Ohhhh Canada.

The Olympics are supposed to be filled with stories of people who have overcome huge obstacles to compete in the games.

Think Joannie Rochette. The Canadian figure skater who's mother unexpectedly died two days before she was supposed to compete. Rochette not only decided to compete through her pain, she managed to give two stirringly emotional performances. She even won a bronze medal.

Think Hannah Kearney the American mogul skier who despite being an early favorite in 2006, stumbled in her first round run down the mountain and didn't qualify to compete for a medal. Last Saturday, she not only qualified, she won gold.

Think J.R. Celski, the short track speed skater who in the September US short track qualifiers, fell in the 500m race and sliced his leg open with his own skate blade, missing his femoral artery by mere centimeters, and coming dangerously close to bleeding out on the ice. As he was rushed into the ambulance he said to his mom, "It's all over." The "it" wasn't his life, it was his skating career. But "It" wasn't. Just over 150 days later, he would win an Olympic bronze medal in the 1500m race.

For each of these athletes, it was never about the medal. It was about the journey to get there. Rochette did it for her mom, Kearney wanted redemption and maybe a chance to be worthy of a video montage, Celski was just happy to be alive.

There should have been another story to add to these Vancouver games. That story belongs to Brian McKeever. With his entry in the 50k cross-country race, the Canadian would have become the first athlete ever to compete in both the Paralympics and the Olympics. Thanks to genetic macular degeneration McKeever is legally blind (not blond heh heh) in both eyes, today retaining only 10% of his vision, and only in the periphery.

But despite all that, he still made the Canadian Olympic team, garnering crazy media attention and even his own Visa commercial. Unfortunately, early yesterday when Canada's head coach choose the four skiers to fill the four spots Canada had available in the 50k race, he didn't choose McKeever.

McKeever later twittered "Olympic dream over. Don't think I've ever been so sad."

The sad thing is that there are probably 100s more Brian McKeever's out there that we don't know about. Hundreds more athletes that were passed over for their "better and more qualified" peers, hundreds more broken hearts. It's the way the world works and while it may not seem fair, in a weirdly twisted way, it is. How would you feel if you were Brian McKeever's faster teammate, someone who had already proven himself against the world stage by finishing in the top ten or twelve in another Olympic race, and you were passed over for the sole purpose of letting a guy, who in all probability had no chance of winning, race instead. Sure, he would make history, but so could you. Its the ultimate awful decision for any coach to make.

So I guess, that while I'm sad that Canada passed on McKeever in today's race, I can understand why they did. And so does he. While he said that he was bummed (my words not his) he also said that he understood that he was part of the best team Canada has had in a while, and while he wasn't happy about the decision, he respected it.

Canada had a really hard decision to make, and while they may or may not have made the right one, they did what they though was right.

Houston. We Have Mittens!

That's right. Mittens! I've finally conquered my arch nemesis... the thumb. Aren't they super cute? I'm going to make a hat to match next.

Next stop... Socks!

Life is Better with Purple Zebra Shorts

I found these shorts at the J.Crew outlet on Saturday. I think they may be the cutest shorts I've ever seen, rivaled only by the grey ones with pink whales I got last year. It pretty much made my night when mom convinced me to purchase them!

They also helped to make the almost 8 hours of driving and 6 additional hours of car riding I did over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday seem a little more worth it... not that David's recital thinger, seeing Jenny and her fam, and then spending some quality brother/sister time with Mitchell (and Thai food) weren't fulfilling enough :)

I can't wait for spring!

I Ask Myself This Every Day

I still don't know the answer...

Happy 100,000 Miles!

The Buick turned 100,000 miles old on Tuesday, missing Grandmommy's birthday by two days. That car (it was originally hers) reflects her personality to a tee. It's a beast and full of tenacity... it's the only car we own that never had issues going up the driveway when we had all that snow.

Amazing Image of the Day

A man was shoveling snow off the roof of the bank and into the dump truck waiting below. Then they carted it off and dumped it in the (already very polluted) creek. Nice!

The Beauty of Snow and Fog

Today on my way to dance I was struck by how beautiful the world around me was.

We got a fresh coat of snow (about an inch) this afternoon, which stuck to the snow still on the ground, but thankfully not the roads, giving the landscape a "white canvas" sort of feel. Adding to this was a patchy layer of fog, slightly off the ground, thinner in some places, denser in others.

It was about 6:15 in the afternoon and the sun was setting in the west, filling the partly cloudy sky with pinks, reds, and golds.

But the sky wasn't the only thing turning colors.

The blank canvas of snow and fog soaked up the sunset's hues, tinging the world around me with a thousand shades of pink. It was a truly beautiful scene.

Sarah's Key

Recently, what with all the snow and ice and limited travel opportunities, I've taken to brushing up my reading skills.

My first foray back into the world of reading was Sarah's Key.

Sarah's Key

by Tatiana de Rosnay

I've been wanting to read Sarah's Key for just about forever. I couldn't for a while because I didn't have it, but thanks to my amazing cousins (and Christmas) after December 27th, my only excuse was a lack of time and motivation. But then the epic snowstorms of the south hit and what with 4 snowstorms in two weeks, my car pretty much remained parked in my driveway and my bottom rotated between the kitchen, couch, and (fortunately for my figure) the treadmill.

All excuses gone, I finally picked up Sarah's Key... and read it in about 12 hours. It was amazing!

When I first saw Sarah's Key in the bookstore back in August, I was pretty intrigued by the premise. How could the story of an American in Paris in 2002 possibly intertwine with that of a Jewish Parisian caught up in the horrible events of 1942? And then there was the genre... I've been a historical fiction junkie since I was a little girl (thanks in part to my obsession with American Girls and Little House on the Prairie). Books themed around the holocaust are no exception, although since watching "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" I've been somewhat less enthusiastic about that era in history... it still gives me bad dreams if I think about it before I go to bed.

