How Fitting for the 2014 Sochi Olympics

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it is still snooooowing in portland and it’s fabulous. it’s mostly fabulous because my husband and i generally work from home and we aren’t traveling this weekend so i can spend a lot of time pretending to work but just watching the big fluffy snowflakes fall. here’s a photo i took about 7 minutes ago and it makes me happy!

tips for new wives portland oregon snowingthis is very fitting and very festive since the 2014 winter olympics are happening in russia and the opening ceremonies were last night! here’s how our conversation went last night when we remembered they would be on:

me: ohhhhh my goodness!! let’s watch the opening ceremonies to olympics-i will find it online since we don’t have cable
husband: cowabunga! that’s a great idea! (okay…i added the ‘cowabunga’)
me: UGGGGH you have to have a cable subscription in order to live stream this. i knew i shouldn’t have let you talk me into not at least having basic cable. this is ruining everything (sometimes i get dramatic)
husband: um. that’s kind of intense…i don’t think everything is ruined.
me: yes it is. so now i will sit here and sulk. (and i did for about 5 minutes)

it wasn’t very pretty and i overreacted and this was after i ate 2 cookies. i am starting to think sugar effects my mood in not a good way- but they sure were delicious and still warm.

tips for new wives portland snow cookiesthen we remembered that the lobby of our apartment complex has a TV and it has cable! i apologized for being overly dramatic and it turns out not everything is actually ruined. i’m not really sure why i get so intense about things but i think part of it is that i can get really excited about things and when it doesn’t happen, i take it a little too personally. does this happen to anyone else?

we went down there right as the ceremonies were starting and sat for about 3 minutes until we realized it was actually just about the same temperature inside that area as it was outside. since i was a butthead earlier, i offered to run back upstairs and grab some necessities to keep us warm.

this included hats, gloves, blankets and of course, russian vodka to be sipped out of mugs. i hope you notice my cranberry juice as my mixer because all straight alcohol tastes like rubbing alcohol to me. ew.

tips for new wives russian vodkawe specifically saved this bottle of vodka to drink during the olympics so it would feel extra special! we traveled to moscow and st. petersburg and you can start reading about our adventures here in case you missed them! it was quite the experience.

i’m not sure how everyone knew we were tourists.

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we bundled up, settled in and watched the somewhat bizarre but well done opening ceremonies!

tips for wives chelsea avery ryan avery olympicsmy husband and i had two very different reactions to the USA’s outfits. i happened to find them way too crazy and it looked like they were wrapped in quilts or going to an ugly sweater party but he LOVED them. well, to each their own.

tips for new wives sochi olympics usawe also found it super weird that like half of the athletes from small countries didn’t really live there but were still representing them? i don’t think that’s fair and i don’t really like it. what i did like was the awesome outfits that the russian lady athletes were wearing though! so festive and warm AND they were smiling!

tips for new wives russia olympicswe were reminded of how true it was while we were over in russia that people really do not smile at one another very frequently when you make eye contact with strangers like we typically do in the US. the fact that this was Putin’s face after he officially opened the games that he ‘fought so hard’ to get to his country-you might have thought that he was delivering some terrible news that the 5th olympic ring wouldn’t open and the games were canceled (only part of that is true).

tips for new wives russian olympics putinthat was fascinating to witness first hand and i never really realized how awkward it is to smile at someone and get nothing back. that being said, most everyone that we interacted with in russia was friendly to us if we got to talking but the passing interactions felt very different. i am glad that we were able to catch the opening ceremonies and if anyone wants to give us your cable login so we can stream the games-we wouldn’t be opposed!tips for wives portland crosscountry ski powells

also, if you ever questioned “is portland really like portlandia?!” the above is evidence that it’s pretty spot on. what else would you do when a quirky city gets a little snow? cross country ski through the streets of downtown, duh!

hope you are enjoying your weekend!

the new wifestyle: make it better when you overreact, no one wants to be around a crazy person.

questions:
1) are you a fan of the olympics? did you watch the opening ceremonies and what sport are you most looking forward to?
2) do you like the snow or are you telling summer to hurry up?
3) do you tend to get a little intense or are you pretty even keeled? 

4 Comments

  1. Marc Gabris

    February 8, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    Way to find a solution and bundle up! My girlfriend and I are both guilty of getting dramatic. I enjoy the Winter Olympics the best I think. Both are so awesome it’s really hard to say. You two are making money right? Why don’t you just buy cable during the Olympics?

    • chelsea

      February 8, 2014 at 6:41 pm

      glad to hear i’m not the only one! i suppose i should have mentioned we don’t have cable because we don’t have a TV because my husband convinced me to ‘try it out’ so i did and here we are. i suppose we could get it for the olympics but it seems like a pain to have someone come out and install it just so we can get it on online! i think we will survive though 🙂 hope you are enjoying the olympics!

  2. Paula Howley

    February 8, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    Way to go on the Russian vodka thing. BRILL.
    1. I love the Olympics and a little bit hate them. Mostly love. You saw my facebook note from 4 years ago when we had the Olympics. It was grand!
    I totally saw the opening ceremonies- and loved them- felt so sorry for the programmer whose ring didn’t open. Probably in the Gulag right now. I’m most looking forward to all the figure skating and wait for it………HOCKEY!!!!
    Haley Wickenheiser was Canada’s flagbearer. She is the goalie for the Canadian women’s hockey team and she is at her SIXTH Olympic games. I just found out she went to the summer games once too but can’t remember what sport. wow, no pressure to be HER kid eh?
    2. I like snow a lot but I love summer much more.
    3. I think you know the answer to that question and FRANKLY I’m a little OFFENDED you ASKED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!!

    • chelsea

      February 8, 2014 at 6:43 pm

      bahaha your comment of being offended that i asked if you ever get intense totally cracked me up, Paula! you funnnnny. i felt sad for the ring that didn’t open up either-yikes! ohhhh go Canada and all your hockey glory! haley w. sounds like a badass. i’m going to keep my eyes peeled for her!