Our Little Mermaid

     This little girl has become quite the little fish in the past month!  She likes nothing better than to be in water, any water at all.  (Unfortunately this also includes doggy drinking water and soapy mopping water.)  When we first arrived here in Brazil, she wanted to play in her cousin's swimming pool, but she did not want to wear water wings, or an innertube, or a life vest.  She would have nothing of the sort!  On our last swimming visit, suddenly she decided that the floaty vest had become a necessary accessory, which made us all feel a little more at ease.  What was even better though, was as she continued playing in the water, she wanted to add more and more floaties to her outfit.  As you can see, in the end there was really no way this child could sink!  

     And since I'm on my favorite topic (Lissie, of course), let me tell you a little more about how she is enjoying our new home:  I think one of her favorite new games is "How high can I climb?"  I often find her sitting next to (or in this case, IN) the bathroom sinks.  I think she has decided that since mommy uses these hair products so much, maybe she should too.  She also greatly enjoys brushing her teeth, as many times a day as we let her.  (To be honest, there really isn't so much brushing that occurs, as there is sucking on her toothbrush.  But if it gets her in a healthy habit, I can't really complain, right?)  Often when it is time for her to go to bed or take a nap, she can be heard saying "Brush???  Brush???" and becomes very upset if we skip this very important brushing.  Luckily she has not yet found a way to climb on top of kitchen counters and shelves!

House Pictures

 We still have not started the true decorating in our home.  However, here are some pictures to give everyone a general idea of what our home looks like.

We are actually in a condo, I guess you could say. The building has 3 separate homes, and ours is the one on the right end.  The middle unit is currently empty, which is nice because sometimes Lissie likes to yell at the top of her lungs.

I'm also including some up-to-date pictures of our neighborhood, as I know at least one house (the one that was bright red and yellow before) has been painted a little more neutrally. :)

Here you can get a pretty good idea of color schemes chosen for homes around here. I actually feel very grateful that our place is the nice, mellow cream color that it is on the outside.

 

 Here is what people here call the "service room", because usually the hired maid uses this room the most.  You can see our washer/drier, nifty machine that it is, and next to it is a very deep sink which can also be used to wash clothes if there were no machine.  Across from the sink, not in the picture, is a storage closet that goes under the stairs with TONS of shelves.  We hope to make it our food storage closet, but for now Lissie thinks it is a great play place!

 We are still trying to decide what to do with this half of the kitchen.  There are hook-ups to put another TV and DVD player on that shelf in the corner, but that would require another TV and DVD player.  And that still leaves the really open paneling area and glass counter top, about 8 inches wide, that we don't know how to use.  We tried putting our iMac there, but it got zero internet signal and wasn't the most comfortable set-up, particularly leg-room-wise.  One thing we absolutely love though is the cupboard space!!

 This is our garage, of course, complete with tiled floor (as are most garages in Brazilian homes I have seen).  The lovely black car is our "new" Honda Civic hand-me-down car from Tiago's father.  I am not sure about the year and all, but I do know that it has all the extras to make it comfy - leather interior, electric windows and locks, tinted window, etc.  We get to buy this car from his dad, as he decided he wanted to buy a new BMW.  Hey, it works for us. :)

 I do not know who picked this 'lovely' piece of lighting for our living room, but I've decided it needs a different home.  Like a junk yard.  Once we can afford to replace it with something we like, that is.

The next two pictures are both of our guest bedroom.  (The bed is so exquisite that it can only be seen by those who are pure in heart... or something like that.)  Again, I just love all of the shelving and cupboard space!!

And now, the pictures below are our bedroom.  I realize that I posted a picture with the bed in another blog entry, but didn't show the rest.  So here it is.  The cupboards and shelves go all the way around two sides of the room, with (again) TV hook-ups that we probably won't use.  I think that our house would be a perfect place for little kids to play "Hide and Seek", as the closets and cupboards in every room give so many great hiding places!  Tiago is just thrilled to have a place to hang his clothes, finally. :)

 Our extra upstairs bathroom (probably Lissie's, when she gets older and actually uses it... :))

 

Lissie's bedroom, full of pretty pink furniture. :)  On the other side, there is a built-in desk and more TV hook-ups.  Her room has lots of closets and shelves as well, and a little "reading nook" in one corner.  (Bottom picture)

We are enjoying having space to spread out, and are continuing to accumulate stuff to fill it up!  The next addition to our home which we are very excited about, will be our new sofa.  We have been very blessed and are extremely grateful to our family here in Brazil who have taken such good care of us!!  

