Lawn Mower

Came across a lawn mower while out shopping this morning. Really you never see them in Brazil and this is why- it's a plug in electrical lawn mower for close to 600 USD :) thank god we don't have a lawn!

Tchau,
Sara
Enviado pelo meu aparelho BlackBerry® da Vivo

Laughing

Just to make you laugh here is a video of Belle laughing when she was around 5 months old.... can't believe how much she has grown!!



Tchau,
Sara

Connectivity

Recently I read and article that talks about people being alone together. It's where we are all connected digitally but what we really need is more face to face. The instant gratification of social media feeds our egos but not long enough before we are aching for a fix.

Maybe that's what my problem is here in Brazil. I have friends but nothing that goes to deep. If I want a real conversation I get on Skype and call my mom or other friends and family. I also turn to facebook and emails for the quick emotional fix when I start to feel too lonely.

I long for the days when communicating won't deny me friendship. I am not sure that moving back to the US will fix my problem but I know that I will be prepared for the challenges brought to me.

If and when we do move back to the US I plan to be involved in the community as much as I possibly can! Not to mention all the things I plan to do with Belle :)

Sorry for once again a poor me post but I really am trying to understand why I feel so lonely when I have friends and a busy life.

Tchau,
Sara

Brazilian Bday Party

This weekend we went to a birthday party for one of Belle's little friends from the park. I met his mother, who doesn't speak English, and we have known each other for several months. Although we cannot communicate very well she still made a point to invite us along :)

The party was in one of the buildings next to us so it was just a short walk over. The party had people paid to play with the kids and entertain them... Belle was a little nervous about this!

Party Invite

Looking at dad for confirmation.

The little boy next to her is another friend.
He is German/Brazilian and I really love his mom!

Cuttin loose :)

Notice Belle on the other side of the trampoline
with her dad... she was allowed to go on when none of the
big kids were playing on it. Then she became obsessed with being around it.

Nate playing follow the leader with the Queen.

The cupcakes. I dared Nate to eat the head... that's what the look is for!!

Little party favors with the little boy's name on it.
I need to get a pic of the two of them together
so she can always remember these times.

We had a great time despite not being able to communicate fully. It actually makes me sad that I cannot form stronger relationships because the lack of my language skills. Overall though the party was a success and Belle was worn out!

I had the feeling that a few of the women at the party were mean mugging me for some reason. Nate then told me that maybe they thought I was Brazilian and that I wasn't being nice.... who knows for sure! I thought it was pretty evident that I didn't speak good Portuguese though.

Ahh the joys of being lost in translation.

Tchau,

Sara

Parents Update

The made it in and out of Jordan and are on their way to the holy city! They said they are having a great time and learning so much.

I just can't wait to see there photos!!

Tchau,
Sara

Sara

More Teeth

Ok so now she has all of her bottom teeth except for the 2 year molars. This week we have done a lot of the pictures above- watching her new obsession Tangled, playing with her belly button, going to the park and being sad, and more Tangled.

Basically she runs the house at the moment. I can't imagine what her mood swings will be like when she is a teen!!

The entire house is getting less sleep so I feel we are all on edge. Despite being tired Nate and I plan to go to date night tonight! Once again Rosa is coming over to house sit while Belle sleeps.

Fingers crossed she doesn't wake up like she has been the past couple of nights. I have high hopes since the bottom row of teeth are through.

Tchau,
Sara

Israel

In case you were wondering my parents made it to Israel!

I went ahead and called the hotel since I hadn't heard from them. The lady at the front desk transferred me to their room where the had just checked in! Talk about Gods hand working :)

They say its beautiful and they are having a wonderful time!

Oh and another little fun fact. It only cost me 0.25 cents for a ten minute call from Brazil to Israel! Skype is amazing!

I may try to call them again to make sure they made it to the next city. I will update if I hear more.


Tchau,
Sara
Sara

Revenge!

I had the talk with Rosa the other day and my house is currently being gutted and cleaned. With that comes some unwanted items washed/ruined and things thrown of the refrigerator that were good.

Some how I can't help but think she is doing these things to further push me over the edge.... I think that she thinks- "haha. I will show her by throwing away her salsa and washing her new sand removal mitt." These offenses are just small enough for me not to say anything... blah!

I am probably just going crazy! But hear me out. She only threw out the salsa in the refrigerator and left the moldy cucumber and the all the little spills. (I didn't know the cucumber was moldy or I would have thrown it out. I am not that lazy. It was hiding in the crisper in a bag.) So she wasn't even cleaning the fridge out just getting rid of my hard to make salsa!!

Then with the sand mitt. I have told her before, in funny Portuguese words, that the mitt was 'special' because I didn't know what else to say. I explained it to her but I guess not the right way :(

Well, the joke is on her because when I can't remove the sand it creates more work for her! Ha!

I really am going crazy right? I just thought you all would think this one sided feud is funny! Rosa probably isn't even thinking anything at all.

Tchau,
Sara

The Talk

I really am going to talk to the maid Rosa today. I have to pump myself up for the big discussion. 

Reasons why I need to talk to her:

1. I wanted someone to come in at 8 am and since she has started she keeps coming in later and later. Now she comes in at 10 am. I am not sure anywhere where this is allowed. I would have been fired a long time ago!

2. She comes in 4 days a week but I have found that she avoids heavy cleaning. I find dirty floors around the couches, dust along the floor boards, and dust and dirt in the corners. I wouldn't mind these things if she was busting her but all day but she talks on the phone most of the day.

Reasons why I don't want to talk to her:

1. I am grateful for even having someone in my house to clean and help out with Belle so I don't feel I have the right to complain.

2. I don't want to confront her! For some reason she barely understands me when I talk to her, maybe she does it on purpose, but it makes for an awkward conversation!

Reasons why I am slightly angry:

1. Mostly it's not about the cleaning but I feel that she is taking advantage of me. Gringos are known for paying the help more than Brazilians as well as treating them with respect. I feel that she just does what she wants and knows that I probably won't say anything because I have been so nice to her.

2. If you can spend most of the day talking on the phone then at least get your work done! I understand off days, sick days, or just blah days but this has been going on for awhile. 

I feel that there is so much more to it. Maybe I am slightly jealous over the fact that Belle is in love with her so I am finding reasons to be hostile with her. Either way I need to at least talk to her and tell her what my expectations are and if she then doesn't comply then I will probably have to fire her :(

Wish me courage.... I really hope I go through with it!!

Tchau,

Sara

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday was the holiday Day of the Children, which sounds like a bad horror movie, and Nate didn't have to work for once!

We spent the holiday running around indoors since it was sprinkling and the malls were packed. Rumor around the neighborhood is that the line to get into parking for the mall was an hour wait! Really, it doesn't even shock me and that's why we stayed close to the hood.

Power only went out on Thursday night but came back on after three hours. Enough time for a good game of Scrabble :) by flashlight.

Saturday we had some friends over that ended in someone getting trapped in our guest bathroom. Nate and the guy trapped had to take the door off the hinges and kick it down since the lock was broken on the inside. Ahhhh thankfully it wasn't me inside stuck. Belle ran around laughing and trying to look under the door since Nate was passing tools through the crack. At one point she was even banging on the door.

Today, Sunday, the weather finally cleared up a bit and we were able to venture outside to the park and  a quick walk on the beach. All in all it was a great lazy weekend.

Tchau,

Sara