Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.  One does not love breathing.
-To Kill a Mockingbird

"Red File" - Part 1

I attended a preparedness class yesterday that has me very motivated to get prepared.  This class was one in a series of four on preparedness, including things like food storage and financial preparedness.  Perhaps what struck me most about this class was that much of what we discussed costs nothing to do, but could mean the world to you if a disaster were to happen.

My blog doesn't really have a theme, but forgive me if for the next little while I post things on preparedness: I feel like everyone should do SOMETHING to start being prepared.

DON'T FEEL OVERWHELMED.  I'll break this down into workable sections.  :)

The first thing to do is get your "Red File" in order.  This is the file you would grab if someone knocked on your door and said "There's been a chemical spill, you have 1 minute to be out of the house."  The best part is that it doesn't cost money to put this together. 

Please note that leaving this marked "Important Documents" or "Emergency File" is like gift-wrapping identity theft.  Though I believe these should all be stored together, you want them in a secure (or very unassuming) place that nobody would find if they didn't know it was there.

To keep things simple, we'll call this "Red File Part One".  Gather the following:

1. Copy of driver's license
2. Birth Certificates, naturalization papers
3. Social Security Cards and information
4. Immunization records
5. Deeds, Titles and Trust information
6. Mortgage loan information
7. Insurance policy information for auto, home, life, business

I'll post more in a few days: happy gathering!

Graduation

Oh yeah - tomorrow is graduation.  I'm walking, receiving my MBA.  Maybe earning would be the better word.  Either way, it's kind of exciting - I am ecstatic about having merited a hood and am looking forward to celebrating the day.  For me it's a pretty big deal.

Our Neighborhood Now

These pictures show what our neighborhood looks like now. In the past two years, since we've lived here, we've probably seen 30 homes go up. I realized that if we're still here in thirty years, it would be fun to reminisce about how things looked now. So here are some pictures to show how things look now: trust me, they're changing every day.

I love where we live.

Hopeful

Is there anything in this world more hopeful than seeing the trees you planted last fall come into bloom in the spring?

Brazil Through Pictures

The hotel - floor eleven, room 1110

Turn 90 degrees from the hotel and...ta da! The office - the tall building. Just a very quick walk past all the beer-drinkers (this restaurant is always open) and, at night, a good 30 sets of eyes staring at me.

The front doors to the store/showroom of the office. We don't work here - the office staff is on the first and third floors.

The office I work in - Leonardo, Joao, Carol and William. Elias and Marcio are missing.

My little work station, the filing cabinets, the fridge, water and coffee (they have a person that works in the building that just brings pitchers of coffee and water and washes everyone's glasses - very interesting) and the bathrooms behind.

And...that's about all I saw of Brazil. :) Oh, and traffic - lots and lots of traffic (which the first two pictures don't show - this was the best part of the traffic. :))

Dear Sao Paulo, I'm really happy to go home to my family. But I will miss your sunshine and your 75 degree weather.

Brazil Through Emails - Day 4

Hi Mama,

It's nearly 11 - I'm still up working. Not enough hours in the day.

My flight leaves at 9:30. To make it in time, I'm leaving between 4 and 4:30 - people at the office said 2 hours to get there and allow 4 hours for Customs. That means I need to cut an hour somewhere. :) I hope I don't have any issues - I just want to come home.

I love you,

Rachel