What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...

My short weekend trip to Atlanta last weekend. I was literally there only 36 hours, but my friends and I did SO MUCH. I'll post a full recap later this week (hopefully). Here is a small sneak peek of some of our adventures.

My sweet friend Paul lives in Atlanta and picked us up at the airport on Friday and drove us around all day. It was so good to see him again! And I'm glad we finally saw a baseball game together!

Why yes, I did wear a Dr Pepper shirt when I toured the Coca-Cola museum (I had to make sure they knew where my soda allegiance stood). :)

We went to the location of the very first Chick Fil-A. It was like walking on holy ground. And I found out that Chick Fil-A opened on May 23, 1946. May 23 is my birthday. MY LOVE OF CHICK FIL-A WAS MEANT TO BE!

As you saw above, we went to a Braves game. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know I grew up watching Braves baseball on TBS, because I couldn't get Rangers games in Austin. So yes, the Braves are my favorite NL team (the Rangers will always be my number one favorite overall though). :) My buddy Paul was able to personally introduce me to Ryan Klesko. He was on the 1995 World Series championship Braves team. He's in the top five of my favorite Braves players of all time. Sadly my number one favorite (that would be Steve Avery, for all of you reading my blog for the first time) wasn't able to make it to Atlanta for the alumni weekend, but that's okay, I'm confident I will get my photo with him one day. It's on my bucket list, it has to happen. :)

I'm loving...

That I'm spending the week with this cutie while her mom is out of town. I've been taking photos of her on my new phone. She loves to model. :) She also loves to wake Aunt Rachel up at 5 a.m. I'm not loving that as much. Lol.

I'm loving...

That I'm FINALLY reading Gone With The Wind (I was inspired after visiting the home of Margaret Mitchell while in Atlanta). It's 959 pages, so we will see how long this takes me. I'm on page 60, so 899 pages to go. Lol. Yes, I will write a review once I'm done.

I feel it's appropriate to use the bookmark I bought at the Margaret Mitchell house while reading Gone With the Wind. :)

I'm loving...

The power of social media. I noticed a spelling mistake at the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta, so I pointed it out to them (I think I was polite about it). When your best friend has been a fan of Bon Jovi pretty much as long as you've known her, you know how the band members (and former band members) spell their name. :)

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!!

I'm loving...

When I get to hang out with a friend on her birthday. My beautiful and wonderful friend Beks' birthday was yesterday and she had a birthday celebration at the Dallas Stars hockey game. The Stars won 3-2 (that was their gift to her.) Beks and I have been friends since 2004. We met when a mutual friend introduced us and said "You two like baseball, you should become friends." And we did. Lol. Love this chick!

I enjoyed hanging out with her and some other friends at the game last night. I love watching sports but it's so much more fun when you are spending time with friends while watching the game. We also had all you could eat food. I will not confirm or deny that I had nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, and more Dr Pepper than one person should consume in a two hour span. I regret nothing.

A picture with the birthday girl!!

My friend Misti and I asked her teenage daughter if this was how the cool kids posed. Evidently it's not cool when we do it.

I'm loving...

That I got to see Bon Jovi in concert last week. My friend Monica and I got last minute tickets. They were behind the stage but they were actually pretty good seats. We were like four rows back. It was my first time seeing them, it was an amazing concert! 

Concerts are for meeting new friends- our new friend Adam!

I was bummed Bon Jovi wasn't selling magnets (I collect them), so I bought some collector pins and put magnets on the back. Boom. I kinda feel like a genius. Lol.

I'm loving...

That I got to meet author Bret Baier (again). Last Saturday he was signing copies of his newest book Three Days in January at the flagship Half Price Books in Dallas. My friends Misti and Larry just happened to be near there and when I mentioned he was signing, they joined me. He's super nice and remembered me from the last time he did a book signing in Dallas. I got a copy of his book signed for my dad too. 

The book he signed for my dad. No, I didn't tell him to put that. :)

I'm loving...

