What I'm Loving Wednesday and AVERT2015 Recap Part 1

I'm back after an AMAZING road trip last week. I had a blast. There is too much to put into one post, so I'll break it up into several posts (you'll get a sneak peak today). Be sure to check back for more updates on it. I always post on Twitter when I update my blog, so feel free to follow me there. We used the hashtag #AVERT2015 on Twitter and Instagram for our trip (feel free to search it if you want). It stands for "A Very Epic Road Trip". :)

My wonderful co-host Jodi is on a blogging sabbatical this week, but I would still love it you linked up with me today! 

I'm loving...

That I visited 11 states in a span of 10 days. And seven of those states were ones I had never visited before (I'm slowly working my way to all 50 states). 

I'm loving...

That my former college roommate Mel went on this road trip with me. We went on road trips when we were in college, and we had been talking about taking another one for a few years now. We finally did it! We even had a playlist on my iPod of songs we listened to in college. Ah, memories!

Before the start of our 11 state journey...

I'm loving...

That we weren't even out of Texas before our first unplanned stop took place. Road trips are all about making unexpected stops along the way (at least with us). We stopped in Denison to visit the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower (it made sense to stop, since we were going to his presidential library in Kansas). This was also something I can cross of my 101 in 1001 list (#3 Places in Texas I've never been to before).

I'm loving...

This personalized autograph from Dick Van Dyke. As you know, he's my favorite actor of ALL time. Last month he and his wife mentioned on Twitter they had extra copies of his autobiography (which I already owned), but if you bought a copy through them, and told him what to write, he would personalize an autograph for you. How could I pass that up? I'll just own two copies of his book. But I'll treasure this copy for the rest of my life. And yes, I did ask him to write that. :)

I'm loving...

That I made the latest issue of the Texas Rangers Magazine (which is the souvenir program they sell at the games). They had a social media contest where you submitted a picture of you cheering on the Rangers at another ballpark (it's a segment called "Rangers Roadtrip"). I sent in a picture of me when I went to see the Rangers play at Fenway Park in Boston. They selected my picture for an issue and mailed me a copy of the magazine. I feel kind of famous. :) 

I decided to end my post today with a quick recap of the first two days of our trip. Like I said, we stopped at the Eisenhower birthplace before we got out of Texas. The first state of our trip was Oklahoma.

Why yes, we did sing the theme song from the musical Oklahoma as we crossed the border. And we realized we only knew the first few lines. Lol.

After driving almost 100 miles into Oklahoma (give or take a few miles), we finally found a place to stop and eat. We spend the night in Tulsa and the next day we went to the Hard Rock Casino...and discovered that gambling was NOT for us. We maybe spent an hour in there, but we spent most of that time taking pictures of the memorabilia. We both spent a dollar on the penny slots, and we both lost a dollar. I found gambling to be somewhat boring (I guess that's a good thing, right?) It was a cool place to visit though.

An Elvis jumpsuit. You know me, if it's Elvis related, I'm taking a picture

They told us not to take pictures of the slot machines (what can I say, I live life on the edge). Although you really can't tell there are slot machines in this picture. Oh well, I tried. Lol. 

We didn't eat here, but I did pose for a picture

After that, we visited the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum. Mel's cousin works there and gave us a behind the scenes tour. As a museum nerd aficionado, I really enjoyed it. I've been to many museums, but it was so cool to see what goes on in preparing the exhibits and how they catalog everything. If you are ever in Tulsa, be sure to check out this museum (click here for the address). I think it's one of Tulsa's best kept secrets. They have so many exhibits that include the first ever traffic Yield sign, the first Barbie doll, classic cars, old soda shop benches, and a death mask of Pretty Boy Floyd (the only other death masks of Floyd are owned by the FBI and the Ohio Historical Society).

1958 Ford Edsel

Cool like James Dean..

Thanks to Mel's cousin Ian for the tour of his awesome museum, we had a blast!

We ended our first (full) day with a stop in Abilene, Kansas. I'll talk more about our adventures there in my next post (I would love to say that would be tomorrow, but we all know my track record of updating my blog on a regular basis. It will be soon, I promise!) :)

I was singing "Carry On My Wayward Son" as we crossed the Kansas border (for someone who is tone deaf, I sure did do a lot of singing on this trip). Lol.

XOXO!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I had such good intentions of writing books reviews this week. Yeah, it obviously didn't happen. I promise Allen, I will write that review SOON!!

