I'm someone who makes (well, made one) bread

So much fun to play with the dough - and, looking at the result, I feel a little Martha Stewartish... With these beauties out of the oven, my home smells like heaven.

My Twilight Zone: new boots

So hot that men faint when I walk by... ;)

Happy Haloween!

(the horrible carpet is from my office - SOOO NOT MY CHOICE!)

Happy b-day, Baby!

For Scott's birthday, yesterday, a Black Forrest cake made by his cute little wife (hahaha). It's his favorite.

And my least favorite, which is great, so I don't get tempted ;)

Things you probably don't know about me - 001

When I'm alone in a hotel room (which is pretty much all the time these days) I always check under the bed for corpses, ghosts and other creepy things. Thankfully I haven't found anything so far.

(The picture is from two days ago, in Lima, Peru.)

LA office for a week

I'm back in town for a little more than a week before my next business trip. Will it be enough time for me to pull myself together? (The picture is still from last week, but I kind of like it, so I don't really care it doesn't match the text.)

A quick drink in Puerto Rico

That ended up turning into an all night event.

And today I woke up wishing I had a simpler life.

Where to?

Sometimes I look at the monitor and wonder if I could just go to a
different gate and fly somewhere else, for some R&R.

On the way to the Caribbean, but for work - one island a day, I don't
think I'll get to see any sand.

Happy hour

Is this what you call summer?

The ladies wine club

It's not an official club (or a very big deal), but every once in while a small group of us girls get together in the office, after working hours, to taste a couple of wines.

Yesterday we were all very elegant (and kind of boring) wearing black and white - including Paisley, Lisa's dog who was just coming back from a grooming apointment and just came for the crackers.

This was actually the second time we did it. And I can say I liked the first one better...

On being Argentinean

I guess I can't have or be everything, but I do sometimes feel entitled to more than one home. So, setting this straight, I'll say that I'm a Brazilian at heart and if I had to choose only one place to be (or to love) Brazil would be it.

But, while I don't have to choose, I can have days like yesterday, preparing caipirinhas and drinking Argentinean beer, while watching a very american basketball game on TV in a neighbor's garage (isn't watching sports in the garage, in a kind of a "men cave" ambiance, the most american of all american cliches?)

Argentina's soccer team was also playing the US and the score was a shameful 0-0... I know that this is a very american thing to say (and also a manly one) but I'm so looking forward to football season!

Brazilian Samba

I went downstairs for a Diet Coke (yes, I do that a lot) and Claire offered me this fun drink she bought at Vons yesterday. I love it, mostly because of the flavor name: Brazilian Samba!

(the photo is horrible, I know)

The dating game

Not for me, of couse - I had my share. A couple of days ago I got together with some girlfriends and, after some coffee, tea and cheese puff (Kellen makes the best cheese puffs) we started to talk about Pati's love life. She got divorced two years ago and can't really find time, or didn't want to put the effort, to get back in the game. So we signed her up to eHarmony. She was there and kind of agreed, but she would never have done it by herself. Let's see how it goes now. In a way, we are all so excited about it that it feels like we are the ones looking for a boyfriend :)

Kellen's cheese puffs are these little yellow breads in the middle of the picture. When they are around, no one cares about muffins, fruit, croissants, granola...

Back to life

As Pat says, I believe that sometimes you just need a little bit of change or a quick break to get more energy and keep going but I'm not sure it really works with vacation. My four days in Hawaii were great, but definitely not enough. I'm proud of myself though, because I didn't check my office e-mail even once while I was away - and that's a biggie for me!

Anyway, after snorkeling with turtles, laying on the beach, attending luaus, eating the best fish dishes ever and drinking my fair share of Mai Tais, I'm back. And I'm trying to focus on the fact that I have so much to look forward to this year that I should only be happy to be back home, working on on real life plans.

Bah, I miss the beach!

Happy in Hawaii

A do or a don't

Yesterday I came back from work to find my neighbors outside chatting, so Scott and I joined for a little bit. The guys were talking about surf, the girls about bikinis. By the way, these are beautiful fit girls who go for a long run in the morning, while I'm either sleeping or commuting (sometimes with a bagel in my hand, I have to admit). Anyway, one of them was saying how she was wearing a bikini by the pool and felt bad because people were looking at her as if she shouldn't, because her body is not 100% back from the pregnancy. I, with a much less in shape body than hers, wear bikinis all summer. Not mini bikinis - and I don't keep walking around without shorts on - but they are bikinis, anyway. Shouldn't I?

