What I'm Into March 2015

Hello March Madness! This has been a great Month and hear are some highlights!

-Meeker and I started a massive yard project- we worked hard for 1 day and haven't touched it since... but we've been busy! We are trying to make a fire-pit pad (nothing fancy, just a temporary hangout zone).

-Kimi Came to Visit!
Having a BFF visit is great because you can plan things like "watch tv", "take naps", and "order pizza".. which is basically all we did. We did walk around downtown durham in the rain for a few hours and then go on a massive 2 hour walk around a fancy pants neighborhood that never ended!  It was nice having some girl time and being with a friend that requires no effort! Love that Kimi!

-March Madness ! It's madness! I love watching the NCAA tournament because you never know what is going to happen! (see previous post). Last Saturday we went to visit our dear friends Ryan and Jeff to meet their new baby and watch some games- this turned into a 8 hour lounge-fest on their deck watching the glorious march madness! It goes on my top 5 march madness watching moments (yes there is a list).

-Meeker got to go to Vegas (for work) and DC (for fun)!


What I’m Reading:
Not a lot of reading of actual books but I did find a new blog I like-
Mr. Money Mustache!  I found out about this blog from a podcast (shout out to CYG!); It's a little extreme- this dude retired at 30 and is very frugal.
But it was incredibly inspiring- I definitely binged it for 3 days. 

With all my time off I finally went through my pile of Real Simple magazines that have been stacking up.. I stopped paying for that magazine like 2 years ago, but somehow I am still getting it!? I'll take it.
I used to devour this magazine, but for some reason its not as interesting..

 What I’m Watching: 

I am still going strong w the regulars: The Walking Dead- Better Call Saul-  
and Hart of Dixie, which just got cancelled.. I get it, but sad.! booo!
also LOVING
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!  A netflix original masterpiece. I will say- the first half of season 1 was sooo much better- felt like the characters became a little stupid towards the end (her lawyers and her dad).. but Titus Andromeda!







After Unbreakable, I was finally inspired to finish the last two seasons of The Office on Netflix.. not bad!

Interested in Blood Line! and will probably start that after the above shows are over for the summer.
Coach Taylor forever!



What I’m Listening to: 
I went on a big Death Sex Money Binge during my lunch break walks.. So good! If I were to recommend an episode it would be the Valentines Day Special.. so sweet! The cheating episode was a little disturbing.. Loved the Senator saved my love life!!!!

Other Things I’m Into:

Every Dollar- The new Dave Ramsey Budget tool that was launched last week! I really like it so far-- i wonder how it compares to YNAB.. but we follow (loosely) to Dave Ramsey's baby steps anyway, so puts all of it in one place! I am getting the "free trial" of the plus and I really like it.

And that's March!

March Madness Week 1 Recap!

Every year I try to take off to watch the first 2 rounds of March Madness and I thought I would share my favorite moments thus far.

Despite my bracket being busted (thanks a lot Iowa State!) its been a great first week! 

Even if you are not a basketball fan I think you will enjoy my fave moments so far!

Best Comeback Moment

NC State Buzzer Beater Against- NC State was getting demolished by LSU and slowly came back to beat them by one point on a shot that went in with 1 second left in the game!

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2015/3/19/8261457/nc-state-caps-huge-comeback-with-last-second-buzzer-beater-to-beat-lsu

Best In It To Win It Moment

Auguste turns the ball over giving Butler a chance to win the game and then Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton  pumps his team up with majorly DENYING Butlers shot while yelling “NOT TONIGHT!!!!!” Notre Dame goes on to win in Over Time!

Notre Dame Vs Butler:

http://www.sbnation.com/2015/3/22/8271643/the-end-of-butler-notre-dame-regulation-was-bonkers

Best Hold Your Breath Moment

Cincinnati making a buzzer making shot (that almost doesn’t go in) to take Purdue into Overtime! (and then winning).

