My Olympic Athletes to Watch: Teams Edition!

A quick note, before we start - did anyone else love the bit in the Opening Ceremonies with Chariots of Fire? I personally adored it. I forgot how much I love Mr. Bean, and I was so pleased to see he got such a grand part in the evening. Also, did anyone else think the giant baby thing was odd, to say the least? Favorite line of the night, from Matt Lauer, "that giant baby head is either cute, or really creepy." I say the latter. But I loved the idea of the Queen jumping out of a plane with James Bond (she just sounds like such a funny and enjoyable woman, no?), and I appreciated their idea of the Games ushering in the next generation by using young athletes to light the torch. So endearing.

Okay, the Games are a good two days in, but I'm still making some calls on people I'm so excited about - Teams Edition! I'm just gonna say it, I don't usually love women's sports. And I can say that, because I'm a woman (double standard!). But the Olympics always changes that for me. Case in point: most of these picks of mine are women. Not all, but most. Maybe it appeals to the part of me that always wanted to be in the Olympics, so I relate to the women, because I could've been one of them. Scratch that, I still could be them. Archery team, 2016, here I come. That's a sport that I can grow old with. Or maybe fencing. I might still have a few years in me for that.

Anyway, here are my teams for 2012:

Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh-Jennings
Beach Volleyball

Misty May and Kerri Walsh are Olympic staples, it seems like. This is their 3rd Games, but I feel like they've been in every Olympics I can remember - their names are synonymous with Summer Games. And their Olympic resume is so impressive. Two Games, two gold medals, and they've never even lost a set. Then after Beijing, they started families and did other things, beyond the sand. Kerri decided she was ready to get started in the sport again, but Misty had said she was retired. So Kerri, after confirming that Misty was retired, called up a new partner. But Misty realized she wasn't ready to end it all yet, so she flew to meet Kerri in CA and they got back together - sounds like an intense relationship story, right? And in a sport where you have to have such good chemistry and be so in sync with each other, it should sound like that. They are just so good together. I love watching them. They haven't played with each other too much before these Games, so I think they're still working on their rhythm, but even so, in their first match-up, they won both sets, so I can only see them getting stronger. In 2004, they were the first American female duo to win gold in Beach Volleyball, and in 2008 they became the first duo ever to win back-to-back gold. So of course, if they win again, it will be unprecedented. I'm really hoping they do it. They're legends, as far as I'm concerned - and, I think, as far as a lot of beach volleyball players are concerned, as well.

Todd Rogers & Phil Daulhausser
Beach Volleyball

I guess I'm just thinking back to past Olympics, so my nostalgia is taking me to these partners I know. I didn't watch as much men's beach volleyball as I did women's - there's something about picturing myself out there that draws me to women's more...anyway. I do remember seeing Todd and Phil out there last Games, and seeing them win gold was so great. To be able to just dominate the beach last games was so cool. Admittedly, Todd and Phil's road to gold was quite a bit bumpier than Misty and Kerri's, but the drama is fun, too, right? Phil is a giant (literally - 6'7!) and a monster to play against, and he's considered to be one of the best (if not the best) in the game right now. I'm hoping they can repeat this year, though it will be a tough battle. But these guys have shown in previous matches and years, if there's any duo who knows how to come from behind, how to battle back, and how to play miraculously, it's these guys.

U.S. Women's Indoor Volleyball

So I just really love volleyball, if you haven't caught onto that yet. And I love women's volleyball, because I like to imagine myself playing with them (I'm of course also imagining my pretty decent volleyball skills being about 20 times better in this daydream, but whatever), and I also like the sweet volleys that go back and forth. The women are pretty hard-hitting, but I feel like the volleys are longer and more exciting with women, and you don't get as many hits going out - sometimes I feel like the guys are too strong for their own good, maybe? The women serves inbounds a little more often, et al. They're just so fun to watch. It's such purposeful chaos, with 6 people on a court, switching places, running back and forth, rushing to the ball, getting some distance from the ball - the players are all over the place, but they all know their purpose, when they should be hitting the ball and when they need to make space for someone else. If you need to work on your communication skills - get on a volleyball court. Those girls know how to communicate, so everyone's where they need to be at any moment. It's awesome. I wish I was amazing like them. And this year, the women's team is being coached by last Olympic's men's coach for the U.S. - the coach for the team that won gold (unexpectedly) last go-round. So we'll see if he can direct the women to gold this year. They're favorites to medal at least, but I hope they make it all the way to the top.

