Yes, we did go to Brazil this year for two weeks. We usually go every other year, but, much to my surprise, between celebrating our 10th anniversary in Hawaii (2007), moving to Wisconsin (2008), and putting in an underground pool (2009), it had actually been 5 years since we'd gone there.
So, my game plan was to do as much as possible of the following: drink Antartica Malzibier (awesome dark beer), caipirinha (the national Brazilian drink), cafezinho (espresso) and green coconut water; visit friends and family; get a Brazilian wax (ouch - like labor, it's the kind of pain you forget) and stay out late. All of that accomplished, we came back with 25 lbs of Brazilian gold (OK, it's really just coffee, but in my book, as good as gold :-), 4 bottles of Brazilian cachaca (rum), and sadly, no new underwear as I had just found a stash from the last trip that still had the tags on.
Now, here's something new I did while in Brazil: Brazilians do not do high school/college reunions as a whole. Some people go get together with the old gang, so to speak, but it's not really a tradition. So, about two months before we went, I got an email from the last boyfriend I dated before leaving the country. I was shocked, to say the least, as we had pretty much lost contact over the years although we still had friends in common that I kept up with. In all the 22 years I've been gone, we've traded one Christmas email and a condolence note when his father passed away. Anyway, the old beau was suggesting a reunion of the old gang, which was pretty much comprised of the people we knew from church when we were dating.
We all met at a pizza place, about 26 came, including some of their kids. The old beau came with the wife and two kids, one of which is in his first year of law school! I was really touched that he (and his family) actually drove 8 hours from their current town to mine just for this reunion. I can't help but wonder what an interesting conversation that must have been when he talked his wife into coming... Anyway, through his somewhat conversational English, he and DH talked for a while. It was nice to see him and know that he and his family are doing well. When we parted, he suggested that we do another reunion next time I go, but this time closer to his town. Although I'd love to do it, honestly, I'm not sure I'm up for traveling not even half way. After all, my family and I have already traveled pretty far just to get to my hometown. I know it sounds selfish, but if you ever drove on Brazilian roads, you'd understand my reluctance. I know they do it everyday but I've been spoiled by the American road system and way of travel - sue me!
Time has passed on both sides of the hemisphere. We've all grown and matured, and some, have developed new facets to our personalities that are both good and bad (depending on who's talking). I was both touched and disappointed in some situations we encountered. No doubt, I've both surprised and disappointed some of them too. Overall, it was a good trip. Certainly more for me than for DH, who was such a trooper taking care of the kids more than ever, so I could have more time with friends I haven't seen in so long. I'm sure he's one of the runner-ups for the "Hubby of the Year" award. I love him - I think I'm gonna keep him!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Practicing for Mother's Day
It's the day before Mother's Day. It's also Saturday, so, a perfect day to practice for tomorrow. For starters, I rise from my peaceful slumber and begin my laborious search for food (PBS anyone?) at 11:30 am. I live a charmed life, I know, and I do count my blessings every day :-)
I come downstairs to find that the natives have already had their breakfast (my weekend chef, DH, is very reliable), but there's pancake batter left for me, the griddle is set on the counter, some bacon was spared, and the cappuccino machine is set up and ready for me to flick that little button that makes the magic of caffeine happen.
Once I've assuaged the hunger and the need for caffeine to course through my veins, making me the very charming and so lively person that you all know (it's all caffeine powered I'm afraid to admit), I realize that while the kids are playing in the living room, DH is no where to be found. The car, I noticed, is also gone. I ask the natives if they know where Daddy went, to which they both claim ignorance, but my boy adds that Daddy may have gone shopping for my Mother's Day gift. All, right, not a bad deal. So I tell the kiddos that, as I'm practicing for Mother's Day, I'm available if anyone wants to be extremely nice to me and practice some foot or back massage or simply be helpful to me in any way, all day. Baby girl says "OK" and baby boy says, and I quote "I'll keep that in mind".
Tomorrow: breakfast in bed!! But have no fear, before I get there, I have 3 loads of laundry to get through... All is well with the world!
I come downstairs to find that the natives have already had their breakfast (my weekend chef, DH, is very reliable), but there's pancake batter left for me, the griddle is set on the counter, some bacon was spared, and the cappuccino machine is set up and ready for me to flick that little button that makes the magic of caffeine happen.
