Best. Comment. EVER.

Ok, I need to confess something. M and I watched about 10 minutes, give or take, of Skating with the Stars. We thought Castle was going to be on 9, like always... that's "our" show, along with Modern Family (but we can't watch that every week because sometimes C is still awake, or M is still driving home).

Anyway, I wanted to keep the skating show on for a few minutes so I could see who was skating.

And so I could practice my own (rudimentary) skating moves on the Oriental rug. I'm not ashamed. I totally did some of those leg-extension spins and some straight leg gliding. The rug is great because it has very low friction. This took me back to when I was watching the Olympics this year, and practicing my moves once the kids went to bed. But I digress...

Back to my story now.


I went to the Entertainment Weekly website to see how the celebrity (mostly of a non-celebrated-caliber of celebrity, actually) skaters did, and what the overall perception of the show was. I skimmed through the comments, and came across this gem:

I was looking forward to it, but had to turn it off after my family wouldn’t stop laughing at “all those ugly people”. My neighbours also got quite annoyed (probably because they are hideous) and started hurling abuse at us. Hey, it’s not our fault you all look like beavers. If you are reading this Julie Edwards I hope you feel ashamed because now my daughter knows 2 more swear words. And don’t worry hun we are leaving the apartments soon so we don’t have to deal with trash like you.

Seriously? Best. Comment. EVER.


P.S. I couldn't resist linking to past skating, rug, and Olympic posts. Who knew I wrote about that stuff enough to link it?


P.P.S. I should have given the credit for that above comment to "Sue." Thank you, Sue, for that wonderfully random gem of a rant about your neighbors. It was terrible, but I laughed anyway. I have to say I feel somewhat sorry for the "Julie Edwards" family now, wherever they may be.

Olympic Thoughts... live blogging

1. So, anyone else wanting to move to Canada after watching the NBC opening ceremony coverage of the Olympics? I sure do. I've already gotten my clothes ready to pack in a suitcase. OK, really I just folded the laundry and set it on the couch to put away later, but those clothes could conceivably get packed and shipped to Canada.

2. I have a total Olympic-season-specific crush on Bob Costas. This has been going on since the 1996 Olympics, so Bob and I are celebrating our 14-year crush anniversary this year. Maybe I should send him flowers for Valentine's Day? Maybe not. I should probably wait for our 20th crush anniversary.

3. I know you're going to think that I'm a USA traitor, but I think it's completely presumptuous that Americans think that the USA should always win a medal. In every event. Even if it's curling or some other ridiculous event. I mean, I'm always proud when we win, and I root for the USA, but sometimes it's just a bit much. Spread the wealth, guys-- everyone wants to make their country proud and bring home the gold.

4. I totally want one of those USA Opening Ceremony ski caps. It's $75. Maybe Bob Costas will send me one??

5. The shot of the snowboarder Johnny Lyall coming down the mountain while the announcer was reading the Olympic sites was WAY COOL. Dang, I wish it had snowed big here. I'd be out practicing my own non-existent snowboarding moves.

6. We need Mounties in the US. I'm digging the outfits. And Canada's flag must be much easier to draw for kindergarten students than the US flag. Note: These thoughts are only related if you're watching the coverage and realize that the Mounties brought the flag into the arena.

7. I think I would do a much better job of singing "O Canada" as opposed to "The Star-Spangled Banner." The notes seem much more likely to be hit by my already-off-key singing voice.

8. Not into the ice sculpture blessings or whatever that was. I was ok with the whole thing until the totems raised their arms. I may have creepy dreams now tonight. I did, however, really like the free-style aboriginal dancing.

 Creepy totems that raised their arms

Totems going up

9. Thoughts on clothing: (Once I can find pics online, I'm going to add them. ESPECIALLY the Azerbaijan pants)

Azerbaijan pants= awesome

Another shot of the Azeri outfits

Bermuda wearing Bermuda shorts= awesome

Close-up of Czech Republic pants

Czech Republic pants= would have been awesome if I hadn't just seen Azerbaijan

Estonia outfit= awesome, but slightly girly. I feel bad for the guys. The snowflakes are a nice touch.

Finland= not awesome, mostly because there's a random guy in jeans... what happened to his pants?

France= fabulous. The outfits are ok, but I just love the French, no matter what my father-in-law and husband would say about that.

Germany's gender-coded outfits= possibly my favorite so far. They're just kind of fun.

India's hats= awesome

Ireland's pants= needed not to be in Hi-Def

Israel= now my favorite outfit. The track suit's ok, but I love the color.

Italy= wait... I like this classy look, too

Kazakhstan= ties with Israel for my favorite colored outfit

Lithuania green coat and scarf= ooh... I like

Monaco= CUTE sweaters on the guys and jacket on the girl. Good move, Monaco.

Mongolia flag-bearer= awesome

Montenegro= I just like how they held up scarves to remind people who they are

Pakistan= ok outfit, but with only 1 competitor and the other 3 guys, I thought they were adorable and wanted to give them props.

Peru= made me say "oooh!" Great jackets and hats.

