My life as a Carioca's Wife

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here are my Halloween decorations this year. The new decorations I made were the glitter pumpkins. I got the idea from the annoyed army wife. I just took my fake pumpkins which I thought were kind of ugly, painted them with mod podge and sprinkled on glitter. Now they look much better! I'll try to save them for next year but I don't know how well the glitter will stay on.

These luminaries I made last year. I made them out of old food jars. I just painted the background color (orange) first with acrylic paint. Let it dry completely then painted on the faces. Once those were dry I painted over everything with clear gloss. You have to be careful not to peel off the paint. You can also spray paint these but I have nowhere to do that in an apartment.

Here are my decorations in the office. I got the subway art here.

We didn't really do anything for Halloween this year because Dr. C was so busy with work. Usually he has the week off for our anniversary so we have time to carve pumpkins and go to the parade. But not this year. I can't wait til we live in a place that gets trick-or-treaters!

Click here to read about our Halloween last year! And the first time Dr. C carved a pumpkin!

Photography Challenge Week Two

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are my photos from week two of the 30 Day Photography Challenge. This week was fun.

Day 8: Bad Habit

My bad habit is not cleaning up after myself. I leave my clothes everywhere and I hate to wash the dishes!

Day 9: Someone you love
My Husband! This is a picture of him as a baby. Isn't he so cute? I love his little curls!

Day 10: Childhood Memory
This is a memory of my mom. The perfume was her favorite perfume. The smell reminds me of the holidays. I think she used to wear this when she got dressed up for the holidays but I'm not sure. The perfume bottle has two doves on it. I put a lot of doves in my artwork to be a symbol of her.

The necklace was hers and she gave it to me as my high school graduation gift. She died less than a year later. I used to wear this necklace everyday. Now I only wear it sometimes because I'm afraid I'll lose it. My High School Graduation was a great memory for me. That and Prom were two times I remember being a happy normal kid and forgetting that my mom was sick. I had a lot of fun hanging out and getting ready with my mom. Graduation was funny because my mom took a lot of pictures but then later realized that she forgot to put film in the camera!

Day 11: Something Blue
The blue sky and lake.

Day 12: Sunset
I usually see amazing sunsets from my apartment but this was all there was on that day.

Day 13: Yourself with 13 things
This is me with 13 pieces of pottery that I made! I should really post some new pictures of my pottery because I've gotten a lot better.

Day 14: Eyes

Sweet Aipim

2011-10-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

My husband's childhood dog passed away recently. He was 16 years old. I know Aipim had a good long life but it's still sad. It's hard for me to write about sad things because I can never think of the right thing to say.

My husband and I both got our childhood dogs the same year, isn't that funny? I think I was 12 and he was 14. My dog only lived to be 6 years old. He was really important to me because I got him after my mother found out she had cancer. And he died a month after she did. My dog got me through the some hard times in my life and I know my husband's dog did the same for him.

I've only spent about 6 weeks in Brazil with Aipim but he was a really sweet dog. We're going to Brazil in December and it will be hard without him there.

And to end on a happy note, here's a funny story about Aipim. He couldn't see very well because he was old. One night we took him on a walk and we ran into one of my husband's friends so we stopped to chat. They were talking in Portuguese and I was just standing there when Aipim peed on my foot! He thought my leg was a pole or something, oh my gosh! So I gave the leash to my husband and told him that the dog just peed on me. My husband was like whatever, and kept on talking to his friend. I guess he didn't believe me or understand what I was saying. Then a few minutes later I hear "puta que pariu!". Aipim had peed on my husband's foot too, ha!

Untitled from Carioca's Wife on Vimeo.

30 Day Photography Challenge

2011-10-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

I saw this 30 Day Photography Challenge going around a few blogs. I thought I'd try it too! I'll be doing this the month of October and posting my pictures once a week.

Day 1: Self-portrait
It's hard to think of a way to take a self-portrait without showing my face. I love the view from my apartment, especially at night!

Day 2: What you wore today
This is what I wore to teach outside on Sunday at an art festival. It was pretty cold that day.
These are my new jeans and boots from target!

Day 3: Clouds
This was when Dr. C and I went to the Brazilian Consulate to pick up his new passport. There were not many clouds in the sky but I can see a few small ones!

Day 4: Something green
My wall. It doesn't look so green in this picture though.

Day 5: From a high angle
I had to stand on a chair to take this photo.

Day 6: From a low angle
My turtle! It's really hard to take a picture of a turtle once they start moving. I was lying on the floor to take this.

Day 7: Fruit
My morning juice with PINEAPPLE, carrots, beets, and celery. YUM

Brazilians in Chicago

2011-08-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

After two years of living in Chicago, Dr. C finally had his first Brazilian patient. He was so excited. Meanwhile I have a Brazilian student in every other class I teach. I guess Brazilians like art... and don't get hurt much!

Recently I had one student who is the daughter of a Brazilian doctor. It was really interesting talking to her about how often she goes to Brazil. How it is to have her grandparents and cousins so far away. Things like that. My future kids will probably grow up with a similar lifestyle.

Walking around Chicago we do hear Portuguese everywhere. Especially on the beach!

Learning on my DSLR: Metering and Manual Focusing

2011-07-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

After having my DSLR camera for 1.5 years I'm finally figuring out how to use it! I've been practicing with my camera on the manual setting for the past week and I've finally got it and will be using the manual setting from now on. I took a film photography class in college a million years ago so I kind of understood aperture and shutter speed already. But I was just randomly setting those and snapping a picture to see how the exposure looked. Which was OK but sometimes it's hard to see the camera's screen in the sunlight. And that way takes a lot of time.

Until I was reading my camera's manual again and found out that my camera has a built in light meter. All of them do I guess. But I still didn't know what it was. So I read this post and it really helped me understand everything. So the meter is this number line that goes -2 1 0 1 +2. On my Canon camera I can see it on the screen (LCD monitor) and also when I look through the viewfinder. Here it is on the screen...

When I press the shutter button halfway to take a picture a little line shows up under the meter numbers. If the line is under the 0 then it's at the recommended exposure. If it's to the left it's underexposed and to the right it's overexposed.

This was great to learn because now I don't have to take a picture just to check the exposure. And also from Pioneer Woman's post I learned another great thing. That you can set your aperture and then look through your view finder and turn the dial on your camera to set the shutter speed. So you just turn the dial until the little line is under the 0 on your meter. This is so easy! And now I'll be much faster at taking photos with the manual setting so I don't annoy my husband! Here is the dial...

And just now I learned if you hold down the Av button and turn the dial it will change the aperture. Here's the Av button...

Another easy thing I learned is how to change the auto focus point. I changed my camera from using the automatic selection (every focus point) to using just the center focus point.

This is a lifesaver. The center focus point works better than the others. So when you take a picture you just aim the center focus point over what you want in focus (for example a person's eyes) then you press down the shutter button halfway to focus (it will make a red dot in the viewfinder). Hold the button pressed halfway down and reframe/compose your shot. This way you get exactly what you want in focus.

To change the focus point you press this button...

And turn the dial...

I'm so happy I figured that out. The automatic selection was driving me crazy. When I would give my camera to my MIL to take a picture of us she would just move the camera all over the place saying the dots were moving. Meanwhile Dr. C and I would be cracking up waiting for her to take a picture!

I still don't know that much about my camera but I'm working on it!

Taste of Chicago

2011-07-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

We went to Taste of Chicago in Grant Park for the first time on Saturday. I didn't even know it was happening now, good thing Dr. C told me. I heard Saturday is the busiest day. But we got there around 12:30 and it was busy but we could walk through easily and we never waited in a line. However, when we left around 3:30 it was really crowded and hot! Dr. C was melting, how come I can handle the heat better than him? Is Maryland hotter than Brazil?

To eat at Taste of Chicago you have to buy tickets. You get 12 tickets for 8 dollars. We bought 36 tickets and had two left over. But I think just 12 would have been enough for me. I would recommend only getting the taste size portions and trying more things.

First we stopped at Texas de Brazil for Dr. C. He got the Signature Garlic-Marinated Picanha (large portion) for 10 tickets I think and it was such a small portion. He only took one bite before this photo!

Then we went to a vegan restaurant called Loving Hut. This place gave much bigger samples which was great. I ordered a small sample of the Home Run Ball (Fried Vegetable Textured Protein with Sweet/Spicy Sauce) and Kung Pao for 8 tickets total. Dr. C ordered a large portion of the Home Run Ball for 8 tickets. We should have planned this out better and shared. They were both yummy.

We sat in the grass in the shade to eat.

Then I went next door to Arya Bhavan, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, and got a Samosa with two kinds of sauce. It was also very good. I haven't been to an Indian restaurant in two years, I was really missing samosas!

Next we walked by the Buckingham fountain. And I took a ton of pictures while Dr. C was dying in the heat. It was so pretty. I wanted to jump in, ha!

One nice thing about the festival is they have misters all over to help you cool off. I'm a little kid at heart and I love running under misters! There were also lots of bathrooms and a few water fountains to refill your water bottle. Some places also gave juice and soda samples for free. They also had kid's activities, live music, and even dance lessons.

Then we had 6 tickets left and didn't know what to get. We were kind of full. So we left to go to an ATM to get money to buy our licence plate sticker. They were actually selling them at Taste of Chicago! Which was perfect because the DMV messed up our address a million (or 5) times so we never got our sticker and it expired the day before.

Then we came back to the festival and it was just so hot and crowded. I left Dr. C sitting in the shade and I went to find some Italian ice. I got watermelon ice from Franco's Ristorante for 4 tickets. It was not that great and after that long walk in the heat it was not worth it. I should have just got more food!

Overall It was a lot of fun. There were many vegan options, too many to try. I'm glad we got to go before leaving Chicago. Now I can cross another thing off my 101 in 1001 list!

Fireworks

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last year we watched fireworks at the beach. Which was great but it's so crowded to leave that it's hard to bike home. So this year for the 4th of July I watched fireworks from the window. It's so cool because you can watch a hundred firework shows all at once! This is probably the last time I'll ever see 4th of July fireworks like this because we're moving next year.

I tried to get some good photos but it was difficult. You can click on them to make them larger.

And here's a video of the fireworks!

Untitled from Carioca's Wife on Vimeo.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

We had a great long weekend over here. On Friday Dr. C was on call and came home very late. But at least he got to sleep that night so we could have fun on Saturday.

On Saturday we went to Taste of Chicago which was a lot of fun. I'll write a post about that later.

On Sunday Dr. C was on home call. So he only had to go in if they paged him, and they didn't, woo hoo! But we had to stay in the area just in case. So we did some work at home. We walked to Home Depot to buy paint for our kitchen. And later we walked to get Italian ice and we walked by the dog beach and ended up at the park.

Dr. C studied while I played with my camera. And later we played some Frisbee. And Dr. C told me that I've been throwing Frisbees the wrong way my whole life!

Some photos of Dr. C studying...

For the 4th of July we went to a BBQ on our friend's rooftop deck. Which was really cool but there was no shade so it was really hot and now I have the weirdest tan lines! I made a salad similar to this. I also made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate-chocolate chip walnut cookies.

Then we came home and Dr. C went to bed early while I stayed up to watch fireworks.

July 1st

2011-07-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today Dr. C started his last year of residency! Woo hoo! It's also his last day of a three month away rotation which is really great because he did not like the hospital. I think everyone was really hard on him there because he took so many days off for interviews. Even though he only used his vacation days, weird. I'm happy he'll be back to his own hospital this weekend.

We went to the residency graduation dinner which was a lot of fun because everyone was congratulating Dr. C on his fellowship and becoming Chief. I got to keep the centerpiece which looked a little silly in my house because it almost touched the ceiling. We also celebrated Dr. C's moving to America anniversary of 4 years. I made coconut lime cupcakes and gave him the beginning of our handmade dishes set. Eight bowls and eight small plates so far.

Dr. C is on call today and Sunday but we're going to a resident BBQ on July 4th. So I'm excited for that. I'll bring some yummy food. I don't think we're going to see fireworks this year but maybe we will see some from the rooftop deck at the party or from our apartment window, ha!

I've been busy teaching camp for the past month. It's so fun! My kids keep asking me about Brazil, it's so funny. One boy loves money from other countries so I brought in some Brazilian money to show the kids. Also a girl asked me if I'm married and her friend said, "Yeah she is, she's married to a Brazilian guy and she's so lucky because she gets to go to Brazil all the time!". I've also had a few students with a Brazilian parent and I met a woman in the ceramics studio who is also married to a Brazilian.

