Looking for a tax write-off?

Just thought I would take the time to remind all of you that if you are looking for another tax write-off as the year comes to a close, consider charitable giving. Here are a few of my favorite foundations and organizations trying to make a difference (some of these may not be tax-deductible):

Project Red - Working with the Global Fund to provide medication, services and education about HIV and AIDS to men, women and children throughout Africa. In partnership with a number of retailers and manufacturers, varying % of profits from purchases of Project Red merchandise go to Global Fund programs. Partners include Motorola, the GAP, Converse, Emporio Armani, Amex and Hallmark.

Keep a Child Alive - dedicated to providing African children affected by HIV with much needed services and medication. 100% of donations go to directly to their programs.

Make it Right - to help families in the Lower 9th ward in New Orleans still struggling after Katrina.

ReNew Orleans - Purchase merchandise and 25% of the sale price is donated to 3 foundations dedicated to revitalizing New Orleans in an authentic way, Common Ground Initiative, Tipitina's Foundation and Replant New Orleans. Also hear music from New Orleans musicians.

The Humane Society - Donate to help save neglected and abandoned animals across the country.

Heifer International - Donations go to helping disadvantaged families around with world by providing livestock and training to make them more self-reliant.

Kiva - Microlending in a digital age. Make a small loan to a struggling entrepreneur in a developing country and give them to leg up they need on the road to economic empowerment.

Timing...

It is becoming more and more evident to me that what is important in relationships, maybe just as important as the person you choose (or who chooses you) is timing. I think this is probably under-emphasized when we talk about relationships. If I look back on the people I have dated and met over the years, some have been the wrong people at the right time and some have been the right people at the wrong time.....

And this is probably why it doesn't get talked about much. Because, lets face it, finding the right person at the wrong time is just painful and there is nothing that you can do about it. You can't go back or forward in time and have the person you are now meet the person they were/will be then.

And that is what is so frustrating about it all. The lack of control that you have. I guess all you can really do is work on being the best person that you can be and make sure that you are ready to receive when they do come along....

Pooped!

Between the holiday baking, the cooking for Christmas and other cooking that I did while my parents were here, I am pooped! I think I will take a cooking hiatus for a couple weeks.....

So did they really beat Harvard?

So I have heard varying things about whether or not the Wiley College debate team of 1935 actually did debate and beat Harvard University. After looking around it seems that the team did debate the national debate champions in that year but that year the champions were actually the University of Southern California. I guess debating Harvard Crimson makes for a better story....

But, according to the New York Times article, " For Struggling Black College, Hopes of a Revival" (December 5, 2007,) "the film omits one reality: even though they beat the reigning champions, the Great Debaters were not allowed to call themselves victors because they did not belong to the debate society, which did not allow blacks until after World War II."

It also seems that some license was taken in the composition and members of the debate team in the movie. Save James Farmer Jr, who went on to form CORE, the Council for Racial Equality, a integral organization in the civil rights movement, the other characters, Henry Lowe and Samantha Booke, seem to be amalgamations of other team members who competed during the early to mid 1930s.

For more information about the true history of the Wiley Forensic Society, read this linked article in the Marshall News Messenger.

There is no debate....

So if you had read a prior post , you know that my parents and I were planning to go see The Great Debaters on Christmas Day. We decided to go see the first showing and that I would finish cooking dinner afterwards.

Let me tell you, this movie does not disappoint. It was a great story about a group of history making college students who, inspired by a seemingly, slightly eccentric professor, proved that a group of black students from a small liberal arts college in depression-ridden backwater Marshall, Texas could develop the oratory skills to win debate after debate, and also eventually, beat a championship-winning white team.

The movie is just good film-making. Although, a few constructs seem a little too convenient and seem likely to have been the results of a little poetic license, it is a great, inspiring, and emotional story based on true events. I tried to finish my "ugly cry", as Oprah puts it, before the lights went up in the theater. I was somewhat successful....

Before hearing about this movie, I had never heard of Melvin Tolson or Wiley College or their debate team. And after seeing this movie, I can't help but be struck by how many other courageous stories may be out there in our history that we have no idea about whatsoever! I mean, this guy went on to Langston University and taught my mother English, and besides being the Poet Laureate of Liberia, she had no idea about his time at Wiley. It makes me wonder about how many other inspiring and unknown stories are out there.

