Hot Finish - Erin McCarthy Fast Track Series

If you have never read Erin McCarthy books and like romance novels, you should give her a try. I love her books. Let me repeat that. Absolutely. Love. Her. Books. And I love even more that she responds to reader emails and tweets.

Anyways, back to the books. I read her first NASCAR romance book, Flat Out Sexy, on the plane ride on my way to NYC. When I finished I knew I had to see if the next one was out because I was hooked. Luckily for me it was and before I left to return home, I asked the driver to make a stop on his way to the airport so I could pick it up. Hard and Fast was even better, in my opinion, than the first one and had me laughing out loud on the plane ride home. After finishing it I couldn't wait for the next one but alas I had several months to wait until its release.


Finally earlier this month Hot Finish was released and it was all that I've come to expect from Erin's books. It was sweet, zany, steamy and addicting. Now we get word that the series will continue with the next book out next March. Plenty of time to re-read the whole series.

Side note: some of the scenes are a little steamy so be forewarned. ;-)

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Dale Jr. k'nex

My nephew Caleb knows how much I love Dale Earnhardt Jr. so when he saw this k'nex set while he was out school shopping he bought it for me. With. His. Own. Money!!

How sweet is that! He wanted to put it together right away and didn't like it too much when I wanted to help. I think he may have really wanted it for himself.

Dale had a visor that could go up or down and a baseball cap.


....and the finished product.


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Jersey Boys

The Jersey Boys has finally made it's way to Austin. Yeah!!!! I went with my mom and sister Diane to see the show. Since we had matinee tickets we made a girls day of it and had lunch at Hyde Park Bar and Grill first then on to the show. Sydni did not understand why she couldn't come with us since she, too, is a girl. I had to tell her that the show wouldn't let her in because of the language so that was fine with her.


I saw the original cast in New York years ago and absolutely loved the show.



The songs, the story, the actors, everything was amazing. I was worried the show wouldn't live up to my praise of it but I shouldn't have because my sister and mom LOVED it. I could watch it every day. You don't realize how many songs they sang or the back story of their rise and fall and it is all laid out for you. Very moving and everyone should see it.

After the show we fought traffic and went to get massages. Oh the hot stone massage I had was devine. A very nice way to end the day.




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Great Wolf Lodge

My sister and I took her kids to Great Wolf Lodge once again this year.  They love this place -- although it can get a bit overwhelming.  This year they only spent one day in the actual water areas.  The other two days were spent playing the MagiQuest games and the spa (for Sydni) and arcade games.  Caleb hurt his toe in the lazy river -- got an ugly cut -- and he wasn't in the mood to swim any more after that and neither were the other two so we ended up cutting our trip short and heading home.  We'll do it again next year.  Or maybe later this year.

NASCAR in Charlotte

We had the opportunity to put our nonprofit name and logo on a NASCAR for the Nationwide race in Charlotte in May and since I set it up, I was able to go to the race to represent the organization and record it.  This was quite an experience.  I've been to races before and even in the pits but never in the garage area and not sitting on a frickin pit box for the race!  It was a once in a lifetime experience and one I cherish. 

The week started with my going to the Hendrick tweet-up.  I didn't even realize how serious everyone took Speed Weeks leading up to the Charlotte race and was pleasantly surprised by all the activities taking place in the area. 

On Thursday I went to watch them practice and was able to take lots of pictures in the garage area.  I saw so many drivers and tried to get as many of their pictures as possible.  Of course, the one person I wanted to take a picture of, Dale Jr., was the only driver whose picture turned out blurry.

Friday I was able to drive to Mooresville and go to Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s shop as well as Jr.'s and Kasey Kahne's shops.  The small town of Mooresville was so darn cute!

Saturday was the race and we got to stand on pit row and stand with Kenny Wallace and his family for the singing of the national anthem.  That was surreal -- you see it on tv all the time but I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever be able to stand there and act like I was part of the team. 

We then went to the pit area and got to sit on the pit box with his wife Kim and listen in on the radio.  SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

Sunday I didn't go to the race because I just could not handle the crowd -- and my boss/friend bailed on me so I also didn't want to go alone.  But, I was able to go to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and was absolutely thrilled with everything they had there.  I can't wait to take my dad and the kids to see it next year.  Amazing.

All in all it was a great trip.

Boston and NYC

I was supposed to go to Washington DC, Boston and them NYC the week of May 17. I ended up getting a severe stomach bug which sidelined me for a few days. I met up with my co-workers in Boston and then on to NYC for a board meeting. Nothing too exciting this trip.



I did get a purse for mom. I didn't find anything that I loved so no new one for me.



Getting to the airport was an adventure. It took two hours -- the cabbie GOT LOST!! How does a NYC cabbie get lost going to the airport? And he hit another car on the way. They both rolled down their windows and said "you ok" "yea" and took off. Unbelievable.