We Matched!

2011-06-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dr. C matched for fellowship and we're moving to North Carolina in 2012!

(source)

I'm so excited! I'm sure I'm going to miss Chicago and living in a big city. But I'm excited to have better weather. Dr. C is happy with the program. And the cost of living is lower than Chicago. I'm from the east coast and I like being a short drive from the ocean and the mountains so this should be nice. I'm excited to start researching apartments and art studios.

(source)

This was our first choice so we are very happy. Dr. C interviewed at many places. The most awesome location was LA but they don't give spots until after the match. And we think the North Carolina program will be a better choice.

Dr. C was also voted Chief Resident this year, yay!

Fellowship Interviews are Horrible

2011-05-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I am so tired of interviews! And I'm not the one who has to travel post call and interview post call! Dr. C has not had a day off in forever. Luckily he only has one interview left, I hope. I think he had 9 interviews. One place only had one position and they canceled on us so I guess they already picked someone. Another place only had a few positions so we had to cancel because Dr. C is having a hard time getting time off work. So I guess he had 7 interviews. Match day is June 1st. I hope we get something. I think any place would be good. It will either be in a warmer location or in a cold place but at a great program.

A few weeks ago I went on three interviews with Dr. C. First we flew to the east coast (post call) for three days then came home around 1 am. We both went to work the next day and the following day Dr. C was on call. Then we flew to the west coast and Dr. C was post call. And he interviewed post call. We stayed for three days then flew home and arrived around midnight. Then the next day we drove to an interview 6 hours away and Dr. C interviewed the next morning and we drove home after. We arrived home about 11 pm. And both went to work the next morning. That was so exhausting. And I basically dumped the suitcases on the living room floor each time we came home, what a mess. I am glad I tagged along on the first two flights, as they were the cheapest and we stayed the longest. So that was a lot of fun. We had a nice mini vacation. I will post pictures of that later.

I'm excited for the last interview. I'm so tired of ironing my husbands suit. I think I did that 11 times already. Can't wait for June 1st! I'm going a little crazy over here!

First Beach Day of the Year!

2011-04-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday it was 85 degrees out! Dr. C and I were running errands and got hungry so we stopped at Taco Bell and we decided why not have a picnic on the beach? It was so nice going to the beach again. We just love hanging outside together.

We went to the beach that has a big dog park. The fence was broken so dogs were running all over the place and some onto my lap. It was fun, until I saw a German Shepard bite a chunk out of another dog, that was gross and sad.

This beach reminds me of Brazil because people sell everything on the beach!

The day was so beautiful but I wasen't prepared, I didn't bring any sunblock. My back got so sunburned and on top of that I had a cold. How does someone get a cold and a sunburn at the same time?! But I'm all better now. I can't wait til the weather says warm! And I can't wait to go for a bike ride.

Dr. C had his first interview today. But his flight home was delayed so now he's stuck away from me. The next month is going to be very busy with interviews. Dr. C also started working at a new hospital and he will be there for a few months. Lots of changes!

Funny Things Kids Say, Part two

2011-04-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

I started a new group of classes. Here are some funny things I've heard lately...

A 5 year old boy said, "There was a monster in my house!" And I said, "Oh did you see it?" and he said, "No, but my mom did and she killed it with monster spray!" Then another kid said, "bug spray?" and he said, "No monster spray!"
The maintenance guy walked through the classroom and the kids said, "who are you?" And he said, "I'm Mr. Fix it, if there's a problem, I'll fix it." Then a 5 year old boy said, "Can you fix my brain?!"
I was meeting new students and two brothers came in. The 3 year old said, "we're boys, we're rough!"
A three year old girl said, "I have a pony tail!" And a few min. later, "do you ever have a pony tail?" A few more minutes later I asked her what she wanted to paint and she said, "I want to paint a pony tail!"
A three year old girl had a fake tattoo. My assistant asked her if it was real and she said yes. She asked her if she got it at a tattoo parlor and the girl said yes. Then she asked her if it hurt and the girl said no. Then I asked her if they put it on with water and she said yes, ha!

Spring has Sprung!

2011-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well in my apartment at least. Not so much outside...

All my flowers have been blooming like crazy and I really don't know why.

One of my 101 in 1001 goals was to get this orchid to bloom again and it finally did! I got this orchid when we moved to Chicago, over a year and a half ago. And it has finally bloomed! And it's also growing another branch of flowers. It was worth the wait, the flowers are bigger and more beautiful then when I first bought it.

My small orchid has never stopped blooming since I got it last summer! It's already on it's second flower spike.

And I love my hibiscus. I wonder if it will bloom all summer? I can't wait til it's actually warm outside!

Fellowship Interviews

2011-03-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy around here as Dr. C prepares for fellowship interviews. He now has 4 interviews! The first one I am not going to because the flight is really expensive and he's only staying one night. The other 3 are during the weekends before and after my birthday. The one before my birthday I get to go to because it's in my home state! And it's also during Easter and the day my mom died. So I really didn't want to be alone. Dr. C is already spending so much money for a flight, hotel, and rental car that we figured whats a few hundred more to be able to visit our families together. That's something that would never happen otherwise. So I'm really excited for that! And I get to meet three babies that have been born since we've been gone!

The third interview is in a really cool place by the beach and I would love to go visit. Dr. C would probably be leaving the evening of my birthday. So I might not get so see him on my birthday at all if I don't go with him. But I'm not sure if the cost of the flight is worth it for two days/three nights in this place. And right after he gets back we'll be driving 6 hours to another interview where we will stay for just one night. This one I will go to since I won't add any extra cost, yay!

So we'll be in four states in one week, wow. And Dr. C has used up his last week of vacation for these interviews. I think I only went to one interview for residency that we drove to and stayed with a friend. What would you do? Would you go on the interview?

First Interview!

2011-03-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Dr. C got his first interview invite today! Yay! It's not in a warm place but it's at one of the top hospitals. He also got 3 emails and phone calls from places who said they are interested so hopefully he'll get interviews there too. I thought that they give pre-match fellowship positions. But we saw today that all the places wait til June 1st to offer spots. I guess you might get more than one offer on June 1st. Then you have eight days to decide if you want to take the offer. And if you don't get any offers, maybe you will get one on June 8th. So hopefully Dr. C gets into a good fellowship and we will know where we are moving to in June, a year in advance!

Weird Things Happening in the Elevator

2011-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every time I ride in my building's elevator women stare at me. It's so weird. I just face front and stare at the elevator doors like a normal person. Our floor indicator thingy doesn't work so I can't stare at that. But when I'm in the elevator I can see the other person staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Usually it's women that are older than me and they stare at me and look me up and down. Which is so rude, don't you think? Once this happened in front of my husband. And then yesterday I was on my way to the gym, in the elevator with a girl around my age, who was pretty looking. Well I thought she was staring at me so I look over at her. She was facing me, staring right at me then she smiles really big. So odd. I gave her my half smile that I normally give to strangers and returned to starting at the doors. Why do these women stare at me?! I figure I must look really weird or really beautiful. Although the women that look me up and down are all foreigners. Maybe they are wondering why an American is living in the building.

And when Dr C rides in the elevator, children stare up at him and smile, so funny!

Back from Brazil

2011-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

We're home from our trip to Brazil. It went by too fast. I'm happy to be sleeping in my own bed but I miss pretty much everything about Brazil. It's snowing and gray in Chicago and I really miss the warm weather!

I plan on writing about our trip soon, but until then, here are two awesome things I bought for our trip.

(source)

I bought a DiCAPac underwater camera case for my point and shoot. It works perfectly to protect the camera from water and sand at the beach. You can always take your camera with you when you go swimming if you are worried about leaving it on the beach. And the lens cover unscrews so you can a perfect picture as you normally would above water. In the pool you can get great digital pictures and video. It doesn't cost much more than a disposable film camera and you don't have to worry about getting your pictures developed. Plus you can use it again and again! They also make these for DSLR cameras. I would be afraid to put an expensive camera underwater but I think it would be useful just to protect the camera from sand and water splashes. I took hundreds of pictures using this. Sometimes you can see part of the black ring in your picture but not if you zoom out or take off the lens cap.

(source)

The morning before we left on our trip we bought an Eheim automatic feeder for our turtle (it also works for fish). This is a lifesaver when we travel. My turtle tank is too big to move to a friends house while on vacation so we would have to have someone come everyday to feed the turtle. Right now a few residents live in our building so it's not impossible but in the future we will be moving and then we'll have no one to feed the turtle. This is a small device that clamps on to the top of your aquarium. And you can set the time you want it to feed your pet, up to four times a day. And you can control how much food comes out. It works great and we also have our basking lamp on a timer so now I just have a friend stop by twice a week to check on the turtle and water the plants. It's so great, I don't know why I didn't look for one sooner!

Snow Day x3!

2011-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Dr. C and I both had a snow day on Wednesday! And I had 3 days off, ha! It was Dr. C's first snow day ever. He was on 3rd call on Tuesday and was supposed to work Wednesday but most of the cases were canceled so he didn't have to go in. I had my afternoon class canceled on Tuesday and all classes were canceled Wednesday and Thursday. It was so great because I was worrying about having enough time to get everything done before our trip. I also had a lot of bowls to trim at pottery. So on Tuesday I went to the pottery studio and trimmed 6 bowls, and broke another. Then I organized my cabinet for my subs just in case I got snowed out (thank goodness) and came home as the blizzard was starting. I got home early so I started packing. I still have two bowls that I didn't finish. I hope they don't dry out completely while I'm gone.

The street I live on is like a wind tunnel so walking home in the blizzard was crazy. As soon as I turned the comer my face was blasted with snow. I had to basically walk home backwards and I could barely see to cross the street! People were being knocked over by the wind. People on Lake Shore Drive got stuck in their cars for 10 hours and had to abandon their cars on the street!

On our snow day I was just cleaning the house. And Dr. C was doing some work on the computer. But we did get to take a short walk in the snow to the store. It was funny watching people dig out their cars. I'm glad I park in a garage and don't have to drive. Here are a few pictures I snapped before my battery ran out, whoops. It's a lot of snow but this is what Massachusetts looked like every week.

The only bad thing about the snow was on Monday night our kitchen sink clogged and filled with dirty water. I called for maintenance hours before it snowed but no one came. I called during the snow and the guy said it's a code white and he can't tell me when he will come. Um.. does that mean he doesn't cross the street in the snow? Then Dr. C called and they said they would come in the morning. Well no one came. We called a million times and no one came. Our bathroom sink was a little clogged too so I couldn't cook, wash dishes, clean the kitchen, or clean the turtle tank. They finally fixed the sink on Thursday, my last day in Chicago. I had to unclog the bathroom sink myself though. I never knew it would feel so good to do dishes!

Vacation!

2011-01-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

(source)

We're going to Brazil next week! Thank goodness because it's been a long month and we could really you a vacation. Dr. C was working at another hospital this month that is farther away. So on top of working 80 hours a week, he's been driving 2.5 hours a day. And he's been using all his time a home to fill out applications. So I feel like I never see him and I'm really looking forward to spending time with him for two weeks in Brazil.

I also can't wait for the warm weather! We've been chatting on skype with everyone in Brazil. They are wearing bathing suits outside while I'm wearing two pants and three jackets in Chicago! Goodbye snow, hello sunshine!

2010, a year in review

2011-01-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

January

We moved to a different floor of our building to get away from bad neighbors and roaches. We got a much better view. My health improved drastically with a new medication. I was able to get off steroids after being on them for 6 months. I could function but still had some pain everyday. I blogged about my first trip to Brazil that I took last year.

February

We took our second trip to Brazil! I started blogging about it but still have to finish.

March

Dr. C went to a conference and the hotel charged us thousands of dollars by mistake. They gave us some free hotel nights to make up for it but we haven't been able to use them yet.

April

My health improved and now I feel 100% pain free. I don't know if it's because I'm healed or if my medicine just kicked in 3 months later. MIL came to visit for Easter. I turned 27 and was offered a job on my birthday.

May

I started my new job teaching. Dr. C celebrated 3 years in the US and we celebrated 3 years together!

June

We went to the beach. I started to get annoyed by the maintenance man. And I finished my last pottery class before camp. For the first time in two years, we didn't move half way across the country. I started to really feel at home in Chicago.

July

We watched fireworks at the beach. I took photos using the manual settings on my camera for the first time. I began teaching camp. Dr. C finished half of his residency (4 years).

