Monthly Archives: June 2023

Accidently Blonde

29 Thursday Jun 2023

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“When something goes wrong in your life just yell ‘PLOT TWIST’, and move on” ― Molly Weis

While in Brazil, I went to my hairdresser to get highlights.  I wanted what he had done a couple of times before, some caramel highlights on my dark brown hair, along with extra hair conditioning.

When he was done and started blow-drying my hair we both realized I was now blonde.  He had put in too many highlights and they were all very light.

He apologized and said that my hair reacted to the color very fast. He offered to correct it. I said it was okay.  I already don’t like having too many chemicals in my hair, so the idea of additional coloring was not appealing to me.  Plus I had been there already 4 hours – I just wanted to get home.

After he was done styling it, he took me to a back room with better lighting (where they normally take before and after pics). He thought that perhaps it would look darker.  His face dropped – it looked even lighter. 

When I got home my family was shocked.  After they recovered, they said they liked it.  Then we all waited for M to arrive (he had gone to Pilates – I had skipped to go to the hairdresser).  My family was more curious than I was, to see how he would react.

When he arrived and saw me, he was speechless for a second, and then said: “You look beautiful, you look like a model”.

The pictures below don’t do it justice:  In person it looks much lighter, and it actually looks beautiful when it is styled (below is bedhead and just washed).

I will make the best of it.  It is only hair, and I am not the type to stress over appearance.  Who knows, I may discover that blondes do have more fun!

 

“Beware of her fair hair, for she excels
All women in the magic of her locks;
And when she winds them round a young man’s neck,
She will not ever set him free again.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

M survived 3 weeks with my family in Brazil!

22 Thursday Jun 2023

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Dating, Finding Me

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“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” ― Elbert Hubbard

I arrived from Brazil on Saturday.  M went straight to Florida.  We were together 24/7, and just got along beautifully.  We miss each other.  He will be coming to NY on July 4th.  I am swamped at work, specially at the end of the month.  My assistant is still out.  So he is giving me space to catch up with work.

He is the one! Yes, I am announcing it to whoever care to listen! I am being extremely bold when I say this is forever.  It feels like forever.  I am going to enjoy this “forever” for as long as it lasts.

My family, like the majority of Brazilians, are very welcoming.  Everyone embraced him right away.  It helps that he is an extremely loveable creature.  He is kind and unassuming, always trying to help others.  I love his generous heart!  My family truly loved him and welcomed him as part of the family.

I had warned him that this would be a work trip.  At times he hinted at wanting to go surfing, etc, but there was no way I could make that work this time.  The beach he wants to go to is very far from my town.  He is now floating the idea of renting a house there for a month this summer.  At this point, I feel I am tied to NY, at least for the next few months.  But I am remaining open minded.

As I mentioned prior, while in Brazil, we painted, cleaned, shopped, did Pilates, spent time with friends and ate.  I ate like the world was coming to an end.  Unfortunately, I have several extra pounds to show for it.

M is vegetarian and stays away from sugar and carbs.  That is, until he met me.  He is not fanatical about his diet, so in Brazil, to be polite, he indulged.  He probably ate more sugar and carbs in 3 weeks than he did his whole life prior.

I normally don’t overindulge in Brazil, but with the excuse of having him try different treats, I did. I figure that in future trips we will tone it down.  There were 3 meals that we did as a family.  Breakfast, lunch and afternoon coffee.  Dinner was just a snack, unless we were meeting friends out.  Those times around the table with my family and friends (there are always a friend or two stopping by) are precious.

We had dinner out with friends 4 times.  We had so much yummy food.  I will be posting about them in following posts. The food in Brazil is unbelievable! Well, I am biased.

We also managed to take a couple of day trips to the town where my sister used to reside and still has an apartment – Poços de Caldas, in the state of Minas Gerais.  We took the cable car to Cristo Redentor (Christ, The Redeemer).  Every town in Brazil has the statue of Christ.  The most famous one is in Rio de Janeiro. 

