Christmas Eve in Pensacola

Just a quick post for now, but wanted to get the picture up of our Christmas Eve in Pensacola. The entire family fit into my parent's quaint home for a huge dinner complete with roast beef, ham, turkey, chicken, pansit, sinigang, beef and broccoli, and about 6 or 7 or 8 other things. We all watched Transformers and Ratatouille and a few of us opened some presents early. It was a wonderful way to spend a holiday evening with family.

A sad farewell

Last night, Chris and I said goodbye to our closest friends, Allen and Heather. They had the wonderful opportunity to return back to their home state of Missouri. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that being closer to family and getting a significant cut in the cost of living is something you can't refuse.

After we left their place, we made a bit of small talk about how it is weird that they are leaving and how it hasn't hit us yet, but we eventually settled into silence. I think both of us thought about the great times we had over the past three years and for me, I was holding back the urge to cry.

Anyone that knows us in D.C. knows that if we are going out to eat, seeing a movie, heading to Target or any other random act we are usually doing it with Allen and Heather. It wasn't uncommon that we'd see them 4 or 5 times a week. In fact, it was more uncommon when we didn't.

We are really happy for them and hope they know that even though we've been sad around them the past couple of weeks.

Below is our greatest hits with Allen and Heather. I am shocked we don't have more pictures together. Also, because I grew up in the 90s I've added the quintessential goodbye song--it's so cheesy, but what can I say, that kind of thing is me.

Slowly but surely

Here's a link to some pictures at the rehearsal dinner. I am still anxiously awaiting the photos to the wedding. In the meantime, if you have pics and haven't sent them to me I'd love to see them.

New Haircut

I followed in an unwritten tradition of chopping off all your hair after the wedding. This is the shortest I've ever had my hair and I really love it. Here I am just before our holiday party. Comments welcome!

Who Do You Support?

Here's a break from all the pictures. The Washington Post has a great interactive quiz that helps you "Choose Your Candidate." It takes a few minutes with 25 substantive questions, but you may be surprised which candidate you choose. Can you guess who I would support?

honeymoon photos

Here are all of our Brazil photos on Flickr. We will try to add as many comments as we can. Enjoy

M-I-Z...Z-O-U

As you all know, Mizzou is now #1 in football after smoking the Jayhawks just like we burned Lawrence to the ground in 1863. Make sure to tune in Saturday night for the Big 12 Championsip when we seek to avenge our only loss of the season against Oklahoma. If/when we win it is then on to New Orleans and the national championship!

In a fight that will divide Team Purple House, it appears as though Florida's Tim Tebow and Mizzou's Chase Daniel will be two of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Too bad I don't know how to put up a poll, so submit a comment with your vote of who will win. If you vote for someone not named Tebow or Daniel you will be banned from the site (quite the punishment, I know).

tchau Rio, oi Buzios

We spent our last few hours in Rio lying on the beach in Copacabana. Chris walked the length of it all the way to Leme. He scoped out the Copacabana Palace, one of the nicest hotels in all of South America, for their next trip (after winning the lottery).

After lunch we met our driver Antonio for a the 2.5 hour drive east to Buzios. It used to be a quiet fishing village but became a popular vacation destination after French actress Bridget Bardot discovered it in 1964.

The drive from Rio was interesting, passing through several small towns, some of which looked nice while others looked a lot like the favelas in Rio. We passed several farms, and even saw a cowboy rounding up his cows right off the highway. Also, before going I thought Peyton Manning was in a lot of ads, but after watching Brazilian TV and seeing billboards along the road, he has nothing on Ronaldinho.

Buzios is a difficult place to explain. It is a relatively compact peninsula loaded with hills and 23 beaches, some big, others very small. Even though it is quite the tourist destination, there are no hotels, only pousadas, which are kind of like a bed and breakfast. We found one online, and it was great. The town is pretty small and for the most part you aren't allowed to drive on the five or six streets that make up the commercial center of the village.

To be honest, Chris was interested in going to Buzios but he wasn't dying to go. Lelaine was definitely the catalyst for the trip. But Buzios quickly won Chris over. When we got to our pousada the owners made a couple tall caipirinhas and fed us cheese, crackers, and sausage on our patio overlooking the water. When they found out it was our honeymoon they sent a bottle of champagne.



