The Final Two

I love sports!  I love March Madness.  This time of year is my favorite in the world of sports because many sports are starting their season and many are closing out their season.  2011 has already produced some amazing sporting events and it's only March! 

The year's March Madness competition has been awesome, baby!  I am amazed with these young men

(and women) who show such poise and maturity during the games.  This weekend's competion gives us superstars that were literally sitting at home, last year, watching the Final Four on television. 

The rise of VCU and Butler shows the big dawgs that there are great players all over the USA that may not have been recruited to the large basketball program colleges. I have enjoyed watching the #1 and #2 seeds losing in nail biting games.  What can I say?  I love an underdog.

And, I have to say I am totally impressed with the Butler Coach, Brad Stevens.  Looking like a player himself, (he's only 34 years old with a 86-14 regular seasons record) Brad has proven he can coach and motivate a team to almost beat Duke last year in the final game and he returns this year with the same grit and wisdom to possibly be in that final game again.  I'm a sucker for a coach who loves the game and great playing as much as the student's themselves.  His total transparency in the love of the game and his love for the players is so refreshing!

My final two teams?  Butler and Kentucky!  Wow that will be a great game!

What Makes An Authentic Athlete?

Two weekends ago March Madness started with the best of the best in NCAA Basketball.  Needless to say, the games were thrilling and true heroes emerged.  But, that same weekend in Philadelphia, the NCAA Wrestling Tournament took place.  Oh, the crowd was much smaller but the fans had just as many thrills seeing the best wrestlers in the college ranks compete.

I grew up with high school and collegiate wrestling and I love it!  No, I didn't get to wrestle because girls were not allowed to such a thing!  My brothers, the boys, got to compete and true competitors they were.  Greg and Conrad wrestled at Page High School in Greensboro, NC and then wrestled at NC State University.  Greg continued to compete for years with Athletes in Action and volunteered with the NC State team until just a few years ago.  Our teenage years revolved around tournaments - me as a mere spectator.

At the NCAA tournament this year, a truly authentic athlete was recognized for years of intense training and tenacity.  Anthony Robles, a young man, born with one leg won the 125 pound weight class. Anthony said in many interviews that his mom told him that God made his special and he has proved it every day of his life.  

Imagine a guy with one leg wrestling to win a national championship with no money involved.  No signed endorsement contracts.  No entourage. No private planes.  No conceit. No need for CBA with the owners.  No need to want a piece of the financial pie from television contracts.  Anthony wrestled for the love of the game and to be named the best in the USA in his weight class on a Saturday night in Philadephia.  Anthony Robles -a true authentic athlete.

To read further about Anthony: Click Here

The Joys of Being An Aunt

I never had kids!   But, I love kids and for some reason kids seem to love me.  They don’t care if I have on your makeup or if I have on a color coordinated outfit.  They don’t care if I have money.  When they look at me, they just see a tall child standing there looking back at them!  They know I love to have fun so they are drawn to that energy. 

Children never set high standards for adults.  They simply want to have fun when they’re around you.  My belief is that children look right past our faces and look straight into our hearts. 

I made a choice to be childfree.  I didn’t want to have children because my career involved extensive travel.  I knew it would not be fair to them to have an absentee mom. And, I never would have wanted to miss “the firsts” in their lives. 

So I dedicated myself to being the best aunt a girl could be.  I have watched my niece and my three nephews become really cool young adults! I think being an aunt is life role of tremendous honor and I cherish it. 

Buuuut, being a great aunt is even more divine! As my Grandma Eva would have said, “I declare I do love these great nieces!”  Here’s Addison, who will be three this week, and Aunt Laura cooking our first cake together last fall.  Now, isn’t she the cutest?  

If you are an aunt – adore the times you have with your nieces and nephews.  Time flies by so quickly!

Ahhhh Spring

In keeping with the green theme this month, let’s talk about this glorious season.  It’s a time of renewal, a time to say goodbye to winter, a time to feel the anticipation of warmer weather, a time of hope for a new tomorrow, a time to have a 1.367 inch layer of green pollen on your car in the morning, a time to sneeze your itchy head off! 

As the trees start to bloom and the pollen gets airborne, allergy sufferers begin their annual ritual of sniffling and sneezing. Each year, over 35 million Americans fall prey to seasonal allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever.

WedMD tells us the biggest spring allergy trigger is pollen -- tiny grains released into the air by trees, grasses, and weeds for the purpose of fertilizing other plants. When pollen grains get into the nose of someone who’s allergic, they send the immune system into overdrive.

The immune system, mistakenly seeing the pollen as foreign invaders, releases antibodies -- substances that normally identify and attack bacteria, viruses, and other illness-causing organisms. The antibodies attack the allergens, which leads to the release of chemicals called histamines into the blood. Histamines trigger the runny nose, itchy eyes, and other symptoms of allergies. So grab those hankies and head out into this a new green blossoming world!

Let’s Celebrate Leprechauns

Saint Patrick's Day began in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland, who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isles in 400 AD.  It is a day of celebrating Irish history, ancestry, traditions and customs.

I do love the Irish.  I personally know a leprechaun.  Yes, I do and his name is Wally Adamchik, CSP.  Wally, Past President of National Speakers Association/Carolinas, was The Notre Dame mascot!  (Uh, that’s him in the green) He is an outstanding speaker who got his speaking start in front of 65,000 fans in South Bend.  

If you’d like to know more about my favorite leprechaun, go to www.beafirestarter.com and check it out!