What I'm Loving Wednesday!

My social media feed has been full of so much hate, violence, complaining, and bullying lately that I really wasn't in the mood to do a WILW post today. I just had a bad taste in my mouth about people and life in general at the moment. Then I realized that I shouldn't let stuff like that affect me so much that I stopped loving the little things in life, so, I felt I needed to cheer myself up (and maybe cheer someone else up in the process), so I bring you my What I'm Loving Wednesday for today!

I'm loving...

My new hair cut. Well, it's a few weeks old now, but hey, it's still kind of new. And of course I had to post an obligatory "post hair cut" picture after I got it done (because if you don't show the world your new hair cut, does that mean it never happened?) I posted it on Instagram and used the hashtag #RegisSalon (since that is where I go for my hair needs). I was contacted by Regis Salon for permission to possibly use my picture in future advertisements or on their social media pages. Holla!

For the record, it hasn't looked this cute since I left the salon. I can never get it looking as good as they do. I swear their hairdryers and flat irons are magic.

I'm loving...

My coworkers. My job isn't perfect and there are definitely days where I want to throw objects out one of the fifth floor windows, but for the most part, my coworkers keep me sane during those "challenging" times. One of my sweet friends (and coworker) celebrated 25 years with our company last week. We had a party for her (because we love to party). I've been with the company eight years and I'm still considered a "newbie". :)

I'm loving...

That my amazing friend Eric felt I needed this Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins doll. I saw one a few weeks ago at an antique shop when I was in Hannibal (yes, I will finish my road trip recap soon, I've been lazy this past week) but I didn't have enough money to buy it. He found one on Ebay and sent it to me as a late birthday gift. I haven't been this excited to receive a doll since I was eight! :)

I'm loving...

That my friend Angie and I got our six seconds of fame a few weeks ago on NBC 5 here in Dallas. I was asked on Twitter by a local reporter if they could use my picture in their Fan of the Week segment. I can't embed the video, but here is the link here. 

I'm loving...

That my birthday present to myself arrived last week. Don't tell me I didn't need another baseball bag, I won't listen to you. For those wondering, I purchased it from Smallwoods, their website link is here.

I'm loving...

That I drove 200 miles to get a George Strait bobblehead. Okay, maybe I also made the drive to see a baseball game and some of my dearest friends. But the trip started because I wanted that bobblehead (yes, I have a problem, no, I'm not seeking help). :)

This may be the closest I ever get to a selfie with King George...sigh

I'm loving...

That my BFF Mandy still puts up with me after 28 years of friendship. It's not easy being my friend. I talk a lot and I can get a little crazy at times (especially over baseball and Supernatural). BUT, she has suffered through! :) She knows more about baseball than any non-baseball fan I know (mainly she knows more about Steve Avery than she ever wanted to)! :) I'm sad we live so far away (hey- 200 miles feels like another continent away at times), but we always seem to pick up where we left off whenever we get together! :)

I'm loving...

That I got to hang out with a great group of friends while in Austin last weekend. It's hard making the trip because I know so many people that live there and I can't see them all, but I'm thankful for the friends I do get to see when I'm there! :)

Don't tell Zach that I went to the Express baseball game for the George Strait bobblehead and not to hang out with him. :)

This wonderful woman was my "summer mom" in 1998 when I lived with her and the rest of her family for three months during my college years. I love that all this time later she still treats me like one of her family. 

Kris and I spent many nights talking and eating ice cream together during college, he is one of my favorites that I met during that time of my life. So glad that all this time later, we are still friends. It's been a while since we had seen each other, this was my first time meeting his daughter Miss E. 

Thomas and I didn't go to the same college, but we met through a mutual friend during that time and have been friends ever since. He has been with me through some of my darkest times and always makes me smile when I don't feel like smiling. His son T wanted nothing to do with taking pictures with us. Lol.

Because of Kris and Thomas, I know my amazing friend Katie (she's married to Thomas and is Kris' sister). We laugh because even though I've known Kris and Thomas longer, she and I talk more to each other than I do with them. We had a great time hanging out at the park with her son T while I was in town.

Pushing T on the swings

I've been friends with Mark since high school. I'm pretty sure we caused our journalism teacher some grief (we may or may not have been troublemakers). Well, he was a troublemaker, I was an innocent bystander. :)

So glad I got to see Coach Raup while I was in town. He was the baseball coach at my high school when I went there (he's also Mark's dad). We've been keeping in touch on Facebook but it has been years since I had seen him

I'm loving...

That Mandy's kids call me "Aunt Rachel". I loved getting to spend time with them while I was in town. They also like the SnapChat app (most kids do).

