My Thoughts on Sochi 2014

I'll admit that I didn't get to watch as much of the Olympics this year as I normally do thanks to this little thing called the Texas Bar Exam.  But, as I do every 2 years, I wanted to give you a few thoughts on the parts I was able to follow.

1.  The accommodations.  Hey journalists, shut up about the hotel rooms not being the Ritz.  I feel like this kind of behavior is why people talk crap on Americans.  When you are in another country, things are just different.  It's not just Russia.  Most of the time in Europe, the bedrooms are tiny.  So are the beds.

Learned that one first hand sharing a double bed with Cousin Swiss Mister and Cousin Whitney the hottest time of the year in Rome.  Was that fun?  No.  Did I care?  No.  Because I was in Rome, and when in Rome...

Oh, and in Europe they also don't have ice and make you pay for water and the men wear freakin' capris.

You know what you do?  You go on your merry way smiling for the camera in front of the Vatican while a nice man in short pants snaps your picture with your expensive water happily in your purse.

Cousin Whitney and Me - Rome - 2009

Now, don't get me wrong,  The water that was a strange shade of gold that I saw in some news reports from Sochi?  That's not acceptable.  The guy getting locked in the bathroom and having to claw his way out, borderline not acceptable, but it made for a great story so I say okay (that reminds me I need to blog about the time I got locked in my apartment and they had to break the door down with an ax...).  The fact that they had twin beds, no fluffy duvets and community bathrooms?  Suck it up, princess.


2.  Women's figure skating.  I have to say that I thought the finals were one of the best athletic events I've watched in a long time.  Great competitors, great performances.  The top 3 skaters were basically flawless.  Could I have seen Yuna Kim beating the adorable little Russian girl?  Sure. Her program was beautiful, artistic, graceful, all those words that Dorothy Hamil or Peggy Fleming (not sure which was commentating with Scott Hamilton) said 9,000 times.  Could I see the Russian beating Yuna Kim?  Sure.  Hands down the hardest, most athletic program of the night.  In the end, the three medalists skated their best.  And this is a subjective sport.  There is no clock to objectively give us a winner.  I'm sick of the controversy, let that 17 year old Russian enjoy her gold medal.  (For the record, I was going for Yuna, so I feel I am unbiased.)

3.  Upsets.  Sometimes, the favorite doesn't win, kids.  That means that sometimes, Bode Miller goes home without a gold.  And Sean White is left off of the podium.  I think we get so used to the super stars winning that we forget what my mom used to tell us (that drove me bananas then but is the truth) "any team, any day."  That's why we play the game.

4.  Sacrifice.  I think that one of my favorite parts of the Olympics are watching these athletes and recognizing the sacrifices they (and their families) have made over the years to be there.  When you think about the years of work, early mornings, lifting weights, probably never eating raw cookie dough out of the package (clearly the reason I could never be an Olympic athlete right there)....it's amazing.  And inspiring.

Olympic Lessons

"If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you. Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations." ~Bob Beamon

I've entered into a deep state of depression following the Closing Ceremonies last night.  What will I do every night between 7 and 11 o'clock now that I cannot watch Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Sanya Richards-Ross or Misty and Kerry?  Sigh.

Of all sporting events, I think that the the Olympics might be the most important, for what it teaches us.

First, the Olympics teach us that even though we are different, we are all the same.  I shared my thoughts on this last week in my blog about Kirani James and Oscar Pistorious.  But you look at the Olympics and you see athletes from across the globe competing with each other in the same sport, and shaking hands at the end.  You see all different languages and ethnicities, different social classes and religions, different ages and education levels....but for two weeks, every four years, they are all one.  If you ask me, the world leaders (and the world) would do well to take a few lessons from these young people and the example they set.

