11-11-11

"Remember that while today is 11/11/11 in the United States, other parts of the world display the date differently. So to them it's 11/11/11." :)

This year I've had fun with all these dates: New Years Day, Jan 11th, and All Saints Day.

And today also happens to be a holiday: Veterans Day!

Ice Cream Maker

I am not a big ice cream fan.
My mom is, big time, but I just don't like the very cold foods and drinks in my mouth.

But, Costco had this Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Ice Cream Maker on sale for $25, and I just couldn't pass on it. Plus, I love the color!

I didn't know this about ice cream makers, but you have to freeze the bowl before it could be used. It was a torture to have to wait 24 hours when I wanted to start making ice cream NOW! It came with few recipes, and since I already had ingredients for the basic chocolate ice cream, that was the first batch I made.

It's pretty simple to use. This basic mix took about 10 minutes to prepare, then I left overnight to chill. In the morning I just placed the frozen bowl onto the base, turned it on, poured the mix into it, and in 20 min the ice cream was ready! I transferred it into a plastic container and stored again in the freezer.

Zoran and Emilia were over for dinner last night, and we had that ice cream for desert. YUMMY! Creamy, smooth, and delicious. Ciro would have some too, but since he can't have chocolate, he got the store-bought strawberry ice cream :)

If you have some great ice cream recipes - please send them my way!

A Blessing of Rain

We finally got some relief from this scorching heat in the form of rain last night. We got over 2 inches of rain. It was So. Much. Needed!

It was the first rain we've had in 31 days! And this was after 13 consecutive days of 100-plus temperatures! And yesterday was just the first day of summer! Sheesh!

This rain is not expected to put much of a dent in the drought we’ve been experiencing, but at least it gives us a break from the heat today. It's a good 10 degrees cooler than it’s been for weeks.

A blessing, even if it's just for the day.

3-Day Weekend

It has been a great Memorial Day weekend. If it was up to be, we would have these long weekends at least once a month.

It started on Friday evening when I met with my friend Norma and 3 nine-year-olds at their local pool after work. Even though the temperatures during the day are already hitting triple digits, the evenings are still comfortable, especially in the shade. We had a nice time relaxing and catching up.

Saturday I spent preparing for the party that evening; some yard work, cleaning the house, and cooking. My next door neighbour finished repairing my side of the fence, which was really nice of him, so I brought them some cake. The game night was a success. Some long-time and some new friends came, and we had a good gender mix. My friend Paul, a musician, even brought his guitar and played few of his songs for us. We also tried our skills at playing the didgeridoo. I felt relaxed in the hostess role, which was not always the case before, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

After Mass on Sunday, I visited with my brother and sister-in-law. We shared a meal, and Indian dish, had coffee, and shared stories from my Ireland trip, Emilia's visit with her family, and Zoran's job search. While they went grocery shopping, I took a nice nap, something that I rarely do, maybe once a year. I guess all that partying has gotten to me. :) It gave me extra boost to then do the laundry in the evening.

I was so looking forward to having that one extra day. It was a day for relaxing and doing some little things that I don't usually get to do on the weekends. I cleaned up the wood planks left ofter from the fence repairing, cooked dinner, and then went for a nice stroll in the Domain with my friend Norma. again, the evenings are comfortable to be outside, so we really enjoyed it.

A lovely weekend. Thank you all veterans who made it possible for us to celebrate this day.

1-11-11

Ok, ok.. I promise I won't do these any more.

Until November. :)

This quintuple-ones-day will also be remembered as the freaking coldest day of the season. Low 20s this morning! I definitely picked the wrong morning to fill up gas and check and top-off the oil. Freeeeeezing!

So looking forward to the beach trip this weekend to Playa del Carmen for few days. It's upper 70s there, and water temp around 77!

Paradiso!

Travel Troubles and Family Fun

If I thought my life was lacking some excitement lately, that has certainly changed in the last few days. My mom is coming for a longer visit.

She was supposed to arrive last Wednesday, but because of terrible snow storms in Europe, her flight from Munich was delayed, and she missed the connection in Chicago and had to spend the night there. We called the hotel few times to make sure she has all the expenses covered, gets the wake up call in the morning and knows when and where the shuttle will be. She arrived in Austin on Thursday. But, her bag didn't.