This is a four-year-old bikini picture, btw. Don't get fooled by it. ;)

The best friends on earth

I know I'm not doing a great job posting here. This picture is still from Brazil (I've been back for 10 days and some part of my brain still doesn't seem to accept it): two Sundays ago, lunch with most of my dearest friends (we were 7 out of the 10 girls, plus guys and kids).

When we started the VTP it was just us, 10 girls having a really fun monthly dinner at someone's home. Now we bring husbands, boyfriends, kids and even a nanny sometimes. The boys bonded too and I'm sure they would stay friends, even if us girls disappeared from the face of the earth. It's such a great group and, together with my family, the reason why I miss home so so much.

Fernanda was really pregnant on that day and she gave birth to Manuela a little more than 12 hours after leaving the restaurant. I was amazed. I mean, I know where babies come from, but seeing her round belly on one day and the baby (a whole new person) in the crib on the next day just blew me away. Makes you want to have one too, you know?

Bem Casados (Well Married)

I hate to be away for so long. I know that I don't have many guests, but I really do this for myself and I like to be able to look back and remember what I was doing at a certain moment and how I felt about it. Sometimes I skip posting for many days because I'm burried in work and at other times I disappear because I'm having so much fun somewhere that I don't really have time to open my computer. That's rare but, when it happens, I love to be away for so long.

Anyway, this time was a mix of both. The plan was to fly to Brazil for my sister's wedding (last Friday), work for half of the time and enjoy guiltless vacation time in the other half. I did attend the wedding (and all the fun before and after it), but I worked every day. Not all eight hours of everyday, but everyday... Bummer.

These little cakes in the picture are called Bem Casados (which translates to Well Married) and they are traditional in wedding parties. I love Bem Casados and I always take a couple home (they are wonderful at breakfast, with a glass of cold water, on the morning after a good wedding). My sister ordered soooo many (soooo many more than those in the picture) and I've been eating at least a couple everyday :)

If we don't go to Rio

Rio comes to us. Well, kind of. My friends Paty and Paul from Rio are in the US and spent the weekend at home. It was a weekend of chatting, eating (a lot) and drinking. Great, but we need to ingest some fruits, vegetables and water to compensate. We also did some shopping and spent Sunday afternoon at the Disney, like four kids. I miss having friends around all the time.

This was a 1 pm breakfast, btw. My favorite kind.

Looks so good on paper

Lots of money
Little work
Cheap tequila
Long life to México!

For me it's more like lots of work, not all that much money and no tequila at all...
At least our office down there always has lots of diet coke in the refrigerator.

When in doubt, I get both

Having a hard time to decide between onion or tomato soup, I ordered both. How pathetic is it to have this kind of decision crisis when trying to order room service at the same hotel where I did it for at leats 40 times in the last six months?

Mexico City immigration line (line????), today, 7:30pm

I've been getting crazy lines everytime I have to work in México and I really don't get it. Today I spent almost two hours standing in line (well, that's not exactly a line, hah?)

And I do ger very annoyed, for more than one reason.

1. They usually have a lot of federal people in the area, but just about a third of them is working on the counters. The others stay at the far left chatting.

2. The lines are not labeled and there's no one around to tell people where to go, so you have no idea of which line is for locals and which one is for tourists (that's when there are lines - today was more of a crowd just pushing each other).

3. Sometimes they give you a hard time at the counter. It's funny, because, come on, with all the respect, who would want to immigrate ilegally to México?

4. They are very disorganized. I travel with a Brazilian passport and my greencard. After being in and out of the country 5 or 6 times with no problems, they once took me to the little room, made a tons of questions and demanded that next time I carry an Argentinean passport. So when I got back to LA I spent hours in the Argentinean consulate to get a passport and now I carry it every time - but guess what!!!! No one asked for it in México immigration, ever again. Even when I offer, they don't want to see it...

My mom and siblings tell me that I'm very short tempered and that's why I get mad at these things - they actually make fun of me when I lose it. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. Am I?

