Olympics

The Top Five–Sports Memories

After thinking about my favorite baseball memories, I realized how many good sports memories I have, too, and Super Bowl weekend seems like the perfect time to share them, because they begin with…

  • The Super Bowl Shuffle–The Chicago Bears were the champions of Super Bowl XX in 1986, but what I really remember is the Shufflin’ Crew, The Fridge, Da Coach, and my dad buying me a championship t-shirt from a roadside stand on his way home from work. This is one of my earliest sports memories, and it has very little to do with the game itself…I don’t even like football! But this is the first city championship I remember, and the enthusiasm of the fans and the chemistry of the team lives in my memory.
  • The 1993-peat–This might be my number one sports memory ever. The Chicago Bulls had already won two NBA championships in my lifetime, and recently, too…in 1991 and 1992. But it’s all about the numbers, and the 3-peat was just meant to be, with the electrifying 3-point shot by John Paxson in the last second of game six concluding the fairy tale season.
  • Eight Gold Medals in Beijing–The first of my favorite sports memories as an adult was Michael Phelps’ improbable eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. I watched every race, hung on Rowdy Gaines’ every word, and when the eighth medal was on the line, I watched live, late at night, the only one awake in the house, and almost woke up the neighborhood with my screaming and jumping up and down as he won the race.
  • 11 in ’11–Following up on my love of the 1993-peat is the St. Louis Cardinals’ 11th World Series trophy in 2011…isn’t it fun when the numbers line up? This was the victory that almost wasn’t, or that shouldn’t have been, as the Cards didn’t even secure the wild card game spot in the playoffs until the final day of the season. But as the perfect team progressed through each series, I believed more and more that they could win the whole thing. In the end, game seven was a formality, because everything that needed to be said happened in Game Six, one of the best games in the history of any sport.
  • Play “Gloria”–Getting to see the St. Louis Blues win their first Stanley Cup was a rare treat. The city rallied around the team and their biggest fan, Laila Anderson, with a theme song of “Gloria.” This memory is extra special, because like the 3-peat, it happened within a few days of my birthday. We really went all-out for this win…the Fab Five and I even went downtown for the victory parade and rally, and a few months later, I got to kiss the Stanley Cup!

Do you have special sports memories?

Summer School 2024

I can’t believe that both the Olympics and summer vacation are over, but here we are. There were so many great moments, and today I’m taking a look back at our Paris 2024-themed summer school, starting with our visit to the Olympic Spectacular right here in St. Louis:

We made our favorite edible Olympic torches, and had a lovely toast to Paris 2024 with sparkling cider. I’m not going to lie, I was a little mad that we had already built the Lego Eiffel Tower years ago, because it would have been a nice summer school activity, but at least we had a ready-made centerpiece!

Our big activity for the summer was trying out some French recipes. We cooked a lot of different things, starting with a special series of meals for the Opening Ceremonies, and culminating with the pièce de résistance of the summer (and maybe my culinary career!), the Croquembouche. It’s nice that we’re finally at a point where both Ladybug and Chickadee can do a lot in the kitchen!

  • Croissants
  • Salade Niçoise
  • Vichyssoise
  • Bœuf Bourgignon
  • Macarons
  • Crepes
  • Salade Lyonnaise
  • Quiche Lorraine
  • Chocolate Soufflé
  • Gougères
  • Lavender Madeleines
  • Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce
  • Plateau de Fromages
  • Lemon-glazed French Sable Cookies
  • Croquembouche

I had a good book list, but coming up with crafts beyond cooking was a bit of a challenge. We did try to be fashion designers…do you think we’re ready for French haute couture?

And of course we made medals:

We had a lot of fun being creative with cooking and crafts!

I’m so glad Ticket to Ride Paris came out in time for us to play this summer! And we also played Ticket to Ride France (and watched all of the episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe we have set in France), which educated us on just how little we know about French geography!

Here’s a look at our complete medal table…Team USA definitely won!

Summer wrapped up quickly…on Monday, we begin the 2024-25 school year!

We’ll Always Have Paris

The Paris 2024 Olympics has been one of my favorite Olympic Games to date (although nothing holds a candle to London 2012), so it was really challenging to choose just five favorite moments, but I did my best!

  • Pommel Horse Guy–America’s newest (super)hero, Stephen Nedoroscik, captured all of our hearts with his quick transformation from self-proclaimed glasses-wearing nerd to star of the Bercy Arena, as he left his glasses hanging on the chalk bin and wowed us all with his talent and skill on the pommel horse. I was thrilled when he helped the US men’s team capture the bronze medal, and even more ecstatic when he won an individual medal, as well!
  • Léon Marchand Wins Gold in Front of the Home Crowd–I’m always a fan of a home-town hero, and seeing Marchand win not just one, but four gold medals in Paris was a thrill, and he was even able to accomplish something Michael Phelps never did, by winning two individual gold medals in the same night! As always, it was fun to listen to Rowdy Gaines call his races, because Rowdy always gets excited about a good swim!
  • Respect on the Podium–The image I will forever carry with me from these Olympics is that of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing in respect to Rebeca Andrade on the podium following the floor final. The beautiful display of sportswomanship and ultimate respect was an unforgettable moment, and one I am grateful I got to witness.
  • Djokovic’s Golden Slam–I couldn’t not root for Djokovic, who was attempting to complete the elusive golden slam to cap off his illustrious career. Knowing that he was the oldest player in the tournament, competing in the final against the youngest player, just made the story more perfect. Seeing the joy on his face when he finally accomplished that goal, and watching him run through the stands to his family, was touching, and later seeing him outside the Eiffel Tower with his gold medal and the flag of Serbia completed the narrative.
  • Golden Noah Lyles…and Bronze with COVID–I love Noah Lyles’ larger-than-life personality and his story of struggle and triumph, so I was really rooting for him to win the 100m, and it was a thrilling moment when the victory came down to a photo finish. I was also hoping he could match Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis by winning both the 100m and 200m. That wasn’t meant to be, but when I found out that Lyles won bronze in that race in spite of having COVID (and being an asthmatic!), I realized just how impressive that bronze was! And his loss enabled Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who was running in memory of his mother who died earlier this year, to win the gold in that event, which made me happy for him, too.

