Back at the beach house!

I am pushing my luck here, because I already checked my email and read some blogs, so I don't know if I will be able to get anything typed up before the connection cuts off or not! We went back to the apartment in the city yesterday evening and did some shopping at a local craft market and then packed everything up so we would have everything at the beach house for when we leave early Wednesday morning. We went back to the old/historic part of the city and did some site-seeing and more shopping (yippee!!) this morning. I love doing things like that. It is very touristy-but a ton of fun!!! I was starving and exhusted by the time we got back to the apartment, loaded up our suitcases and drove to the beach house. I think we are going to head down to the beach in awhile because it is around 4pm here and that is when I feel comfortable going out into the sun!!! I will try to upload some more pictures later, but I don't want to press my luck with this post so for now, Tchao!

Pictures

Life at the beach house in Salvador!

Well, I tried to do several posts yesterday, but everytime I was finished the internet would cut out before I clicked the "post"button so I decided to give it a rest and try again today. Friday morning we got up early and came over to their beach house. Which is actually where Flavia grew up for the first 10 or so years of her life. I think she said they bought the city apartment about 6 years ago. It is really nice here. It is very open. In the the bedrooms and bathrooms their are ceilings, but otherwise it is just open all the way to the wood beam and roof tile which is beautiful, but very hot, and lots of little bugs get in, but there are no windows in the house, only doors, everywhere, which are always open for the great breeze, so I guess the bugs would get in anyway. Plus, the bugs are not really that bad anyway, I think I have as much problems with bugs in my house at home as they do here, so I am just not noticing them, or they aren't that bad right now! They bedrooms all have little airconditioners that we run at night so that we don't get too hot, or for an afternoon nap! However, they ideal spot for the afternoon, or mid-morning, or anytime, nap is all the hammocks everywhere. It is so beautiful, and only about a block from the beach. We spent some time at the beach yesterday, but just went early in the morning and left by 11am and then again after 4pm so the sun wouldn't be so strong. Plus I wore 55SPF, a coverup and stayed under an umbrella!!! I think I will try to post some pictures again, but most likely in a seperate post so that hopefully I can actually get this one to post before the internet cuts me off again! (That's what you get when you are bumming off the neighbor!!) Flavia's mother's family came over for the day yesterday as well and that was neat to meet everyone. Her mom, sister and her husband, and brother and his wife and daughter all came over for lunch and to hang out for the afternoon. They all live pretty close to one another so that is nice that they can get together whenever they want and this is a perfect place to do it, with all of the indoor/outdoor open areas for everyone to gather at. I will try to post up some of the pictures if the internet cooperates!

Me & the Brazilian Sun...Round Two!

So just a little update from our trip to the mall this afternoon. Flavia, Mom and I took a taxi over to a new mall (about a year old-very nice-very different from here) near her aparment so we could do some shopping and maybe catch a movie. I kept feeling worse and worse from the sunburn and as we were shopping in one of the stores I wandered off to another area by myself (anyone who has done anything with me will agree that I am good at that-I am always getting seperated-I did it at the market yesterday as well and so they had to go looking for me. I think sometimes I am like a child-or at least everyone knows how accident prone and oblivious to any danger signs around me I am and so they have to look after me like a child!) Anyway...I was just a short distance away looking at another rack of clothes and felt like I was going to black out-there was a table/shelf nearby so I sat down and closed my eyes and rested a moment and decided to get up again. I don't think I made it two feet before I really thought I was going to pass out, so I went back and set down. I had my eyes closed and my head in my hands when Flavia and mom walked up and wondered what was wrong. I explained how I felt and at this point I was feeling so light headed I also felt like I was sick to my stomach. Flavia went to the nearest store that she could find some bottled water while mom stayed with me. After sitting for awhile and drinking some water I felt like I could get up and walk around. I just walked arm-in-arm with mom and we went over to the dressing room so I could try on the clothes we were looking at. There was a bench in the dressing room so I just sat down and mom helped me try on one of the shirst while I was sitting there, but I wasn't in love with it, and I was feeling bad and my pain was getting worse every second from the burn and I just wanted to get to the drug store for some Aloe! So we decided to go and as we were walking out, luckily I was still arm-in-arm because I starting blacking out again. As this happened we were passing a guy who worked there (or at least at the mall) and he helped get me to a seat right outside the store and called the mall medical staff and I was taken in a wheel chair to the nurses station to be sure that I was fine. I felt so stupid!! Here I was, stupid American, getting so burnt that I was passing out at the mall! They checked my blood pressure, etc. to be sure I was fine and poor Flavia was having to translate that it was just from the sunburn-I think they thought I was crazy! Mom says I always find a way to make everything more interesting or dramatic-I guess she's right! Flavia's mom made it there, because she was coming to pick us up after work, and we were able to take the wheelchair with us to the pharmacy (which was in the mall actually-and didn't have aloe-but Flavia's mom found it somewhere) and then down to the exit. I was feeling fine by now, really more embarrassed then anything! (Somehow I still can feel embarrassed, even though I am doing stupid things all the time-you would think I was immune to it by now!!) I was sticking out like a sore thumb already-because I was white-but now that I had a white face and red & white splotchy arms and legs riding in a wheel chair in the mall I was a freak show on wheels for everyones entertainment!! '