Russian jackets and trucker hats= funny

Slovakia= I have that exact outfit. I love it! The crazy thing is... I'm Slovakian. Hmm... coincidence? I think not.

Slovenia jackets= what is it about the green jackets? I love them! And I'm wearing a T-shirt in the same shade now.

Sweden knit caps= please? For my birthday?

Switzerland= I'm pretty sure some other country is wearing the exact same thing...

Ukraine= I didn't like it when they first came out, but the outfits are already growing on me

USA= the hats and sweaters are awesome, but I feel bad for the girls in the white pants. What was Ralph Lauren thinking? These are skaters and skiers with toned but bigger legs (their words, not mine). Hmm... just realized you can't see the sweaters under the puffy jackets. Trust me-- they're nice.

Canada= nothing too spectacular here, but they look really warm and will probably get the most post-Olympic use out of their outfits. I'd wear it.

10. I feel terrible for the Georgian team, after having a luge competitor die today. They don't seem to know whether to smile or not now. I'm sure they're feeling conflicted, being at THE OLYMPICS (emphasis mine) and also being sad about a teammate.

11. Wow-- the Hungarians are all really good-looking. Who knew. And how are there not more competitors from Iceland? This is the Winter Olympics.

12. Norway is the all-time Winter Olympic medals winner. Hmm. That's a fun fact.

13. I'm finding this snow/glowing bear/breaking glacier thing more than a little odd. And I really hope that Matt Lauer was the one who made the "60,000-seat snow globe" comment... I don't think my dear Bob Costas would make such an inane remark. (Nope... went back and checked it out... Bob did make that inane comment. Sigh.) And those salmon are also way-creepy, for the record. Do they have teeth????

14. I like the tap dancing. Don't get the outfits or the sparks coming off the shoes, but I like the dancing. And the fiddles. But I'm not sure why they also have Irish dancing... and punk outfits. And a random running circus performer. And flying skiers who have been skiing for what seems like forever. And someone that I should perhaps recognize who is going on about Canada.

Punk Celtic fiddler

Flying/running (child?) acrobat/circus performer

15. Yawn. This is going on for a LONG time. Both kids are now in bed. The baby watched with me for a while and then decided he'd rather hit the hay.

16. Since Wayne Gretzky didn't help carry in the Olympic flag, it seems like a safe bet that he'll be the final torch bearer. Good grief... how much longer until that torch gets here???? Ah, finally. And... it's Gretzky. Wow. Didn't see that coming... or not.

17. Need a laugh? This is funny stuff. It's just about what I was thinking.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 2)

1. I am a proud iPhone owner! M has one, too, but he's incredibly jealous (seriously!) of my cool case. It's pink and black and cute all over! I didn't really see the need for me to own one of these at first, but wow... it's already worth it's weight in gold now (which I suppose is actually not a lot, since it's pretty light). C is tech-savvy and can already operate it-- flicking through pages and pics like a pro. It's ridiculous. I'm still trying to get used to the keypad, and she figured out how to turn the silly thing on and off.

2. I can't wait to get this stamp on August 26th:

Reading this blog post by Patrick Madrid is also well-worth your time-- it talks about the furor over this particular stamp being issued by the Postal Service.

3. Following that last note, stamps make me happy! Maybe it's because I'm the daughter of a postal employee, but I've always loved cute stamps. Mom and Dad occasionally still send me some stamps, which just makes my entire week. I recently bought some Simpsons stamps and some kelp forest stamps. They even make my bills look cuter. I buy the boring Forever stamps, too, but seriously-- it's not like I'm going to stock up on those because I'm pretty sure my money is making WAY more in the bank or savings account than in my letter drawer. I heard from the local postmaster that someone bought $1,000+ of forever stamps because he wanted to beat the system. Methinks that guy needs to rethink his own system...

4. "Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."

Farewell to J.D. Salinger, whose Catcher in the Rye I somehow managed not to read until last year. How did I miss this book?? It's part of pop culture just as much as it is fine literature! Annie Hall, Jerry Maguire, The Good Girl, Billy Joel, the Jonas Brothers, Rick Springfield, and Spandau Ballet (among many, many others) all reference that work.

I'm linking a video that reminds me of why I love teaching-- I love to get students invested in the stories of the authors and the times that books were written, like Craig Ferguson does here.

5. Bring on the Olympics! I've been pleasantly surprised to discover that my hubby loves the Winter Olympics, especially (wait for it...) ICE SKATING! C skates around the living room and does little jumps and spins, so this will be fun. Yay for our TV! Yay for the Olympics!

6. Again about TV... loving the fact that we can watch Netflix movies/TV via the PS3 on our TV. M and I finished Season 3 of Dexter and now we've started back at Season 1 to see everything we missed. C likes to watch Thomas and Friends and I've found other cute shows (The Muppets, Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer, etc) that I can turn on no matter what time it is, TV show-wise. Since we don't have cable, it's been nice to expose her to more learning shows besides the morning PBS ones (she often is still asleep for Sesame Street!).

7. M makes the best White Russian drinks ever. That's all I have on that. Mmmm.