FINAL FOUR

Joey Rodriguez!

VCU is now in the FINAL FOUR......if the madness wasn't here before..it is now!




A photo of the Monroe Park Campus I took after the game..people were everywhere.

Southwest champs!

GO VCU RAMS!

So..how about those Rams now?

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The VCU Rams beat out FSU last night for the chance to go on to the ELITE EIGHT! It was so much fun watching all the games last night.

We headed out to bdub's last night up the street to enjoy our vcu game. The place was packed and it was very intense those last couple minutes, especially seconds of the game. Once we finally made that last night and blocked FL's last one, we were all so relieved. Everyone was high fiving, hugging, cheering, it was so much fun to be a part of.



The top one is my sweet 16 shirt and the bottom one is my new Elite Eight shirt! It's awesome!


The next game is against Kansas tomorrow (sunday) at 2:00.. GO RAMS GO!



Yesterday at work, some of us took a group shot in our vcu gear..

(Photo by VCU creative services)


All of RAMNATION is so excited this weekend.


Dr. Wily even wore his VCU shirt last night:



(he was playing it cool because he knew we would win)

SO many celebrations..it's been an awesome tournament. At this point, I'm happy no matter what the results are tomorrow.

How cool is it..

How cool is that Richmond is the college basketball capital of the nation right now? I am loving the fact that University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University are both in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tourney. The last big thing for VCU in the tourney was when we beat Duke in 2007..we played again in 2009, but this is our first time making it to the Sweet Sixteen! I am so happy and excited for our team. It's a great thing for the city of Richmond, too! At this point it doesn't even really matter much to me if we win or lose the game on Friday, it's just so cool that we got this far.

I love March Madness! but I love it even more when my rams are playing.

If both teams win their games this Friday, then the 2 will face each other in the Elite Eight game, to fight for a spot in the Final Four..how exciting. Go Spiders! Go Rams! Of course, I would have to root for my Rams if it gets to that point..gotta show my support.

I am all ready for the game this Friday. I got my sweet 16 tshirt from a local independent book store on the VCU campus.



I made my own little VCU themed wreath to hang on my door (very simple but to the point),



and I already hung up my VCU Rams flag in our front window.



I have black and gold nail polish to put on this week



and I have my pennant on display at work and some other VCU themed things at my desk.



GO RAMS!


I'm planning on making some cake pops to bring into work on Friday and share with the office..VCU themed cake pops, that is.




Over the weekend we stopped at this stamp shop and I picked this up for $1:



I have some ideas for it :)

Update

I am actually down 20 pounds today from when I started my organic kick on March 1st. It sounds extreme but I think most of it has to do with the fact that I have only been drinking water.

I have been keeping a food log on a private blog of mine, to help me keep track of things I have been eating this month and what's been good/bad/etc. I definitely notice changes when I eat red meat-it makes me want something more. I never ate a lot of red meat before this, but thinking about it now, when I do have red meat I do usually eat a lot more than I should.

It's been hard the last week since I have been sick, but I haven't given in. I might have had a slip or 2 this month, but it's a little hard when you are celebrating birthdays with friends/family. Like a bite of a mozzarella stick I had at David's birthday dinner. Or the sip of a vodka & tonic I had at Uncle Ray's birthday roast this past weekend in GA. I need some more protein in my diet since I haven't had much of it in the last week.

I think most of it though has to do with the calorie limits and the extra exercise. Even parking extra further away at work makes a difference. I don't pay for parking so every day I have to hunt for street parking, and this month I have been so far away from campus it's like a little hike to and from the office in the morning 5 days a week.

Overall though, I feel really good. It doesn't really look to me like I have lost much, but I can tell my face is a little thinner and my clothes are a little looser. The dress I wore to the party this weekend was bigger on me than it was when I bought it a couple of months ago.

I only have a week to go on this plan, since it's only for 28 days. But, I am not even counting down anymore. Sure, there are some foods I'd like to slowly bring back into the picture, but I'll be making a ton of more healthy choices from here on out. I am happy and willing to make the changes I need to make to get where I want to be.

And, water wins. Especially that essence water.

What I'm Loving...

Eos lip gloss smooth sphere, in summer fruit. I love that it's a sphere and it's a lot easier to find in my bag (the color of the ball helps, for sure). The moisture lasts for a really long time, and it's organic and gluten free (not that I'm making all of my products organic or gluten free, but it's cool!). It's 100% natural, includes vitamin E, shea butter, and jojoba oil. It's great!





