Update for Macae

Back by popular demand- The sticks family. Last year the family had the perfect look out spot for their burrow. It was great for me too because then I could see their little sticks or to be technical, legs. When the grass gets too long workers invade the area to cut the grass and the Sticks family goes into hiding. They found a new home but it makes it difficult to capture their true cuteness. 

To date I know that Mr. Sticks is still happily married to Mrs. Sticks. I have not see the third party lover or possible offspring hanging around. Below here is Mr. Sticks on the look out. Most of the time he is here and Mrs. Sticks can be found somewhere on the beach.... sounds like Nate and I. He goes to work and I play :) Sometimes early in the evening you can see them flying close to our house to hunt or just spread their wings. 

This photo was taken with the highest zoom my camera would take at 12x optical. Not my new camera, which I think still has the same zoom capabilities because I don't have a zoom lens yet, but with my canon powershot. Even still you can barely see him hiding in the center of the picture as the grass meets the beach.

 If I zoom out this is the full view of their home.

Awhile back you may remember Brazil had some crazy rain that brought down out beach path. To this day damage is still being done and our beach looks so sad :(

That whole area used to have the wooden path on the edge accompanied by an asphalt walking path and then a bike path. Now, as you can see the area is completely destroyed.

 The city has redirected the foot path onto on lane of the street. The bike path appears intact but the support below suffered tremendous damage. 

 Our new little path. Blah. Such a sad thing to happen.

 The pictures really just don't do justice to the damage.

That's Macae in a nutshell these days. Unfortunately nothing new to report in the city. Actually, this happened while we went to the US but it caused quite the uproar. The bank workers went on strike.

Apparently some gang member was killed in Rio which cased some backlash in Macae. No biggie for us  but the workers took this as reason to strike saying they didn't feel safe. Why this is important in this day in age with online banking and ATM's on every corner. Well in Brazil, in Macae, not everyone has access to internet and not to mention a computer. Their bills, cash checks, get money are all dependent on a physical visit to the bank. The bank hours are 11am-3pm with a lunch break as it is so many people have to leave work to do their business, which could possibly lead to making less money.

Anyway, all bank activity ceased. The ATM's were scarce with money and most of my friends said that the ATM's would be with out money for days leaving them with no cash. Minor problem for people who have access to debit cards or credit cards but think of the family's that depend on that cash. The week I returned the banks went off strike.... Let me repeat. When I returned. That means that the banks were on strike for over a month!!! WTH?? Seriously. 

The day the banks opened lines around the block formed. I don't think a single Brazilian went to work that day beside the bankers :) Now the day to day bank business sees the normal amount of activity and all the ATM's have money. I am very thankful that even if we would have been here that it wouldn't have effected my family. Thought I would share the random struggles some people endure. 

Have a great weekend!

Tchau,

Sara

Finished Product

I picked up Nate's new sign this afternoon! Looks great huh? Nate's little corner :) above his man grill. When we have cookouts this really is his little corner! I wish I could have put grill master or something like that on it but I didn't think about it at the time.

Tchau,
Sara

Golfin

Off to play golf. This was the only thing I could find to wear. I blame myself really. If only I would have let myself go into the maternity stores! I doubt though that the market for pregnant womens golf clothes is very big :) wish me luck keeping up the energy. I know next week I enter the third trimester and the being tired starts all over again!

Tchau,
Sara

Hustled

Last week for Nate's birthday, yes he turned the dirty 30, I bought him a handmade and painted sign for his outdoor grilling area. There is a guy who sells these treasures around our corner and I pick one out without knowing exactly what is meant except for the 'of barbecue' part of it. I thought, well if I know 66% of the sign it should be good. I also knew that the top word had something to do with little. 

We asked a few people and were told the top word meant little corner. So the sign meant "Little Corner Barbeque". Not bad right? Wrong of course. Turns out the top word is misspelled! I was pissed when I found out!! I got all worked up and rehearsed what I was going to say to the dirty man. 

