Poor Hugo

This is a photo I took through Skype of my Dad's new blue cast. While we were at the Falls, the rails were all wet and he slammed his hand the wrong way against one of them. It swelled up and turned funny colors while we were traveling but he didn't have it x-rayed until he got back to Michigan. The hand specialist gave him the U of M colored cast this week. Looks like he got out of snow shoveling for this season!

It just amazes me that I can take a picture of my Dad's hand 5,000 miles away. Skype has been my salvation for this journey to Brazil. I can talk and see everybody and it is totally free. Al Gore sure invented a way cool Internet.

Here Fishy, Fishy

The day after Christmas we got up ridiculously early, jumped in a taxi and flew to Rio. Ro and Jackson had booked two days of charter fishing and Hannah and I just came along. I have no clue what kind of fish the guys caught.

We had been to Rio with the Santoscoys in August and stayed at a great beach house and did the tourist thing then so this was our chance to just hang and soak up the city. We stayed at an OK hotel in Copacabana a few blocks off the water. Copacabana was a great area for early morning runs among the beautiful people (and a whole lot of ugly ones too!) They were setting up for the big New Year's celebration. Brazilians all go to the beach dressed in white and watch huge fireworks that are shot from barges in the water. At midnight, the party moves into the ocean. Copacabana Beach is the largest celebration in all of Brazil. The stages were mammoth.

But we left before the madness (and astronomical hotel rates!) started. Instead we beached, went to an art fair, shopped at a local mall and toured the botanical gardens. Much fun! The guys joined us the last day for a tour of the Neimeyer Contemporary Art Museum in Niteroi. Such a funky building.

Quiet Sao Paulo Christmas

It is 10 a.m. on Christmas morning and the kids are still sleeping. I remember one year when Hannah and Jackson woke us up at 4 a.m. because they were so excited. My, how times change! We purposely went very low key on presents this year since we are leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in Rio. Ro and Jackson are going sea fishing and Hannah and I are just going to hang around the city. That was the gift we gave to one another this year.

It doesn't make today any less weird though. Our family and friends are a long 5,000 miles away. Hope they have a wonderful day! I'm sure we'll give them a call before the day is up.

I bought a small ham and I'm going to attempt a holiday dinner. Hannah and I made cookies the other day so we have the essentials ready to go. It will be strange to have Christmas dinner in shorts and flip flops though. Merry Christmas everybody!

Abracos and Beijos (hugs and kisses) from the Southern Robars.

FYI: This photo is the Ponte Estaiada Octávio Frias de Oliveira suspension bridge that we pass almost everyday. They light it special for the holidays.

HF and DJ do SP

My Mom and Dad are such troopers. Over the past 10 days, they ate mountains of beef, went to several amazing parties, visited the ocean, toured the city, critiqued an art fair, walked through parks, dashed through waterfalls, marveled at birds, danced the samba and just enjoyed some great family time. My Dad is now a Caipirinha (Brazilian cocktail made with cachaca rum) fan. (I am spelling it out here since my Dad must have asked me a 100 times, "what is this drink called again?") Ro and I are so blessed to have two sets of healthy and fun parents. This trip also proved to me that Jackson is developing many HF tendencies.

Igacu Falls (some people spell it Iguassu) was an amazing place to visit. We flew out on Thursday and walked through trails on both the Brazilian and Argentine sides of the falls. So much bigger and more natural than Niagara Falls. On the last day, we even took a hydroplane boat ride through the Falls themselves. We had a fabulous and patient guide, Gunter, who helped us with every detail of the trip.

Such a nice Christmas present to have them here with us!

Accepted!

Today, all the Graded High School seniors carried out their ritualistic scalping of my son. There is a weird tradition at the school whenever a senior gets accepted into college, the other kids shave their head (badly). Jackson found out last night that he got accepted (and even got a bit of an academic scholarship) to SCAD, Savannah College of Art & Design. Jackson is pretty geeked about this choice because they have industrial design, a baseball team and a ROTC program. Once he submits his portfolio to SCAD at the end of this year, he will be eligible for art scholarships too. He has applied to two other universities: College for Creative Studies and Wayne State University in Detroit. Still waiting to hear from them. Sure hope Jackson doesn't get scalped again. He's in the bathroom now trying to fix it. Good luck dude.

My Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow morning for 10 days. I'm so looking forward to their visit. We are going to take a few days next week and go to Iguassu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border. It is supposed to be beautiful.


HAIR UPDATE: It's gone! Jackson came out of the bathroom with a dull razor and smelling like shaving cream.