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Tx Motor Speedway

I had to go to the Texas Motor Speedway to tape a PSA with a driver for my work. We got to watch them tape Speed TV's NASCAR Race Day and I always get a kick out of stuff like that.

The weather was bad so the race was cancelled but we got our taping in so everything worked out. We ended up driving home because the weather was so bad. And I don't do well flying in bad weather.



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Blackhawks in Dallas

Before heading to Atlanta I went to the Blackhawks v. Stars hockey game. We had seats close to the ice and a great parking pass. There were a couple of guys in front of us and one of them kept teasing me because I was vocal in my regard for Patrick Sharp. He kept it all fun so it was all good -- not like the hoedoggie I had to sit next to the last time I went to the game. And my boys won!!!

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Atlanta

I had to go to Atlanta for a social media conference. You know me -- I worked in some play time too. First fun thing to do was go to an Atlanta Braves v. Chicago Cubs game. They have a nice stadium. And Chick-Fil-A in the place!! I had a great seat behind home plate and sat next to Braves fans who relentlessly teased me for liking Chicago.

The next three days were spent at the conference. Very long days but productive. I signed up for pretty much every contest they had for a free ipad. Caleb has been asking for one for a while so I was on the hunt. I did win tickets to a Braves game but I was so exhausted I gave them away - especially since I had already been to a game. But, when I got home I got word that I won an ipad!!!

I kept up with the hashtag for the conference and one guy kept talking about eating chicken and waffles. It peaked my interest so my co-worker and I went to Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles restaurant. Oh. My. Goodness! Pure heaven. I would never have thought chicken and waffles together would be good but it was divine. I also had black eyed peas and yams with it. Yummy!!

The last night of the conference I went to the Atlanta Thrashers v. Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. Those fans are brutal but I always enjoy a hockey game.

After the conference it was off to Savannah for a few days. It was about a four hour drive - and an hour wait to pick up the rental car. Caleb had been texting me and calling me asking me to come home so I felt very guilty about taking a couple of days for myself but then said I deserve it so I went. I appeased Caleb by going to the Atlanta Aquarium and getting him a stuffed animal shark. It was one of the nicest aquariums I have been to as well and a nice way to start my mini vacation.

My main reason for going to Savannah was to eat at Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's. I took the guided Paula Deen tour so I would be assured a spot to eat at her restaurant. It was worth the money for the tour. We had a great tour guide and went to eat lunch at Paula's brother's restaurant, Bubba's Oyster House (or something like that). I had a low country boil for the first time ever and it was delicious.

After the tour I headed to Tybee Island and laid out at the beach for a couple of hours. Nothing fancy but I always enjoy spending time at the beach. Before heading back to Savannah I ate at a local place and had -- wait for it -- low country boil again. This place had alligators in the entrance. The kids would have loved it.

So the next day my only item on the agenda was to eat at Paula's place. It was so good. I had the buffet and had a bit of everything. It was all good and I was pleased. They start out your meal with hoe cakes and garlic and butter biscuits. Oh yummy.

I liked Savannah and would definitely visit again. The historic district was especially nice and quaint.


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Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day weekend. Saturday we had lunch with some Aunts and Cousins and had a blast just laughing and chatting. We are going to try and do it once a month.




Those who were there were me, mom, Diane, Colleen, Yo-yo, Janie, Courtney, Yolanda, Amy, Rosalyn, Jovita, Eleanor, Jessi, Paula, Tina, Lindsey, Ashley, Rita, Valerie, Mandy and Avery.

My work had their annual Honoring Women luncheon and I filled a table with my family. I'm so glad they were able to come and enjoy a nice afternoon and a good program.










And on Mother's Day we had a nice relaxing day and showered Granny Gran with flowers. Diane had to work so that was a bummer but she got to spend time with the kids in the morning. Sydni made her own flowers from pulling from GG's and her mom's.



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My Blackhawks in New York

I had to go to NYC for work and since the Blackhawks were playing the NY Islanders, I had to go see my boys. The tickets to sit close to the team were cheap. This is the closest I've been to the Blackhawks so it is a shame that most of my photos came out blurry.  Even though the Hawks lost, I am still glad I went to see them.  Oh yeah, there was a hat trick -- too bad it was for the other team though.

The train ride to Long Island has to have been on the oldest train ever.  And my jersey brought a bit of attention to us.  A cop with a thick NY accent was like what is a broad from Texas doing wearing a Blackhawks jersey! Thank goodness Sheryl was with me because Long Island is a bit shady.

One other thing I took away from this trip was a great food find. There was a street food vendor who sells chicken and rice that was very good. There is always a line for his food.



I tried some BBQ that was on FoodTV but I was not impressed. Texas BBQ is better.







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