That night we went into town and, like Rio, immediately did what Lelaine does best - shopping. We then went to a nice outdoor bar and watched a big Flamengo futbol game on TV and went to dinner at a Bahia restaurant, which is the culinary capital region of Brazil. Lelaine had their traditional fish stew.

The next two days we hung out at our pousada and went to several beaches across Buzios. It was a very relaxing time and a great low key way to conclude the honeymoon.

joga bonito

Saturday was our last full day in Rio and we spent it doing a variety of things. We got up and headed downtown to a tram that runs to Santa Theresa, a neighborhood in the hills. It is apparently a big artist enclave and Lelaine was very excited about going. Unfortunately the tram wasn't working but a sign led us to believe it would be operating at noon. We came back at noon but once again it still wasn't working. A group of kids dressed in school uniforms, which seemed strange since it was Saturday, told us there was an electrical problem and they didn't know when it would work. The guy working the train let Lelaine go up to the tram and take a couple of pictures. I guess we will just have to wait to visit Santa Theresa on our next trip.



In the afternoon we did some more walking around Copacabana and relaxed before heading to Maracana Stadium for a big futbol game. Chris found a tour guide on the internet to take us. He gave a great run down of the four big clubs in Rio and the history of Brazilian soccer. He is a writer from England who moved to Brazil and now does freelance work for a English papers on soccer happenings in Brazil.

The stadium was huge. Even though it is in Rio and not Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil and the southern hemisphere, or Brasilia, the capital, it is still considered the national stadium. It was built for the 1950 World Cup. More than 200,000 were in the stadium for the finals that year, as Uruguay upset Brasil 2-1 in what some consider the biggest upset in sports history. Nearly 60 years later, it is still considered a national tragedy in Brazil and many people even killed themselves in shame. Maracana is the Brazilian equivalent of Yankees Stadium, Fenway Park, or Wrigley Field. It will likely host the World Cup final in 2014, making it only the second stadium to host two finals (Azteca in Mexico City is the other).

Our match was Fluminense FC vs. Juventude. It was the final home game for Flu and because they had already qualified for the tournament to follow the season, it carried little importance. However, Juventude was near the bottom of the standings and a loss meant they would be relegated to the B league. The game was back and forth but Fluminense ended up winning 3-2.

There weren't many people there, maybe 30,000, but the supporters club sections were packed and made the place sound like it was full. The would be really quiet and then in a matter of seconds they would all start jumping up and down, shooting off fireworks, lighting smoke bombs, using strobe lights, waving flags, and screaming. It was pretty neat.

As expected, the game was more exciting than most games you see in other countries. The Brasilians have their own style of joga bonito (the beautiful game) and it was much more wide open - long passes, heel kicks, volleys, defensemen pushing way up the field - than what you see in some elsewhere.



In Rio it seemed like most stores would have a little sign up front with either the Fluminense, Botafogo, Vasco, or more often than not Flamengo logo so you would know who the owner supports. Another interesting thing is that even though the fans are very passionate, the sections designated for visiting teams aren't completely fenced off from the rest of the stadium like what you see in England and elsewhere. Our guide said that it is because most fighting among fans is actually between supporters clubs from the same team, not among fans from different teams. He said the old saying is that no Vasco game goes by without someone dying, but it is always one of their own fans killing "their brother, not their opponent."

After the game we spent our final night in Rio walking through Ipanema and grabbing dinner at a nice Neapolitan pizza joint.

Fun futbol fact: the Rio club Flamengo has over 25 million supporters and is believed to be the most widely supported club in the world. In Rio they are considered to be the team of the people (Fluminense is the team of the elite) and it seemed like most people we spoke with, except for Robert our tour guide who supports Botafogo, live and die with Flamengo.

Cristo and samba

Friday morning we woke up and headed to Corcovado, which is in Floresta da Tijuca, a rainforest inside the city. From there we took the train 2,330 feet above sea level to the Christ the Redeemer statue. It was recently named one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It is almost 100 feet tall and weighs over 1000 tons.