Sarah's Key is a whirlwind of events from the present and the past. It follows a young girl who is betrayed by her country and sent to an earthly version of hell, first in the form of a stadium and then in the form of a camp. At the same time, it also follows one woman as she struggles to discover the story of this girl from the past, a girl that is inexplicably linked to her through the actions of her in-laws.

In Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay manages to create a story that is gripping, terrifying, exciting, and poignant, but most importantly she creates a story that is unforgettable.

Can't get enough?

Check out these other books also themed around the holocaust...

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy - a book that weaves a traditional fairy tale with the story of two Jewish children who are trying to survive in German occupied Poland. One of the most haunting and amazing books I've ever read.

Joop by Richard Lourie - a story about the betrayal of Anne Frank (originally published in Hardcover under the title A Hatred for Tulips). This book lets you see the other side of the story, from the perspective of the betrayers of the Holocaust.

Knitting Up a Storm

I'm working on my new collection of hats and mittens for Grandma's next year. Thanks to the snow, I've had a lot a lot of extra time on my hands so over the past week I've been knitting up a storm. I think I currently have about 15 different projects in progress because I get ADD and decide to start a new one when I'm half way finished with the one I'm working on.

I tackled the mitten... normal mittens almost worked, but I'd call baby mittens a success. I also finally tried out the ear flap hat... it's almost finished. I've also learned how to make flowers and leaves that I can use as appliqués. I feel pretty productive.

Infant hat and (thumbless) mittens with matching toddler hat

I'm Mr. Icicle, I'm Mr. Ten Below

There is a crazy icicle display outside my window right now... although they may all blow off tonight in our crazy winds! Hopefully they won't bring the gutter down with them. Notice the double layer caused by icicles hanging from either side of the gutter.

Some of them were starting to melt yesterday, so I took a couple pictures. I think they turned out pretty cool!

Winter Advice From Mr. Frost

This is the best advice I can think of for anyone who is expecting another 6-20 inches of snow tomorrow. When it comes to snow... the best way to your car or out your front door or across your yard, is always though. And don't forget... when the winter blues get you down, just remember that the only way to spring is through winter.

Thank you Mr. (very apropos named) Frost.

Up To My Eyeballs In SNOW!

Well not really my eyeballs, more like my knee-caps, but it sure felt like more than that when I was digging out my poor car! The final total, 14 inches, was a little short of the 18-28ish inches they were calling for, but I'm totally cool with that! I have nothing but pity for all the poor souls in Washington D.C., MD, PA, and southern NJ who got walloped with over twice that amount.

Here are a few pics from the VA version of the "snowmaggedon" as both Obama and our local weather guy called this past weekend's storm.

Me and the Buick

Giant snow bank mom's plow created on the driveway curve...

It's taller than the shovel!

We had to pour water over the satellite dish to melt the snow. I didn't want to get my sweatpants snowy, so it was just easier to go bare legged... the snow was literally up to my knees!

Ahhh! It's Coming!

At least, I think that's what just about everyone in the valley is thinking. According to the weather channel, we can expect anywhere between 16 and 36 inches of snow.

Everyone is stocking up on gas, food, shovels, ice melt, bread, milk, and about everything else you could possibly want to help survive being snowed in. I think the entire town was in the grocery store this afternoon! And I do kinda think it's a good idea, considering that the last time we got a major snow (Mid-December, 27 inches) my house wasn't plowed out for 3 days!

In anticipation of the precipitation, most of the schools in the area have already closed for tomorrow.... because of the snow storm last weekend and then the one on tuesday, the County schools have been closed all week. Crazy.

Looks like its going to be a very snowy weekend.

Rediscovering the Joys of Party Pants

For the past few weeks I've been working on my virtue...

If you'll remember wayy back about 3 months ago, I wrote about my virtue, or lack there of, when in reference to my exercising habits. In that post I lamented about my inability to force myself to go to the gym to stem the flow of my (ever expanding) middle over the waist of my pants.

Well thanks to my amazing parents and grandparents, that's all changing.

As a combined Christmas, anniversary, lets-get-in-shape present to themselves (and me) my parents got a treadmill for our house in December and let me tell you, I've become quite the fan.

I am actually enjoying my almost daily walks of 2 or more miles. While I'm not sprinting or even jogging for any of it, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I walked almost 1.5 miles at a speed of 4.1 mph. And while I have yet to experience that "runner's high" that people always talk about when they "go for a great run," I'm usually pleasantly surprised when I look up at the mile counter or the timer and see that 15 or 20 minutes have gone by and I've already walked over a mile.

But there are two things I love about treadmilling even more than that, my fan and my party pants.

Our treadmill is equipped with a pretty sweet fan. I love standing (well walking really) in front of it with my hair blowing in the breeze... it reminds me of the days at Etown when KT and Lisa would stand in front of the air conditioner or the hair dryer or the fan or an open window or basically anything else that would create a breeze to blow their hair and they would act like silly models. While I never actually participated in these antics, it kinda makes me feel like I'm back at school. The same goes for my party pants a.k.a. leggings. I only discovered the joys of party pants at the end of last year, and sadly, I've not been able to use them since... until now. I firmly believe that my party pants are the key to my treadmilling success!

If Mom's in her Tractor Suit... It Must Mean Snow!

This weekend we got almost 9 inches of snow at my house, good plowing and shoveling times were had by all! Don't you just love mom's get-up?