Great Weekend!

What a great weekend!

On Friday night, my neighbour Dave called. Neomom answered.

"Is your husband free tomorrow for . . ."

"Yes! Take him! He needs to get out of the house!"

So, on Saturday morning, Dave and I climbed aboard a couple of snowmobiles and headed out to join a rally. It was fan-freakin-tastic! We covered about 80 miles during the day. The sun was shining, the temperature was just below freezing, the trails were beautiful, the lakes were covered by more than a foot of powder . . . I loved it!

When I stopped to think about it, I realized I had not been out of the house, alone, for recreational purposes, since we moved here in July. Didn't realize how much I needed it.

I hadn't been on a sled for about seven or eight years. But it all came back in a flash. Flying over the powder on a frozen lake at 80 mph . . . exhilarating! Winding through tree-lined trails at 70 mph . . . what a rush! And just cruising along, taking in the sights . . . relaxing!

And then, of course, came Sunday . . . the gold medal hockey game. Neomom and I were glued to the TV. We watched every gut-wrenching second of the game and celebrated with the rest of the nation as Sid the Kid put away the overtime winner.

It was, without a doubt, the perfect end, make that the only end, to a fantastic winter Olympics. We simply had to win that game. It was the last event, the finale and, after such an outstanding performance by our athletes, it just had to end with another Canadian gold medal.

As one commentator put it, it was like the game to decide who won the Olympics. I know, it wasn't, it just felt that way to many Canadians. Our neighbours to the south still collected most of the medals, but we had our best performance in history and it was felt from coast to coast. So very, very cool for a nation that is usually very subtle and subdued about its patriotism.

I'm not sure what to do today. For two weeks, it's been nothing but Olympic coverage on TV. I will miss it.

And as far as favourite Olympic moment . . . I have to go with Jon Montgomery's gold medal in skeleton. He was just so excited, so honest with his emotions and so well spoken. And he's from Manitoba.

I just loved his triumphant arrival in Whistler Village after the win. Someone handed him a pitcher of beer and he took a big ol' Canadian swig and kept it around throughout his interview.

Anyhoo . . . great weekend! Have a great week!

Go Canada Go!

Not sure if it was the two-day-old taco salad, or a stomach flu relapse, but last night was not a good one for me.

I'll leave it at that.

This morning, coffee in hand, I'm feeling better. And I'm ready for another day of Olympic fun. Much to the dismay of Sonwun and Sontoo, the TV has been tuned to the Olympic channel pretty much all day since Friday night. Good-bye Dora, good-bye Diego.

It's one of the joys of being the stay-at-home parent. I get to watch it all. And yes, I've seen each of Canada's medal victories so far. Great stuff. Go team go!

All three of my favourite moments, thus far, have been at events where Canada has medalled. Big surprise, yes?

In the women's moguls, where Canadian Jenn Heil took silver, I enjoyed watching American Shannon Bahrke. For those of you that didn't watch this event, there are three giant pillows that the top three skiers sit in. As better scores come in, those three are bumped down and, eventually, off the big pillows.

It can't be easy to sit there, waiting for the big bump. But Bahrke's enthusiasm for the new winners felt real. She started in the top spot and with each bump, she enthusiastically congratulated the new top dog. And when a team mate fell during her run, she met her at the bottom of the hill with a giant hug. Great to see.

Others on the big pillows congratulated new winners, but for most of them it looked more like a formality than a heart-felt expression of camaraderie.

Bahrke ultimately took bronze, by the way.

In speed skating, I loved watching Kristina Groves. Again, the enthusiasm she showed, the little dance when she won, the little dance on the podium . . . the unbridled joy was just fantastic to see. She grabbed bronze in the 3000m event. I just loved watching her.

And finally, Canada's golden boy, Alex Bilodeau, who brought home the top prize last night in the men's moguls. An awesome display, made better by his older brother Frederic. I won't get into the entire story there, but it was cool. (You can read more about it here.) Alex's brother has cerebral palsy and, according to the gold medallist, Frederic has inspired him and taught him many life lessons that contributed to the drive to win. Really cool to watch Frederic celebrate his little brother's victory!

Anyhoo, as for the MTV, etalk additions to CTV's coverage of the games, I'm tolerating the extra crap. It has not been as offensive as it was the first morning.

I still don't care about who's dating who and I have yet to see an MTV bit that I actually find funny or amusing or even mildly entertaining. But at least it's not as offensive as the opening night recap.

I'll leave it at that for now.

Go CANADA!