BOO

Happy Halloween from San Francisco

Love these pumpkins. Thanks Martha Stewart for the idea. Maybe next year.

Grey and Cold in SF

SF weather today: grey sky, few sprinkles here and there, and chilly. I must say I enjoyed it because in the past 4 months we haven't really had a day like this so we must be thankful for that. I also enjoyed another lunch break with my husband. He makes me laugh so hard; or maybe I just laugh at him. Oh I hope he doesn't feel that way but I think we LAUGH TOGETHER.

Let me set the scene for you. We were walking up California Street towards my building (101 California) and for those that don't know SF has a lot of pigeons. So we were walking and this disabled pigeon crossed our path. Usually Romulo tries to kick it; I know what your thinking but what can I do. This time we both just looked at it: curved neck, missing a few feathers, and missing some "toes" on his feet.
We both kind of said something about the pigeon and how messed up it looked. Romulo then went on and said this:

Romulo: "Wow, the LEAVES are really messed up."
Lydia: "What LEAVES?" (Looking around for leaves on the sidewalk.)
Romulo: "The LEAVES on the pigeon."
Lydia: "OH, the FEATHERS?"
Romulo: "OH yeah the FEATHERS on the pigeon are really messed up."

I laughed and made fun of him the whole time after that. Sorry, is that mean? But I thought it was a cute story.

"But it's candy..."

-On Sunday, we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and a family with three little girls came and sat right in front of us. The youngest girl, Georgia, came in, sat down and instantly connected with Romulo. She had the rosiest red cheeks, blonde hair pulled in pig tails, and the bluest eyes. She had candy in her hand, Smarties, and turned around and asked Romulo if he wanted some candy. He said no but she asked again, "But it's candy, do you want some candy?". And again Romulo said no. But during all of this she was coughing (just getting caught on the candy and talking at the same time thing). After Romulo said no for a second time she did one last cough and informed us while covering her mouth, "That means I'm sick.". It was the cutest thing. After the Sacrament was passed she came and colored with Romulo.

-Today Romulo and I meet up for lunch. The weather here has FINALLY started to get cold. And when I mean cold its around the 50s...not bad huh considering most of October it was high 60s. I'm getting used to the weather here but mentally I am waiting for the cold and eventually the snow but I know that won't happen. I don't know how to explain it but for me who grew up with 4 different seasons it's hard to understand that snow won't come, the leaves don't really change color, and you can go outside without a coat on in October (mid-day).
So, after we ate lunch (soup in a bread bowl from Boudins) we walked around the Financial District. It was so beautiful. When we were at Embarcadero we saw a group of guys putting together the Ice Skating Rink. That instantly got me excited about Winter! Finally something that associates with Winter; Ice Skating! I told Romulo that we would have to go sometime during lunch but he quickly informed me that he has NEVER Ice Skated and doesn't want to go back to work with a wet bottom! HaHa! Yeah, maybe not during lunch but after work. I will definitely share those pictures if we ever go!

-Do you ever wonder if people think you have an accent when you talk? I do sometimes. I asked my co-worker today if I had one and here is the conversation:

Me: "Do you think I have an accent?"
Co-Worker: "Yeah."
Me: "Oh. So you can tell I'm from the East?"
Co-worker: "No, just someone that's definitely not from here."

I won't bore you with the rest. So, I guess that answered my question.

Memory Lane: Halloween

Halloween 2005

We were living in Virginia for the fall '05 semester and enjoying family time. Here are two pictures that brought back a lot of good memories. And if you can believe it this was Romulo's first go around with carving a pumpkin.
My mom bought three pumpkins and wanted the "boys" aka Easton and Hudson to carve them for her front deck. And I don't really know if Hudson asked Romulo to help him carve or told him to carve the 3rd one but the next thing I knew Romulo was carving. I never thought about him NOT ever carving a pumpkin before. But as time pasted we all started talking about past Halloweens and I'm sure I asked Romulo what he used to dress up as. Well, for those that don't know Brazilians don't celebrate Halloween. So as soon as I heard that I went and got the camera
to fully document this for him. Hudson thought that was funny. So I hope you enjoy memory lane.

Be Creative

Want to have fun carving your own pumpkin without the mess and the clean up? Well, click on PUMPKIN and see what you could create. Enjoy!