Gorgeous weekend

The photo - from my iphone - doesn't make justice. There was not a single cloud in the sky, all weekend long. And Ripley got to go for a swim :)

On another note, we are doing our taxes tonight - well, Scott is doing that while I blog and try to look supportive. He just asked me if we should choose to have three dollars given to presidential campaigns and this gets me so mad. It's not my money anymore (after it turned into tax money) but I would like it much more to be able to choose and give these three dollars to someone who needs them more than the presidential candidates. If they could get one dollar from each one of us, every month, and turn it into food, education and health care for the ones in need, it would make a big difference.

Maybe I'm just being crazy here... But a couple of weeks ago I got this letter on the mail asking for money for children's lip operation and I sent a check. Last week I decided I wouldn't donate to American Idol gives back (I figured enough people already do) but I ended up going online and sending some money. You know, 20 dollars here and 50 there might go unnoticed through our wallets, but could be a big difference for someone else.

It doesn't hurt me to do it - and I hope I can keep doing - but when I think of all the taxes we already pay... we shouldn't be having to do this on the side, should we?

Fresh roasted Kats

I like my job. Again, I mean, I'm back to liking ot. Who am I fooling? I love to work, always had and probably always will. Sometimes I hate it and I want to quit and live of selling sandwiches at the beach in a bikini, sarong and oversized sunglasses - but then I get all excited with my job again and suddenly I'm walking through the door with my Starbucks cup of coffee and feeling like I can do such big things... I'm feeling fresh and excited all over again - and, weirdly, worrying more about accomplishment and less about money.

Maybe I have some sort of bipolar disorder. Or maybe I'm just normal. Who knows?

New office

I bought these pencils just after accepting the offer for my current job, a year and a half ago. But, when I saw my office, I decided that they were too pretty for the environment and put them away in a box, at home. Yesterday I was "upgraded" to the second floor and, even though it's just a new office, it feels nice (no promotion or raise involved yet, but hah, one step at a time, right?)

So today is my pencils' first day at work :)

Last Saturday night

Now we do this kind of couples things - and we are the only ones who don't need a babysitter yet. Last Saturday was one of good food, excellent wine and outstanding company with Dani, Tom, Cris and Mark (Cris' husband, the handsome guy in the picture).

Don't worry, be happy

Disney and ice cream, good trick to keep the worries away.

On the border

I've been miserable these last days. I didn't exactly quit yet, but I exchanged some e-mails with my boss that are the last step before doing so - and now I'm trying to keep my mind busy with other things until the next week starts, so I'm not just agonizing over what's going to happen next week. But it's hard when I dream about the problem and it's the first thing that comes to my mind when I wake up.

In many senses, it's a very dumb move to quit before looking for another job. I like my job, by the way, but there are some things I can't stand anymore and they are getting really unbearable. If I do quit, I'll have this gap in my resume and will have to explain to possible employers the reason why I'm so difficult and couldn't stay for a little more. Also, I plan on getting pregnant this year and I shouldn't be looking for a job with a pregnant belly. And, last but not least, I do need the money if I want to start a family...

I should learn to play the game and stay there, giving as little as I can, until I find something else. But I'm not that savvy, I think, and I feel like a traitor if I'm working and looking for a job. Stupid, hah?

I just woke up 20 minutes ago and maybe writing this here will help me to put it away from my mind a little bit. Hope it works.

The picture if from last weekend, coming back from the mountains. It was a very happy day, when I really managed to spend many hours in a row without thinking of work and without worrying about real things - just focusing on learning how to ski and having some good laughs after each time I fell. I would like to be more balanced of a person, have more control over what's in my mind, making me crazy - I would really love to have more days like that one.

Heading home early

I'm really fed up with this job.

There's always one day, every four or five weeks, when I strongly feel like quitting. It's sad, but it has been happening a lot lately.

Today is one of these days.

Ski on Saturday, beach on Sunday

I feel so californian right now!

Little adventure

Trying to come down the mountain on a snowy night, I found out that I have a husband strong enough to brake tire chains with his bare hands.

HAPPY

Expo Disney, Mexico City

Long long day, preparing for the meeting

Airport restaurant, LA

What if...?