We filled the delayed bag report, and were expecting the bag to be here the next day. But, it didn't happen. What followed were days of frustrating calls to United, which were routed to India, and we were always just told they still don't have any information on where the bag is. Lufthansa in the US would not give us any information because the report was filled with United. Lufthansa in Bosnia was reassuring us that the bag is just delayed in Munich because of all the canceled flights there. And Lufthansa in Germany never picked up the phone, even after several hours of repeat calls. What made the matter more urgent was that mom's blood pressure medications were in that bag (she only had few days worth of supplies in her carry-on) and that is not something we can just purchase at Walmart.

We got a glimpse of hope on Monday morning when United told us the bag is scheduled to be on the flights Munich-Chicago-Austin that evening. Mom's blood pressure went to normal with just that news. We were expecting the delivery today. Instead, this morning they again posted they can't "confirm the location of our property". Seriously?! What kind of operation is that?! And so the waiting continues...

The week was busy. We had my brother and sister-in-law over for dinner on Thursday, and mom met Emilia for the first time. Even with the language barrier, the communication was just fine. We went to their place on Saturday, and had them over for dinner on Sunday again. Emilia is leaving town for a week, so we wanted to spend some time together before that. Mom also had one English class on Saturday, and we ended the evening with a Christmas concert by Austin Civic Chorus. Last night we went to look at some Christmas lights (another post) and for some shopping for the stuff that are in the delayed baggage...

It would be really nice if that bag arrives before Christmas. It would be a great Christmas present. :)

The Human Experience

Saw this movie last night.



A very powerful documentary exploring the question of the meaning of life. Our individual lives, and our lives in the communities and the entire world would be better and more meaningful if we all re-discovered what it means to be human.

Highly recommend the film.

Joyful Sunday

Since Christmas Day this year falls on a Saturday, Advent this year is exactly four full weeks long. The Gaudete ("rejoice" in Latin) Sunday marked the half-way point.

This whole year I feel has gone by so quickly for me, and it is also true during this season. Since my mom is coming in a few days, in order to spent more time with her, I wanted to finish up several tasks before that: clean the house, decorate, buy and wrap the presents, and other mundane chores. Preparations.

This third Sunday of Advent, is just a little more special than the other days of Advent season, which is otherwise of a penitential character. The Church rejoices on this Sunday in the nearness of the Lord's coming with additional signs of gladness. In my household, the Christmas tree is put up, decorated and surrounded by presents on this Sunday.

This year a group of us also went to a nursing home to sing Christmas carols to the residents there. My friend Norma volunteers at the Hearthstone nursing home, so she arranged for us to sing during their lunchtime. We've been caroling there for the last couple of years, and last year it was actually on Christmas Day. This Sunday worked out really well, because more residents were there and more people were able to come sing than last year. My friend Irene invited half of the choir from the St. Albert church, and they did an awesome job harmonizing! The hour and a half went by in no time.

Masterworks Singers

I joined the Masterworks Singers choir couple of months ago. It is a choir that started as a diocesan choir, that performed at different church events, like ordination and chrism Masses, but since there were singers who were not members of the Church, they decided to change the name last year. And, Masterworks Singers choir was born.

They would still perform at diocesan events, but they also have two independent concerts each year, spring and fall. They practice at St. Edwards University, and the choir directors are Morris Stevens and Michael McKelvey who are music professors at St. Ed's and choir directors at St. Theresa's and St. Albert's, respectively. They are both good directors, but I personally prefer Morris' style. He has so much passion and energy for choral music!

Well, after only 6 weeks of rehearsals, we had our fall concert this past Saturday: "Between Heaven and Earth." It was great. On the program were:

Mozart Regina Coeli..K. 276
Bruckner motets, Os Justi and Locus Iste
Stroope American Rhapsody
Gjeilo Northern Lights
Tichelli Earth Song
Leavitt Festival Sanctus

Several familiar faces came to enjoy it and support us. It has a been a long day of rehearsals, and after the concert I got to relax and enjoy the company of two very special friends.

The choir is planing an Ireland tour for May of 2011, and I hope to join them. It's going to be a blast! A week of touring all over Ireland, visiting places like Killarney National Park, Iveragh Mountains, and Cliffs of Mohar, and singing at few locations including St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin!