August

I was really busy working a million jobs and I only posted once, whoops. I wrote about Medical School in Brazil. My orchid bloomed again on my Mother's birthday.

September

I started pottery again after a summer break. I switched to porcelain clay. I painted my apartment and gave you all a home tour. I wrote about residency.

October

We enjoyed fall and carved pumpkins for Halloween.

November

We celebrated 3 years of marriage! We bought tickets to Brazil next year and got the last seats available.

December

I was really busy this month teaching classes, winter camp, and making pottery. But I did manage to get ready for Christmas and post about it! One of the new classes I proposed was completely full! Dr. C turned 30 and I made him yummy cupcakes on my very own cake stand. He is now half way through training (residency+fellowship). I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Dr. C started filling out applications for fellowship. We used the money I made from winter camp to buy a new computer, woo hoo! I started making Dr. C a set of homemade dishes.

I'm looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store for us.

Brazil!

2011-01-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

We're headed to Brazil in one month! Woo hoo!

We bought our tickets kind of late (3 months in advance) because Dr. C didn't know his schedule. The plane going to Brazil was almost full, we got the last two seats together! They are right in front of the bathroom so hopefully it's not too bad. At least we get to sit together. Our layover is in Miami and it's summer vacation in Brazil so the plane will be full of Brazilians coming back from Disney world. Ahh, at least I get to sit with Dr. C.

MIL just moved into her new condo and she's repainting and changing the floor. Hopefully it will be done by the time we get there. She lives walking distance to the beach, I'm so excited! I'm also excited to see my very pregnant SIL. Can't wait to lay in the hammock with this view of the ocean!

The funny thing is MIL bought her condo from the Brazilian actress Perola Faria and her family. So I'll be staying in a celebrities old room, ha! I actually have no clue who she is, do you?

Any suggestions on what we should do in Rio this time? Because other than going to the beach and eating Acai, I have no idea!

101 in 1001

2011-01-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! This year instead of new year's resolutions I've decided to set 101 goals for myself to complete in 1001 days. My start date was 1/1/11 and my end date is 9/27/13. That's three months after my husband finishes his medical training. I thought this would be a great way to improve myself while my husband is working hard to finish his training. Here's my list:

normal text: needs to be completed
italicized text: in progress
bolded text: completed

Family/Relationships

Study Portuguese three times a week
Be able to communicate with my family in Brazil
Have FIL come visit from Brazil
Make a good friend
Get a dog
Get my husband to agree that we are ready for a baby
Call my sister everyday
Have my sister come for a visit

Self-improvement

Read one book a month (0/33)
Read all the books I own
Use the library
Learn to drive in the city
Don't complain about anything for a week
No TV or Internet surfing for a week (only check email, weather)

Health

Exercise regularly (5 times a week)
Go to exercise classes twice a week
Use weight machines three times a week
Work on my abs three times a week
Run three times a week
Use the gym pool/sauna twice a month while in Chicago
Take better care of my teeth
Visit a dentist regularly
Improve my posture
No desert for a month
No sweetened drinks for a month
Eat less sugar

Cooking

Cook something new twice a month (0/66)
Cook a meal 3 times a week
Make a fancy dinner every month for our anniversary on the 2nd (0/32)

Home Care

Keep the house clean and organized always
Wash dishes after I'm done eating
Make the bed everyday
Eat at the table always
Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it
Get an orchid to bloom again

Finances

Finish residency/fellowship with most of our savings
Keep track of our spending and save more

Art

Sell my artwork
Be in an art show
Learn to sew more than a square
Embellish baby clothes/t-shirts/headbands
Learn to use my camera
Learn to use photoshop
Complete a 365 day photo challenge
Print my photos and put them in albums
Make a photo book for every vacation
Make a photo book for each year
Create a full set of dishes
Create a set of nesting bowls
Create 10 teapots (0/10)
Make a good tea set
Make a tile to give to Selaron in Brazil
Try soda firing or raku firing
Try printmaking on clay
Find a new pottery studio when we move
Finish my bedroom painting
Finish my office painting
Practice drawing a painting every week
Paint my kitchen
Paint my bedroom

Blogging

Blog 3 times a week
Finish recapping our last trip to Brazil

Work

Help some children with my work
Find a job that makes me happy when we move (like current job)

Travel

Take a vacation alone with my husband
Take a second vacation with my husband
Have our wedding ceremony/vow renewal in Brazil in 2012 (5 yr anniversary)
Go to Brazil every year (0/3)
Take my sister to Brazil
Travel somewhere outside of Rio
Visit my hometown with my husband
Travel to a new country
Take my husband on a lazy river

City Exploring (with Husband)

Go to free art workshops with my husband
Go on the architectural boat tour of Chicago
Go to the Garfield Park Conservatory
Go to the Shedd Aquarium again
Go skating in Millennium Park
Visit Millennium Park in the spring or summer
Go to green city market in the spring and summer
Go to Taste of Chicago
Go to the Brookfield Zoo
Visit the Art Institute of Chicago again
Go to Zoo lights again
Ride the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier
Go see the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker
Go on the Willis Tower's Skydeck
Go to the Indiana Dunes
Watch a movie in the park
Go to the movies
Have a picnic in the park
Go fruit picking
Visit 15 new restaurants (0/15)

Moving

Donate what we don't use or need when we move
Move some place warm
Move out with the same amount of boxes that we moved in with
Move to two new states (0/2)

After Training

Help my husband find the perfect job for him and our family
Move for husbands job to a place we love
Go on a nice big vacation!
Rent an apartment and live simply to save money for a house (but have a washer/dryer and dishwasher!)

Christmas

2010-12-30T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some Christmas photos. First is my Christmas decor, this year I moved the tree to a different spot. I also added lights in the window, another garland, made a wreath, and added some ornaments. I got some green ornaments from the dollar store to match the living room paint color. Next year I plan on buying nothing except for a few special ornaments.

I wanted something to hang on the door without spending much money. I found a plain wreath for two dollars and tied on some extra ornaments I had.

Here's our tree...

I also stuck some snowflakes in the office window...

This year we had a white Christmas! It was so beautiful.

Here are our presents on Christmas morning. Can you tell which ones Dr. C wrapped? He said he added Brazilian flowers to them!

Dr. C game me this star snowman and I love it.

I gave him two ornaments of our childhood dogs. A yorkie and a golden retriever. Now I just need to find a pointer somewhere.

Dr. C's birthday is in December so every year I give him a special ornament about our love to something significant that happened to us that year. This year I gave him this heart.

And my favorite ornament of all is this stained-glass angel that my mother made...

Dr. C would not tell me anything he wanted me to get him for Christmas. So I made him some gifts and I thought they were pretty great. I made him a blurb book of our last trip to Brazil. And I am making him a full set of dishes. I don't have very many done yet but for Christmas I gave him two large plates, three small plates, and three large shallow bowls. Plates take forever to make and I have not made many before. But I loved how the glaze turned out. I'll be working on the rest of this set this winter and spring!

The glaze is brownish black and it looks amber where it breaks on the rim. If you dip pots in the glaze longer it looks completely black so I hope the color turns out the same next time. I think it looks stunning on my wood table next to my black chairs.

Dr. C was off on Christmas and it looks like he'll be off for New Year's Eve tomorrow too!

Funny Things Kids Say

2010-11-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

At work I hear the funniest things all the time. I thought I should write them down so here are some of them:

While I'm giving the lesson a 4 year old raises his hand and says "sometimes elephants come out of my bottom."
In the bathroom I heard a mother and young daughter in a stall. The daughter said "It doesn't matter if you have an ugly butt because your face, and hair, and body, and most importantly your inside is beautiful!"
A 4 year old boy says to me in the front of the whole class, "Do you have a penis?" then the boy next to him says, "We're not suppose to talk about that here", and a few minutes later he says "What does f you mean?"

Free Holiday Cards from Sutterfly

2010-11-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

I'm working on printing all our photos to put in albums. I recently ordered all our photos from the past year through Sutterfly. I've been thinking about ordering Christmas cards too, although I have no idea which photo to choose! Here are some cards I like. I want to pick one that has a place to add your own text so the card will be in English and Portuguese. I will write Feliz Natal and then our names in the place where it gives two lines for names. Which do you think will work best?

As you can see I like the cards with just one photo. I also like this card to use while we live in Chicago.

And then hopefully we can use this card when we move someplace warm!

Shutterfly has so many options it's hard to choose. They even have holiday address labels. Which holiday card to you like the best? Also, when do you usually send out your cards? I might wait to take pictures at the holiday party but that might be too late. And it takes forever to mail things to Brazil.

Since I'm getting free cards for writing this, you can consider this post sponsored. Visit Sutterfly's blog to find out how to get your own!

Halloween!

2010-11-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Halloween. This year we carved our pet turtle! This was Dr. C's second year carving pumpkins. Last year we carved his dog.

I also carved a heart on the back for our anniversary after Halloween.

I made some cheap Halloween decorations by saving jars all year and painting them. I only bought ribbon to put around the rim and some clear gloss paint.

This way when we move in 2 years we can just toss them if we don't have room to take them (and we probably won't).

We also went to the Halloween parade in Lakeview. We got there when it started but it was so crowded that we couldn't see anything. Luckily we got a spot where the people in costumes we lined up to start the parade so we could still see some great costumes.

If we go next year we'll go way early because I want to see the pet costumes! And I will wear the warmest coat I have.

Here was my favorite costume. I think she's suppose to be a Roy Lichtenstein painting.

Here is Dr. C's favorite, Oscar the grouch!

3 Years!

2010-11-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's our three year wedding anniversary today! These have been the best years of my life. We've grown so much in three years and so many things have changed. But it still feels like we got married just yesterday!

Dr. C is on call tonight and I worked all day but we will both be off tomorrow to spend the day together. I can't wait!

Craziness at the Bank

2010-10-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the bank today to renew a CD and notarize some documents. We use Bank of America and we've had so many bank problems lately that we've gone to the bank a lot (and really none of them were our fault). So we decided to go to a different bank down the street where they don't recognize us, ha. The lady there was really nice and helpful but for some reason we were there three hours! We got our new CD and we got a credit card for Dr. C to build his credit. But the notary public was not there so we had to go back to our old bank. The lady that usually helps us was helping us today and she did everything wrong! Dr. C had to get his signature and a copy of his diploma notarized to apply to fellowship in California. Well first on the signature paper she copied his name from his license and she spelled his name wrong. We told her and she almost fixed the wrong letter. So that document is no good now. We brought a nice copy of his diploma for her to notarize. The lady wrote the wrong thing on the side of it and said "all I do is notarize signatures" and that she couldn't confirm that that was a copy of the original diploma. But then she found and stamp that would work for what we wanted. So she took the original diploma to make a copy. We thought she was going to rip it, thank goodness she didn't. Her copy was not very good, the edge was cut off. Then she signs and stamps the front correctly. Then on the back she signs it but stamps it upside down! So now poor Dr. C has to do everything over again!

Home Tour: Guest Room

2010-10-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

I don't have a real guest room in my apartment. I just throw an air mattress in the office! At least it's not in the living room though. We've only had one guest since we're lived here for a year and that was around Easter. So here are some pictures from then. I can't wait to have a guest room and second bathroom one day!

Crazy Maintenance Man Part 3

2010-10-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

Both of the light bulbs in our living room light burned out last week. Dr. C and I spent days trying to open the light fixture to replace them but we couldn't figure it out. So after a week of sitting in the dark we decided to call maintenance because they were suppose to come this week anyway to change our heater filters. By the way, the sign said they would change the filters between 7:30 and 8 am but they always come in the evening! Anyway we called for maintenance in the afternoon and once again the maintenance man came after 10pm! Luckily we were awake this time because Dr. C is on vacation. The guy said he got a weird page but it didn't say the apartment number so he had to go all the way back. And apparently that took all day.

The guy shows up with no light bulbs or ladder or anything. He just explained to us how to open the light and left. All that trouble and I didn't even get free light bulbs!

Ahh!

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

What is wrong with my building?!?! They said the window washers would be coming last week and told us to close our windows. So I did and I closed my curtains too. Well no one came.

Then this week I was sitting on my couch in my pajamas playing on the computer when I heard a loud bang on the window. I look up and there is a scary looking man there with yellow teeth staring at me!

(source)

Ahh!!! So I ran into the bedroom. That will teach me to get dressed in the morning, at least I was wearing something! Then Dr. C came home for lunch and I asked him to close the blinds and the blinds fell off the wall!

Did I mention my heat still does not work?

