Irritable!

I'm usually a very happy person, but recently I've been beyond irritable. Every little thing gets on my nerves. I don't know if it's because the second week of the semester ended today and I'm already overflowing with work or if it's the winter blues. Now that I think of it, I think it's both! Here are a few things that I noticed this week that really got on my nerves:

Skateboarding down the middle of the street. This isn't new. It always happens. But why? I don't understand! What's wrong with the sidewalk? Oh yeah, nothing!

Bicycling down the middle of the street. Again, what in the world is wrong with the sidewalk?

Facebook. I have a weakness. I never erase "friends" on facebook. Around 75% of my "friends" post about their sad lives- how they can't afford kitty litter, how they're pregnant and have a crappy boyfriend, or they got fired from their job and can't find a new one. It's time to erase some of these people before they depress me!!

My husband leaving the toilet seat up which leads to my dog drinking from the toilet and making a mess in the bathroom.

My kitten scratching the crap out of one of our walls. Is it just me or does it look like I need to train my animals (husband included) better?!

That is a short list of things that are common in my life. Well, maybe not the kitten scratching the wall. But everything else is common and I've never been irritated with them until recently. I think I'm due for a vacation. Perhaps I'm stuck in a rut?! My husband wants to go to Brazil for spring break, but after all the travel time we won't have much time to enjoy. I'm going to suggest a vacation to Florida.

Brrr!!

My husband went home to Brazil for a month to spend the holidays with his family. I decided to not go because I recently became an aunt (!!!) and I wanted to go home to be with family and friends. It was really sad being apart on Christmas and New Years, but it was the best option this year.

Anyway...

The only thing I know about his trip is how hot it was while he was there! His house doesn't have air conditioning, which left him longing to be back in the States. A few days ago he wanted to crawl into the refrigerator because he was so hot. His plane will be landing in Chicago in about 5 hours...his wish has been granted! It is freezing here!! We live way south of Chicago so I don't physically know what it's like there, but according to weather.com it feels like 6 degrees with an estimated 5.6 inches of snow!

Creeky Creek Day!

I had to share this after almost dying of laughter. In regards to my husband's English vocabulary, the past few days have been hilarious!

My husband woke up for work earlier and told me yesterday was creeky creek day.

Our conversation went like this:

"My friend told me yesterday was creeky creek day!" -Husband
"What's that?" -Me (trying to not laugh!!)
"I don't know. Kids come to your house and ask for chocolates?!" -Husband
"Really?" -Me
"Yeah, and if you don't give them chocolates they mess with your house!" -Husband

I continued to act shocked like he knew something that I didn't. It was hilarious! I finally cracked and told him it was Halloween and he meant trick-or-treat, not creeky creek! He was embarrassed.

Another English mishap from the past few days...

Yesterday we went out to eat Mexican. While we were eating my husband decided to talk about taxes (I still need to write a post about our tax situation, so until then this might not be funny!). He said our 2011 taxes won't be such a nightmare because he'll be able to "blame" me. He meant to say claim, not blame! This resulted in me laughing hysterically and him getting upset.

I'm sure karma is going to smack me in the face when I decide to learn Portuguese.

Our Gatinha

When my husband and I started dating he couldn't believe my dog and cat lived inside, let alone slept in my bed! Seriously, he didn't understand this concept. A year later I found myself sobbing on the phone because I didn't feel comfortable moving with him because of my animals. He shivered at the thought of allowing animals inside a house. How in the world would I bring my animals with us considering they were indoor animals?! If I wasn't allowed to bring my animals, I wasn't moving. Simple as that!

I won that battle.

My dog wasn't able to move to our new location until 10 months after we moved, but my cat moved with us right away. A month after living here my husband said, "I can't imagine life without Tigger. He makes this feel more like home." Both of us were homesick. He was missing Brazil and I was missing the midwest. My cat made things less lonely.