This would be my first time in Ireland, and the travel bug already gets me excited. As if it ever stopped. :)

Not Always Perfect Math

The numbers don't always come out perfect. :)

I was shopping for a plane ticket for my mom, who is visiting me this winter. I usually try to get those international tickets well in advance because I can find better deals. Well, this year, with mom's physical therapy, she couldn't commit to coming until just a couple of weeks ago.

The average price for that ticket, at this time of year, is usually around $1,300. About a month ago, it dropped to just under $1,100 for a day or two, but I didn't have the permission to buy the ticket at that point. And since then, the prices jumped back up, and stayed there.

Finally, when I was ready to buy it, the quotes I got from some ten companies were around $1,400, +-$25, and I purchased it two days ago. Just a couple of hours later I was talking about it to a Bosnian friend who is also looking for a ticket, and while still on the phone she looked it up on Travelocity. The price at that moment, for a flight with just one connection different, was just $927, with all the taxes and fees! Oh-oh.

I quickly called the agency, but they already closed for the day. Tried to email them by replying to the confirmation email they sent me, but that was a no-reply email address. I even attached the Travelocity page with that price. Called the credit card company to try to cancel the transaction, but since it hasn't yet posted, they couldn't do anything about it. So, what to do? I couldn't just buy the second ticket and hope I could cancel the first one tomorrow. I was a bit upset with myself for not checking all the sites on that same day again, even though I was on Travelocity two days before, and all other sites still showed the old price.

Tomorrow morning the first thing out of bed I did was to go and check Travelocity site - the price was back to $1,400+. :( Oh, well. I can't win always. I already planned on spending this much on the ticket. But it sure would have been nice to spend 50% less.

Perfect Math

I love it when financies math works out perfectly.

The new furniture I bought was on a 24-month 0%-interest loan. The first payment (full amount divided by 24) starts in mid November.

Few weeks ago I also got a raise at work, and by the time that first payment is due I will have received one full month worth of that raise.

So, just in that is a perfect timing. But, what is also perfect is that the amount of the monhtly payment is EXACTLY equal to the monthly raise, just 20 cents difference!

I should not even notice these 2-year long payments. Ha!

Lost Mailbox Key

When I returned from the trip yesterday, I realized my set of keys, car, two house and mailbox key, are not in my purse. I think they probably fell out at my friend's house, but I don't know for sure, so I don't know if I'll ever get them back. Thankfully, my brother was at home when we arrived so I could get in.

I have a spare car and house keys, but not the one for the mailbox. I thought I would have to get the lock off and take it to a locksmith to create a new key. I turns out it is against the law to remove the mailbox lock. Somebody told me that the post office has a copy for all mailboxes and can give me a copy. This is also not true, at least for the cluster-mailboxes in the residential neighbourhoods. I then read somewhere online that there is a lock code inside each mailbox, and that I could, with a mirror and flashlight, read that code if the mailman opens the mailbox for me from the other side, and then just take that code to a locksmith to create a new key. Also not true. Apparently, replicating mailbox keys is also against the law.

So, what is one to do when the mailbox key is lost?

Call the local post office.

They don't have keys to individual residential mailboxes, but you can put an order for them to put in a new lock and give you a set of (3) new keys. This little service will cost you $25.

I don't even know why I need the mailbox. I now wonder if I could just cancel all my mail, like Kramer tried in Seinfeld. :)

Top 7 Catholic moments on 'Lost'

This one is for all those Lost addicts out there. Myself included.

Tomorrow will be the last episode of Lost. Ever. :( The OurSundayVisitor made a post on the Top 7 Catholic moments on 'Lost'. I think it's interesting checking it out.

And since yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, I think it's especially interesting that it was also mentioned in one of the episodes. In season 3, episode 6, "I Do", (4th segment in this full video), when Kate called the U.S. marshal Mars, he made this surprising statement:
"I realized this morning it was the feast of the Ascension, and I was feeling a little bad. How many holy days have come and gone since you last called?"

Huh, who knew that one of Lost co-creators is a Catholic.