Second, the Olympic athletes teach us that we can do great things. I distinctly remember being a little kid--must have been in 1988--watching Jackie Joyner Kersee compete in the Heptathalon.  After watching her run the 100M hurdles, I went over to the shelf of VHS tapes (good grief, I'm old), set up a stack of them in the living room, and began to perfect my own hurdling technique.  Did I become a world class hurdler?  Obviously not (please ask my 8th grade track coach who apparently thought I could channel my inner JJK only to learn that short, chubby white girls are not your best hurdling candidate when he had to come peel me battered, bruised and bloody off the track). 

But it's not the hurdling that matters.  Is the belief that dreams can come true.  The realization that if we set goals and we work hard enough and we want it bad enough, we can make great things happen.  Be it winning 22 Olympic medals, competing without legs against the greatest athletes in the world, winning your country's first medal ever, setting a world record, or just being able to say that you are an Olympian. 

These kids (and Nike's commercial below) remind us that greatness lies within each of us.  It is up to us to go and find  it.

It's Okay Thursday/ Confessional Friday

"Life is like photography.  You use the negatives to develop."  ~Unknown

It's Thursday/Friday.  Time for some confessions.

Confessional Friday with Blonde Ambition

It's Okay/I Confess That...



1.  I could not be more excited about the Labor Day weekend trip in the works.  Details are not final yet, but the plan is me, ND Friend, and the south.  Heck yea.  Southern boys, look out.

2. I am counting down the days (21) until college football kicks off.  It's my favorite time of the year.  GO POKES!

3.  Work has been crazy stressful the last couple weeks.  Like make me consider quitting my job and wait tables kind of stressful.  Trying to hang in there.

4.  My throat is a litle sore from yelling at the tv watching the Olympics.  Lately, it's been "RUN Sanya" and "Hit the ball, Kerry" that have been the most common phrases.  My yelling has worked, both of them won gold.  You're welcome.

5.  Watching said Olympics, especially the women's track events, makes me want to do about 5,000 sit ups.  Holy cow those abs are unreal!

6.  I failed on my 2 books a month goal for July.  DANGIT.  Took me an extra 7 days to wrap up my second book.  But don't worry, I'm going to do my best to catch up by the end of August.  I'll have my book reports on July tomorrow.

7.  I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Mayer and his shenanigans, but I love this song and this quote.

8.  I'm excited to pick a winner for my Tiffany's Favorite Giveaway tomorrow...if you haven't entered yet, click here!

Olympic Spirit

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."  ~Pierre de Coubertin

You have probably heard that a double amputee, Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, became the first amputee to compete at the Olympic Games.  He had to fight to get there--an Olympic Committee hearing and investigation was held in order to determine if the blades that he uses in place of his legs gave him a special advantage.  When I heard this story, I was frustrated and annoyed and questioned whether we had lost the spirit and purpose of the Olympics all together.

On Sunday, I was convinced that these athletes are quite aware of that spirit, although others may not be.
That night, Pistorius finished last in his semi-final heat.  Kirani James, of Granada, finished first.  No one was surprised---Pistorius was not expected to even make the semi-finals and James is the gold medal favorite.

But he differences between these two athletes does not end there.  Different nationalities.  Different skin colors.  Different backgrounds.  Different continents they call home.  Different legs.

But Kirani James ignored the differences.  Instead of celebrating his semi-final victory, he headed straight to Pistorius.  James motioned that he wanted to trade bib numbers.  A sign of respect and admiration between runners.  (Cue tears for me on my couch.  Dang Olympics have me all emotional.)

The Olympics remind us that although we are different, we are the same.  And that respect does not depend upon the color of a medal or the name listed next to a World Record.  The spirit of the Olympic Games was alive and well on Sunday, thanks to Kirani James and Oscar Pistorius.

Oh, and Kirani James competed in the finals of the 400 meters yesterday.  He won gold.  It was the first Olympic medal for Genada.  Ever.  Sometimes, things work out like they should.

Smashing Goggles

"Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.” ~ Max Lucado

Have I mentioned that I love Michael Phelps?  Maybe once?  Twice?  Three times?  Because I do.  Messy hair, big ol' ears and lanky long arms and all.