Our Little Tree

In Detroit, we have a 12-14 foot live tree in our foyer filled with treasured ornaments we've collected for decades. I didn't bring any of them. Our Brazil "Feliz Natal" is a little different. We bought a Christmas tree just as we were leaving the US and put it on the shipment so we decided we had to use it. We got some cheap ornaments from the nearby Extra store and decorated it last night. It didn't take too long. We each got to pick our favorite Christmas tune and by the time the four songs were done, so was the tree. As Hannah said, "Mom, it looks better in the dark with the lights on."

In case you were wondering which tunes we chose:

Ro--Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer
Jackson--Eminem Christmas song
Hannah--All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
Me--Bruce Springsteen Santa Claus is Coming to Town

An Ecological Holiday

When the temperature is 80+ everyday, it is really interesting to see what Brazilians do to get in the holiday spirit. This is one of the greatest examples I've seen so far. At first glance, this is a traditional tree. When you get closer, you see the whole thing is made out of recycled green plastic pop bottles. Very cool. Brazil is really into the environment. The country is energy-independent, relying on sugar cane alcohol to fuel cars. Recycling trash containers are everywhere. But a recycled tree??

Our tree is going up this week. This will be the first time we've ever had a fake tree. We'll have to see if we can find something recycled to hang on it.

Giving Trees

I am in a wrapping frenzy today. Our living and dining room are a mess with paper, gifts, tags and ribbon. (Java can't resist getting in the picture.) We adopted two senior citizens through church and two nine-year-olds through GM and of course, all the presents are due today and tomorrow. I finally have everything bought. Their needs are so simple: shoes, pants, shirts, socks, towels and a hygiene kit with toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc. The kids also got a couple toys and the seniors got a panettone (cake) and some bedding. Wrapping is a big thing. They want everything individually wrapped.

We are going pretty low key on our own Christmas this year. My Mom and Dad are arriving on December 11 (yea!) and we're going to visit Iguassu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border. That's our Christmas splurge this year. That's enough. We really don't need anything. And when you think about people that are going to be excited about getting our small gift basket with simple necessities like shampoo, that kind of puts it in perspective.

Hannah and I are solo today. Ro left the apartment at 1 a.m. to meet some GM guys. They are going fishing on the ocean today. Jackson is due home sometime today. He's been at the beach for the past three days on his "unofficial" senior trip. Both guys are going to be excited, full of stories and exhausted when they get back.

Surprised I Remembered My Password

Sorry I haven't posted in ages. No excuses. Jackson's basketball team won the Big 8 Championship last weekend in Nosso Recanto. This video was created by the tall blonde guy cheerleader, Matt. Jackson and Hannah are going crazy in a couple of the frames. Check out the ninja fans. Hannah, Ro and I went up to watch and stayed in a great town nearby with a couple other families. (Hannah wasn't allowed to play with her team because she went to Portugal with the Model United Nations Club and Graded has a rule you can't miss that much school.) Big fun!!

A few snaps from the action are below. Jackson took an elbow to the eye from another player and got three stitches. For fun, I also included a picture of the Portugal gang too. A little different vibe than the basketball tournament, but still very cool.

Ready to Run

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Tonight, I am going to go over to Cobo and pick up my credentials, shop a bit and go to the Traffic Jam for dinner with the "Moms on the Run" relay team. I have run the relay with them the past five or so years. Since I signed up for the half-marathon this year, their time will definitely be a lot faster. I am doing the 13.1 miles this year for two reasons: 1) I've always wanted to try it and 2) I didn't want to mess the team up if my travel schedule changed. Their team name this year is "Mothas on the Run" because they recruited Scott Lowell to the team. Scott is a great runner. He and his fabulous wife, Carolyn, own Traffic Jam and Cliff Bell's. I am so grateful that I still get to go to the pre-race dinner.

My strategy for Sunday is simple. I just want to keep running...no stopping or walking. I am sure I will have a slow time but I just want to finish. The path takes us from downtown over the Ambassador Bridge, down Riverside Drive in Windsor, through the tunnel and back to Detroit. We go into Mexicantown and then back to Woodward. Should be a blast.

After the race, Pat is having the usual Marathon Brunch on Burns since the race goes down our block. I don't even like eggs but she makes the world's best quiche. I am looking forward to seeing everybody once I finish with the race. What a relief it will be!

Brazil is changing time zones tonight so the kids and Dan will be two hours ahead now. It sure will be nice to get back there. It is cold here!!

My friend Libby sent me this photo. These are words to live by.

RIP Uncle Joe

My Uncle Joe died on Friday. He was my Dad's only brother and even though he lived far away in Harrison, Arkansas, he was always one of my favorite people to talk with when I had the opportunity. He had a great mind and loved to talk in depth about any topic, the messier the better--some of his favorites were Detroit government and the Catholic church. He was also my godfather. My heart goes out to my Aunt Pat and cousins Michael and Kathy and my Mom and Dad. It isn't easy to say goodbye.

