Is it weird that I'm glad to see Monday?

Holy cow this weekend seemed long. Maybe because it was the tail end of Spring Break, so it kind of felt like a 9 day weekend. Too much of a good thing and all that jazz.

Saturday we went to Costco, and can I just say, "People of the world, pluhleeese, invest in a full length mirror."?

While we were at Costco I noticed that pre-cooked bacon was less expensive than uncooked bacon and I said to myself, "Bacon that doesn't involve the risk losing an eye from a hot pop of bacon grease..Cha Ching!!"  My husband was not excited, he thought there must be a catch and asked me a dozen times was I sure I wanted to get the pre-cooked bacon?  "Hmm, bacon that I briefly warm in the oven or bacon that I spend an hour frying and a week trying to get rid of the smell of stale bacon grease......."

I was pretty excited about it, (which would be weird if you didn't already know that I'm known for getting overly excited about dumb stuff, it's part of my charm) my husband was not all that enthusiastic, he seemed kind of worried. He kept saying how he wasn't sure. What if it didn't taste as good as regular bacon? What if this, what if that....There was so much hesitation, you would have thought I was trying to talk him into buying a time-share. Finally I was like "DUDE, it's just bacon, relax!"

After we had purchased the pre-cooked bacon and were on our way home he told me what was holding him back from feeling good about easy bacon. "I think we might be getting too lazy. What if our kids grow up and don't know how to cook bacon because they never learned at home?"

I agreed that being able to prepare bacon is an important life skill then I listed about 20 things that I've been trying to teach our kids since birth and I'd say if a person can't even change the toilet paper roll or turn their socks right side out, knowing how to cook bacon is the least of the ways we've failed our kids.

Anyway, right now I'm really busy trying to teach them the importance of college basketball. I can't do everything. Bacon is going to have to be his responsibility. Speaking of basketball. It was a crazy weekend in the tournament,eh? It's good we have a few days off between games, my nerves are a mess.

Bracket results heading into the Sweet 16~

1. edgertonlunt 1

2. Chocolatey chocolate 1

3. cody.huffaker 1

4. SueLunt 1

5. loriannehuffaker 1

6. Wayne.Thomas1164 1

7. JessicaLunt

8. jrt8970 1

9. Sylvan 1

10. sth0mas09 1

11. Carpenter 1

12. Eli 1

13. thenatan

14. toddthomas123 1

Well, I surely did not see all that coming.

Yesterday's games were a little crazy, right? Next year I'm going to see if I can find me a 2 year old to pick my teams.

Here's where we stand after round 1, or 2 or whatever it's called. At the moment it looks like this~

1. cody.huffaker 1

2. edgertonlunt 1

3. SueLunt 1

4. loriannehuffaker 1

5. Wayne.Thomas1164 1

6. Chocolatey chocolate 1

7. sth0mas09 1

8. JessicaLunt

9. jrt8970 1

10. Carpenter 1

11. Sylvan 1

12. Eli 1

13. thenatan

14. toddthomas123 1

No wonder I'm so tired.

Ok ya’ll, last call to the bracket group. The group will lock at tip off of the first game today, which is I think 9:15 am Arizona time. I don’t do math so I can’t tell you what time that is where you live, especially if you’ve sprung forward recently,  all I know is we’re all running out of time (in so many ways) so go. Now. 

I barely slept last night wondering if I’ve overlooked some obvious upset in the making. Then I told myself that it wouldn’t be an upset if it were obvious. Somehow telling myself that did not make it any easier to sleep. Then I started thinking about those inflatable Easter Bunnies that we used to find in our baskets in we were kids. Did you guys get those? 

Then I started thinking about the Easter Baskets we had when we were kids. Have I ever told you guys that my mom is a master of the plastic canvas? Well, she IS. If you could make it out of plastic canvas we had one.  Kleenex box covers, Christmas ornaments, I think there was a gingerbread house, and Easter Baskets.

 

Ours were a little different but you get the idea. 

Then I started thinking about how I get started on a thing and I go crazy and make a million of them and how someday my kids are going to say stuff like, "Remember when mom embroidered all of those pillowcases and we would wake up in the morning with the outline of a cowboy on our cheeks? Man those were the days!"

