Bad Hair Cut

A few months ago I wandered into the beauty salon in my neighborhood and made an appointment for a haircut. It couldn't be that bad right... I mean, my Portuguese is really improving and all I need is a trim. Famous last words.

I leave the salon almost in tears because of the crappy cut- a weird type probably found in the mullet family of cuts.

I tried to fix it curly, straight, and air dried. Nothing would fix the look of the cut so I did what any rational person would do. I drank a few glasses of wine and then I cut my own hair.

The morning after I awoke to find my nightmare true. I cut my own hair. All the way around using only the mirror in my bathroom.

When I blow dried it straight you could obviously see that the cut was uneven BUT when it air dried curly you could barely tell! Seriously :)

Fearing going back to A salon, not THE salon, to have it fixed I have waited several months so it could grow out a little. I hope that the extra length will stave off any other problems or at least minimize the damage.

Tomorrow I am hoping the problem will be fixed and I am super scared. Maybe I should just wait until I visit the US in December??

AHHHHHhhh!!!! Wish me luck even though I may chicken out!! Oh, and just in case you are wondering I am going to bring a picture of what I want done this time to avoid any confusion.

Tchau,
Sara

Crazy Hair

Well in this pic she is mad but you can really see how much her hair has grown! Now we have bad hair days and mom is going to have to try and fix them :) I bet that will go over well!!!

Happy Monday

Tchau,
Sara
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Football Season

Every year Nate and I struggle to stay connected with college football. Last year Brazil actually showed some games on cable which surprised the heck out of everyone!

This year we are hoping for even more games. Although the university names are not correct we think this might be the Arizona vs Oklahoma State game. The time is right, with the time change, and one university is correct :)

We can only hope right?

What's even crazier is that most of Oklahoma can't watch the game because it's only being showed on the PAC 10 network. For once we might see a game that nobody else can!

Tchau,
Sara

Holiday

Yesterday was Brazilian Independence day and the third time I have celebrated this holiday in Brazil. I admit that the holiday does not live up to the USA counterpart. I also have to admit that I don't know what goes on inside family homes or travel wise. The state of Rio doesn't do very much so that's where my basis comes from.

I did hear a few fireworks in the middle of the night, that scared the crap out me, and our neighbors stayed up all night drinking (I know not because I heard them but because they were still drinking on the balcony at 730 am when I was up with Belle) so maybe this is how they celebrate?

Either way I miss the Fourth of July :) I miss going to the lake with family or friends, tons of fireworks set off by the city and the crazy pyro in the family, way to much food, and tons of laughter.

Cheers to another great start to a great weekend. 

Tchau,

Sara

Mom Convos

These past few days I have really been pressing Belle to interact with kids her age by having playdates. It's a nice way for me to talk to other moms going through the same thing- ya know being an expat, having a kid, wondering when you will ever go home, and stuff like that.

Crazy the things that the moms come up with to talk about. We dream of the things that we could have in the US that would make our lives ten times easier- ready to go food, tons of toys with flashy lights, little traffic with easy access to parks, and of course a place where everyone speaks the same language.

We talked in depth about delayed speaking with households of multiple languages. The child will actually be equivalent to other children of single language households at the age of 6 with all the languages they are learning. It really makes me feel normal that Belle can only say 2 or 3 words. I do wonder if she will retain any of the Portuguese that she learns when we leave?? I really hope so!

We talk about how to make the long flights home and how much we despise United :) The next trip home is always on the agenda as is when the next family member is visiting.

Occasionally the conversation lead into where to travel to next and what hotels are kid friendly.

After these groups I think about when I move home how much I am going to be out of the loop. I will honestly have zero clue on how to raise my baby in the US! Not to mention nobody will care about the things that I have done with her in Brazil...

I don't really know where this is leading but sometimes I like to point out the little differences in the day to day life!

Tchau,
Sara

What? I have been busy :)

Ha! I hope that you know when I don't write that I am just too busy to bring myself to the computer. Writing a blog is kind of like always writing emails to people who don't respond but it's also like writing a diary. Once I take a few days off then my head fills up with tons of unnecessary information and I shut down.