We stopped at a store on the way home where Flavia's brother had said they had Rice Milk, but turns out it was made with sunflower oil so a no-go there, but they did have some rice cakes and some Corn cakes (like I had found when we were in South Africa) so I bought that and we made our way home. (Again, we were traveling through rush hour traffic, so what should have been a few minutes ended up taking around an hour!) Once we got back to the apartment I changed into a nightgown/bathing suit coverup and mom slathered me up with aloe and I was able to have some relief from the FIRE all over my sunburnt body!! I should have gotten some more pictures to post because as the evening has gone on it continues to get redder! All this from about ONE HOUR by the pool!!! I never would have imagined it was possible!!! (I wonder if any of the medicine I was on, or currently am on, makes you more susceptable to the sun, I never thought about that until right now?!?) I laid down for an hour before I got up for dinner and now I am typing this up while I have the energy. Hopefully another coat of aloe tonight will do the job and I can get some sleep because we are heading to the beach house in the morning! Whoo Hooo! (Don't worry-I will be putting on a TON of sunscreen and keeping in the shade as much as possible!!!) Tchau! (I finally got it right this time-hopefully I will remember for the rest of the trip!!)

I took on the Brazilian Sun and lost bad!!

So just in case anyone is planning a trip to Brazil and thinks just haphazardly rubbing in a little sunscreen on your shoulders and chest and wearing a hat to protect your face is a good idea I am posting a few pictures for you. You will see that my face is fine and white as ever. I would post a picture of myself naked becuase it is hilarious (Well, actually very painful for me, but I can see the humor in it because I always try to look at the bright side of things!) but I didn't want a naked picture of me online-that is never a good idea! My shoulders, arms and chest area look funny where I put on some sunscreen and my legs are blotchy and I am not sure why?!? Either way, I am going to be hurting for awhile and this was only about 1 to 1 1/4 hours in the sun. I have spent all day on the beach in Florida, probably without sunscreen even, and don't remember being this burnt-but I was basically ALBINO WHITE to start of with, so I think the sun zeroed in on me! Have fun laughing at me and try to ignore my fat belly-I still need to work on that after all the infertility drugs I took. (Or at least that is what I am blaming it on!) These are my lobster pictures, and I am going to get some aloe and stronger sunscreen for the rest of the trip!! Tchou! (I think that is how Flavia said to spell it?!)

Here some of my fav pics!

The last one is a picture of the last section of an art arangment in the Miami airport. There were these big words put together and covered with flowers that said All you need is love !!! I always want to break into song when I say/type that! (Again, we spent FIVE hours there, so we had to do something to fill our time!!)

The next to last one is Flavia, Mom & I on the couch in her apartment. I took some pics of her apartment and from the view as well, so I will maybe upload those later, or at least put them in a photo book when I get home! The rest are from our afternoon/evening out in the old part of town.

First post from another country!

Well, I would love to add pictures to this, but I don't know if that will actually get done tonight!

Mom & Me Salvador Brazil Trip Jan 13th 2009-Jan 21st 2009

Here is an overview of our trip so far: (Jan. 13 & 14)

When we checked into the Atlanta airport on Tuesday we found out they had combined some flights and so we were catching an earlier flight to Miami. This meant we ended up spending about 5 hours wondering around the Miami airport, but in all our travels we Binkley's ALWAYS end up spending a ton of time in airports when we travel, so nothing new there,and really not that bad compared to some layovers!!! When we finally boarded the plane and left the Miami airport Mom and I had a good flight down to Salvador, Brazil. We actually had the three middle seats for the two of us to share on our overnight flight into Salvador so I was able to kinda lay down and sleep! (I only travel with people who will give me the extra seat-when Kev & I were coming back from South Africa we had the same thing happen and I got the extra seat then too!! I know, I know, I am a little spoiled!!)

Once we got to Brazil we were able to get off the plane fairly quickly and were one of the first to the Passport/Customs line so there wasn't much of a wait at all and Flavia and her mom were there to meet us when we got out to the main area! It was perfect timing!! They live in the city and so are near the beach and pretty close to the airport so it was a quick drive to their apartment with a small detour so we could see the ocean up close! It is beautiful! I think we are going to go to the beach over the weekend so I am really excited about that!

Today while mom took a nap and Flavia's mom worked Flavia and I walked to the grocery store and the video store down the street. Around 1pm (they are two hours ahead of Atlanta time here) we all had lunch together (they get a longer lunch break here) and Flavia's oldest brother Rafeal (don't know if I spelled that right!?) was here as well. It was great, all we were missing was Vitor! (Flavia's other brother, who is actually the first one in the family we Binkley's met.) After lunch Flavia's mom took off from work and we drove down to the historic part of the city and did some site seeing and shopping at a market. Tons of fun! We got stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home so after a small bite for dinner we are all exhusted and I think I am heading to bed! Chio!

My first post of 2009!

We are already on the 10th day in 2009 and I am just now writing my first post of this year! It has been a busy year already! I rang in the new year with a friend I have known for 20 years!!! (While Kevin worked at the Chick-fil-A bowl.) Kev & I enjoyed a great visit with his family and an evening with friends on New Years Day. After a busy week we are ready for another fun & full weekend and then I will be heading to Brazil with my mom for a week! (And I haven't even started packing yet! I am not really starting out this new year as organized as I would like to be, but I guess that only leaves room for improvement!!)

Here are some pictures from the holidays that I didn't upload before. Hope everyone is enjoying 2009 so far!