What I'm Loving!

I'm not gonna lie- the last month I just wasn't motivated to do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post. There was so much negative stuff going on in my life that I just didn't feel up to it. I have to say that the past two weeks have made up for those negative times. I have just felt so happy. And this is a real happy. Not my "I'm going to put on a happy face for the world because it's expected of me." (Yes I do that more than you know). I ended up having a WONDERFUL birthday month (yes, I celebrate it all month long). It's now called the month of "Maychel". I've spent time with friends, I've seen some of my family, and I GOT TO MEET MY FAVORITE ACTOR OF ALL TIME (yes I will be talking about it on and off for the rest of my life. Lol.)

I'm Loving...

My friends. Man, they know how to help a girl celebrate the last year of her 30s in style. 

I had a birthday dinner two weeks ago at Norma's Cafe (BIG SHOUT OUT to Bill and Roger at Norma's for making this possible). They went ABOVE AND BEYOND. If you live in Dallas and haven't gone to Norma's yet- go check them out. I had a great number of friends show up to help me celebrate ME. :) Great food, wonderful friends- a fun time was had by all! :)

Does your favorite restaurant buy you special balloons for your birthday? Didn't think so. :)

My friends are awesome!

Presents and a slightly inappropriate birthday card (I actually got that same card from two different friends). My dinner was so wild they called the Dallas Police Department (okay, not really, but they were nice enough to pose for a photo with me). :)

My friend Nicole got me flowers for my birthday. It made me feel special, I rarely gets flowers at work. They made my desk a little more cheery after the rough day we had at the office a few weeks ago.

On my actual birthday my friend Katie and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert. When I was 11 years old, all I wanted for my birthday was for them to sing to me ON my birthday. 28 years later, it happened. I will not confirm or deny that I was somewhat giddy about that. Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul opened for them- it was a flashback to my childhood. I loved it!

I promise that is Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul. I was taking pictures on my phone- I keep forgetting I have a nice camera now to take pictures with and I forgot to bring it. Fail. Lol

When they sang their song Happy Birthday, I am 97.4% sure it was just for me (forget anyone else there celebrating a birthday). Lol

I had a birthday lunch with my friend Becky. We see each other at work all the time and say "hey, we need to have lunch." We FINALLY went! Lol. So much fun! 

I know I went on and on (and on and on) about meeting Dick Van Dyke last weekend, but I also got a chance to meet actor Anthony Michael Hall. He was so nice. He talked a good while with everyone who met him at his booth.

I saw Circus 1903 with my friend Mel at Dallas Summer Musicals (okay, this wasn't technically FOR my birthday, but it helped wrap up my birthday week). It was a great show, I highly recommend it!

We were excited to have floor seats for the show, normally we have "sitting next to Jesus" seats in the balcony. :)

I got to hang out with some of my favorite baseball peeps at a Rangers game on Monday night (that was actually for my friend Eric's birthday). But it wrapped up my two weeks of celebrating with friends. Monday was OU cap night at the Ballpark. Three guesses who is not an OU fan. Lol. I also got to see my friend Felicia (we got our yearly baseball picture together). AND, after like eight years of signing up for it, I WON the Designated Driver of the Game prize. I ended up with an authentic Rangers jersey. Oh, and the Rangers WON!! (It's been a rough season, we haven't been able to say it too much). What a great ending to my birthday celebrations. :)

Traditional birthday kiss from my friend Beks. Lol.

I'm Loving...

My church. I know I've said this before, but having this church family has helped me through some rough times the past few years. I'm super sad my pastor is retiring, but I look forward to our new pastor and all the great things my church will do in the future. 

I love Pastor Sam and his wife Belinda!

I'm Loving...

That I was able to make it to my niece Ashlyn's high school graduation. I had to work that day and her graduation was a two hour drive from Dallas. Despite traffic, I still made it and was able to see her walk across the stage. I'm so proud of her! And she's going to attend college at my alma mater! :)

I'm Loving...

That I was able to see my friend Richard (even if it was only for like 15 minutes) for the first time in 12 years. He picked me up at the airport in Phoenix on Saturday (he just happened to be in town). It was great to see him, next time we will definitely hang out longer!

I'm Loving...

That Dick Van Dyke's wife commented on my blog post. I posted the link on Instagram and tagged her and she responded. It made my day!!

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday my friends!! Thanks for checking out another edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday! :)

I'm loving...

That I am off work all next week. A friend of mine will be in town so I took the week off work to spend time with him. 

I'm loving...

