Bathroom and Beijing

We are almost ready to post pictures of our new bathroom. Some people have been lucky enough to see it still in phases, and thought it was such an improvement even then. Now the only things we have left to do is to find a few wall decorations, or maybe just one, and then do some touch-up paint, and install the door (since it is adjacent to the bedroom, and that is going to be remodeled next, we moved out of that room into the guest room in the back of the house, and we just keep the bedroom door closed all the time). We will wait to finish the touch-up paint when we paint the bedroom because it will be the same, the wall decorations will have to wait until we actually find ones we both like, and the door can be hung at nearly any time. It has been an amazing process, most of which I was not present for, and it is beautiful. I like to find reasons to spend time in there because of how pretty it is, however funny that sounds when describing a bathroom. Believe me, when I post the before and then the after pictures, it will make complete sense!







Anyone who knows me well, knows what a complete Olympic fan I am. I have been a fan since I can remember, and prior to the major channels recognizing them and putting them on tv, I would try to find out what happened, who won, etc. I was describing one of the reasons it is my favorite sporting event to someone the other day. It is the short amount of time every two years (not exactly two as after the winter games, it is about a year and a half, and after the summer games, two and a half, technically) that the world truly comes together and many of the political problems are set aside for about two weeks, and then resumed after. (Unfortunately, this year, two countries are at war with each other, and it started right at the beginning of the games.) So many unique individuals come to the games, with interesting stories of courage, strength, and overcoming the odds. This year, 204 countries have sent at least one athlete, the oldest in his 60's in the Equestrian events, the youngest a diver from Great Britain at 14. Many of these athletes will come for one event only, not win a medal, but they are the pride of their country because they came. So many upsets occur, where out of nowhere someone who was not even mentioned as a favorite for a given event will win the gold, or even a medal.

I usually know what year and the location of the upcoming games that have been announced, I can usually remember the past locations and years of those complete. For instance, the next Winter games are in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 2010, the next Summer games are in London, England in 2012, then another Winter games in Sochi, Russia in 2014. The four finalist cities for the Summer 2016 games are Chicago, Illinois, Tokyo, Japan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Madrid, Spain. They usually announce the next city to host the Olympics 7 years prior to the year it is occurring, so October 2, 2009, they will announce who it is. The Olympics have never been hosted by a city in South America, so Rio would be a good choice, but I really don't care. I just like them to keep happening!

I always root for the US athletes, but have watched the Olympics for so long, that I just enjoy a good show and can appreciate talent no matter where the athlete comes from. I still hate commentators, as they say so many stupid things, but they also keep us entertained, and they do have some good tidbits of information to pass on to us. The host city usually brings home more medals while hosting the games than they have done prior to ever hosting, and this year, China is expected to bring home more medals than they ever have in a Summer games. In Athens, the US brought home 103 medals, and China brought home 63. So far, they lead the US by one, but the games are not even half over, so we'll have to see what happens!


One thing that I have learned is that I do not want to live in China for an extended period of time if I don't have to. I do not agree with the training of their athletes, the pressure they put on the people and the children just so they can grow up and bring honor to their country, whether they want to or not. It's sad, and all the country cares about is winning, where in the US, we encourage talent when we see it and if the person wants to continue training, they do. That being said, it also shed some light on the difficult lives the Chinese lead, especially if they are average people, not very wealthy. Just a different perspective, not wrong, just different than my own.

If any of you have any questions regarding past, present, or future Olympics, you at least know who to ask. I would love to answer any questions you might have, or even get in a great conversation with you about them. Thank goodness for Pierre de Coubertin. I told Corey the other day that if ever I got a tattoo, it would be the Olympic rings. Maybe in my next life!