10/10/10

2010-10-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

We had a little bit of warm weather here and we were trying to enjoy it as much as possible. On Oct. 10, Dr. C had the day off so we went on a long walk to enjoy the weather and look at the fall leaves. I decided to start using the manual settings on my camera so this was my first day attempting that. Why didn't I try this earlier? I have no idea.

We walked by the harbor.

And over to a little dog park.

The leaves were so pretty.

It was such a beautiful day! This weekend Dr. C starts his vacation. We're having another staycation but I'm so excited to go biking and enjoy fall!

Home Tour: Office

2010-10-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is our office. One wall is painted "Embellished Blue" by Behr. I used left over paint I had after painting the bathroom. We also use this room as a guest room. And we used to use it as a bike garage but we recently got access to the bike room in our building, yay!

Here's the view when you come in the room and look to the left. The painting hanging on the wall is not finished. I hang unfinished paintings to motivate me to finish them but it doesn't really work.

This is the wall across from the door.

Here is the wall on the right with a quilt I made.

Here's another view of the desks. The picture frames I painted myself. I need to get new pictures printed. And these are all Dr. C's medical books. I have a special mug on my desk that my mom gave me. I think it was one of my last Christmas presents from her. It's a little cracked so I just use it to hold my pens. There's some pottery I made for Dr. C on the big desk and the bookshelf.

The wall with the door is just blank. I don't like my walls to be too busy. But I do have some wall shelves I need to use, maybe I'll stick them there.

In the window I have a cactus garden. I painted the pots.

And here's the view from the window today and the sunset a few nights ago.

Home Tour: Kitchen

2010-10-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's my kitchen! It's really tiny but it works for just the two of us. I do wish I had a bigger freezer though. We rent so we can't change too much but we can paint. I just need to decide on a color, any suggestions?

Here's the view of the kitchen from the living room.

Looking into the kitchen.

Looking to the left...

And to the right...

I tried to use as much wall space for storage as possible. Here's some pottery I made on display...

Pots and pans...

Here are my spices. I love having them all out here, it makes cooking much easier.

I like my little retro stove.

So there's my kitchen. It's really small but the layout is pretty good. It's great for when I'm cooking alone, just don't try to help!

Fall Decor and New Paint!

2010-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I finally finished painting my living room. It took two whole gallons. I went with the color "Japanese Fern" by Behr. It was a little lighter than the color I was considering but I think it turned out perfect. I love it so much!

For my fall decorations I added a bunch of pumpkins.

Pumpkins around the candles. Last year I had gourds here.

I used more pumpkins and some branches I found to dress up my new armoire.

I'm not really sure what to do with the table, so I just put the pumpkins in a basket for now.

I also plan on making a few things for Halloween, so I better get on that!

Home Tour: Dining Room

2010-10-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here is our dining room. It's not really a room it's just a wall and part of the living room. The green wall is the new color I painted the living room! I really like how the color looks next to the white wall.

The furniture is from Ikea. It's a little wobbly. The table runner is from Target. And the orchid is from Home Depot.

The art I bought on my first trip to Brazil to my Husband's city. It shows some places in Rio de Janeiro. I like it because it's so colorful. The frames I got at Ikea for 7 dollars each. And I custom ordered the mats online for 7 dollars each. I think that was the easiest and cheapest way to get custom frames.

Home Tour: Bedroom

2010-09-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

The show us your life topic at Kelly's Korner this week is bedrooms. To get to our bedroom you walk down a long hallway from the living room. And you pass the bathroom and office.

This is my hallway painting.

Entering the bedroom...

The bedding is from Target. I bought it this spring because I thought the room looked so dark. I love white bedding. I also recently added the lamps for more light. I got them on sale from Marshalls. The painting over the bed is not finished. I want to paint a big white flower there. I also want to paint the room pale blue. I don't know if I should just paint the wall with the bed or paint the whole room.

All the wood furniture was passed down from my grandmother when I was 17. The dresser is beat up and hard to open but I love the details. The chair is from Ikea.

On the dresser I have a woodcut print I made of my Mom who passed away 8 years ago. I also have the first steel sculpture I ever welded, it's suppose to be an angel but it looks like a boat. There's also my Mom's jewelry box, her favorite perfume, and a candle holder I made.

I like how this room has a lot of closet space. A friend gave us the floor lamp when he moved.

This painting is our love painting. My husband made it with me and it was a lot of fun.

The best part of the room is the view! We can see a little bit of Lake Michigan and we can see Wrigley field.

Paint Colors

2010-09-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Choosing paint colors is so hard! For some reason the paint I buy never looks like the paint chip. I think the samples are expensive but it's better to waste 3 or 6 dollars then to waste 25 for a whole gallon of paint. Anyway I think I've found a color I like. I think I'm going to go with the more vibrant green color. The first color was too light and I think it doesn't go with the furniture. I think the darker color looks better with the animal print and black furniture. What do you think? Does it look OK with the rug?

By the way, I discovered that the city of Chicago does not sell spray paint, weird. I also bought a bag of mini pumpkins today at home depot. The guy in front of me bought 4 or 5 bags. I thought he would take them all. I wonder what he's doing with 50 pumpkins? Once I saw a guy grab 6 orchids from home depot and leave. I wonder what he was doing with so many orchids? Dr. C said he must be in trouble with his wife, ha.

Home Tour: Living Room

2010-09-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

On the blog Kelly's Korner they are doing home tours the next few Fridays. So I will be joining in. I love seeing how other people decorate their homes! This week is about living rooms. I'm working on painting my whole apartment now. So far I've only finished the bathroom and office. So I might have to post about my living room again once it's done. Here's my unpainted living room...

This is the long hallway when you walk in the front door. It has lots of great closet space!

Here is the view of the living room at the end of the entrance hallway. It's one big room for the living and dining room. I'll show you the dining wall later.

Here is the view from the kitchen. Most of our furniture is from Ikea. All the art and pottery I made myself. All the accessories are from places like Target, Home Goods, World Market, and Marshalls. The rug is from Home Depot.

Here's the TV wall. The TV Armoire is from Target but I got it off craigslist. I just love it. We also got the ottoman off craigslist and just bought a new cover.

Here's the inside view. One of the other residents gave us his old TV. On top of the armoire is a print I made of my dog. Also a clay jar and plate.

Here is a close up of the plate.

Here's the wall with the couch and my pet turtle. The turtle stand we had custom built and I stained it myself. That was actually cheaper than buying the particle board one from the store.

This painting I just whipped up today so I would have something to put in my frame. I got this frame for free with my TV stand but I broke the plexiglass! I'm probably going to paint the frame black.

And here is my garden.

It's looking a little sad now without flowers. Here is what it looked like over the summer. Everything appears to be growing like crazy though!

I just love this big bay window! We see a lot of beautiful sunsets here.

Now what color should I paint the walls? I was thinking painting the living room walls this green color. And painting the dinning wall and other hallway the tan color. I don't know if green will work in the room but all the other colors in there are neutrals so maybe it will. The only other color I can think of to use is Terra cotta. What do you think?

Residency

2010-09-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that intern year was horrible and the rest of residency is not so bad. For intern year of residency we moved to the suburbs of Boston. This was my first time living in a new state, my husband was gone all the time, and I had trouble finding a job so I cried a lot those first few months! Everything was so different, there was not much to do where we lived, the drivers were crazy, and it was so cold! I applied to around 90 school districts. And I ended up getting a job as a long term sub for half the year. I was working hard teaching middle school for the first time for not much pay. The time seemed to fly by and I remember barely seeing my husband at all!

Dr. C was working very hard of course. He had night float and 30 hour shifts where he would get no sleep. On his post call day he would come home at noon and sleep all day. He went through match the previous year but got no position. It was stressful not knowing if either of us would have a job the next year. In February Dr. C was offered a pre-match position in Chicago and we took it right away. That day I felt so great and relieved, like we had finally made it!

Things got a little better towards the end of intern year. Our apartment had a nice BBQ area so we had a few cookouts in the spring with the other residents that lived nearby. I even went to one BBQ by myself when Dr. C was on call. The nice thing about living in MA is there are so many Brazilians! Brazilian residents, restaurants, and grocery stores. I would hear Portuguese on the street all the time. Once we stopped to ask directions and the guy didn't speak English but he spoke Portuguese. I took a Portuguese class and although I didn't learn much it was fun to meet all the people that were dating/married to Brazilians and to meet with the Brazilians who were there to learn English to practice with them. Since I was not working so much at the end of the year I was able to go to Brazil and meet my in-laws for the first time. And I was able to learn how to throw pottery.

After intern year was over, they gave us negative days to move to Chicago! The hospital in Chicago eventually said we could come a few days late to orientation so we had one night to drive from Boston to Chicago. We had the next day off to finish driving and unpack in Chicago. That move was so terrible! We decided that Dr. C would drive the moving truck and we would ship our car. My dad was flying into Boston to drive our other car to his house in Maryland to sell. About a month before we moved someone hit my car in the parking lot! So the car went to get fixed, they fixed it wrong, they had to redo it and I got the car back 2 days before I moved, the day before my dad was coming! The car was really hard to sell, we waited for 2 months and it almost ran out of insurance but eventually we sold it to a guy all the way across the country in Idaho. Also during this time Dr. C was having some health problems and going to the doctor a lot so things were a bit crazy and I was really worried about him.

However, the rest of our move did not get any better. We were driving through the night and we were somewhere in PA and could barely keep our eyes open but we couldn't find any hotels to stop. We ate some food to perk up until we made it to Ohio where my husband, my turtle, and I got a hotel room to sleep. While we were driving the next morning to Chicago I noticed some strange bumps on my leg and I started having chest pain (I later discover that I had Erythema Nodosum and was sick for 10 months, probably caused by STRESS). We arrived in Chicago and found some movers to help us unload.

The next day was Dr. C's first day of work and we got a call from the guy shipping our car. He said that he was two miles away and couldn't come any closer because of low bridges. The guy couldn't even tell us where he was. I was having a lot of chest pain and could barely breathe. There was no way I could get the car. So after the guy cussed my husband out over the phone, he drove our car to pick us up and we had to drive him back to his truck. And Dr. C was late for his first day of work.

After all that, the rest of residency has been a lot better. Dr. C is only PGY3 though. Even though residency is hard and my husband works crazy hours, he is doing a specialty that he loves. For me, it's great because his schedule is much better. He now has 24 hour call shifts so he's done around 8am. He gets to sleep at night unless there's a trauma. So his post call day is like an extra day off! Also I think he's off every holiday unless he volunteers to work.

I love where we live now. It actually gets hot in the summer, we have a beach, and there's a ton of things to do. I still don't have the best job but I've decided to stop worrying about that. We have enough money to get by and I'm enjoying my free time making art, cooking, taking care of Dr. C, and teaching a little.

I'm sure the next two years will fly by and I look forward to finding out where we are headed for fellowship. I just hope the move is easy!

Camp

2010-09-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

So I actually taught a ton of camp this summer. Which is great because I don't have much work now. Camp ended a week and a half ago. It was so fun but also exhausting. Some days I taught 10 hours with no lunch break to myself and no planning or prep time! Right now I'm just teaching one class a week. And I'm teaching my second set of triplets. I'm also teaching winter camp. I don't know what else I'm going to do now, hopefully Chicago Public Schools will start hiring subs soon.

Some funny things that happened at camp:

We go to a nearby park for lunch and we sit along the park path to eat. There was a toddler there with his mom and the boy walked/ran up to every person one by one and said "What you doin? What you doin?" And then he saw my banana and said "Banana, I want banana." and tried to eat it! We saw him a few days in a row and he did the same thing!
Another day at the park we were eating again when a baby walked by. The baby grabbed one of my kids chips and kept on walking, ha!
The class next door to me had 5 year olds who were putting on plays. They had to name their group and one group named themselves "all the single ladies".
I had one boy who's almost 4 and he said he wanted to show me his cut. I asked him where it was and he said on his knee (he was wearing shorts). So I said OK you can show me your cut and the kid pulled down his shorts and underwear!

And that's all I remember for now. Kids are so funny!

Crazy Maintanence Man Part 2

2010-09-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately my garbage disposal broke so I had to call the Crazy Maintenance Man again. I'm really frustrated with everything breaking but it's so bad that it's kind of funny. We called for maintenance on Tues. No one came all day. So Dr. C went to bed. I was about to go to bed at 10 pm when I heard a loud banging on the door. I thought maybe the building was on fire or something bad. So I woke up Dr. C and startled the poor guy. He went to the door to see who it was while I hid in the bedroom in my pajamas. And it was the maintenance man!