Earlier this week, they showed an interview of his coach, Bob Bowman, and asked him about the different says things he has done to Michael to stress him out in practices.  Shown up late to go to a meet so that he gets there all frazzled and out of sorts.  Hidden his goggles before a race.  Stepped on his goggle and smashed them so that they would fill up with water while Michael was swimming.  The coach sounds like some crazy practical jokester gone wrong.

Now flash back to Beijing 2008.  Michael Phelps won gold in the 200M Fly.  And afterwards, Phelps threw his goggles on the deck and looked upset.  When he got out of the pool, he mouthed to his coach, "I couldn't see a thing!"  His goggles had filled up with water.  Here he was, on the biggest stage and biggest moment of his life, and disaster struck.

Except, for Phelps, it wasn't a disaster.  He had been there before.  Thanks to his coach smashing his googles in practice, he knew exactly what to do.  He counted his strokes, touched the wall first, and won the gold medal.

You know....I think that sometimes God smashes our goggles.  He gives us trials and struggles and challenges that we do not understand.  Sometimes it seems like a crazy practical joke is being played on us.  We don't get what we think we need.  He does not answer the way that we hoped.  The plan does not work out the way that we had intended.

But like Bob Bowman, God knows what he's doing.  He's preparing us for the future--for the moment when our glasses fill with water during the Olympics.  In that moment, we will know what to do and how to deal with it.  Because our God--like Michael's coach--has prepared us well.

Olympic Thoughts

"An Olympic medal is the greatest achievement and honor that can be received by an athlete." ~Jeff Fenech

I'm pretty much going to be completely unproductive for the next two weeks.  Put the Olympics on and it's impossible for me to turn them off and do anything else.  Including writing a blog.  So...I figured I'd combine blogging and Olympic watching.  Here are my thoughts on last night.

1.  I wanted to kill Cousin Swiss Mister yesterday.  I avoided any news yesterday because I did not want to hear any results from the Olympics until I got to watch them.  Well then Cousin Swiss Mister emails me an article, so I clicked on the link.  And guess what?  The sidebar of the article showed all the major results (except Missy Franklin, which was the only surprise of the night for me!) right there in front of my face.  Was it worth it to read the article?  Well....it was all about how the Dutch women's field hockey team is the most attractive team at the games.  Really?  THAT was important enough to send to me and ruin my Olympic watching last night? 

2.  Poor Ryan Lochte is just not good in the last 25 meters.  I'm afraid it's in his head now.  Come on, honey, get your pretty little head back on straight!

3.  Missy Franklin is freaking awesome.  I mean she qualifies for the finals in the 200 free, has 10 minutes to rest, and sets the American record, beating the favorite, and winning gold.  She's 17 years old.  Unbelievable.  And then she got all emotional talking about her parents.  She's just adorable.

4.  I feel like there should be a rule when someone loses an Olympic event they do not have to get a microphone stuck right in their face.  They did it to Jordyn Weiber on Sunday night and Ryan Lochte last night.  Give them a break.  Oh, and that goes for you, Andrea Kramer, asking stupid questions to Michael Phelps after he wins his semi-final.  She says, "So tomorrow is hte final, which Michael shows up, the one who swam a great split in the relay or the one who didn't medal in the 400 IM?"  He just said, "My swimming does the talking."  Back here in America, I was yelling cuss words at the tv and getting ready to draft a letter to NBC about this woman.

5.  I was so darn excited for Matt Grevers.  I pretty much fell in love with him when I saw his marriage proposal to his swimmer girlfriend earlier this year.  But a gold medal and Olympic record?  Just solidified it in my book.

Weekend Re-Cap

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”   ~Oscar Wilde

Well it was another weekend of going, going, going.  Here's a re-cap for ya!

Friday

I stop at a gas station on my drive home and go inside to get some M&Ms for the road.  The lady in front of me was going to move her moving van from the pump over out of the way.  She turns to the gas station attendant and says, "Where should I park?  I'm not good at stuff like, you know, turning and stuff."  Um...yea.  Turning and stuff?  Seems important.  I got the heck out of Dodge and away from that lady before she left.

