Elections in Brazil

D*i*l*m*a R*o*u*s*s*e*f was just announced as the new Brazilian President.
I won't post about my political views.

She might be the first female president, but I don't trust her. I don't know why, but I don't.

With all that said, for me, it is a sad day (political wise).

I hope you have a great week!!!

Happy Halloween

As I wrote in previous years, in Brazil, we don't have the Halloween tradition, but it is slowly being added to our culture.
We lived in a closed gate community, so they decided to do little Halloween party for the kids.
I decided to put some of my Halloween Decoration out and buy plenty of candy (well, at least I thought it was enough).

By 7:00 pm, last night, the door bell started to ring until about 9:00pm. I think we had about 30 kids coming to our door. It was so cute seeing the little ones all dress up.

Anyway, almost all the candy is gone. There are about only 10 pieces left. All in all it was a good Saturday evening.

Now it is time to vote for the next Brazilian President!!!

Happy Halloween

Lack of blogging

Well, what can I say? I am tired, I am too busy. Work is taking over my life again, blah, blah, blah.

Truth to be told, I sit down to write a post and I have SO MUCH to share and at the same time, I have writer’s block and I cannot put together a reasonable post.

Just to give you a glimpse of the posts I want to write:

• My visit to the geneticist;
• How my mom is coping with chemo;
  
• Christmas Plans;
• Christmas Decor;
• Books I've read;
  
• Curiosities about me and about Brazil, etc...

Maybe, I will find my inspiration to write during the long weekend ahead of me ; )

Have a great weekend.

A little trip to C@mpos do Jordão

As I wrote before, I went away to the mountains to spend a week and rest. This is a long post, but it is a way to show Brazil from a different angle than Rio de Janeiro.

The city

Campos do Jordão is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 was 47,903 and the area is 290.27 km². The elevation is 1,628 m.

The city's economy is based mainly in tourism; due to its location at high elevation (on the Mantiqueira Mountains) and European-looking architecture. Buildings are mostly German, Swiss or Italian inspired. Many of the richest people from the state of São Paulo build their winter country houses there and July (the winter season vacations) sees an enormous influx of visitors (more than quadrupling the city's population), due in part to the winter festival of classical music. Its attractions throughout the year include German and Swiss food restaurants, bars and a cable car. There are many pousadas (inns) and chalets.

The city, due to its elevation, is relatively cold for Brazilian standards. In summer, maximum temperatures average 24°C/75°F and minimum temperatures average 13°C/55°F. In winter, maximum temperatures average 18°C/64°F and minimum temperatures average 4°C/39°F. Temperatures drop below zero sometimes in winter (lowest ever recorded: -7.3°C/19°F), but snow is very rare. The winter is normally the dry season and the colder weather allows for warm fireplaces and winter foods such as fondue, soups and hot chocolate.

The Inn

We stayed on a themed Inn. It is inspired in the Canadian Rockies. Most of the items were brought from Canada, when the owners went/go on vacation up there. Only the heavy duty items were handmade by local artists (like the wood items). Even the bedding was brought from there.

All in all we had a wonderful time. It is a shame it ends ; )

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Ah, last by not least My dear (real life) friend Kendra started a blog. Stop by when you have a moment to say to her. She just wrote a beautiful post about friendship.

Crazy!!!

I am so behind blogging, commenting and twitter.
When we first started our vacation, I made a deal with myself I would take a little break from the "virtual world" as well. It worked well. I didn't blog much, nor twitted much.

When we came back home from my parent's last week and then back to work, I was so full of good intentions and I was determined to catch up. Boy, I was wrong.

I got to work on Wednesday and tried to catch up with all the "back to work" madness.
By 3:00pm, my boss and I were called for an urgent meeting and during the meeting:
Him: "Can you be in Cu--ri--ti--ba tomorrow morning, both of you?"
Us: Yes.

So, off we went to made the arrangements for the trip. Luckily, my whole family is in Cu--ri--ti--ba, so instead of staying in a hotel, I called my Mom and decided to stay with them.

Apart from the craziness of this last minute trips, I had a wonderful visiting with my parents that night and on early morning the next day.

I am, now, trying to organize my life/house back in São Paulo before the new week starts and new round of craziness starts.

I hope you are having a GREAT Sunday.

Wordless Wednesday

My niece and my Dad eating blueberries on my parents backyard.

Miscellany Monday

Welcome to another edition of Miscellany Monday.

1. After three blissful weeks of vacation, Hubby and I are getting a reality check and getting ready to go back to work on Wednesday.
2. We enjoyed our vacation a lot. We traveled to Campos do Jordão and my hometown: Curitiba.
3. I was impressed how strong my mom is..... *
4. I went to the geneticist with all my test. *
5. My niece is looking everyday more like me ; )

I hope you have a great week.

*I will write more later in the week.