U.S. Women's Soccer

So our men's team didn't even make it to the Olympics, which was a little sad, but let's get real here - our hopes for Olympic gold in Soccer has always rested in the women's team anyway. They just barely missed out on it 4 years ago in Beijing, and that silver was great, but it wasn't gold. They've got their sights set on the highest podium this year, and by golly, they can get there. It's just a great team full of women with tremendous talent. I'm so impressed with soccer players - I just don't have the endurance for that sport. But our team is full of women who are so good at what they do, and who know that there just aren't enough fans for the sport in America yet. So not only are they great athletes, but they're also full of personality and acting as wonderful ambassadors of the sport for the U.S. I've watched a video or two of their exploits in the U.K., before the Games began, and they just seem like fun, funny women. I just like them a lot. And I'm excited to watch soccer. How many Americans have said that in their lives? Not nearly as many as should.

U.S. Women's Gymnastics

I feel kind of weird calling this women's gymnastics when it's made up of girls who are all still in their teens. But you mature quickly on such a big stage as the Olympics, and these girls compete and perform with the maturity of women, so they deserve the title. These girls are all so spry and bouncy, and they're just so cute and excited during interviews and on the sidelines, so they're just fun to watch. I personally get really anxious and nervous anytime any of them perform on the beam, or the uneven bars, or the vault...or any of the events, let's just be honest here. Gymnastics gets me the most nervous to watch. Everything they do, I'm on the edge of my seat, almost covering my eyes, but unable to blink in case I miss something. And then the camera shows the mothers sitting in the audience, doing the exact same thing, and I think, "my children will never be gymnasts." My nerves can't handle it. Call me selfish, but I don't want to go through that all the time. It's too much. But our team has handled the pressure so well. Let's hope they can keep it up through the Games. Personally, I love Gabby Douglas (#4 in the picture). She's just a ball of energy and just bounces and jumps so high. I also like her the most because she doesn't look like she's about to throw up every time she performs, like so many other gymnasts do. I prefer watching girls who don't look like they're full of fear for what they're doing. It puts me a little more at ease.

Oh there are others, of course. Men's basketball (I'm more just excited to see the scores and recaps...I haven't been able to get into basketball lately...), Men's volleyball, Men's rowing, etc., but these teams above are the ones I really know and love. Though of course, any jersey that reads USA gets my cheers and bitten nails. I love being patriotic, it's so fulfilling.

My Olympic Athletes to Watch: Swimming Edition

So it turns out this idea of looking at all these athletes was a little ambitious for me. I haven't had quite the same time this week to go through my athletes and give them all the love they deserve while also getting them posted for you quickly. So the love won out and I'm just barely getting to my second sport...sorry! But if I'm honest, Track and Swimming are what I get most excited about, so I wanted to really care about them. My next list or two will be spotlighting some athletes from random (according to me) sports and U.S. teams competing in team-centered sports that I'm excited about. And the Opening Ceremonies are Friday, so they might not make it out before the Games start. Regardless, I'm so excited and can't wait to get them going!

I don't have as many swimmers as I had runners, but fewer athletes make the swim team, so the ratio is probably comparable - and they all got so many more words! So it's fine. Anyway, here are the men and women I will be watching from the get-go:

Michael Phelps

Uh, duh, yeah he's going to be on here. The guy who set records last Olympics by winning gold in eight events - which, by the way, means he won every single event he swam - definitely deserves some spotlight action. He just dominates, plain and simple. He works hard, is naturally built to be amazing in this sport, and then he goes out and can somehow push himself even harder when the pressure is on. Last Olympics, it was so fun to watch him because he was chasing this unprecedented goal of winning 8 events (which had never been done), and he pulled it off with some of the most exciting races and thrilling finishes, which came down to the minutest of time measurements between him and second place. I find that I can get rather vocal when watching the tamest of sporting events anyway, so you bet I was yelling like crazy, as well as giggling a lot and maybe jumping up and down, during most of his races. So excited to repeat those emotions in the during the next few weeks. Also, Michael "don't call me Mike" Phelps (maybe he does go by Mike to his friends, I don't actually know) said this year is his last Olympics, so this may be the last year I get to go crazy over him. I plan to go out strong.

