Snow Days

It was a great day yesterday!

It snowed all day and into the evening. It was so beautiful with the trees silent and wearing their Christmas white.

There were snow angels and catching snowflakes on your tongue.

We went to my Sister in laws house for dinner where she had a snowy cake for all the December birthdays. I found it so funny....she kept the ice cream cake outside in the cold snow

because there wasn't room in her refrigerator. Can you see the snow on the cake box?

Look at how wintry and beautiful the cake is!

I love this time of year; being close to family and remembering everything we have to be thankful for. Keep the snow coming :)

Ask and ye shall receive

This is the view outside of my parent's front door

Can you see our smiles yet?

I'm leavin' on a jet plane

Tonight's the night!

And we are outta here!

Please send all unwanted snow my way...we want it!

Talk to you all from the other side...

I'll fill you in on any airport stories!

Christmas Random Dozen

1. Gingerbread: For or against? Discuss.

Neither....I do not like the taste of gingerbread, but that doesn't mean I don't like it...

can't we all just get along this Christmas season :)

2. Is it important to you to always stay (live) close to family?

Stay and live are 2 different things for me...

Stay close to my family, yes, but living close is not possible right now

3. Which holiday pretend character do you wish really existed?

I wish ? wait, are they pretend? I believe in Santa and his reindeer!

4. Which holiday movie best represents how you feel about Christmas or life?

I like "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" because it represents change. You can change into a better person, Christmas IS more than just gifts and all we need is love :)

5. Is there a particular Christmas song that you're enjoying now? Any that you're tired of?

My kids and I are loving Mr. Heatmeister and my all time favorite is Silent Night, sung by many different artists. They all have their own unique twist. Tired of? Not really... since I finished dancing the Nutcracker...that used to be what I got tired of hearing in the stores, but not any more!

6. What is your favorite way to remember those less fortunate at Christmastime?

We sponsor an orphanage here in Rio. this year, though I will not be here for the party they are having, I donated a cute doll (what she asked for) for a little girl named Flaviana.

7. Does it upset you to see "Xmas" instead of Christmas? How about "Happy Holidays" etc., instead of "Merry Christmas?"

Happy Holidays is fine because I like to respect the different cultures and religions. xmas is only ok in a short email or text to get my point across quickly.

8. How many Christmas programs are you attending this month?

One for my children's school, and then hopefully something when we travel to the States.

9. Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Any chance of that dream becoming a reality?

I always dream of a white Christmas, and yes it could be a reality! They are predicting snow next week for Pittsburgh!

10. Tell me about a Christmas present you received as a child. Pics are always nice.

I remember receiving, (and finding before Christmas), a Barbie 3 floor condo!

11. How many Christmas parties are you attending this month?

hhmmm....1 with the ladies that are all from my husband's company, and then family!

12. How do you keep yourself centered on the significance of Christmas?

I love to take my kids to see nativities and by continuing to go to church. I look forward to Midnight (moved to 10, which really bothers me) Mass too!

Would you like some superstition with your pampering?

Today was a totally true expat princess afternoon.

I went to have my hair colored, cut, got the treatment and the simultaneous manicure/pedicure.

Yes, here, they have two different people pamper your hands and feet at the same time.

Sometimes you have to be a bit like gumby while they pamper you because you also have your hairstylist working on some aspect of your head. BUT, that's ok, because it is a truly self indulgent few hours.

Today's time factor was the usual...

see we have a running joke, (that's more truth instead of a joke), amongst all my friends that go to see Alexandre. Gabriela is one of the lucky ones...actually, she "discovered" this gem stylist for us....he is good and speaks English!

We always try to predict how long each session will take. Mine was exactly what I expected today... 5 hours. Yes, you read right, 5 hours.