I am back in the USA but I can't go to the funeral. My Mom and Dad left yesterday. Crain brought me back to run an executive meeting on Monday and Tuesday. Of course, the funeral is Monday. No way could I go. My heart will definitely be in Arkansas on Monday.

I really like this photo of my uncle and my brother, Danny. I lifted it off the online video. I'm not sure when it was taken, probably at my wedding. I bet the two of them are having a great conversation in heaven today.

Poster Child

Check out who's mug is on the home page of the Graded Web site! I hope he doesn't scare away any new students.

Fun in Recife and Bahia

Hannah and Jackson traveled "in loco" with Graded School this past week. Jackson went to Recife and Hannah visited Bahia. It is so cool that their school does this every Fall and allows the students to explore different parts of Brazil. Mostly, I think it gives the kids a chance to grow as independent, curious young adults. Both did native drumming, made crafts, danced, talked to locals in their best Portuguese and did a lot of "hanging" with their classmates. Oh yea, they got to swim in the ocean too. Hannah's video (she's near the front on the far right banging a drum) is from Oldum. It was made famous when Michael Jackson shot a video in the streets there in the mid '90s.

This week was also a good test for Ro and I to see if we'll be able to handle being "empty nesters" in a few years. We're still married so I think all is good.

Fire Up Chips!

This photo is dedicated to my husband, my brother, my co-workers and every other "Go Green" Spartan I've ever had to listen to!

This is the Guy I Dated

I was sent this great retro shot this week by John Zimmerman. Cracked me up. Hard to believe that Ro and I started dating in 1980, the same year this was taken. Even harder to believe that was nearly 30 years ago. Ro must have known what was ahead and that's why his eyes are closed. Jackson is the same age now as Ro was in this shot....and his hair is just about as long.

Random Thoughts from this Week

I have spent the week at the mercy of Brazilian plumbers. The apartment downstairs had a leak so they are ripping up our bathroom to repair their problem. Oh the dust and the noise! They tell me they will be with me next week too. Ugh!

My kids are getting to go on a bunch of cool trips in the next few weeks. I am way jealous. I've spent the week filling out a lot of paperwork. The school has a "bonding" trip every September for each grade. Hannah is going to Bahia and Jackson is headed to Recife from September 15-21. Then little Miss "I want to see the world" Hannah is going to Lisbon, Portgual with her Model United Nations Club in November. Jackson is headed to the beach for a senior trip. Top that off with the Big 8 Athletic Tournament at Nosso Recanto in late November and I don't think these two will be spending much time in their classrooms.

We're starting to focus pretty heavily on what Hannah and Jackson will be doing next year. Jackson has narrowed down his college search to Savannah College of Art & Design, College for Creative Studies, Cleveland Institute of Art, Wayne State and Grand Valley State. He's deep into applications right now and is going to tackle the ACT one more time in October. Hannah still seems a bit confused about where she wants to finish her last two years of high school. I think she wants to stay here!

Next month, I'm headed back to Detroit for a long stretch (October 3-November 5). Work has been crazy busy the past few weeks so it will be good to see people eye-to-eye. Working long distance is definitely possible but without that daily contact my mind does weird things.

We've got a loud thunderstorm moving in right now. I love the rain! It sure is weird to be in September and see the days getting longer and the temperatures getting hotter.

46...how could that be?

I used to always be the young one on every committee or team. Not so much anymore. 46 seems really old. My status update on Facebook this morning was an Abraham Lincoln quote, "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." How true. I am very blessed. My kids are great. I am married to an amazing man. My friends rock. My parents (and Dan's parents) are healthy and fun. I am running a half marathon in October. I have a great job that is always interesting. I have lived in the US, Brazil and Japan. But 46? Wow, that's old. I better go take a nap or something.

Like my birthday presents? Lynne left me the Havaianas and Ro bought me these pretty earrings. I am spoiled.

The Party's Over

What a fun two weeks we've had here in SP. Our fab neighbors from the D, the Santoscoys, came to Brazil. We did our best to point them in the right direction of things to see and do and every chance we could, we ate and ate and ate. The power of the rodizio will live with all of us for quite a while (especially around the waist!) They were troopers though. Everyday at 7:15 Lynne took part in the "death march" around the hills of our complex. Nathan even went to school for a day with Hannah and Jackson. (Check out the sand sculpture behind Lynne and Dan. They had carved Barack Obama's name into it to attract gringoes like us!)