Romulo was Tagged

4 random things about my wife:
1. She’s hot!!!
2. She thinks I was a good-looking baby (nope, I wasn’t)
3. She can lose notion of time when you give her a mirror and a blow-drier
4. She likes to watch football and soccer (am I lucky or what?)

4 movies I could watch more than once:
1. A Few Good Men
2. Shawshenk Redemption
3. Braveheart
4. The Italian Job

4 TV shows I watch:
1. CSI
2. House
3. Sportscenter
4. American Chopper

4 places I have been:
1. Brazil (about 1000 different places there)
2. Virginia
3. New York
4. Florida

4 people who email me regularly:
1. Lydia, with our account balances….yup, everyday…
2. Jonathan Shing (PwC co-worker)
3. Bruno (e aih? Vamos jogar hoje?)
4. My EA

4 favorite foods/meals:
1. gnocchi
2. Mashed bananas with honey
3. Mangos
4. Watermelon

4 places i would like to visit:
1. Paris
2. Cadiz, Spain
3. Tonga
4. Hawaii

4 things i am looking forward to this year:
1. keep gaining weigh until I am over 300 pounds (need to keep working on my Harley belly)
2. Christmas in Virginia
3. Another trip to Florida in January
4. Just spending time with Lydia

4 people I tag: Chris Yeates, Brandon Hightower, Bruno Pereira, Lydia Aguilar

Mind Wondering

Forgive me but I need to share some of my daily thoughts. I feel like if anyone reads this they might compare me to Charlie Brown's teacher and how the only thing she ever says is "Blah, Blah, Blah". I always thought that was hilarious that they never had her say anything because that's what I guess children think teachers say.
So here are my random daily thoughts:

-Whenever I am cutting up or washing strawberries I always think of my grandmother because she loved strawberries. She was my fathers mother and we called her MomMom. In her kitchen she had a theme and that was strawberries. Strawberry kitchen towels, oven mitts, pictures, pitchers, cups, etc etc. I love having my mind wonder to those thoughts/images when I'm taking the time to cut or wash strawberries.

-Go to and from work I usually read a book but this morning I finished it and therefore didn't have anything to read coming home. But you know that's okay because I took advantage of the scenery that passes by me every day while I'm riding BART. I love seeing new things or things that I hadn't noticed before. And I never get bored seeing the beautiful Oakland Temple. Its an amazing sight because it pops right out of the trees of Oakland Hill.

-Lately I've been taking any and all stairs instead of the elevators/escalators because well for one thing its good for you and why not take advantage of free exercise equipment right. Well anyway, I've been doing that for a while now and the other day when I went back to work after being sick I just couldn't take the stairs. I was taking the escalator up out of the Embarcadero BART and as I was riding them I could smell something funky. Now my sister Emma thinks I have a highly sensitive nose so I thought well maybe its nothing out of the usual. But surely as I was continuing up I could smell the urine and b.o. smell of the homeless. I laughed at myself because I knew at that moment that taking stairs no matter what it is, is better for your health than smelling THAT at 6:30 in the morning. Oh that will wake you up for sure!!!

-Also when I'm walking around the city either for lunch break or just a regular 15 minute break I've been trying to look up and take in all that is around me instead of head down, feet moving a mile a minute and being all hard. I notice that I am much more pleasant and have a better attitude about life when I focus on the beautiful tall buildings, the sky, and the people that make up this world. Okay, maybe I'm getting a little sensitive here but trust me there is something about looking up and joying this beautiful world that our Father in Heaven has made for us and us humans have accessorized. For example today I was meeting Romulo for lunch and as I was walking I saw the beautiful blue clear sky and popping out in between three buildings was the Transamerica Pyramid Building. It was breath taking.

Visting the Y again!

Well, I'm alone again as Romulo travels to BYU to recruit for his work. Luckily this time he is only gone a day and a half. He will be coming home late tomorrow night. The worse part about this trip is I'm sick at home and the day seems so much longer without him. I'm not sick sick but I'm aching and have pains all over my body and I can't shake it. I don't know what it is that is attacking my joints and muscles but it hurts. It's not the usual muscle pull hurt its like to the bone joint hurt. It hurts to lay, to sit, to stand, whatever it is I'm doing the pain is there. I do feel much better today but over the weekend it was miserable. So, I will sit here alone in pain and wishing the time to go bye fast. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to go back to work and that will for sure make the time fly.
P.S. Romulo is at BYU today and tomorrow but if you don't recognize him its because he is sporting a gotee. I think its so cute on him but hilarious at the same time because of the shaving rule at BYU. Yeah even though he might not be a student anymore I still think its funny he is visiting the campus with one.