Ryan Lochte

Oh dear, this boy has perhaps stolen my swimming heart a little bit. Let's be honest, I kind of love him, and I kind of don't know who I'm going to cheer for when he and Phelps race each other. During the Olympic Trials, I had the hardest time knowing what to do with myself when they competed. First Phelps would be shown on screen and I'd get all giddy. And then the camera would pan over to Lochte, and I'd get even more giddy. But if Lochte was shown first, I'd get excited for him, and then even more excited for Phelps. I just didn't know what to do. I thought I was all Team Lochte at first - who doesn't like the underdog? But then I realized he wasn't really the underdog at all; in fact, in some races, Phelps was the underdog! But really, neither of them could be considered it, since they're both so freaking dominant. Lochte has been amazing the last year in particular (according to the commentators during the Trials) and he just looked great during the Olympic Trials (I say that both as a sports fan and as a girl - I mean really, look at that cute face!). He just seems like a fun guy, too, so as a person, I'm just a fan. Yadda yadda yadda, I really like him a lot, and I fear that I'm going to feel a lot of happiness/sympathy emotional cocktails during the races Lochte and Phelps compete in - I love them both, so I'll feel sad when one loses while feeling happy for the winner. Assuming one of them wins every race they swim...but I'm not planning on them losing to anyone else but each other. So don't prove me wrong, boys!

Missy Franklin

Soooooooo...Missy may be the female Michael Phelps of this year. She qualified for 7 events for these Games - her first Olympics - and just seemed to be breaking records all over the place. Whether it was same record that she just kept lowering or different records for different races, I can't really remember and I don't really feel like looking it up. She could've also just ben chasing the same record and just missing it, even. Shoot, I just know the commentators talked a lot during the Trials about her and records, and I can say she smashed an American record formerly owned by one Natalie Coughlin (who's still competing; more on her below), and that was a big deal! Here's the thing. I'm so impressed by Missy's athleticism and ability, but I also just really like the girl. She's just so excited just to be at the Games - she was freaking out about being in the trials, when she clearly deserved to be there. She's only 17 years old, but she's rather mature - while also allowing herself to remain a teenager. She's just kind of darling. I want to say it's about to the point where her excitement and innocence is annoying, but it isn't. I still really like her, and I'm still really rooting for her to sweep her races. And that kind of endearing power is a skill. So you go, Missy Franklin. Dominate the crap out of those Olympics! 

Eric Shanteau

Look at that face - how do you not root for this guy?! So clean and cute. And guess what? He competed at the Beijing Olympics when he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer the week before the trials! Sure he didn't place, but he swam at the Olympics with cancer! A-mahz-ing. I'm so impressed. So basically I really like him a lot. He's a fighter. He's in one individual race and one relay this year, and he's swimming much healthier this year, so I'm hoping this Games is a little better for him. 

Natalie Coughlin

Natalie is basically what Missy Franklin is attempting to be right now. She is the first U.S. female swimmer to win 6 medals in one games (which Missy will try to beat with her 7 events), and has owned some World and American records at various points in her swim career. Oh, and she competed on "Dancing with the Stars." You know, because she's cool like that. It's kind of interesting to watch her and Missy this year - I think there are always those pairs that are special to watch, as you see one young athlete start to fill the spotlight of an older athlete who has had their heyday and is now just securing their legacy. Natalie's legacy is already great, but one more medal will tie her with two other women as the most decorated U.S. female Olympian. So, that's pretty cool. Missy Franklin may be the new thing in women's swimming, but Natalie is a staple that I'm excited to watch.

Allison Schmitt

Allison Schmitt is one of Michael Phelps's best friends, so she will also be one of my besties. She sounds like she'd be a good one. So this is why Allison's cool: she's a really great athlete and is expected to be a contender in her races. She works hard and has been getting better and better since the last Olympics. But she's apparently also A LOT of fun. She's just always joking around and having a good time. Which I think is such a good balance to have. Athletes can get so into their training and into improving that I wonder how they don't get burned out all the time. Consider Phelps after Beijing - he pushed himself so hard that he just was done when it was over. One might argue this friendship between the two has helped him get in his former shape again, because she keeps the training fun and enjoyable for him. So I'm excited to watch her swim, but I'm also just excited to see if the cameras will catch and share any of her lighthearted fun beyond the races.

Jason Lezak

Okay, here's the thing. Jason Lezak is not swimming in any individual race this year. His only individual Olympic medal is a bronze from the last Olympics, which he tied for (turns out, that's possible). He's only swimming in the 4x100m freestyle relay this year. We won't know until the finals whether or not we'll be cheering him on specifically during that race or if he'll be sitting out. BUT I put him on here because of one race that ends all races: Beijing 2008, 4x100m freestyle relay, anchor leg, swimming against a Frenchman who held the world record for the 100m individual. Basically. the US went into this race as the underdogs, with the Frenchies talking all sorts of trash beforehand. It was going to take a miracle for the U.S. to win, really. When Lezak jumped into the pool for the last leg, we were a little behind France, and their world record holder was going strong. Lezak kept close, and in the second 50m, he just pulled out some magic. The Frenchman started to tighten up and Lezak just chased him down and right at the end, he out-touched a very shocked French team! Lezak swam the fastest relay leg in history for that race - and was just freaking amazing. Wow, words don't express it. The only thing that can really convey how amazing this race was would be watching the race itself. So I've provided it here. Apparently this version of it is the only one to be found online that shows the whole race, and if I'm honest, the excitable color-commentator Rowdy Gaines makes this race even more exciting, along with commentator Dan Hicks, so listening to them can make up for the poor visual, hopefully. My shouts and screams matched theirs during this race 4 years ago, and my smile got just as big as I watched it again earlier today...Jason Lezak, you are amazing:

