Wednesday, March 13, 2013

N-400

After a month-long process of filling up the official forms, followed by an endless cycle of editing & printing out final drafts, we decided that we've done all that we can and finally mailed in our N-400 forms. There was really no sense in putting it off any longer.

This post is to remember filing dates / timeline for future reference:
Mailed via ExpressMail - 3/12/2013

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Aside from wanting to make sure that we get the forms right, one of the factors that made me feel better about holding off on mailing the forms in was the hefty fee. I wasn't really sure if we have the 2 x $680 to spare this month as I am expecting a bigger-than-usual credit card bill this month. Last night, we were able to find the funds when I realized that we have not submitted our dependent care FSA reimbursement this year yet - I quickly did that last night.

I should also take the time to finalize and file our taxes for 2012, the refund will surely give us some breathing room.

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and for my gratitude post of the day, I'm thankful:

- that we were able to complete our N-400 requirements & send them in

- that we were able to come up w/ the fees

- that we finally have nice weather, no rain & temperatures in the high 40s-50s (oo, nice yan).

- that when I dropped by our fave Japanese restaurant for our regular rice soup supply (lugaw) for Swe-cha, they told me that they are almost out and don't have enough for our usual order... so they just gave me everything they had for free and it came to around 3/4 of a large container.

- that I was able to get a FREE Starbucks fix today using a free Tall Macchiatto coupon

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Gratitude Journal

I've been wanting to start a gratitude journal for a long time but never really got around to starting one.

Tonight, I found some time for myself and decided that I can spend a few minutes writing down things I'm thankful for...

- That we're in a good place in our lives now - we're both employed and Swe-cha goes to a good school


- That Achi is safe despite having an accident with a truck yesterday morning.


- That Swe-cha is responding to us when we talk to him now so I'm able to teach him stuff.

- That Swe-cha is starting to eat rice (slathered in sauce) now.

- That I was able to do my errands this morning - dropped off some gifts at a friend's house, mailed a gift for my inaanak, pickup a package from the post office, get groceries from 2 different stores - all because my appointment at the dentist was unexpectedly quick and even though I got there late for my 10a appointment, I got there and signed in half-a-minute ahead of a big group of patients.

- That this same time last year, I cannot imagine myself having the time to watch tv. Now, I'm listening to TV while I'm blogging.


Jologs mode - Amaya

Accidentally found a site that streams Pinoy tv and I've been enjoying myself watching Amaya.

I found the delivery of some of the actors/actresses very stiff at times. I'm not a great Filipino speaker but their delivery would sometimes sound very forced and I noticed them pausing at weird spots in a sentence such as, "nagpakita siya ng gilas na nagpapakitang karapat dapat siya maging kasali.... [3 seconds] ... sa ating kasamahan." As if the last few words were forgotten and then suddenly remembered... Heehee.

Nitpicking aside, enjoy ako. I'm so jologs.

Avocado Shake

Saw some avocados in our local market and had a craving. I only wanted to eat 1 ( I like to eat fresh, ripe avocados as-is ) but decided to buy a few more to make avocado shake for hubby.

While choosing, I discovered that avocados are kinda expensive, $0.99 for 1 small piece! Not knowing how much is needed to make a glass of avocado shake and thinking that this is expensive, I only bought 3 pcs and a small can of evaporated milk (probably around 4 oz).

Tonight, I ate half an avocado and used 1.5 for make a shake. Had to add more water than usual but I've kinda gotten the hang of it. Masarap. Hubby liked it and Swe-cha seemed to like it too. I think I might buy some vanilla ice cream tomorrow and use it with the milk. This way, the shake will be cold. Swe-cha might drink more too if I make it less thick than tonight's.