And one bonus item, which includes all of the non-athlete heroes from these games!

  • Snoop Dogg, Bob the Cap Catcher, Phryge the Mascot, Flavor Flav, and Cookie Monster, Elmo, & Abby Cadabby–Not all of the heroes of the games participated in the sports. Snoop Dogg somehow became America’s grandpa and Team USA’s mascot. Bob the Cap Catcher, a man who wanted anonymity, rose to fame simply for diving into the pool in a speedo to retrieve the caps that the swimmers lost. Phryge, an anthropomorphic Phrygian cap, taught us the ins and outs of the different sports. Flavor Flav inexplicably became water polo’s biggest fan. And the visitors from Sesame Street charmed athletes and added a wholesomeness to the Olympics I didn’t even realize was missing!

Ok, one last-minute shoutout to:

  • The Closing Ceremony–Hands-down my favorite Olympics Closing Ceremony ever. I loved the pageantry, the music, the speeches, and especially the handover to LA. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the youth of the world assemble there in four years for another Olympic Games!

Paris 2024 was a great Olympics full of memorable moments and characters, broken records, and history made. My biggest regret is that the women’s artistic gymnastics ended up with a cloud over the event, which is a shame because it was amazing in the moment. Hopefully in the end, we will remember these Olympics for all of the moments that went right, and not those that went wrong.

Mani Monday

I’m back with one more Olympics-themed mani. This time, I used Holo Taco ”Blue Freezie,” “Lemon Sucker,” “Black Holo Wish,” “Green Taffy,” and “Red Licorice” to make polka dots inspired by the Olympic rings on a base of “Sugar Rush” in the spirt of the background of the Olympic flag.

Mani Monday

This week’s mani is an homage to the host country of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. I used Holo Taco’s “Blue Freezie,” “Sugar Rush,” and “Red Licorice” for the recognizable blue, white, and red of the Tricolore, and added the very neutral “Oat Couture” on my thumb and pinky.

A French Feast for the Opening Ceremonies

Mesdames et Messieurs, la Cérémonie d’ouverture de Paris 2024!

Today is the Olympics Opening Ceremony I’ve been waiting for for eight years! While I enjoyed the Tokyo 2020(1) Games, it just wasn’t the same, and we all know it. But Paris 2024 is going to be the Olympics we all remember from pre-Covid days, and I can’t wait. Of course I planned a day full of French recipes to get us in the proper spirt, beginning with homemade croissants for breakfast, served with butter, Nutella, and homemade blueberry jam:

For lunch, I made Salade Niçoise. I liked it, but the best I can say for everybody else is that they found aspects of the salad they enjoyed. We did discover that we really like seven-and-a-half minute eggs, though!

For the soup course, I made Vichyssoise, which I thought was really interesting. The flavor was excellent, but it is a different experience eating cold soup!

I made the classic French dish, Bœuf Bourgignon, for dinner. It was A LOT of work, but really delicious!

We didn’t have champagne, but we did still have a toast to Paris 2024!

For dessert, Ladybug made macarons. I tried to help, but as it turns out, macarons are above my pay grade. She kindly let me help fill them, though. They’re so delicious, and we’re looking forward to making them again!

I have a few other French recipes I want to try over the next two weeks, but mostly, I’m just ready to watch the Olympic Games!!!

Mani Monday

The Olympics begin this week! In honor of my favorite quadrennial event, this week’s mani is inspired by the Olympic rings. I used Holo Taco, and all of the shades other than the black are from the “Rainbow Bundle”…”Blue Freezie,” “Lemon Sucker,” “Black Holo Wish,” “Green Taffy,” and “Red Licorice.” I can’t wait for the Opening Ceremonies!

What We’re Reading–Paris 2024

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are only one week away! As usual, I planned this year’s summer school to coincide with The Games. Between the books I already had about the Olympics and some Olympians, and a few that I bought focused on France (including food, art, and fashion), I think we have a pretty good reading list. Also included are some DVDs (featuring Rick Steves), a CD, a craft kit (fashion-focused to fit the Paris theme), and a game (Ticket to Ride Paris came out just in time!). We’re also planning on doing some French cooking (I did promise, however, not to make snails!).

  • Rick Steves Pocket Paris
  • Mastering the Art of French Cooking volumes one and two
  • My Life in France
  • A Bite-Sized History of France: Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
  • The Little Prince
  • Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress
  • Linnea in Monet’s Garden
  • Where is the Eiffel Tower?
  • 2024 Paris Summer Olympics Activity Book
  • Paris Through a Fashion Eye
  • Courage to Soar
  • Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women’s Olympic Team
  • DK Eyewitness Books: Olympics
  • Great Moments in the Summer Olympics
  • What are the Summer Olympics?
  • How to Train with a T. Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals
  • The Wildest Race Ever
  • Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still
  • The Story of the Olympics Games
  • Fashion Design Kit
  • Ticket to Ride Paris
  • Debussy for Daydreaming
  • 100 Years of Olympic Films
  • Rick Steves Europe: Paris and the Loire & France’s Countryside

The only thing missing from this list is a Lego set, which I try to include whenever possible, but we already have the Paris landmarks, and although it is a beautiful set, I can’t afford Notre-Dame de Paris at the moment.