My new doormat. A friend got me a gift card for Rally House Texas for Christmas and I finally used it last week.

I'm loving...

That it is March- mainly because I like the picture for March on my Supernatural calendar. Stop judging me. (Happy birthday Jensen).

I'm loving...

That my friend let me borrow her Garmin Vivofit (she got a new one, so I took her old one). I've been debating what kind I want to get (Vivofit, Fitbit etc). This one monitors how many steps I've taken, how many miles I've walked, and how much I've slept. Last night I went to bed late because of the Stars game, so I got less than 6 hours of sleep. This is actually not too uncommon for me.

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Hey friends! Sorry for being absent all week! I got sick Sunday late afternoon/early evening and have been in bed all week since then. I'm feeling a little bit better today (I can't say that I'm feeling fabulous by any means, but I did manage to get out of bed and make my way to work). Hope to be back to 110% soon! :)

I promise to get caught up on all my blog reading soon. I wasn't online much this past weekend, and since I was sick all week, I haven't even been in front of a computer until this morning. For all my new followers, I promise to stop by your blogs soon!! I'm looking forward to getting caught up on everyone's blogs! I miss reading your posts! :)

If you know me, you know I'm a history nerd (so please forgive me for my history-filled post today). And if you are from Texas, you SHOULD know that today is Texas Independence Day. I mean, in 7th grade we had to take a Texas History course in school (any other states make you take a state history class? I'm just wondering). I'm not complaining, it was my favorite class! :)

For those of you not familiar with Texas history, today is the celebration of the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence.With this document, settlers in Mexican Texas officially broke from Mexico, creating the Republic of Texas. For more on that (and to read the declaration), you can go here. I actually have seen the Texas Declaration of Independence in person. A few years ago I was in San Antonio for a convention and the original declaration was on display at the Alamo. :)

I thought I would share some facts about Texas for your reading pleasure!

Nickname: The Lone Star State

Origin of name: From the Indian word meaning "friends".

State flower: bluebonnet

Me and my friend Brandy stopped to have our picture taken in the bluebonnets going to Opening Day in 2009

State bird: mockingbird

State tree: pecan

State song: "Texas, Our Texas" (no, it's NOT "Deep in the Heart of Texas") ;)

Random facts stolen borrowed from the internet:  (many thanks to this website here)

- El Paso, TX is closer to Los Angeles, CA on the Pacific Coast than it is to Port Arthur on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Port Arthur, TX is closer to Jacksonville, FL than it is to El Paso.

- The only place in the world where they make Dr Pepper according to the original formula is in Dublin, TX. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, TX in 1885. There is NO period after Dr in Dr Pepper.

- Texas was an independent nation from 1836-1845.

- Texas is the only state to have flags of 6 different nations fly over it: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States and United States. This is where the theme park SIX FLAGS gets its name! :)

Me and my nephew James riding The Runaway Mine Train roller coaster at Six Flags over Texas a few years ago.

-Austin, TX is considered the "live music capital of the world". 

-The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was "Houston".  

- Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth is the world's largest country-western honky-tonk and includes a 4800 square foot rodeo arena. I have been there many times- they have great concerts! :)

-The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge. It was built in 1870 and is still used today as a pedestrian crossing of the Brazos River.

-The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos, TX on July 4, 1883.

Me and some friends hanging out at the Mesquite Rodeo a few years ago.

For a list of famous people from Texas, you can go here. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to retype my favorites!) :)

I realized I could go on and on, but I'll spare you! :)

Before I close my post today, I have to wish Jon Bon Jovi a very happy 49th birthday. In honor of Jon, I'll leave you with some Bon Jovi videos. BTW, my BFF Mandy should love my post today. It has Texas history and Bon Jovi- two of her favorite things!! Love you friend!! :) See you, Andrew and Effie in a few weeks!

Funny Sportscenter commercial with Bon Jovi:

Thanks to all my Twitter friends for sending me get well wishes and "we miss you" tweets this week. I feel so loved! XOXO!!