The photo booth at Amy's Ice Cream was broken, so Miss E and I made our own photo strip

I'm loving...

This marinade that I found at Kroger last week. Yes, I bought it solely because it said Dr Pepper, but it's pretty good! I grilled a steak last night and used it. I highly recommend it!

I'm loving...

That I got an invite for a special opening of the newest Norma's Cafe location. Norma's Cafe is a local restaurant that now has four locations around the Dallas area. They follow me on Twitter and sent me this message a few weeks ago. When I got there a man approached me and asked if I was Rachel from Twitter. His name is Bill Ziegler and he's the director of operations for Norma's. I felt like I had hit big time celebrity status. Lol. If you live in the area, check out one of their locations. Tell them Averyfan from Twitter sent you! :)

It was nice to meet Bill Ziegler!

I'm loving...

That sometimes it's okay to be a little dorky, or nerdy, or goofy. Too many people are out there judging others and complaining over ANY and EVERY thing. There are so many horrible things going on in the world right now that I feel people need to let go of the "small stuff". I don't get Pokemon Go, but if you like it, go for it and have fun (just not at places like the Holocaust Museum or Arlington National Cemetery- show some respect). And please be careful and don't walk into the street without looking both ways first. And for goodness sake's, don't play while driving. But besides that, have fun! :) If you want to spend all day binge watching Stranger Things on Netflix, do it (no seriously, do it, it was a great show! I watched all eight episodes in one sitting). If you want to get excited over bobbleheads, or dolls, or baseball games, or new shoes, or Plexus, or books, or nerd out because some celebrity responded to you on Twitter, please do. I would love to hear about it. And don't worry about what others might think. Post pictures of your vacations, your kids, your fur-babies, your selfies, your food, your Fitbit updates- if that makes you happy, don't let others tell you it's dumb or that you need to stop it. I love seeing what my friends are up to (even if it makes me a little jealous that you are on an awesome vacation and I'm at my desk at work). Heck, I get a little jealous when someone says they are at Whataburger and I'm not. Lol. If I post too much on social media and that offends you, you know what, I don't care. I don't post for other people. I post for me. I'm tired of walking on eggshells and wondering what my friends think if I like every picture Shemar Moore posts on Facebook (although my pastor follows me on Facebook and he might do a sermon on lust at some point). Lol. If the worst thing I do is post too many selfies, then you know what, I'm doing okay in life. I don't post selfies to get comments- I post selfies to say "Hey world, I'm alive and doing okay". I can think of far worse things to do with one's time. Sorry, I got all serious for a moment. I'll end with this picture... :)

XOXO!!

#DallasStrong

I've been going back and forth if I wanted to do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post today. Last Thursday afternoon I started a recap of the rest of my road trip to post last Friday (because I was determine to not take three months to recap my vacation like I've done in past years). I was going to finish it up on Thursday night when I got back from the Rangers game, that way my post would be ready by Friday morning. And then everything happened in downtown Dallas that night, and honestly, I didn't even think about my blog until yesterday.

All day yesterday I wondered if I needed to say something about what happened here. Unless you have no access to the news or any form of social media, you are aware that five Dallas police officers were killed in the line of duty last Thursday night. I'm not going to go into all the details of the event, I'm sure you are aware of them, and if you aren't, you can Google it.

Over the past years I've mourned with other cities, states, and countries. There have been bombings, explosions, shootings, senseless killings of many people, and all of those tragedies were horrible and sad and I honestly prayed for all of those affected (because I'm not the kind of person who says "I'm praying" when I'm not- so if I'm say I'm praying for you- know that I am). But even though I was sad and mourned for those people, those feelings were nothing compared to what I felt when it happened in MY city. I went from complaining about the Rangers game to seeing my city become a trending topic on social media in a matter of seconds. I went on Twitter to vent about baseball and saw a bunch of different hashtags: #PrayForDallas #DallasShootings #SupportDallas #DallasStrong #WeAreDallas #OneDallas. I couldn't believe it. I read. I cried. I eventually had to log off social media because it was all too upsetting. I didn't get much sleep that night. I don't think many people in Dallas did.