So he comes in and looks at the disposal. And he says "Oh we forgot to stop by this apartment so I thought I better come by before I get in trouble!" But he didn't have the part he needed so he left.

Then next day I was fixing dinner around 7 when the maintenance guy came back. So I gave up on cooking dinner and went to write my proposal for winter classes. He said the problem was with the switch. I was wondering why the disposal switch was making sparks a few weeks ago. He touched it with some tool and it sent huge sparks flying everywhere! Then he was like "Whoa I need to turn off the power!" So then he proceeds to cut off the electricity in different rooms of our apartment. So Dr. C and I are trying to get some work done while the lights are flashing and we're sitting in the dark. Finally the maintenance guy fixed the problem and the disposal turns on.

But now it's making a funny noise. Something must have dropped in there. The maintenance guy noticed and said that he wasn't going to stick his hand in there. And he was in the kitchen a little while longer. So I thought he was fixing the problem. And he said it was all fixed and he left. Then I go to try out the disposal and there is still something stuck in there! And once again, the guy left his trash all over.

So now my disposal is still not usable. These people fix one thing and break something else. And my toilet still does not flush much at all. Ugh!

ETA: I forgot to mention that Dr. C had to go to work at 4 am the next morning for open heart surgery. And the maintenance man put in a new light switch that is too big for the cover. So now it's hard to flick on and off. This is a problem because if you leave the disposal on for more than a second, dirty water shoots up the drain on the other side of the double sink!

Medical School in Brazil

2010-08-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Today I'm linking up with some other Medical spouses to talk about Medical School. Dr. C went to school where he's from in Brazil before we were dating. But I knew him at the time so I'll just write about what he's told me and the time before residency started.

Dr. C went to Universidade Federal Fluminense. In Brazil you skip undergrad and go straight to medical school for 6 years. So he started when he was 19. UFF is a public school which is hard to get into but if you do then you go to school for free. Also Dr. C lived with his mom while in school (as most do in Brazil) so that is one of the reasons why we have no debt. Being a foreign grad is good for this reason but it is very hard to move to the US and be accepted into residency as a foreign medical graduate.

Dr. C graduated when he was 25. After that he worked as a doctor in Brazil to save up money to move to the US and support himself while he did volunteer research at a hospital.

He moved to the US when he was 26 and he began doing research at a hospital in Baltimore for a year. He worked without pay driving 2 hours each way! But I really enjoyed this time because he was home every night and weekend, although he did have to study a lot. For the first 6 months he lived with his cousin. Then we got married and lived together for 6 months before moving out of state. All the rent in Maryland where we lived was so expensive! We lived in the second cheapest place we could find but it was a little scary. Dr. C drove an old but really cool car. It broke a lot at first. We had to push it through the neighborhood to get it home once. One time, before we got married, it broke and I had to drive him to Baltimore everyday for a week. And I lived an hour away from him (closer towards Baltimore) so I spent 3 hours driving just to get him there! His mom joked that I would break up with him for that! And the neighborhood that the hospital is in is so scary. And I never drive in the city!

We found out we got a pre-match for intern year in Massachusetts near Boston. We ended up selling Dr. C's car for the same price we bought it. We loaded up the moving van just the two of us and we left for MA the morning after my teaching school year ended. Dr. C started residency two days later!

Our Sunday

2010-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Dr. C was off work on Sunday so that was our weekend. We started off biking to the beach but the day before it had rained a lot so it was very foggy and a little too cool for the beach. When we got there the beach was empty. It looked really neat with the fog but I didn't bring my camera. And there were actually waves!

So then we decided to explore a new path to the Lincoln park zoo that goes to the south entrance instead of the middle entrance. We had never been to the very south end of the zoo before. The have a nature walk boardwalk there that goes around a big pond and we saw a lot of people walking their dogs. They also have the farm animals down there. I didn't realize cows were so big, ha! They have ponies and my favorite part were the little chicks. We saw one chick that had just hatched too.

We stopped to eat at the Zoo's restaurant nearby. The food was really bad and over priced. But we had a lovely view of the pond and of the Chicago skyline. Then we walked around the rest of the zoo for a while. I figured out how to get to the Conservatory again and we went there. I just love their orchid room! Then we came home taking another new path and almost got lost.

Later we went grocery shopping and stopped at the Brazilian store for this...

Maracuja (passion fruit) juice, Caju (cashew fruit) juice, coc festa (coconut candies), Bono chocolate cookies, and Passa Tempo cookies. They were out of Guarana. We also got farofa but I forgot to include it in the photo.

I haven't tried the juice yet. But the coconut candies are soooo good. The chocolate cookies are actually vegan but if I'm going to eat cookies I'd rather have homemade cookies. I need to stop buying those candies though because I eat them all at once!

2010-07-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I've been busy around here working and making art. This week I work 6 days doing 4 different jobs! I am teaching camp, teaching class, teaching birthdays, and cleaning the studio. I'm excited to be teaching my first camp this week. I also found out that I'm going to continue teaching at the art school this fall! I still don't know if I'm teaching at public schools or not. And I don't know if I want to. Maybe I can just work as an artist and sell some of my work?

Here is a carioca song I recently discovered. It reminds me of my honey...

4th of July

2010-07-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great long weekend. Dr. C had three whole days off! We went biking and swimming a lot, even though the water is so cold here. And we had a lot of picnics. On Sunday we went to watch fireworks at Montrose beach. Last year we tried to watch the fireworks at Navy Pier but we were in the wrong spot and barely saw anything. This year was much better! I hope we can go next year too.

We biked to the beach then we had to wait awhile for the fireworks to start. And it started raining! But only for a few minutes. Most people were sitting up on the hill so it was nice to sit on the beach and not be too crowded.

The fireworks were so beautiful over the lake!

Here's a heart...

This weekend I tried some new recipes. I made Brooklyn Deli Macaroni Salad from Veganomicon which was great.

I tried the Buttery Lemon Cutout Cookies but I didn't have enough lemon zest and I didn't like them very much. They were fun to decorate but they were so crumbly. Maybe I did something wrong. I also made Chocolate Chip Cookies which are my favorite. I forgot to take a picture but I made them for my class potluck. Both recipes are from Vegan with a Vengeance.

We also had Black Bean Burgers(Veganomicon) and Baked Cajun French Fries(Vegan with a Vengeance). I like to double the spices in the fries. These are so yummy I make them all the time. I freeze the extra burgers for later.

Halfway There!

2010-07-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Dr. C is halfway through residency now! July 1st starts a new year of residency and my husband is now a PGY3! He just has two years left and fellowship(one year) to go. It's so exciting hearing about where everyone else who's graduated is heading. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I really do love Chicago and I'm happy to stay here for two more years, but I love a new adventure!

At the end of this year Dr. C will apply to fellowship. So I've been looking at all the possible places we might move to. We really want to move some place warm. So I think he will apply to all the warm places and we will take whoever offers him a job first. If he doesn't get many interviews then he will apply to other places too.

Here are the places we're considering. If you know about these cities, please tell me what you think because I know nothing about them. We like warm sunny weather. We like to be outside taking walks or riding bikes. I love being able to walk everywhere. If I can't walk, I'd like to be in a place where it is easy to drive. Not where the roads and drivers are crazy like Massachusetts, ha. Also I would like it if the place is vegan/vegetarian friendly. And if it has a ceramics studio. We would love to be near the beach. Friendly people would be a plus. We're also applying to Maryland where we're from. But I would love to go someplace new!

California:
San Diego
LA
San Fransisco
Sacramento
Palo Alto

Florida:
Miami
Gainesville

Georgia:
Atlanta

Louisiana:
New Orleans

North Carolina:
Durham
Winston-Salem

South Carolina:
Charleston

Texas:
Houston
Temple
Dallas
Galveston

Tennessee:
Nashville

Alabama:
Birmingham

Big Update

2010-07-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

My internet has not been working great so I haven't been on here much. But now it seems to be working fine. So here's what's new:

Work: I started teaching! It's been going great and it's a lot of fun. I also sub for some camps and I started teaching birthday parties. Birthdays are great because I can choose to only work when Dr. C is on call. One of my students who's 4 years old kept writing Rio all over her papers. And she said that was her name, but it's not. One boy went to use the restroom but said he needing help wiping his butt. Luckily I found his mom waiting outside!

Graduation/Valentine's Day and Residency: The hospital had it's graduation party on the Brazilian Valentine's Day. Dr. C gave me pretty roses.

Then we got all dressed up and went to dinner. I put my hair up in a side bun for the first time, it held up pretty well. This was at the end of the night...

The party was pretty nice. I just wish people danced around here! Now most of the graduating residents have left and I'm a little bummed I'm not moving this year. It's weird to not be moving for once. So many people are moving to Florida, I'm jealous!

Q2 call is over finally. It really sucked, I felt like I didn't see Dr. C for days. For example, he was on call all day and night Friday. Then he had a test to take Saturday. Then he was on call all day and night on Sunday. So I barely saw him from Thursday to Monday. I hope he doesn't have to do that anymore.

Fun: We've been hanging out a the beach a lot. And we started playing frisbee. We went over to the beach that has a huge dog beach. This beach reminds me of Brazil because people sell everything here, giant beach balls, food, and other toys.

We went out to eat at Zealous. One of our friends who was moving had a groupon there that he had to use up. I think that's the fanciest place I've been so far! They bring you a little tiny appetizer and a cute little dessert. I also had the sorbet for dessert and that was so good. However, I got water spilled on me twice! The first time was not my fault though!

Health: I went to see my Rheumatologist recently for my Erythema Nodosum. Ever since April I have been feeling great and 100% pain free! Now I can sleep on my side without pain. Now I can do pottery without my shoulders or elbows hurting. It's so great. So I thought I would be able to stop my medicine but the doctor wants me to stay on. I see her again in six months.

The doctor seems to really want me to have babies though. Every time I go there she asks me when I'm having kids. And I told her I started birth control again and she said "Oh practicing for babies!". Oh my gosh, and she said that I should stay on my medicine until I go through my first pregnancy. Um... I really don't want to take medicine that I don't need for years if I don't need it. Maybe she thinks I'll be pregnant in a few months?

Mamae's Visit

2010-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind on my posts! MIL came to visit us the weekend before Easter. She was in DC for two weeks for work so she came for a quick visit. I made her this Easter basket.

MIL is so funny because she doesn't know what to do in cold weather. First of all she thinks the inside temperature is the same at the outside temperature. After she learned that heat makes it different then she thought that the first floor temperature is the same as outside. We also walked to a restaurant while she was here and she asked us if it would be warm in the restaurant! Haha, we were like "Yes they have heat there!".

So anyway, the first day MIL was here we took a quick walk to the lake. It was still a little cold, around 50 degrees maybe. MIL was dressed completely wrong with flats with no socks and just a sweater. So we told her to put another coat on. We went outside and MIL was freezing on the walk. Her face was numb and she thought she was going to have a stroke! We told her that faces going numb happens all the time around here. When we got to the lake we stopped for one second to take a picture.

Then Dr. C and MIL left me there taking pictures because they were too cold!

The next day it was a little warmer so we drove to the dog beach to show MIL.

And we walked over to the Chicago Diner to eat. I had yummy pasta and Dr. C had vegetarian country fried steak which he loved. We also tried the hot wings appetizer but I didn't like that so much. MIL had corn bread and chili.

I also cooked lots of yummy food for MIL. Some things I made were Lost Coconut Custard Pie, Lemon Bars, and Coconut Pancakes with Pineapple Sauce.

And I painted this orchid for MIL's new apartment! I also sent a bunch of pottery to everyone in Brazil.

MIL gave me this pretty hydrangea plant for Easter.

What a fun visit! I hope some more people come visit us. I think Dr. C's cousin from Rio will be coming to Chicago to take a course at the end of summer.

Crazy Maintenance Man

2010-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I have so many problems with the maintenance people at this building. My water is back on now. But the people never told me it's on and they never came back to close the panel in my bathroom. So maybe they're not done and my water could shut off any minute, who knows!

Anyway a roach crawled out of there!!! So Dr. C closed it for me. We moved up 9 floors to get away from these roaches, I better not see anymore.

I really hate calling for the maintenance people here because they just come over and let themselves in whenever they want. You could be sleeping or in your pajamas. And sometimes they don't come right when you call so you spend a week wondering when they will come barging in. And if your tub is clogged or something, it gets really nasty in a week!