From the top, which is more than twice as high as Sugar Loaf, you can see the entire city. In fact, the mountain is so high that many times the statue is in the clouds.

Chris loved it. Lelaine, well, not so much. Her fear of heights kicked in and when Chris met her at the top - he took the stairs from the train while Lelaine took a couple elevators and escalators with the old folks - he was instructed by a tearful Lelaine to "hurry up, take the pictures, and lets go back down."




We took a cab back to the hotel, put on our beach gear, and walked to Arpoador beach, a favorite among surfers, and then Ipanema, the beach of the beautiful people. When Chris first looked at going to Rio, he read a lot of opinions on why high-class Ipanema is supposedly better than seedy Copacabana. After seeing it he definitely agreed that the streets are nicer in Ipanema, but on the beach the views of the surroundings, geological not bikinis, are superior in Copacabana (although Ipanema is nothing to shake a stick at).


After exploring Ipanema we returned to Copacabana. Part of the reason was the Chris's stomach had had better days. The source was likely either the caipirinha he bought off of a street vendor who didn't use filtered ice or something from Porcao the night before, but whatever it was, his stomach was rumbling. None of the pharmacists at the five places Chris visited spoke English and he was having a hard time getting across what he needed. Luckily one very helpful man recognized Pepto Bismol as a universal language and helped him track down something similar. Chris felt a little better when they guy then went the extra mile to ensure that this is what he needed by making an A+ charades effort by using his body to get across "diarrhea."

Then it was time for a little more beach action. There were a lot of kids on the beach and Chris watched them play soccer while Lelaine scored some more cheese on a stick. Chris then decided to ignore the big red signs that in hindsight might have read something to the affect of "Don't swim. Strong Current" in Portuguese and tried some body surfing because the waves were big that day. When the first wave he tried flipped him twice he immediately had images of the Brady Bunch episode when Greg goes surfing in Hawaii and hits a coral reef. Luckily it was a sand bottom, but when a wave drags you across sand, it still leaves a pretty big mark across your chest.


That night we washed up and headed to Lapa, a neighborhood near downtown that is packed with samba bars. Chris has read a couple of articles about a particularly famous one and we reserved a table. We had a great time and certainly understood why it has been named one of the ten best bars in the world. It is a three story bar/antique store. Two different bands played and by the time we left it was so busy that you could barely move. Lelaine loved the fact that unlike in the US, almost everyone was actually dancing, even if it was just at their own table. Chris had enough caipirinhas that he even said he would dance, something that happens about once every two years, but there wasn't much room so we couldn't. Unfortunately Lapa isn't the safest of all neighborhoods and tourists are advised to take a cab directly to their club and when immediately get in a cab when exiting, so we couldn't really walk around, but it looked like everyone was having fun.



Fun Rio fact: the filtered ice safe for tourists to drink has a hole that runs through the middle. It is apparently important to check to make sure that your ice has holes in it before downing that caipirinha.

the hottest spot south of Havana

We woke up early and went down for breakfast. The hotel put together a nice spread every day with plenty of fruits and juices. We particularly enjoyed the banana shakes, "cold chocolate," fresh squeezed OJ, papaya juice, and the coffee.

After breakfast we spent almost all of Thursday on Copacabana beach. The weather was perfect for it and because it isn't quite yet winter and a weekday, it wasn't too crowded.



Our hotel had a couple of guys on the beach to keep everyone happy by providing umbrellas, chairs, food, coconuts, and drinks. I don't think we ever got their names but the two guys were great and we talked to them every day.

It was pretty fun to spend time on the beach. Throughout our stay we noticed several difference between going to the beach in the US and in Brasil, besides the amount of fabric in bathing suits. In Brazil, the beach is a social event. No one brings a book or headphones. People spend their time people watching, talking to others, kicking around a futbol, playing volleyball and a similar game that combine volleyball and soccer played on a volleyball court but you can't use your hands, or even jogging and talking to people. Also, instead of having the occasional ice cream cart come by, you can buy pretty much any kind of food on the beach, with vendors carrying all sorts of things, even grills to make a kind of grilled cheese on a stick that Lelaine was quite fond of. Third, whereas any item on the beach seems to marked up considerably in the US, in Rio things are actually cheaper on the beach. It is tough to say no to a vendor when the beer he is selling is less than $1USD. Chris read that the reason for this is because outside of soccer, the beach is the only thing in Rio where your economic or social class is considered irrelevant, so it is designed so that everyone can afford to have a good time. Everyone seemed pretty nice, except for the vendor who told Chris he had a size 5xl Kaka jersey that would fit him.