Speaking of my kids, yesterday I was listening to my ipod, relaxing to the sounds of my new favorite band, The Avett Brothers (Thanks Alexis!), when all of the sudden Gittin' Jiggy Wit It came on, because someone thought it would be funny to add that to my ipod, which it TOTALLY would have been.

On April Fool's Day.

Yesterday, I'm sure you know, was NOT April Fool's Day. And Will Smith is NOT the Avett Brothers.

ps~The Tournament Challenge button on the sidebar should take you straight to our group, you know just in case you want to see how things are going.

There's no title. It's just a list.

1. It's Pi Day. Next to Fat Tuesday and Selection Sunday, Pi Day is my favorite made up holiday. We will totally be eating pie up in here ALL DAY LONG. Pi Day.....it not just for math nerds anymore.

Cheesecake is pie, right?

2. What if we have Gwyneth Paltrow all wrong? What if she has a really awesome ironic sense of humor and her whole website and public persona are like a never ending SNL skit?

That would explain A LOT!

3.  Have you seen this? Pinterest You are Drunk 

Pretty funny.

4.  It's not too late to join the bracket group. But it will be soon. Also, the Hilltoppers won yesterday, so if you're going with the mascot method you might want to adjust accordingly.

Go HERE to get in on the action. Hurry. Run like the wind.

5. March 25th

Yay!

6. Am I the only person in the world not on the edge of my seat over The Hunger Games?

I must be daft. I don't get it.

7.  This made me almost spit diet soda all over myself.


I have to start napping so I can stay up late enough to watch Weekend Update.

I am a little stitious.....

Another Sunday game for Kentucky, and despite my best efforts.....

lucky 4 leaf clover necklace....

blue & white gameday skirt......

and homemade "secret" Kentucky shirt (why yes, I DID use a sharpie to customize my outfit, what of it?)

.....they weren't able to beat Vandy. Not the end of the world and I'd be lying if I didn't say I kinda saw it coming. Saturday's game against Florida was a little rough.

Winning every game can be a curse. Believe me, I know. Maybe you remember, I used to be a coach (though, how could you forget?), so I know what Coach Cal is going through. Why I remember when I coached those tykes to an undefeated season. By the end they were getting a tad cocky, they didn't think they could be beat. I don't like to point fingers (much) but the same thing might have happened this weekend to Kentucky. Maybe they were just getting a little too big for their britches. Just sayin'. It happens.

Hopefully the loss yesterday will be enough to jar them back into their pants in time to do what they need to do for the next few weeks.

Go HERE to join the bracket group.

Ready, set......

Can it possibly be Selection Sunday already? I can't even tell you how excited I am for the games to get started. I am aware (because my children CONTINUALLY remind me) that this makes me a big weirdo. To that I say.....Compared to WHUT?

Here is the link to the ESPN group.~ Sue's Group (If you have a suggestion for a catchier group name I'm all ears)

1. Click on the link.
2. If you played last year it should be pretty easy to just sign in and join (especially if you remember the login & password you used last year). It looks like you can also sign in using your facebook account.
3. Pick your teams. (I suggest finding a printable bracket and mulling it over for a few hours. Or not.)
4. When your team wins you get points. Whoever ends up with the most points wins. (Scott~ I KNOW this is not the way you score your brackets.....my blog....ESPN rules. Deal with it.)
5. Winner gets a shirt from ANY team they want. (Yes, Wesley, even the Harlem Globe Trotters.)

Here are links to the posts I wrote last year explaining how to join. Just in case.~ Here & Here 

You will not be able to start picking your teams until later this evening when all of the teams have been announced. You can make changes to your bracket until tip off of the March 15th games, then the group will lock.

Finally, if you have trouble joining the group let me know. I really want everyone to play who wants to, so if I can help you please tell me. Don't give up! This is my version of a party. We all get to have fun and no one has to make eye contact or awkward conversation (eat your heart out Martha Stewart).

Finally, the expert advice I promised.