So hear is the 'clean out the house' post.

What's new, Belle is still teething with zero teeth to show for it and a whole lot of tears and not a lot of sleep. I swing back and forth from giving ibuprofen and the all natural teething tablets and sometimes I just cry with her!

I just need to get over her and the whole teething thing and I still have a strong dislike for mother's who say that their children never noticed teething.... very strong dislike.

Good news is that we are venturing out more and more around town. I have given up on leaving her at home to go to the supermarket and I just drag her along. She needs to learn these things and how to act in public. The old school shopping carts without a baby seat are a problem because I am constantly trying to get her to sit in the cart, or stop from knocking everything off the shelf, or holding her squirmy little booty. All in all though it's getting easier or it's the same and I just don't notice. I really wish Brazil had a seat in the cart! It would make such a world of difference.

Playgroups among the gringo group are picking up because schools is back in session so nobody is traveling. I have met a few other mom's that are also in the health care profession so it's nice to talk about our glory days.

The past weekend Nate and I had a date day and night. We had Rosa come to the house at 3pm and stay the night with us. (it's safer for her to stay the night then to be traveling late at night) We went out to eat and tried to have somewhat of a normal conversation. We still traveled home to help put Belle to bed, since she was fussy and of course teething, and then ventured back out to a friends house for a cookout. It was nice to get out but the next day is always painful.

To my surprise when I woke up with Belle the next day so did Rosa. She told me to go back to sleep and she would play with Belle!! I gave her some money to walk to the little bakery in our neighborhood with Belle and get some breakfast. I promptly returned to bed and continued to drool on my pillow.

Nights and morning like that are rare and I am so thankful that we can do them every once in awhile. Maybe we will start doing it once a month but for now I still feel like I am recovering.

That about catches things up a bit. Hope everyones week is going as great as mine!

Tchau,
Sara

Real Brazilians- Workout Edition

So everyone thinks that Brazilian are super skinny and tall like Gisele Bundchen.... I thought that when first moving down here.

Gisele Bundchen

Then I actually moved here and realized that women here are very much like the women in the US :) Normal!! Maybe they have different obsessions with beauty like: always having their nails done and working out their bums more than any muscle ever, never cutting their hair, and loving their tan lines. All this still makes them super normal and not these goddesses that are all over magazines and some super exotic species with amazing genetics. These girls have to work for it just like the rest of the world and workout is what they do best.

Real picture taken this year of Brazilian women at the gym.

For many years I have been trying to capture a photo of the Brazilian woman working out, mainly for the workout clothes.... Then I stumbled onto this photo from a friends Facebook page (love the internet).

Anyway, this is for all of you who wonder what's going on down here. The girl in the white pants with the think legs and booty- that's what I see the most of and what guys love down here. Of course not every woman looks like this but these girls in the picture represent a large majority. 

I will have to get some photos of the girls that workout in my neighborhood in the morning.... the photos might actually be shocking because of how little clothing is worn when working out. Hell, getting into one of the outfits might be a workout enough!!

Tchau,

Sara

Helping Out

Well lately Belle has been enjoying exploring the refrigerator.... She loves to move things around, put them in the side drawers, and also drag the mustard and salad dressings throughout the house. Last week I found the mustard in her crib ;) I guess she wanted it for later!

I wanted to catch her in the act but I got something even cuter! Notice closely the side drawer. Can you see the golf ball along with the potatoes?? Hahha! I couldn't stop laughing!

Then she proceeded to place potatoes around the house. I guess if something smells then I will know what to look for!

Gosh I just love how much personality she has as she gets older!

Tchau,
Sara

Rainy Day

I bought this cute tent a looooong time ago but never put it together because Belle was too young. Since yesterday and today we have been looked into the house because of rain I decided to break it out!

She loves it but unfortunately it's huge and pretty unstable... She wants to roll around in it but ends up hurting herself. At least we killed a few hours trying to set it up and then trying to figure out where to put it!

Wish us luck on keeping busy in a small apartment!

Tchau,
Sara

Silent Sunday

Belle playing in the sand at the park.

Mom crossing her fingers that today is the day she stops eating sand.

Tchau,
Sara
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