Short & Sweet!

Today, I am so excited because my mom and dad will be here on Saturday.  Saturday!!!!!!  It is almost unreal to think that they are coming.  Really, Brazil doesn’t seem too far away with Skype and the internet and I do have English speaking friends, but nevertheless we couldn’t be more excited. 

Saturday I will pick them up at the airport and bring them to the house.  The kids will be waiting at home with a babysitter; Rodrigo will just be getting home from work.  Then next day we are having a BBQ at the house.   I have invited everyone my friends and Rodrigo’s family.  This should be lots of fun.  Then next day we are going to the little Trout fishing place, so that Ben can show his pop pop  just how good at fishing he is and then we will sit down to eat.  Tuesday – Thursday we will take at least one day trip to the mountains but hang around here mostly.  Friday is my Birthday and we are headed to the Beach for 3 nights and 4 days.  Short and Sweet! 

Melts my heart.

Last night all of our vehicles happened to be in the shop and it put a damper on getting anything accomplished for the day.  It was Rodrigo’s day off and we had a list a mile long.  As crappy as the day could have been… there was one moment that will stand out in my head for the rest of my life. 
As we were walking to get a taxi to take us home from the Mechanics shop, I realized that I was going to have to walk towards town for an appointment that I had in about an hour.  I was close so, I said good bye to Rodrigo and the kids.  As they were walking away I saw an image that made my heart melt.

Rodrigo was holding Gabriela’s baby and a motorcycle helmet in one hand and holding Gabi’s hand in the other and then Ben was holding Gabi’s other hand.     They took up the whole sidewalk.  Gabi had a baby doll dress on and tennis shoes.  It was picture perfect and a good reminder of how lucky I truly am.

Tired Tired Tired

Too tired to write but I am having some marvelous experienced that I cant wait to tell you about

Dona de Casa

This next segment is going to be about Dona de Casa.  This actually means house wife.  I don’t think I have ever been a great house wife or even a good cleaner.  But the one thing that drove me the most crazy when I got here is now something that I am very proud of.  It is how women take care of the home. 

The picture is actually the first step to being a good Dona de Casa.  Why?  Because we wash our dishes by hand.  My mother in law had a similar set and I couldnt wait for the day to have my own. Seriously, this was so exciting for me.  Ben chose the color and I think he did great.  So on the left is the trash bucket.  I cant tell you how handy this when you are cooking.  The second is the holder for the soap.  All of the dish soap fits in this container just perfectly.  This is the size of the soap.  I usually by Ype soap and it runs about $1 real, then the one on the right holds your sponge and drain stopper.  It is almost scientific how basic and usefull these 3 little containers are.  The squeege is also a huge part to keeping house especially the floors.  This will next.

Smelling the roses

Since I have started this blog and have been writing every day, I have been observing how I work.  What I am trying to say it that I do things for a while, then stop and then get the urge to pick it up again.  What I noticed is that what I used to call “I’m the type of person who likes to start things and not finish them” was not actually true.  I used to get discouraged and think “how could I have been so into that yesterday and today I am completely uninterested”.  Well what I can see now is not that I won’t finish things it’s just that I do a little here and a little there until it gets done.  I am learning to trust myself and my ideas and only to push them when I have the urge.  When I don’t have the urge, I know now that it is ok to put my energy into the other things that feel good at that moment.  This also has allowed me to let go of the anxiety that I am not getting anything done or getting it done fast enough.  Now when I feel this anxiety, I actually stopped to think about how crazy it is to live with these thoughts.

I started this Blog because a couple of weeks before the big move I was thinking about the unknown.  How did I get to the point where I would pack up and move to a foreign country?  I started writing one night and was pleasantly surprised how my words were coming across on paper.  As I was trying to collect a few new activities to take with me to Brasil anyway I ran the idea across a few of my friends just before I left.  One of my friends upped the stakes.  He bet me $1000 to do the blog every day.  I’ve always been up for a challenge especially where money was concerned, but money or no money; this blog has been one of the best activities of my life.   Just having this outlet alone is worth all of the money in the world especially the first 2 months in Brazil.  Not to mention this gift of seeing myself and the interesting cycles of my life.  I had never taken the time to smell the roses I guess.