May 11 - Iguacu Falls in Argentina!

It's not really possible to relay the enormity of the waterfalls I visited today. And pictures certainly don't do it justice. But, if you ever have a chance to go, do it. Spectacular.

After walking all around the top, everyone climbed into a boat and went out to the bottom of the falls. Probably one of the scariest moments of my life, going through the rapids, over to the falls, getting SOAKING wet, etc. But I'm glad I didn't miss it.

After the boat tour, the skies had cleared up and there was a giant rainbow (double rainbow actually). I would think my pictures were fake it I hadn't taken them myself.

May 10 - Meeting up with Sister Frame!

Hands down, The highlight of today was tracking Haley down on the
streets of East Sao Paulo for an oh-too-brief visit. It was so great
to see her!!!

She is doing stellar on the mission, I can tell. She is training a
brand new American companion right now so I felt bad talking about how
Haley is finally on the downhill stretch (9 months left as of
Wednesday!) but who could resist. We laughed to realize the last time
I saw Haley was exactly 1 year ago in France. And now we're meeting up
in Brazil. What a world. I delivered her bag of requested items from
Trader Joe's while we ate at Habib's (Middle Eastern fast food...
Options are slim).

I have a photo of the reunion but that's on my computer and I am on my
phone. So instead of that (watch for a post-edit) I will share this
photo of a bathroom in Van Gogh Pizzeria in Santos (pronounced Van
Goggy in Brazilian haha). Every single surface is made out of mirrors.
The walls and doors. The counters. The floors. Inside the stalls
(think about that one for a second...). It's hard to relay just how
mentally confusing this place is!

At 6am we are off to Iguassu Falls, Paraguay, and Argentina. All in
only 24 hours. How does one accomplish so much in so little time?
You'll have to come back to find out!!

Post-edit:

Haley and I met up at her local market, D'Avo. ("Just down the road" according to all 700 people we asked...). Afterwards we ate at Habibs.

Which I may or may not have also eaten at the day before...

May 9 - Day in Sao Paulo

Stopped into the Sao Paulo Train station. I love train stations. Especially ones built in the late 1800s.

Went to the Portuguese Language Museum.


While I didn't understand much (not a single word of English, which makes sense for a museum honoring Port. language...) it was definitely one of the cooleste museums I've EVER been too. Very graphic and involved and visually interesting. So much design brain went into this place. I was in love with it all.
Watched a soccer game. Corinthians vs. ? I'm going to need to solicit more details here... I can't remember. We only had one brief brush with death as one member of our group wore a green jersey (for Ireland) which happens to be the color of a huge Corinthians rival. Let's just say he bought a new shirt before we all entered the stadium...

May 9 - 10(ish) Things My Mother Taught Me.

In honor of Mother`s Day...

1. My mother taught me patience and forgiveness. Unfailing patience.


2. My mother taught me to give others the benefit of the doubt. Always.


3. My mother taught me anything is possible; figure it out; the answer is “I can’t” far less than you think.


4. My mother taught me history is interesting and enriching and worth understanding. She has an amazing understanding of world history and people and events, all in context. As much as I used to be annoyed by her stories and explanations as a kid, or act like I didn’t care, I love them. (Why are we so lame as kids/teenagers? Ugh..)


5. My mother taught me to be generous with those around you. I’ll never forget the generosity she showed my best friend Summer while we were growing up. I didn’t understand just how much that meant.


6. My mother taught me math isn’t hard or scary.


7. My mother taught me “you can’t hurry love.”


8. My mother taught me compassion for those who are dying. Her father, her step-father, her mother, her sister. Remarkable.


9. My mother taught me understanding the Who, What, Where and When of a situation is all we can do. Trying to figure out Why is when we get into trouble, because we can’t really know Why.


10. My mother taught me the value and importance of trust.


11. My mother taught me to love to travel the world, explore new people and places. She also taught me you can learn a lot about a place by seeing how they interpret “pizza” or “chinese food” or “mexican food”, not just by seeing their own native food.