So I try to never call them. My tub gets clogged all the time with my hair so I just fix it myself. But my bathroom sink has been slow to drain ever since we moved in. So if I wash my face the thing will be full by the time I'm done. My bathroom has a million other problems too. The sink drips and there is no water pressure with the hot water. The toilet will only flush once every 5 min or so. So if two people use it in a row it won't flush! And the tub always clogs.

So anyway, we call maintenance and say our bathroom sink is clogged and leaking. The maintenance man comes to the door and says, "What sink is the problem?" I said the bathroom sink. And the man goes, "Ohh that's a BIG problem!" And one of my neighbors was in the hall laughing when she heard that, ha! Oh my gosh, if this is a big problem than what kinds of problems does he fix? Changing light bulbs? And the man asks me how long I was living there and I told him that is was like that when we moved in. I told him we have a lot of problems with our bathroom, let me show you. And I told him when we lived downstairs we didn't have these problems. So I told him the sink was dripping and had no water pressure. And he says "I can't fix that now, that will take an hour!" Um, didn't we call maintenance for this? Then I told him about the toilet and he said, "Do you flush plastic?" Um, no. Then he said it doesn't flush because we have an old toilet with a big tank. They don't even buy these toilets anymore. Um, then why do we have one? Then he said he had to leave to go get some toxic goop to pour down our drain. Why doesn't this guy bring the goop with him in his big cart? But I had to leave too so I did.

When I came home the empty bottle of goop was still there. I don't know why he didn't throw it away? Really, I could have poured Drano down myself. But at least our sink drains now and I don't have to worry about it overflowing while I have soap in my eyes! None of the other problems are fixed though. Should I keep calling maintenance? Ugh!

I think I fixed a one or two of my toilet problems though. The problems are green goo leaks out the back, it don't have enough pressure to flush everything, when you try to flush again it doesn't work because the tank is so big it takes forever to fill up, the flushing chain keeps popping off, and the chain is too long so sometimes the plug gets stuck open. So I shortened the chain. Now it appears to have a little more pressure and shouldn't get stuck. Why couldn't the maintenance man do this?

A nice day for the beach

2010-06-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago it finally got hot around here. So Dr. C and I biked to the beach for a picnic. I could not believe how packed the beach was!

We parked our bikes at the end of the dock to have our picnic of veggie burgers.

And we hung out with the birds.

There were so many people on the beach that you couldn't even see the sand.

On the way home we stopped at Soup Box to see if they had Italian ice yet. And they did but their machine was broken so they only had one flavor which they were giving away for free! Woo hoo!

Over memorial day weekend, we only had two days off. The weather was nice on Sunday so we went to the beach again and this time we wore our swimsuits! The water was really cold though. Dr. C went all the way in. I just went in to my knees.

On the way home we got Italian ice and ice cream. And there was a used bookstore giving away free books so I picked one up. Also someone gave away an Art book at my building so I got that too!

It was such a beautiful day. I love living in Chicago!

Ugh

2010-06-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

My apartment is driving me crazy! Today they are working on my neighbors bathroom so they had to turn my water off. They said it would be about an hour. It's been 6 hours so far! Also in this past week the power has gone out. The chain on my toilet keeps popping off every time I flush so I can never get it to flush. When it does flush it doesn't even have enough pressure to flush 3 squares of paper. And the building decided to install a new air conditioning system on the hottest day of the year so now we have no AC for three weeks. It's hot and I have no water!! I'm starting to dream about moving for fellowship already!

And Dr. C is on call every other night this month. And he can't take call from home. We'll see how that goes. And I start teaching next week!

2010-05-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dr. C is on third call tonight, which totally sucks. That means he works really late and has to go into work tomorrow too, instead of having a post-call day off.

I was watching Glee on Hulu tonight and they sang this song that really reminds me of residency. It's Beth by Kiss...

2010-05-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I got the job! That was an easy interview!

Tomorrow I find out which classes I'll be teaching but they all look good. So I'll be teaching part-time now, and over the summer. I'll also look for a job with CPS if there are any. I think they have some jobs that are 2.5 days a week but I don't know if they're hiring teachers now. My pottery classes were really worth it because they got me this job.

I'm excited to start working at this place. It will be a different experience teaching students who want to be in art. And to be surrounded by other artists, art teachers, and people who care about art. Yay!

After many hours sitting in front of my computer I finally finished my teaching portfolio and CD. I even printed out business cards. They look good I think. My printer is not even working now so I had to go somewhere else to print. It was a lot of work.

Here's how my office floor looks today. Now I have to go clean and think of some lesson ideas!

Twenty Seven

2010-05-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

I recently celebrated my 27th birthday!

I made Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting from Vegan with a Vengeance. It was so yummy, especially the frosting! I also made Pasta Della California from Veganomicon and put it in my new bowl from pottery. This pasta is my new favorite.

Here is the mess in my kitchen after cooking dinner, good grief!

For my birthday Dr. C gave me a new comforter. I felt like my old one was too dark for my room and made my bedroom look like a cave. I love the new one!

I also got a blender and some mixing bowls so I can cook more fun things. I've been making green monsters almost everyday now, they are so good and healthy!

I also recently got some new plants, clothes, and sneakers. And Dr. C drew me a birthday card. It was so sweet! My dad and sister gave me a book on an artist and a gift card to amazon. But I have no idea what I should buy! Books? Camera tripod? Save it towards purchasing a new lens?

On my birthday I went to my ceramics class and my teacher offered me a job! I love when that happens! And I found out I got the job on Mother's day(gift from my Mom maybe?). It's not a teaching job or a paid job. I just help around the studio in exchange for some free classes. But maybe it will lead to a teaching job. And it will enable me to continue pottery, I can put it on my resume, and maybe I'll make some friends, we'll see. I'm excited to start!

My teacher also sent my resume to the person that hires the teachers there. And she introduced me to this person. I have an interview tomorrow! I really hope I get a teaching job! Now I have to go finish updating my portfolio, something I should have done a year ago, whoops!

Three Years!

2010-05-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

source

Yesterday was Dr. C's three year anniversary of coming to the US and our three year anniversary of meeting! We had a lovely anniversary. And last week Dr. C was on vacation too! But tonight he's on call and I miss him. Next month he will be on call every other night. I'm not looking forward to that. We just hung around here for our vacation but we had a lot of fun. Tonight I'm making acai cookies!

How We Met

2010-04-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today at Kelly's Korner the topic is how you met your husband. So here's our story!

A long time ago, I think in 1998 or 1999, Dr. C came to America to go to High School in the US for a year and live with his cousins in Maryland. While he was here he was really bored so he made an advertisement on Love at AOL. And then a little while later he went back to Brazil.

One day I went on AOL in August 2001, right after I graduated High School. And there was an advertisement for Love at AOL and Dr. C was there on the first page. I thought he was so beautiful with dark hair and blue eyes! And I saw that he lived by me in Maryland so I emailed him. He emailed me back and we started chatting online the next day I think, Aug. 6. He told me that he lived in Brazil now and asked if I would still talk to him. I said sure! He told me all these great things about himself and I didn't say much because I was shy. But he still talked to me! I printed out our first conversation and have kept it all these years. It's too embarrising to post though!

I even wrote about him in my diary. I glued in his picture and wrote "This is Dr. C. He lives in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro or something like that. He's 20. He's real nice. He has family in MD." And then I wrote some words in portuguese that he taught me. "Sonhe com os anjinhos", Dream with the angels is what he said to me.

Then we talked on and off for five years. He kept losing his email address but would always find me again. I kept the same email address all those years. The fall after I finished college in 2006 I found his email again and sent him a letter. A week later he wrote me back and we started talking a lot. We both had just finished college and were starting our first jobs. Dr. C said he was going to move to the US soon but now he was working to save some money. We started talking every day and would have video chats on Skype everyday. He became my best friend and I already loved him before I even met him in person! (But I didn't tell him that). I told him I had a secret to tell him when he came to America. He said the same to me. The secret was that I loved him already but I waited for him to say it first.

While we were talking we figured out that his cousins kids would be going to the school where I taught next year. One went now but only for speech classes so I didn't know him. What a small world! I decided to meet his cousin and cousin's kids first and they were nice.

Dr. C finally moved to the US on May 10th 2007. We met in person that night and shared our first kiss. We were married six months later!

The Best Teacher Gifts

2010-04-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a long break from blogging! So I decided to take a break from posting about my vacation to join in the blog carnival at Kelly's Korner. This week they're talking about teacher gifts.

Well I'm an Art teacher so I don't usually get gifts. I teach over 400 children so that would be a bit crazy to get 400 gifts! But us specialist teachers do like it when we're acknowledged for our hard work!

I worked at a low-income school so most of my students could not afford gifts. I loved when they would write me a letter or draw me a picture though! After two cross-country moves I still have kept all those letters! Here are some funny, cute, and sweet ones...

Another great gift idea is flowers. One mother of a few children I taught gave all her kids teachers two roses from her garden! That's a great gift that doesn't cost a lot. Here is a picture of the roses along with a fancy box of chocolates from another girl.

Other gifts teachers love are things they can use up like lotion, soaps, and food. Because who needs more trinkets and clutter? Food is a tricky gift because some teachers don't eat certain things or are trying to avoid sweets. And I wouldn't eat something baked by a kid. So maybe fruit? And gift cards are always great so teachers can buy what they want! Remember don't forget the Art, PE, Music, Media, and other teachers your kids have!

Brazil Vacation 2010, Day 4

2010-03-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Pista Claudio Coutinho by Sugar Loaf Mountain to look for monkeys! First when we got to the area we saw the Bope which is like the Brazilian SWAT Team, Dr. C says.

Here is the beach next to Sugar Loaf Mountain, Praia Vermelha.

The walk was very nice but it was very hot in the places with no shade. The walk is along the base of the mountain so on one side you see the ocean and on the other side you see up the mountain and you see the forest.

We only saw monkeys at the beginning of the walk. We saw about five. The walk is 3/4 of a mile long and when you get to the end you walk back. We saw lots of huge butterflies and some flowers. On the way back by the entrance we saw two monkeys up close. One had a little baby on it's back. It was so cute!

We had a little banana with us so we put part of it on the tree but they didn't come over. We were standing there for a while talking pictures when one of the monkeys (without the baby) started to come over to Dr. C who was holding the banana! He got scared when the monkey came close so he dropped the banana, ha! This picture was taken right before Dr. C got scared!

.
I picked up the banana then the monkey came over to me! I got to see the monkey up close eating the banana while I was holding it. It was so cool! I'm glad I walked in the heat for that! Here I am feeding the monkey...

The monkeys were really cute. After awhile they left. Some people say the monkeys bite but I wasn't scared because I held the banana close to a tree so the monkey wouldn't jump on me and the banana was kind of long so the monkey was not close to my fingers. It was really neat!

Next we went to Parque Lage. It's an old mansion that was turned into an art school. It's surrounded by a beautiful park.

Inside the building is a courtyard with a pool. There is a small cafe there and tables set up for you to eat. There are large easels around the pool for painting classes. There is also a store that sells art supplies there. Downstairs are the art studios. They have painting, printmaking, photography, digital art, and mixed media I think. I wish I could take class there, it's the most beautiful art school I've ever seen! You can see Cristo at the top of the mountain in this photo.

We stopped at the cafe for a drink. We got Mate and natural quarana.

Then we went for a walk around the park. They have waterfalls there but we didn't find them. I think they were a long walk away and it was too hot. We saw this thing that looked like a big rock or something. And it had a little door inside like a cave. We went in and there were little aquariums inside! It was so neat.

Then we walked around some more and saw a tree full of monkeys.

And we saw this bridge thing that leads to a cave. We walked in and out the other side and it takes you to a higher path. It looks kind of scary though. Would you go in there?

On the way out we stopped at this other building there where they had an art exhibition. The building was full of I-beams.

Then we went to look at another apartment with MIL. This apartment was located in Barra by Big Polis, our favorite place for acai. It was near the beach and in a very nice neighborhood. But the apartment was really small with only one tiny tiny bathroom. So I don't know about that.

On the streets in that neighborhood a lot of people put orchids on their trees. I just love orchids. I think this is really cool and if I ever live in a warm place I will stick some orchids on my trees!

After looking at the apartment we went to have lunch at Big Polis with Dr. C's cousin, aunt, and his aunt's mother. It was sweltering hot. I don't know how people can be outside in the middle of the day around here! Then we all went back to check the apartment again because Dr. C's cousin and Aunt flip apartments for a living, but they didn't like it either.

