Today marks Day 1 of my hiatus into the world ‘off the grid’.  I honestly haven’t gone this long without a pure form of the intarweb for the past six years or so.  Sure,  I have my cell phone, and most of the time I can survive with that (the admin page of this blog, gmail, espn, the basics).  But I’m going to have quite the catching up to do on some of my favorite feel-good websites.  So, read them for me, would ya?

Quirky, comfy and original.  I lived on this website as I was decorating my new apartment. From paper products to home decor, I have a happy moment here each morning before work.

With a tagline like that who needs to say more.  Music lovers bookmark this one!

Think celebgossipblogging but about sports.  No, this isn’t about where Kobe had dinner last night, but if you’ve ever owned a fantasy team, this should be bookmarked.

Home redesign done with creativity and more than a few amazing tips. Have a design dilemna? They can help!

More design goodness.

My New Music HQ

So starts the transition.  Week 1:  Monday Night Football.  Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers.  The year when so many of the Pack Nation try and forget about the drama of the off-season.  Naturally, you have to cheer for #12 as Mr Rodger’s Neighbor is now in full effect.  But, what about that #4 in Jets Green and Silver?  What do you do about him?  I guess that’s for each fan to decide on their own, but for now I say there’s plenty of room in this girl’s heart for more than one QB on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau field.  (Beating the Vikings does make the love flow that much easier. Just FYI.)

I should be in bed.  I should be sleeping.  I should have waited til morning or sometime next week to watch the U.S. Men’s Basketball team in the Olympic Gold final game versus Spain, but living in a world full of shoulds is boring.  I’m sure as I stumbled in the house tonight at 11:35pm after a long day of move-in support it wasn’t a wise decision to call my parents and hear my dad already lit up about the officiating of the game.  I know I shouldn’t have settled into that big comfy chair, thrown my weary feet on that ottoman, and turned on the tv.  But the ‘Redeem Team’ was down by five in the first, and the Gasol boys were making a louder statement than most of the world thought possible.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I know if they would have been winning, I might have crawled into bed and waited til morning to find out their margin of victory, yet this was going to be a game to be remembered.  I couldn’t miss it.  The boys needed my support.  So I stayed up.  Tried not to yell and wake the neighbors.  Watched LBJ and Kobe pickup those first few ticky-tack fouls.  Got chills as DWade stepped up and took his place as ‘the man’.  Watched us build a lead, and watched Spain inch back.  Sat on the edge of my seat until deep in the morning, and finally watched the boys celebrate with their much coveted gold.  As they stepped arm in arm back onto the platform we had owned for so many years, I knew that the sleep I’d get tonight (even if it was two hours less than I had originally planned) would be that much sweeter because for one night… everything was right in the world, again.  (I dare you to watch the medal ceremony and not get chills.  Maybe, just maybe, I don’t hate Kobe so much.)

Stupid freakin’ NBC and their Olympic monopoly. I wanted to show you Phelps’ amazing 100m fly swim last night which was easily the greatest minute of Olympic competition I’ve ever seen. But, nooooooo, NBC wouldn’t allow me to embed it. /rant So if you haven’t seen this swim to gold, I won’t spoil it for you. Just make sure you check it out on the NBC site even if they currently suck at life.

If you haven’t watched this yet, GO NOW! The boy/man is a beast.

Phenomenal Photos From The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

Finally, the Olympics are here, and there is SO much to be excited for.  Is the USA Basketball team ready to reclaim gold? Can Phelps walk away with eight medals and records? Will the men gymnastic team do it without the Hamm twins?  Are you ready for it?

… and the question I ask myself is “why?”