My Olympic Athletes to Watch: Track & Field Edition

Okay team, let's hop, skip, and jump right in. Starting with my sport - Track & Field - lemme break down some of the athletes that have caught my eye, whether it was during the trials, or just while I was browsing the list of athletes making their way to London. I'll note right now that I legitimately liked most of these people - particularly the women - as I watched them in the US Olympic Trials, so this isn't all just willy-nilly "super cute picture!" kind of choosing here. That only played a minor role...

So without further ado - these are your athletes!

THE GUYS:

Spotlight: Kerron Clement - men's 400m hurdles

My coworker asked me who was my top Olympic athlete I wanted to hit on, and after a quick second, I responded with Kerron Clement. Clement is kind of my favorite crush of the 2012 Olympic Games - he's at least my Track & Field crush this year. One, because I like to like the guy that not everyone else is liking, you know? And two, because, shoot - look at that face. He's just super cute and looks like a total sweetheart. And three, because he runs the 400m hurdles. Having run the 300m hurdles in high school, I am more than just impressed by Clement's general athleticism, like people who never ran track are generally impressed by people of great strength and speed. The 300m hurdles were hard enough, I thought (I had a love/hate relationship with them - more hate than love); this guy runs an extra 100m, which means an extra hurdle or two, and he runs it faster than I ever ran my shorter race (obviously - Olympian!), and he just makes it look so freaking easy. I'm swooning right now. Literally drooling of admiration. he's just so cute! I can even get past the earrings - which is a big deal for me. He's darling. I love him.

Ashton Eaton - men's Decathlon


Oh man, this guy is so impressive to me. He's a decathlete - let me just tell you what that means - that means he does 10 events at each meet. TEN! Really well! Most runners focus on 2 or 3 events max. He does 10! The decathlon is comprised of: the 100m; long jump; shot put; high jump; 400m; 110m hurdles; discus throw; pole vault; javelin throw; 1500m. Now he doesn't compare to athletes who specialize in each of these individual events, but he's pretty close to them. Eaton set a new world record in the Olympic trials, and I think he could probably surpass it at the Games. Boy just keeps getting better! I'm just so impressed. Talk about a well-rounded athlete.

Tyson Gay - men's 100m; 4x100m relay

Tyson Gay is probably our best bet to beat Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake in the 100m. Can I be honest here? That's a really tough matchup. I mean, I'm kind of hoping Blake beats Bolt, but that's kind of the upset I'm anticipating. Now, the upset I'm hoping for? Tyson Gay, first place in men's 100m, for sure. And really, I think he could do it - if he runs his absolute best race ever. Which, despite hip surgery only a year ago, he seems in good condition to deliver on, so I will feed my hopes for him to succeed! Because he's a fighter, so I like him. However, the relay is another story. For that race, I'm just hoping we don't disqualify ourselves mid-race, like we seem to do so often...

LaShawn Merritt - men's 400m; 4x400m relay

Oh LaShawn. Served a 21-month doping ban. He blames the results on an over-the-counter drug that, um, guys take sometimes for, um, non-sport related performance...ahem...and that he didn't read the fine print on. I'll allow that excuse, because I want to cheer for him, and I don't like cheering for dopers. Plus, he's just so freaking fast, and I like to think he's naturally gifted, and that he works hard to improve upon his talents. Super plus, his apology statement seemed meek enough for me. So I'm allowing it, get over it. I'll also allow him to dominate the 400m again, and to basically win the 4x400 relay single-handedly like he did at the World Championships earlier this year.

Galen Rupp - men's 5,000m; 10,000m

Rupp will be running the men's 5,000m and 10,000m. He's looking particularly impressive in the 10,000m though, breaking the American record last year, and winning the last 3 US titles in that distance.

I don't know how Americans can compete in this long distances against the runners from some of the African nations like Kenya and Ethiopa, but between him and the very seasoned Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong, I'm hopeful about our chances of doing well.