The Glass Duo

This weekend I went to the "Polish Harmonies: Chopin & Beyond" concert at the UT. The acclaimed Polish artists, Anna and Arkadiusz Szafraniec, the "Glass Duo", had their American performance debut. Glass Duo's instrument is the biggest glass harp in the world; its range covers nearly 5 octaves.

It was a truly unique experience.

Bluebonnets

They make me smile. :)

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The Train is Here...

..Finally!

After some two years or so of delays, the capital metro train is finally in operation. Limited operation, but still, we have a train!

This was the first week that the train started transporting passengers, and it was free. The fare from the stop closest to my home to downtown will be $3.00, one way. The train currently runs just during the morning and afternoon rush hours, 5.30-9.30 AM and 3.00-7.30 PM. My commute to work is too short and not on the train route, but I was still hoping to catch a free ride this week to check it out. I looked at the schedule, and there were two evening trains from the Howard Ln station, between my home and work, that I could possibly take to downtown, at 5.15 and 5.51 PM. So, I was hoping to leave the work a bit early (5 PM for me is early), drive to Howard station, then ride that first train for 2-3 stations, maybe to Highland mall, and then just cross to the other side and jump on a train going north.

Well, I was giving a demo at work, and didn't get to leave till 5.05. Saw the train pass one light before I got to Howard Ln. I missed the 5.15 train. Went home for 20 min, and drove back to the same station. Parked and came on the platform 5 min before the train was supposed to come.

There were 10-15 people in line for each door! The cap metro employees were there, and were telling people that this train, like the previous one, was probably going to be all full, and if they parked somewhere else and need to get to another station, there is a bus waiting to take them there. One guy said he was at the platform 15 min before the previous train, and still wasn't able to get in. Nobody got on that train, because it was full and nobody came off at that station. So, he waited there for 45 min for this next, last train. By the way, it was so nice to see people waiting in line to get into the train. Not my experience from back home...

The train came, and it was full. Another cap metro employee was inside by the door, letting all of us outside know that they are full. Then one passenger made his way out the door, and she yelled they have space for one person. Only one person could come in. People in line were not making any moves, I assume because they all came with someone, so I said "ok, I 'volunteer'", and I walked in! I was the only one to catch that last free train from the Howard station!

A benefit of traveling solo, I guess.

The train was full! Well, actually, it is all relative. In Sarajevo, we would probably fit another 20 people in there, per car, at least.

People were chatting with each other, taking pictures, commenting on the area outside that none of us saw before because there are no roads there, and everyone I talked to was there just for fun. All were excited!
One lady was entertaining her girlfriends, and the rest of us, by sounding "La Cucaracha" melody. At a later point a group of teenagers were singing happy birthday to their friend.

The train ride was very smooth. Very few pumps, it was fast, and comfortable. One thing I noticed, though, with all those people standing, is that there are not enough hand rails to hold onto. I guess they didn't anticipate that many people riding the train! Another objection I had was that the AC was too cold. Maybe it will be nice in the summer, but I needed a sweater today.

I saw a lady that I know, and struck up a conversation with her and her friend. They were on that train since 3 PM, almost 3 hours! They gave me a flyer with map and schedules, which they were handing out at the stations earlier. After they got off at Highland mall, I took their seat. The seats were comfy! I was originally planning to go just few stations, but when I saw how many people were at those stations going north, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get on that train, so I decided to just stay on this train and go all the way downtown and then back. :)

At each stop, the station name showed up on the display, and a recorded announcer, in both English and Spanish, let the passengers know the name of next station when we were getting close, although it was barely audible from all the chatter. In what seemed like a very short time, we reached downtown. Even passers-by were excited, and were waving at the people on the train. :) Some people got off, but all who were sitting down, were not leaving the train. We waited there for some 10-15 min, and then the train started going back.



I was actually expecting more people to be on the train going north, the commuters, but there were very few people at the next stops, I guess people didn't want to risk waiting for this last train, and get stranded because they couldn't get on it. The cap metro employees were congratulating each other on the successful end of this first week of operation.





