An Olympic Kiss

The clip of Marianne St. Gelais, 2-time Olympic silver medalist, cheering for her boyfriend, Charles Hamelin, on his way to winning the first of his 2 Olympic gold medals, is remarkable for her enthusiasm and has been replayed a gajillion times by CTV. The best part though, is in the final third, where they run towards each other in a passionate kiss. Hollywood can't script something this good.

That's Right

We own this game!

Congratulations to our men who closed the deal today after a nail-biter of a gold medal match against Team USA that went into sudden death overtime. Let's do this again (except without the sudden death part) in 4 years, OK?


With this victory, Canada became the "winning-est" country when it comes to gold medal finishes, as well as most golds won by a host country ever at the winter games.


Way to go, Team Canada! The True North Strong and Free!

A Golden Baker's Dozen

Well, it was an awesome day for Canada today with the men stepping up their game in a BIG way.

It started with the Men's Team Pursuit in long track speed skating taking gold, followed 5 minutes later by Jasey Jay Anderson in the parallel giant slalom. Our Canada 1 4-men bobsleigh team was denied a silver by one-one-hundredth of a second and missed the top spot by 0.39 seoncds. And then our curlers' kill it with a decisive 6-3 victory win over Norway to make it 3 gold medals.

That's a record for gold medals won by a host country and with the guaranteed medal for Men's Hockey tomorrow, colour TBD, our final medal count is 26, surpassing our all-time best of 24 from Turin 4 years ago.

That's pretty fantastic!

▌♥ ▌ GOLD CANADA GOLD ▌♥ ▌

▌♥ ▌ GO CANADA GO ▌♥ ▌

I haven't blogged at all about the Olympics since they started and there are several reasons for that. Work's been crazy busy as I get ready to square things off before I leave for a week's vacation in Vancouver this Tuesday to visit my sister and Piglet. Because of that, I've been working the nights and through the weekend when I'm not watching the Olympics and training. And then there's the challenge of articulating this unfamiliar patriotic pride and enthusiasm that really only comes around every two years when the Olympics are on.

We Canadians aren't typically rah-rah like our neighbours to the south so it's pretty damn awesome to see the outpourings of Canadian pride. And to have the games in Vancouver? Wow. That just magnifies the awesomeness. (See? Not very articulate.) I love the sea of red and white in all the crowds - HBC really hit the jackpot with their Olympic clothing line. And to see the Maple Leaf raised and to hear an entire arena sing O Canada? It brings sappy, happy tears to my eyes and gives me the chills. Chills, I say.

We're sitting at 21 medals right now - 10 of them gold which is a record! Two more are assured with our men's hockey and curling teams battling for gold. The climax of course comes Sunday though with the men's gold medal hockey game. It's a re-match of the border war that was fought last Sunday in which Team USA came out on top.

Now, I'm the farthest thing from a hockey fan. I only care about the sport for 2 weeks every 4 years. Our ladies kicked ass last night and now it's time for the guys to close the deal. Make it happen guys!

▌♥ ▌ GOLD CANADA GOLD ▌♥ ▌

Stuck inside...

Literally!

There are wicked drafts coming through my door and I finally got around to putting up some foam tape to stop i this afternoon. Only problem is, it's too thick or something and my door's now stuck.

I stupidly tried closing the door from the outside and when I couldn't open it again, I was in a panic for the minute or so it took me to force the door back open. And then I thought, well, maybe the foam just needs to flatten out or something. So I closed it again, this time with me inside my place. And still the same problem, I can't open it. The latch appears to be stuck and I can't turn the damn thing. So what to do??

I'm going to try again in a few minutes and as soon as I'm able to open the door, the foam tape's coming down. I'll have to try again with something thinner.

Grrrr!!!