My brother was kind enough to write up a few REAL ideas for bracket strategy. I think he's spot on, until he starts knocking the mascot method, but whatever.......Thanks Scott!!

Okay okay. Here it is. The long awaited Bracketology or my thinking on this. You can pick Kentucky to go all the way and win or you can pick Duke and lose early.

On to a more serious level. A few things to watch. Never in the history of the NCAA tournament have the (4) #1 teams made it to the Final Four, so if you are looking at your bracket thinking that may happen you may want to reconsider. Also something to really watch is the fact that just because Kentucky has had close to a flawless season doesn’t make them a shoe in for the Final Four or the Championship. Every team in the country knows this and will come out hoping that they will be able to say that they are the team that knocked Kentucky out of the tournament.

So as you look at seed rankings on Sunday evening and Monday look at some of the individual teams. Personally I still have a lot of faith that the Ohio State Buckeyes are going to do some damage in the tournament. Look at Notre Dame. That team had some big wins before they finally got some respect this year and got ranked. I tend to put a lot of faith in the SEC and little faith in the western Pac-12 and Mtn West Conference teams. ACC teams are going to be solid to watch this year as well. Duke you can pretty much put your money on them making the Sweet 16 along with UNC and possibility even Florida State this year.

The little schools will be someone’s bracket buster for sure, so don’t count them all out, but on the flip side of that most of them are so happy that they even got invited to the tourney they will try their best, but still fall short.

Last recommendation. Don’t use the stupid Mascot picking or the seed picking, but budget 15 minutes today and 45 minutes on Saturday while you’re waiting on your kids and read up on ESPN or Fox Sports about some of the teams. Look back at early in the season to see how some of these teams started and how they finished.

Good luck.

ST

(Sunday morning I'll post the link to the ESPN group and the rules for our little contest.)

If I could just get a few of my marbles back I'd be in business....maybe.

Last night I dreamed I threw an amazing party. The food was delicious, the decorations original, the conversation lively. Afterward everyone kept telling me how much they loved it. It was amazing.

Back in the old days I used to really throw parties like that. I'm not kidding. I could throw a party like nobody's business. (Or at least I imagined I did.) Then I got old and tired and Martha Stewart started mass producing her ideas and selling them at the swap meet and it just wasn't fun anymore. Curse you Martha and your need to control the universe! I think we can all agree that if you're not on the verge of a nervous breakdown because you stayed up until 3a.m. the night before making personalized party favors there's really no point in having people over.

Another reason I don't throw parties anymore is all of the people. These days parties out are not my thing, coming or going. In the last few weeks I've been invited to several (it's not as glamorous as it sounds, I'm not really popular, most of the invitations came from relatives) and I've decided that much like the New & Improved Lindsay Lohan, I am a homebody. People make me nervous. Like really really nervous. Even people that I like.

It seems like as I get older I ought to be getting more comfortable, that I shouldn't care what people think of me, or worry that I'll say something stupid/obnoxious/rude, right?  But that doesn't seem to be the case. The opposite seems to be happening. When I get an invitation to an event that will be attended by more than 5 or 6 people I start to feel anxious right away. If I can manage to force myself to go it will only be when I know for sure someone "safe" will be there.(Safe= someone who knows what a huge dork I am but pretends that I'm totally normal)

Two weeks ago I spent 3 hours at a wedding reception sitting between my husband and my brother trying to avoid making eye contact with pretty much anyone. One week ago I went to a baby shower and actually had to apologize for having sweaty palms when a stranger introduced herself to me and wanted to shake hands. Tuesday I volunteered at track and field day at my daughter's school and spent the entire morning silently praying no adults would try to lure me into some kind of conversation. (Especially that one teacher who took track and field day as an invitation to wear her tennis mini skirt and a tight tank top so she could play volleyball with her class {of 5th graders} without having her 60 year old self weighed down by pesky clothing. There's a woman who has no social anxiety.)

It's not enough that I feel completely uncomfortable the whole time I'm out in public, afterwards I insist on reliving every conversation, gesture, wacky eyebrow lift.

I'm nuts ya'll. My closet is full of crazy pants. This wackiness is just one of the things going on in my head, there are easily twenty more.

Now you know.