I have never felt so stupid as watching the parade of nations at the Olympics.  I swear to you, I could not have put half of those countries on a map.  That may bite me one of these days on The Amazing Race.  I've got to get serious about things.

I got one of my blogs recognized by Jordan Christie, the author of How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World!  So excited!  Good experience for my dream of writing a book one day. :)  To check it out, click here.

ND Friend sent me this awesome photo.  Don't think I could love it any more.

Saturday

On Saturday it was time for the Second Anual Father Daughter Ski Trip.  Well, first my dad and I went to check on some lambs that we sold to some 4-H kids, and then we hit the water.  Priorities.  We had lots of fun in the sun.

And then, that night I was walking through the house and managed to totally bite it.  I scraped up and bruised my big toe, banged up my shin, and sprained my wrist.  I ski all day and never have a bad fall, but walking through the house I manage to totally wipe out.  Great work, Tiffany.

Sunday

We took several pictures of our calves Sunday morning.  Check 'em out.

I spent Sunday spending entirely too much time watching the Olympics.  I mean seriously, I sit down and the next thing I know, 4 hours has gone by and I've accomplished nothing.  It feels like college football season or something.  A few thoughts:

1.  I was disappointed that Michael Phelps did not medal in the 400 IM, but excited for Ryan Lochte. 

2.  Thought the American women gymnasts looked amazing. 

3.  Thought the Brendan Hansen's interview after winning bronze was adorable. 

4.  I am so disappointed that we got beat in the 4x100 relay.  Silver is still good and all, but shoot.  I will say that my boy Michael Phelps did his job.  Probably should have let him anchor.  Just saying.

5.  Oh, and that woman (I forget her name) from the US that hit 99/100 targets and won her third gold medal in shooting?  Awesome.  Don't mess with that chick. 

Excited to watch some more tonight....go USA!

Friday Letters

"This day is a journey, this very moment, an adventure."  ~Rebecca Pavlenko

Woo hoo, ladies and gents!  It's Friday!  Thought we'd celebrate with a Friday Letters Post.

Dear The Single Woman:  When I saw that you quoted me and gave me a shout out in your column yesterday, it made my day.  Seriously....you're my favorite blogger.  And YOU quotes ME (after I have quoted you about a million times!)  So dang excited.

Dear Olympics:  I am going to need you to show up.  Like ASAP.  Why?  Because ever since the trials ended, I've hated running on the treadmill without being able to watch me some Michael Phelps.  My rear keeps right on growing in the mean time while I await his return.  Let's get on that!

Dear Mailman:  You're really starting to annoy me.  I've been waiting on two different letters to arrive all week and by now I'm pretty sure that you have lost them.  Not.  Impressed.

Dear Relay for Life:  I haven't done one of these since college, and I'm much older and more appreciative of my sleep now.  Go easy on me tonight.

Dear Uncle David:  We're all headed to Relay to walk in your memory this weekend.  We miss you every day.  (For those of you who might not have been around, we lost my Uncle David to cancer this past Christmas.  If you are interested in donatinge to my Relay for Life page in his memory, click here.)

Dear BFF:  I know that you're some sort of super busy, all-important, almost doctor (the PhD kind, not the CPR giving kind), but we haven't talked in like a month.  I can't take it anymore.  Call me.  Not maybe.  For sure.

Dear Word on Fire:  Father Steve's blog this week about the 16 Carmelite martyrs of Compiegne was amazing.  Heartbreaking and beautiful and just amazing.  How had I never heard of these sisters before?

Dear Cousin Kevin: Hope you're excited about our 3 hour road trip today! That's a lot of bonding time......I should make a list of questions. :)  Oh, and plan on taking a picture with me this weekend.  I had zero options to put on this blog.  Fail.