Once I've assuaged the hunger and the need for caffeine to course through my veins, making me the very charming and so lively person that you all know (it's all caffeine powered I'm afraid to admit), I realize that while the kids are playing in the living room, DH is no where to be found. The car, I noticed, is also gone. I ask the natives if they know where Daddy went, to which they both claim ignorance, but my boy adds that Daddy may have gone shopping for my Mother's Day gift. All, right, not a bad deal. So I tell the kiddos that, as I'm practicing for Mother's Day, I'm available if anyone wants to be extremely nice to me and practice some foot or back massage or simply be helpful to me in any way, all day. Baby girl says "OK" and baby boy says, and I quote "I'll keep that in mind".
Tomorrow: breakfast in bed!! But have no fear, before I get there, I have 3 loads of laundry to get through... All is well with the world!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Little Lost Puppy is now roaming around WI :-)
Well, word gets around that you're a Jazzercise Instructor, and then one of my students happens to be a 4th grade teacher at my kids' school. Turns out that the kids were learning about muscles right around spring break, so my student asked if I'd be willing to come do a presentation on muscles for the entire 4th grade (about 100 kids, of which 2 were my own :-). And you know me, never to shy away from some fun, or an opportunity to embarass my little darlings (kids are funny that way), I promptly said yes.
As time drew near, I started to put my presentation together. It's one thing to talk about muscles to grown ups and it's a completely different deal to talk to a bunch of 9-10 year olds about it. So, I did my research, and came up with a nice little set. For the first 25 minutes I talked about some of the major muscles (as talking about the more than 600 muscles we have would not do). Then for the next 20 minutes I actually got the kids to Jazzercise to some really fun songs, mainly from soundtracks of kids' movies they would recognize.
In between the talking and the actual working out, I told the kids the story of the little lost puppy as a way of illustrating the array of muscles we have. If I haven't told you this story yet, allow me to do so now:
Growing up in Brazil, and seven blocks from the beach, if the weather was nice and warm, as it was most of the time, my friends and I would spend a great deal of time at the beach sunbathing and slathering baby oil all over our bodies (yeah, I'm horrified now, but at the time, didn't care, unfortunately). Anyway, quite frequently one of the guys, overly confident about his looks, muscles and Speedo combo, would approach one of the girls with some lame story that would highlight their many muscles. The little lost puppy was the most popular. They would say something like "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could help me. I was walking my little puppy down the beach, and he got away. I wonder if you've seen him? He's about this big (and here he would position his forearms horizontally in front of his torso, palms facing each other - nice deltoid shot), about this wide (here, he would move the forearms vertically, palms still facing each other - nice deltoid and biceps shot). He might have gone this way (here, the left arm would open to the left side) or that way (and the right arm to the other side, thumbs pointing accordingly, so you could get an excellent shot of not only the biceps, but abs as well)?!. All the while squating down so you could see his formidable glutes & quads.
Naturally, the kids loved that little portion of the presentation :-) The following week, I was back at the school as my baby girl's team (of 4 girls) was in the finals for the Battle of the Books, which, incidentally they took 1st place (yeah, we're raising a super reader!!). At the end, two of the girls came up to me to not only say how much fun they had with the muscle presentation, but to also let me know that now the boys are repeating the lost puppy story at virtually every recess. I told them to give it time and it will fade away. However, now I'm thinking that with summer approaching, those boys, being away from school, will have a whole new audience to impress! Oh, my, what have I started?!
Oh, Battle of the Books is a totally voluntary contest they hold in 4th grade. At the beginning of that school year, the kids who want to participate are given a list of 30 books they must read before the contest begins in March. They form teams of 2-4 kids, and amongst them, they must have read all 30 books to do well in the contest. It's kinda of a spelling bee sort of elimination process, where they are asked questions like "In this book the main character learns about Capitalism. Name the title and author" (it's "Lawn Boy" by the way, by Gary Paulsen, in which a boy starts mowing the lawn for his neighbors as a way of making extra money). Our boy also participated, but got eliminated at the semi-finals. We're so proud that he was even willing to take part. He's quite a super reader as well!
As time drew near, I started to put my presentation together. It's one thing to talk about muscles to grown ups and it's a completely different deal to talk to a bunch of 9-10 year olds about it. So, I did my research, and came up with a nice little set. For the first 25 minutes I talked about some of the major muscles (as talking about the more than 600 muscles we have would not do). Then for the next 20 minutes I actually got the kids to Jazzercise to some really fun songs, mainly from soundtracks of kids' movies they would recognize.
