Valentine's Day and Pairs

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today was the first day of competition and we started off with the Pairs Short Program. Both of our U.S. team skated wonderfully and overall it was a very good day...haven't found any candy hearts yet but I'm still looking. :) And I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to watch most of the event so I really got to cheer on Team USA in style!

Last night I went downtown and visited the Olympic torch with another Minnesota friend, Matt. Seeing the torch never gets old!

Some more celebrity sightings...Brian Boitano spent some time on our office today and me and Evan Lysacek hung out at the house for a bit. He was going to spend the night at our house to get some rest but ended up getting called by USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) and had to go back to the Village to get tested (dang USADA! lol - just kidding)

Here's a shout out to Room 104 at Castle Elementary School in Oakdale, Minnesota! (aka Miss Schmitz's kindergarten class - aka my sister's class). Be sure to watch the Olympics on TV! There are a lot of Minnesota athletes competing!

Tomorrow...Pairs Free Skate!

Entrance to the Pacific Coliseum

Scottie (our director of media and pr) and I matched today so of course we had to take a pic in front of the flag!

Lorrie (one of our team leaders) and I at our office...notice the furniture! (hint: IKEA!)

Our Office! It's cozy.

Bob working at our desk...both TV's are on at all times so that we can get all of the live coverage. Also the spot where I write most of these blogs!

The Olympic Torch

Opening Ceremony

It's hard to believe that four years ago I hosted a Torino Opening Ceremonies party in my apartment in Minnesota...and last night I got to see the entire event unfold before my very eyes. It sort of feels like the world had a party and I got an invitation. Watching the OC live was probably the most amazing thing I've done so far in my life and remembering where I was four years ago makes it that much more special. I am just so grateful to have been given the experience and what an awesome way to celebrate the Olympic Movement. If you ever get a chance to go to an OC, DO IT! You will not regret one second!

Here's my best attempt to recap the day:

The OC is like Cirque du Soleil meets the Superbowl on Christmas. You just can't even compare it to anything else because there is nothing else like it. My day started out by opening up our office near the figure skating venue. As the day progressed it became more and more certain that I was getting a ticket to the OC. I was jumping out of my skin I was so excited! At about 3:00pm we jumped on a bus headed for downtown Vancouver and realized that we had ANOTHER extra ticket. So I quickly called around to see which of my friends would want to attend and Liz (my friend working at the USA House) was able to go! So not only did I get to see the OC live but I also got to see it with one my closest friends (and just as a side note, Liz and I met while studying the ancient Olympics in Athens, Greece in 2001...so needless to say, she is a huge Olympic fan too).

We spent roughly 45 minutes getting through security...as did the other 55,000 spectators. When we made it to our seats, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the audience is part of the show! And as a cast member of the show, you get stuff! On every seat in the building was a 'kit' of supplies that everyone needed to participate...a flashlight, a glow candle, a white poncho, a drum stick and a souvenir program were among the items in the kit. And everything was conveniently in a little drum that doubled as a noise maker!

So of course when you are a part of the show you need to practice...therefore as soon as we got settled in our seats, the stadium did a giant rehearsal where we learned what we were supposed to do with our props and when, etc. That was pretty cool! I should also mention that our seats were right next to the other part of our team...our parents, coaches and medical team...it was super fun to share the experience with them!

Finally the big event began at about 5:30 and I'm assuming most of you watched it on TV. Everyone keeps asking me what my favorite part was but it's hard to just pick one! So I've posted some of my favorite pics below.

On a somber note, as you probably know, there was a very tragic accident yesterday at the luge event that took the life of Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. The accident has definitely affected everyone here and his loss was recognized several times last night during the OC. I do believe that everything happens according to God's plan and although we may never know or understand that plan, Nodar's spirit is alive within all of our hearts during these Olympic Games.

One more celebrity sighting...Kristi Yamaguchi is hanging out at our office today as I blog and she just recorded our office voice message LOL...she's very nice!

IKEA

We officially moved into a small private school today to set up our temporary office in Vancouver...and all of the students get two weeks vacation! The school is conveniently located directly across the street from our venue. The office will serve as the one stop shop for our friends and family...picking up tickets, checking their email, watching other events on our big screen, grabbing some hot chocolate, etc.

To dress up our office and make it a bit more comfortable, I was charged with picking out furniture at IKEA. So I picked out a brown couch, a brown chair, brown tables, a red rug, red pillows and three green plants...keep in mind that the room has exposed ceiling beams that are tannish-brown and some of the walls are red. Overall I think it turned out pretty good...I'll post some pictures of the room when we are all set up.

We also walked over to the venue today - it looks incredible on the inside! Vancouver is definitely ready to host the world!

Some more celebrity sightings...I saw Shaun White, Louie Vito, Bonnie Blair and Picabo Street all within five minutes of each other last night! WOW!

Here's a shout out to Room 103 at Washington Elementary School in Hibbing, MN (aka Mrs. Schmitz's class)! I heard that you've been viewing the blog each day in the library! Keep it up and be sure to watch Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night!