Dear Big 12 Media:  You picked us to finish 4th in the Big 12.  Fourth.  And you picked K-State (the team that makes me the most nervous) to finish 6th.  What does someone have to do to get your job and a vote on this committee?  Not know jack about college football?  Bring it.  See below.

Dear OSU Football:  I sure as heck hope y'all are as ready for the season as I am.  I'm expecting big things.  I'd really love a few more experiences like these last year:

Me and LOKG after rushing the field at Bedlam!

Me and the boys after winning the Fiesta Bowl in OT

Weekend Update

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."  ~Mark Twain

Several people were sort of shocked on Friday at work when my response to the question, "Where are you off to this weekend?" was "I'm actually staying in town."  Guess maybe I have been running around a lot!  Here's a little recap of my weekend!

Friday

On Friday night I was running some errands and needed to know what shade of blue Loud Oklahoma Girl is using in her wedding this coming weekend.  I was texting the Matron of Honor trying to figure it out and we were having a hard time communicating shades of blue over the phone.  Until this happened:

Yes, safe to assume my head never leaves college football season.  :)

Then, I got a text from my friend Pharmer Girl that another friend, Teddy Bear, was in town and they were all going out.  So I decided I'd meet them for dinner but told them I probably wouldn't last out very long.  I got back to my house at 2 in the morning.  Sigh.

We had dinner and did a little bowling--I won the first round, thank you, thank you--and then ended up in the bowling alley bar, where they just happened to be....drum roll, please....singing karaoke!  Now y'all know I've done karaoke once or twice before, but no one else in the group had.  Of course I'm a bad influence and convinced everyone that this was something that they needed to do.  TB, Pharmer Girl, and I chanelled our inner Johnny and June and sang Jackson and then Pharmer Girl and one of TB's friends sang some Pam Tillis Mi Vida Loca.  Pretty sure we were awesome.

Also pretty sure you never know what kind of people you're going to see in a bowling alley bar.  I mean, seriously.  There are not words.  TB, being himself, wound up friends with every crazy person in there.  I've known this kid since he was about 6 years old....nothing has changed!

Saturday

On Saturday, I realized that I'm far too old to hang with these young kids anymore.  This girl needs to be in bed by 10:30!  I cancelled spin class and slept in.  Great for my fitness goals, huh?  I had a lot of errands to run on Saturday and had some crafts to work on (can't talk about that just yet....) and I took a nap.  I'm super exciting, huh?

I spent most of the evening watching the US Olympic Trials.  Is anyone else as excited about the Olympics as I am?

Let's talk about swimming.  Totally my favorite summer Olympic event.  Hands down.  I love me some Michael Phelps.  I'd marry that boy tomorrow.  Yes, he's lanky and goofy and has big ears, but he's amazing.  I know a lot of people cheer for the underdog, but I just refuse to cheer for anyone besides Michael Phelps.  I've loved him since he was 16 years old swimming in Athens.  Plus he would totally give me the Olympic athlete children I dream of.  Anyone have his number??

I also watched some track and field.  While sitting on my couch.  Eating a baked potato.  Sheesh, Tiffany.  I'm a total fan of Sonya Richards-Ross and Lolo Jones.  Those girls are hard core!  Oh, and sidenote, while I have the utomst respect for hurdlers (particularly after a horrible experience I had in 8th grade when some track coach thought it made sense to get the short, slow, chubby, white girl to run hurdles and I almost killed myself), the rodeo fan in me feels like it should be similar to barrel racing and if you knock one over you get a penalty.  Just an idea.

Sidenote:  How are there enver any false starts in swimming?  You see them periodically in track, but I've never seen one in the pool.  And if they happen, what do they do?  Get everyone back out and on the blocks?

Sunday

I got up early to go to church.  I went to a different one than I usually go to because it was closer to the appointment I had that morning and it turned out that the priest was one who I knew from growing up back home.  When he walked in I thought, "That guy looks like Father John (the former priest in my hometown)."  When he started talking, I knew for sure it was him.  I could never forget his voice after being at a funeral once and my grandma not-so-quietly whispering to me, "That Father has a funny voice."  Ha!  Small world!