Some Culinary Adventures

Since becoming a full-time stay-home mommy, I have also taken on another part-time job: Family Chef! There are some meals that I feel I am an expert at preparing, like bean burritos, spaghetti, and pretty much anything that can be made in a microwave. (Thank you, poor college student days!)  But for some reason (I just don't understand it...) my husband has told me that he does not want to eat spaghetti every day, and the stores here don't seem to sell cans of refried beans and microwave-able dinners. (Well, they do have some, but not the same ones I'm used to... :)) So I've spent the past few weeks adding a few new and fairly basic recipes to my cooking repertoire.  I've decided to share with anyone else who reads this blog and is interested in learning a few different recipes for their own family meals. Trust me, none of them are fancy or time-consuming, because that is not the kind of chef that I am! But they are all taste-tested and approved by my husband (which says a lot actually, because he is an expert on how Brazilian food should taste) and daughter (which doesn't say as much; she has been known to eat some pretty strange things).

Bife Milanesa (Possibly the same as “Chicken-fried Steak”?)

Ingredients: Either thinly-cut or tenderized Steaks (about 1 per person), about ¼ - ½ inch thick

Bread Crumbs (I probably use about 1 cup total for 3 bifes)

Seasonings of choice (salt, pepper, garlic, etc)

1 egg, beaten

oil for frying

First mix seasonings of choice with bread crumbs and put in a fairly flat dish (plate or shallow bowl). Put the egg in another flat dish. Then coat the bifes in the beaten egg, both sides as well-coated as possible. Then coat with bread crumbs. Fry them in a pan (oil about ¼ - ½ inch deep) until they are as cooked as you desire. When finished, let them sit on a plate covered with paper towels, to drain as much of the grease as possible. (Tiago has informed me that this dish goes well with black beans and rice, and maionese - Brazil's version of potato salad. I haven't learned how to make the maionese yet, but his dad has assured me he would teach me one day.)

Guisado (Beef & Vegetables)

Ingredients: 1 pound Ground Beef

½ onion, chopped

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

tomato sauce

1 can peas

1 can corn (frozen would probably work as well)

salt, pepper, & other seasonings of your choice

Brown the beef in a frying pan. About ½ way through browning, I add the onion and garlic. When beef is done and onions are cooked, add vegetables and about ½ can of tomato sauce. (I don't actually know exactly how much sauce as I just eye-ball it.) The consistency should be moist but not soupy. Add seasonings as desired, to taste. You can eat alone or served over rice. (Tiago assures me that this recipe also should always be accompanied by black beans and rice. I admit, they do go together well.)

Pudim (I'm adding this one because it's one of my all-time FAVORITE dishes here!!!) (A type of Flan)

Ingredients: 1 ½ cups sugar

1 can sweetened, condensed milk (the better the brand, the better the results)

1 can regular milk (use the same can as the other, once you've emptied it)

4 eggs

Melt the sugar in a saucepan over low-ish heat until it liquifies. While still liquid, pour into bottom of pudim pan and spread by rotating the pan, to cover the bottom of the pan as much as possible. (The pan looks a lot like a bundt pan, with a hole in the middle. We actually bought a silicone bundt pan and used it for making this in the microwave several times while in the US.) Mix both milks and eggs together well (in a blender if you have one). Pour mixture into pan (sugar has probably re-hardened). Cook using a water bath (330-350 F) for about 1 hour – 1 ½ hours, or until the pudim has become firm. (Be careful not to let boiling water get into the pudim.) Allow to cool, then refrigerate in pan until ready to serve. When removing from the pan, it's best to use a butter knife or spatula to loosen all the way around the edges, middle and outer. After loosening, place serving dish over the pan and flip. You may have to shake it gently. Then, enjoy! And try your best not to eat the entire thing in one sitting... which is what I always want to do! :)

