What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That my friends call me out when I don't post on Wednesday. LOL!! They love me, they really love me!

I'm loving...

That my book review was posted on the A Miracle in My Living Room Facebook page. :)

I'm loving...

That I have already started on the decorations for my church's Trunk or Treat event (which is still a month away). Maybe this time I won't be finishing up at the last minute. Lol. I got this for my costume- can you guess what the theme of my Life Group's trunk will be? ;)

I'm loving...

The wonderful people at Chick Fil-A. I honestly have yet to have a bad experience at any Chick Fil-A. The one closest to my office is awesome, the owner and employees know me and my coworkers (we go there about once a week, sometimes twice a week. Don't judge). Ms. Anna is one of the sweetest people ever - she loves sports so we always talk baseball or football when I'm there. I always make sure to give her a hug before I leave.

I'm loving...

That my bestie Zach will be in town in 10 days. I haven't seen him in months! :) We have big plans the weekend he's in town, including a Cowboys game! :)

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Book Reviews 2017: Miracle in my Living Room: The Story of a Little Mann

**All reviews 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.**

Miracle in my Living Room: The Story of a Little Mann by Evelyn Mann

This is one of those books that you don't just read, you feel it. I started following Samuel's Facebook page back in February, which is how I first discovered this book, and I'm so glad I ordered a copy. 

I love how Evelyn takes us through everything that happened from the beginning of her pregnancy with Samuel through until after he was born. You can feel the emotions through her words and I'll admit that I cried more than once- her words are that powerful.

I admire Evelyn and her husband Ralph so much for their faith and determination not to give up on their son, even though they were being told otherwise by medical professionals. Their love for each other and Samuel is so strong and you can see that while reading this book. I am so glad that they share Samuel's story with all of us.

I don't say this too often but I would put this on a "must read" list. I honestly think it would touch the heart of anyone. I also highly recommend following Samuel's Facebook page as well (click here). I have to say, Samuel has a smile that will turn any bad day around. I will be having the worst day but his smile can make that bad day go away. I always look forward to new photos and videos of the little Mann. :)

Photos property of Evelyn Mann and have been used with written permission

Book summary:

I finished this book on September 3, so it goes towards my 40 by 40 challenge.

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...

That my friends and I can still have fun at baseball games, even when the games are horrible. I love my Rangers, I will always love my Rangers, but unfortunately we have seen more bad baseball than good baseball this year. Sigh. 

I'm loving...

Lunch with friends at Whataburger. Okay, I love having lunch with my friends ANY PLACE, but Whataburger seems to be a frequent location for us. Lol. For you non-Texans, yes, Whataburger is that important. It's truly one of the best fast food burgers out there. Don't even talk to me about In-N-Out. I've had it, I don't think it's that good. And their fries are horrible (I've tried three different locations, just to give it a shot, and I was disappointed each time). Give me Whataburger or give me death (my apologies to Patrick Henry for stealing his phrase). I refuse to even discuss the matter, we are moving on.... :)

See, happy people after having Whataburger. :)

I'm loving...

That I have read five books in the past week. I'm trying to read 46 books in 2017 (right now I'm at 23 books, so I'm about nine books behind). I'm also trying to read 40 books by my 40th birthday (May 23, 2018). I've read 11 books for that challenge (yes, I'm doing multiple reading challenges at once. Don't judge). 

It was a beautiful day on Saturday so I sat on my balcony and read for a few hours

I'm loving...

The different debates over the movie IT. I am personally not afraid of clowns, and I loved the original movie, so I was excited to see the remake. I didn't think it was THAT scary. It had some "jump" moments, but nothing to get all excited about. The acting was good (although I feel I need to warn people there is a LOT of cussing- way more than the first movie). The guy who played Pennywise did a good job, but I will always be partial to Tim Curry's Pennywise from the original. If you like scary movies- I recommend it, it is still a good movie. If you don't like clowns, you might want to avoid it. 

My sister used to dress up as a clown for birthday parties and Vacation Bible School events, so even at a young age, clowns never bothered me. I think it's because I watched her put on the makeup so I knew it was a person underneath the clown face. And yes, again, I was very blonde as a child.

My photo op with Tim Curry earlier this year

I'm loving...

That it's football season. I'm loving that the Cowboys got a win on Sunday night. And I'm definitely loving Cole Beasley's catch. OH. MY. GOODNESS. My apologies to my neighbors for screaming at the TV during the game.