So, before I begin my What I'm Loving Wednesday post, I wanted to let all of you who regularly link up know that next week we are taking a week off from the link-up. Never fear, we will return the week after. Next week I will be in the middle of a road trip, and even though I'm taking my laptop with me, I MIGHT not have time to do a post (I also probably won't have WiFi access). But when I get back, I should have plenty of material for several blog posts. Heck, I might even blog every day for a whole week! :)

I'm loving...

That Miss Eliza was supporting Auntie Rachel's Texas Rangers this past weekend when they were playing the Blue Jays. She has been the biggest Rangers fan in Canada since she was born (thanks to a little persuasion from Auntie Rachel). :) She even got her dad a Rangers cap for Father's Day. :)

Thanks to Eliza's parents for permission to use her name and picture on my blog! :)

I'm loving...

That I always seem to meet up with friends at Rangers games. And I'm loving the giveaways this season. Last Tuesday I got a Prince Fielder bobblehead to add to my collection. 

I'm loving...

That I got to see my friend Micah last week (even if it was for less than 24 hours- thanks a lot Southwest Airlines for messing that up). Despite having only a day to hang out, we made the most of it. We went to a Rangers game with our sweet friend Jessica and all risked having a heat stroke (man, I love my Rangers, but day games in the summer are brutal). After that we had BBQ and then met up with our friends Erick and Chance. The four of us had a great evening just hanging out. We got back to my place late and only had a few hours sleep before we had to get up to take Micah back to the airport. Next time I hope her visit is longer! :)

I'm loving...

That Bath and Body Works briefly brought back Cucumber Melon. This was my FAVORITE scent when I was in college. I was so sad when they discontinued it. I stocked up on Cucumber Melon last weekend (no, I'm not obsessed). I actually got a good deal. Everything was $3.50 AND I had a $10 off coupon. I keep hoping that maybe Bath and Body Works will bring it back again in the regular line. Or at least once a year. Maybe I'll write a letter.

I'm loving...

That Aunt Ray-Ray got to see her sweet kiddos last weekend (we are actually cousins, but when they were little they called me "Aunt" Ray-Ray, so it stuck). :) I actually lived with them for a few months when I first moved to Dallas 11 years ago, I can't believe how grown up they are now!

I'm loving...

That Thursday evening I leave on a 10-day, 11-state road trip with my college roommate. We have been talking about taking a road trip for several years now, and are finally going (we used to take road trips together in college). I will post about our adventures on my blog, but if you have Instagram and want to follow me there and see my pictures as they are uploaded, my handle is Averyfan. You can also search the hashtag #AVERT2015 (which stands for A Very Epic Road Trip 2015). We will start using it on Thursday. 

I'm loving...

These two jokers. My friends Chance and Erick are two of my best friends. I like to sing "We're the three best friends that anybody could have..." whenever we hang out (I'm sure that annoys them, mainly because I can't sing). Seriously, these two are always there for me. If I'm having a bad day, one of them will say something to cheer me up. And they can usually tell by a text or tweet if something is wrong (or a lack of a text). I know if I needed anything, anytime, I could call one of them and they would be there for me, no questions asked. They have helped me through some of the toughest times of my life. A girl couldn't ask for better friends. 

They always tell me I'm the best looking one of the group, so I guess that makes me Bradley Cooper? Lol. 

I'm loving...

Books. Are you really surprised? Half Price Books had a clearance sale last Saturday in Arlington. I possibly spent two hours walking around looking through the selection. I ended up with 16 books for $23 (not too shabby). Now, I just need time to read all of them.

What are YOU loving today??
XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Thank you to everyone who links up with us each week (or almost every week)! We really enjoy reading your blogs! :)

I'm loving...

That I got to see some of my family over Father's Day weekend. Three of my five siblings were there (including my brother Mark, who I sadly don't see that often). And of course I got to see my sweet great-nephews, C and E. Hugs from them always make things better! And I got my obligatory Father's Day picture with my daddy (top left corner).

I'm loving...

This late birthday present from a sweet friend of mine. He actually emailed me a Groupon gift card so I could order it myself (he didn't have my mailing address). I LOVE it. 

I'm loving...

That I get to see my beautiful friend Micah this week- she will be in town visiting! We are going to a Rangers game while she is here (it's a day game-I promise to wear sunscreen this time). :)

Picture of the last Rangers game we were at together- in like 2012

I'm loving...

Hot tea. I've been drinking a lot of it lately. I have a cup every morning at work with my breakfast. :)

I'm loving...

