Happy New Year!!!

Today is January 5, 2009 -- Happy New Year to all!!! I always BLOG about the Studio and my clients but today, I will share about me and my family and what's going on in my life. Today and for the next few weeks, I am not working... I am spending time with my family! For those of you that don't know, I am from Brazil.... born and raised... and I just arrived here a few days ago to visit my family.... It is so much fun to be "home" again... to let my children experience my culture and to spend time with my loved ones.... it's awesome! Below is the beginning of my trip...

My daughter Christina and I being silly at the airport waiting for our flight to Atlanta...

My husband Sean and 8 year old Dylan...

We arrived in Rio de Janeiro... just off the plane... EXAUSTED!

No time to unpack... straight to the pool at my parents apartment complex.... these children can only speak Portuguese... Christina speaks English and yet they played for hours with hand gestures and laughter while I rested up on a chair with a magazine. That is one killer trip! All of these children are as light in skin color as Christina.... the only difference is they are living in Rio's summer.... and Christina just arrived!!! Amazing huh? Despite Christina's fair complex, she tans extremely well...... so do I!

Here are the kids and VOVO (grandma in Portuguese)

Christina and my father who she calls "Grampinha" (a mixture of Portuguese and English...)

It's always fun to be silly together & I try to always capture them being just that!This is my aunt "Puppe" and I - she is not only my aunt but also my God mother.... very dear to me.... I have wonderful memories from my childhood with my aunt and uncle... unfortunately my uncle passed many years ago.... cancer took him young.... he lives in my heart forever.Everyday together is a privaledge and we really try to make the most of it. My father has been recovering from some pretty crazy health issues and we are just so happy he is doing better and that we are spending time with him and mom.Here is the little princess... she watches us drink wine and now drinks her soda out of this glass. In this case, she is drinking "guarana" a Brazilian soda that is made from a fruit that grows in the amazon.... it's really GREAT! That's it for now.... will share soon! Stay tunned!

As much as I LOVE Pittsburgh... I don't miss it right now! The weather here is GREAT and I am surrounded by warm weather and warm people.... I am cherishing every second! I am however excited about 2009.... we have so many awesome things planned for the studio! Cannot wait!

Smiles,

Maria