I was supposed to spend Sunday on a Make-a-Wish shopping spree, but my kiddo woke up sick and had to go the hospital and we had to cancel.  Please say a little prayer that everything is okay and he gets to feeling better. 

So instead I did a little grocery shopping, had some brick oven pizza, did some work, chilled on my couch watching movies, and got in a good work out while watching this round of Olympic Trials at the gym.  A good hour and ten minute run later, I called it a night.  I had to redeem my lazy self from Saturday!
So there ya have it...my weekend in a nutshell.  It'll be my last one at home for the next month, so I guess it's a good thing I enjoyed it!

The REAL Story of the Olympic Games

“It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication.” ~ Herb Elliott

Two weeks ago, I wrote about storylines of people winning gold medals. Last week, about a snowboarder who faced defeat.

While watching the games, I got a little bit jaded and annoyed at teammates bickering about who got more attention, and competitors pouting when they were silver and not gold.

Then, I found THE story. The one that epitomizes the true meaning and spirit of the Olympic games.
Meet Tugba Karademir. She is the first Olympic figure skater from her country, of Turkey. Ever. You didn't see her on the podium. She didn't expect to be there. Her goal was to make the top 10. She ended up placing 24th.

You're probably wondering why this is THE story? It's because she knows the joy of simply being able to compete. 13 years ago, her family left their home country of Turkey and all of their family and friends. They moved to Canada, in order to allow Tugba to train and have a better chance at her Olympic dream.

Her parents took blue collar jobs, working in factories and washing dishes. They sacrificed so much, simply to allow their daughter to go after her dream. Her dream first came true in 2006 in Torino. She was chosen as the Turkish flag bearer for the Opening Ceremonies that year. Something was missing for her.....her parents were not in attendance. They couldn't afford the trip.

In Vancouver this Olympics, the same problem was on track to occur again. Tugba's parents were not goint to be able to make the trip from Ontario. An Olympic sponsor, learned of Tugba's story. The sponsor paid for her parents to come to Vancouver. Last Tuesday night, they were in the stands as she skated at the 2010 Olympics. They beamed and proudly waived the Turkish flag.

She may not have won a medal, but she got to compete. And her family got to watch. In the end, maybe that's what is more important.

Here is a video of Tugba telling part of her story.

So all these cry baby, spoiled athletes who seem to be more worried about attention and publicity than anything else, might need to look around. The Olympic Games are bigger than any gold medal, tv interview, or one athlete.

The Olympics and the Agony of Defeat

"But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for." ~Paulo Coelho

Last week I blogged about how great the Olympics were because of deserving people winning gold. This week, I'll write about the other side of the coin. Sometimes people work hard, get their chance, and things just don't go their way.

That's what happened to US snowboarder, Lindsey Jacobellis. Four years ago in Torino, she made a mistake that cost her the gold. In the snowboard cross competition, there were four women racing for gold. Lindsey was way in front...having what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. She went off the last jump and decided to do a "showboat" move, a method grab. So she jumped, grabbed the edge of her snowboard....and fell. A Swiss boarder passed her, despite havin been three seconds behind, and took the gold. Lindsey took silver.


She has waited 4 years for redemption. That's the thing about the Olympics, you don't just have to wait a few months for the next season to redeem yourself like you do in other sports. You have to wait four years. Four years that you dedicate to that moment, four years of hard work to have one chance. She waited because she wanted her gold.


She waited four years for redemption...that didn't come. Last week, in the semi-finals in Vancouver, Lindsey landed badly off of a jump (nothing fancy, regular jump on the course) and went through a gate, meaning she was disqualified.


We like to hear the happy stories from the Olympics, the nice guys winning. The couple who worked for 18 years finally gets their gold medal. But there are plenty of tales of defeat as well. Sometimes, no matter how hard you work and how much you might deserve something, it's just not meant to be. That's the Olympics, and that's life.