In between the talking and the actual working out, I told the kids the story of the little lost puppy as a way of illustrating the array of muscles we have. If I haven't told you this story yet, allow me to do so now:
Growing up in Brazil, and seven blocks from the beach, if the weather was nice and warm, as it was most of the time, my friends and I would spend a great deal of time at the beach sunbathing and slathering baby oil all over our bodies (yeah, I'm horrified now, but at the time, didn't care, unfortunately). Anyway, quite frequently one of the guys, overly confident about his looks, muscles and Speedo combo, would approach one of the girls with some lame story that would highlight their many muscles. The little lost puppy was the most popular. They would say something like "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you could help me. I was walking my little puppy down the beach, and he got away. I wonder if you've seen him? He's about this big (and here he would position his forearms horizontally in front of his torso, palms facing each other - nice deltoid shot), about this wide (here, he would move the forearms vertically, palms still facing each other - nice deltoid and biceps shot). He might have gone this way (here, the left arm would open to the left side) or that way (and the right arm to the other side, thumbs pointing accordingly, so you could get an excellent shot of not only the biceps, but abs as well)?!. All the while squating down so you could see his formidable glutes & quads.
Naturally, the kids loved that little portion of the presentation :-) The following week, I was back at the school as my baby girl's team (of 4 girls) was in the finals for the Battle of the Books, which, incidentally they took 1st place (yeah, we're raising a super reader!!). At the end, two of the girls came up to me to not only say how much fun they had with the muscle presentation, but to also let me know that now the boys are repeating the lost puppy story at virtually every recess. I told them to give it time and it will fade away. However, now I'm thinking that with summer approaching, those boys, being away from school, will have a whole new audience to impress! Oh, my, what have I started?!
Oh, Battle of the Books is a totally voluntary contest they hold in 4th grade. At the beginning of that school year, the kids who want to participate are given a list of 30 books they must read before the contest begins in March. They form teams of 2-4 kids, and amongst them, they must have read all 30 books to do well in the contest. It's kinda of a spelling bee sort of elimination process, where they are asked questions like "In this book the main character learns about Capitalism. Name the title and author" (it's "Lawn Boy" by the way, by Gary Paulsen, in which a boy starts mowing the lawn for his neighbors as a way of making extra money). Our boy also participated, but got eliminated at the semi-finals. We're so proud that he was even willing to take part. He's quite a super reader as well!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wristwatches and aviation
All right, I know this is gonna be a bit long, but I was psyched to learn that we all owe the fact we can wear wristwatches to the Brazilian father of aviation. I know that the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were the two Americans who are generally credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. But a few years earlier, Alberto Santos Dumont, heir of a prosperous coffee producer family in Brazil, decided to dedicate himself to science studies in Paris.
Santos Dumont designed, built, and flew the first practical dirigible balloons. In doing so, he became the first person to demonstrate that routine, controlled flight was possible. This "conquest of the air", in particular winning the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize on October 19, 1901 on a flight that rounded the Eiffel Tower, made him one of the most famous people in the world during the early 20th century.
OK, now, here's the tid bit that got me so proud of my home country for reasons that have nothing to do with month long vacation no matter how long you've worked at a place, carnival, soccer (Brazil is the only country to have won the World Cup 5 times) or caipirinha (the national drink). The wristwatch had already been invented by Patek Philippe, decades earlier, but Santos Dumont played an important role in popularizing its use by men in the early 20th century. Before him wristwatches were generally worn only by women (as jewels), as men favoured pocket watches.
In 1904, while celebrating his winning of the Deutsch Prize at Maxim's Restaurant in Paris, Santos Dumont complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch to time his performance during flight. Santos Dumont then asked Cartier to come up with an alternative that would allow him to keep both hands on the controls. Cartier went to work on the problem and the result was a watch with a leather band and a small buckle, to be worn on the wrist. Ta dah!!
Santos Dumont never took off again without his personal Cartier wristwatch, and he used it to check his personal record for a 220 m (730 ft) flight, achieved in twenty-one seconds, on November 12, 1906. The Santos Dumont watch was officially displayed on October 20, 1979 at the Paris Air Museum next to the 1908 Demoiselle, the last aircraft that he built.
I love learning something new every day :-)
Santos Dumont designed, built, and flew the first practical dirigible balloons. In doing so, he became the first person to demonstrate that routine, controlled flight was possible. This "conquest of the air", in particular winning the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize on October 19, 1901 on a flight that rounded the Eiffel Tower, made him one of the most famous people in the world during the early 20th century.