Bottom line: Go see this movie before the weekend is out!

Merry Christmas!!

It was quarter past dawn...
All the Whos, still a-bed
All the Whos, still a-snooze
When he packed up his sled,
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings! 

Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Crumpit,
He rode to the tiptop to dump it!
"Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
"The all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!" 

"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow... 

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY! 

He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise! 

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same! 

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" 

And what happened then...?
Well...in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he... 

...HE HIMSELF...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Excerpt from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss from the Absolute Grinch website


Merry Christmas everyone!!!

It's time for a little holiday baking!

As you have probably been able to tell by now, I get a little self-involved in my cooking. And, true to form, every December I jump into my yearly holiday baking tradition. It started mostly as a way to provide gifts for friends and co-workers and, of course, it has evolved into me spending days cooking a myriad of things to include in little gift baskets. Because, of course, I can't just cook a bunch on one thing for everybody, I have to provide variety.

This year has been true to form. This year I decided to make about 12 things to give to about 25 people. One or two recipes were new ones, and there were a number of old favorites. Here was the list of goodies:

Holly Wreath Treats

Holiday Biscotti with Pistachios and Cranberries

Chocolate Hazelnut Ginger Biscotti

Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Poundcake

Cinnamon Popcorn (the one thing I didn't make)

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

Rum Balls

Pecan Sandies

Spiced Rum Pumpkin cupcakes

Red Velvet cupcakes

What I didn't factor in was how much more difficult it would be to get the treats to people this year. I am used to just bringing a bunch of stuff to work and walking around to people's desks. Obviously, this year was more difficult. I missed one couple because I couldn't get stuff to them before they left for the holidays but all in all, it worked out. I'll just have to get the folks I missed next year.

A milestone....

I went to the pet store yesterday to buy more food for the dog and I realized that she is now old enough to eat the adult food! She is technically sort of a large breed dog so they tend to grow longer than smaller dogs so she was supposed to get puppy food through 15 months.

Well, she is now 16 months old so I bought her adult food and am mixing it in with some puppy food to ease the transition.

She still acts like a puppy though, albeit a somewhat calmer one.

Sweating in December....

I just did my Christmas baking grocery shopping..... in 75 degree weather! I suppose that this is not strange for at least about 50% of the world but I am finding this a little strange. Don't get me wrong, the weather is beautiful but with all this wackiness I wonder if I am ever going to get to wear my boots!

I have some very cute boots!

Job search update: Day 85 - the thrill is gone....

So I have been contemplating writing another job search update post for a while but to be quite frank, not that much has happened. I have gone to all the Tuesday morning breakfast sessions, reached out to tons of folks via email or phone, gotten replies from some, met or talked with others but nothing really substantive has come of it yet.

I have been keeping an open mind but it is all starting to get old. The novelty of being out of work is wearing off after 3 months and I am getting a little bored and frustrated. I even decided to do a little seasonal retail work to pass the time since things are slowing down on the job market and put in my application at a store where a friend of mine works. Turns out the store manager has been out for the past two weeks so she hasn't been looking at applications and the season is passing by.... I am starting to feel a bit of the whole Groundhog day syndrome. Every day the same thing.

I did take a few days off from the job search thing and bought Christmas decorations. I also did some cooking and my refrigerator is filled and I am getting sick of washing dishes. Even with taking time away from the job search, a couple balls that I had in the air kept on moving so I have a few folks to contact next week. Eventhough it is slim that I would even get an interview between now and next year, it is still a good idea to get on people's radar ahead of time. I know that a couple of companies I am targeting are planning expansion starting in January so i will need to hit the ground raring to go!

My Christmas tree solution

So, this year, for the first time in a long time, I am going to be celebrating Christmas in my house. We normally all travel up to my aunt's place and stay there but this year she and her husband are going to see his son so my parents are going to come to my place to celebrate which means I don't have to put out any money for travel which is great. But it did leave me with a little dilemma.

I don't really have many Christmas decorations because, well, I am normally not home and I also don't have a Christmas tree. Artificial trees are expensive and more than I want to spend for one year and, to be honest, in my entire life, I have never had a real tree! (I know, I know...)