What does he do that takes so long? I really could not tell you why it takes as long as it does, but here is how it went down:

1. kiss, kiss, and greetings

2. turn on "the light" and see what has passed since the last time you visited

3. fluff it around a little, look at the roots, and giggle at how long it has been

4. decide what to do

5. start with the mixing of color and apply

5 1/4. start the simultaneous manicure/pedicure

5 3/4. discuss with Alexandre about the latest hot colors in Rio...bright bubble gum pink

6. wait, wait, wait...ding (sound from the drying device)

7. check the color, rinse, blow dry quickly

8. start mixing the highlights color and apply

8 1/4. call the assistant to help hold certain parts of hair out of the way

8 1/2. enter: the sweeper to sweep away the hair off the floor

8 3/4. Superstition: assistant says: don't sweep on top of my feet because then I will never get married!

9. wait, wait, wait...ding

10. check the color, switch to the massage chair, shampoo, condition, and apply "the treatment"

*side note- the treatment is also a hot topic amongst us friends...to get it or to not get it, that is the question...the answer boils down to do you have the time and the money for the treatment this time....and this time, I gave in to Alexandre's pleadings and said go for the quick treatment

11. reluctantly get out of the massage chair

12. cut

13. start the blow dry process

14. delight at the color choice and cut, bring the mirror to see the back and sides

15. show off to other usually fake smiling, complimentary, jealous employees

16. get the card and put all the prices on it

17. go to the register, swipe the card and fall over from shock, er....

I meant to say, see the price and marvel at the 20% discount because it is a Tuesday

18. pay the bill

and the results are a very happy me, ready to go to Pittsburgh for Christmas and counting the hours to be with family again!

The Meeting of the Waters

This is one of the main attractions to visit when you are in Manaus.

The Meeting of the Waters is almost unbelievable...it was so amazing to watch how these two bodies of water meet, but do not mix!

The Rio Negro meets with the Amazon River, which is also called the River Solimoes, it's native name. I like to describe it as cafe con leche or cafe negro...

basically, coffee with a lot of milk or black coffee :)

The pictures show you what I mean!

The rivers do not mix due to the different speeds that the waters are flowing, the temperature and the density. It was baffling to watch these two rivers "meet" but not mix.

Just another very cool part of our trip!

Rio Negro, The Amazon

The trip was really amazing.

We rode on our boat for 7 days cruising up the Rio Negro. I guess you could say the main purpose of our trip was for fishing for Peacock Bass.

The water was extremely low, so the fish weren't biting as well as expected, but everyone caught fish....Peacock Bass, Piranhas, Dogfish. I caught 11 Peacock Bass! They were in the 2-4 lb. range, but it was very exciting for me to catch anything at all! This was the first time I had ever done lure fishing and just sitting on an open river for hours. The biggest caught was 15 lbs. Most were in the 7-10 lb range.

and even a Caiman (the Amazon version of an alligator)!

We also combined in some eco-touring on the canoe for those that didn't fish. Once again, since the water was so low we couldn't go as deep into the jungle-y parts as we would have liked, but we did get to do some amazing cruising around.

I think there were two things that made the biggest impression on me:

1. the actual size, or width, of the Rio Negro.

2. The Meeting of the Waters

1. The Rio Negro, just one tributary that makes up the whole Amazon jungle is really wide, and not just at certain parts. For most of the trip we were on water that was over 10 miles wide.

Now imagine that the water was also at a very low point. This past year it had risen to a height of over 29 cm., which is the highest it has risen in over 100 years. Now, just a few months after this, it had receded to almost nothing in certain parts! we had to be really careful not to run into too shallow water where our boat would get stuck.

You could actually see on the trees a line going across all of the from where the water had risen to this year. That was really cool!

On the flip side of that, since the water was so low, you could also see the very bottom roots of the trees. They were like fingers sticking into the ground, all entwined and bent, twisted.

It was a beautiful show of the frailty of Nature, yet these trees are massive, strong monsters!

The pictures of huge dead trees that had fallen in front, or intertwined with the fresh, green trees was also a great contrast.

If we had come when the water was highest, Gilberto said how we would have only seen the tops of the trees; no roots, no shore lines or sandy banks. So interesting! I would love to come back when the water is like that!

My next post will have the Meeting of the Waters...

I will let you soak in these for now ;)