Adventures in Rio

That's how Wagner described last night. It began with B and I calling a cab to pick us up at his parents' house in order to take us to Wagner's place downtown. Now of course, nothing with the cab was easy and that alone caused lots of frustration -- what with the Brazilian's relaxed sense of punctuality and all. Then of course the cabby wanted to tell us all sorts of stories the whole drive. At one point he was asking us to take a look at his face (so he turned on the dome light in the cab) so we could guess how old he was. Weren't we surprised to find out that no, he wasn't 45... he was 55! He just looked so young because he lived a stress-free life. But no, that wasn't enough, then he whipped out his cell phone, scrolled through various menus (all the while still driving through the crazy streets of Rio) to show us pictures of his hot girlfriend. LOL. What a riot!

Because of all this, we were at least 30 minutes late heading out towards Wagner's, so the second we got there we had to jump into his car to drive to the airport to pick up his new wife, Livia. We waited about 30 minutes there until she called us to let us know that because of the bad weather they had redirected her flight to a different airport on the other side of town. She was off the plane and waiting for us. Yikes! So we had to jump back into the car and head over to the other airport. Mind you, none of these car rides were really pleasant because I was in the back seat, without a seat belt, bumping and bouncing over every pot hole. My butt was starting to hurt! Fortunately, we were finally able to pick her up and head back to their place to relax for a bit.

It was my first time meeting Livia, and she was so friendly and hospitable (not that I expected any less -- Wagner did marry her afterall!) We stayed a long time and got home at about 2am. Good times!

PS: I took a photo of the elevator in Wagner and Livia's building so that you might better appreciate why I freaked out a bit the time I got stuck in one. We had crammed about 10 people into an elevator meant for 8. Take a look at what it means when the elevator capacity is "8"...

The Country House

Yesterday, despite the heat, we took a drive out to the country house. Here are a few photos -- it's BEAUTIFUL there. All the plants have either gorgeous flowers or huge leaves. Definitely tropical. In the photos you'll see B and me along with his family: mom, dad, brother, and his girlfriend. In this first photo, you can also see "caju" which is where cashews come from! Each fruit bears one nut (which you can see hanging from the bottom). No wonder cashew nuts are so much more expensive than peanuts.

Brazil Update

Well, we've had a bit of an "internet crises" here. Right now I'm using my father-in-law's computer because he has an air-card (their wireless isn't working). That means I can't upload any photos right now. Waah! Never you fear, however, because I've been snapping shots of every sight so I'll have lots to share as soon as I can. Here are a list of a my activities to keep you up-to-date.

. . . .

Friday's agenda:

-Wake up

-Eat

-Nap

-Eat

-Sleep

. . . .

Today's agenda:

-Wake up

-Eat

-Drive to their country house to check it out.

-Sweat like a mo-fo in the heat and humidity

-Eat

-Nap

-Eat

-Sleep

Christmas with B's Family

Thank goodness I was still suffering from the three-hour time difference last night. I mean, how else could I have possibly waited until midnight to eat dinner followed by another 2 hours of opening presents and visiting with one another?! Luckily, it felt like we ate dinner at 9pm and stayed up until 11pm (phew!). Here are a few pictures for your viewing (and salivating) pleasure :)

And we're off...

Feliz Natal!

Amor, Felicidade, e Prosperidade.

Secret Santa

My brother and his wife got both B and me as their Secret Santa people. They pooled their resources and gave us one-freakin'-awesome gift! A home-made, home-designed, one-of-a-kind piece of furniture! We're using it to keep everything organized by the front door (including my millions of pairs of shoes). We LOVE it!

An Early Treat

B decided to surprise me by giving me my Christmas present early. Am I a lucky girl or what?! It has black diamonds in it... have you even ever heard of such a thing?

Snowman Pot Pie

I should've posted this two weeks ago, but I was too busy to sit down and blog. How cute was my chicken pot pie?! Kinda fitting on a day like today.

Merry Christmas!

The whole clan is snowed in at our parents' house in Hughesville. We drove down last night after work, had dinner, and went to bed. When we woke up for "Christmas Morning" we did, indeed find a white Christmas! It hasn't stopped snowing since... as of right now (5:30pm) we're up to about 16 inches. Cabin fever's set in and the clan's showing early signs of insanity. Alcohol's a luxury and the current quota's proved not enough to maintain high spirits. It's a long weekend, and I'm sorry to say, not all will survive when it's all said and done. Think "The Shining"...

PS: I typed the first half of this post and then walked away to find my camera. B eagerly (and sneakily) decided to type the second half. Enjoy!

It's a wrap!

Hubby and I are spending the night wrapping gifts. Fa-la-la-la-laa, la la, la, laaaaaaaaaaa!

Mmmm!

Over the weekend I finally got a chance to see Twilight: New Moon. I was talking to M about this and we both agreed that Edward's character was cast all wrong. Robert Pattinson (despite all the hype) is nothing but a skinny, pale-looking guy.

Edward should be BEAUTIFUL! Let's instead recast Trevor Donovan (from 90210) as Edward. Whaddya think?

Monday on My Mind

It's only Monday and already I've got a million things swimming around in my mind! Forgive me for unloading a few...

1. Hair appointment in 2 days - yay! I'm going for bangs and highlights. I've gotta look GOOD for my first trip to Rio in three years.
2. Thank goodness for cancellations (other people's, that is). I squeezed myself in to see my eye doctor next week. I think I need glasses... YIKES!
3. Sims 3. It's a miracle I pulled myself away long enough to type this list :)
4. Hubby! How cute is he... he's out "meeting with Santa" right now.
5. Big Love, season 3. It's finally showing on HBO so I can catch up before season 4 starts.
6. Silk Pumpkin Spice (yum)
7. First snow of the season... let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
8. Christmas decorations in my house and holiday songs on the radio.