Pit stop.....Sao Paulo, Brazil

Our flight arrived an hour late. We were let off the plane on the Tarmac and filed onto buses. No one knew where they were going!! Luckily the driver of my bus was nice and helpful and made sure I got off at the stop I was supposed to make my connecting flight.

When I got into the international transfer lounge, I found the flight board and proceeded to figure out my gate. . It said gate 9 - last call! Gate 9 was at the opposite end of the terminal so I took off in a sprint! I made it to the gate just in time.

I'm seated In an exit row with plenty of leg room (not that I need it) lol!

Almost to buenos aires!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!!!!

Oh TAM Airlines

Why on earth does every airline have different rules and regulations?!?! As I was packing, I worked very hard to make sure the 1 bag I was checking was under 50 lbs. It was not an easy task, but with a little finagling I came in at a whopping 49.6lbs, only to find out that TAM airlines allows you 2 checked bags up to 70lbs each. But here's the kicker....your carry-on can only be 11lbs. That my friends is a joke!! There was no way I was getting my carryon bag down to 11lbs. The suitcase itself weighs 8 lbs!! So anyways, when I got to the ticket counter to check in, (yes...no online check in either) I did indeed have to check them both. thankfully she let my "personal item" slide. That too was well over 11lbs!

When I finally make it to my seat, 33F, it turns out to be in the center of the center isle. I set my seat tv to English, gear up a movie......and the tv reset. As luck would have it, my tv is broken. I have a 12 hour flight ahead of my and there isn't one movie I can watch because it re-boots about every 5 minutes. Thank goodness I pre-loaded the iPad with lots of good music, books and games!

I am going to make the best out of this flight! After all....it is the start of the trip of a lifetime!!!!!!!

Pit stop.....NYC

Next stop on the journey......NYC.

I took the Amtrak into Penn Station. The ride from Amsterdam was only about 3 1/2 hours. I was able to relax, have a bit to eat from the cafe car, and catch up on emails thanks to the free wifi!! Once I arrived I grabbed my bags and headed over to the C train and took the train up to 86th street. Home for the next 2 1/2 days! I have to admit, I was a little nervous about navigating the subway with my 3 bags, but at every staircase, someone offered to help carry my giant 50lb bag! There are still nice people in New York!

I spent my first night in NYC visiting nd catching up and visiting with very close family friends. I babysat the kids of the family i was staying with for 6 years while I lived in NYC. It felt like being back home with my family!!! The next night we all watched the presidential debate together!! I was truly impressed!!! I hope all goes well with our absentee ballots in November!! This is going to be a great election year!!

Thursday morning I met my dear friend Ariana for our juice ritual. We choose vitality shots and acai bowls.

After our rejuvenating breakfast, we walked through central park and had our life catch up chat. Throughout the entire chat, this little bug kept landing on me. No matter what i did it kept coming back! I Flicked it off about 5 times!! It came back every single time......in my hair...on my clothes....on my shoes....ect!

I relaxed a bit then headed down into the subway with all of my bags and hopped on the C train, transferred to the A train, then made my way to JFK.

I made it through security without any issues. With 2 hours to spare I decided to have a nice airport dinner near the Irish pub right next to my terminal. I had a nice glass of Cabernet with a bacon cheeseburger then headed over to my gate.

Not knowing that international flights boarded an hour early, I ended up being the last person to board my flight. Oops : )

Buenos Aires here I come!!

Pit stop.....Amsterdam

The journey has begun. My last day of work was Friday, September 28th. I drove up to Amsterdam, NY on Saturday to get in a couple days of good quality time with family and friends. Saturday night was quite the adventure!! Best friend, great wine, yummy chocolates and a power outage! Yup....you heard me right....power outage! After a few hours the lights finally came back on and we were able to watch our originally scheduled movie, What to expect when you're expecting. It was a great movie, but.....my company was better!! As we were watching the movie, another amazing friend was actually in labor!!! She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at 11:16pm! On Sunday, I was able to spend a couple hours with her and her newborn bundle of joy. She is just perfect!! I can just imagine how big she is going to be in 3 months when I get back! Ahhh! The rest of the time I spent with my family, aside from a quick trip to the dentist. I Love getting my teeth cleaned!! I know....I'm weird. Tuesday morning my dad took me to the train station to catch my train to NYC. It was so peaceful and quiet while we waited at the station. We said our "see ya soon's" as the train pulled in, and with that I was off! 1 step closer to Argentina!!