12. My mother taught me that quality is important. And quality items should be valued and held on to (like that one time she saved Grandma’s linens from the consignment shop).


13. My mother taught me fabrics should be worn in the proper season. Summer should not see courduroy.


14. My mother taught me, by example, how to love. Spouse, children, siblings, grandchildren, etc. Her capacity to love is astonishing.


15. My mother taught me, by example, how to read people and understand their thinking.


16. My mother taught me the value of family traditions.


17. My mother taught me to accept callings, even when they are hard. (Gospel doctrine teacher in the La Canada 1st ward with Mark Willes for FOUR YEARS? Sounds scary to me.)


18. My mother taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Photos by Justin Hackworth.

May 7 - Sugarloaf, Soccer and Sao Paulo

Today, I visited Sugarloaf Mountain. While I was there I caught a spot of wifi on my iphone and finally downloaded the Lonely Planet guidebook I should have bought before I left the US. Turns out it’s probably for the best because having your guidebook loaded into your phone means one less thing to lug around all day. Perfect.

Anyway, in 1912 Brazil was full of Europeans and one had the idea to build a suspended cable car to take people to the top of a very high peak over Rio. Rio de Janeiro became a popular destination for celebrities from 1920-1950ish and they had photos of the Kennedys and others on the mountain. Except for some lingering clouds, it was indeed a spectacular view.

And contrary to what you may think from the photos, I am washing and doing my hair each day. But oh man this humidity. So much for it being winter in the Southern Hemisphere…

You can’t visit South America without fully grasping the importance of soccer to these people. It’s a really big deal. Everyone wants to talk about it. Everyone wants you to have an opinion. Everyone wants you to see their city’s stadium. (And now I really want to read How Soccer Explains the World. As in it`s downloading right now...)

So this is Maracana, which seems to be a really big deal stadium in Brazil. We got to tour all the lockers rooms, etc. Contrasting that to my visit last year to the National’s Locker Room was amazing (did I never post those photos on the blog? Oops...). The DC Nationals are the worst team in baseball right now (or so I’m told…) and their stadium is 1000x nicer than this fancy Brazilian stadium. Really puts things into perspective. We have so much more than we realize…

Later that night I caught a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo to begin the next phase of the trip. The ad on the back of each headrest was sponsor by PwC (and so, incidentally, is my trip!). (I will add the picture later, too tired to hook up my phone...

P.S. Remember how much I love HSBC ads? Here’s another example.

May 6 - Rio de Janeiro

Today I spent time at the lovely Copacabana Beach. Oh it was wonderful.
Especially when the ice cream cone guy walked RIGHT up to me and sold me a Cornetto for $1.

Later I went up to Corcovado to see the Cristo Redentor.

Most people see something like this:

Only a very lucky select few ever get this view:

Oh yeah, now THAT is special.

In all seriousness, it was spectacular. The view, the surroundings, the light hazy fog that surrounds all the plops of land scattered along the coastline.
It reminded me of Up. And of Emperor's New Groove.
(I kept saying to everyone doesn't this view remind you of a cartoon? The answer was no. All 4 times I asked, ha.)

Dinner was of my favorite variety:

Two more things.
(1) Did I mention who was on my flight from Atlanta?
Lil John.
And yeah, I shamelessly asked for a photo WITH him at baggage claim.
However, I have too much pride to upload a post-10-hour-flight photo of myself on the blog so that'll stay offline.

(2) Do you know the best thing about visiting a country in the southern hemisphere right as their summer ends and winter begins?

All the summer shoes and sandals are drastically on sale!!!

May 5 - How many neck pillows will I own in my lifetime?

Because I think my current tally is 15...

I can not believe how often I forget or lose my neck pillow. Nerdy as
they are, I find them vital for flights over 5 hours. And yet I am
constantly leaving them in overhead bins, restaurants, and storage
units...