For lunch we wondered around Copacabana and went into one of the many juice bars/chopp bars/market/lunch counters/bakeries (a strange combo but they are everywhere) and ordered a chicken. The frango was cooked rotisserie style and was quite tasty.

After lunch we went back to the beach when something happened for the first time in Lelaine's life...she got sunburned! Chris got a kick out of it since his pale self is always burning even when he slathers on SPF 30 while Lelaine lubes up in tanning oil. Luckily Lelaine's burn wasn't too bad although Chris managed to completely miss a couple spots on his forehead that turned a nice shed of red that resembled an apple.

For dinner we went to Porcao, one of Rio's best churrascarias, which happens to sit on the water in Flamengo and has great views of Sugar Loaf, Christ the Redeamer, and the trendy neighborhood of Botafogo. After the mandatory pre-dinner caipirinha, we launched an all out assault on about 15 different kinds of beef, chicken, pork, sausages, and a couple of exotic items we couldn't identify but take eating a second bite to try to figure out what it was (chicken liver or heart?). You can't really tell from the picture below, the but tan thing behind Chris are a few thousand wine corks stuck together to form one giant wine cork.



Interesting Copacabana fact: the title of this post is loosely taken from the Barry Manilow song Copacabana. Sadly, the song isn't about the famous bairro in Rio. And the Duran Duran song Rio isn't about the one-time seat of the Portuguese empire.

The Cidade Maravilhosa

After a ten hour flight that lasted for what seemed like a month, we arrived in the marvelous city around 10am. Even though ours was the only international flight arriving at the time, it still took a couple hours to get our bags, clear customs, and head out. The drive from the airport, which looks like it was designed by communists in the 1970s, to Zona Sul, the tourist zone along the beach, is very interesting. You go through quite a few rough neighborhoods and pass by several favelas. Everywhere you go in the city you are reminded of the disparity between the rich and poor. Plus, Cariocas (what the people of Rio like to refer to themselves as) drive like they have a death wish. It is almost as though everyone is having a contest to see how many times you can change lanes in a minute, while driving very fast, and dodging both the guys selling bottles of water and food in the middle of the interstate and the motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds that drive between lanes.

When we checked into the hotel and decided to take a nap. Neither one of us slept on the plane and we were pooped. When we woke up we met our private tour guide Martha and her driver to show us around the city. We first stopped at a kilo restaurant and had lunch. These are everywhere in Rio and are apparently the most popular way to eat lunch.

We then drove down Avenue Atlantica to see all of Copacabana Beach, our home for our stay, and then to Ipanema for some swim suit shopping, because what else would you do when you get to a city other than shop. Martha helped Lelaine go through several stores - including bumbum, the first ever bikini store - and then pick out a lovely number from Blue Man. Meanwhile Chris walked around the block 14 times and fended off Martha's suggestion to buy a mankini for himself ("Why not? They are so beautiful.")



After Ipanema we drove to Sugar Loaf and took both cable cars to the top. This really made Chris happy as he was afraid that Lelaine's fear of heights would prohibit her from going to the top. She probably wouldn't have gone but Martha talked her into it.



The views from the top were amazing.



After enjoying the views we went back down for a traditional Brazilian afternoon activity: snacks and drinks. Martha took us to a restaurant in Copacabana and we had what could best be described as beef and crab turnovers. We washed them down with the first of many caipirinhas and a couple of beers. Having his priorities straight, Chris managed to learn two words (he only learned one or two others the entire trip) in Portuguese before they left: chopp and cerveja, which are draft and bottled beer respectively. Martha told him of a great dark creamy pilsner, which he didn't even know existed.










Martha was a great guide. She was very helpful and even gave us a few laughs when she asked what it meant when Chris said that Lelaine was grouchy and that something else was neat.

