What I'm Loving Wednesday...

So, I tried to find the blog that once hosted the What I'm Loving Wednesday blog link-up, but it seems that blog is now private. I don't think the phrase is trademarked, so I decided to create my own design for it. Maybe one day if I get back in the regular blogging groove, I'll try to run my own What I'm Loving Wednesday blog link-up (if you would be interested in ever participating in it, comment below or send me a message). :)

I'm loving...
That the New Kids on the Block are touring again this year. I've seen them twice in concert, I'm hoping to make it a third time! I was an adult before I saw them in concert (I wasn't able to go as a kid), so I'm making the most of it now. :) They are coming to Dallas on May 14. 

Some of these pictures were taken at the NKOTB after party that my friend Trish managed to get me and my friends in to. The picture in the center is a close up of Jordan Knight. That was taken moments before he leaned over and hugged me. **Insert 12 year old Rachel squealing here**.

Why yes, I did go all the way to Boston for a NKOTB concert. Oh, and to see my friend Jodi. :) **The close up pictures I stole borrowed from the Internet. Sadly we were not that close, and my camera does NOT zoom THAT well.**

I'm loving...

All the Texas Rangers talk in my Twitter timeline. So good to see some of my favorite local sports media tweeting about the team! Is it baseball season yet? I'm ready! :)

I'm loving...

That I got my taxes filed yesterday! My company sent our W-2s to us electronically yesterday, so I went online to TurboTax last night and filed them (BTW, I love TurboTax, it's inexpensive and easy to use. I've been using them for years). I'm also loving that Turbo Tax notified me when my tax return was received by the IRS. Weehoo! And yes, I already know what my refund is going towards- I'm paying off my credit card. I possibly used it to buy my Rangers season tickets, and some Christmas gifts, so I had a balance on it. By next month, it will be paid off. **happy dance**

I'm loving...

That I actually made an attempt to cook fried chicken and homemade mashed potatoes from scratch. This means without the help of Tyson or "potatoes flakes from a box". I know you, you are all shocked. The chicken was actually a baked "fried" chicken recipe I found on Pinterest (check it out here). I used this mashed potato recipe found here. I need to alter the oven time on the chicken recipe, mine came out a little burnt and crispier than planned, but they didn't taste that bad. Oh, and I learned the hard way to double check serving sizes. I made enough mashed potatoes to feed my family at Thanksgiving. Lol. And, yes, I had to buy a potato masher because I didn't previously own one. Maybe I'm on my way to having my own cooking show....yeah, probably not. :) BUT, I can update my 101 in 1001 list for new recipes!! :)

Just picture proof that I actually did it!

I'm loving...

That speaking of food, I have allowed myself one cheat day a week while I'm on my diet. I read somewhere that is allowed (if it's not true, don't tell me). :) I've been on it 3 weeks so far and am doing well between that and the working out. I should probably not value-size my cheat meals, but I was just so excited, I couldn't help myself. I will gradually reduce the size of my cheat meal. Lol.

And both of these tasted amazing...

I so relate to this

I'm loving...

That I got almost eight hours of sleep last night. I only got three hours of sleep on Sunday night and only two hours on Monday night. I took one of my sleeping pills so I could get a good night's rest (I don't like making a habit of taking those- I haven't taken one in a long time). I forgot how strong they were. I sent the following text to a friend of mine. I'm just glad I didn't send out any texts that I couldn't remember...

I'm loving...

That I will be seeing this guy tomorrow night in concert. I'm super excited. I've liked him since I was five (my Bubba used to play his music all the time!)

If you didn't know this was Billy Joel, please don't tell me! 

Hope everyone has a great day!

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!

Book Review 2015: Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages

If you couldn't tell, I spent some time redesigning my blog last night. I kinda like it. Maybe a new design will make me want to update more? I'm hoping so. :)

I know I owe you some book reviews so I thought I would post one today. I am in the middle of the Harry Potter series (yes, I am just now reading them), but I'm going to wait until I finish the entire series before I do those reviews (so be patient- I promise you will get it). :) I thought in the meantime I would post a review of a book I read a while back (I feel horrible I haven't posted a review until now).

**All reviews published on Randomness With Rachel are done on a five-star rating system. The reviews are solely my opinion and no one else's. Randomness With Rachel does not receive any incentives or compensations for reviews.** 

Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages by Eric Kabakoff

Last May I did a post on books that I wanted to read (click here for that post) and I mentioned the book Rally Caps, Rain Delays and Racing Sausages. The book is a recap of the author's journey to see all the major league baseball ballparks. If you know me, you know that I also want to see all the MLB ballparks (I have a ways to go before my journey is complete though). I was really excited to read this book.

The author does a great job giving a little background on each team and the ballpark, but it's not an overload of information. It's just the right amount to fill in someone who might not be a fan of that particular team. I learned a few new things myself, which was cool. His recap of each ballpark is honest and thorough. He had some great experiences, and some not so great experiences. The author seems to have a charming personality, and a great sense of humor, which comes through in his writing. I think this is a great read for any baseball fan. I think even someone who doesn't love baseball would find it interesting and entertaining.

