Let the Madness Begin!!!

So I have been a bit absent from my blog lately but life has been busy. Went and had an amazingly fun weekend last weekend in Chicago and celebrated St Patty's day Chicago style. Photos and a post to follow for that one (If I can just get myself to turn on my computer at home). Since I have been back, work has been crazy busy, which is a good thing, 1) I have a job and in today's times that is great and B) I have lots of work to do which makes the days and week go by faster. This week has been great too because it is the beginning of one of my favorite times of year. I know you are all thinking, Spring me too!, and although I do love Spring it is actually the first weekend of NCAA March Madness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In a perfect world this would be a National Holiday and we would all get the first Thursday and Friday off to sit and watch basketball games all day while eating and drinking some of our favorite gametime food and beverages. However, this is sadly not the case. To make the best of the situation we can still listen to the games while at work and partake in that food and beverage after work but it is still not the same. As you can probably guess I have also taken part in filling out a bracket (or two) and let me just say it was smooth sailing until late last night (damn you Wake Forest and Arizona). To me, winning a bracket challenge would just be icing on the cake. It really is all about filling out those charts and the following along with every game. Its also a great way to start conversations with some guys for a single gal such as myself ("who do you have in this game? oh that sucks, I have ____...they're a way better team"). I have the knowledge to sustain a conversation such as this once it gets started and that bracket can really break the ice. But I digress...this first weekend of the tourney is a great one and it only comes around once a year so it needs to be celebrated! I personally will be pulling for Syracuse and Michigan State so wish me luck! I hope everyone's picks do well, unless of course they are going against mine, in which case...too bad for you when I win;)

love, tuesday

YEAH!!! I am posting this on an actual Tuesday...woo hoo...go me!

• love that I am going to Chicago this weekend and love celebrating my second favorite holiday st patty's day. What's not to love about this holiday, beer, the color green, potatoes, and Ireland?? Why, those are possibly 4 of my favorite things!
• love that Marlys came over and helped me put up my new shelves last weekend and got me going on some much needed home improvements, 6 months after i moved into my apt. (photos of these changes to come later)
• love that the week is going by relatively fast, which makes Friday and Chicago even closer
• love that I get to take this trip with friends who have never really experienced Chicago before. love that I get to be a part of someone else's new experiences.
• love TV on DVD. I have been on a TV on DVD kick and this weekend it was Brothers and Sisters, so great...gotta love the drama.
• love having so many frozen meals in the freezer from going to Let's Dish with Joy the other weekend. And so much amazing tasting food at that!
• love that I am feeling better after a good weekend with lots of sleep
• love getting to spend more time with my nieces and nephews this weekend and that all my nephews won their hockey and basketball games. love that they still get as excited to see me as I get to see them, even though they are getting older.
• love that its MARCH! That much closer to springtime and outside activities. Wouldn't seem like it today with the snow but love that we're one day closer to warmer weather.

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone!

Love twednesday

This might be a shorter than usual love tuesday but it does have the added bonus of....PICTURES!!!

• love my new magenta tights! I wore them to work on Monday and I am now obsessed with them. I wanted to get some bright tights to add something different to a boring grey or black dress and I can't wait to get more. One problem, $4 magenta tights on clearance are $4 for a reason...I already got a hole in them...oopsies, I'll patch that one right up...
• love Law & Order SVU on DVD! This show is so great! I cannot wait to get home and see if Blockbuster Online has delivered another one to my mailbox, sadly though I am on the last disc, sniff sniff...do not love that.
• love the new shelves I got from IKEA last night, actually they are picture ledges but I cannot wait to put them up!
• love that my parents were home last week and I got to see them
• love that while watching my SVU dvd's I have had time to work on this blanket for my cousin's baby, Anna. My cousin Emily started this blanket for her and I said I would finish it...that was like a year ago but I am determined to have it done in time for Anna's dedication in April. Emily and I both have similar blankets that our moms knit for us. Here is where I'm at so far! Wish me luck!

On my iPod

While I am at work, I like to listen to books on my iPod. I got this habit of listening to books from my dad who is notorious for his audiobooks habit. He cannot leave Barnes & Noble without a new audiobook. I found that on iTunes they have many audiobooks for a cheaper price than getting them on CD and it is easier to just put them on your iPod then. I personally prefer to listen to nonfiction books on my iPod because I find them harder to read sometimes and easier to listen to. This is all about personal preference though, I know others who feel the opposite.

Right now I am listening to Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder It is really good. I think I was supposed to read it for my International Social Work class in grad school but never quite got around to it. (Must have been too busy saving the world myself, or just too busy hanging out with my friends) I am glad I am listening to it now. Anyone who is interested in Public Health, Haiti, disease control, or just has a general interest in people who are creating change in the world should definitely check it out.

I just finished listening to Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer.
He also wrote Into Thin Air, among other books but this one is about the Mormon religion and also Mormon fundamentalists. Again, this is a book I have wanted to read but could never get into it but listening to it I was enthralled by all the history. I have kind of a weird interest into the FLDS sect and polygamy (Big Love anyone?). I find it so curious and intriguing. Not in a "oh I want to be a polygamist" way but in a, "hmmm isn't it interesting to learn about how other people do things" kind of way. This book got a little long but definitely satisfied my curiousity about the history aspect of things. Does anyone else have any recommendations for good books to listen to?