The first 5-6 years of my life, we had a little 2 1/2 foot silver tinsel tree that we used to set on top of a decorative trunk and arrange presents around. And you know what, it might as well been 10 feet tall as far as I was concerned. When I was about 6 or 7, my mom bought a full sized, life-like artificial tree from Kmart, which I think is the same tree they have in basement now. And it was great. It even had a little fake snow on the branches. And when we were done, we packed it back away and didnt have to worry about needles falling off or when the tree disposal pickup would be.

Although I seemed to inherit a Christmas tree stand when i purchased this house, I really don't feel like dealing with a real tree, plus I am concerned that my dog will try to eat it, so I came up with an alternate solution...

I bought 2 rosemary bush trees and placed them on the mantle. Perfect! And after Christmas is over, I can use the rosemary for cooking! So I went out and bought little mini ornaments and well, I think they are almost as good as the real thing!

Like the stockings?

Self Improvements...

So since I currently have a little extra time on my hands, I am trying to take advantage of it to do some of those things that we have on our lists but have trouble getting around to in an average day. Most notably, right after Thanksgiving, I started a new "eating plan." (We will not call it a diet.) Basically, on an impulse while at the bookstore, I picked up this book called "The Abs Diet for Women." The name intrigued me because it actually seemed to admit that there is a difference between how men and women lose weight. And it had lived up to that assertion. Written by the editor of Men's Health magazine, it actually includes tips about how to manage the plan when you are PMSing, or pregnant or going through menopause etc... Now the suggestions in this book are not rocket science. And it basically takes a sensible and reasonable approach to this challenge, taking a number of the reasonable aspects of a lot of the popular diets of the day and combining them into one plan. Key aspects include eating 6 meals a day and doing strength training to help boost and retrain your metabolism, with an emphasis on making sure to get enough protein in your diet. So I have been trying this, along with exercising like 6 days a week, and let me tell you, eating 6 times a day takes a lot of work and planning! But I have the time now so I am doing it. It is the least I can do.

I am also growing out my nails some. This is always a challenge for me because my nails often snag or break. I also have been known to bite one or two when I get stressed. The easiest way for me to keep this from happening is to always keep polish on them. (Again back to the more time theme.) It seems to be working pretty well though, at least so far!

Let's all go to the movies!

So I originally wanted to write a post when I saw American Gangster but honestly, I couldn't decide what I wanted to say about the movie. First, it had Denzel in it and, HELLO!, how can you not love Denzel! It also included a cast of a number of other distinguished, and some new, black actors like Ruby Dee, Joe Morton, Clarence Williams III, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Common, Cuba Gooding Jr and TI. But I think what gave me pause about this movie was how it blurred the lines of good and bad, how it made you like and respect the bad guy and not particularly like the good guy.

Bad Guy: Frank Lucas - Drug Dealer
Smart determined business man who saw and opportunity to provide a product that was higher quality to an eager customer base and build brand loyalty that would knock out the competition. A black man who was determined to make a way for himself on his own and not be forced to work through or for others simply because they were white. A serious business man who was not flashy and brash, but a loyal man who valued his family and was trying to create a legacy. Only problem is..... he's a drug dealer and he is profiting off the backs, addictions and hardships of others.

Good Guy: Ritchie Roberts - Head of Anti-Drug Task force
An agent with high moral standards in the workplace who cheats on his wife, sleeps with his lawyer, is not there for his son.

This movie made me root for Frank Lucas, even though I knew it would end. And I also respected how this movie was made. I had a friend who watched this movie and just thought that it was alright. I think he was expecting more of a "black Scarface" type of movie. But that is not what this movie is about. It is a biopic about a man who we can admire for how he accomplished things even if we can't admire what he actually accomplished.

Most recently, at the urging of my friend P, who sent out an email to her friend's and family, I went to go see Last Christmas. Now this really is a movie, and there are a few scenes where they really do ask us to suspend disbelief (like when Regina King's character and her husband, park their car curbside at LAX and walk away as she is saying goodbye to him and they are not accosted or arrested by police who tell them that they can't leave their car there) but it really is a great movie, a family movie, a feel good movie. Sure there is some turmoil, fighting and secrets, as there are in any family but what comes across most strongly is that what this black family has the most of is love. Sure this movie can most easily draw comparisons to SoulFood but is it different from its predecessor in many ways. And it just makes you feel good at the end. Another all star cast in this movie: Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Regina King, Sharon Leal, Columbus Short, Lauren London, Mehki Phifer (who also co-produced it) and Chris Brown (such a cutie! I think I have a new crush...) This is a must see for the holiday season.

