A Girls's Guide to March Madness

Hi Ladies!

Coming from a college sports fanatic, I am bursting at the seems with excitement about the most magical time of the year! March Madness (aka the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament) is one of my favorite times for sports! The thrill of healthy competition is in the air and I am soaking it all in. Now I know there are plenty of other ladies out there that are just as excited as I am about the craziness that is the next four weeks or so, but I also know there are plenty out there that don't know the difference between a slam dunk and a full court press. For these women, March Madness is a time in which boyfriends and husbands all circle around the TV, drink copious amounts of beer, and get way too upset over Cinderellas and bracket busters. So what's all the fuss about? This post is directed specifically towards you ladies out there who don't particularly follow college basketball and want to take their rightful place on the couch next to their male counterparts (or those who just want to learn what all the hype is about and keep up in conversation around the company water cooler).

Don't know a thing about filling out a bracket? You have come to the right place. I don't know ESPN is going to be calling me up for my expert opinion anytime soon, but I do think I have a better grasp on the Madness than the average American woman. So let's start with the basics:

What is March Madness?

March Madness is the nickname given to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. It begins on Selection Sunday (which took place on March 15th this year) and ends with cutting down the nets at the National Championship Game (scheduled for April 6th this year). From the first tip-off on March 19th to the last tick of the clock on April 6th, there are 63 games to be played. That is 2520 minutes (not including any overtime played) full of talent, passion, and excitement. There are sure to be some upsets and maybe even the rise of a Cinderella. Any given game a top contender can fall and an unexpected star can arise. If that isn't exciting, I don't know what is!

What is a bracket?

In general, a bracket is a break down of a series of games played by various teams. In the NCAA bracket 64 teams are broken up into four different regions (Midwest, East, West, and South). There are 16 different teams within each region, each ranked #1-16 (also referred to as their seed) from best to worst. No one know exactly the reasoning behind the committees seeding decisions, but a number of different criteria are looked at before the final field is set (such as a team's strength of schedule, number of wins, etc). According to Wikipedia, there are  9,223,372,036,854,775,808 different outcomes that can occur, which makes the chances of making the perfect bracket pretty near impossible (not that that stops anyone from trying).

How does the tournament work?

The NCAA tournament is a single-elimination tournament. This means after a team loses, they are out of the competition. To win the championship, the team must win all 6 games they play. The tournament is broken down into rounds:

• Round 1: The first 4 games played are for either an #11 or #16 seed position in the tournament. In these games, the lowest four at-large teams and the lowest four automatic bid teams play. A team receives an automatic bid if they win their respective conference championship.These games happen earlier in the week. The 4 winners of these games then play their matched opponent in the second round.
• Round 2: This round is also known as the round of 64. In this round there are 32 games in just 36 hours! These games occur on the Thursday and Friday following Selection Sunday.
• Round 3: Since only half of the teams from the previous round move onto this round, this round is known as the round of 32. Teams that won in the round of 64 play in 16 games in 32 hours! These games are played on Saturday and Sunday. 
• Round 4: This round is known as the Sweet Sixteen, as there are only 16 teams remaining after round 3. This year these games are held on March 26th and 27th.
• Round 5: This round is known as the Elite Eight. These games are between the final two teams from each region. These games are held on March 28th and 29th this year. 
• Round 6: The semifinal game, also know as the coveted Final Four round. At this point, the winners from the Widwest and West regions play as well as the winners from the East and South for a chance to play in the national championship game. Both games are held on April 4th.
• Round 7: The National Championship. The one for all the marbles. This game is held on April 6th, 2015.

Why should I even participate in a bracket challenge?

ESPN is estimating 70 million people will fill out a bracket over the next few days. MSNBC reports that approximately $9 billion dollars is likely to be wagered during this year's tournament. What does this mean for you? This means that chances are, you know someone who is filling out a bracket and who is going to win some cash come April. Who says it has to be the alpha male of your office? Wouldn't it be fun if this year you got to watch the men squirm with annoyance as the dark horse blonde swept them all away? I think so. Don't tell ESPN I said this, but a big key to a successful bracket is pure dumb luck (part of what makes it so fun). Fill out a bracket. It's easy, pretty cheap (if not free), and you could end up winning a lot of money.