Nick Symmonds - men's 800m

Symmonds is running the men's 800m. He's won 4 consecutive US titles in this race, I believe, which isn't too shabby, no? He's a bit of a shorty at 5'10 (short for his race of choice), but a cutie still. My favorite little trivia about him? He auctioned off some real estate on his left shoulder for advertising - and it sold for about $11,000! Don't worry, it was a temporary tattoo. He's so edgy. He's so cute. So obviously I'm pulling for him to do well.

Reese Hoffa - men's shot put

I realize I'm kind of only focusing on runners (other than the decathlete is a star of both track AND field events), so Reese Hoffa is my token field guy. And why shouldn't he be spotlighted? Look at that face! Such happiness. He works hard at his event, and he's just kind of a character. Hoffa hasn't quite shown up at the Olympics, as far as performance goes, but he's constantly in the top rankings each year, and he does really well in other meets, so I'm hoping this is his year to really stand out as an Olympian. Plus he can solve a rubik's cube in under a minute! And that fact was important enough to him that he put it as one of his 3 "get to know Reese Hoffa" bullet points. Sounds like a goofy guy I can cheer for!


THE LADIES:

Spotlight: Alysia Montano - women's 800m

I really like this girl. She's a great 800m runner. She had the year's fastest race time at one point this year, so she's in good standing to do well, if not win gold, at this Olympics. She's funny (I may have come across her twitter feed somewhere the other day, and she certainly made me laugh). And she wears a giant flower when she runs. In every race. Of every meet. Since she was little. And it's not just because she wants to be all girly or unique or whatever. Those may play a part, but she's given it depth - the flower has meaning to her. According to her bio on NBCOlympics.com, "she started wearing the flower in her hair to drive home the point that the boys [she ran against in her neighborhood] were losing races to a girl." Girl's got sass, spunk, and spirit. She also notes the flower represents femininity and strength, so yeah. She's deep. And fast. And I hope she wins!

Allyson Felix - women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay

Okay these next three - Felix, Jeter, and Richards-Ross - I kind of clump all together in my thoughts, because they're all connected by the 200m, which they're all running. This is how I see it: the 200m feels like Felix's race to me, so if they were each going to win one race, I'd say she gets the 200m. Jeter gets the 100m, and Richards-Ross gets the 400m. But who knows? I sure don't. I do know that I like Allyson Felix whenever I hear her talk, and she just runs so smooth, like butter. It looks so relaxed and confident, it's really hard for me not to want her to win everything. Plus, she had the strongest race in the 200m at the Trials, so I see it as hers to take.

Carmelita Jeter - women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Jeter is my choice for the 100m. Which will be a hard race, as will the 200m, not only because we've got a strong US trifecta competing in that event, but also because Jamaica's best 100m runner is probably the favorite going in to the Games. But I think Jeter can take her - she did win gold at the 2011 World Championships, after all, so she's got the power and speed and ability to take gold at the Olympics, too. 

Sanya Richards-Ross - women's 200m, 400m, 4x400 relay

Yeah, I have a soft spot in my heart for 400m runners. It's a tough race, but it was always one of my favorites. Wait, that's a bit of a lie; I never ran the individual. But the 4x400 - I loved that relay. Don't ask me why, but I loved it. Maybe because I was good at it, so I felt such accomplishment there. And no one else liked it, so it made me unique. Okay, this is too much soul-searching. Back to Sanya. If anyone's going to take the 200m gold from Felix, I want it to be SR-R - as long as she also wins the 400m. If she wins gold in both, I believe she'll be the first woman ever to accomplish that. In fact, I think Michael Johnson's still the only person to have ever done that. So...that's a pretty big deal. Here's hoping she has better luck in this huge stage than she's had in her history of large races before.

Dawn Harper - women's 110m hurdles

First, I love Dawn Harper's name. I like to say it with a Boston accent - Go Dawn Hoppa! Yes, I know she's from Illinois, not Massachusetts. There's just something about that last name, Harper, that always makes me go all Boston on its pronunciation. Second, Dawn was the gold medalist and Beijing, and she's still great. Lolo Jones also runs the 110m hurdles, and she gets more of the fanfare maybe, but she's a wild card - who knows how she'll do in any given race. Hoppa is tough and consistent, and I like her chances best, out of our female 110m hurdlers.

Lashinda Demus - women's 400m hurdles

And then there's our 400m hurdles. You already know how I feel about this race. And I just learned that no American woman has ever won the 400m hurdles at an Olympics. What?! Please let this be the year! I think Demus still holds the American record in this race, which she set last year, and she just seems to be getting better and better. I think she at least places - though if I'm going to hold out extra hope for a win by anyone on this list, it's her. I mean c'mon, she's a mother of twin boys, and she's running record times?! I'm so impressed by her athleticism and determination. Team Lashinda Demus all the way. (Plus, her last name always makes me want to yell "San Demus high school football rules!!!" So...she's go that going for her.)