This sweet dog named Murphy. I went to see a good friend of mine in the hospital last week. Murphy is a therapy dog and was making the rounds to each room to visit patients. He was so sweet. His owner said that he loves going to visit people.

I'm loving...

Meeting up with my Twitter peeps to watch Rangers games. I went to two watching parties last week. I had a lot of fun at both of them.

I'm loving...

That I was able to see my friend Diana before she moved to California. She and I used to work together, and her last day was during a week I wasn't at work. I thought I had missed a chance to say goodbye. Thankfully she was still in town for a few extra weeks so I went by to see her last Friday.

I'm loving...

Garage sales. Diana was having a garage sale and I got ALL of this stuff for an insanely low price (seriously, it's ridiculous that she didn't charge me that much). Lol. I practically have a new wardrobe (and like seven new pairs of shoes and a lot of new jewelry). 

What are YOU loving today??

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

For everyone who linked up last week, I read the posts on my phone and meant to go back and comment on everyone's page from my laptop. I think I missed a few. My apologies if I missed you, I will try and go back and do that this week. :)

I'm loving..

My company. I may not love going to work everyday (because let's be honest, who does), but working for a good company and having great co-workers makes a difference if you are miserable or not at your job. Last Thursday we had a department "team-building" meeting. At a bowling alley. During work hours. And all we did was eat and bowl. And yes, we got paid for doing this. It was so much fun. I don't like to bowl (long story that involves bowling all the time as a kid), but I still embarrassed myself and bowled a few games. Now, this is the first time we've done this, so don't think it's a common occurrence. I talked to one of our directors and he's hoping to make it a yearly event though.

Some of my awesome co-workers

I'm loving...

That I successfully planned a Girl's Night Out! Last Friday night some friends and I went to the Frisco RoughRiders baseball game. It was "Full House" night. They played 90s music before the game (and during the after-game fireworks). And Dave Coulier, best known as Joey from the TV show Full House, was there to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. We had a lot of fun. And yes, we got to meet Dave Coulier (come on, you know me better than that. If there is someone famous there, I WILL get a picture with them). I have hosting a Girls Night Out (seven times) on my 101 in 1001 list. I'm going to go ahead and count this as one of them!

Thanks to Anna, Monica, and Julie for a fun night out! We were part of history that night, it was the biggest crowd in RoughRider history (11,927). Thanks to RoughRider owner Chuck Greenberg for stopping to talk to us (and take a picture).

They were rushing us through the line with Dave Coulier. He was supposed to stop signing at 9pm, but the line was still very long at that point, so he stayed for a while longer. He was really nice though.

I'm loving...

That I got to have lunch with the BFF last Saturday. We hadn't seen each other since April (we only live about an hour apart). We ate lunch at Cousin's Bar-B-Q (which is a local restaurant I had never been too.) Another thing I can cross off my 101 in 1001 list!

I'm loving...

That I got to see Jurassic World with my friend Robyn on Saturday night. I personally enjoyed the movie. I don't think a movie will ever top the original Jurassic Park, but this one was definitely better than the two other movies in the series. And having Chris Pratt in the movie didn't hurt. ;)

I'm loving...

My Texas Rangers. They are doing a lot better than anyone (including myself) thought they would be at this point in the season. I went on Sunday and had a lot of fun. I got to see my friend and former neighbor Donny, who was in town from North Carolina. He is married to the wonderful and lovely Katie (I actually helped introduce them). :) The giveaway item on Sunday was an Elvis Andrus garden gnome (it's a little scary looking, but most gnomes are). Lol. The only downside is that I forgot to put my sunscreen in my purse, so the 40 minutes my seats were in the sun caused me to end up with a lovely sunburn. This particular game ended in a loss, but thanks to a Rangers homerun in the 2nd inning, we received a coupon for a free Grand Slam meal at Denny's. My friend Monica and I went after the game for dinner. I think the waiter felt bad about my sunburn because he let me keep my coupon and didn't charge me for my meal. :) 

All a girl needs is baseball and friends... :)

I'm loving...

This After-Sun Replenishing Gel from Mary Kay. It is working wonders on my sunburn. It cools it, and doesn't leave my skin all sticky like aloe does (it actually is keeping my skin very soft). I hope that it helps me not to peel because I don't burn and tan. I burn and peel. Like a snake. Or one of those aliens on the TV show V).

