This can't be it.

I am now going into mourning.

Rah rah, Carolina-lina.

Out of all the #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, only ONE has an athlete graduation rate higher than 50%.

You see where this is going, I'm sure. Carolina has an athlete graduation rate of 86%. Kansas - 45%, Memphis and UCLA - 40%.

I wonder how much of this is attributed to players leaving early for the NBA.

FYI, Duke's graduation rate is only 67%. Just another way that we are better than them. (:

ESPN says: Academically, this year the Final Four would include five teams: Western Kentucky (100 percent graduation success), Butler (92 percent), Notre Dame (91 percent), Purdue (91 percent), and Davidson (91 percent). Xavier, a No. 3 seed, was close behind with a 90 percent success rate.

And then there were ones.

For the first time in NCAA tournament history, the Final Four is comprised of all the Number 1 seeds. On Sat. April 5, UNC plays Kansas, UCLA plays Memphis. It's just as I predicted in my bracket! (:

I'm starting to question my choice of Memphis beating UCLA though. I think it's going to be UCLA vs UNC in the final. With Carolina winning, of course!

I <3 Psycho T!
GO HEELS!!

The sun'll come out tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter weekend. I was spoiled by the 4 day weekend and now I need another. Jayla's visit was way too short and I miss her tremendously. I will get to see her again next Friday though. If it weren't for that I think I might not have gotten out of bed today. I think the pollen has a lot to do with how depressed I feel - I just felt so yucky today.

So here's Jayla in her Easter dress, which I got to see her in because she wouldn't take it off, even for the 4+ hour car ride.

We went to the Aquarium yesterday, which was pretty fun. I'd never been there even though I've lived in Wilmington for 7 years. We saw Nemo, of course, and some sharks and turtles and jellyfish and all kinds of stuff.

My nephew Chase is visiting Disney World this week - I have never been but I am sure he's having a great time. I can't wait to see the pictures and hear him talk about it.

Carolina had two easy games this weekend - scoring 100+ pts in back to back games. Sweet Sixteen games start Thursday - I hope they are as easy as the first 2 rounds. If they make it back to the final game, I will be back in Chapel Hill... I wouldn't miss it.

Happy Birthday to Matt today, and congratulations to Claudia and Josh who just got engaged! I don't know if I mentioned Erin and Mark, who got engaged on Valentine's Day, but I am so excited for all the engagements happening and all the love that's in the air. (:

P.S. ZOMG - George Michael just announced a US tour!!1!

March Madness

(Click to view larger version)

Fuel burning fast on an empty tank.

Today was the 4th Annual Steve Haydu Lo-Tide Run on Carolina Beach. My first 10k ever. After seeing some pictures of other St. Patty's Day festivities, I decided I wanted to dress up and of course Nicole was also stoked about this idea. So we came up with a costume that consisted of awesome green/white striped knee high socks (which Nicole wrote our last names on!), green/white retro 70's running shorts, custom made shirts (also with our last names on them) and shamrocks on our faces. Also, I wore a shamrock headband while Nicole wore shamrock wristbands. It was AWESOME!! We got so many compliments on our outfits and have decided this should be a yearly tradition to run this race.

The weather was PERFECT even though the forecast called for a possibility of thunderstorms (which we're getting in a major way right now). There were a lot of people participating (there was also a 5k), and lots of our awesome friends came out to cheer us on and begin the St. Patty's weekend celebration!

It was fun, but challenging - especially the last 1/4 mile which was on the actual beach (sand!). I worked hard to train for it and am glad that I did it. Some others in our group of friends are now inspired to try a 5k, so the next one we do will definitely be a lot of fun! Most of the pictures taken are on Nicole's camera, so as soon as she uploads them, I will post a link.

Tom is playing tonight at Slick + Red's, but if the weather does not get better I don't know if I will be going. There are tornado watches and warnings right now and are supposed to last until 1 am. The thunder and lightning outside right now is fierce! Shady is practically on top of me. She is not a fan of thunderstorms.

I just finished Middlesex (read my review). I think I will start Random Family next... I have been looking forward to reading this one for a while.

I have officially recovered from the heart attack Roy's Boys gave me today... I was not expecting such a close game against Va. Tech, esp. considering their last matchup had UNC winning by 40 pts. But today came down to the last 0.08 seconds and a shot by Psycho T... and they won. I seriously chewed my lips for the last 15 minutes... I do that when I am anxious or nervous! ALSO, second best to UNC winning is Duke losing, which THEY DID, to Clemson! Duke sucks. Tomorrow UNC plays Clemson for the ACC Championship... then the real March Madness begins with the NCAA Selection.

I think it's time to end this novel of a post... not much else to report anyway. For those of you wondering about Shady -- her blood sugar is STILL super high. She is still on antibiotics though so I am hoping that as soon as she finishes them, the insulin will work better.

Hey - Wait! I've got a new complaint.

I am NOT a fan of Daylight Savings Time. At least not the way it works right now. Why do they take away an hour of my weekend? Don't they know that the weekends are the only time I can get ANYthing done?!? I would be perfectly happy if it happened on a Monday, say at 3 pm or something. Why does it have to be an hour of sleep I miss out on? Or an hour of doing something productive, or even relaxing? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Yesterday there was no relaxing. I was a nervous wreck about the game and put all of my nervous energy to good use, doing some spring cleaning. OH - in case anyone needs clarification... the Carolina/Duke game. The first time they play in the regular season is still a big deal, but for some reason I don't get as worked up about that one. It also depends on how the first meeting goes - if Duke wins, the next game is HUGE, because we have to win. Anyway... that was yesterday. And we won!!! I am a little bit superstitious so now I will have to wear the shirt I had on for every game they play now (:

Shady still has an infection, is still taking antibiotics, and as of this morning, is not eating. And I can't give her insulin until she eats. Her blood sugar has not come down yet... it's like a catch-22... the blood sugar being high causes the infections, and the infections/antibiotics keep the insulin from working effectively. Something's gotta give but I don't know what it will be.

Just started reading Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri. So far it's really good...

Tom is headed to Raleigh today for a show tonight at Amra's on Glenwood Ave. Then Monday night he'll be at Crowley's, also in Raleigh. Things are exciting right now - we have a publicist working with us, and right now she's at South by Southwest doing some promotion. Hopefully some good things will come of this, I am excited about it.

xo