Storylines of the Olympic Games

"Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it." ~Dalai Lama XIV

I love the Olympics, for reasons just like we have seen this week. The nice guy finishes first. Tremendous sacrifices made by a couple pay off. These are what the Olympics are made for.

Nice Guy Finishes First.

Everyone has probably heard about Alex Bilodeau, the 22 year old Canadian moguls skier who gave Canada their first gold medal on home soil. Ever. Seeing all of the Canadian fans go completely crazy when "Oh Canada" was played at the medal ceremony was really great.

But my favorite part of the story has to do with his brother. His older brother, Frederic, suffers from cerebral palsy. Alex told the press that his brother has been an inspiration to him since he was a child. When Alex didn't want to get out of bed on cold mornings to get to practice, he would think of his brother, who didn't have the opportunity to ski. Alex said that he has adopted his brother's philosophy on life, "Enjoy life." Alex says that if his brother can have that philosophy, when Frederic really does have a right to complain, Alex can do it too.

When Alex won the race, Frederic joined him at the base of the ski run. His family pushed him in his wheelchair down the ramp from the bleachers. He waved both of his arms in the air and shouted all the way to the base of the ski run. It may not have gotten the national attention of the medals ceremony, but it may have meant just as much to Alex and Frederic.

Tremendous Sacrifices Pay Off.

The other big story line was in pairs figure skating. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo have been skatin together for 18 years. This was their 4th Olympics. They have been world champions twice. The only thing missing? Their Olympic gold medal.

A lot of people got on their bandwagon because of the love story.....the couple married in 2007. It was the day after Valentine's Day. All that love, romance junk.

That's not the reason I love the story. I like the sacrifices they made. These two retired when they got married. But then, they came back, all to try to get the illusive gold medal. They lived in the dorms at the figure skating training center, separately. They ate in the cafeteria. They didn't have much of a married life. This is what the Olympics are all about---sacrifices to have one chance at your dream every four years. These skaters left their family to move to the training center eighteen years ago. They put their lives and marriage on hold. In the end, it paid off. They got their gold medal.

What's their plan now? To have a huge wedding celebration, re-retire, and have a baby. Because they were willing to make sacrifices, they will do all three with gold medals around their necks.

Yep....these two stories are what the Olympics are all about.

Da Da Dadadadada.....(The Olympic Music)

"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us." ~John Williams

I love the Olympics. Have since I was a little kid. I can remember watching the summer olympics when I was about 6 or so......Carl Lewis and Jackie Joyner-Kersee were running the hurdles. My brother and I stacked up vhs tapes (I realize these are completely old school now) in the living room and pretended they were hurdles. I think my family and I have watched every Olympic games that have ever been since I've been alive. Although the summer games are my favorite, I love the winter ones too!

Only the Olympics can get people to go from being armchair quarterbacks to armchair ski jumpers and figure skating judges. Seriously....even my redneck, small town family who have skated like twice in life are talking about the artistic impression scores and analyzing who was better, talking about how the ski jumper should have been more parallel, about how the bob sled blew that turn, and whether the curlers should stop sweeping sooner. And the coverage on NBC does a great job of showing all the great stories----the adorable couple skating together in pairs, the guy on the podium who almost walked away from skiing, the underdog stories galore, the first Canadian gold on their soil dedicating the win to his brother with cerebral paulsy......there's always a story!

So I hope you're enjoying the Olympic coverage......I plan to blog more about Vancouver 2010, and about favorite Olympic moments from years past in the next two weeks, so stay tuned.

