Not-so-productive day turned productive after dinner - bad habits!

Some habits are hard to change. I woke up feeling ready to be productive, but once I had breaks fast and got ready, I was drawn to the TV. During the afternoon, I ordered some stuff from Victoria's Secret to take advantage of their semi-annual sale and free shipping. Here's to hoping I got the sizes right!

After dinner I finally got to the work I was supposed to have done in the morning: trying to finish up my grad school applications. I am applying to Biological Sciences Ph.D. programs in the US. I have been waiting on this paperwork from the bank. Think they will have it for me to pick up tomorrow. In the meantime, I filled out forms that my dad had to sign, emailed a professor and finished my last essay. My boyfriend was super helpful and proofread my email and essay. I am so thankful for his support throughout this whole process. He has been on my case, trying to keep me motivated and on track to meet deadlines. The last one is on Saturday, which means everything must be done by Friday. Hopefully, the bank will have the papers ready tomorrow morning so I can get it all ready to mail out in the afternoon.

All this to say that I tend not to be productive until after dinner - most of the times this ends up being a problem, because I stay up late and have to get up early in the morning. Let's hope this year I can change that habit. I will only have classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and I TA (teaching assistant for labs) on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Hopefully I will learn to be a bit more productive on my time off.

Today, my mom came home with a book for my brother, but I have decided I should read it too. It's O Método Ser Bom Aluno - 'Bora Lá? by Jorge Rio Cardoso. It seems really interesting. It a dresses students to explain how to become a better student and parents and teachers to guide them in better ways to stimulate the students to become better. It says it applies to university students too, so I decided to give it a try and read it while I am home. (My brother started yelling and saying he wasn't gonna read it, because he didn't need it, anyways.)

Off to bed to get up early and go to the bank!

What I'm thankful for...

I am thankful for:

- my family and relatives
- my boyfriend
- my host family
- my friends

I really appreciate how everyone has supported me at times of need, whether it was to get through bad day or to encourage a new adventure!

Well, just wanted to take the time to say that!

Now, it's time to Skype my boyfriend and celebrate the new year!

Happy New Year!

Feeling ready

Throughout the summer I have been feeling increasingly more prepared to live on my own. I've been thinking that I only have one more year until I graduate and I plan to go on to get my PhD.  This means I'll be living on my own - this doesn't necessarily mean without roommates, but rather not on campus (no dining hall or someone to clean the bathrooms). As the summer goes by, I've realized that I feel ready for it  - like I have the skills to do it. As of yesterday, one more item has been fulfilled.

Cooking - Check!
Baking - Check!
Cleaning - Check!
Sewing - Check!
Sewing on a sewing machine - Check!! (as of yesterday!!!)

should give my great aunt and one of my aunts a big thank you for teaching me how to use a sewing machine and trusting me with a little project that same afternoon. It was great! It really was a big feeling of accomplishment!!!

Salads I've made to have for lunch with my mom

First I made a green salad and then a pasta salad! They both turned out really yummy!!

Green Salad

Lettuce

Arugula

Apple

Carrot

Tuna

Walnuts

Ham

Grapes

Olive oil

Queso fresco (Why do Americans call it the Spanish name?)

Pasta Salad

Pasta

Arugula

Red bell pepper

Tomato

Cucumber

Grapes

Eggs (Common Quail - pretty much like regular eggs, just tinier)

Pork (We had some left over pork tenderloin from the day before, so I cut it into little pieces and add it in)

Queso fresco

Parsley

Mayo (just a little bit)

I made this without real recipes - used whatever was at hand at the time I was making lunch. The ham, tuna and pork just happened to have been left from the day before. All these ingredients are usually available in my parents' kitchen anyways. So, these were fun ways to make delicious lunches.

Next time I need to try to make my mom's rice salad. I haven't had it in a couple years - need to ask her what she usually puts in it.

One of my goals - Support my family

I'm not quite sure how to put this in words, but a conversation I had with my brother today made me sick to my stomach. Delicate topic and then I had to convey it all to my parents with my brother in the room. I was scared, nervous, and still don't really know how to help. But it definitely opened my eyes!

This year, I want to do a better job at keeping up with my family and supporting them through times of need. I want to call them more often and actually find the time to have meaningful conversations with relatives, rather than the usual "I'm just calling to say hi. I really don't have a lot of time." conversation. It's sad that life has become this way - where I don't even have time to pay enough attention to everyone that means so much to me.

All this to say, I had a rough evening that made my goal even stronger.

I need to be there for all of them! It's the least I can do.

The banquet!

I wanted to share with the world the big banquet I had with my grandpa yesterday. He goes hunting for thrushes (I believe that is the word for tordos in Protuguese - at least according to Wikipedia) on Thursdays and Sundays. He invited me over for lunch yesterday for a meal of two thrushes and rice with beans (assim como quem diz arroz de feijao).

It was delicious and it looked delicious, so we took some pictures.

The appetizer -  a nice salad with cucumber, tomato, cheese, egg yolk, and prosciutto (ou presunto). He even tried to make a face. (It took a good half hour of preparation, in which I wasn't allowed to look!)

Once the thrushes were ready...

We had them with arroz de feijao!

Doesn't it look delicious?

It's always such a great meal, we call it a banquet!!

Gotta start somewhere...

So, I decided that this year, I should actually blog, rather than just keeping up with other people's blogs. I didn't know where to start, so I decided I should begin here, and wish everybody a

Happy New Year!

I intend to come back and blog more often, twice a week is my goal. I do have other goals for this year, which I intend to share later this week on a different post.

For the time, enjoy the new year. May it bring you health, peace, love, success, and everything you wish for.