I'll admit I was nervous when I got to the part about his review of the Ballpark in Arlington (no, I will NOT call it Globe Life Park, you can't make me). I was gonna have to send him an ugly tweet if he bashed my home away from home (okay, I really wouldn't do that). :) Spoiler alert Rangers fans: he didn't bash it and seemed to have enjoyed his time at The Temple. Although I think he found it funny how many Texas flags we have there, including the girls that wave Texas flags when a Rangers player hits a homerun. What? We can't help it, we are proud of our flag- isn't it pretty? :)

You can follow the author here on Twitter and check out his website here. He's a super nice guy and loves tweeting about baseball. He was nice enough to autograph my copy of his book after I ordered it.

Happy Friday y'all! Have a great weekend!

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!

Oh hey- I still have a blog

For those of you who only keep up with me through my blog, yes, I am alive! Barely. But I'm alive! No, I don't have a good excuse why I haven't blogged since October. There are times where I sit down and think, huh, I could update my blog. Then Netflix happens something else comes up and I don't get around to it. For those wondering, yes, I do miss blogging. I think back to when I would update my blog almost everyday. I miss those days. I miss the motivation to update my blog. I'm sad that I only updated my blog 34 times last year. ONLY 34 times. That's so sad. That doesn't even average once a week. 

I've gone through a lot the past two years. Some of it I have shared on here (like this) and some of it I've kept to myself. I've kept a lot of things to myself lately, so don't feel left out. I'm not really talking to anyone about it, so I'm not excluding my blogging friends. Last year I became almost a recluse (which is SO unlike me). I only made it to about 20 Rangers games (if you know me, you know that's NOT a lot). I even turned down free tickets to some games (this is going to cause a lot of you to panic about my well-being). There were so many times I wanted to just sit in my apartment by myself instead of going out and being with friends. I know some of my friends definitely noticed it and expressed their concerns. It happens though. 

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and she mentioned that I got so used to going 100 miles an hour and being social all the time, that it feels "abnormal" for me to want to be myself. I guess there is nothing wrong with that, it just feels weird to me. I definitely need more "me" time than I used to. But I'm hoping to get back to my social self where I actually go out and have a life. Lol.

Okay, this post is so not going how I wanted it to. It sounds so depressing. Let me cheer it up some. Oh, I can update my 101 in 1001 List. That should be a little bit cheerier! :)

5. Visit three Presidential Libraries that I've never been to before (2/3)

I can cross another one off my list. Over Christmas I went to visit the George Bush Library (41) in College Station. I really enjoyed it. I remember all of his term (I was a kid, but I remember it), so I found it very interesting.

My first order of business as president would be to make Opening Day of baseball a national holiday.

A piece of the Berlin Wall. I remember so well when it was torn down.

11. Visit a National Park that I've never been to before

This isn't exactly what I thought of when I put this down as a goal, but I went to Seattle in November with some friends, and we visited the Klondike Gold Rush museum, and it's a registered National Park. Check out the website here if you don't believe me (or the sign in the picture below). We didn't originally plan to see it (it was recommended by someone at another museum we visited). It was really interesting. If you are ever in Seattle, check it out!

26. Make clothing donation once a year to local charity (1/3)

I did this back in late October. I made the donation to a charity that was helping kids raise money for a school trip. My closet seemed so empty afterward. I had to go shopping for new outfits. :)

40. Take some online classes offered by my company

I actually just signed up today for some classes!

47. No sweets for a week (not including sugarless gum), 4 times (1/4)

I did this last week! I have to admit, after the week was over, I had a glass of sweet tea, and it tasted amazing. 

48. Cook dinner at home every night for a week, 10 times (1/10)

I'm pretty sure Chick-Fil-A is going to put an APB out for me since I haven't been there in weeks. I've been good about not eating out this year.

94. Spend a weekend away from electronic devices

I did this back in November. It was nice, I spent the weekend cleaning my apartment and reading. I should have given my friends a heads up I was doing it though. I turned off my phone Friday afternoon and didn't turn it back on until Sunday night. I had six voice mails and over 500 text messages. Oops!

**Attend games at five MLB ballparks I've never been to before**

I can't count this since I didn't go to a game there, but when I was in Seattle in November, I did go by Safeco Field (home of the Seattle Mariners). 

Just a Rangers fan outside Safeco

More pictures from my Seattle trip:

We stayed in this Hostel, it was very cool. It was one time a hotel that actors stayed in when they were filming in Seattle.

My travel buddies- Mel and Aaron!

On a boat tour of Seattle

We had wonderful weather for our trip. We were there five days and it only rained once!

Made a new friend at the aquarium 

We had a great view of Mount Rainier

I was fascinated by this alley full of gum

Look what I found!

This sports bar was next to our hostel- we went there a lot.

We (well, me and Aaron) had to watch the Cowboys game that Sunday morning. It was weird having the game start at 10am (PST). We found some fellow Cowboys fans though!

View from the Space Needle

In the giant Ferris Wheel

At the EMP Museum (this is a must see if you are in Seattle)

Take On Me....

This one part of the EMP turned you into a monster's shadow. It was cool!

I didn't take any pictures in this section...

The original Starbucks sign

Just a non coffee drinker outside the original Starbucks

At the Seattle Museum of History and Industry

The Fremont Troll. There was a scene in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You that was filmed here

A night view from the Space Needle

I also recommend going on the Underground Seattle tour. It was amazing!

The Seattle Police Museum was a nice find! Very interesting!

Not sure I pull off looking like a cop

The Bruce Lee Museum was also fascinating. We couldn't take pictures inside but I took one in the gift shop. 

 I hope you are all doing fabulous! And I hope to see you back here soon!

XOXO!