I feel in today's world that if you say you are for a certain movement, people figure you are against another one. We are too quick to judge before we fully understand what a person or group of persons is actually saying. We just ASSUME we know how and what everyone else is feeling (and I mean this about everyone, I'm not singling a group out). We don't take the time to listen. We don't take the time to empathize. I follow people on social media who get butt-hurt if you disagree with them (mom: I'm sorry for saying butt). They have no problem voicing their opinion but as soon as you post or say something they disagree with, they tear you down. They don't ask what you meant. They don't ask you to explain why you feel that way. It's an "I'm right and you are wrong" mentality. I love that we live in a country where we are free to have our own opinions. I know we are never all going to agree on everything, but somewhere in all of our movements/social circles/societies, we have SOMETHING in common. We need to find that common ground and go from there. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of all the hate and hurt. I'm one of those annoying people-pleasers who doesn't like conflict and wants everyone to get along and hug it out. Don't tell me it won't happen because I'm just going to try harder to make it happen.

I've lived in Dallas for 12 years. Next August, I will have lived in Dallas longer than any other place. I may not have grown up here, but this is now my home. This was a tragedy beyond measure. I'm proud of my city and how the people are trying to come together as one. I'm proud of our police chief (and I hope one day to give that man a hug). I'm proud of our mayor. I'm proud of our law enforcement. I am proud to call myself a Dallasite. I'm not saying everyone here is on the same page. I'm not saying there isn't tension or anxiety. I'm not saying we don't have our problems. I'm not saying we are perfect. I'm saying that we are hopeful. I'm saying that we care. I'm saying that we are trying to make the world a better place, starting with Dallas.

What I'm Loving Wednesday and A Mini Epic Road Trip 2016: Little Rock

I'm loving...

That I had a great time on my road trip last week. I won't overload you with pictures in this post (it's just gonna feel like it), but here is a sneak peak of my trip (meaning, the first day).

My road trip posse, Aaron and Mel!

The first state of our trip

I seem to be making a habit of stopping at childhood homes of former presidents. Last year I stopped at Eisenhower's, this year we stopped at Clinton's

We couldn't tour the inside because of a recent fire, so I took a picture on the porch

Another presidential library off my list- the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Ark.

The library had an awesome Olympics display. We got to sit in an actual bobsled!

You can't take me anywhere...

More items from the Olympics over the years

Practicing my "I just won a gold medal" wave...

Since we were in Little Rock, we decided to go by their capitol building (this started a theme of visiting the capitol of each state we went to on our trip).

It was a beautiful building

I'm loving...

My church. I was recently asked to serve on the missions committee at my church, I feel honored to have that privilege.

I'm loving...

This copy of the Mary Poppins soundtrack on LP. I don't own a record player, but it has Dick Van Dyke on it, of course I had to have it. And it was a lot cheaper than the Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins doll that I REALLY wanted (I'll post about that another day).

I'm loving...

That I got to Skype with my BFF Brandy and her son on Monday night. Her son is two and told me I was prettier than Elsa (from Frozen). I don't think I'll ever receive a compliment higher than that. :)

I'm loving...

My friends. I have some pretty awesome friends, I don't know where I would be without them.

I'm loving...

That someone uploaded all seven seasons of Mr. Belvedere to YouTube. I remember watching it (or at least some of it) when I was younger. Go ahead and judge me if you must.

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I had a wonderful time with my great-nephew Christian last weekend. He spent the whole weekend with me and we did SO MUCH. I took him to his first baseball game (Frisco Roughriders) on Friday night, we spent most of Saturday at the Dallas Zoo, and then we went swimming that evening. I also introduced him to the greatness that was the 1970s TV show version of The Incredible Hulk (I had his mother's permission to let him watch it). He liked that the Hulk was a "real" guy and not a "computer graphic". 

For his first professional baseball game, he not only saw a win, but he got to meet two players, got a hug from one of the mascots, AND we got to sit on the field to watch post-game fireworks. And Aunt Rachel bought him a Riders teddy bear.

He was enjoying the fireworks show so much, I had to try and get a photo of it

We had matching tattoos for the game

His first trip to the Dallas Zoo with Aunt Rachel in 2010 (left) and then our visit on Saturday (right). He's getting so big!

We rode the DART train to the zoo, he was super excited about that!

This boy loves elephants. We take a picture of this same pose each time we go to the zoo (2010, 2014, 2016). This might be my last time to hold him though, he's getting heavy!

We ate lunch at Chick Fil-A one day (I know you are shocked)

One last picture before I took him home

I'm loving...

That the Rangers came back to beat the Yankees after a 3 hour (plus) rain delay last night. They were down by one run in the ninth when the game was delayed due to rain in NY. Over three hours later, the game resumed and the Rangers took the lead and went on to win the game 9-6. I love this video of Adrian Beltre giving the Rangers the lead. The two kids jumping up and down are Beltre's son and Prince Fielder's son. I love it! :) This win was the Rangers 50th of the season. They are the first MLB team to hit 50 wins so far this season.