The highlight of the trip was a three-day jaunt to Rio. We had never been so it was a great excuse to go. We rented a beautiful beach house at Mirante de Itacoatiara and then used that as our headquarters. We jumped in the ocean waves, drank a few cervejas on the beach, visited Copacabana and Ipanema (yes we..ok me...sang the appropriate tunes), boogied to a samba band on the train ride to Christo, took the cable car up to Sugarloaf and went to a hippie art fair. What a beautiful city. I wish we had more time to spend there but the kids are in school now so we had to come back to Sao Paulo reality. Jackson put together an album on Facebook with some of our pictures. Click here if you want to see it.

We are so lucky to have such good friends. We had traveled with them to Playa del Carmen a few years ago and Noah's famous quote on the last night then when we were pulling out the margaritas was "No. The party is over." We use that all the time.

It was an amazing two weeks. So many laughs. I think Hannah said it best on the last day, "Mom, it is like I have Detroit and Brazil in the same place." So sad that this party is over.

First Day of School

Hannah and Jackson were there for the first day of school this year. They didn't start until October last year so this wasn't something they experienced last year. Jackson had to be there at the crack of dawn (OK, 6:30) for a special senior sunrise event so I couldn't even get the two of them together for a photo opp today. This is Jackson's last first day. Heavy sigh.

Forget it Santoscoys!

Here's a story I saw today that cracked me up. We don't encourage this in the Robar House.



Brazilians Urged to Urinate in the Shower

(Aug. 5) -- It sounds a wee strange, but a leak can save lots of water. That's the message an environmental group is sending in a new ad campaign.

Spots running on several Brazilian TV stations promote urinating in the shower.

In one commercial, animated characters such as King Kong, a trapeze artist, a basketball player and an alien show viewers how it's done -- usually in silhouette behind a shower curtain. There's even a momentary homage to the shower scene from 'Psycho.'

Children's voice narrate as a bouncy tune is strummed in the background. At the end, the kids shout: "Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!"

The ad campaign is "a way to be playful about a serious subject," according to Adriana Kfouri, a spokeswoman for SOS Mata Atlantica in Rio de Janeiro.

The group says eliminating just one toilet flush a day can save more than 1,100 gallons of water in a year.

Hilarious Photo of the Day

Sorry this photo isn't better. We took it from my car with Hannah's phone. The motoboy and his passenger were transporting a huge mirror on the back of the bike. The guy in the back had to fully extend his arm to hold the mirror with one hand. We were cracking up. You could see our car in the mirror. Wonder if they made it to their destination?

That Evil Piggy!

OK, Sao Paulo has dozens of cases of the swine flu. The metro area has a population of 20 million people. I feel bad for the sick people but come on...talk about overreacting. We had to fill out special H1N1 paperwork on the plane. School is starting a week late for the kids (and two weeks late in the Sao Paulo school system) so people can get it under control. Even in church today, no wine and no sign of peace.

All of this is especially stupid given the warm way Brazilians greet each other. Everyone gets a hug and a kiss on the cheek as a hello. Germs abound on a regular basis. We could have a pandemic on our hands!

Hannah and Jackson are ready to go back to school. Jackson is a little behind in his summer homework so he wasn't heartbroken but I know he would have rallied and been ready. The kids really need to return to academia and their friends now that we are back in Sao Paulo. If the break gets extended longer, I won't complain too much because Lynne, Dan, Nathan and Noah are coming on the 11th. We'll see what happens.

Nao Aqua Quente

This weird contraption located in our laundry room is the Brazilian version of an apartment water heater. Usually, life is good. We have hot water even when we are running steamy showers in three bathrooms at once. Today though, I hate this machine.

It died. I have been waiting for the repairman for two days now. He was supposed to be here today by 1:00. It is now 1:17. I hate Brazilian time...which is whenever we feel like it.

This morning, Ro, Hannah and I took pioneer showers. We warmed up water on the stove and then used a pitcher in the bathtub to clean up. Jackson the renegade is still stinky. He is down playing basketball now. Maybe nobody will notice.

6:00 p.m. UPDATE: He came. He fixed it. Jackson showered. Phew!!

Phew....finally back in Sao Paulo

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. It seems weird to post to "Departing the D" when I was in the "D." We had a great visit at home. I worked. Ro fished. Jackson went to art school and Hannah took driver's ed. In between that, we ate a ton of great BBQ, caught up with some friends but ran out of time to see everybody, and shopped and shopped. We squeezed in a "girl trip" up to Mackinac Island and Ro and Jackson made the "guy trip" in Grayling with Rick and the guys. My Mom and Dad were fabulous hosts putting up with all of our shenanigans.

I put together a few of our photos from Michigan together in a Facebook album. Check it out.

We are so blessed with amazing friends and family. Trips like this one really remind me of that.