from his heart, not your typical "God is great, God is good, thank you for our food" prayer (although that one works when I'm really hungry!) 

2. Learn to love my big, loud, crazy, family. I'll admit, they can be overwhelming at times (especially to those who come from small families), but they grow on you. And my mom will bake you cookies. And pies.

3. Laugh at my jokes. Hey- I'm a funny person, I need a guy to appreciate the comedian that I am (or that I think I am). ;)

4. Know what to do when I have a bad day. It's pretty simple- I need Blue Bell ice cream and reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show. That will help make it better. Or take me shopping, new shoes help too. :)

5. Don't judge me when I binge watch TV shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Just pass the popcorn, or find another TV. :)

6. Don't try to constantly "fix" what is wrong. Sometimes just holding me and letting me cry is all the therapy I need. I don't need advice or lectures. I just need a hug (and possibly ice cream). To be on the safe side, always have ice cream nearby, it will never hurt. :)

XOXO!!

Blog Challenge Day 4- Favorite Posts From My Blog

Day 4: Seven favorite posts from your blog. Here are seven of my favorite posts from the past four and half years of my blogging experience. Click on the title to read the whole blog post.

1. New Years. New Beginnings. New Adventures -this was one of my most read and most shared blog post. 

2. My Battle -This was the blog post I had the most difficulty writing.

3. What I've Learned in 2013 

4. My Name is Rachel, And I Am Single -this was my second most shared blog post

5. Difficult Letters to Write

6. Are You There God? It's Me, Rachel!

7. Blog Challenge Day 16- Pet Peeves

Thanks for reading (or re-reading) my old posts today! :)

XOXO!

Blog Challenge Day 3- Places I Want to Visit

Day 3: Eight places you want to visit. Like my list of books to read, my list of places to visit is long as well. Here are eight of those places (in no particular order).

1. Belize. I work with someone from Belize and every time she goes home to visit, she'll bring back pictures and it makes me want to get on a plane and go right then! I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice! 

2. Prince Edward Island. I grew up reading the Anne of Green Gables books (and watching the movie). I'd love to go to the place that inspired the story!

3. Rome. Okay, I'd love to visit more of Italy than just Rome, but it's probably my first stop there!

4. London. I have friends from London, and also part of my heritage is from England, I can't wait to go visit!

5. Paris. I think Paris is on a lot of people's bucket lists. I think I want to go just to say I went. :) 

6. Scotland. I found an article about the haunted Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. This is my first stop when I go! :)

7. Colorado. I don't ski (well, I went skiing once in New Mexico, it didn't go well), but I want to go to Colorado, it looks beautiful! I might as well try and ski again while I'm there (or at least dress up and look cute in a skiing outfit). :)

8. Disneyland. I was deprived as a child and never got to go to Disneyland or Disney World. I WILL go one of these days! :)

Check out my friend Trish's blog (click here)! She accepted my 10 Day Challenge! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend, happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!!

XOXO!

Blog Challenge Day 2- Books I Want to Read

Day 2: Nine books you want to read. Like I said yesterday, I will probably die next to a pile of books I intended to read. I have way more than nine on my "to read" list, but here are nine of them (in no particular order). You can click on the name for more information about the book.

1. The Maze Runner. I found this book on a list of "Books to Read in 2014 Before the Movies Comes Out". I actually own the book, it's in my "pile" right now. 

2. A Whole New Ballgame. A friend of mine reviewed this on GoodReads, and hey, if it has anything to do with baseball (fiction or non fiction), I'll read it. :)

3. Gone Girl. This is another book from the list of books to read before the movie comes out. I recently read another book by this author, and I like her writing style. This one looks really good.

4. The Phantom of the Opera. I have wanted to read this book for years. One of my favorite musicals is Phantom of the Opera, so I want to see how the novel compares to it. And yes, it's another one in my pile.

5. Calico Joe. Again, I'll read anything that has to do with baseball. And this one is written by John Grisham, and I'm rarely disappointed in his books. 

6. The Harry Potter series (sorry buddy, I'm not listing each one individually). ;) I have a friend who is going to end our friendship if I don't read these books, so all seven of them are on my list. And yes, I'm one of the few people who have never read the series. No, I haven't see the movies either.

7. Stalk Me. I randomly found this one on GoodReads. It looks like a suspense-mystery novel, which is right up my alley! 

8. Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables. I also like reading biographies, and as a fan of  Veggie Tales, I want to read the story about the guy who created them.

9. Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages. This book is one guy's adventure traveling to all the baseball ballparks. As you know, that's my goal in life. And yes, that makes three baseball themed books on my list of nine. :)

You can always check out books I've read, want to read, or are currently reading on my GoodReads page (click here). Feel free to send me a friend request on there! :)

XOXO!

10 Day Blog Challenge- Day 1

I thought maybe I needed some motivation to blog every day, so I came up with this 10 Day Blog Challenge (it's not as intimidating as a 30 Day Challenge). Lately I just haven't wanted to blog at all, so I'm hoping this helps. I'm in a "Blogging Funk". I kind of took ideas from other challenges that I saw online to make this one. Feel free to take the challenge as well if you want!

Day 1: 10 things about yourself (which seems to be the first one in every blog challenge out there). Well, here I go (I really tried to think of new things this time).

1. Even though I'm very talkative and a "dictionary description" of what an extrovert should be, there are times where I just want to be by myself and not be social at all.

2. I sometimes hide my problems just so I don't have to bother other people with them. I would much rather help someone else with their problems than talk about my own.

3. When I visit new places, I try and find a historical location or museum to check out while I'm there (I'm a nerd).

4. Even though I can be spontaneous, I usually like making plans in advance, especially when it comes to traveling. :)

5. Even though I like to joke about "The Wrath of Rachel" on social media, deep down I am way more patient than I probably let on. :) VERY FEW people have ever seen me really angry (it's probably for the best). :) I have a dark side, but it's "enjoyable". :)

6. If I have a bad day, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream and reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show will improve my mood at least 99% of the time.