CZ can verify this terrible tendency, she has been present for most re-
purchases. Wish you were here too sister!!

This trip's pillow? A nice eggplant purple. But I know better than to
get too attached...

Next stop: Rio!!

May 4 - You should try these.

No really, you should. Presenting: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes.


Last week we had a big all-hands tax meeting at work. Earlier in the day they held a cupcake throwdown of sorts. I decided to participate, because I recently saw an amazing cupcake recipe online and was dying to try it.

Turns out, I won the best tasting cupcake award! How exciting!

Basically, chocolate box mix cupcakes baked with a drop of frozen cookie dough in the middle topped with homemade cream cheese frosting and voila! You're the winner of a box of Crate & Barrel loot!

(Don't ask Steve about the very official voting system which may or may not have included clapping and a guy spreading his arms as the clap-o-meter...)

In reality, I tested out four different varieties of cookie dough, two different chocolate box mixes and two versions of cream cheese frosting before settling on the optimal combination (woa! someone must not be folding the pile of clean laundry is her bedroom...). I genuinely did not care about "winning." I just wanted people to think they were good.

The sad thing is I don't have a picture of my actual cupcakes. I don't know how that's possible, but in the baking, frosting, decorating and transporting of 4 dozen cupcakes, I somehow never snapped a picture. They were cute. I piped on the frosting in a circular design and dropped mini chocolate chips on top. Very cute.

Plus as a bonus, my collection of cake decorating supplies lives to see another day! I have a rule that I must open the box at least once a year or it will not make the cut at the next move. I built most of the collection a decade ago at Jane's Cakes in Montrose, CA. None of the other collections from my childhood (keychains, roadsigns, scrapbook supplies, etc) have proved quite as useful.


The workday ended with some swimsuit shopping at Target. As always, I was pleased with the selection. And in the end, it was a wholly pleasant experience, with the only downside being the enforcement of the 6-item limit in the dressing room. Don't you hate when they do that?

May 3 - Costco, Giant, Target, Giant...

Ok you know it's been a wild day when you find yourself making four stops at the grocery store! All without even having a square meal to show for it.

A couple things...

--Tonight was FHE's Cinco de Mayo Chip 'n Dip celebration party. The ward* (*I) provided the chips and everyone was to bring a dip. It's a very fun idea! Of course, I brought 3 bags of costco chips and we only made it through 1. I'm terrible at predicting these things and tend to over-buy...

--This morning my Delta flight from Boston back to Washington was delayed so they put me on a US Airways flight instead. Which reminded me why I don't fly airlines besides Delta anymore...


For today's photo, I will post the lovely flowers I received last week. Few things make me happier than bunches of ranunculus. I love them in this stage when they're twisty and stem-y. Then when the buds open more and the stems can't bear the weight, I love cutting them down to tight, lush, petal-y displays. Pure happiness.

At church the Sunday School lesson was on The Creation. (I love this Back-to-Basics manual by the way... When was the last time we took the time to read detailed accounts of the founding gospel principles, The Creation and The Fall, etc) I was reminded of the passage in D&C 59:18:

Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

God's natural creations are supposed to bring us gladness, by divine design. So why not use them to that end? It isn't foolish or a waste of money to surround yourself with things which remind you of God's love and creation. I'm reading Northanger Abbey right now and there's a part when Mr. Tinley comments on Katherine's love of hyacinth flowers. He says something like "God instilled in women a love of hyacinth so they would be inclined to go out walking for exercise to see the hyacinth when they otherwise wouldn't venture out." Clever.


Anyway, the time of departure is fast approaching...

May 2 - Things about Boston which make me happy.

1. Ana, Jack and Zack. And Newbury Street.
(Kate Spade below..)
(Soldier's Field below below)

2. Grilled Vegetable burrito from Anna's Taqueria. Oh man.

3. Playing Monopoly!!

Please note who is the new reigning champion.. Ant Rachel.