Unfortunately, the day that we were visiting it, it was a foggy day. They are renovating the area, and there are ziplines, bars and other attractions, but on this foggy day nothing could be seen.

We also took a couple of day trips to the countryside, including to the Pico do Gaviāo (Hawk’s Peak)– It is a mountainous area famous for paragliding.  Gorgeous!

I will write more about our trip to Brazil as time permits.  In the end, M loved Brazil and Brazil loved M.  If anything, this trip made us see that we do belong together. 😊

“Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Alive in Brazil

12 Monday Jun 2023

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Dating, Finding Me

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Dia dos Namorados

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ― Albert Camus

Hi Friends,

This is just to say I am alive 😊

I haven’t had a chance to go check your blogs and see what you all have been up to. For that I am sorry, and I hope everyone has been well.  I will be back to the US next week and hope to have more time to get back to my cherished friends here.

Life in Brazil has been incredibly busy.  Not only I had tons of things that I wanted to get done around the house, but I am also working remotely – my functions plus some of my co-worker that remains out being treated for breast cancer.

Here is a summary of what I have been up to since I arrived here on May 26:

  • I bought a car for my brother. Dealing with the dealership, insurance, Detran (Brazilian DMV), details about paying, etc, it all involved several days.
  • Painted my mom’s second kitchen and eat-in area. Some workers that worked on some water damage made a complete mess of the walls and floor. Not to mention the fact that they didn’t cover anything.  In April, when I saw that mess, I mentioned that I was going to clean it and paint it, when I returned – many doubted, but I did.  I am very proud of that.
  • I painted my brother’s room as well. This room is adjacent to that kitchen and it needed some refreshing. It was also a chance to re-organize and clean it.
  • Organized my brother’s room. My brother is not an organized person, so every time I come to Brazil, I make improvements.
  • Put contact paper on all the kitchen cabinets. Detailed job. I had a friend that is unemployed at the moment come and help.  She has been priceless in helping me with the cleaning and organizing.
  • I cleaned a small little house I have for rent. Again, I had my friend help. Actually, she did most of cleaning. I also had to have the yard, cleared of overgrown grass and trees. I contracted that work for a small fortune – everyone here things I overpaid.
  • M and I go to Pilates every week day from 1 to 2pm. Even though he works out hard at the gym every day while in the States, he is finding out that Pilates can be challenging.  The instructor has been targeting some dormant muscles. I should be in Pilates right now, but I am catching up on work, and I am stealing a few minutes to do this Update.
  • Speaking of M, he is fitting right in. He has been helping me with everything. From cleaning, painting, decisions about the car, to doing the dishes and cleaning. He is a keeper. Everyone here adores him, even though there is still the language barrier.  He has been working hard at trying to learn Portuguese.
  • There is always a stream of visitors at my house. Friends, old and new, that come to have coffee with my parents. Most come every week, other now come more often because I am here. That has always been the routine with my family. We never go to people’s house, they come to us.  Which, now that I think of, is the opposite for me in the US.  I hardly have anyone over; I often go to people’s house.
  • Today is “Dia dos Namorados” in Brazil, somewhat similar to Valentine’s Day in the US, but not that similar. This holiday is all about boyfriends and girlfriends.  went out and got me that beautiful sunflower.  Here in my town is hard to find cut flowers, we find mostly the actual plant to be replanted.  He also bought all kinds of chocolates for the rest of the family. 
  • I was able to have a couple of outings with friends, twice for dinner and twice for a day trip to the country.  I hope to share pictures and stories when I return.

I am feeling so exhausted mentally and physically – there has been many frustrating and angering moments. But I am also so so blessed to be able to be here with my parents, to be able to better their lives in little ways, and to have M. next to me. I believe he is the person I have been waiting for.

Wishing everyone many blessings, small and large. I hope you have many reasons to smile, but even if you don’t, smile anyway.  The reasons will come!

ps. sorry for typos and errors, no time to edit.

“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.” ― Pema Chödrön