First Julia, now Isa

So, I went and bought another Mackage coat Tuesday after lurking on their website for the last 3 months. At the same time I had my eye on Julia, I was considering Isa and decided to pull the trigger after finally getting fed up with how my current 3/4 length wool coat gets all pill-y and lint-y. Considering that I got it in Hong Kong 5 years ago during a particularly cold Christmas there, I consider the value fully amortized.

So, back to Isa, I ordered it Tuesday during my lunch hour and it arrived today by FedEx in a large flat box, so large that I couldn't comfortably carry it home. So I wore it instead. :)

I Believe

I am so excited for the Winter Olympics! I tried getting tickets to no avail so for the next couple weeks, while the Olympics are on, I'll be parked in front of my TV watching the games when I'm not at work and training.

The momentum, excitement and coverage of the games has been building. I'm the first to admit I'm a total sap and while I'm not usually overtly patriotic - as most Canadians aren't - hearing O Canada and seeing the flag raised during gold medal ceremonies brings happy tears to my eyes. Seriously. Even cheesy commercials like this one featuring the venerable Donald Sutherland currently airing on CTV, the national network with the Canadian rights to the Olympics, give me the warm fuzzies:



And this video of the 2010 Winter Olympics CTV theme song totally gets me going:



Cheesy, right?

My friend wL will be running in the torch relay 6:45 AM local through Stanley Park. I've booked myself in a meeting just so I can follow along and watch online. Then come the evening, I've invited some friends over for dinner and to watch the opening ceremonies. Can NOT wait! I'll be the proud Canadian on the couch wearing my Roots Canada hoody...and maybe even my 2010 mitts from Aritzia. :)

Heading West

I'm heading west for a visit with my sister and Piglet in early March and in anticipation of that visit, I was browsing Etsy for some gifts when I came across seller Camie Turner's store, Growth Charts Galore, so after corresponding on her shipping policies to Canada, I promptly ordered this adorable chart for my Piglet, who at 26 months is now more than 1/2 my sister's height, she's growing so fast!

Sick Day

I saw my doctor in the 'burbs this morning for my annual check-up and was fine when I left, but by the time I arrived back home downtown and was getting ready for work I was COLD. I mean, so cold that even with the heat on, fleece and a down vest I could not shake the chills. So I called in sick and spent the afternoon in bed. I'm feeling much better now, though I'm still very tired. But at least I'm not cold anymore.

Home Sweet Home

I fell for Seb Lester's Home Sweet Home as soon as I saw it. I mean, how could I not? First of all, it's gorgeous typographic art and second, it's got chamelon-esque stunning colours.

The limited edition run of 100 was screen printed by hand on Mirri paper which changes colour depending on what angle you're viewing it from, and makes me a bit nostalgic for my sticker-collecting days, when Sandylion hologram stickers were as prized as the fuzzy ones.

There was no sense of urgency when the print was introduced but then I was lured onto Keep Calm Gallery's site by an email today, and the fact that there were only 14 left spurred me into action. I had to put my order in before it was too late. So I sucked it up and placed the order for what will be the most I've spent on a work of art yet....which, considering the vast world of art out there, is relatively affordable. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you value, right? And I do so love this print and can't wait for it to arrive.

A Beach Affair

My sister is planning a wedding this fall at an as yet undecided destination that will surely have a sandy beach. She sent me a few dress options which got me thinking about suitable gowns for a beach wedding. Simple, more informal gowns made of soft and flow-y materials immediately spring to mind so a quick browse at David's Bridal and J.Crew online yielded these candidates:

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

My favourite of the bunch has gotta be #7. Incidentally, first 6 dresses from David's range in price from $119 to $399. I didn't know it was possible to get a bridal gown for that little. Perhaps I've watched too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, where bridzillas can spend tens of thousands of dollars on a gown they'll wear just once. I'm glad to see that there are gorgeous, affordable options out there although one would have to take a chance shopping online.

My plans to fly out to Vancouver in March for a visit with my Piglet now includes dress shopping with my sister! I'm so looking forward to the the trip, never mind the shopping for my own MOH dress. :)