Round One

It's that time of year again, and all I can think about is college basketball! I'm keeping my eye on every game while trying to pretend that I'm not really missing out on the first signs of spring. And in between games, I calm my anticipation by browsing anything and everything under the sun, to convince myself I'm not single-minded, and also perhaps to buffer the crash I'll experience in April when I come down off my high. But no matter how hard I try, my thoughts ALWAYS return to March Madness and all the joy it brings me! Everything is 6° of college basketball! Here are a list of loves that have made valiant attempts to keep me preoccupied...

1. Even though the weather is finally warmed up and (literally) the snow just melted, I'm still constantly dreaming about my upcoming trip to the beach. While it's still a couple weeks away, I started packing my bags already because I'm convinced that will help me get there sooner. My almost-translucent skin is about to experience a major shock, but I am ready for some serious downtime. Speaking of sunscreen, last year I tried Burt's Bees Chemical-free sunscreen and found it to be rather pasty. Does anyone have other suggestions? I appreciate this post from greenlivingideas.com, that there is no such thing as a "natural" sunscreen protector, since they all contain chemicals. But I am choosing to vacation at the beach, not the shaded rain forest, so I need some practical tips here, people!

2. Exercise is a must for me this time of year. After indulging in comfort foods for the winter, I have some major "baggage" to take care of. Saddlebags, to be precise. (Is that a surprise for anyone thinking they were reading a man's blog here?) I discovered that my cable company offers free workout videos, and I got hooked on Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred. I mean HOOKED! I am having conflicting feelings of wanting to punch her and hug her at the same time. Her workouts are so intense, but delightfully short (20 minutes) AND they work! I think for the first time in my life I actually have a semblance of what could be a 4-pack. I can feel myself getting toned in muscles that have been dormant for, well, a lifetime. Now if only my cellulite would take a break on the production end. Any suggestions of how to get rid of that, anyone?

3. I love fashion and the time suckers that are fashion blogs. I love seeing what movie stars are wearing and browsing magazines and catalogs. I order a lot of clothes online because I abhor the mall, but why do I always think the clothes on the models will look the same on me? I was thinking, how great would it be if you had a computer program that, after entering your measurements, you could click on any model on any website and have their body morph into yours? Then you would see that (obviously) your cellulite is not going to be covered in those bikini bottoms, no matter how "full coverage" they are. If only you could apply the same kind of trickery to determining the comfort of a shoe. I purchased sandals from jcrew.com for $98, only to discover that they're horribly rigid and probably should have come with bandaids.

Then last week, I was in the electronics department of WalMart and my eye caught a pair of sandals in the next aisle that look so similar in style, and cuter! Guess how much? $10. And they're uber comfy. I'm going to be returning my jcrew pair asap. Can you guess the bargain pair in the picture below? BTW, I'm glad I have friends who will neither judge me for my wonky toes, shopping at WalMart (I really needed an adaptor!) nor wearing $10 shoes :)

4. Work keeps me busy, of course, and working in the mental health field keeps things interesting. I have decided that mental health practitioners are, as a whole, judgmental. I suppose you have to be when you're making a diagnosis--it does require "clinical judgment." But I'm also finding that once you're seasoned in the field, it becomes second nature to start diagnosing just about everyone. I've overheard my colleagues making "diagnoses" based on a person's posture (too comfortable=narcissistic), an involuntary face twitch (definitely can't trust them), and irresponsibility (borderline personality disorder, anyone?). It's enough to make anyone paranoid, i.e. me, when I'm trying to get comfortable in my chair during staff meetings. FYI, for those interested, you can check out the upcoming revisions to DSM-V (the future of psychiatric diagnosis) here.

5. I've now been to three (or four?) Avett Brothers concerts. This folk-rock band, with their scruffy beards, obvious on-stage passion, and baritone/falsetto harmony, stirs my heart like no other. One of my favorite songs, Paranoia in Bb Minor, is strongly supported by the banjo playing of currently shorter-bearded brother, Scott Avett. The song is my favorite kind of bluegrass music.

6. If there's one thing I like to watch as much as a college basketball game, it's seeing the players dancing! Kentucky Wildcats, residing in the home of the Bluegrass state, have been an exciting team to watch this month! The players have been entertaining me on youtube for their dancing almost as much as the (too) personal hotel dance routines of West Virginia's Mountaineers. With the almost-certain elite eight matchup aside, if there were to be a dance-off, who do you think would win? BTW, if anyone has other dancing videos of remaining teams, I'd love to see them!