looking forward to: the london olympics

I've been an Olympics nerd since second grade, when my local library's summer reading program was Olympics-themed and we could earn medals for reading books.  In third grade, the teachers in my multi-age classroom had us keep a scrapbook about the winter Olympics in Norway.  My scrapbook was all about figure skating- I loved to put on my roller skates and pretend to be Nancy Kerrigan in my living room.

Nancy Kerrigan via Lucky Magazine

While I am not an athlete by any stretch of my imagination (at least until Michael Jackson Experience for the Wii becomes an Olympic event), something about the world coming together to celebrate excellence goes right to my heart.  I'm really looking forward to watching the Opening Ceremonies with my family tomorrow when I get home from camp.

My playlist for the day will include tracks from the (possibly) leaked opening ceremonies playlist - people who know me can probably guess how excited I am that Paul McCartney is going to "close the opening."  Paul McCartney is one of my favorite people in the world - seeing him perform live is on my wish list for life.

Beatles music, check.  What's the other British thing I love most in the world?  Shakespeare.  If I was in charge of the London Olympics, the stadium would be a larger-than-life model of the Globe Theater.  The stadium is going to be turned into an English meadow, and Shakespeare's not going to be left out:  a 27-ton bell inscribed with a line from The Tempest will ring to begin the opening ceremonies.

The Tempest is my favorite, y'all.  Nice choice, Danny Boyle.  When I asked Mr. Q if we could turn our home into an English meadow for the opening ceremonies, he said no to live sheep and chickens and yes to Astro-turf.  I love Tinyme's Opening Ceremonies bingo printables and will probably make my family play along!

Ralph Lauren's U.S. Olympic uniforms via Lucky Magazine

We've already gotten a peek at the Ralph Lauren-designed outfits our athletes will be wearing into the opening ceremonies, and there's been some controversy because said uniforms were made in China rather than here in the U.S.  The company has promised that the uniforms for the 2014 games will be American-made.  If you don't have upwards of $500 to shell out on an official blazer, Old Navy and Gap both have some affordable t-shirts with vintage-inspired Olympics graphics that are much more stylish than the Team USA sweatshirt I wore during my awkward phase in middle school- but check those tags if you're concerned about what country they're made in.