olympic party

I am so sad the Olympics are over! For me, the Olympics are basically a two-week joyful holiday that I anticipate with as much enthusiasm and excitement as my birthday. This time around, I was shocked by how many people didn't realize they were going on. The way I see it, this would be like being unaware that it is Christmastime.

Naturally, we celebrated big. We have friends who love and appreciate the Olympics like I do, and so we had them over for a closing ceremonies party. The moment this party got on the calendar my head was spinning with Olympic-themed ideas. Like a Doritoes Torch. And Olympic Ring cupcakes.

Our friends are Adam and Jordan.

The menu was diverse and delicious. We feasted and then we sat and watched the closing ceremonies. The closing ceremonies were a bit off the wall, sort of goofy and in the words of the announcer guy, "campy." Campy! I'm not sure what that means, but I think I agreed...

The first item on our Olympic menu represented France. Brie cheese with raspberry jam wrapped in crescent roll dough. Baked for 20 minutes at 350, this was delicious and easy. Serve it with crackers and you've got a crowd pleaser on your hands.

Jordan and Adam brought Cuban sandwiches. Wowza. Pork tenderloin on wheat buns with mayo, mustard, swiss cheese, ham and pickles. All baked together to perfection. I had two.

Chex mix for the Czech Republic. I kill myself.

Store bought egg rolls and sweet and sour sauce.

I went with meatballs, though it was pointed out to me that I could have added Sweden to the smorgasbord if I had really thought through this menu item. They weren't really all that Italian either. I used equal parts grape jelly and chili sauce, and even though you can see the pool of grease on the spoon, they were yummy.

Hungary was my catch all country. This flag could have gone on anything, but we chose these fabulous bars Jordan brought. Could have made a Switzerland flag for Swiss chocolate too, though...

Mexico was represented with this carne chip dip I got from taste of home. It wasn't the favorite on the table, so there is not need to post the recipe :)

And finally, the United States came through with this football of goodness filled with velveeta, beef and hormel chili (no bean) sauce. I do believe it was this American cuisine that cemented us to the couch for the next few hours as we discussed the competitive events we had brewing in our tummies.

I had two weeks to plan for this party, and will be planning for my Summer Olympic Opening Ceremonies party for the next 2 1/2 years. Bring it on London!!!

i got all choked up

forget the superbowl commercials...these olympic commercials are awesome!

(insert olympic theme music here)

GREAT NEWS!! I just got back from Sioux Falls where I recruited more summer staff and spent the evening with our friends Mike and Sarah. Sarah and I met our very first day of Gustavus and the rest is history. I am confident we will never ever run out of things to talk about.

Here's the deal: Sarah and Mike are going to the Olympics! FOR TEN DAYS!!! Mike is from Vancouver, and just moved to the states when he married Sarah. So he's a local, and knows his way around (a head start from everyone else trying to take in the olympics and take in a new town...)

They fly out on Wednesday and I have sent very serious instructions with Sarah to keep us in the loop with all of her behind the scenes, day-by-day information. I'll keep you linked up with her blog and we can all live vicariously.

Two words for Sarah and Mike: Lucky Duckies.

t minus 20 days until...

...THE 2010 OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONIES!!!

I love everything about the Olympics. When I was in first grade, the Winter Ceremonies were in Calgary. I remember my sweet teacher, Mrs. Eves, had a different art project every day of the two weeks for us to do...a paper torch, tissue paper olympic rings, ice skates with tinfoil blades, medals covered in glitter....oh, I loved Mrs. Eves!

And most recently, the 2008 Summer Olympics are filled with nothing but sweet memories. I was at Mount Carmel that summer and the last day of summer camp was the very day of Opening Ceremonies. It had been a big, social summer, and I was exhausted. Some great friends of ours welcomed Rory and I to use their cabin across the lake anytime we wanted. So almost every night of the Olympics, Rory and I would pack a bag of snack food, head to this lovely, private cabin and watch the entire evening lineup. It was like we compensated for the 10 weeks of solid people with two weeks of living like hermits.

So get ready people. We've got some good figure skating, bob sledding and ski jumping ahead of us!