After lunch I went to the corner and told the man the sign was wrong and I wanted a new one. He laughed. Took the sign and told me he could change it.... Yes, it was that easy. We talked about what to put on the sign and we decided for it to say Nate's little corner. Cantinho do Nate. I can pick up the finished product tomorrow! 

I will post a picture of the new sign tomorrow. What a great day!! I love when things go easier than planned. I guess when you anticipate a huge problem then things can only look up :)

Tchau,

Sara

Osama is dead.

I wasn't going to post anything about this because it really has nothing to do with Brazil or my life at the moment. Then Claudia walked in this morning and the first words out of her mouth, after the morning greeting, were congratulating the US for killing Osama. What? She couldn't have been happier. It was like I gave her a paid day off. 


During the day I keep the radio on to listen to the Portuguese commentators and some of the music. I keep hearing stuff about Obama.... who knew Brazil would have been so happy for the US? Seriously, every time a commercial comes on I hear his name.


Now I just got an email from the US consulate with a travel advisory. Read part of it below. I get these each time something happens anywhere in the world where US citizens could be targeted. 

The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling and

residing abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence

following recent counter- terrorism activity in Pakistan.  Given the

uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in

areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are

strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels

and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.  U.S. citizens should stay

current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their

surroundings at all times.  This Travel Alert expires August 1, 2011.

After hearing nothing but good things about the US killing Osama I think that we are at a very low risk for counter-terrorism. Go troops! Thanks for working hard for our safety.

Tchau,

Sara

27 weeks

Quick photo to satiate my readers. My belly is reaching torpedo status as I approach the end of my second trimester! I am working on a post about our weekend so be patient. Chat later friends.

Tchau,
Sara

What's that smell?

Seriously. Everyday I walk into a different room in my house and I try to figure out where the smell is coming from. Pregnancy threw my nose into overdrive and now the overwhelming smell of everything annoys the crap out of me!

Monday- Master bathroom. Still have not found the source. I believe it is coming from my shower drain which scares me to be honest with you. I have resorted to shutting the door at all times to prevent migration of the smell.

Tuesday- Kitchen. Obviously the trash can but it took me a few hours to pinpoint the exact piece of trash that could induce gagging. Day old cooked chicken bits thrown in the trash.... who knew it could smell eerily similar to tuna? Problem easily solved by taking out the trash- well really I waited for Claudia to get here today to take it out. Since I knew the source of the smell I could avoid the area. Yes, I was lazy so sue me. If I didn't leave stuff like this for her than why would I pay her... right????

Wednesday- Upstairs tv lounge. Pretty sure it's our couch that we have named Big Brown. Yep. Big Brown contracted something and I don't know what to do about it. You walk into the room and the smell mixed with humidity and salt water air smacks you in the face like a five day old pair of Nate's underwear. Totally assuming on the comparison but 98% sure it's accurate. To fix the problem: Decrease the average room temp to 20 Degrees Celsius= 68F and add an automatic aromatic sensor thing. You know the ones that you can find in any public restroom that spray in the most inconvenient of times. Sad, I know but short of calling someone to come and clean the couch I don't know what else to do! I think I might stuff dryer sheets in between the cushions and add a few more humidity containers.

Thursday??? Who knows what my nose will find- haha.

Sorry it's raining so no new pics of the Stick's family or what's going on in Macae. Maybe tomorrow I will have better luck.

Tchau,
Sara

New Toy

Number one most asked question when visiting home: What do you do with your time? Well now I have a perfectly great answer besides mumbling. Trying to dissect my new camera! I mentioned before that I purchased the camera but I didn't really do anything more than take it out of the box until now. I want to learn how to use all the settings and be comfortable with it before Belle gets here. That way I can take tons of great quality photos and pick up a new hobby! 

This probably wouldn't have happened if we still lived in the US. While I have always dreamed of being an artistic person I stumble short of the starting line. Give me sports or science and the game is on. That being said if Belle was born in the US I would be paying high dollar to have her pictures taken. Not to mention that I would be struggling finding time between new baby and possibly a job. 