And another movie that comes out on Christmas day that is worth note is produced by Oprah and is directed and starred in by Denzel Washington yet again. It is called "The Great Debaters" and tells the all too important, and not often enough talked about story of Melvin Tolson and the debate team that he started at Wiley College, the first HBCU to be established west of the Mississippi River. I saw the show about the movie on Oprah. This debate team was able to rise above the inequality and discrimination of its time and only lost 1 out of the 75 debates in which they competed in a 15 year period, including debates won against Harvard and USC in 1935. The winning team that historic year also included one woman alternate, who is played by Jurnee Smollet of Eve's Bayou fame. Other cast members include Denzel, Forrest Whitaker, and Kimberly Elise. Coincidentally, after Mr. Tolsen left Wiley, he went to teach English at Langston University. My mother sent me an email this week telling me about how he taught her English the whole time she was in school there. So, I guess I know what we will be doing on Christmas Day..... ;-)

But seriously, my point is, there seem to be a number of really substantive black movies out there this season, movies with great actors and great stories. The kind of movies that studios need to know that we want to see more of going forward. So.... let's all go to the movies this holiday season and make sure they know what we like and want!

If you missed NBC Nightly News last week....

You can see all the stories online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21982216/

Watch NBC Nightly News this week!

News about this series has been going around but in case you haven't heard yet, Brian Mitchell is doing a 5 part series starting Monday on the problems facing African-American women in this country. Topics will range from education to relationships, the 2008 election to health, interracial dating to the portrayl of women through hip hop music.

Please check it out and encourage others you know to do so as well! On your local NBC station. You can also check www.msnbc.com for message boards and blog entries on the series.

Go buy this album!

If you haven't heard, didn't know, or haven't gotten around to it, go out and buy Ledisi's latest album, Lost And Found. And while you are at it, get her other albums too. With her clear, strong vocals, it is easy to make comparisons to Jill Scott and Angie Stone but the then that struck me about this latest album was how it just made me really just want to see her live. The musicality, vocals and tight harmonies just make you want to sway and smile.


A regular on the Oakland music scene, Ledisi independently released her debut album with her group, Anibade, in 1999 but is just now getting critical acclaim as a solo artist. Voted one of BillBoard's Top 10 Faces to Watch in 2007, Ledisi is a testament to the great music and great musicians are still out there! Go get it!

Giving thanks....

So it is Thanksgiving time and you know I had to do some cooking. In fact, somehow, I ended up cooking the entire dinner, save about 2 things this year! Oh, and we ended up having 12 people.

After coordinating all the grocery lists etc. with my parents, I headed up to their house on Wednesday, complete with the other things I needed from my house to cook for dinner, and my dog. One Thanksgiving emergency was averted when I realized that I had left the hosue without all the brine that I had prepared for the turkey. Luckily, I was just about to pass an exit for a mall, the last one for another 100 miles, that had a Williams-Sonoma in it. It was right at 10am so I rolled up to the store right when they opened and bought some new brine. Whew!

My normally 3 hour trip ended up taking about 6 hours however because of what turned out to be a tractor trailer accident that blocked off the entire road. In true high tech fashion, while waiting in traffic for about 2 hours, I checked my email, IM'd Brunsli, and, when I couldn't take it any longer, searched for a traffic website that would tell me exactly what the problem was with the traffic! That was how I learned that there was a tractor trailer that had decided to fold itself in half across the highway about 4 miles up from where I was, spewing cardboard all over the place. After 2 hours, 20 miles, and a sorely needed bathroom break (it was touch and go there for a while!) I was able to continue cruising down the road at a regular clip.

Then it was crunch time. My mother, who had gotten more and more OCD about cleanliness as she has gotten older, has decided that she wanted her kitchen to be clean and most of the dishes clean and put away by the time guests arrived and had called me about 6 times over the course of the week prior to me coming to bug me about various aspects of the meal preparation. I finally had to tell her to "stop micromanaging my Thanksgiving cooking!" Here is what was on the menu and what I had to prepare:

• Brined Cranberry Glazed Turkey
• Stuffing with Duck & Cherry Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms
• Smoked Corn and Grape Sauté
• Collard Greens with Golden Raisins
• Triple Cherry Pie
• Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie with Wheat-flavored crust

My mom made Monkey Bread, a holiday tradition, and other guests brought macaroni and cheese, baby artichokes and green salad (a green jello salad with pineapple, pecans and cream cheese, Yum!)