How do I even begin to fill out a bracket? 

It is actually a lot easier than it looks. Depending on how much effort you want to put into it, filling out a bracket takes about 5 minutes. For those who want to make educated guesses, it will take a little longer. There is tons of information out about team stats, bracket trends, and even expert predictions. In fact, there is an entire science dedicated to the study of the bracket (cleverly deemed Bracketology). Don't care to look into the stats? That's fine, too! You can pick a fun theme to follow or just pick randomly.

No matter how you select your teams, I encourage you to give it a try! Join a bracket pool and win some money in the end or simply earn bragging rights with your friends for a whole year. March Madness is no longer just for the guys. If you do decide to participate, make sure to get your brackets in by this Thursday, March 19th. I'll be posting my official bracket when I finish it later this week (I'm one of those that spend a ton of time looking at stats and am trying to make the perfect bracket) so stay tuned to see my top picks! Will Kentucky make history and go 40-0? Or will a team finally be able to stop the wildcats and cut down the coveted nets on April 6th? Only time will tell! Buckle your seat belts and get set for a crazy couple of weeks!

Hump Day Hot List

Hey There!

Welcome to what I anticipate being one of my favorite weekly posts: Hump Day Hot List! This is the post to check out what I am most obsessed with or things that are making this week just a little bit better.


One// Lauren Conrad LC for Kohls: The Cinderella Collection

I am OBSESSED with this collection. The floral prints and ladylike feel to every piece in this collection is just beyond perfect. I am so happy it is finally getting warm enough for me to bust these pieces out in Milwaukee. The two pieces she is modeling in the photo are two of my absolute favorites! Check out her entire Cinderella collection here and let me know if you are just as obsessed with it as I am! Once again, Lauren proves she can do no wrong in my book.

Picture taken from LaurenConrad.com Pinterest page.

Two// The Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Team

First of all, I am always obsessed with anything Wisconsin Badgers. Some people have told me that my love for the Badgers will subside with the more time that passes since my graduation from UW, but I just find this really hard to believe. I anticipate quite a few posts about my obsession with my alma mater and the different sports teams affiliated. Lately, I have been glued to the TV every time the men's basketball team is playing (hellooooo Nigel Hayes). Not only are they currently ranked #6 in the nation, but they are entering the B1G Tournament this weekend as the #1 seed and clear favorite. Oh, and they also basically swept the B1G regular season awards Monday night with awards in Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and a couple other all-conference awards. I am SO excited to announce that I will be attending the championship game this weekend at the United Center in Chicago. If you're as interested in this weekend's tournement as I am (which is pretty unlikely, I admit) you can find out more information here. Stay tuned for an update on what is chalking up to be a fabulous girls weekend with my momma.

Picture gathered from Badgermbb Instagram account.

Three// Reconnecting with old friends

When I was growing up, my family was moving all the time because my dad was in the US Navy. Every 3 years or so we would pack up our lives and move on to the next adventure. It was always hard leaving friends but time proved that the real friends you acquired along the way were the ones that you still had 6months after a move. I had one friend when my dad was stationed in Groton, Connecticut that I instantly connected with. We met in 2nd grade and were basically inseparable until we both moved across the country (her to Hawaii and me to Michigan, totally not fair). After the move, we continued to stay in touch through letters and the occasional phone call. After a while there was less communication, but we were entering the era of social media. Although we didn't talk nearly as much, we also kept tabs on one another. Neither of us really ever forgot the other and it was clear that we still had so much in common, even after 10+ years of not seeing each other. We recently reconnected and are planning a trip to Boston this summer where we will reunite for the first time since 2004. I am so excited about this and can't wait to catch up with her. Friendship is an amazing treasure and is even more rare when you can continue a friendship over so many life milestones apart. Keep an eye out for a post all about this trip coming this summer!

