Ginger Beef and an unexpected discovery

As I looked over my weekly menu on Friday morning, I saw that I'd planned to make ginger beef for dinner. To make sure I had everything, I glanced through the recipe. I had one of those "duh" moments when I realized that even after planning a week of meals, with a grocery list, I had forgotten to buy the most essential ingredient - ginger! So I got the kids all ready to go out - we'd walk down the road to a small grocery store at the end of the street. It's never easy to get out and about with two small kids and a stroller; but where we live we face some extra hurdles. We live in quite a hilly area and the sidewalks are terrible. Each property owner is responsible for their patch of sidewalk, which means the sidewalk is different in front of each building, there are ramps and bumps of differing heights, making space for driveways and entrances, and almost no ramps on the curbs. We also have several cobblestone roads to cross.

So as we left our building, I decided to explore a bit and see if we could find a better (albeit longer) route to the store. Turns out, the street that runs parallel to our main street has a much better sidewalk for a stroller. I also made another wonderful discovery; that street has a weekly market (feira) on Friday mornings! Imagine if we'd taken the usual path; we would've bypassed the whole thing. It just goes to show why my dad says, "why take the same road twice?" There is so much out there to explore. So we got to walk around the market, pick up fresh ginger and green onions from a vegetable stall and I couldn't resist getting a few flowers to adorn our table for a few days.

I think we may have found a new Friday morning activity!





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One man's trash...

One of my favorite things to do on a sunny, summer Saturday morning is to check out the local garage sales for hidden treasures. There is something so redemptive about being able to take something old, used and battered and find a new purpose for it. That's why I love shopping at used stores; there is always something just waiting to be discovered and given a new lease on life.

So it surprised me when I came to Brasil and couldn't easily find a used store. It was about a year and a half before my mother-in-law's hairdresser mentioned a used household store just down the road from their apartment. It is now almost a bi-weekly stop for me as I walk back from my Portuguese class. The name for this kind of store in Portuguese is "brechó" and now that I've learned that word, I've already seen two stores in our city.

We managed to furnish half our house with furniture found at used furniture stores, and considering that we're not planning to have it forever and we have kids, why bother investing in expensive stuff that will be "used" the minute you set it up at home? The "things" that make you happy are really not "things" at all. It's the experience of shopping with your hubby for your own house; it's the thrill of finding that "perfect" piece that you weren't even looking for; it's the story behind the wood and metal, it's teaching your kids that what really matters is people, relationships and connection and that happiness is not about having new things or filling your life with stuff.

Last weekend we went to a school's annual community sale, where teachers have an opportunity to sell things (we don't have garage sales here) and we had a great time as a family. We pushed through the crowds, enjoyed a snack, and came away with a few treasures.

As we were driving back home, I saw this graffiti on the street and it is just perfect for this post. It's the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" in Portuguese.



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A perfect day

What would your "perfect day" look like? I'm not talking about a special occasion, romantic getaway or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I'm talking about a day-by-day kind of thing. At this point in my life, it's pretty simple for me. I'd like to wake up and have my kids do everything I tell them to! Of course, that's just not going to happen, but let me dream a little...

I would wake up before the kids (who are sleeping peacefully in their own beds) to have some quiet time to myself to get ready, put on the tea or coffee and maybe start a load of laundry. The dishes from last night are of course washed and drying by the sink. While I get breakfast ready, Lucas wakes up and plays with his cars until breakfast is ready. Elena wakes up just in time to eat. We get through breakfast without crying, screaming, spilling, throwing or complaining.

After everything is cleaned up from breakfast, the kids let me take a shower and we go outside for a walk or to play at the playground. We come back to our apartment so I can get lunch ready, and my two babies are ready to sleep for a good two hour nap following lunch. During their naps, I get to savor a cup of tea and relax before actually getting some things done with no interruptions.

That's where I'm at right now, it's 1:15 and Lucas has gone down for his nap with no complaints. Elena isn't exactly sleepy, but playing on the floor next to me. I could go on about the rest of my perfect day, which includes going for a family walk in the afternoon, the kids managing to play together without hurting each other, having a nice dinner, hubby cleaning up the kitchen while the kids have their baths, and finishing off with them drifting off to sleep on time, so hubby and I can have some time alone, but you know, as I read this back, it's almost starting to sound boring...

So while I love it when my kids cooperate and play quietly and eat all their food and don't throw tantrums, I can accept that there probably won't be any "perfect days" in my near future. I can settle for some perfect moments in the midst of the chaos and choose to laugh at the imperfect events that make my days oh-so-very interesting.

But now, off to save Elena before she gets into the kitchen trash...

5 Years Ago Today...

I know you can't tell from the photo above, but that is me receiving my University Diploma on April 29th, 2006. The photo pretty much sums up my memories of the occasion, fuzzy and blurry on the edges. It was, of course, one of the milestones in my life, one I will never repeat. In thinking back to that weekend which seems so long ago, I went through my photos and some great memories popped back into my mind...

My whole family drove over from Calgary to Langley, BC and crashed in our tiny two bedroom basement suite. Hubby and I had been married only 10 months when we graduated together. My parents took the futon and the siblings all slept on the floor. (Can you tell we are a missionary family? ;))

This photo was taken at the annual Grad banquet which takes place a few weeks before Graduation. My two friends and I were all in the same dorm in our first year. The rest, as they say, is history...

Here you can actually tell it's me in the photo, walking down the aisle having received my "diploma" - actually a sheet of paper (inside a beautiful folder) that says "if you really managed to complete all your classes, we'll mail your diploma to you."

All the music majors with our professors.

