2008 Beijing Olympics - Day Two

Day Two of the Olympics and what a day it was!! Lots of excitement! Here's my take on the events I watched today.

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Men's Preliminary Basketball - United States vs China

I've never been a huge fan of basketball until this past season's finals, with the Lakers and the Celtics. My boyfriend, Robert, got me totally hooked on the sport, so when I saw that this game was on, I couldn't miss it! Nor could I miss the 7 ft, 6 in tall Yao Ming. Damn! That is one tall man! The game was quickly claimed by the Americans,with a final score of 101 to 70. The game was a huge loss for China, who have been buzzing about this game ever since Beijing was announced the host country.

Women's Qualification Gymnastics

Women's Gymnastics is one of my favorite events to watch. The tumbling, the flying through the air, all the hair glitter, I just love every aspect of it. This year's team is being led by 16 year old, Shawn Johnson. An unfortunate ankle injury kept one of their gymnasts on the sidelines, but the girls still did a fabulous job representing Team USA. A couple little mistakes on the floor exercise and uneven bars, but all in all, very strong performances from all the girl.

Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final - America, Gold Medal

Oh. My. God. This was literally, the most incredible race I have ever seen. That most people have seen, I think. Before the start of the race, the French team, who were favored to win this race, talked some smack about the American team, saying, "We are going to smash the Americans. That's what we came here for". During the race, especially after the last turn, I thought America was going to take the silver medal. But in the last 30 or so meters, Jason Lezak got an extra burst of energy and "smashed" the French. Michael Phelps' and Garret Weber-Gale's reaction to the win was just priceless!! Yelling and jumping into the air like 2 wild beasts. A well deserved and amazing win for the Americans. Michael Phelps continues his quest of getting 8 Gold Medals.

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That's all from me today!! Sweet dreams everyone...until tomorrow...

Go TEAM USA!!

2008 Beijing Olympics - Day One

The 2008 Beijing Olympics started of with a bang!! I have been watching as many events as I can and everyday, I'll make a post about the events I watched that day, starting with Day One, August 9.
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Women's Preliminary Volleyball - Japan vs United States


The first event I watched was the first game for the US Women's volleyball team. It was a close game, but the US team took the win. They won 3 sets to Japan's 1 set, with an end result of 95 to 85. Very exciting game that my son enjoyed while eating french toast and eggs for breakfast. :-)


Women's Individual Sabre - JACOBSON Sada (USA) vs ZAGUNIS Mariel (USA)




Yes, that does say USA vs USA. This was the Gold Medal Match and it came down to 2 Americans. I don't really understand this sport much, but it was interesting to watch. Mariel Zagunis was able to defend her Gold Medal from Athens by winning this match.




Women's Preliminary Beach Volleyball - Walsh/May-Treanor (United States) vs Teru Saiki/Kusuhara (Japan)


During the Athens Olympics, this dynamic duo was unstoppable!! Since then, they have gone on to win 101 games in a row!! And, like those other games, these girls won this one as well!! They played on, despite the light rain and humid conditions. I look forward to these ladies winning gold again.






Men's 400m Individual Medley Final - Michael Phelps, Gold Medal




Michael Phelps is off to a good start, winning his first of (hopefully) 8 gold medals. During this race, he also set a new world record, 4:03:84. This was one of Michael's hardest races and he made it seem like a piece of cake. I can't wait for Michael's 7 other races and watching him win gold in all of them!!



Men's Qualifying Gymnastics




I didn't get to watch much of this event (unfortunately) because I was driving home from work when they started. From what I did see, the US Men's Gymnastics team is off to a great start! Always an exhilarating sport to watch, this year's US team is made up of all Olympic-newbies, but they all seemed like old pros.


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Well, that's all I watched on Saturday. A fantastic start to what will be a phenomenal Summer Olympics! Keep checking back every evening for a new blog post about that day's event.


Go TEAM USA!!

Olympic Sale!!

In honor of the Olympics, why not have a sale? I'm currently running a sale in both my Etsy shops, August 8 - August 24. Click the links below to go directly to my "Olympic Sale" sections to find some great deals on everything from jewelry to greeting cards. I have a lot of new items I am working on right now and will start to list them next week. So, I need to start clearing out some merchandise. If you make a purchase from both of my shops, I will adjust the shipping and refund you the difference. Happy shopping!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5590465&section_id=5572009 (GiftsEtc)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5376487&section_id=5566322 (Skincandy)

2008 Beijing Olympics - Opening Ceremonies

The world of sports is buzzing with excitement. 08-08-08 was the beginning of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. I am not a huge fan of sports, but whenever the Olympics come around, you'd think otherwise. From the start of the opening ceremonies, to the conclusion of the 17 day event, I am glued to the TV, watching every moment of every competition that I can watch. This year is no different. My son, although just 18 months old, watched some of the opening ceremonies with me Friday night...and was late going to bed by an hour. lol It was amazing to share the excitement with him. He doesn't realize what's going on, but his eyes just lit up when the fireworks lit up the night sky in Beijing.

The opening ceremonies this time were just spectacular!! The 2008 drummers in the beginning (my son's favorite part) were mind boggling. And the 2008 (noticed how they used 2008 performers for each segment?) martial arts masters were completely in sync with each other, making for a breathtaking show. Another part I really enjoyed was watching the performers use their bodies to "paint" on a scroll!! What a sight!! The highlight, as it always is, was watching the lighting of the torch. Li Ning, a former Chinese Gymnastics star, was lifted in the air and "ran" sideways around a screen at going around the top of the North Stadium.