7. Even though I love sports, action movies, and despise anything written or produced by Nicholas Sparks, there are times I like being girly and will watch AN OCCASIONAL chick flick (there is a list of chick flicks I will watch). But I still don't like Nicholas Sparks (okay, with the exception of Safe Haven, because it wasn't your typical Nicholas Sparks mushy crap movie). Even saying that, I will usually pick watching a sporting event over a chick flick, even when I'm having a girly moment. :) I'll just get a mani/pedi while watching the game. :)

8. When I love, I love hard.

9. I will probably die next to a pile of books I intended to read. There never seems to be enough time in my life to just sit and read anymore. 

10. There are certain people who can make me smile just by texting me.

Okay, there you go, ten things about me! Hope you are all doing well! 

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

Is it sad that I didn't want to do this post because I couldn't think of a lot of things that I'm loving right now? It's just been one of those weeks (for the past two weeks), but I hate that I've been in a blogging lull lately, so I wanted to post something, just so you know that I'm alive (barely).

I'm loving...

Baseball. Last week was a rough week, so on Friday I decided to go to a Rangers game by myself. Not because I couldn't find someone to go with me, I just wanted to be by myself for a while and watch baseball, without having to make conversation with anyone. Yes, even I go through times where I don't want to talk.

Miss Independent on her way to the Ballpark, by herself...No I wasn't driving and taking a picture. I was stuck in traffic on one of our tollways, so I wasn't moving at the time. I just love that I have to pay to sit in traffic (can you hear the sarcasm?)

I had bought a cheap seat ticket near the top of the Ballpark, but I was sneaky and sat down closer (shhh). :)

I moved even closer towards the end of the game. Rangers walk off win in extra innings!

I'm loving...

My buddies. A few of my guy friends were at the game on Friday night. I met up with them in the 8th inning (we foolishly thought the game was almost over- it would end up going to 12 innings). Getting hugs from them (and a Rangers win) helped my week end on a high note. 

Yeah, I know, the one on the end never likes to smile in pictures. :) I think I make him take too many. Lol.

My friend Donny used to be my next door neighbor at my old complex. He now lives with his wife (my good friend Katie) in North Carolina. He was in town for a weekend of Rangers baseball.

I'm loving...

Late night trips to Whataburger. Sometimes a girl just wants a breakfast taquito at 11pm. Thankfully Whataburger starts serving breakfast at that time. Oh, and when I see numbers, I see Rangers jersey numbers (I know, I'm weird). 17 is now the number of Shin-Soo Choo.

The taquito was delicious- all 900 calories of it (or however many calories it has).

I'm loving...

That the cast of Hey Dude is planning a reunion in June. I'm probably more excited about this than I should be.

If you missed Hey Dude back in the late 80s/early 90s, I'm sorry your childhood wasn't complete. :) And you missed out on this snazzy theme song. I may or may not own the whole series on DVD.

Hope y'all are doing well. XOXO!

Mobile Monday

A look at what pictures are currently on my iPhone.

A few weeks ago my not-that-much older sister Mary was in town for a visit. We had so much fun (and we didn't get into any trouble!) :) That Friday night we went to see Jeanne Robertson at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. It was a great show! 

Me and my sister!

A view from our seats

Jeanne Robertson is so funny!

A picture at Bass Hall

That Saturday we went to an arts and crafts festival up in Frisco. There were some interesting pieces! A few I actually wanted to buy, but couldn't afford them. It warmed up that afternoon, so we cooled off with snow cones!

I love snow cones. :)

It seems that Pudge and I are quickly becoming BFF's, this is the second tweet of mine that he has favorited in the past month. ;)

Last Thursday we had our first batch of spring storms in north Texas. I'm sure this was just the first of many to come this season.

No, I didn't go out chasing it...this time...

I love watching storms. I was trying to get pictures of the lightning, but that was impossible with my iPhone.

I had a rough afternoon Friday at work, so I started the weekend off with some cheese fries at Snuffer's. It was totally worth the four years that it probably took off my life- they were so good!! 

Saturday afternoon my friend Monica and I went to see Captain America 2. I think I liked it better than the first one (although the first one is still good). I love the Avenger movies. :) After the movie, we stopped for a late lunch. Yes, we saw a movie at the Studio Movie Grill and then ate someplace else. I personally don't think their food is that good there, I usually eat someplace else either before or after the movie.

My weekend of unhealthy eating continued when we polished off an X-large pizza on our own. Don't judge. ;)

Saturday night the BFF and I went to see the Fort Worth Symphony at Bass Hall (my second weekend in a row over in Fort Worth). It was awesome, it was Big Band music, which I love! And the BFF and I had our first Girls Night Out in forever! Her hubby and baby M had a Guys Night In at home. :)

A view from our seats

FINALLY! A picture of me and Brandy. We haven't taken one together in almost a year. I told her it was her fault for a having a cute baby, I always take pictures of him now when we hang out. :) After the symphony we headed over to a burger place for refreshments and some Final Four basketball (we have culture, and are sporty!) :)

With the Final Four in Arlington this year, ESPN was everywhere around the DFW area this weekend.

After Bible study yesterday, I stopped by Half Price Books with a friend from my group (I mean, I was FORCED to go, totally against my will). :) I finally found a book that I have been looking for- it's book one of the Harry Bosch series. The guy at the counter couldn't get the book to ring up, so he gave it to me for $1. Score! :) I possibly also bought 5 other books (all for a $1). I can't pass up $1 books- it's against my nature. :)

I can't wait to start it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

XOXO!