So, given that momentous occasion, what have I done with my life since? Well, let's see...

I've lived on three continents,

Worked three official jobs and several unofficial ones,

Celebrated 5 years of marriage,

Given birth to two wonderful kids,

Traveled to 10 different countries on four continents

and still only know one language! (well, I'm working on changing that one.)

And I probably thought about Graduation day once or twice. 

In the next five years I hope to...

Finally finish paying off my student loans (!!!)

Travel around this new continent I find myself on,

Achieve a reasonable level of Portuguese,

Watch my kids grow up and start school.

Lots to look back on and lots to look forward to!

Before

Before I start this post, let me just say I am a die-hard interior decorator nut. One of the reasons I love moving is that I get to re-arrange, re-organize and re-decorate! I have many more thoughts about this topic which I'll save for another post, but for now let's take a look at our little apartment in it's before stage:
Here is the view from the entrance, looking into the living room and onto the verandah.


Here is the kitchen in all it's bare-ness. Once you enter, the kitchen is directly on the right.


And my beloved window between the kitchen and dining area. This is something I was really hoping for as I know it will make it a lot easier to look after the kids and helps to make the place seem a little bigger. The "open plan" concept is not really wide-spread here, in fact when you do find it, it's called an "American kitchen".


A different view of the "living room".


The kids/guest bathroom. We were very fortunate to find a place with the shower head and doors already installed, as well as having a small cabinet under the sink. These things are often left up to the renter to install.


Our tiny bedroom. We decided to move a queen size bed in, even though there won't be much space around it!


The kids room. Thank goodness they are in a crib and toddler bed, or the room would seem really small!


The office/study/storage/everything else room. I imagine this room will be very full! This room also has access to the balcony which is nice.


Here's the basic layout.


So there you have it, our tiny apartment. Come back for more updates and the after shots!

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The hunt is over!

It started in about October of last year, the hunt. Armed with my trusty iPad I scoured the Internet listings for apartments in Sao Paulo. I viewed hundreds of photos, learned a lot of Portuguese vocabulary as I read the apartment descriptions and discovered the best and worst neighborhoods in this massive city. Once we arrived back from Canada in February, we had appointments to check out several places. I was hoping to be able to move in by the first of March. How naive of me!

While we found a place we really liked in a good part of town, the owner decided in the end to rent it to a friend of hers, so we were back on the hunt again. After an innocent suggestion by my mother in law, we considered looking at a different city, one that is a lot closer to the ministry we are involved with. So...to make a long story short, we are moving to a city called Mogi das Cruzes, east of Sao Paulo.

This long story of ours features lots of visits to different apartments, tossing back the pros and cons of renting a furnished place and many questions from me to David clarifying what the realtor had said (in Portuguese). In the end we settled on a small three bedroom place on the 14th (top) floor. We have an amazing view of the city.

I don't have a lot of experience in renting, the last time David and I had to rent was when we first got married. Living overseas we didn't really have a choice as to where we lived, but we also didn't have to do any of the legwork either! So there were a few things that stood out to me as we embarked on this search.

Getting everything settled with the contracts took a while as we had to scan documents, get a co-signer and witness to sign the contract, have the signatures notarized, send them off to the real estate company to have it forwarded to the owner who also has to go through the same signature process....All in all it felt like quite a long drawn-out process!

But, we finally got our keys and went to show the apartment to friends last Thursday. Imagine our surprise when none of the light bulbs we put in worked. Turns out there were several problems in the wiring that resulted in a short in the circuit for all the lights (and this is a new apartment!)

Another issue we face is switching voltage once again. Sao Paulo is mostly 110 volts, but everything in Mogi is 220. So we'll be calling in an electrician to come doctor up some of our wall sockets. We have to be super careful when plugging things in!

The only thing in our kitchen at the moment is a sink; a nice marble slab with a metal sink, oh, and a tap. It is very weird to me that the renters are responsible for "furnishing" the kitchen. Probably about 80% of the apartments I saw online were being rented this way. So now we are waiting for a few modular kitchen cabinets to be delivered and installed.

Did I mention our place is tiny? Here in Brasil we measure area in square meters and our apartment is about 67; that's about 720 square feet! But it is ours and we are excited about turning it into a home! More to come with photos as the adventure continues...


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Just for fun: My ABC's

Unashamedly copied from my friend and fellow blogger, Dawne.

Age: 27
Bed Size: A small double, but upgrading to a queen when we move
Chore You Hate: Ironing
Dogs: Had five while I was growing up, but now that I have kids, no way!
Essential Start of Your Day: A good cup of tea
Favorite Color: blue
Gold or Silver: silver (or white gold)
Height: 5 foot 8
Instruments I Play: Piano, guitar, used to play cello, euphonium, trombone, and dabbled in most others.
Job Title: Full time momma
Kids: 2
Live: Sao Paulo, Brasil
Mom's Name: Ruth
Nicknames: Taz (high school days) Gambleitis (university days) Tati (my Brazilian name)
Overnight Hospital Stays: only to have babies
Pet Peeve: People who walk really slowly in the middle of the sidewalk.
Quote From a Movie: honestly can't even think of one worth writing down.
Right or Left Handed: right
Siblings: 2 brothers, 1 sister
Time You Wake Up: whenever my kiddos do, usually around 6:00-6:30
Underwear: cotton
Veggie You Dislike: Mushrooms - traumatic experiences with them at boarding school.
What Makes You Run Late: my husband!
X-Rays You Have Had: teeth, arm
Yummy Food You Make: Fettucine Alfredo from scratch
Zoo Animal You Like Best: Tigers

Location:Av. Angélica,Sao Paulo,Brazil