After filling up we walked through the Copacabana market and headed for the hotel. Even though it was only 8pm or so, we decided to call it a night and go to sleep.

By the by, we will soon post a link to Flickr with more pics.

Fun Rio facts: the city is named after the January River. In 1808 Portuguese Emperor Joao VI fled Napoleon in Portugal and went to Rio, making it the capital of the Portuguese Empire. It was the official capital of Brazil for over 100 years. In 1960, then-President Kubitschek (doesn't sound too Brazilian to me) moved the capital to Brasilia in an effort to spur population growth in the interior of the country.

The Simpsons and Rio

I never watch the Simpsons, but this is funny. In honor of going on our honeymoon. We leave tonight at 9:37PM. Wish us luck getting upgraded to first class!

Wii Are Excited!

It's been awhile since we've posted. I have to blame the Wii that we got last Friday. By Saturday morning we both were already suffering from Wiinjuries (injuries sustained by the Wii).

After a few hours of tennis, bowling and boxing on Saturday night we had to go to Wiihab (Wii rehab). It took two Thermacare heatwraps on my right arm and three Advil to help me sleep-- a clear sign of old age and a disinterest in exercise. Bigelow started to have problems with his herniated disc and we had to call the doctor for a prescription over the weekend.

You can see the Wii in the left hand corner. Chris was playing tennis last night trying to reach pro status on the Wii. I broke 200 on the bowling game with a personal best of 206 last night.

I am hoping for plenty of snow days this winter and lots of Wii time.

Wedding Slide Show

If you are interested in laughing at the awkward pictures of Lelaine and Chris growing up from the wedding slide show you are in luck.

Nearly caught Jack Bauer

After mass today, we caught a glimpse of Hollywood. The TV show '24' was filming near 14th Street and F Street. It was embarrassing, but I took a picture of the action with my cellphone while we were stopped at a stoplight. Someone who resembled Secretary Chertoff was there and we saw directors chairs with '24' printed on them. Unfortunately, Jack Bauer wasn't to be found.

I'll catch up with you Jack! Just you wait.

(added later) Metroblogging caught a glimpse of him in Georgetown.

Coach 'Hoff

We drove to Annandale this afternoon to watch Coach 'Hoff's team play. Despite excellent coaching, they fell in the playoffs. Better luck next year. Also making an appearance was the new camera, which took these excellent picks. Walter Iooss, eat your heart out.

A small taste of what's to come

We were blessed to have two talented photographers for our wedding weekend: Paul Joseph and my papa. We are waiting to get all or most of our photos (even from our friends and family, so send them on in) before we post them.

But... for now Paul Joseph posted a few great shots on his blog.

If you didn't already know, I'd rather be taking the pictures than be in them and Chris would rather not take pictures. This combination makes wedding pictures a bit uncomfortable, but overall I think these turned out well.

Sci-Fi Friday

We were adventurous tonight and decided that after dinner at Indique in Clevland Park, we would catch the 10pm show of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. I should have guessed something was awry when I couldn't find a trailer with a simple google search.

We saw the movie at the Uptown Theater, which is the best place to watch a movie in the D.C. area. It is an old school theater with only one huge screen. There are even balcony seats. Normally, when we catch a flick there it is a big screen blockbuster like Lord of the Rings, Superman Returns, Spiderman, etc. and you wait in a very long line to get in and it's packed. Tonight, it was a sparsely filled with sci-fi geeks (of whom, I admit, I can be one) who all looked like slightly different versions of The Lone Gunmen from X-Files.

Anyway, the best part of the movie experience was the fact that we got to sound off to Ridley Scott about our movie experience with a survey. I've always liked giving my opinion whether it be for politics or commerce. Maybe that is why I ended up in D.C.

I am sorry to inform Ridley Scott that we were not fans of Blade Runner. In fact, the height of my disappointment was when I found out that Harrison Ford had to kill 4 more "replicants" and I would have to sit through that. There were also esoteric references that we were not smart enough to get like the unicorn running around. If anyone is a fan, please explain this stuff to us in the comment section. I really wanted to like this movie.

For all you Jack Bauer Fans!

This just in from Hotline's Last Call. I may have to take a few days off work to stalk..er... get a picture with America's #1 superhero.

