Friday, August 01, 2008

spt



the Olympics arrive this month! are you as excited as i am?? i have always been a fan of the Olympic Games (although i profess to be slightly more excited by winter games than summer.) my fondness for the Olympics rose to new heights when i was living in atlanta during the Summer Games 1996. wow. that seems like a lifetime ago.

this summer, the Games will be in Beijing, which is just about as far away from north carolina as you can get! i look forward to watching dozens of competitions (swimming and diving are high on my must-watch list). but i'm almost more excited to see the *human interest* stories, the geographical video clips, the cultural snippets we will be exposed to through the wonders of NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, sports bloggers and even creative women currently living in the host city.

while i'm far from an Olympic athlete, i like to think that i exhibit some of the same skill and determination that they do. so this month, for spt, i will challenge myself to uphold the ideals of the Olympic motto:

citius, altius, fortius
[faster, higher, stronger]
These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition, and to view this effort as a victory in itself.



so, how about this? there are four tuesdays in august (which happens to be one of the craziest months of the year.) i know i will have my hands full with "Seussical," installing new carpet at the hotel, back to school, and, of course, watching the Olympics!! i want to make the most of my spt for the month, without feeling pressure to answer specific challenges each week. so, this month, each week we will do the same challenge!

each week, think about the Olympic motto, and how it can apply to our every day lives. citius. altius. fortius. are we giving our best? can we find victories in the efforts we make every day?

i'll see you on the gold medal podium!

20 comments:

Jill said...

I LOVE the Olympics and am so excited to watch them. We recorded a bunch of the Olympic trials and loved watching those as well, it's so exciting.

This topic should be super interesting because there's so much room for interpretation.

Windy said...

I agree with you - I like the Winter Olympics better than the summer - but I'm still excited to watch them!

This is going to be quite a challenge for me - finding victories in my efforts each day. I'm sitting at the computer right now after having a mighty battle with my 5 year-old about lunch. I'd like to say I won, but really I may have won this battle, but she's winning the war! It will be a good exercise for me to see something positive in my performance!

Amy said...

cool idea, Lelly!
I too, went to the 96 Olympics...it was too close not to go...wasn't it smoldering hot?!!!!
We went the day after the bombing, so it was extra exciting :)

I also have a very strong interest in this summer's olympics since it is in my daughter's birth country. When we were there over 5years ago, the people were already preparing for this summer!

I can never decide which I like better: summer or winter. They are both cool and the athletes are amazing. I am really looking forward to seeing Dara in the swimming as well as Michael.
Remember Greg Louganis( I know I misspelled that!) hitting his head on the diving board many years ago??
Nadia is my all time favorite olympian athlete...love the gymnastics!

Rachael said...

I love love love the Olympics! I can't wait for them.
This month's challenge looks like it will be a challenge as well! I will give it my best!

Laurie said...

This one is going to motivate me to do better this month, which I really need!

I have fond memories of being a child and loving the gymnastics during the '84 Olympics.

Amanda said...

love, love, love this. thank you!

I love everything about the olympics as well! the stories, competition, etc. in fact, this week we've been watching "wild china" on the travel channel just to gear up.

we tried twice to see ski jumping when the winter olympics were in Utah {I lived there then} but it was too windy and snowy and the event was cancelled.

Chris said...

Glad you are back and what a challenge! This is going to be fun. I hope I can stay on top of it this month. It is a crazy month.

Shelly said...

welcome back!

I love the olympics! winter and summer! All of it!

August can be a wild month, and sometimes I don't think I have time to think! Hmmmmmm, this will be a challenge. I'll have to really think and stay focused.

Thanks for an olympic size challenge!

patsy said...

Lelly- how do you do it? You have the best ideas every month! now if you could only get losers like me to participate...
you know what they say about good intentions???

Janiece said...

This is a great idea! So excited to start!
This is a great topic for me.
I need to work harder at giving my best!

Rebekah said...

lovin' the latin, baby! can't wait! i've never been particularly fast, or strong, but sometimes people think i'm high...so...;)

Laurie said...

Good one! This will be interesting. I'm looking forward to the Olympics also. Escpecially since they're in China.

Holly said...

I likey! Lots of ways to take this one...once again, love your brain.

Marie said...

Oh, this sounds like a challenge. BUT one that isn't going to change, which will be helpful.

I have to tell you, I just love Seussical the Musical! So great!

Sorry to hear you were blue a couple of days ago. Hope you are feeling better now.

Lene said...

ooohhh - this sounds fun.

I love watching the olympics. I can't wait for the opening ceremonies.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for the olympics to start too.
Sounds like a fun/hard month of SPTs. Hey, at least they were easy in July! I'll just have to buck up and be creative for Aug.

The Monkeys said...

OH, summer olympics all the way! But that was because I compete in gymnastics in high school and also ran track and field. Love watching both! Fun idea and way to inspire us at a kind of lazy time of the year- at least for me! I guess not you! :)

Becky said...

this is wonderful, Lelly! You are so creative (you know that don't you?).

Hope you are feeling better...good luck with all of the August craziness!

Megan said...

I just read this and had a panic attack, I hope I haven't missed any olympics, I'm a huge fan. I haven't watched TV for the past month, so I guess I need to tune in a little closer now!

Aranne and Dan said...

This is a great theme and a great challenge... Thanks for coming up with this one and passing it on to us... It is already Tuesday as I am ready this (just coming back from vacation) so I better get on it... How do you come up with these?