Learn to laugh in the rain

For as long as I can remember, when it started to rain outside, everyone would sing..."Rain rain go away! Come again another day!"

I took a minute to reflect on that exact rhyme today as the rain came down outside in buckets all day long. 

How can people possibly be down and out when it is rainy outside! The rain gives us the opportunity to experience so many wonderful things!! Without the rain, the grass would be brown, as well as the trees! The flowers would be withered and depressing! Our gardens would be barren! Without those gardens, how could we ever have those wonderful family dinners with food that makes our hearts melt and belly's happy! Rain is the source of life and should be a joyous event every time it happens!!

I have to admit! I didn't always think this way! I was once a "rain rain go away-er". After moving to Rochester I became great friends with the wonderful Jyo! Whenever we would make plans to get together and hang out outside....somehow it would rain! Park ave fest was a big one! We had the plans made for a while and about an hour before we were supposed to leave, the skies opened up and flooded the streets after being sunny ALL morning! We decided to go anyways. All of the vendors were closed, but it didn't matter to us! We walked down park ave, had wonderful conversations, did a little shopping at parkleigh then had a delicious meal at Aladdin's! 

As luck would have it....the next time Jyo and I decided to have another outdoor adventure the rain was predicted to be coming out in full force! This time it was the Rochester Public Market! We had been waiting for this day for MONTHS! nothing was going to stand in our way! We did a little shopping and got all the fruits and veggies we needed, decided we were hungry and needed to remedy that ASAP! We ended up sharing a Polish feast! Stuffed cabbage and a plate of pierogi! OMG! Delish! About 5 minutes into our meal....once again, the skies opened up, but this time, with 35mph winds! Despite the weather, we finished our food, and did some more shopping! 

The walk to the car was crazy! Anyone else on the earth would have been cursing the heavens, but not us! We just looked at each other and laughed! We were loving life! We were enjoying our friendship that is built to last a lifetime. You know that you have a lifelong friend when most say it's the worst day in the world and you are having the time of your life! 

(Jyo and I after our AWESOME rainy walk to the car....we indeed we dripping!)

So here's to all those days that you think you can't enjoy yourself! Just embrace each moment and live your life to the fullest no matter the situation!

Grab life by the horns!

What is "grabbing life by the horns" you ask? Well.....here goes....

-Enjoying your life to the fullest

-Not letting anything hold you back from doing what you want

-Fully embracing everything life has to offer

-Not letting fear hold you back

-Having a zest for life

-Taking as much fun and enjoyment out of life as you can

And my personal favorite.....

TAKING THE RISK AND DOING IT

I guess that sums it up and is the perfect introduction for my big announcment! In exactly 21 days I will hop on a plane at JFK and begin my travels! 95 days of traveling to be exact! I will be joining my husband in Buenos Aires for his semester abroad and traveling the world with him! My best friend, the love of my life, my partner in crime! Our destinations include but are not limited to: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, India, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey!

Check in soon for pictures and the tales of our adventures!!

Reflecting on family

This past week I spent a lot of time reflecting on family. Replaying my fondest memories over and over in my mind. It was brought on by the passing of my grandmother. She lived until the wonderful age of 94. While chatting with my dad, I found out that at the age of 17 my grandmother had to have a kidney removed. The doctor told her she would never be able to have children. Well......she had 3. As I processed this information I couldn't help but think of how life would be different. For starters.....I certainly wouldn't be here! I wouldn't have all of these memories from a truly amazing 27 years of life. Thank you grandma for giving me the opportunity to live! I know you are in heaven now with grandpa watching over us! I love you and miss you both!