So those are my athletes to watch in Track & Field this year. Yes, I do realize I looked mainly at sprinters, ignoring both the field and distance events generally. I just focus on what I know. And I know that I love high jump and triple jump and long jump, but the broadcasts just don't focus on those events enough to really be able to follow a specific athlete. Unless someone turns into the modern day Carl Lewis, those events aren't going to get much play. So I will follow those athletes still, but you might actually hear about these athletes more. I also know that I just don't love distance events in track - those races are the times when the field events actually get attention, so...there's that. We've got some interesting distance runners to watch too, though, on our team, so I'll be cheering hard-core for them, as well.

Stay tuned, swimming is up next!


*Source: All pictures came from NBCOlympics.com. I also used the athletes' bios on NBCOlympics.ofor some quick fact-checking.

Olympic Athletes to Watch-list, Opening Ceremonies (aka I'm so excited!!!!!)

Team, it's time.

This is your time. Your year. Your day.

Your Olympics.

It's time for you to bring your A-game. Time for you to tap into your reserve power. Time for you to work some magic.

Time to reach a little higher, run a little faster, aim a little sharper, fight a little harder, throw a little further.

It's time to push yourself beyond what you thought you can do. To become more than who you thought you were.

You've been training the last 4 years for this. You've been waiting for this opportunity to prove yourself. To show the world what you're made of. To show everyone what you can do. To earn the title of 'The World's Greatest."

It's your time.

Time for the Olympic Games!

Dun Dun Dun!

The Summer Olympics: London 2012 start next weekend - July 27th - and regardless of whether London's actually ready or not, I'm so ready it's insane.

I can't wait. I love the Olympics. Particularly the Summer Olympics. Whenever I daydreamed about being in the Olympics, it was always the Summer Olympics - likely in Track & Field (it's what I knew best). So they're kind of my favorite.

And, on this week before my favorite time of every 4 years, I'm fulfilling a promise I made to my sister that I would highlight a few of the athletes I liked so she knew for whom she should be rooting.

I'll admit, my initial thought was to evaluate athletes from all the sports and choose at least one male and one female to watch in each one. Mostly US athletes, of course, but I also wanted to throw in some international flair and mention other stars.

Then I got realistic and realized that I would never be successful at that goal - I'd just get too overwhelmed and tired of it by the end. And I don't want to drain myself of all my Olympic spirit before the Games even start!

So I'm just going to mention some athletes I like, some sports I really love, and give you more of a starter roster of people you can root for, if you'd like some direction.

Full disclosure: some of these {male} athletes I'm admittedly choosing just because I kind of have a crush on them. So sure, I'm going by looks, sue me (please don't really) - the fact is, I'm already astounded by their pure athletic talent, and I don't know all of their personalities, so I'm creating some sort of connection to them with all I've got - looks. And I know that. I'm shallow. Let's move on.

And as it turns out, this introduction is a little longer than I initially planned (I know, I'm wordy!), so I'm calling this my opening ceremonies. Now that you know my plan, I'll be following up with a few blog posts in this lead-up week to the actual Games, noting the athletes I've just decided I really like, as well as some of the sports I'll be following more closely.

So stay tuned! Your not-so-very-comprehensive guide to the Games as watched by Me is coming your way! Get excited!

Rollercoaster Rides+Thunderstorms = No Rollercoaster Rides

Escaping as quickly as they can from a getaway weekend gone bad.

I stumbled upon this little gem tonight, which probably explains my weekend pretty well.

Though, I should say right away - I really enjoyed my weekend. Just not in the way I anticipated enjoying it.

Sunday was my friend Lance's birthday. We have this group of 4 - 2 guys, 2 girls - we call 'the Family.' We're always scheduling Family dinners, and Family get-togethers. We used to gather as a Family to watch the hot new drama, Revenge. It was our thing.

Revenge is off for the Summer, but we still like to get together as a family when we can.

So for Lance's birthday, he really wanted the Family to go to Busch Gardens, the World's most beautiful park (their words, not mine; insert on-going weekend joke here). It's about 3 hours away (4 with traffic...which we definitely hit), so I suggested we leave Friday night, to avoid me getting motion sick before I even got on any rides. Lance works for a hotel, so we got a sweet deal on the hotel, and so it seemed like a no-brainer to do this.