Four// Nike Running App 

I have been motivated to start running again lately because of the beautiful spring weather we are experiencing. Just when I begin to think we are never going to see the end of winter, Mother Nature pleasantly surprises me. I have always wanted to run a half marathon, just to say my body was able to accomplish such a thing. I am hoping (pending I can actually keep up with this running thing) to run my first one by the end of this summer. This app is keeping me motivated by tracking my runs for me. It is incredibly simple to set up and use and it 100% free. You can tell it if you are running inside on a treadmill or outside and on what terrain. It tracks your distance, maps out your route, and even keeps track of your speed at all points during your run. You can set and track goals with customized plans for all experience levels to train for all sorts of distances. It also provides audio feedback during your run, a feature I personally like. You can find out more information about the app and its capabilities here. Overall, it is the best running app I have used and I can't wait to see where this running adventure takes me! Do you have any favorite workout apps that keep you going?

An actual screenshot from my phone.
I'm just getting started!

Five// Broccoli

I remember hating broccoli when I was a child. My mom recalls that I was convinced I was eating the trees of imaginary little people and I refused to eat them. Luckily, I got older and wiser and am not a broccoli-fanatic. I can eat several bunches in one sitting and not think twice about it. I have a killer recipe for roasted broccoli that also contributes to my latest obsession (keep an eye out for that soon). Tonight I had this roasted broccoli and brown rice bowl for dinner after my workout. It was exactly what I needed to feel rejuvenated and satisfy my hunger. I can't wait for it to continue to get warmer out so I can purchase these little trees of goodness at my local farmers market.

Happy hump day!

One Girl's Mushy Bananas...

... is now her office's breakfasting pleasure.


Hello There!

Try as I might, I somehow can never finish a whole bunch of bananas myself before they become too ripe and mushy for my liking. As a child, I was never a big fan of the texture of a banana. It was only recently I have warmed up to them because of how good they are for you and even now, they have to be the perfect ripeness for me to play along. That being said, I try to buy a bunch every time I go grocery shopping. I'll have one for breakfast every once in a while and particularly love what they do to my morning smoothies, but I can never seem to finish them. Once again, I found myself in the same predicament this past weekend and was determined to find good use for them. So where did I look? Pinterest, of course! I looked around and came across a recipe for some banana bread from Twenty63, a blog written by a lady named Dawn (check her and her adorable blog out here). The recipe seemed easy enough so I gave it a try.

Ingredients:

--1/2 a stick of butter, softened

-- 2 large eggs

-- 2-3 ripe (mushy) bananas

-- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

-- 1 1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat for a little bit of health)

-- A pinch of salt

-- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-- Optional: nuts, chocolate chips, etc (I added some fresh blueberries I had in my fridge)

-- Optional x2: 2 tablespoons of chia seeds (I added this for an extra punch of protein)

Preparation:

-- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
-- Grease either 1 regular loaf or 2 small loaf pans and set aside
-- Peel and mush up bananas with a fork in one bowl, try to get a nice puree free of as many lumps as possible
-- Soften butter by putting in microwave for 15-30 seconds, keep an eye on this to avoid melting the butter, add this to the bowl with the banana puree
--Add the sugar and eggs to this same bowl with the bananas, mix thoroughly ensuring to break up all of the eggs
-- Combine dry ingredients in another bowl
-- Pour the contents of the banana bowl into the dry ingredients
-- Mix the contents together until one, unified batter is formed
-- Fold in chocolate chips or other optional add-ins
-- Pour batter into greased pan
-- I sprinkled a few extra blueberries on top for good measure
-- Bake for 35-50 minutes, using the toothpick method to ensure bread is done all the way through
-- Slice and enjoy!

Truthfully, I have never been a huge fan of banana bread. That is, until I tried this recipe. What really got me was the amazing smells that were coming from my kitchen as I lay in bed binge-watching House of Cards (I'm obsessed). The bread was a satisfying and relatively healthy snack that was also absolutely delicious. What wasn't devoured by myself was cut into slices and brought into work the next morning. Needless to say I was pretty popular come Monday morning. 

I have heard of some other great things you can do with mushy, overripe bananas (mostly that involve freezing them) and I look forward to trying them out in the future (stay tuned for more recipes to come)!

Happy baking!