Women's Day, Mom's Birth-Day, Our Awesome Weekend

Last weekend was mom's birthday. And day before was, what we in Europe celebrate, the International Women's Day.

It was always a big deal growing up, and I remember we as kids felt pressure that we had to do something for mom two days in a row. :) We would usually pick up flowers,(and that is literally, we would pick flowers out of neighborhood fields) to give on one day and then make or buy a gift for the next day.

Anyway, we don't really do anything special for March 8th, but I heard mom listening to the Bosnian news over the internet, as she has been every day, and on all the news the people they interviewed said what special they would do for a woman in their life, and most people mentioned they would give or would like to receive flowers. So, I surprised mom with a rose that evening, and she totally didn't expect it. Then Zoran came back later and brought her a bouquet of Gerber Daises. She was really surprised by that, as he rarely gives flowers. I rolled my eyes when I saw him at the door, because I actually got a dozen roses and hid them for her birthday, and only pulled one the day before. So we had lots of flowers!

After the photo shoot, and some deliberation on which restaurant to go to, we choose Bombay Bistro (since Zoran is now like an expert on Indian food). I was lovely, great atmosphere, and really good food.

And the celebrations didn't end there. Over the weekend we enjoyed the nice weather with coffee at the Mozart's and ended the day with some Bosnian style BBQ at home.

Mozart's on Lake Austin

Cheers to us!

mmmm, ćevapčići!

Yay for family fun!

Vanilla Chocolate Chip with Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream

I bought again a large container of blueberries at Costco, and after making my blueberry ice cream recipe few days ago, I still had some berries left to make another flavor. I decided to be innovative and try something new. It went something like this:

Makes 1 quart.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Blueberry Swirl
•1 cup of blueberries
•1/2 cup of sugar
•1 tsp lemon juice
•1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
•1/8 tsp. ground coriander
•little pinch of salt

Basic vanilla ice cream
•3/4 cup of whole milk 
•1/2 cup of sugar
•2 cups of heavy (whipping) cream

•2 oz (~80 grams) of mini chocolate chips

Preparation:

Blueberry Swirl

1. Dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar in 1/4-1/2 cup of water in a medium sauce pan over low heat. You want enough water to keep it liquidy after it cools, but not too watery to have ice crystals after it freezes.

2. When sugar is dissolved, add berries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, coriander, and salt.

3. Bring to boil then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to burst (about 5 minutes).

4. Remove from heat and in blender puree until smooth. You may also want to strain the mash before cooling (it will harden after cooling)

5. Cool to room temperature, then chill well in the refrigerator.

Basic vanilla ice cream

6. Combine milk and sugar in a medium mixing bowl, and mix on very slow (1 or 2) speed, until sugar is dissolved.

7. Add heavy cream and stir in with a spoon.

8. Pour into ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer directions.

9. 5 minutes before the end of freezing time in the ice cream maker (after about 20 min of mixing) slowly pour in the chocolate chips.

10. Transfer the ice cream into a plastic freezer container. With a knife handle make vertical holes and fill them with the blueberry swirl. Poor any remaining swirl on top of the ice cream.

5-Things Wednesday: Taxes

I wish I read my post from last year about filing taxes with Free File Fillable Forms before filing them this year. Really, what was I thinking! The refund probably would have been much, much quicker. Last year, it only took 7 days to receive the money!

This year it looks like it will take more than a month.

I filled this year's taxes around Feb 20th, same time, within couple of days, as last year. I say "around" because I don't have a signed and dated copy of 1040 with me, but my soft-copy of the file was last saved on the 16th, and I know I waited a few more days to review one aditional bank document. So, the delay shouldn't be because I filled 'late'. But I did file by mail.

It's not like I need that refund to come super quick. I just don't like long delays. So, here are some things I think could speed a tax refund.

1. I said I don't think the timing was an issue for my refund delay, but I do believe that filing early increases the chances for a quicker return. With taxes, I don't think I ever waited until April 15th. Why would I - it's my money I want back! So I usually file as soon as I get all the documents from different institutions, around early February.

2. Even though I prepared all forms this year and placed them in an envelope, I waited with sealing and mailing until I could confirm all numbers with bank tax documents. I used old bank statements to fill the forms, but one official, paper bank document was still missing to confirm those numbers. After a few days of that envelope sitting on the kitchen counter, I went back through some folders and found that paper, which arrived much earlier. I could have filled days earlier if I had only one place to file all documents regarding taxes (receipts, forms, statements...) that come throughout the year. I actually had all but that one paper together.

3. Some years ago someone tipped me on this great idea to first start preparing taxes with Turbotax software, but not submit anything with them, and thus not have to pay for it. The software asks many questions that I could have missed, so it saves me time of going through all 1040 instructions. And it also increases my chances for maximum refund! With some patience, I can then make sure I enter all the amounts that the software asked me about somewhere on some forms. I am usually able to come within few $$ on the refund amount as what Turbotax calculated.

4. I don't remember when was the last time I did not use automatic deposit, if I ever did. Maybe while in college I did. But it definitely saves the time of going to the bank to deposit the check. Just make sure you follow #5.

5. Probably every year I prepare the taxes, I realize on second, third, even forth review that I missed something. Miscalculated some math, forgot to sign, or didn't enter correctly bank of SS numbers. So, I quintuple sextuple check all the numbers, files, and signatures.

The IRS Refund Status page just bumped my expected refund date by another week, to April 10th, "due to processing delays". Whateva!

Kites!

What an awesome day for the Zilker Park Kite Festival!

I've never been to one before, even though it's a decades long Austin tradition. This weekend was just perfect for an outdoor event like that, and I am happy that all three of us were able to go together. Apparently, some 30 thousand other Austinites had the same idea to go, so the traffic was horrific. We quickly decided to park a bit father away and walk. It only took us about 25 minutes, a time much better spent walking by the lake then sitting in sit-and-go traffic.

The event was an all-day one, but we came after the main "competition", or whatever that meant. There were so many people and kites there, that any organized activity I think was probably more chaotic than organized. We found a nice spot under a large tree closest to the open field, spread our picnic blanket and snacks, and just enjoyed the views and our time together.