Get there Friday night, enjoy a restful night, start at the park early and go ALL. DAY. LONG. Go home somewhat late-ish, but not too late Saturday night. We do have 8am church to get to Sunday, after all.

After an eventful drive down to Williamsburg, VA (where the world's most beautiful park is located), which involved a stop at Chic-fil-a on a day when they were offering free meals to people dressed up like cows - a lot of people in Fredricksburg, VA, got free entrees, I can tell you that - and a stop at a rest stop with a sweet LOVE sculpture that we of course posed around for a picture (picture will have to come later), we finally made it to our hotel and planned to promptly fall asleep.

That plan worked pretty well for 2 people in the group. I was not one of them. I forget that I don't really sleep well in new places right away, and that Chic-fil-a was not sitting the best with me anyway, so I woke up every 2 hours or so...which isn't all that restful, turns out. The other guy in our group also didn't sleep well - he had to deal with a cover stealer in his bed, which is never fun. The other 2 slept beautifully though, so at least someone got to enjoy my fabulous idea of getting there the night before.

Long story short - which means I just talked too much about the parts of the trip that were the least meaningful, and now I'm going to skimp on the actual substance of the weekend...oops! - Saturday morning came and I was tired, my friend Eric was tired and crabby, and when we got to the park, we found out the rides were all stopped because of lightning in the area! We knew there was a chance of storms in the afternoon, but apparently the storms were not content to wait around for us to enjoy a morning of rides. They had to come early! It was still sunny, but we could hear thunder, so it seemed like they were getting close.

We walked around for a few minutes before Eric and I, the 2 sleepy ones, convinced the other 2 that we should leave and hit up the outlet mall nearby while we wait and see if the storms would just roll past quickly. We could come back in the afternoon if that was the case, and we wouldn't be sitting around doing nothing all morning.

As we got back to the parking lot, giant raindrops started falling from the sky, fast and furious. The sunny sky was gone in 60 seconds (yeah that's right, to car-action movies referenced in a row! Boom!), and it was suddenly pouring bathtub-sized raindrops down on us. It was amazing. I thought I was going to drown in each raindrop that hit me. I dove into Lance's car after running through the rain, which felt both terrifying and exhilarating. I felt like a child.

Anyway, we enjoyed the outlets for the rest of the morning (yay for good sales!), thought at one point that it was going to clear up enough for the rides to start up again, then changed our minds when it started pouring again.

We went to lunch at a place called the Cheese shop, a cute little pretentious shop that wine connoisseurs and elitist William & Mary law students probably frequent often, and we almost got struck by lightning as we ran through the parking lot to the shop (hyperbole here, of course - but the thunder clap that hit as we ran was eerily close and uber-loud).

We topped lunch off with a delicious rolo mcflurry at McDonalds - I may be addicted to those, as I've had about 4 of them in the last month...yikes - as we tried to waste some more time before the 3 of us convinced Lance that his wonderful optimism about that dime-sized spot of blue sky in the distance was not likely to be enough to get the rides at the world's most beautiful park to start up again. I was tired, Eric was cranky, and Kaitlyn had a sore throat - none of us were going to last much longer, and no one wanted to stay in that town sitting around until 9pm on the off-chance we could ride one ride and then get home at 1am...maybe we're getting old, but we just didn't have the endurance for it.

We finally convinced Lance that it was probably a better idea to go home then - and it turns out, it was a good idea. Even at 4pm, we hit a good amount of traffic going home. And about 90 minutes into the drive, Lance acknowledged we were probably right about it not clearing up enough for the rides to start soon - since we were currently experiencing heavy rains with a flash flood warning in a neighboring town. We were glad he could finally come to grips with it.

Don't worry everyone, we made it home safely! And happily - I think some of my favorite road trips of late have been in Lance's car. Kid knows how to keep the jams flowing and the dance party rocking. (*don't worry Chris and Ben, I said most, not all, because your road trips were stellar!!). But I walked into my house and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep not terribly long after.

At any rate, it wasn't the weekend trip we planned, but I still had so much fun with the Family. I love a good family bonding, and this was great. We celebrated Lance's birthday with some other friends Sunday night, but the 4 of us were feeling exceptionally close, and I loved that feeling.

But that picture above (courtesy of Story People - I love them so much!) sure felt like Saturday around 3:30pm, I tell you what.

And that was my weekend vacation that didn't turn out quite as planned. Good thing I don't often make a plan for myself with vacations - it's easier to adapt when the plan doesn't go as, um, planned. 3 cheers for laziness!

Some Words

Some words are just hard to say and read sometimes.