Speaking of which..........as of right now, I have a ticket (courtesy of U.S. Figure Skating) to Opening Ceremonies!!!!!! I have never seen the OC live and I am crossing my fingers and praying to God that I get to go! So if I don't blog tomorrow night, you'll know it's because I'm sitting in BC Place watching Team USA march into the stadium! :)

The Olympics are here!!!!!!!! GET EXCITED!!!!!!!

Me in the Figure Skating Venue

Figure Skating Venue (the men were practicing when we were there)

The Vancouver Logo on the Ice

The American Flag!

The Rings Lit Up at Night

In Search of Brach's Large Candy Hearts

So apparently they do not sell Brach's large candy hearts in Canada. Bob and I have been on the lookout for the past two days and after all of the shopping we have done, we still haven't been able to find them anywhere! Bummer! (and I already ate the candy heart supply I brought with me to Vancouver lol)

Anyway...today was another fun day...we spent most of the day driving. We did a test run from the house to the Olympic Village to our secondary practice site and back in order to time it out and figure out which was the best route. Due to the Olympic traffic this trip takes much longer than you would normally estimate. We are driving semi-large vans and now I am very thankful that I spent two summers in college driving a 2-ton water truck around the Twin Cities! Oh how those summer jobs pay off in the long run! :)

This afternoon we met with the owners of the school that we are renting to get the keys and go through the last minute details of our rental. We move into the school tomorrow and their multi-purpose room will serve as U.S. Figure Skating's temporary headquarters in Vancouver. The school is literally across the street from the Pacific Coliseum which is the venue for figure skating and speed skating. Rumor has it that some of the speed skaters are living in a house about a block from our house...we're thinking of having a block party with them later in the Games!

Oh and I forgot to blog about the Minnesota celebrity sighting I had the other day...Eric Perkins, from Kare 11 News in the Twin Cities, was at team processing on Tuesday...I wanted to go say hi and tell him I was from Minnesota but he was kind of busy talking to athletes and whatnot...maybe I'll seem him around again!

Finally, here's a shout out to Daisy Girl Scout Troop #2359 in Colorado Springs! I hope you had a great meeting today and that you learned some new facts about the Chinese New Year! Enjoy watching the Olympics and I'll see you all again in March!

Welcome Sign Near the House

View of the Venue from the School (which will be our office starting tomorrow)

Signage Outside the Venue

Shopping Day

Today could definitely be described as 'shopping day'...and who better to shop for stuff than me! aka the girl who has made shopping (especially Olympic-related shopping) into one of her hobbies!

The morning was spent shopping for supplies for our house and our office (towels, water, snacks, airbeds, etc.) and the afternoon was spent shopping for Olympic gear. I tried very hard to only buy stuff for others but I just can't resist those Olympic rings and wound up buying a few new items for myself. :) Below are some fun pics from the day.

We also toured the USA House...an exclusive hospitality house in downtown Vancouver that you have to have a special pass to gain access...I've never been in the USA House before and let me tell you, it is awesome! There's also a retail shop inside and of course I had to buy something with Team USA on it! One of my co-workers, Mandy and one of my best friends, Liz, will be working at the USA House throughout the Games...I'm hoping they can hook me up with a guest pass again!

Team Processing

The Vancouver Leaves Poster

Our House (it was built less than a year ago)

Our Kitchen (it is SO nice!)

The Coke Pin Trading Center

The Olympic Rings (they're lit up at night)

The Canadian flag wrapped around a building

The chaos that is the Olympic Superstore


Inside the USA House!

Vancouver Day 1

I am officially in Vancouver! After several hours of flying, my co-worker, Bob, and I finally landed at the Vancouver International Airport early this afternoon. We were lucky enough to catch a ride to the hotel with the U.S. Men's Bobsled Team...that was pretty neat...they were all very pumped to be in Vancouver! All of the U.S. athletes will spend one night at the hotel I am currently in for what we call 'Team Processing'. This is basically where they get all of their stuff...including three giant duffel bags full of Nike gear. I'm very jealous! Wait until you see their Opening Ceremony apparel!

This afternoon Bob and I did some reconnaissance...got the keys for our rental vans, got the keys for the house we're moving into tomorrow, got the rest of the tickets we purchased, etc. etc. etc. In addition, our two pair teams and their coaches arrived today from Florida. They are staying at my hotel tonight too and can't wait to take the ice tomorrow for their first official practice. I can't even explain how excited these four skaters are to be here...they just can't stop smiling and neither can I!

The internet in the hotel is very slow so I'll post some pictures tomorrow when we move into the house.

And on a final note for the night, Jodi: I hope you had a fabulous 21st birthday today! :)

Final Preparations

T minus 4 days until I depart for the Olympics! I can't believe the day is almost here! The past few weeks have been filled with the final preparations for our team and helping the athletes' families navigate through the Olympic waters. Between housing, tickets, transportation and how to get special guest passes for everything from the Olympic Village to the USA House, the 'friends and family' part of our delegation has kept us very busy! Even so, it has certainly been an exciting time and we aren't even in Vancouver yet! Go Team USA!

About to send our official Olympic entries to the USOC...might be the most important thing I've done so far in my career LOL ...good thing Liz (my intern) was there to double check because you wouldn't want to mess something like that up! I was also glad that Liz thinks this is worthy of taking a picutre of as much as I do! :)

Organizing each family's Olympic tickets...it was pretty cool!