I'm also loving that Scooter Magruder is back with his Cowboys videos. He's hilarious! :) My goal is to meet him one day. For the record, I pretty much act like this during Cowboys games (because Cowboys fans love to overreact). Lol. I love the quote "I wish my relationships were as stable as Dan Bailey's kicking." HAHAHAHA!!!

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!

Book Reviews 2017: Finding Gobi

**All reviews 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.**

Finding Gobi by Dion Leonard

I have been following Dion and Gobi's story online since the beginning, so I knew how the story would turn out but I still felt all the emotions while reading Dion's very detailed adventures of finding Gobi, losing Gobi, then finding her again. 

I enjoyed getting to know Dion a little better. I enjoyed hearing his stories of when he was younger. He had to overcome a lot throughout his life. I also loved hearing more about his relationship with his wife. I'm glad she is willing to share Dion with another female. :) Gobi found a great family for her fur-ever home!

Even if you aren't a dog lover, I think you would appreciate this story of determination and love (from both Gobi and Dion). 

I highly recommend keeping up with Dion and Gobi- you can follow their Facebook page here. 

Book summary:

I finished this book on August 20, so it goes towards my 40 by 40 challenge.

XOXO!

Thankful Thursday

I know I haven't posted lately, it has been a rough few weeks. As you all know, Texas got hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. I wasn't up for posting last week as I had friends and family dealing with the aftermath of the storms. I'm thankful that everyone I know personally is safe. My heart breaks for those who lost loved ones. My sister's apartment in Houston had over four feet of water in it and she lost a lot of her belongings. Thankfully some photos were salvageable but she lost all of her furniture and clothes and a few other personal items that meant a lot to her. Thankfully she and my niece are safe though- material things can be replaced. She continues to remain positive through all of it. A few people messaged me on Twitter asking how they could help her out. Right now she's waiting on FEMA to go through, but if you are interested in sending her a gift card, please comment with your email and I will be in touch. Right now my thoughts are with everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma, especially my Florida friends and family. Praying for safety for everyone. 

You can see how high the water was in my sister's apartment

I decided today to try and focus on things I'm thankful for right now (no matter how small it might seem).

I'm thankful...

That I get to go out to lunch with my friends. Sometimes it's a much needed break in my day. And of course, I love hugs, so getting hugs is nice too. :) 

My friend Eve hadn't been to Whataburger in months and was dying to go, so of course, I made the sacrifice and went with her. :)

Celebrating the birth of my friend Bob at Norma's Cafe

I'm thankful...

That I got a promotion at work. It's been a rough few months at my office so this was a nice way to wrap up some of the madness. I feel very blessed.

I'm thankful...

For all the generous and loving people who made (and are still making) donations to victims of Hurricane Harvey. My church took donations last week and I went by one day to help sort the donations. This was what we collected in one day- it was amazing. 

I'm thankful...

That I still have one month of baseball left (sadly, Rangers fans only have one month left because I don't see the playoffs in our future this season, BUT now that I've said that, watch them make the playoffs and show me up (I would be okay with that). Lol. Even if they don't, I've had fun this season at the Ballpark- I might not like the outcome of all of the games, but I still have fun regardless. I do love going to baseball games with my friends. :)

Chilling with my homegirl Monica in my company suite at the Ballpark

The Rangers gave out a bobblehead of a now former player (talk about awkward). BUT my friends and I think it looks like my friend Larry, so we all have Larry bobbleheads now). :) 

Celebrating Misti's birthday!

Always good to see my friend Andrew at a game

Love getting hugs from my sweet friend Corina. She always has a smile on her face, no matter what is going on. She's an inspiration to me! :)

I'm thankful...

For time off work to just relax. I had myself a six day weekend, as I was off work from last Friday until yesterday. I cleaned my apartment (and organized my craft closet- which took a whole day to complete). I also finished a scrapbook (we won't say how long I've been working on it), and I read two books. It was nice just to have time for myself. It's also nice to have a clean apartment. :)

A before and after picture of my craft closet

This was a "during" picture. Yeah, it was pretty bad. It looked like a craft store threw up in my study. Lol.

What are YOU thankful for today?

XOXO!

Book Reviews 2017: More YA Book Reviews

**All reviews 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.**

Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty

Despite only a three star rating, I felt this book was an entertaining read, it just didn't have what it needed to bump it to four stars. I believe it could have been so much more. 

The book is a modern version of Sherlock Holmes where he and James "Mori" Moriarty are teenagers and friends. I feel there are more Sherlock themed books nowadays. Probably thanks to the popularity of the TV show. Anyways, Mori is a girl in this book, by the way- she goes by Mori because she doesn't like her birth name of James. 