That I was able to embrace my inner 11-year-old self at the New Kids on the Block concert last week. It was a lot of fun. My friends and I had a blast! I scored tickets to be able to sit in my company's suite at the AAC, so we had a great view! And free food and drinks. :) 

The first opening act was Nelly. I'm not really a fan of his (nothing against him personally, I'm just not a big fan of that kind of music), I only knew about two songs. 

The next act was TLC- and that took me back to high school and college. I was a fan of theirs back then. They did a really good job. 

Of course, the highlight of the night was NKOTB. Oh yes, there was dancing on stage (and in the suite). They still have the moves. Okay, maybe the moves aren't as vigorous as they were 27 years ago, but they were still out there having fun and put on a good show. It made me and my friends think we were 11 and 12 years old again. :)

I'm loving...

That my library lets me renew my books online. I know, most libraries let you do that, but I still love it. Lol.

I'm loving...
That I actually got another book review published on my blog yesterday (in case you missed it, check it out here). Maybe I will eventually get caught up with them!

I'm loving...
That even when I'm in my lowest moment, a friend will say something to remind me that it's all going to be okay. They might not even realize what they said helped me out. It's just a reminder that you never know whose life you will make a difference in each day.

What are you loving today?
XOXO!

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!

Boston Trip Part 2

Day 2 of my Boston Trip started with a road trip to Salem!

We parked in a lot next to St. Peter's Episcopal Church so we stopped inside to check it out. They were actually having a service so we didn't stay too long. This really nice lady tried to get us to stay, but we told her we were short on time (which we were, we had to leave no later than 2:00 to get back to Boston in time to get ready for the concert that night). She gave us a brochure that had information about the church, as well as the bulletin for that day's service. If we had more time, we would have stayed to check out the service. It wasn't very crowded, but everyone seemed really nice. 

We only had a few hours to spend in Salem, so we stopped by the visitor's center to see what were the "must see" places in town. We met this really nice gentleman named Bob who drew on a map of the best places to see. It saved us from wandering around wasting time (and seeing some really cheesy witch museums- which he confirmed were NOT worth the price of admission). 

Bob- super nice guy!

Our first stop was the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. There are 20 granite "benches" with the names of those who were executed for being a "witch". Across from the memorial was the cemetery where most of those involved in the witch trials are buried. It's the second oldest burial ground in the United States. 

I really enjoyed walking around Salem, it seems like a neat, peaceful little town. I really wish we had more time to spend there.

There were a lot of places we didn't have time to tour, like the Custom House and the Friendship, but we went by them anyways.

We were able to go by The House of Seven Gables, which is a mansion that was built in 1668 and was the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The House of Seven Gables. I'm just going to go ahead and confess I've never read it. But maybe I should. We didn't have time for the tour, but the nice ladies at the front desk gave us a "visitor's pass" so we could at least look around the outside of it.

The most important stop of our trip was at Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie, which is America's oldest candy company. Sadly it was too hot to buy any of the chocolate (we were afraid it would melt), but I did pick up some mints. 

This nice guy took our picture by the harbor.

We met this cutie during our walk around Salem, his name was Sampson. 

We made a quick stop at the Witch House, which is the only remaining structure that has ties to the witchcraft trials from the 1600s. Jonathan Corwin was the trial judge and he lived here. Next time I go to Salem, I'll take the tour inside!

We continued on to Chestnut Street, which is a registered national historic landmark. There were some beautiful homes there! There was one called The Phillips House which is one of the mansions you can actually go in and tour.

We stopped for a quick lunch before heading back to Boston. We wanted to rest for a while before heading out to see New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, and 98 Degrees!!

Thanks to Jodi for letting me borrow a dress...and shoes...and jewelry, for the concert! :)

On our way to meet Jodi's cousin for dinner, we went by TD Garden (the arena where the concert was being held) and just randomly saw Nick and Drew Lachey (from 98 Degrees) getting into a van. Nick waved at us.

Nick Lachey

Dinner before the concert

After dinner, we headed to TD Garden. Our seats were pretty much at the top of the arena, but we didn't care! :) I wonder if Joey could see us?? Yes, 25 years later, I'm still all about Joey McIntyre (don't judge). :)

The three pictures on the left are ones I took. The better other ones I stole borrowed from each band's Twitter and Facebook pages.

I didn't take this video, but this was the night we were there. NKOTB and the crowd singing "Sweet Caroline".



During the concert we met these two guys who were sitting next to us. They were funny and they knew ALL the songs from New Kids on the Block. We actually hung out with them for a while after the concert. Jodi and I didn't get back to her place until 3am. Good grief, I can't remember the last time I was out that late, I'm DEFINITELY not as young as I used to be! I was so ready to go to sleep!

New friends we met at the concert.

Stay tuned for part 3 of my recap!!

XOXO!