Tag Archives: birthday

Birthday Wishes For My Mother

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At some point in our lives we all experience a transition, a shift in our way of thinking.  Parents begin to fulfill the roll of friends.  While I cannot pinpoint the moment in my life when this occurred, the relationships I hold with my parents are decidedly one of the most rewarding aspects of adulthood.  They are my best friends.

Had I the opportunity to meet my mother in her younger days, I would have surely been captivated.  Small town country girl who left the family farm to tackle college and study abroad in Mexico… the girl had some spunk.

And today, she continues to lead by quiet example.  She is patient, devoted, and always perseveres.  On down days, she is supportive and provides a listening ear.  Each time a conversation draws to a close, an email from her is soon to follow.  It says that you were heard, you were understood, and that you are loved.

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Last year’s surprise celebration was quite the affair, with Tim arriving from Afghanistan and the Wittig’s from Chicago.  While this year will undoubtedly be less grandiose, we hope the memories created last for years to come. 

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“One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night.”
– Margaret Mead

In honor of your birthday mother, I promise to avoid alleys and strangers today.

We wish you the loveliest of birthdays.  You are admired, appreciated and loved.  Endless thanks for things unsaid.

LOVE you always,
April

Embu das Artes

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My husband secretly cooked me meatloaf on Monday.  (It is feasible that it was less covert and more my avoidance of the kitchen.)  The dish was stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, had melted mozzarella on top, and was delish.  So here I am, two days later, eating a cold meatloaf sandwich (of which I have gone without for a minimum of seven months). 

Eating food that can justifiably be smothered in ketchup is distracting me from the fact that my husband has been in Rio for three weeks straight.

Smart move, husband.  Well played.

Meanwhile, he has also left me with a list of priorities:
1. Puzzle
2. Anything else

Apparently, someone wants his table back and three pieces a day is not considered sufficient progress.  I have been given a deadline of ten days to complete the hardest puzzle ever.  (Thanks for that Lisa.)

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A few weeks back we took a day trip to Embu das Artes to celebrate some birthdays.  Technically, it was only Suzanna’s birthday… but she kindly shared the day with me (since mine was on hold until we could make friends to celebrate with.)

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Embu is located 40 minutes outside of São Paulo. The town was founded by Jesuit priests in the 17th century and still maintains buildings from the colonial period.

It is a charming city with cobblestone streets, handicraft shops, and plenty of spots to drink the day away.  We opted for German fare which represented inhabitants that settled in the area generations ago.

On weekends and holidays, there is a handicraft fair which has been occurring for more than 70 years and attracts people from all over the country.

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AND there were puppies… which makes this my new favorite weekend jaunt.

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I have a new found love for all things guinea fowl.

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Taste testing artisanal cachaças.

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The floating head might be advertising hair braids.  I’m not sold.

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My husband ‘humoring me’ after I asked him to muddle for the picture.  There’s a first for everything. 

Also, I have officially become my mother with the use of that phrase.

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Have you met… THE CUTEST PUPPY EVER?!?

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Sampling toasted nuts and candied coconut. 

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Sampa is what the locals affectionately call São Paulo.

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As with any good celebration, we rounded it out with Farkle and an exorbitant number of shots.  I won the contest for most farkles.

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Here’s to thirty good years, and seventy more to come.  Happy birthday Suzanna!

Festividades

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3

While my husband spent most of his birthday translating emails in Portuguese at his new office, I scoured the city searching for fancy/inexpensive gifts that I could afford on my new allowance.

While consulting the Folleys this past weekend, they generously offered this…

Unfortunately, I forgot it.

So I began to look in the area surrounding our hotel.  There are several little bookstores within a few blocks.  Since most of the books are in Portuguese, I looked for options at his reading level.

But since my intent was not to insult him, I opted for a more age appropriate option.

I need this book.  There is so much we can learn about fruit!  (I cannot believe I just wrote that.)  For instance, I had caju juice for the first time recently.  It is not made from the nut, but the fruit attached to it!  Perhaps this is not so amazing to you?!  I feel fooled.

Regardless, this book cost an arm and a leg.  R$ 150.  Translation: $93.18 according to today’s currency exchange rate.  In a few weeks when I’ve saved up enough money from my lemonade stand, I’ll be back for it.

Next it was onto the papeleria.  Picking out a card should have been easy since there were only twelve options.  As it turns out, nothing will ever be easy again.  I went with the most masculine looking card I could find.  I couldn’t tell what it said, but performed a GT upon returning to the hotel.

Google Translation:  “You always was a determined man … win, overcome obstacles and then looking for his accomplishments. And, whatever your dreams mix the storms of life, you always have the certainty that there will be a rainbow. You deserve to be happy!”

Not too shabby.  Please note the look on my husband’s face as he read his card.

Scavenged gifts: (4) Brazilian Beers, Underwear (no holes), Inspirational Card in Portuguese,  (2) Amazon Jungle Books (from the 50% off shelf), and a Cheese Log (there’s a story there, promise)

Plus, one tiramisu cake to boot.

We joked about going to Pizza hut for dinner.  Then we saw people spilling out onto the sidewalks and having their cars valet parked.  Honestly, there were at least one hundred people fighting to get in this place.  For the first time in Brazil my husband told me to take a picture.

In the end, we couldn’t justify Pizza Hut.  We ended up at a little Greek spot.  One of the benefits we’ve found of living in such a large city is that you can walk out your door and have a hundred dinner options within a stones throw.

A little taste… my husband has altogether stopped waiting for me to take pictures.

Something to wash it down with… meet caipirinha with starfruit, grapes & mint.

On the walk home from dinner my husband received a phone call from one of his best friends back home.  He proceeded to ignore me for the next 30 minutes while he caught up with Eric.

Apparently, spending five hours digging through bookshelves and negotiating the price of a pair of undies doesn’t gain you much respect around here.  Perhaps I will call him from the states next year.

I kid.  Ingy, you should have seen his face light up when he got your call.  It was great to hear your voice.  We hope to see you down here soon…

Cheers, here’s to another great year!

Birthday Wish

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Since we are not in the states to celebrate with our new brother-in-law… I wanted to send out a special birthday wish from Sao Paulo.  We hope your day is fabulous Jonathan!

What an exciting year for both you and Lisa… we are grateful to call you family and are excited to see you down here this winter.  We promise to have lots in store and will celebrate accordingly!