Hi, how have you been?

I've been great, thanks for asking!

No but seriously, six weeks without blogging? Lame.

Now that we have that out of the way...

I'm ready to be back!! And it's going to exciting. Why? Because in the
next 10 weeks, I will only work a full 5-day week ONCE. Woa! There's
some travel coming up and just in time to save my sanity.

Let's start this party with the following photo:

This is John Kerry's $20 million dollar Beacon Hill row house. Right on Louisberg Square (FYI locals pronounce the S). Which means I'm in Boston!! Visiting Zack, Ana and Jack. It has been an amazing day. The weather is spectacular, the company top notch and oh the food...

I have a full post-busy-season post coming. I would put it up now, but someone forgot her power cord as she rushed out of the office to catch a flight on Friday. Oops!

Life is so good right now. It surprises me every day.

Here goes another Photo A Day in May!

10 on Thurs.day* - Learning

*This is supposed to be 10 on Tues.day as explained by my Aunt Jan here.
I'll do better getting it up on Tuesday from this point on.
All you out there, feel free to join in too!!
Next week's is going to be especially fun.

10 Things I'd Like to Learn How to Do...

1. How to identify Vivaldi's pieces by sound.
   Remember the awesome dinner concerts in Salzburg CZ & parents?
   
2. How to figure out the day of the week for any date, past, present or future.
   
3. How to make Kettle Corn.
   (Thanks Liz for the tips! Sarah/Brendo where's that YouTube video?)
4. How to get better at writing thank you notes.
5. How to make my hair look good on the non-wash days.
   5b. Furthermore, how to make my hair hold a curl.
6. How to make crepes as delicious as Zack's Tahitian friend Amira.
   (Family, remember those at beach week? Is canned butter the key?)
7. How to pick the right baking sheet.
   What is the precise impact a cookie sheet will have on the cookies baked? Which is best? Airbake? Silicone? Baking sheets with rimmed edges? Gold plated?
8. How to ballroom dance correctly.
   Maybe this will be another thing I add to my "retirement activities" list. Have you see the movie Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dance & Charm School? Based in Pasadena actually. Love it.
   
9. How to make my light switches work.
   There are two. I've tested every single plug in the room as well as the overhead chandelier to see if the switches actually control anything. They do not. They are purely decoration at this point. Ridic.
10. How to correctly decipher matters of the heart.

I would like to add a couple more because when I originally made my list I thought the prompt was "10 Things You'd Like to Learn" so the items I listed didn't quite fit the "how-to" model, but are still relevant to me.

More Things I Would Like to Learn...

1. Revolutionary War history.
   I've read John Adams and 1776 but I wish I really understood the whole timeline better.
   
2. Succession of French kings.
   I've learned it once but can never remember. Watching The Other Boleyn Girl, and reading the other books in the series, make me wish I had it down better in my head.
   
3. How airline pricing models work.
   Tickets range so drastically, how do they figure?
   
4. Where to find the best Mexican food in DC.
   Someone please help me...
   
5. Why In n Out burgers are so good.
   Scott remember that recipe you found? Meat, lettuce, tomato, sauce, bun. Hah
6. How, specifically, my life would be better without cookies.
7. Whether my social security card was sold to an illegal immigrant last year when stolen.
   Which reminds me I need to tell you my stories from the VITA lab this year.. All sorts of people using all sorts of Social Security numbers that are not theirs. Makes me so frustrated!!!
   
8. Why the water in Arlington smells so terribly of chlorine and what can be done to fix it.

Some weekends require more decisions than others...

For example, when at Costco...

The water is a given, but..
Do I buy the 16 pack of razors?
How long exactly would it take a person to use all 16?
How much convenience will it bring to my life to have extras on hand?
Am I actually saving any money with this purchase?
Should I get a churro* on the way out?
*You know you ask yourself this too...