Later we went to the beach with Dr. C's cousin. I think my favorite time to go to the beach is in the morning because it's not too windy and it's low tide. The water is warm and there are shallow parts that you can just stand or sit in. In the afternoon the waves are bigger and it's a little colder. Lately I have not been waking up early enough though. Whenever I go around noon the water is nice but I get burned!

We saw a ton of people kite surfing and wind surfing because it was so windy!

When we left the beach we went to pick up MIL as the sun was setting. She was way down the beach where big SIL lives. MIL and big SIL's family were hanging out at one of the little restaurants along the beach. So we stopped there for a while and I played with my nephew. He was playing with another little boy. It's so funny because I speak to them in English and they look at me like what the heck?

Then we went home, walked the dog, and went to bed because it was so late!

Brazil Vacation 2010, Day 3

2010-03-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today it was 105 degrees here! We went to the beach in the late morning. The water was so nice. It looked turquoise and was so clear I could see the bottom when we were up to our necks in the water. I even saw a school of fish swimming. The water felt so nice today but I stayed in too long and got a little sunburned. The waves were calm today and there was a shallow area where the water was warm. I sat there for a long time, it was so nice! This is Barra da Tijuca Beach where we usually go.

Later we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain with MIL. I was so excited to use my new camera up there. The sun was right behind the Cristo so it was kind of hard to take a picture. But I think the sun looks really cool in the pictures.

Here is Sugar Loaf Mountain, you ride a cable car to the top...

And here is the view from the top, you can see the beaches and Corcovado Mountain with Christ the Redeemer...

We saw a monkey up there who was missing a tail! What do you think happened to it?

And we also saw a lizard.

From the top of Sugar Loaf, there are paths to walk on in the back of the mountain. It's a nice shady spot to go when it's too hot up there.

Here's a random couple I took a picture of...

The sun was starting to set as we left. You can see Christ the Redeemer, on top of the mountain, better in this picture.

Brazil Vacation 2010, Day 2

2010-03-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today was our first full day in Brazil. First we went over to big SIL's apartment. Dr. C and I went to her pool for a bit. Then FIL, little SIL, and little BIL arrived so we went in for lunch. I gave everyone the pottery I made them.

After lunch all went to look at an apartment that MIL is thinking about buying. It's one block away from this spot on the beach! It had a nice balcony with a view of the ocean. But the rest wasn't that great so MIL is still looking.

We stopped at another spot with some kind of body of water. And we saw an alligator! And also some lizards.

My nephew asked me, in Portuguese, if I wanted to go to the park and I was so confused! So we all went to the beach instead! We went to Prainha, which is a beach surrounded by mountains. It is so beautiful there. A lot of surfers go there but the waves are very rough. There is also a pool of fresh water that comes from the mountains that my nephew loves playing in.

After Prainha, we left the family and MIL, Dr. C and I went to Barra da Tijuca beach where the water was calmer so we could go for a swim. We left when the sun was setting, so pretty!

After the beach we were starving so we stopped to get acai. Then we went over to Dr.C's Tio's house to pick up his yorkie that they were watching. I met one of Dr. C's cousins for the first time and saw many other people there. I think that cousin speaks English the best out of the whole family. He's as good as Dr. C. Then we went home and it was so nice to have the dog at home again! I wish I could have a dog in Chicago. Here he is playing with his new toy and using his new food dishes I made him.

Brazil Vacation 2010, Day 1

2010-03-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived in Brazil! The flight was very long. The airport where we had our connecting flight was having weather delays so our first flight was delayed. The people at the airline would not tell us if we would be able to catch our second flight to Brazil or not. Then we would be stranded for days waiting for another flight to Brazil. So finally our first flight took off. There were a lot of empty seats from the people who gave up and left. And we needed to be off the plane first to catch our next flight. So as we were flying we kept moving up rows of seats until we were in the first row when we landed. Luckily we made it just in time! I was so nervous about catching the flight that I got a stomach ache and I barely slept last night. Anyway, we made it here, and our bags made it too, yay! There was one other person who was on the same flights as us and he happened to be going to visit one of Dr. C's friends from school, small world!

MIL picked us up from the airport and we went to her apartment to take a shower and eat. The first thing that I noticed are that people drive so crazy here. They don't have marked lanes everywhere so people drive really close together. We even saw people practicing parallel parking in the street on the way home. Shouldn't they do that in a parking lot?

MIL's rental apartment is really cute with huge windows and a nice view.

I liked the blue tiles in the kitchen.

Here is the room we stayed in...

MIL made me lots of vegan food to eat and also picked up some food from a vegan restaurant in town. And we also at fresh pao (bread). Everything was so good!

Then Dr. C and I went to Barra da Tijuca beach. I've never seen the beach so crowded before! The water was lukewarm and so nice. We went swimming for long time then took a walk on the beach. Later we sat down by the water to dry off. It was around 7pm so it wasn't too hot, it just felt so nice. It was great to relax and spend time with my husband.

I love golden retrievers and used to have one. And I saw five different golden retrievers walking by the beach today. I also saw two yellow labs and two black labs.

Later we went to get acai for the first time. Gosh it is so good! I think I'll eat it everyday here.

Driving home from the beach and acai we had to drive through the mountain. The road was bumpy and I was so tired that I kept falling asleep. Dr. C had to call some people but didn't have a hand free from driving so I held the phone up to his ear. But I kept dosing off while doing that and dropping the phone, haha.

Tonight there was a bloco practicing music and dances for carnival. It's like a giant bus that pulls a roof full of people singing, dancing, and playing instruments down the street. Everyone follows them dancing, singing, and drinking in the street. We went for a little bit with big SIL, her husband, and her son.

Later Dr. C and I felt like going home and our nephew wanted to come with us so we took him home. I gave him his glow in the dark drawing board and he had so much fun playing with it.

Now I am so tired and ready to go to bed!

All day long strangers have been speaking to me in Portuguese but I'm too shy to say I don't understand. So they just keep on talking and talking and I just smile and nod, ha!

Ready for Spring

2010-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

One day last week it was 63 out! So nice! We walked down to the lake. As you can see it's still a little frozen! I can't wait for the weather to get warm. I'm really ready for a bike ride. And I'm sick of everything looking so gray. When will I see some green leaves?

To make it look more like spring in our apartment, Dr. C got me an orchid! I've never had an orchid with flowers this big before. It's so pretty.

I also got this plant for one dollar!

In pottery now I'm making teapots! I'm so excited about that. Recently we had our empty bowls fundraiser. This is the bowl I donated.

One person donated 200 bowls! The studio raised about $9,000 this time. We didn't get to go this year because Dr. C had a big exam the next morning. Hopefully we can go next year.

I will post about my Brazil trip starting tomorrow, so be sure to check back! I wrote most of the posts while I was in Brazil and I'm just adding pictures now. Sorry I'm so slow.

Crazy week

2010-03-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

We've had such a crazy week here. A week ago Dr. C spent the weekend at a conference. His hospital payed for everything. And the hotel that they were staying at charged the hospital for all the staff staying there. Then the hotel made a big mistake and also charged us for all the staff staying at the hotel! Thousands of dollars! Dr. C gave them our check card when he checked in, in case he trashed the room or something (we don't have a credit card). Well they charged it and now we have no money! I couldn't buy my precriptions, I couldn't pay for my car insurance, or even do my laundry! Someone from the hospital called the hotel to try to fix this. She was really mad and said "I gave you the account of an attending that makes over 400,000 a year and you charge the poor resident?!" Thank goodness we have a risk free CD and were able to take some money out of that so we could pay our bills. It's been over a week now and we still don't have our money back. The hotel said we would get ONE night free for all this trouble, are you kidding me?

Anyway, I guess we need to get a credit card so this doesn't happen again. Can you recommend a good one? Now I realize why it's so important to have a supply of food in your house and also some cash!

On a positive note, Mrs. D at Life of a Doctor's Wife gave me an award! She is so funny, be sure to check out her blog!

Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.
2. Pass on the award to about 15 14 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are great!
3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. Say 7 things about yourself.

1. I hate driving. I've only driven maybe 5 times since I'm moved to this city. I'm scared to drive in the city because I'm afraid I'll get lost. Last year we lived in MA and I think the drivers and the roads there are so crazy but I got used to it after a year. The only place I'm comfortable driving is the state where I grew up. I would rather walk or take the metro any day!
2. I'm also scared to cross busy streets without a crosswalk and light. In Chicago I'm OK because I just wait for the light. But in Rio to get to the beach you have to cross a 4 lane road. So Dr. C always helps me across. Once he forgot and crossed without me so he had to cross back to get me!
3. I've been a vegan for 10 years this May. And I don't think I will ever change. Unless I'm dying and the doctors force me to eat animal products.
4. I was born in Washington DC. Dr. C also proposed to me in DC. I miss that city

5. My first teaching job was at an elementary school of mostly low income students. I had over 500 kids there and I still miss them and hope they're doing ok. Here's a rainforest mural the whole school made for the art show...

6. My second job was teaching middle school for upper middle class students. It was not rewarding at all and I only made 1/3 the pay of my first job! I did have one fabulous 7th grade class though. Here are some 8th grade paintings...

7. Also I don't have my ears pierced! Weird, huh? When I was little I told my mom that I couldn't wait for my ears to grow holes!

I pass on this award to…

Stephanie at Living Life on the Road Less Traveled
Brittany at Que Sera Sera
Kelly at The Startup Wife
Danielle at Danielle in Brazil
and Tanya at The Local of Brazil

Hmm, I don't know that many bloggers so I'll just tag 5. Can you recommend some blogs for me too?

We're Back!

2010-02-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

We arrived in the US on Monday but I was too tired to post until now. I think it was because I can never sleep on overnight flights. I'll be writing about our trip as soon as I sort through the photos.

When we arrived it was snowing in Chicago. I really miss Brazil's warm weather. I'll take hot weather over cold any day!

It's good to be home (our home of 3 weeks, ha) but I miss our family and the beach! I'm happy to be sleeping in my own bed and eating my regular food though. Everything seems so much bigger in the US, the cars, bathrooms, and elevators, ha.

Dr. C has a golden weekend this weekend but he left to go to a conference. I'm so sad, he hasn't been gone this long in awhile! I wanted to go too but the residents have to share rooms so I can't. And he's carpooling to the conference. You would think they could get their own rooms if they are not even paying for travel, ugh.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's our last day in Brazil and we're enjoying Valentine's Day. This is our song, Colo de Menina, by Rastape. Dr. C always sings it to me. Happy Valentine's Day!

Beijos!

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 8

2010-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Brazil we woke up in the pousada.

Then we had breakfast downstairs with the family and FIL's brother and sisters. The pousada had a pool with a beautiful garden.

Then we drove back to Rio. One of Dr. C's cousins from Maryland had just arrived in Rio that day so we visited with him. We had lunch, said goodbye to the Yorkie, went to the airport, and said goodbye to MIL.

Then we flew home (with our acai berry bracelets)!

Dr. C's Dad's House

2010-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Dr. C's dad lives outside of Rio in Teresopolis with his three half siblings. His dad built this house. They just add on whenever they need more room. This is the view of the back of the house from the backyard. They live in the mountains and the backyard is really steep with a winding path to get up it. Then it's flat at the very top where there is a pool and BBQ.

Here is the pool in the back yard.

And if you turn around, this is the view you see from the pool!

In the front of the house they have a purple tree. I think this was taken from a window and that's the porch underneath.

Dr. C has a younger half sister (the same age as my sister) and this is what her crazy walls look like! And I drew on them too, haha.

I hope I get to go back next time!

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 7

2010-02-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

On this day Dr.C and I went to the beach in the morning. It was sunny and warm and it was the best day at the beach so far. The other days the waves were too rough but today it was perfect for a swim! This was our last day at the beach, I was so sad!

Dr.C ran into one of his old friends on the beach. And we saw a million lifeguards run by...

The water was so nice!

Then we had lunch and acai of course.

Then MIL drove us to Teresopolis where Dr.C's dad lives. FIL was having a costume party for his birthday that night! We drove way up in the mountains to get to Teresopolis. MIL almost killed us trying to pass a truck during a curve in the road going up the mountain! Ha, I was so scared and Dr.C was sleeping the whole time.

We finally got to Teresopolis and left our stuff at the pousada where we would spend the night. Little SIL's friend owned the pousada. We met up with the whole family there except BIL. FIL has a cool old jeep so we went for a ride!