After the guests left, with all the cooking....and eating, I had to take about a 2 hours nap! It was a good day!

Brazilian hospitality!

I did want to mention that a number of the women we met on our trip to Brazil were really very nice to us. Maybe it was because we were friend with there friends but there were a number of acts of generosity during out trip that I was really impressed by.

First, the first day we were there we met Inez, who had come to our friend's apartment to meet all of us. She was friendly and vivacious and full of energy with a short blond haircut and a friendly personality that made you like her. I mentioned something about liking her earrings and she then told us about how she made them herself out of fish scales that she dried and then dyed different colors. Very cool, huh? Well then, she took them out of her ears and gave them to me! I ended up wearing them on my birthday because they coincedentally matched perfectly with my outfit! (See the previous post) Unfortunately, we did not get to spend more time with her after the 2nd day since her mother was sick in the hospital and she had to travel to another town to check on her.

Additionally, the birthday party we had was really supposed to celebrate the birthdays of all them folks on the trip who's birthdays were in October and November but it was actually held on my actual birthday. So, another friend of a friend, Angela and her daughter Joelle, went out and bought me a bouquet of roses and presented them to me at the party. It was very nice and touching!

Lastly, we met another woman who my friends knew at this "infamous" restaurant on Copacabana beach who claimed her profession as an "actress" although others said that she was primarily a prostitute. She would also mention to me later that she had a "wife" at home but that is a whole other story... She had also just told us a story about how she had been coming from the bank the dat before and had been mugged and they had stolen about $500 from her. At any rate, we were all there and just met her and they told her that it was my birthday. She then proceeded to reach in her purse and handed me a little gift! A pair of huge gold-colored hoop earrings. It was a very nice gesture, especially given that she had just been robbed of a significant amount of money just the day before!

My test pie....

I settled on the pecon pie recipe that I was going to make for Thanksgiving -- a Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie with a Wheat-flavored Crust. A friend of mine convinced me that I really needed to make a "test pie" and bring it over for a taste testing. Since, I don't have much experience with homemade pie crusts, I decided to comply and I have to say, this pie was great! The crust turned out well too -- almost looks professional!

I am actually not a big fan of pecan pies, although I love pecans. It is something about the gooey unabashed sweetness of the sweet layer that is just too much. But this pie was different. It has maple syrup and brown sugar that gives it a real depth of flavor that is so yummy! I can't wait to make it again for Thanksgiving!

It's raining.......pecans!

So, I have gotten in this habit of getting up in the morning and gathering up the pecans that have fallen on the driveway and yard before anyone drives over them. Yesterday, it was REALLY windy and in about 2 hours (divided over 2 times) I ended up with a little more than a gallon-sized bag full of them! That is more than a fourth of my total harvest this year.

It is a sort of weird obsessive practice because whenever I say that I am going to go in, I see another one and have to keep going until I get cold or I really get them all. But yesterday, it was crazy! A wind would blow and then I would hear the crackity, crack of the pecans falling and hitting the driveway or the street and I would try to see where they fell. I hope no one saw me walking around like a crazy woman!

But I can't wait to find a good pecan pie recipe for Thanksgiving!

Le sigh.....

So back when I was 12 and trying to decide which language to study, I picked French because I liked the way it sounded. And I studied it for 9 more years!

But now, I admit, that I really wish I had picked Spanish. French seemed more glamourous at the time but Spanish would be so much more useful in this day and age. And, would make me more employable. Also, I would have so much more opportunity to speak it.

I started studying Spanish in grad school and the fact that I knew French has helped a lot with vocabulary and sentence structure since the languages are so similar. But I still have a long, long way to go.

And now I want to learn Portuguese too! Well, I seem to have time for lessons at the moment so I might as well take this time to do some studying!

That's one sweet Smokin Rasta Cat!

So I recall a few months ago reading a post by Afrobella on her blog about her love for flats. It was quite an empassioned and complete recommendation of a number of fashionable flat shoes. I myself am very comfortable in heels unless I am wearing flip flops on the beach or around the house.
But I did remember one particular pair of flats that she mentioned that I thought were really cute! So, I looked around for them online and couldn't find a pair anywhere in my size. It fact, it seemed as though they were discontinued/ So, I put it out of my mind.

