"Standing upright again after a day in bed with an ice pack. Sharing birthday cake with my Daughter Girls!"

On Tuesday night, Oprah says "Thank you Calgary!" as she wraps up her sold-out show during her three-city Canadian tour. Oprah stepped out in her white cowboy hat, a symbol of hospitality that Calgary often shares with visiting dignitaries and celebrities.

Hello my friends...Greetings from Calgary.  Cold up here.  Wishing you warmth wherever you are.  

“Leaning in for lunch chat with Sheryl Sandberg at Flea Street Cafe.”

"Merry Christmas from my house to yours!"—Oprah

"Look what I just gathered. Chickens are workin'."—Oprah

Some days, work isn't work at all, and last Friday was one of those days.

Ten of America's best Olympic Legends minus Bruce Jenner whom I'd just recently interviewed at his home, joined me at my home to talk sports and life: What it means to take the deepest dives, run your best race, triple twirl in midair and land on your feet, solid.

WOW! The day was filled with new ahas. I have such new found respect for the sacrifice and determination it takes to be world class... to be an Olympian. I thought I had some idea. I've interviewed every one of these athletes before throughout the years of the Oprah show, but never like this. I did 8 hours straight one on one and walked away wanting to do better and be better. I will for sure see the Olympics now with a different set of eyes and consciousness.

I often say my goal in life is to fulfill the highest truest expression of myself as a human being. What I realized is these Olympic athletes actually fulfill that mission daily.

What it takes to be a champion is what we're all looking for. Don't you think? Don't you want to be a champion mother? A champion spouse and friend? A champion in your passion and pursuits? Don't you want every day of your life to be a personal best?

That for sure is what I continue to strive for.

I thought I was driven. But just like standing with the Miami HEAT in my highest heels 2 weeks ago, I still came up short. These guys are in a class all by themselves. Their champion drive and spirit ignites the champion spirit within us all that makes us want to pull for them and REACH for ourselves.

That's why coming together every four years, the nations of the world, putting aside our differences in beliefs, and practices with our eye on the prize of excellence is such a monumental move in the direction of what is good and true. That's the real spirit of the Olympics.

This was one of the best conversations of my career with some of the best people of our species. They've made records and broken them. They have matured with the wisdom and perspective of what it takes to be defined as the GREATEST in their field. And know what it takes to walk away and create a new life and still fill whole, to start their own Next Chapter.

You can watch a preview here: http://youtu.be/aeGL9zDTtZM

They are all going to London to cheer on their favorites for 2012 and talk about who to watch and who they're rooting for. I'll be cheering from the sofa in my family room. Join me and celebrate these Legends as they share the secrets of creating HUMAN ART through athletics. I was literally soaring after a full day with these Champions. I feel fortified from being in their presence. I think you'll feel the same. NEXT CHAPTER Sunday July 22nd at 8pm ET.

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy seeing how other people live.  Since I was a girl leaving church on Sunday in my father's big ole green Oldsmobile, I always wanted to take the long way home so we could see the neighborhoods with the pretty houses. Did you ever play that game with yourself, picking the big fancy house you most wanted to live in and pretending  it was yours?  I used to do that a lot. Now I'm blessed to live in a big fancy house and some days I still can't believe I live here. I often get goosebumps just walking across the lawn with my dogs. Walking barefoot in grass makes me happy. Add some trees, preferably oaks and I'm ecstatic. I delight in simple pleasures in beautiful settings. The pic below is one of my favorite places on earth. My side yard, with my reading , praying, meditation chair.  No matter where I go in the world, my heart rests most easy here.

I'm curious about what spaces do for other people, that's one of several reasons I traveled to the Bahamas to have an extensive conversation with The one and only David Copperfield who owns a total of 11 islands -- now called the Islands of Copperfield Bay.  Talk about living LARGE!  Breathtaking, tranquil, fantastic just begins to describe it all.  He works like a slave, 600 shows a year. And lives like he earned and deserves every amenity. The place was so beautiful I wanted to take home the shower gels. I thought that would be tacky, so I just took a picture to remind me to buy it myself.

Join me for a great conversation with the world's greatest magician David Copperfield in his exquisitely private magical space this Sunday at 10p ET on NEXT CHAPTER.

—Oprah