"24" will film in DC, with Kiefer Sutherland and a Bauer-double "to do driving scenes" (six days in early Nov, reports "Yeas & Nays").

P.S. I bet you are waiting for our post-wedding blog, but you'll have to wait a bit longer. We want a few pictures or videos to be a part of the blog. Stay tuned!

the big day is here!

It is surreal to know that all the planning we, mostly Lelaine, have done over the past eight months is all for what is happening today. We ended up not forgetting anything too important at home, all of our sites survived a tornado that went through downtown earlier in the week, and after a quick stop to the One-Stop-Shop Clerk's office at the courthouse where you can take care of any outstanding felonies AND get your marriage license, we are ready to make things official. The rehearsal went well yesterday and things should run smoothly today. After a week of thunderstorms, the weather is beautiful today. I'm sure we will have a picture or two to share afterwards. Chris sure can't believe/is thrilled that he is marrying the girl he met at orientation at grad school the first full day he moved to DC

Wind Me Up, Chuck!

It's been a week of perks. Today Chris and I got to see Chuck Brown aka "The Godfather of Go Go." (According to wikipedia, "go go" is a subgenre of funk music that originated in the Washington, D.C. area. ) If you live in DC, you may recognize Chuck from a DC Lottery commercials otherwise you may have heard his song "Bustin' Loose."

The Godfather was awesome. All I can say is that it don't mean a thing if it don't got that go go swing.

Halo Launch

It's finally here! No, not my wedding date. Halo 3 is here. Granted we have yet to buy an Xbox 360, but we are hoping to get one soon.

One of the few perks of the job was to be invited to the D.C. Halo 3 Launch Party on the roofdeck of a Chinatown office building. I got to play the multiplayer function with a couple of strangers and for a few minutes with Chris.

After finally realizing that we were playing as a team and not against each other it made the game a bit more interesting. There are a lot of the same weapons from Halo 2, but a few more interesting ones that I sometimes couldn't figure out how to shoot. It seems as if the Xbox 360 has a few extra buttons that I wasn't quite sure how to use. I still think I am better than Chris though. To top off the dorkiness: the Master Chief helmet that comes with $130 game is mighty tempting.

I'm very lucky

I went away this weekend to Pensacola to finish some wedding planning. I thought Chris would be having the time of his life without a thought about all of our to do lists and plans. I was wrong. Here he is in a fuzzy picture taken with a camera phone in a bar with our wedding planning book. Now what other girl can claim their fiance has done the same?

Lelaine's Vineyard Tour

A trio of awesome friends organized a Wine Tour for one of my wedding showers. Jenn, Christy and Heather rented an Econoline van and got 8 women to wake up before 10am on Saturday morning to join me to see the best and worst (explained later) of Virginia's wine country.

Our first stop, shown on the left, was Corcoran Vineyards. It was a small vineyard with great personal service. The owner Corky was very nice and even gave me a souvenir tasting glass. I bought a bottle of their 2006 Viognier-- the most popular choice among our group.

Our second stop at Hillsborough Vineyards is where it gets rough. Looking back it was the prettiest vineyard we saw, but I would NOT recommend this place to anyone despite the picturesque view. To make a maddening story short there are three reasons why to avoid this vineyard: 1. Health/sanitary reasons 2. public safety 3. sexual harrassment. What makes the visit most unfortunate is that we received this treatment from the owner of the vineyard, not some lackey. I can't say it enough. Avoid this vineyward and the owner below.

To make-up for the bad experience we went to the Doukenie Winery. This place had the best wines. Our group spent over $400 there (take that Hillsborough) and had a nice time looking out into their ranch with horses. Doukenie has the perfect wine with chocolate. We only had a dark chocolate Hershey's kiss and a taste of their Raspberry Merlot and it felt like you just had the best gourmet raspberry and chocolate dessert.

We end the day at a wine festival at the Breaux Winery. I believe they had good wine, but we were all so hungry that we lost focus at our tasting and soon headed for the cheese fries and hot dog stand. The little guy below also stole the show.

Overall it was a great day and we were blessed with great fall weather. For us city girls it was nice to breathe fresh air and see homes that aren't attached to each other.