Hint essence water. The blackberry flavored one. Comes in a 16 oz. bottle..it's all water. Nothing else. With a little tiny hint of blackberry. No sugar, no calories, no nonsense. It tastes like water, but there's that little surprising and subtle hint of blackberries. I love it. I am all for drinking water now, but this definitely kicks it up a little..because plain old water can just be so boring sometimes. It is pricey, so I won't be buying it much, but it's so very very good.

I love ulta nail lacquers. The top color is called 'set the nude' and the bottom one is called 'starstruck.' Starstruck is glittery, and it really helps my nails grow stronger when I wear it. Set the nude is like a grayish taupe color..it's neat and I really like it.




I'm also loving Justin's maple almond butter. It's all natural; the only ingredients are dry roasted almonds, maple sugar, organic palm fruit oil, and sea salt. The best part is..it's sold in little individual packets so you can grab and go, instead of lugging around the whole jar or having to pack it up separately. It's delicious.

The cutest thing you ever did see..

Dr. Wily!

climbing on things he's not supposed to be climbing on..




profile shot..




being cute around christmastime..




getting his face in the camera..




snoozing..wait for it..





and the cutest thing you ever did see..



<3

30. A picture of someone you miss

I miss my grandpa (and my grandma..my dad's parents). They live in Florida, and the last time I saw them was June of 2009. I really want to go back and visit soon. Of course, I also miss my other grandparents who are no longer around..but I can accept that. It's hard to miss someone who is still around and there's no excuse not to see them. Gonna need to fix that...

29. A picture that can always make you smile

My grandparents..1943. I love this picture and it always makes me smile.

28. A picture of something you're afraid of

I'm afraid of swimming in the ocean..or any natural and large body of water. I don't know what's deep down beneath the surface..anything could come up and bite me or tickle my feet. I don't like knowing that there are creatures down there, like crustaceans that can pinch and fish that can bite..and jelly fish that can sting. Ouch!

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

Here's me with my brother and all my sisters! :)
From the top..

Kristen (family friend who may as well be a sister of mine)
Natalie (my oldest sister)
Bonnie (my middle sister)
Georgia (my sister-in-law)
Paige (my youngest sister-in-law)
and then me to the left with my brother Billy behind me.

Hummus for the rest of us..

I have discovered hummus. I feel like I have struck gold.

I had tried some years ago but didn't like it..maybe I was just being closed minded. Who knows.

But yesterday at Ellwood Thompson's I picked up some things to stay on track and I also picked up some organic garlic hummus. It is delicious!!

The ingredients are:

chickpeas
lemon juice
garlic
EVOO
tahini (sesame paste)

I feel so good now that I am only drinking water-my head is clear and I don't miss soda. I love the carbonated feeling soda gives me but I have come to realize it is a real speed bump.

Yeah for water! Yeah for hummus! :)

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

My college diploma (the bottom one in the gold frame). It means a lot to me because I value education so much and am so glad that I was able to experience those years in college. I plan on eventually getting my master's degree but I am still working things out with that (trying to figure out which program to do and maybe take some graduate level classes as a non degree student before I decide on a program). I didn't really enjoy high school all that much-it was just something we all had to go through. But college was great-I have no complaints. There were some hard classes of course, but I loved pretty much everything about it.

It's hard to believe that this year marks 5 years since graduating college. I am so fortunate that I was able to experience college and earn my degree.

25. A picture of your favorite day

One of my favorite days was the day before our wedding. We had our rehearsal dinner that night at the Black Finn in Shockoe Bottom. It was great.

The fun part of the day was the actual rehearsal at our venue. Getting everybody in the wedding party there that night was an adventure and it was interesting and funny trying to keep everybody under control/on the same page. It all worked out and everyone had a good time.

It was nice because I knew everything for the actual wedding day was ready and set to go..we planned a long time for it and it was finally happening.

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

Eating habits.

I am currently on the 28 day detox program that my cousin Lora did last month. Yesterday was day 1. I am only eating organic food and staying away from sugar, caffeine, carbs, and everything else that is really good. I am only allowed to drink water, and I have to drink at least 48oz of it a day. Let's just say it really is messing with my schedule..


I have found though, that Trader Joe's sells everything one needs to change their eating habits. It's something I wish to do and it's something that's going to happen..at least for this month. After it's over, I will have learned all sorts of new healthy recipes.

23. A picture of your favorite book

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. One of my favorites books.