How am I going to learn you ask? Practice makes perfect and these days there is so much information on the internet. Right now I am becoming familiar with all the settings the camera has to offer. Basically I spend the day looking up what this word means and why it's important. I found a great website that goes over all the basics and it's free. I looked into an online class but maybe in another month I will sign up. 

Haha- Below are a photographs of my new toy which Nate thinks is funny that I am about to post. Dork at heart, what can I say.

The set up looks almost identical to the power shot that I have. One of the reasons I chose the Canon over the Nikon.

Off to dinner with friends. Surprisingly this is the first meal that we have gone out to eat since we have been back instead of me cooking or Nate on the grill! This weekend will break that for sure as we are traveling to Buzios for yet another golf tournament put on by an oil company. Maybe I will nab some great photos to share next Monday?

Tchau,

Sara

House Update

One of the fears that I have after returning from a long trip home is to walk in and find that A. Everything is gone or B. Everything is soaking wet and molded. We pay Claudia to keep her regular schedule while we travel to negate those problems but could she really handle them if they arose? Good for us that each time we return home the house is spotless, mold free, water free and smells amazing.

This time around nothing changed and she even planted some new flowers for me to kill. The pool even still works! Go new pool guy :) Claudia likes him but she says that he talks way too much. I was curious to see how she would handle allowing him into the house to clean the pool while we were away. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. Monday he showed up per usual time, chatted away with Claudia and then went off to work.

Another worry this time around involved GG and the owner who is in the processes of selling our place. I think Claudia feels our house is her turf and GG wants to be a part of it. Too bad she hates him because he never works or does anything for that matter. Anyway, most of the time he feels entitled to enter our house and gets mad when she won't let him in. I have had several talks with him saying that I told her not to let anyone in while we are not home. That includes your worthless booty GG.

Back to topic. I could see GG forcing his way into the house to allow people to look around while we were away. We come home to find out that GG in on vacation too! Talk about luck. I dread the day I have to deal with him when he returns.

Other than that things are pretty good. The leaks still haven't been fixed and who knows if they ever will. The front gate still doesn't work with our phone (which is supposed to allow us to buzz people in without having to go all the way down) and we have reached the year marker that people have been working on it. The elevator button to our floor is on the fritz and I am sure it's only a matter of time before it needs to be fixed.

Overall I have to say that this was one of the easier returns. Brazil was good to me this time around. I can only really speak for myself though. Nate and Brazil always clash but the relationship continues.

Cheers to a great week!

Tchau,
Sara

26 Weeks

Houston. We have a problem. The past week I experienced a huge growth spurt and I feel it. The problem derives from the fact that I really didn't spend very much time getting clothes for my growing body. For some reason I only focused on bras and I bought three shirts just because. Well that's great if you have bottoms to wear with those tops.... I just could bring myself to go into the maternity stores.

Ahhhh. I didn't really think that I had a problem. I can still button a pair of my jeans so I thought that other things in my closet would fit. Denial. I guess those jeans only made of lyrca because nothing else does fit. I am left with yoga pants and a few dresses. As you can see in the photo even my tank top is working hard but still cannot cover the belly. 

Rumor on the street is that there is a good maternity store in Centro Macae and I am sure that will cost me a pretty penny. I will just have to see how resourceful I can be. If all else fails then Nate's clothes should work :) 

Onto other things: 

Belle moves all the time and I even see my belly move. 

I forget something everyday.

I haven't noticed any stretch marks but I am sure they are waiting for a bad day to show up.

I feel great! 

Starting to get tired more.

I am sleeping less. 

I have anxiety.

My next doctor appointment isn't until May 6th. 

Not sure when we tour the hospitals.

My face is clearing up.

My legs rub together when I walk now- Nate laughs.

I am sick of water and have started making more herbal tea with milk and sugar.

I have switched back to skim milk since my weight gain is on target.

Heartburn is not my friend but he likes to visit me daily.

That seems to be about it really. I still don't have any complaints about being pregnant and life is good. I will write up a house update tomorrow- problems, Claudia, pool guy, and GG. Then I will do a Macae update- Mr. and Mrs. Sticks photos :), bike path, acai place and whatever else I can find.

Have a great day!

Tchau,

Sara