By the time we got back to Howard Ln station, there were finally no people standing, and we could look at the scenery on both sides. I will have to look on a more detailed map at where the train exactly goes, because I really couldn't tell half of the time where we really were. That is one major difference between this train and the trains in other cities that have been using them for decades; that usually the area where the train goes, or at least around the stations, is full of business and shops, and this train route is mostly through some industrial or undeveloped areas. But, this is just a start, and I have high hopes that this is just a beginning of a better, more usable, public transportation system in Austin. (and is probably already way better than what these folks from Alaska are used to - just some car I spotted on the road driving home tonight)

Nuts?

At an HEB at which I don't shop very often, I asked an employee who was loading the shelves if they sell "nuts in bulk". He led me to the last isle, the hardware isle. Huh?!?

"No, not those kind of nuts," I said. He thought I was looking for "nuts and bolts"!

Was this my accent issue, or does my Sunday best just scream "home improvement"?

Crazy language rules! Why are both of those called nuts? What do nuts and nuts have in common?

Let Me Just Brag For a Bit...

... on how awesome our God is!

His timing is perfect.

I scheduled the installation of the new HVAC back in late January. Based on the cost estimate they gave me, I figured out how much disposable cash I'll have by the scheduled date, February 27th. If I got my tax return by that date and if my brother was able to return a loan I gave him on time, I would have just enough to cut that check.

I sent in my tax forms at the beginning of February. I compared the dates back from last year, and it took them about three weeks to return my refund. I was hoping for the quick processing this year as well, so that the deposit is made before the 27th. Few days before that I checked the status on the IRS web site, and it said the refund will be deposited on Friday, the 26th! Now, isn't that just perfect timing!

My brother was not able to repay the loan this month. He is also waiting on the tax refund, but his, for some reason, will not be done until the end of March, even though we submitted it at the same time. So, I temporarily transferred that same amount from my emergency fund to checking. After I paid for the HVAC, I calculated my expenses until the next paycheck, and realized I'll be $50 short. My brother would probably be able to come up with that much for now, but, just out of the blue, I thought "wouldn't it be nice if I got dividend payed out for my company stock this week?" Our stock was doing well, but I didn't know when those dividends are paid. Guess what? I got paid dividend, the very next day! He just read my mind. :)

Ah, how awesome is HE!

Another Snow Day in Austin

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Today was a real white day in Austin, The snow was heavy, just like TX rain can be, and snowflakes fluffy enough to bounce off of windshields. And we actually saw the ground covered in snow. It only lasted for a few hours, but those kind of hours only happen something like once in a decade!

Is This What Nesting Is Like?

I went a little overboard with cooking last night. :)

I usually go grocery shopping on Saturday and then try to cook two meals on Sunday afternoon that last me through the week. I had visitors this Sunday, and didn't get to cook, so I decided to do it on Monday evening, because I had some extra time and knew I won't have it on other weeknights.

I still had one serving left over from the previous meal: sauted, or caramelized onions, baby carrots, green zucchini, and brussels sprouts, with thin veal schnitzel in a mushroom sauce, and cucumber and green onion in sour cream salad.

Since I already thawed ground beef and some left over stuffing mix the day before, I had to make the stuffed yellow zucchini that I had planned to make this weekend. The left over mix was not sufficient, so I had to add a bit more with the thawed ground beef mixed with rice, carrots and spices. That went into the oven for about 45 min.

But, I wasn't in the mood to wait and eat that for dinner last night. There were narrow sides of the zucchini left over that were not good for stuffing, so then I decided to use the zucchini to make pizza sauce. I saute the onions and garlic, then blend them in a mixer with tomatoes, zucchini, a little bit of bell pepper, catchup, spices and water. This then simmers for about 30 minutes. After it cools down, I pack it in jars and freeze the sauce.

But, I wasn't in the mood for pizza either, and didn't want to wait for the sauce to be ready and cool enough. The logical next move is to make something that I DO want to eat. I was craving some pasta. While the water was heating up to boil the pasta, I prepared the topping/sauce. First, I sauted mushrooms to get the water out, and added some vinegar to get the odor out. In another pan, then sauted onions and added chicken cubes. After they were brownish, I mixed them with mushrooms. When this was almost cooked through, I added sour cream to make a nice saucy consistency. This is then mixed in a bowl with some mayo, and topped over pasta. Salad: cherry tomatoes.

This all lasted just over an hour. I got the dinner that I wanted, and now have food for over a week. (and my hands still smell like garlic :()

Hungry, anyone? :)