(Tigger relaxing outside after we moved into our house)

A few months ago I went with a friend to the sketchiest house I've ever been to. The sketchiest part? My friend was getting a tattoo in this house. I went along because I was seriously worried about her going alone! The tattoo artist also ran a pet shop - inside her house.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was this:

(she slept on my lap like this for hours while my friend got her tattoo)

I was sold. I sent my husband numerous pictures of her. I wanted to rescue her from this sketchy house. The lady's husband told me he was thinking about feeding her to his snake. I know he was joking, but seriously?! I told my husband that and he said, "you have to bring her home!!" So I did. She came home with a mild case of ear mites and fleas. I made her sleep outside in a kennel the first night because I didn't want my cat and dog to get fleas from her. I woke up bright and early and rushed her to the vet for blood work and so on. It took us weeks to name her, but we decided Mima was the best name for our new bundle of joy.

(Mima after a bath!)

The same man who shivered at the thought of animals living inside a house and thought animals as pets was the most ridiculous thing ever is now in love with all of our pets. He claims it's a Brazilian thing. Dogs are guards, cats hunt mice. According to him, animals live outside and never come inside the house. He's a changed man. I swear, the man is more concerned about the animals than me!! He cuddles up to Mima every night and sometimes says, "I can't believe you were almost snake food."

Mima is definitely my husband's cat. They don't spend much time together because he works a lot, but they were meant for each other. They even have the same attitude and temper! They are two peas in a pod.

It took me awhile to convince my rural Brazilian that having pets is a wonderful thing, but I got the job done!

Isn't she a cutie?!

Flight Delay

As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband went home to Brazil for the weekend. His flight was supposed to land in Chicago today at 5:30 a.m. When I got out of class at 5 p.m. I still hadn't heard from him. His family and I were frantic! I figured he lost his cell phone or it was dead. The man has a track record for losing cell phones. Then I realized that wasn't very likely. The drive from Chicago to where we live is only about 4 hours. Regardless of whether or not he lost his cell phone, he should've been home!

His cousin who lives here with us was getting ready to tell my mother-in-law that my husband was here but at work and forgot to tell us! I'm sorry but that isn't right so I decided to investigate. I had been putting off "the investigation" because I was worried something went wrong at customs. After arguing with two different girls, I was finally given information that the flight had been delayed 12 hours in Sao Paulo! It's funny because I talked to my mom before making that phone call and we discussed whether or not the flight being delayed 12 hours was possible. I figured it was impossible. Who was I kidding?! Anything is possible.

Anyway, I'm really upset because he didn't take time to call one single person about the delay! I'm sure I'll get an interesting story when the plane finally arrives and he decides to call.

Weekend Trip

My husband hasn't seen his family in 2 1/2 years! Well, until Friday night.

It's been planned for years that my husband would become his little cousin's godparent. It has also been planned for a year that we would go to Brazil together for this event, but things didn't work out that way. I'm extremely bummed!! In general, life held me back from being able to go- loads of work for school and our lovely tax bill (a story for another rainy day!).

A week before leaving, my husband's friend told him about this awesome thing called magicJack. I don't know the full story behind it, but it enables you to call internationally at a very low cost. I think he bought it for $40 and all calls after that intital cost are free for a year!! So pretty much his family can call our cell phones and we can call them on their new magicJack number. His family has been calling me all weekend speaking in Portuguese. I understand them, but my Portuguese is so terrible I'm afraid to speak! I have a feeling this will force me to learn.

Yesterday morning my husband called me ecstatic to be home with his family. He was eating a fresh peach and told me about how he had been chasing his cattle. I could see the twinkle in his eyes!

I'm so excited for him to finally be home with his family, even if it's just for a weekend.

Brazilian Dog!!

(MY DOG!)

It's been a long time since I've taken the time to write an entry, but this picture inspired me.

Almost a year ago I left my home, college, family, and friends to be with my husband. The past year has been a whirlwind. My husband and I just bought a house so my dad decided to visit us. With him he brought my dog, Jade.

I am so happy to have her with me. My husband works long days so I'm home alone all the time. She makes my lonely nights a million times better! She has adjusted well, but I am still trying! It is so strange to finally have her with me after a year. Pretty sure I have two kids now, my husband and dog!!

The picture above was taken a week ago during a BBQ with my husband's Brazilian friends. They decided she needed to wear a Brazilian flag. They paraded her around so proudly. As you can tell, she was all right with being Brazilian for a few minutes!

Tchau!!!