For the record, I haven't cut my hair. I posted this on Facebook and had many people ask me that. It's just the shorter layers are showing in this picture. The rest of my hair was behind my burnt shoulders. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week! What are you loving today?

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Is it just me, or are the days flying by this year? I can't believe it's JUNE! Good grief, time needs to slow down some. Thanks again for stopping by for What I'm Loving Wednesday! :)

I'm loving...

That I got to see my favorite T-ball player last week. The hour and a half drive was worth it to see him play a great game. And I also got hugs from both him and his dad (my bestie). :)

I'm loving...

Meeting up with friends that I don't see that often. Last week my friend Joe and I celebrated our friend Becky's birthday with her! :) It was great to see both of them! We usually keep up with each other via Facebook. We promised to get together again soon.

I'm loving...

Late birthday lunches. My team took me out last week for a very late birthday lunch (better late than never). :) As you can tell, I was a little piggy. I have no regrets, it was all amazing. Yes, three pickles. I love pickles. And yes, I did get Jell-O too. Lol.

I'm loving...

The newest addition to my Dick Van Dyke movie collection. I used to LOVE this movie when I was a kid. I had some Best Buy reward points that were expiring, so I used them on this gem. :)

I'm loving...

Going to the movies by myself. I used to think it was crazy to go to the movies alone, but lately, I kind of enjoy it. I usually have Friday afternoons off work, so I can catch an early afternoon show. Last week I saw Love and Mercy (the film about Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys). It was a great movie. John Cusack did an amazing job. As did Paul Dano (the guy who played the younger Brian Wilson).

I didn't have time to eat lunch before going to the movies, so I was forced to get popcorn so I didn't starve. Remind me never to do that again. It cost $6.50 for this bag. That's ridiculous. Next time I'll be sure to leave enough time to get food beforehand.

I'm loving...

Two hour trips at Half Price Books. I got some gift cards for my birthday, and decided last Saturday to go put them to good use. I roamed around for basically two hours. I like when I go by myself and can just take my time looking at all of the selections. I ended up using only one gift card (which means I have to go back- darn). :)

The top left book is a Russian play that was recently translated into English. I've started it, it's...interesting. Also, I'm not a Jane Austen fan, so I thought if I read about zombies in Pride and Prejudice, I could actually finish it. Lol. And yes, I bought my first graphic novel. It was based on The Babysitters Club (my favorite childhood series- I had to get it). And the other one was only $1 and a mystery novel, so of course I had to pick it up.

I'm loving...

Road trips. I am taking one soon. I can't wait!

What are you loving today??

XOXO!

Book Review 2015: Kristy's Great Idea

I can't remember if I've mentioned on here about the reading challenge I'm doing this year. I was added to a reading group on Facebook and the challenge was to read books that fit these categories. So yes, on top of my book club (which I've slacked on going to- I've been SO BUSY the past few months), I'm also doing this challenge. What can I say, I love to read. :) So far I've only completed 14 categories from this list, but I'm slowly catching up. And yes, I know I owe you all a ton of book reviews. I'm getting there. Lol.

One of the categories was "A graphic novel". Okay, I'm going to embarrass myself and admit that when I heard the category graphic novel, I thought it was just that- "GRAPHIC". I didn't realize it was a fancy name for a comic book. I'm so embarrassed. After I realized what it meant, I felt better about finding a book that fit that category. Lol. :) Last weekend I spent two hours in Half Price Books (don't judge) and saw this book near the checkout.

I'm not going to lie- I LOVED The Babysitter Club books when I was a kid. I may or may not have started my own babysitters club with a few friends at some point. I think I started reading these books in 3rd grade (which is when the first one was published). I stopped reading them in high school (hey-don't judge, I loved the series), but I found out the series went on being published until I was out of college. If you don't know anything about The Babysitters Club, click here. I had at least the first 75 books in this series, but sadly, due to a flooding incident at my folks' house a while back, all of my books from my childhood (Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden) were destroyed. I can't talk about it, it's too painful. 

Anyways, it seems that someone has turned the first few books of the Babysitters Club series into graphic novels, so I thought I would read the first one and give you my review. 

Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier (based on the novel by Ann M. Martin)

This made me want to read the series all over again. No joke. I felt like I was a kid. The artist did a great job with the characters, and she kept true to the book, she didn't try to "modernize" it or update it. Now, it has probably been 25 years (or more) since I've read the first book of the series, but everything came back to me when I started to read this book. I was reintroduced to Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and Stacey.