For example: my whole life, I've struggled with saying "comfortable." I never liked saying the word in all of its syllables - com-for-ta-ble - it always sounded funny to me. Probably because I always said it like, com-ver-ti-ble. And I don't think comfortable should sound so much like convertible, with an 'm.'

But I know it shouldn't sound like this - "comf-ter-ble." I know that's not right. But that was how I always said it growing up/how I still say it. Even though I know it's wrong. I just don't have time to add in that missing syllable.

My life is so hard sometimes.

Recently, there's been a different word that's been perplexing me and taking over my thoughts when I don't have to be thinking about anything in particular. And it bothers me mainly because I can't ever read it correctly, so that my brain speaks it right.

I can say it just fine. I just can't connect the right saying to the reading of it.

That word that's destroying my mind so unnecessarily is:

Ethereal.

I know it's spoken as e-THEER-ee-uhl, or however you want to break that down in writing.

But every time I read it, I immediately read e-ther-REAL. Total emphasis on the very end. Gross.

It's a very ugly word, e-ther-REAL. I don't like it. I hate seeing it, because I always initially think, "that's such a stupid sounding word." And then, a split second later, I realize that it's e-theer-ee-uhl, and I'm, once again, an idiot for reading it wrong.

It's mucho embarrassing. My brain is seriously embarrassed.

The last few weeks, I've even focused on that word obsessively, trying to accidentally "run into it" in writing, so my brain can get used to it.

Hasn't worked so far.

So I'm hoping writing about it will break the wall built in my mind around this word. Perhaps now I can conquer this ridiculously strong literary foe.

Maybe one day I can finally get com-for-ta-ble with this blasted word.

This is Our Independence Day!

I'm such a fan of the 4th of July. What a great holiday Independence Day is!

This year, I started celebrating on Independence Eve, with a 3-hour workday (which I could very easily get on board with everyday), followed by a relaxing and serene rafting ride down the Potomac River - the area we went to was picturesque.

Also picturesque was my side-dive into the river, courtesy of a friend of mine who had jumped out of the water and then surprised me by pulling me out with him awhile later. It wasn't quite how I had planned to get into the river, but it was effective, I suppose. I like to think it was a nice barrel roll. But I don't have many witnesses - most everyone else I was with had already jumped out and were swimming in front of our raft. All they noticed was my very loud, girlish scream of shock. 

I also fell flat on my bum trying to walk over some rocks in the water, but let's be honest, that was expected. I'm surprised I didn't fall more, actually. 

It was seriously gorgeous on the Potomac this afternoon/evening while we were out there. So quiet and calm, so striking in the peace the area commanded. There were a few different moments when we were all silent as a group, and the gentle serenity of our surroundings covered me like a warm blanket. It was so enervating to my heart and rejuvenating for my soul.

After the river, some of our group raced home, threw on some clothes, and tried to get to the Capitol for the Capitol concert rehearsal of the concert that will happen tomorrow. We got there late, and as we stopped for a very quick bite to eat, the sky started raining fat drops of water, so the concert was brought to a halt and we slowed our eating down to reflect the lack of rush we had now. 

Since we were in DC, I suggested we do something there before returning home again, so we went over to the Jefferson Memorial, which is beautiful at night. We caught some fireworks far across the Tidal Basin, and just enjoyed the beautiful evening we had.

Then we went to a friend's house, where a group was watching my personal favorite, Independence Day. I was extremely excited to watch this, because it's become my tradition to watch the speech the President of the USA makes just before the final battle. I love it so much, I can barely handle it. 

We will not go quietly into the night! We will not go down without a fight!

Love it so much.

As it happened, that part of the movie occurred as midnight had come and gone, bringing us our actual 4th of July. Fate, it would seem, gave us the best start to our Independence Day. I'm feeling so patriotic right now, it's not even finny.

I'm also feeling rather exhausted. It's a good 90 minutes into the 4th, and I need to go to bed so I don't waste my whole holiday sleeping...

We're starting the day early-ish anyway, with a pancake breakfast at a friend's, and then the rest of the day is unscripted. What I do know is that I will go to a bbq, because that's what Americans do on the 4th of July, and then I will watch some fireworks somewhere. Maybe at the Jefferson Memorial. Maybe near the Capitol. Somewhere amazing. We'll find out where that is when it comes, I suppose.

And so I'll leave you with my best wishes for the happiest of Independence Days to you. I hope your day is just wonderful and awe-inspiring. I hope you feel a love for your country, like I've felt these last few days particularly. I hope you get to enjoy a good burger right off the grill. I hope you can spend time in the beautiful land we have. I hope you have beautiful fireworks, who's power and blast shake your body and soul with pride and happiness. 

This is your Independence Day, friends! Happy 4th!