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2015/3/19/8261023/this-cincinnati-buzzer-beater-hung-on-the-rim-forever

Biggest Goofballs (3 way tie)

1. NC State’s Trevor Lacey wiping sweat off the reporter (that face! Haha)
1.  http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015/3/19/8261487/nc-states-trevor-lacey-tenderly-wipes-his-sweat-off-reporters-arm
2. Wisconsin players having fun with the stenographer
1. http://deadspin.com/wisconsin-players-are-obsessed-with-the-stenographer-1692945163#
3. UCLA’s Tony Parker complimenting a reporter
1. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2404615-uclas-tony-parker-compliments-sideline-reporter-allie-laforce-during-interview

Saddest Moment that turns out to be Awesome

NC State upsets #1 seed Villanova and the camera catches this crying band member

http://www.sbnation.com/2015/3/21/8271289/crying-villanova-band-member-is-the-saddest-ncaa-tournament-thing

the video gets so popular that she gets invited to the Jimmy Fallon Show!

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015/3/24/8281877/sad-villanova-piccolo-girl-played-with-the-roots-got-taylor-swift-tickets-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon

Best of ALL the THINGS!

-Buzzer beating 3 point shot to win the game made by the son of the Coach then falls out of chair … MARCH MADNESS!

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/03/19/georgia-state-players-buzzer-beater-in-ncaa-tournament-was-so-incredible-it-literally-knocked-his-coach-out-of-his-chair/

What I'm into: February 2015

We had a FULL month!  Usually when I say "full month" I am using that as code for "stressful and busy", but this time I really mean Full.. like it was full of great things and I am not exhausted or stressed!

Some notable things that happened:
We are CAR DEBT FREE!  Meeker and I set a goal to pay off the Car by June, but thanks to a surprise double bonus (thanks world cup/soccer.com) and a huge tax return (thanks government), we were able to pay it off on Feb 8! It was a great feeling and a huge relief!

We had not 1, not 2, but 3 snow days (and 3 delayed entries) in the last 2 weeks! Snow day 1 and 2 were magical- but snow day 3 was not... we didn't anticipate losing power for 13 hours, and we soon learned that our dependence on electricity is SEVERE. Some lessons we learned: buy firewood for moments like this, always have food in the house that doesn't need to be cooked, have a way to make coffee, charge your phone before any anticipated storm...



What I’m Reading:
I actually finished 2 books this month:

I really enjoyed this book- I love memoirs, so this was right up my ally. And being in the therapy field, I appreciated his pro-therapy revelations. It was also interesting to read about his life post- Blue Like Jazz fame. Good stuff.















Interrupted was a fun read, but not life changing.. I think her audience is upper middle class white women who say "bless your heart" and have china sets that match their wall decor... but it is worth checking out.


I have a lot of Blogs I am reading, but none of them are particularly interesting to me right now.. kind of same old same old.. looking for some new material.



 What I’m Watching: 
So I just found out that  From A to Z HAS BEEN CANCELLED! This is disappointing for 2 reasons.. 1, i really liked the show. 2. They only got to letter M! They could have atleast gone through all the letters.. geez...


  The Walking Dead is back! and fabulous.. but also giving me major anxiety. Total house envy of their new gig.


Better Call Saul
  IS DELIVERING as PROMISED! This show is Excellent! I had my doubts the first episode, but 3 episodes in and I am a faithful follower.







I am also all caught up on HART OF DIXIE!  and they recently added a new character played by ANDIE MCPHEE! #dawsonscreekforever (thanks Nori for the link!) (also switched to #teamwade, i get it now).




What I’m Listening to: 
Invisibilia- Very good! I would recommend! Does NPR ever disappoint?

Call Your Girlfriend- This podcast is not for everyone.. but I love it. It's two best friends who call each other and discuss a bunch of topics, and you get to listen to them.. I don't love all of their political views or thoughts on things, and they are kind of obsessed w talking about "periods" which I also don't love...  but besides that, I love listening to this. It's nice to hear people who think differently than I do about things, and I also feel like I'm hanging out with a bunch of friends. I have found out about a lot of good podcasts/blogs/books and Uniqlo from this podcast.

Other Things I’m Into:

 


 -Passion Planner- despite it taking 3 months for this to be delivered after it was ordered, (#startupprobs) (#kickstarterprobs) I LOVE THIS PLANNER! check it out!






-My Fitness Pal and Fit Bit: I have to lose 10 lbs by may and these two apps are great tools to help me achieve that.. it showed me I was actually eating a LOT of cookies every day.. working at the office is a struggle! Free Food everywhere!

-FRIENDS! We got to hang out with soooo many friends this month and it was so refreshing! YAY!

And that was my Feb! We shall see what March Brings!