Then we took a long drive through the forest to get to FIL's house. There I met BIL for the first time!

Next it was time for the party! It was FIL's 60th birthday! I got to practice ordering drinks in Portuguese and saying "nao, orbrigada" every time someone would offer an appetizer. I had fun hanging out with Dr.C's family! It was my last night in Brazil.

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 6

2010-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

On this day we went to see the Christ the Redeemer Statue (Cristo Redentor) on Corcovado Mountain. We went with MIL and little SIL. Usually we drive everywhere but today we took a cab to get to the mountain. From the bottom of the mountain you ride a train up to almost the top. Then you walk the rest of the way.

It was cloudy that day. The clouds would blow away and I sky would be blue, but then another cloud would roll in.

We could see Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Bay.

We saw the Lagoon and all the beaches.

We even saw a few of these little guys up there. Not really sure what they are though!

On the train ride down the mountain there was a samba band playing music!

Later that day we went to the beach.

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 5

2010-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

On our fifth day in Brazil it was raining in the morning so we met up with Dr. C's family at a place where you can rent costumes. FIL was having a costume party later that week so we had to find costumes. We decided to go as matching prisoners, ha!

Then we went to the mall for lunch with big SIL, nephew, and little SIL. We had sushi and in Brazil they make sushi with fruit. So I tried strawberry and kiwi I think. It was a little strange but OK! I also had sushi with a mushroom on top of a ball of rice, that was good.

After lunch Dr. C and I went to the Tijuca Rain Forest. It's the world's largest urban forest being surrounded by the city. We drove there and walked around a little bit but not too far. We saw a beautiful waterfall.

There was a road that you can drive through on. And we parked by a house. I think it was a restaurant. We saw this tile map and fountain there...

And we saw lots of trees!

Then we finished our day going to the beach at sunset! The colors were so beautiful!

On the way home I met one of Dr. C's cousins. Dr. C's uncle has a beautiful apartment with a humongous balcony, I loved it! His cousin works as a flying trapeze artist in Europe!

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 4

2010-02-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

On this day we went to the beach in the morning of course. And we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) in the afternoon. Here is Sugar Loaf Mountain...

You take cable cars to get up there. You take one to the smaller mountain first than you take another to Sugar Loaf.

The views up there are amazing!

They have a cafe up there were you can stop to eat.

Here is one of the beaches below where we stopped on our way out. It's on a military base I think.

After we got off the mountain we went to the beach for a little bit. This is called the Red Beach (Praia Vermelha).

I loved Sugar Loaf Mountain! I think it had the best views of all. It was cloudy when we went. I would like to go back when the sky is clear. I hope to go back this year!

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 3

2010-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Our third day in Rio we went to the beach in the morning and to the Botanical Gardens in the afternoon. The beach we usually go to is Barra da Tijuca, where we went on the first day. I don't have too many pictures because we didn't bring our camera every day.

One day we were at the beach we saw this big boat that looked like a pirate ship!

I also bought a kanga (canga?) while I was on the beach. It's a sarong that you can lay in the sand on and also wrap around you in different ways to wear over your bathing suit. Brazilians usually don't take anything to the beach with them except the kanga that they wear. I also use my kanga a lot to go to the beach a home. It's very thin to it's much easier to pack or carry on your bike than a beach towel.

Here is the man who sold me the kanga walking away...

Later we went to the Botanical Gardens. Outside the gardens they have a turtle pond with turtles just like mine!

Here is a Matisse like sculpture we saw...

(source)

It was very pretty there and everything was so green!

We saw some acai palm trees...

You could even see the Christ the Redeemer Statue from the gardens.

We also saw a lot of wildlife. I saw a lizard, a monkey, and many toucans flying in between the trees.

The gardens were really big and we got lost a little bit and didn't get to see everything. Maybe we'll go back on this trip!

Kaoma, Lambada

2010-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a Brazilian song I like. I have no idea what they are singing but I like it! The end is the best part, enjoy!

Here is another song I like, Mas Que Nada. It's in Portuguese and English.

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 2

2010-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Our second day in Brazil was Easter! My MIL gave me this Easter basket with a giant chocolate egg.

In Brazil, everyone gives these big chocolate eggs at Easter. They are hallow and filled with candies or a small toy. At the grocery store they hang all these eggs across the ceiling and fill up the whole ceiling with them.

First we visited my big SIL and her family at their apartment. We gave my nephew some presents. We gave him some toys and also some picture frames that I painted. Now the poor kid thinks I made everything including the toys, ha!

Then we went to the beach by SIL's apartment. There were a lot of people surfing and we even saw a fishing boat come in. We went swimming even though the waves were really rough. It was a lot of fun.

I had my first coconut water. I thought it tasted a little strange but I'll try it again because it's fun drinking out of a coconut. We got the coconut water as we were leaving the beach. If you stay on the beach then after you drink the water they crack the coconut for you so you can eat the rest. I'll have to try that next time.

Then we went back to big SIL's apartment for Easter lunch with the whole family. I didn't have time to take a shower and I was a little disappointed that I had to meet my Husband's family for the first time with ocean hair, oh well. It was my first time meeting my FIL, and Dr. C's other sister and one of his two brothers. When we arrived Dr. C's little brother opened the door. He doesn't speak English so I said "Oi" and hugged him, aww. FIL and little SIL were out at the store so I met them when they came back. FIL was taking English classes just so he could talk to me. He is so sweet. There were also lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins there. We had a yummy lunch. And I attempted to speak in Portuguese to little SIL and little BIL, haha.

That night MIL, Dr. C, and I went to the Copacabana Art Fair where I got these paintings. I was really cool seeing all the art. And the art is very affordable compared to the US. I think it was about $20 for all three without the frames. But it was a little scary when we were leaving because it was dark and some kids were following us. Dr. C yelled at them and we went into a fast food restaurant to get away from them. Then we found a security guard to walk us to our car and we were OK. I'm not walking around at night anymore!

All in all, it was a good second day and it was great meeting my new family!

Dr. C's house in Brazil

2010-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm going to show you where Dr. C grew up in Brazil. His Mom recently sold her apartment and will be moving to a new place soon. Now we're staying in her rented apartment. This was their apartment building.

This was the street where they lived.

This was the living room and dining room.

The door here leads to the kitchen and maid's room.

This was Dr. C's bedroom. In Brazil they have these closets that look like cabinets built into the wall.

And I guess Dr. C had two desks. He's very studious. But I had two desks too. One with the computer and one without.

This was the view outside his bedroom window. There is a school out there that plays soccer at 7:30 every morning and wakes me up! The green building is the school.

Too bad I didn't get pictures of the other rooms. Dr. C's house had two nice bathrooms, his sister's room, his mom's room, the kitchen, and the maid's room and bathroom. They don't have a maid that lives with them though so that room was used for storage and it was really small.

Also the apartment has two elevators. The regular one and the service elevator. You have to use the service elevator if you are taking the dog, or your groceries, or dressed in your bathing suit. Weird, huh?

Brazil Vacation 2009, Day 1

2010-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

This was our first and only vacation we ever took. And it was my first trip to Brazil.

We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday after 24 hours of travel and an overnight flight. It was my first flight with Dr. C so I had fun but I couldn't sleep at all on the plane. Here we are flying over Sao Paulo. And when the plane landed in Rio.

First we drove to my MIL's apartment to drop off our stuff and change into our bathing suits. As we left the airport we drove by some favelas. And I saw a lot of graffiti on the walls.

At the apartment I got to meet Dr. C's dog for the first time! And see where Dr. C grew up. This is his street. And this is Dr. C's dog with the new toy I gave him.

The first thing we did was go to Barra da Tijuca beach. The waves were huge because they had just had a topical storm. So no one was swimming but there were tons of people on the beach playing sports and hanging out.

We left our stuff at the top of the sand area with my MIL. Then a huge wave came and hit our stuff and my sandals were being washed into the ocean. A Brazilian girl caught them for me and I said "thanks" and she looked at me weird. Then I quickly said obrigada, haha!

All the sidewalks there have cool mosaic tiles. This beach had fish!

After the beach we went to get acai with MIL, big SIL and husband and nephew, and Dr. C's cousin. It was my first time meeting everyone except my MIL. It was also my first time eating acai in Brazil. It was sooo good! My little nephew was 2 and so cute but very shy. And I had no idea what he said in Portuguese. We ate at a place called Big Polis that also serves veggie burgers, regular burgers, and fresh juice.

After we ate we went over to the lagoon. My nephew rode on a toy car you can rent. And then we walked around the lagoon for a little bit.

Here is the lagoon and you can see the Corcovado Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer Statue on top.

It was a great first day!

We're off!

2010-01-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

We're off to Brazil! Hopefully I can sleep on this flight!

While I'm gone I've scheduled some posts about our trip to Brazil last year. I'll post about this trip when I get back. In the meantime, here is the pottery I made for my family in Brazil. Man is my suitcase full!

This one if for my MIL. This is the first thing I made with my new clay. All others are the brown clay.

For FIL...

This is for Big SIL. I pressed the sides in with my finger to make all the bumps.

For her husband...

This is for Little SIL because she has a lot of star tattoos!

This is for BIL. It's a square mug.

This is for little BIL. It's red and black for his favorite soccer team.

And these are food dishes for my MIL's Yorkie. They might be too small...

Here are some mini bowls for MIL and SILs. I made the design using wax resist.

What's that smell?

2010-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

I really love my new apartment. The only bad thing is the kitchen smells really weird! And I don't know what smells. Is it the walls? Do the walls smell? Is it the cabinets?! I don't know. The smell seems to be going away the more I cook though.

My kitchen cabinets had gross old contact paper in them. So I ripped that out and put in new pretty paper! I still have half the cabinets to go.

While doing this I discovered my cabinets used to be painted avocado green. Seriously, they are that old! (looking up underneath the drawer)

Another thing I noticed is there is some nasty stuff above the top cabinets. It looks like grease covered with dust! Ewww, I'll try to take care of that later.

Another thing I changed in the apartment so far are the bathroom lights. The old lights were clear little bulbs that were too bright and blinded me. And since they were too bright, some of the light sockets were missing bulbs! So I replaced them with vanity light bulbs that are big, white, and low watts.

The good thing about this apartment is we are allowed to paint the walls. And we don't have to paint them white when we move out! So I'll be painting later on.

Here is the view from my old apartment...

And here is my new view....

Hello lake!

2010-01-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately to try to use up our veggies before the trip. Here are some things I've made...

Herb-Roasted Potatoes from Vegan with a Vengeance. These were very easy to make and yummy. I've already made them twice! I halved the recipe and the second time I added extra onions. It makes quite a bit.

Spaghetti and Beanballs from Veganomicon. We love eating beanballs here. I always make a lot and freeze them but they never last very long! We also eat them in sub rolls. The first time I tried to make these I fried the beanballs and they fell apart. So now I double the amount of vital wheat gluten and I bake them.

The Best Pumpkin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. I made some of these to eat on the flight. I make these with whole wheat flour and this time I added cranberries and walnuts.

I love avocados. My favorite is in a sandwich. I like to spread Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing on the bread and use soy cheese, lettuce, and tomato with my avocado, mmm...

Finally Moved In

2010-01-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

I'm finally finished moving! Today I cleaned out the old apartment and took down my curtains. I still haven't hung my curtains yet but everything else is done.

It took a lot of trips with this cart. This cart is a lifesaver if you are moving to another apartment in your building, or carrying groceries or laundry if you have an elevator. Dr. C helped with most of the move so it wasn't so bad. His friend even helped us for a little bit. And I made his friend a bowl in pottery and some cookies! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, they're very good.

Our new apartment is wonderful so far. It is so quiet and so much better than the old place! Even the turtle likes it!

Vacation!

2010-01-22T18:46:00.000-08:00

It's my last Friday in America! Next week we'll be here...

I can't wait!

I finally got a package I ordered today from Amazon. It took so long to get here! I got some books for the trip, a memory card for my new camera, and a toy for my nephew.

I got him a Crayola Glow Station - On the Go. This is the best picture I could get. It's hard to take a picture of this thing.

I opened it to add batteries and test it out to make sure it is a cool toy. It's so fun! My nephew is three and I think he'll like it. You draw with a light stick and your picture glows in the dark! It also comes with sea creature stencils and texture stencils that you can trace over. You can also trace over any object (like your hand) with the light and you will see it's shape. It's not very good for detailed drawing though, just doodles. The picture fades after a minute or so. I also drew my nephew's name on a piece of clear plastic with sharpie so he can trace his name.