Spring Fling

If you heard a strange noise at 3 p.m. today, that was Mr. Deck Chair yelling at the top of his lungs that I should come home, get him out of winter storage and have a spring fling.

Seriously, spring finally sprung today. Big time. Yesterday was nice enough, in the 50s, but today was really nice. The kind of "if I go outside I won't want to come back into work" kind of nice.

At 2 p.m., it was 64 degrees. Well, I had to look it up after all water cooler talk! So I forced another co-worker to take a lap with me outside. Even without a coat, we were warm. The breeze was warm. We were about to break a sweat kind of warm. NICE!!

And we really didn't want to go back inside. But duty calls and, honestly, there should be another hundred days like this in 2016, right?

Today was also special because Brown-eyed Boy #1 turned 25!

Ahh, Casey James. The first born. The smart, funny and mature one. Well, smart and funny. Ha.

The sweetest big brother, too!

Where does the time go? I think about our baby graduating and I feel old. And Jim's first baby is a quarter-century already? I just say that to make myself sound younger. Glad we got to see him 2 weeks ago when the Austins got together for our pre-spring fling! We never really spend enough time with family, do we?

And I definitely don't spend enough time with Mr. Deck Chair! Don't think it's going to be as nice the rest of the week, but we'll get our fling in sometime, mister!

Senior Moments :: Athletic Supporters

 

Part of the fun of high school sports is being a FAN! As in FAN-tastic and FAN-atical!

Thankfully my friend Jo Ann takes a ton of pictures at every event. And shares them! She has a great camera for sports action shots and the "kids" are used to her, so they are much more willing to pose for her (even MY son)!

Here are a few from basketball playoffs.

On Friday night, a good percentage of the senior boys and others dressed up in togas, head wreaths and, in Carter's case, cool Royal Blue shades.

Whew. Can't see up anyone's skirts on that one!

Love this one. It epitomizes FAN-dom during a close game!!

Yesterday at the girls sectional, I am not sure if they had a theme since the band had to play. Last night, though, at the boys regional final, the theme was USA/patriotic.

Since Carter (far right) got back late on the band bus from the girls game, he just ate supper at home and got to the game late. No major wardrobe, but he did have his red shoes on. The thing I love about this picture is...

These two will be taking UW-Platteville by storm next year! Things are never boring with his friend Katelyn around. In fact, things are never boring around Assumption fans.

Love being a part of this FAN, er FAMily of athletic supporters!

Back Four More

Since today was our 4th annual South Wood County Empty Bowls event, I had to stay in town while hubby and company headed to Oconto Falls for the girls basketball sectional final.

It was a good thing I stayed because we were short on volunteers and we were very busy! In less than 4 hours, we fed almost 300 people and raised just shy of $5,000. That will be so awesome for the anti-hunger efforts in our area! I even won a basket raffle!

Jim kept me posted on the Assumption vs Suring game. I could tell it was going to be a bit of a blowout when the halftime score was 38-11. Our girls ended up winning 55-21!

Yay, girls! Heading to state next weekend for the 4th year in a row!

Jim and the Krings (his ride) got back to town at 5 and we ended up grabbing pizza in town quick before heading to Pittsville for the boys regional final.

After pulling off an upset last night, we had ours fingers crossed they could do it again. And just like last night, it was an intense, close game.

How close? Tied 20-20 at halftime AND check out the score with 3.9 seconds to go. In less than 4 seconds, Pittsville made 2 free throws and we got final possession. We had one of our seniors take the inbounded ball, hustle down court and heave it up before the final buzzer.

It did not go in. What a heartbreaking loss. I was tearing up looking at our senior boys doing the same. Uff da. What a bummer. They hardly got a chance to live in the glory of last night's victory. Hopefully that comes to mind these next few days.

When the game was over, we stopped back at Ida's, where we had pizza earlier, in order nurse our loss, and celebrate the girls "Back 4 More" trip to state!

You win some, you lose some.

Life lessons are hard any day.

Never Fear; Underdog is Here

There's something special about underdogs. They have a lot of heart. They have passion. And they have nothing to lose.

Tonight was a huge Regional matchup between our #8 ranked Assumption boys and the #1 ranked Port Edwards team... on their home turf. The last 2, maybe 3, years, this is where the Blackhawks put an end to our season.

For the sake of our senior boys, I really wanted them to get their revenge and win. In fact, this afternoon I somewhat predicted it when I said: It's a beautiful day for an upset, if you ask me!

Tip off was at 7 p..m. but Port has one of these teeny one-sided gymnasiums that only hold so many people. Even getting there before 6 p.m. we waited in line outside, in the snow, until we could get in, find a seat, squeeze in and hope we don't have any reason to leave our seats until the game was over.

It was that crowded.

And we had great representation, filling half the gym with fans, family and boys dressed in togas. Yes, Carter was one of them. Yes, you'll be seeing a photo when a friend of mine posts it!

We needed the fan support! The game was another intense one as our boys shut down #42 (above) who normally scores an average of 26 points per game. Tonight the Royals held him to just 6. You might say that made all the difference in the world.

Well at least in our Royal Blue world. Because we. Pulled. The. Upset!