Feijao a Brazileira (Brazilian Black Beans)

This, along with rice, is actually a staple food here. I will not pretend to actually be an expert on this one as so far I have only made them once and it was almost a disaster. I will testify that it is 100 times easier to cook these recipes with a pressure cooker! So instead of me trying to tell you how to make them, here are links that can show/tell what to do – the links I used to make mine. :)

Recipe 1 for Feijao

Recipe 2 for Feijao and/or Feijoada (Can you tell the difference between the two??  I don't think it's necessary to use all the meats listed for the feijoada recipe. In fact, we just used some leftover pork from a previous dinner and cooked it with the beans. It turned out AWESOME.)

I actually like several of the recipes from the last site, as they are fairly simple and very traditional. So try something new and culturally diverse for dinner in your own family this week, and let me know how it turns out!! :)

Happiness is . . .

Well, it has been about 3 weeks now since we arrived in Brazil and it seems the current most frequently asked questions (FAQs, if you will) are “How are you adapting?” and “How do you like Brazil?”, that kind of thing. I was hoping to incorporate pictures into my answer, but since my internet is not cooperating today, you will just have to check back again later. :)

We all knew that Tiago would have no problem adjusting to living back in his home town. He is thrilled to be working full time and to be the bread-winner in the family. And honestly, I am happy to let him. Of course Elissa enjoys getting to play outside more, being fed all sorts of new, yummy treats by all of the family here, and having a much bigger, nicer space to play and spread her toys. So far she continues to be saying more new words in English than Portuguese, but I'm sure that will change before much longer.

Now, how about me? I still struggle with understanding and participating much in conversations going on around me, I spend all day at home with my munchkin and clean up after her, I have tried to cook new foods and already failed a few times - somewhat miserably, and I have limited social interactions during the day. And yet somehow, I'm happy! :) Considering all of the changes we've made, I feel everything is going very smoothly and I love our new home and our new life. I've learned that being happy is not so much a matter of having everything I want and doing everything perfectly. (I know, that's a tough lesson to learn.) It's a choice, regardless of surroundings and experiences. The other day I was thinking of a song from several years ago, when I was teaching 1^st grade, called “Happiness”. It's actually from one of the Charlie Brown movies. The song lists a bunch of fun little things that help them feel happy. Well, here's my rendition of the song: (Don't try to sing it though. The rhythms just won't work... :))

Happiness is...

• being there each day to watch my baby grow and learn new things, hearing her laugh, and seeing her smile
• cleaning a home that is MY home, NOT a rental, and feeling like a queen in my castle :)
• having a kind, sweet husband who is willing to help with chores and diaper-changing when asked... most of the time :)
• relaxing in my hammock after the chores are done
• experiencing new delicious foods each day (prepared by other family members, not me :))
• going to church and feeling right at home, even though I only catch about 20% of the lessons taught and talks presented. (I've already been asked to play their 'old school' organ for Sacrament Meeting!)
• feeling more comfortable asking questions and initiating conversations in Portuguese
• being offered a job teaching young children English, before even putting out applications or resumes! (This won't start till March, and so far there are 3 children in this particular class. They are scheduled to come all at the same time and either 1 or 2 days per week for an hour, or two hours of the same day...)
• knowing we have kind, caring neighbors and family just down the street, who would help us out at any time
• fresh, ripe, juicy mangoes for breakfast :)
• Churrasco!!!!! (Mmmmmmmm)

I could go on and on, but in the interest of not boring everyone to death, I won't. :)  Please know that we DO miss our friends and family members that live far, far away now. Anyone who feels like taking an adventurous trip to visit us is more than welcome.  Some day our guest room may actually have a bed in it, but in the meantime, we will soon have a very large couch with reclining seats (great for sleeping on :)) and there are several family homes very close by whose residents would be happy to have guests.  So come see us!!
Ate depois!!