The writing isn't bad, but there were parts that seemed a little slow and unnecessary, but it didn't totally ruin the book for me. The mystery part was interesting, but even in a YA novel, I feel it could have gone deeper. It seemed too simple and almost an insult to any young adult reading it, they could handle more depth in their mystery. I did like the main characters though and will try out the next book in the series. I look forward to their next adventure (and most likely, mystery).

Even When You Lie To Me by Jessica Alcott

I didn't love this book, but I also didn't hate it. It was an easy read, I pretty much read it in two days. It seems the whole teacher/student taboo attraction/love/lust is a popular story line in YA fiction these days. I don't know where all these good looking teachers were when I as in high school, but they definitely were not at my school. 

I feel this story had a lot of potential, but then it got too cliche. The main character lacks self-esteem and feels she is ugly. Side note: I know teenagers can be over-dramatic and I get that when reading YA, but OMG- this girl was "woe is me" every time she opened her mouth. Her BFF is beautiful and gets all the guys (because of course). Her mother, who was the beautiful, popular Homecoming Queen when she was younger, is unsympathetic and constantly trying to change her daughter (instead of accepting her individuality). And the father just seems to be walked over by his whole family (grow a pair, dude).

As you can imagine, there are "adult themes" talked about in this book, but the descriptions don't get too graphic.

I know this is the author's first book. I feel her writing potential is there so I would try another book if she publishes a new one.

I finished these books July 10 and July 20, respectively, so they go towards my 40 by 40 challenge.

XOXO!

What I'm Loving!

I'm loving...

That I can still find little things to make me happy. There is too much hate and sadness in the world right now. You can't log onto social media without it being the main thing you see. I know there are HORRIBLE things going on, and it makes me sad (and yes, angry), but instead of letting it fill me with anger and hatred, I choose to focus on things that are positive and that bring me joy. I'm not trying to ignore what's going on, just because I don't go on a rant on social media doesn't mean that I approve of it or that it doesn't make me mad. But constantly posting angry rants isn't going to help anything. I'm not saying that I can change the heart of the world by being positive and uplifting, but I'm not going to let the negative world change my heart. Okay, so with that being said, here are the things I'm loving this week....

I'm loving...

That I was able to meet everyone's favorite principal, Mr. Belding! Saved by the Bell was one of my favorite shows as a kid and such a big part of my childhood. Dennis Haskins is one of the nicest people I have ever met. And he said he doesn't mind being called Mr. Belding (I honestly couldn't bring myself to call him anything else). He was at the Roughriders game on Saturday signing autographs and taking pictures. It was so nice to have met him! 

He even did some SnapChat photos!

The group photo my friends and I took (and tweeted to him) was a little dark, so he was nice enough to edit it and tweet it back to us!

My friend Andrew couldn't make the game, but wanted an autograph, so he tweeted Mr. Belding that I was supposed to get an autograph for him. When I introduced myself, Mr. Belding asked, "Are you Rachel from Twitter? You need to get an autograph for Andrew." So, here is Mr. B signing something for Andrew. :)

I'm loving...

That my friends and I FINALLY had our Girls Night Out last Saturday. We had been planning it since May. We went to the RoughRider game (wearing our Bayside Tigers shirts for our photo with Mr. Belding). We also stayed for the post game 90s themed concert. It was a lot of fun, I love these ladies!! 

I'm loving...

My coworkers. Over the last few months, it has been crazy around my office, and there are still changes and challenges going on. It does help when you have some awesome coworkers to keep you sane on those challenging days!

We were told not to take a selfie during the solar eclipse because the reflection off the phone would hurt our eyes, so we closed them. Lol 

Speaking of loving coworkers....

I'm loving...

That one of my awesome coworkers bought a bunch of special glasses so we could look at the solar eclipse on Monday. I kept meaning to get a pair and then by the time I remembered, I couldn't find any, so I figured I just wasn't gonna see it. She bought a bunch to share so we took turns using them. I'm glad it was something I got to see. In 2024 Texas is supposed to experience a full solar eclipse, I'll be sure to get eclipse glasses for that one!

Photo taken through the eclipse glasses

I'm loving...

Baseball games with friends. Friends, baseball, and hugs always make for a good time! Yes, I'm a hugger. Thankfully (most) of my friends are too. And the ones who aren't humor me and hug me anyway. Lol.

I'm loving...

An unexpected Chick Fil-A milkshake. Those always make me happy. :)

What are YOU loving today? I would love to hear about it. Even if you think it's minor, hey, if it makes you happy, then that is awesome!

XOXO!