Throwback Thursday #8: Lausanne Olympic Museum

"And we compel men to exercise their bodies not only for the games, so that they cn win the prizes-for very few of them go to them-but to gain a greater good from it for the whole city, and for the men themselves." ~Lucian, 170 AD

So back to Throwback Thursdays, which were momentarially interrupted due to the holidays, and our day in Lusanne (pronounced Lo zan) Switzerland. This was going to be our last full day in Switzerland, so we were trying to figure out what to do. We debated taking the train to Zurich (so we could see the German side of the country) or to Paris (to say we'd been to Paris), but in the end we were kind of tired, knew we'd be traveling the next day to Rome, and decided just to go to Lausanne. Um....maybe the best decision on the whole trip!

We went to the Olympic Museum. I'm not much of a fan of museums....in general, I find them boring. If you are going to one museum in your life....go here! It was so awesome--stuff outside and inside, old and new, historical and more pop culture, statues and videos and jerseys....it was awesome.

This is a cauldren lit with the actual Olympic flame from Greece. Cool, huh?
Now, right off the bat, I feel the need to just admit my obsession with all things Michael. Yes, that's right, Phelps and Jordan. Love them both, and when I got around ANYTHING involving either of them, I turned into the paparazzi! Here are a miniscule sample of the pictures I took. :)

This is a sand sculpture of him right at the entrance of the museum. My understanding is that they will make it into an actual bronze statue. (As I stated on facebook when I posted this, if anyone knows him, send this on. I feel he might love me if he meets me).

A pair of his actual goggles from Athens.

Yes, I indeed did take my shoe off right there in the museum and make poor Whitney take the picture. I also really enjoyed the historical sports stuff they had there. Here's a discus and a golf club for examples.

It was also super exciting to see the actual jerseys and uniforms of the athletes. There are tons more I have pictures of---Steffi Graf, Muhammad Ali, Katarina Witt.....but here are two of my favs.

This is Nadia Comaneci's suit from the Opening Ceremonies in the 1976 Montreal Games. (FYI in case you're not a sports person, she was a Romanian gymnast who won 3 golds and received the first ever perfect 10). Look how tiny it is!

And here is Shannon Miller's suit from one of the Olympic games she participated in...I think Barcelona in 1992. She's always been my favorite gymnast---and she's the most decorated in US history. (I also learned she has her law degree. I knew I liked her!)
Now these two pictures show one of the craziest parts of the museum. Here is Whitney standing under a pole vault bar set at Olympic record height. Now how crazy is that?? Then there's me standing under the high jump bar. Can you imagine that someone actually jumped that high?

Now these next pictures are some of my favorites. They have an Olympic medal podium that you can stand on and take pictures. My favorite part was how people from all over the world, who didn't even speak the same language and might have had nothing in common all enjoyed taking their picture on the podium. Everyone was so excited and friendly and cheering. It was great. That reminds me, it was interesting to wak through the museum with people from all over the world. You really wouldn't have known where anyone was from, but you could tell by what they would freak out upon seeing and start taking pictures like crazy. Let's just say after my Michael and Michael photos--there was zero question we were Americans.

I believe these guys were from Italy.

This guy was the most excited of anyone to be on the podium. I talked to his wife (well as best we could since we didn't speak the same language) and they were such nice people.

So after the museum, we decided to try our hand at paddle boating. It was a warm, sunny day, and we thought it looked fun. We were right again!

At first, we wanted to paddle to the sailboat. Honest to goodness...I took that picture and it was more beautiful in person than it even looks there!
However, we got scared. Not that we couldn't make it or that we'd drown. But when you get out there a ways the water starts getting pretty choppy. We had Sean's expensive camera with us. When we hit a wake the first thing we did was grab that camera and hold it up in the air as high as we could. We talked about it later and both said our biggest concern if we had tipped over wasn't our own safety, our money, our passports....but Sean's camera.

I also remember screaming at one point thinking this ship was going to hit us. It seriosuly started moving and we paddled and paddled and seemed not to be getting out of the way fast enough. Luckily, we surivived.

So...this blog wraps up our time in the Swiss countryside. I'd go back in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone who wants to travel. It was beautiful.

Stay tuned next week as we travel to Geneva to fly to Roma! (And have the scariest experience of my life after we land!)