For those not familiar with the books, Kristy's "great idea" is to form a group called The Babysitters Club. It's a way for parents to reach four sitters with one phone call. That way they don't have to call multiple numbers if a sitter isn't available. 

I love how this book took me back to my childhood. No smartphones (or any cell phone), no social media, no laptops. When they were starting the business, they printed fliers to post all over their town. And they ran an ad in the newspaper. There was no Facebook page or Twitter announcement like there would probably be today. The reason they held their meetings in Claudia's room was because she had her own phone line (LANDLINE). I forgot that Kristy was so upset over her mother dating again after her divorce. And that's Stacey's BIG SECRET was that she had diabetes.

It's funny, now that I'm an adult, I'm like, man, 12 and 13 seems awfully young to be a babysitter, but then I remember, I was babysitting at that age.

Obviously the author couldn't use all of the text from the original book, but she captured the main points with her artwork.

I read this in about an hour, but like I said, it was a fun read to take me back. If you were a fan of the series, I definitely recommend checking this out. I think the author has turned a few more books in this series into graphic novels, I would be interested to read those as well.

XOXO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving...

That 21 years after saying, "I'm going to meet Dean Cain one day", I FINALLY met Dean Cain last Friday night. 16-year-old Rachel would be so proud of me. I attended the Dallas Comic Con last weekend (yes, the main reason I bought tickets to the event was to meet him). It was everything I wanted and more. He was super nice (how could Superman be anything BUT super nice). He talked to each fan for a few minutes at both the photo session and the autograph table. He made it seem like you were his main focus the whole time he was talking to you. He didn't seemed rushed or annoyed. When we got to the photo session he introduced himself and asked my name. He also said he loved my "blingy" Superman shirt. And he gave me a hug. You all know how much I love hugs. :) I feel the need to have a Lois and Clark marathon now (yes, I own all four seasons on DVD). 

Thanks to my friend, and fellow Lois and Clark enthusiast, B for tagging along to Comic Con with me! 

Getting our souvenir photos signed (I probably wasn't suppose to take pictures at the autograph table, but I'm a rebel)

We went back to "the Con" on Saturday and attended Dean's Q&A session. After it was over, instead of rushing off like most of the guests did, he stuck around and talked to fans, took photos, and gave out more hugs, for at least 15 minutes. You could tell the Comic Con officials were wanting to rush him off, but he made time for everyone there. Again, SUPER nice. And yes, I have photo proof of Dean Cain hugging me. :)

I'm loving...
That I survived my first Comic Con. I'll be honest, I had never been before and didn't really know much about it. It was interesting, to say the least, but I had a lot of fun. I met a few other celebrities, saw some interesting costumes, and even made some new friends while waiting in line for celebrity photos! :)

Honestly, I've only seen one episode of the TV show Firefly, but I went with B to get a picture with Alan Tudyk anyways. I know I've seen other shows/movies that he has been in. He was nice as well. 

As a fan of The X-Files and Supernatural, I was very excited to meet Mitch Pileggi. He now lives in Dallas and mentioned how he liked the shorter commute to this Comic Con. He just had to jump on the tollway.

It was an honor to meet Barbara Eden and Bill Daily from I Dream of Jeannie. I remember as a kid spending my afternoons watching reruns of that show and Bewitched on TV. Mr. Daily is 87 and was hilarious. When I shook his hand he looked at me and was like, "well, hello there". It seems he was very much like his character Roger. :)

It was good to run into some friends (and to meet new friends) while at Comic Con. There were so many awesome costumes. I didn't recognize all of them. I did recognized two who were dressed up as Dean and Sam from Supernatural (bottom right). 

While waiting to get our picture taken with Dean, we met this adorable young man and his parents. I said something about wanting to be Lois Lane and he told me that he would be my Superman. SO CUTE! We also saw them the next day at Dean's Q&A. They are now new friends of ours! Oh, and I asked his parents permission to use his picture on my blog. :)

I'm loving...

My sweet Kindergarten graduates! I'm sad that I missed it, but I'm so proud of them! 

Aunt Rachel's sweet E and K!

I'm loving...

Rangers baseball. It was nice to finally get above .500 for the first time since last June. I had fun at the games I attended last week with some friends. I actually got to see a winning game on Saturday!!

I'm loving...
That the SUN is actually shining here in Dallas again. We had about three weeks of rain (some of it severe).

What are YOU loving today?

XOXO!!

**disclaimer: Like always, if you want to use any pictures from my blog, please ask my permission first. Thanks!** :)