Another highlight for me during this opening ceremony was when the Chinese team walked in. Yao Ming, a star basketball player, lead the Chinese team into the stadium and beside him was the cutest little boy. At first, I assumed it was his son, but while listening to the commentary, I found out he was actually a survivor of the horrific earthquake that happened back in May. He is "nine-year-old Lin Hao, a pupil from the area of China's Sichuan province hit by an earthquake who helped to rescue his classmates from the rubble of their school." (http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-09-01.asp) This little boy was soo adorable and such an inspiration!!

The opening ceremonies have come and gone, but the compeitions are well under way. I'm currently watching the women's 4 x 4 relay and the Americans just took second place. I'll be watching evey night...with many more Olympic blog posts to come. :-)

Go TEAM USA!!!

Disney Vacation!!

Well, I think it's about time I update my blog. Been almost 2 weeks since I got home from Disney World. So here goes...
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My mom, my 17 month old son Evan, and I drove up to Orlando to visit my brother and sister. We stayed 4 days and had a great time! We stayed at my brother's new house with his roommate, Quinn. The house was amazing!! A typical bachelor pad, but the neighborhood looked like a really nice family neighborhood, the kind of place where you'd want to raise a family. On Monday, we went to Downtown Disney. We spent a couple of hours going through all the shops and then had dinner back at my sister and her boyfriend's apartment. Poor Evan spent his second night in a row staying up waay past his bedtime. On Tuesday, we had planned on being at Disney at 9 am when it opened, but we woke up late and didn't get there till 11 am. It was hot and crowd, but we're old Disney pros, so we knew how to handle it. lol I expected Evan to be just crazy - running around, grabbing onto everything, just getting into any kind of trouble that he could. Well, to my shock and surprise, he was a perfect angel!! He never once complained about being in his stroller and even took a nap!! Course, he fell asleep while waiting in line for "It's a Small World" and then slept through the whole thing! My sister, Mom and I had to endure the ride for the bazillionth time in our life. lol Evan loved Cinderella's Carousal and the Pooh Bear ride. And when he saw Mickey Mouse, he smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen on him! Ok, I'm a Pooh Bear fan myself and I even have his room decorated in all Pooh. Well, the first time he saw Mickey on TV, that was it. He was hooked! It's been everything Mickey since then. Seeing Evan's face light up when he saw Mickey and Minnie standing there waiting for him definitely made my day. It was the highlight of the entire trip. Course, after that it decided to rain, so we left early. We actually decided to go to dinner at Bongo's in Downtown Disney. All I'm going to say is that it wasn't the best place to eat in the world. I'm a Cuban and I didn't enjoy their version of Cuban food at all. Ok, enough dissing. lol My brother and his gf, my sister and her bf, and I all went back to the Magic Kingdom after dinner to watch the fireworks (which were amazing!!) and go on some of the rides. We watched the Spectro Magic Parade and Cinderella waved to me!! (I'm the biggest Cinderella freak ever!! lol) And then the Prince blew me a kiss!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. lol Anyways, the next day we spent 6 1/2 hours at Ikea. Evan was a little cranky that did, but at least he took a nap in the shopping cart! And the next day we drove home. :-( All in all, we had a great time and were exhausted by the time we got home.

SUPER DUPER 2 DAY SALE!!!

If you couldn't already tell by my countdown, I'm taking my son, Evan, 17 months old, to Disney World on Tuesday - his first time to see the Mouse!! And yes, my son is quite the Mouse freak. lol To help offset the cost of gas, which is just crazy high right now, I've decided to have a 2 day Super Duper Sale in both my shops:

http://giftsetc.etsy.com/

http://skincandy.etsy.com/

Here is the sale:

*****SUPER SPECIAL 2 DAY SALE!! ENDS FRIDAY!!*****

YOU CHOOSE THE SALE THAT YOU WANT!! PLEASE MENTION WHICH SALE YOU'D LIKE IN MESSAGE TO SELLER AND WAIT FOR REVISED INVOICE BEFORE PAYING.

SALE #1 - FREE SHIPPING ON ENTIRE ORDER

SALE #2 - BUY ONE AT FULL PRICE, GET ONE 50%

SALE #3 - 20% OFF TOTAL PURCHASE

Happy Shopping!!

My brand new treasury!!

I got a treasury today that I really loove!! It features all sorts of items using the same fabric. Kleo, by Alexander Henry. I was first introduced to this fabric by my friend, Barb, who runs 2 shops on Etsy. I purchased the cutest little purse from her that used this fabric. When she started making grocery bag dispensers, I knew I had to have one in the same fabric as well.

I hope you enjoy this treasury as much as I loved making it. Feel free to leave a comment on the treasury by clicking on the image below. Enjoy!!

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who participated in my very first blog contest! The results from the poll are as follows:

"Which Disney Princess is your favorite?"

Belle - 5 votes (25%)

Ariel - 5 votes (25%)

Cinderella - 4 votes (20%)

Jasmine - 3 votes (15%)

Sleeping Beauty - 2 votes (10%)

Snow White - 1 vote (5%)

Mulan - 0 votes (0%)

The contest was alot of fun, seeing who all everyone chose and why. To choose the winner, I used a website that automatically selects one name from all those who entered. And the winner is...drum roll please...

Lara from http://lara514.etsy.com/ !!!

Congratulations Lara! You have won a $10 gift certificate to either of my shops, your choice!

http://skincandy.etsy.com/

http://giftsetc.etsy.com/

Thank you to all who participated!! Keep checking back for more contests!! Or sign up for my mailing list (in the left column) and find out first when I'm having contests, sales and new items listed.

Don't forget, there's a princess in all of us!! May we all have our happily ever after!!