I'm loving...

That by the time this posts (I'm typing it on Tuesday), I will be on the road to St. Louis. My friends and I plan to leave Dallas by 8am . We are making a quick stop in Little Rock, AR so I can cross the Clinton Library off my presidential library list.

I'm taking a little carry on suitcase for the trip. I tried the "rolling" technique for my clothes. Supposedly they won't wrinkle if you roll them. If all my vacation pictures show me in wrinkly clothes, you'll know the technique didn't work. 

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That I got to go home last weekend for Father's Day weekend. I surprised my folks by showing up on Friday afternoon, they didn't know I was going to be there. My sweet kiddos (AKA my great-nephew and great-niece) live next door and when they saw my car, they immediately came over to see me (well, they came to see my phone, they love taking pictures, especially with SnapChat).

I'm loving...

That I got to dog-sit for my neighbor last week. She had to go out of town and needed someone to stay with her dog Holly. She's a good dog, we went on a few walks and she got spoiled with belly-rubs (she's quite the diva). :) 

I'm loving...

That I'm going to cross two ballparks off my Major League Ballpark list this summer. Next week I will be in St. Louis and just got my ticket to a Cardinals game (I'll refrain from spitting on the sidewalk). ;) They will be playing the Royals next week, so I'll be there for a Missouri showdown! 

I'm loving...

SnapChat. It can be very entertaining (especially when you are bored or can't sleep). I know, there are selfie haters out there, but SnapChat makes them funny, at least to me. The filters are fun. Here are a few snaps that got saved to my phone (these are over a span of like two weeks, they were NOT all sent the same day). For the record, the one of me in my car was taken while I was NOT driving. There was construction and a wreck on the way to my folks last Friday and I sat for almost an hour NOT moving. I was about to get out of my car and make friends with people around me. If you want to follow me on SnapChat, my handle is Averyfan.

I really don't care for West Coast games, they start too late!

I'm loving...

That my BFF's sweet five-year old felt I needed cookies delivered to my office when she heard I was having a bad day. Tiff's Treats will deliver freshly baked goodies to someone (seriously, they were so fresh the cookies were still warm). They have locations in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and I believe Atlanta. They also deliver ice cream, because there was a pint of Blue Bell included as well. :)

I'm loving...

That I can update some of my 101 in 1001 list. I'm so behind with it. I only have until October to complete it. Looks like I probably won't get it all done this time.

17. Organize storage unit

This was actually done a few months ago, I've just been HORRIBLE about posting updates to this list. I got rid of about six Rubbermaid containers. Now the majority of the stuff in my storage unit is all my Christmas decorations. :)

27. Take books I'm not going to re-read to Half Price Books or library donation drop-off

This was also done a few months ago. I took most of my CD collection (that I possibly ripped to my laptop before getting rid of them) and a bunch of books to Half Price Books. 

44. Volunteer for company's Habitat for Humanity team.

Sadly my company is no longer partnering with H4H, so I had to remove this from the list. BUT, I just found out that my church DOES volunteer for H4H, so I'm going to do that instead. I missed this year, but I will volunteer next year!

66. Attend 7 musicals/plays I have never seen (4/7) 

Since I saw some of these in early 2015, I've been REALLY bad about keeping up with this one!

-Ragtime

-My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra

-The Sound of Music (I've seen the movie, but never the live musical)

-Newsies (again, I've seen the movie but never the live musical)

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Book Review 2016: Dropped Third Strike

**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.**

Dropped Third Strike by Micah K. Chaplin

It is NO secret that I'm a HUGE baseball fan, so I LOVED the baseball aspect of this book, but even for a casual or non-baseball/sports fan, this book is an enjoyable read and I loved it.

In so many books today (especially romance books), the characters are so perfect and "flawless" that it's not only unrealistic, it's ridiculous. Who can relate to someone who is so perfect? I know I can't. I love that the characters in this book have their own individual imperfections, so they are easier to relate to and seem more "real".

Now, I don't work for a major league baseball team (I could only wish), but I could relate to Kate in some ways. She has insecurities and hang-ups that we all have (even if we wish we didn't). I can also relate to what she goes through with her singleness- the struggle can be very real.

I love that the author included a glossary of baseball terms (to help out those non-baseball fans). I hope that this encourages a non-fan to give the book a chance. You never know, you might also fall in love with the sport of baseball! :)

I have high hopes that this will become a series because there were some minor characters in the book that could have their own story line. I look forward to the next one! :)

Why yes, I did order an autographed copy! :)

XOXO!