Bed Bugs

When you are a child you never liked knowing that the day would come to an end and you would have to go to bed. I must admit there was a year that I had a fear of going to sleep. I don't really know why I did but I would cry and cry because I didn't want to sleep. So every morning I would wake up with puffy eyes and my feet were dragging all day. But I grew out of that stage and have come to really LOVE MY SLEEP. I love my bed and what joy it brings me to be all warm in my bed with at least 3 layers covering me. Yeah, I know 3 layers but trust me its the flat sheet, a thin blanket and then the comforter. I've always liked the pressure or the weight of covers. Even when I'm hot I have to have some sort of cover on me or else I won't sleep.
Anyway, I have to get at least 8 hours of sleep. So with my job starting at 7 am and commuting at least an hour in the morning I have to go to bed pretty early; no later than 9pm. I mean I can go to bed later but I feel it in the morning. So, I make it a point to be in bed at 9 even if I have the TV on. But this doesn't allow Romulo and I to have a lot of quality time together. He tries to be home at or around 7pm. So, by the time he gets home we have dinner, clean up from that, and then do some sort of activity together which is usually watching TV because I'm starting to get sleepy. But there are times when I'm daring and we go out somewhere or we just drive around the town and talk. But Romulo knows that we need to be home at 9 pm because I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open by that point.
I feel bad sometimes knowing that my husband is up by himself while I'm sleeping but we make the most of it. (Or when I'm asleep he plays his XBOX with Bruno...which I don't mind I like it because he spends quality friend time with another Brazilian.) Well, at least we try. It's funny when you are super busy you get the most done and feel closer to one another. At least, I feel like I've gotten closer to him and love him more because of lack of time. I mean in my perfect world sure I would love to have all day with my husband but I know what we are doing is what we need to be doing. And we LOVE the weekends because its our own schedule and we are TOGETHER all day for two days!
But there is a time of day that is my favorite; bed time. The nights are my favorite because I'm in my favorite part of the house and most nights Romulo puts me to bed. We have this tradition that he takes the covers and throws them up in the air and covers me with them while I'm laying down. His mom used to do that to him and he now does it to me. I've never done it to him. I wonder why just now I've thought of that. Gosh, I'm a spoiled wife. Anyway, it makes me smile and I love it.
I really enjoy when Romulo puts me to bed because sometimes I will ask him to sing to me. I hope I'm not going to embarrass him but I love it when he sings to me because he sings Brazilian songs and it puts me right to sleep. He really has a great voice. :) (Love you Ro.) Or there are times when we just talk and I love those moments because we share thoughts and memorizes. It's such a precious time of the day and that's why I love SLEEPING.
(I love this headboard from Martha Stewart.)

I Pledge

For lunch today I met up with Romulo and two of his co-workers at this cute little Mexican place in an ally. (One of those cute little allies with restaurants and a ton of people; love it.) And we started talking about the Debate last night. We didn't get far into the discussion when Romulo's co-worker, Sima, asked if he was a citizen or not. (Sima is from Holland.) We chatted a little about what it would take to become a citizen and how it would effect his Brazilian citizenship. So long story short we were discussing the test that people have to take here in America to become a citizen. Romulo was making a joke along the lines like I couldn't pass the test if I had to say the Pledge of Allegiance. And with that I asked Romulo if he even knew it. (Sometimes I forget that he isn't American because his English is PERFECT and plus you just forget i don't look at him like that...just someone I love to death.)
He didn't know it but Sima also not knowing it asked me what it was. So there I sat thinking I knew it, saying it so many times during K-12 grade, but in fact I stumbled a little over it. I said it but with a lot of doubt, I didn't know if it sounded right. But after getting back to work I googled it and in fact I was saying it right. I was just not pausing at the right words. Silly me. As I was walking back to work I thought oh my gosh, I don't remember the Allegiance what American forgets that. I felt so bad. But Thanks to Google I was relieved to know that I was true to my country. :)

So for all of you that might not remember it. Here it is:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."