Fast forward to my trip to LA in September. P and I were doing a little browsing at the Loehman's in Burbank and we were looking at the shoe section and there they were...... Sugar Shoes Smokin Rasta Cats, in exactly my size! So, of course, I had to buy them! And here they are....

I haven't actually worn them out but I think that they are so cute! I also found a pair of lavender Pumas in a style that I love (and have 3 other pairs in) in my size as well. It was like shoe nirvana!

My crop!

While is recuperating from by post-Brazil depression and the fact that it is cold and I can't lay out on the beach, one cool thing is that the pecan trees in my yard are producing fruit. I actually had never seen a pecan tree, that I knew of, and didn't know much about them but apparently they only produce nuts every two years. I moved to this house last year so this is the first year I have gotten to experience harvesting pecans (which I LOVE, by the way.)

Take a look at the first of my crop!

Um mistério.....

So traveling to Rio with a group of guys has been very illuminating for me...... It has given me both some key learnings and a new puzzle.

First, after seeing what I have seen, I would never let a man I was dating or married go to Rio alone or with his boys. And I mean NEVER, EVER, EVER! Being with a bunch of guys gave me a unique experience of being a fly on the wall. If a guy wants, he could easily have a different beautiful woman to sleep with every night that he is in the city...EASILY, as long as they have the money for it. I saw grown men act like kids in a candy store. So, I would strongly question the motives of any man going to Brazil without a woman.

Second, the biggest mystery of all to me is how the country can produce so many beautiful women and so-so looking men!?!?!? I really don't understand it. All over beautiful woman and, with one or two notable exceptions (including the one in my pictures below), the men were not really that great looking. Maybe all of the good looking men are in a different part of the country that I have yet to explore. So while it was the land of milk and honey for the guys in the group, it was not the same for the women. But hey, I guess you only really need one, right? ;-)

But what this meant was while the men were busy recuperating from their evening activities, the women were a little restless and exasperated at spending half the day waiting to do something. This was the first time that the trip organizers had ever had women on their trip and they learned a little bit about the differences in how women and men travel!

No alto do mundo!

On our last day there the weather cleared up, so we went to Corcovado. For those who are unaware, Corcovado has a giant scupture of Jesus that sits atop the peak, overlooking Rio. It is quite a spectacular sight. To get there, you take a trolley car up a 45 degree incline up the side of the mountain until you get to the top. And, as you can see, the views are breathtaking!

How do you spice up a rainy day in Barra?

Can you say caipirinha?? Oh, and some food, of course.

It was a good birthday!

Feliz aniversario a mim!

So, I celebrated my __ birthday in Rio! The group had a party that just happened to be on my actual birthday to celebrate everyone in the group who's birthdays were in October and November. But since it was on my actual birthday, I commandeered the party for myself! ;-) And, it was a great opportunity for me the wear this fabulous top I have had for a few years and requires a special occasion to wear it. What do you think?

Terra e mar!

Despite the rain and clouds, we did manage to get some nice landscape shots while in Rio....

I have been holding out on you....

I had one more trip planned before I was "restructured," and I just got back from it. Boy, do I want to go back! Especially, since it is cold here now!

I planned to celebrate my birthday in Brazil this year and went with a group (some friends, some new friends) to Rio for 7 days. The trip had its challenges, including plumbing problems in our apartment and 3 days of rain, but in the end I had a good time! Let me show you what I am talking about!

My new purchase....

I decided that I am sick of having black luggage that it is hard for me to pick out from all the other black suitcases at baggage claim. So I went in search of a more colorful option! Others are on to this and there seem to be some popular colors that have become prevalent on the carousels these days, namely red or royal blue. I was looking for something more distinctive. I saw a light blue set but knew that they would become filthy after the first trip or two... So I continued my search, on and off, until I found them! There they were... sitting there in the front of the store at TJ Maxx. They were calling my name and I had to have them! A set of wonderful looking ballistic nylon PURPLE luggage.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for purple. And I admit, things just loom better to me in purple, which I understand is not entirely rational. And it is not all shades of purple. I prefer plum toned purples as opposed to grape toned ones, or in other words, purples with more red than blue. And I am a relatively recent liker of lavender since I am just getting over my general dislike for pastel colors. Okay, enough of the purple talk. Here is my new luggage!

Now why, you ask, am I buying new luggage????