Winter Wonderland

I'm one of those oddballs that actually enjoys winter, and the winter Olympics is no exception. Just like I prefer coats and boots to humidity and sweating, I'll take skating and sliding over running and swimming any day of the week. And, yes, it's barely fall (and still well over 80 degrees here in Miami), but I spend the full year and a half lead-up to every winter Olympics in a perpetual wintry mood.

See?

Has anyone else heard that the Utah Olympic Exploratory Committee (because apparently that's a real thing) has recommended to the governor and Salt Lake City's mayor that Salt Lake City should bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics? Just me? Well, you're welcome.

I've been a little bit depressed ever since the USOC announced that there'd be no American Olympics bids for 2020. Because, really, 20+ years is way too long to go without an Olympics, America! And 2026 is still a bonafide lifetime away (I'll turn 35 during those Games -- holy crap), but Utah would need a formal bid process in place by... 2016. Okay, so, that's still way too far in the future. But if that's the best we can hope for than I'll start getting excited now, because the atmosphere of home field advantage at the Olympics is absolutely incredible. I never really felt it until I was there, but I can't even fathom how awesome it would be to cheer on Team USA in the USA. If you think going to a football game and cheering the home team feels like camaraderie, imagine that the whole country is the stadium.

Again, you're welcome. ;)

But in the meantime, we've still got Sochi to look forward to (in less than 500 days!). In the terms of an Olympic host city that's, like, tomorrow. So some exciting stuff is happening over there! The Sochi 2014 Winter Games Facebook page put up some photos of the Adler Arena and "Iceberg" Skating Palace.

So pretty! I love how the clean lines and whiteness of the building feel and look like ice.

Also recently released are the Sochi pictograms!

Call me a nerd (guilty as charged), but I'm so excited about these. They're ADORABLE! I said it in my post about Sochi.Park and I'll say it again -- I am totally head over heels with the Sochi design scheme. The font and the colors are perfect, and I absolutely love that the pictograms were inspired by the ones used at the Moscow Games in 1980.

Now, aren't you excited for winter too? :)