OK, now, here's the tid bit that got me so proud of my home country for reasons that have nothing to do with month long vacation no matter how long you've worked at a place, carnival, soccer (Brazil is the only country to have won the World Cup 5 times) or caipirinha (the national drink). The wristwatch had already been invented by Patek Philippe, decades earlier, but Santos Dumont played an important role in popularizing its use by men in the early 20th century. Before him wristwatches were generally worn only by women (as jewels), as men favoured pocket watches.
In 1904, while celebrating his winning of the Deutsch Prize at Maxim's Restaurant in Paris, Santos Dumont complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch to time his performance during flight. Santos Dumont then asked Cartier to come up with an alternative that would allow him to keep both hands on the controls. Cartier went to work on the problem and the result was a watch with a leather band and a small buckle, to be worn on the wrist. Ta dah!!
Santos Dumont never took off again without his personal Cartier wristwatch, and he used it to check his personal record for a 220 m (730 ft) flight, achieved in twenty-one seconds, on November 12, 1906. The Santos Dumont watch was officially displayed on October 20, 1979 at the Paris Air Museum next to the 1908 Demoiselle, the last aircraft that he built.
I love learning something new every day :-)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Inspired by the Olympics...
... we went sledding this weekend, down a hill that, although very very modest by Olympic standards (like, thousands of miles away from any comparison, really), did make us appreciate what kind of courage those people competing in the Olympics must have! My, oh, my! My back is slightly bruised from all the bumps I flew over, I ate more snow than I had thought possible, but all in all, a good afternoon was had by all.
Now, if you looked to the side of our hill, you'd see that part of the parking lot had been converted into a hockey rink! Wisconsin people are nothing if not inventive! Talk about making lemonade out of the lemons life hands you! If you're gonna live here, might as well use the natural resources to your advantage somehow!
I was debating whether or not to include a photo here because the color coordination of winter gear in our household leaves a lot to be desired (I'm talking about my get up, not the kids), but, heck, if you can't laugh at yourself, well... it will be just the other people having fun, so why not join them?? However, it wasn't till I got home that, gosh, darn it, I was so busy taking pictures, that I didn't make it into any of them. Better luck next time!
And, get this, yesterday, baby girl went on an overnight trip with the Girl Scouts, so we were resigned to be just the three of us. Later that afternoon, a friend call and there went our boy for an evening of fun, so, not to miss a golden opportunity, dear hubby and I went on a date. We picked this restaurant that sits in front of a lake and when we got there I was wondering if the lake was still frozen enough that we could walk on it. Barely the words left my mouth and I saw this Suburban (as in that mammoth of a car) parked in the middle of said lake! I guess that answered my question. Definitely no global warming issues around here.
122 days left before summer! Get used to it!
Now, if you looked to the side of our hill, you'd see that part of the parking lot had been converted into a hockey rink! Wisconsin people are nothing if not inventive! Talk about making lemonade out of the lemons life hands you! If you're gonna live here, might as well use the natural resources to your advantage somehow!
I was debating whether or not to include a photo here because the color coordination of winter gear in our household leaves a lot to be desired (I'm talking about my get up, not the kids), but, heck, if you can't laugh at yourself, well... it will be just the other people having fun, so why not join them?? However, it wasn't till I got home that, gosh, darn it, I was so busy taking pictures, that I didn't make it into any of them. Better luck next time!
And, get this, yesterday, baby girl went on an overnight trip with the Girl Scouts, so we were resigned to be just the three of us. Later that afternoon, a friend call and there went our boy for an evening of fun, so, not to miss a golden opportunity, dear hubby and I went on a date. We picked this restaurant that sits in front of a lake and when we got there I was wondering if the lake was still frozen enough that we could walk on it. Barely the words left my mouth and I saw this Suburban (as in that mammoth of a car) parked in the middle of said lake! I guess that answered my question. Definitely no global warming issues around here.
122 days left before summer! Get used to it!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Something out of the bucket list
You've all heard that as you get older people start looking a little more deeply into their bucket list. You know, things you'd like to cross off your list before you kick the bucket. Well, I haven't put too much thought into my bucket list, but this is definitely something to have crossed off said list: I have now performed at a professional basketball team half-time show! Me and about 150 of my Jazzercise pals (about half instructors and half students) performed at the Milwaukee's Bucks' game two weeks ago. I'll add the link below and you can watch the 4 minute performance. For the first 3 minutes I'm facing the opposite side of the camera, but we switch sides for the last minute. See if you can find! Hint: I'm wearing a red shirt :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjwuJVoCtJQ
Go ahead, and start pondering: what's in your bucket list? It's never too early or too late to start!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjwuJVoCtJQ
Go ahead, and start pondering: what's in your bucket list? It's never too early or too late to start!
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