Yes, indeed. That is the final score! We finally got the monkey off our back! I think everyone was screaming or crying. In a good way. So excited they get to advance in the playoffs!

So tomorrow is a busy sports day for the Royals. Girls play Sectional final at 1 p.m. in Oconto Falls against Suring. A beatable team, we believe. One win away from state! The boys play at Pittsville at 7 p.m. They beat our boys hoops team twice this year. But what does that mean?

I think we've proven today that Underdog is available when we need him. Just hope the weather clears so he can make his way back tomorrow!

Squeaking By in Sectionals

The Assumption girls basketball team had to pull out all the stops as they faced their toughest competition of the season tonight. They played Loyal in neutral territory at the Marshfield Fieldhouse.

When we're serious about attitude and school spirit, our stellar Pep Band has to travel along to set the stage, so to speak.

The other team did not bring their band along so it was a nice added touch for us!

The game itself was the expected nail-biter. When the teams last faced each other in November, Assumption won by a point or a basket. Both teams have been improving since then, of course. So it was a close battle throughout the game with a few lead changes but Assumption mostly staying ahead by a point or 2 or 3. Not enough of a margin to let their guard down. And not enough for us fans to quit biting our nails or chomping on our gum or grinding our teeth!

Despite the fact it felt like we were playing two teams – Loyal AND the refs – the Royals managed to squeak by and grind out a tough 54-50 win! Assumption has won six straight over Loyal (21-5) and eliminated the Greyhounds from the playoffs four straight years.

Next, our Lady Royals (22-4) will play Suring for a state berth on Saturday at Oconto Falls. I sure hope the momentum continues through to Saturday, stopping long enough Friday to help our boys' team advance in Regional Playoffs.

Exciting week to be a Royals fan!

Making a Point

To keep my vow to be accountable, I will share the latest news from my Weight Watchers program.

I had my 6-week weigh-in this morning and am down 11 pounds! I didn't think I'd even have a loss this week after my Camp Crop-A-Lot weekend. But I think I was too busy scrapping that I didn't have time to snack between meals. The only major "off the wagon" meal was Saturday night with the family. So not so bad.

What have I learned?

Well, even though Oprah says she loves bread and can eat it every day with WW, I don't. I don't love it and I don't eat it that often to begin with so that isn't a perk for me. What I have discovered, though, is that you honest-to-goodness can eat anything you want. Just enjoy in moderation. Such simple advice I've never followed!

If I want King Cone or a DQ Blizzard, I have to try to plan for it and adjust my daily Smart Point budget accordingly. I say TRY to plan because life it about unexpected pleasures, too. If I eat something heavy on the points, I can't beat myself up. Just enjoy it and try again tomorrow.

The key to any successful program is realistic expectations and a realistic approach to meeting your goals. Every plan out there touts it as "not a diet, but a lifestyle change." Well, if I have to work out every single day and can never have ice cream or carrot cake, that's not gonna last. I can't "maintain" that lifestyle. And my downfall is that if I am deprived of something, I will want it more. And I when I get it, there is no moderation in sight!

So I am realistically eating things I normally eat and just paying attention so that I don't go overboard. And if I do, try not to go overboard several days in a row!

I have also learned that there is some good food out there that is not bad for you. I am thankful I have at least 4 co-workers on the program that serve as a support network of sorts, sharing low-point snack ideas among other things. I also have people supporting me by helping me say no.

No less than 3 people shared this info graphic with me:

I get the point. There are a LOT of points (and not very Smart ones) in Shamrock Shakes. I thought I might just have to settle for the DQ Grasshopper Mousse Blizzard, but even a medium has more than a thousand calories. Not kidding.

I see why they call them Smart Points. Mindless eating will get you every time. But using your mind to make Smart choices will get you closer to goal.

Now I just have to stick with it longer than any other "lifestyle changes" I've tried to adopt in the past. Right?

In Like A Lion

 

There was always that old saying that if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion – and vice versa. I probably jinxed it by spending the weekend at the Lions Camp AND taking a cruise photo of "Lions Island," because it definitely came in like a lion today.

Apparently, we leaped right back into winter! I didn't even know we were predicting snow. Just happen to see it on the way to the shower this morning. We got the heavy, wet stuff here in central Wisconsin but it was much worse to the east and south, where travel was treacherous. Hubby did offer to drive me to work (unless that was sarcasm), but I managed.

The snow was melting off by mid-afternoon, but it was still cold enough to form icy puddles and, consequently, freeze icicles into the puddles. It looked so unusual I had to take a snapshot of the vehicle parked next to me at work. Naturally, the big ol' Yukon could break free of the bonds.

It was not only March that came in like a lion. Our boys basketball team did, too. They have been on a hot streak and the timing is perfect. Tonight was Round 1 of regional playoffs. We hosted the Tri-County Penguins of Plainfield. Regardless of the final score, it would be last home game for our seniors and the last home Pep Band performance, too.

 
Glad they went out on a win. We hosted and toasted Tri-County. Yup. That is the final score. Onto Round 2 Friday night at Port Edwards, who has consistently knocked us out of the playoffs. Our time to shine, I say.

And roar. Pretty sure it's a good sign our Royals' mascot is a LION!