Or when planning your weekend, race prep run...
You use gmap-pedometer right?
Should I spend another few hours on the treadmill
or enjoy the splendid weather on the Mt. Vernon Trail?
Will running outside in short sleeves and sunshine
renew my hope for tan skin and days on the beach*?
*Yes, yes it did.


When considering a car wash...
One must ask, does anyone wash their car by hand anymore?
If so, should I?
Will it be as fun as it was when I was 12*?
*Yes, it really was! :-)

When choosing what to do Sunday night...
Am I up to the challenge of baking Martha Stewart's Chocolate Thumbprint cookies?
How vital exactly is the vanilla bean pod?
Will they be as delicious as I remember*?
Did I run enough this week to deserve a special treat?
*Oh yes they are! Try them!

Great news!

Did you hear?
Anthropologie is launching an official wedding line starting Spring 2011.
















As one who has always been planning for Anthro to be a big part of my wedding extravaganza anyway, an official line will make it that much easier! I could not be more excited about this!

Photos from Amorology here.

By the way, have you heard about Justin Hackworth's project
called Love's First Year?
He's offering to photograph the new couple's happy life events for an entire year.
Quick! Someone take advantage of this.
(That reminds me, Justin took photos of Mom, CZ and me back in August which I really should post.)

Photo from Justin Hackworth

10 on Thurs.day* - Where to Go

*This is supposed to be 10 on Tues.day as explained by my Aunt Jan here. I'll do better getting it up on Tuesday from this point on.

10 Places I Would Take Someone Visiting Arlington.*

*Great care was taken to leave all food establishments out... That could be a whole list of its own.

1. Picnic at Gravelly point - This is a park along the Potomac and the Mt Vernon Trail near the Reagan National Airport. You can sprawl out on the grass and watch the huge underbelly of a plane as it takes off right over you. Seriously awesome.
2. Capital building - It's huge and beautiful and the new visitor's center is worth seeing.
   
3. CNN - Special shout out to Jill Chappell, guest booker extraordinaire!
   
4. My apartment. I really love it. Here's a sneak peak...
   
   
   I love the darker blue in the kitchen. And yeah, sorry, this picture has less of the apartment and more of the dress I've been meaning to show Annee for some time now.. I do love the blue striped floor mat. And I need to remember to take that silly floor lamp back upstairs to Jill.
   
   
   
5. Mt Vernon. The grounds are beautiful. The old house is absolutely inspiring.
   
6. Ford Theatre. It's so neat to be exactly where Lincoln's assassination went down. That may sound morbid, but once you're there you'll know what I mean.
   
7. The White House. It's not nearly as big as it would be if built today. Which makes me appreciate our country's history and tradition even more.
   
   
8. Lincoln Memorial. Given.
9. King Street in Old Town Alexandria. Particularly the end near the river. Lovely evening stroll.
10. Georgetown wandering. The campus and the commercial part.
    

Honorable mention goes to Lucketts Antique Store out past Leesburg, VA, The Bureau of Printing and Engraving, as well as The Spy Museum.

Just for the record...

Busy season is not a good time to be an "over-promiser"
as we all know I am...

I always say yes.
And I always intend to accomplish.
But there are only so many hours in the day.
And one can only complete so many 10 hour projects in the precious few days left in the week.

Not sure how this one will pan out...
But the life lesson has been learned!


P.S. Lauren and I saw An Education last weekend. Read her thoughts on the movie HERE!

Thank you Whole Foods...

For just cutting to the chase.
Why bother with chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-filled-pretzels (my old fav) when
peanut butter covered pretzels are an option?


I had no idea. Thank you!

Brother Steve and I stopped at Whole Foods for lunch yesterday.
And the firm brings Whole Foods in for dinner 4 out of every 8 days,
so our relationship is building and improving wonderfully.
That place just thinks of everything.