I usually travel out of a tiny airport that's 15 minutes from home.
All flights go to LA and there's only one gate and one waiting room,
but all kinds of people. Sometimes I catch myself thinking how it
would be if the plane crashed in an island and I had to really
interact with them. It's a scary thought.

Stuck in Washington for the day

Seems like this is the story of my life. Last week I spent 11 hours stuck in Mexico City's airport (don't ask) and today I'm spending almost 9 in Washington Dulles. My flight got in in the middle of a customs mess and, as they were revising everyone's suitcases for some sort of agricultural threat, the lines were huge and I missed my 8am connection. Next one is at 2:45pm...

dinner with the girls

Always great - and we are more like grown ups now... It's funny when someone says "There goes Kats again, taking mpictures of the glasses". Some things, I guess, will always be the same.

This is Burger Bistro, one of my favorite restaurants for a long dinner with the girls. They have this big round table outside, where no one seems to mind our sometimes loud laughs. I used to avoid B&B and I'm very glad I got over it.

I'm flying back home tomorrow.

There was a time...

When these dinners would happen almost every week, Tuesdays, usually. And they meant the world to me. Nowadays, everytime I'm down in Brazil, Igor takes me out for sushi. We go to the same restaurant, sit at the same table, eat the same food and drink the same sake. And, even though our lives changed so much, these dinners make me feel like we are still the same. Tacky thing to say, I know, but it's so true. This picture was taken yesterday, when I found out that his camera has the same specs as mine, but takes much better pictures...

In an airport for the fifth day in a row

I traveled every day this week. I'm posting from Phoenix airport, while I wait for my seventh - and last - flight of the week. Sat down for a pizza and a beer and the waitress (the lady with New Jersey hair in the middle of the picture) carded me. When I said I am 33, she answered "congratulations". I hate this kind of stupid irony - if you can't be smart, irony is not for you. Anyway, the beer was good and the pizza was burned. But pizza is always good even when it's bad. And I'm flying home in an hour, finally!

Oh, the places I go

Wednesday late afternoon, leaving Monterrey, on my way to Guadalajara.

Deplaned

It was bad enough to have a meeting scheduled for 9pm. But not even being able to make it... Something is wrong with the airplane lavatories and everyone had to go back out. God knows when we'll get to Mexico tonight.

Flying down to Mexico

For a week that should be full. I just changed planes in La and bought
a cup off coffee.

In times of uncertainty, this us what my cup of coffee says to me.

Still eating at my desk

Kellie didn't come. She left a message on my answering machine, around 8:30 am, and she could barely speak, poor girl. Maybe she caught the same cold that caught me last week. I just hope she's taking it well, being at home and not working anymore.

Anyway, I ended up staying in the office and had my usual Campbells soup and tuna again, instead of the planned breakfast, for lunch. If at least I managed to loose some weight while eating this boring meals, but apparently my scale focuses more on the dinners and glasses of wine....

Not very sociable these days

I'm uploading old posts in a slower pace now (I do have to tackle some tasks at work), but decided to stop waiting for this job to be done before adding new ones. So here I go with my first real time post on this blog. As if someone were reading it...

I've been bringing fruit to the office, together of cans of tuna and instant Campbell's soups that I eat for lunch, on my desk. I haven't been feeling much like going out for lunch these says. Being around people and having to talk to them seems like too much work. I'm not saying this as a complaint. Actually, it might be a good thing, because I have so much to do and, nonetheless, I can't quit reading old postings from a blog I found a couple of weeks ago. At least I feel like I'm spending more time in my office and it feels right, even when I don't get as much done.

When I started working here they were supposed to start some kind of construction in the buiding, so I was installed in a temporary office until the new ones got ready. It's been 16 months and I'm still here, not a sound of construction around yet. My "temporary" office is a big one, that I used to share with Kellie, a a project manager in charge of creating this whole new line of revolutionary make up. At first I hated the idea of sharing my office, but I got to know her and, sometime in the middle of these 16 months she became a close friend (great company for eating breakfast for lunch). Kellie left the company in the end of December and it fells very empty without her here. I probably needed her to balance me when I go crazy - and I do go crazy often. I received an e-mail from her this morning and she'll come by on Friday so we can go out for eggs and pancakes around lunchtime.

Do you ever feel like January is a very long Monday?