miclason's Personal Finance Blog

If you do, you'll love alfajores. I made my first alfajores last weekend. Alfajor is a traditional arab cookie, which the Spaniards brought to the Americas! YUM!
they are extremely easy to do, but, oh, so sweet and sinful!
Ale loves them, and so do I. I had never tried to make them, though, but, on Friday I looked up a recipe on line and then bought all the ingredients on Saturday.
Now, no one makes Alfajores like my friend Katya´s... hers are like a piece of heaven that practically melts in your mouth! So thin and delicate! Mine were thick, not at all like hers...but, the flavor was right! So, now I need to practice some more until I can make them thin and luscious!

Thought I´d share the recipe here!

ALFAJORES
Ingredients :
1 ¾ cups sifted flour
¼ cup cornstarch
¾ cup butter or margerine
4 tablespoons pulverized sugar

1 tablespoon cold water
Manjar blanco (see recipe below)


Instructions:

Put the butter, flour, cornstarch, water, and pulverized sugar in a bowl. Mix with a fork or whisk. Finish working the dough with your hands, until the dough is smooth.

Roll with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Cut circles with a cookie cutter.

Put cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake in pre-heated oven [350° F (175° C) ] for 12-15 minutes.

Take out of the oven and cool them.

To make the alfajores, take a cookie, spread manjarblanco over one side and, cover with another cookie. Sprinkle with pulverized sugar.


MANJARBLANCO:
Ingredients :
1 can of condensed milk (397 g - 14 oz)


Instructions:

Place the can (closed) of condensed mik in a pot and cover it with water. Boil for 2 hours if in a conventional pot, or 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.
Cool the can completely before opening.

Hers is just fine at the moment, but, I don't think it'll fit in 6 months, so, I'm starting to look for knitting patterns on line so I can start making her a new one.
I made the one she has now and, she's so proud of it!!

Of course, I have like 1100 other projects that I haven't finished/started... but, I think I'll give this one priority starting in December!

eh? we don't "do that". My tree is the same every year, it has been ever since I got married in 1992. Then, I got the tree when hubby became the ex. I have lots of ornaments in all colors. I really don't like that "current" of changing the colors you use on the tree every year according to fashion... (not to mention this year is blue and silver, not pink!)

So, this year Ale wants the tree decorated in pink....(?) I have no idea where she got that from and, no, I don't plan to buy new ornaments (and, definetely no plans to get rid of the old ones, either)....At most, if she wants to do that, she can sort through the boxes and choose the pink ones and leave the other ones out. I may also get her a can of pink spray paint and let her spray paint some of the older spheres (red and green, which I use as "fillers"), and, maybe let her use pink ribbon to tie the white spheres... I may also buy her a couple of sheets of pink foamy and let her craft some new ornaments, but, that's about it!!

Well, Ale was complaining today about not being able to go downstairs to play ... clear indication that she´s feeling better.She has a follow up appointment with the pediatrician on Monday.
.. I am still coughing, and it hurts a lot, but, it´s not as painful as before and, I can sleep! I had to go to the office today (Dr only gave me 2 days at home), so, what else could I really do?
I asked about the party and was told about 50 people showed up (really good, considering we invited 86 people with 5 days notice!) 42 RSVPd, which is amazing, really... so, eventhough there were a few glitches (the caterers had problems trying to get in! Thankfully, I had gotten their cellphone number "just in case", which means THEY had MY number, too! so they called me, I called my boss, he called security, things got sorted out somehow!....phew!) but, all in all, it seems things turned out alright. Considering I had a gravely ill child and was sick myself, I d say it was a huge achievement!!
Well, believe it or not, is 01:46 am here already, I DO need to go to sleep!(coughing fits have been keeping me awake!)
good night, everyone!

Well, Ale "graduated" from just lying in bed watching TV to coloring and crafting, so she must be feeling better (she does look happier, too!) I, on the other hand, spent a terrible night coughing last night, so I went to the doctor today... I got antibiotics and some awful brew that is supposed to make my phlegm go away! (I sure hope so, it tastes bad enough! yuck!) Since I´ve just started with the medication, I really don´t expect to see much progress until tomorrow morning. Oh, and the dr. said I should stay home today and tomorrow. So, I won´t be going to the office until Friday.... but, of course, I AM working! (the office´s 2nd year anniversary party is TODAY, the final approval to hold the party came last Thursday, and we sent out the invites on Friday....which means I have been contacting caterers and such from home!) I do hope everything turns out ok, I´ve done my best, considering the circumstances... I really hope it doesn´t rain tonight, that would REALLY spoil things! (fewer attendees!)... oh, well, THAT is definetely out of my hands!

I was supposed to go to the supermarket on Saturday and, of course, with Ale (and now myself, too) being sick, I didn´t... so, we are almost out of food! I wrote a check and sent niece to the supermarket. She should come back with about $5 change... the good thing is, she´ll get a dose of reality as to how much things cost! (especially since I´m sending her with cash... she does go to the supermarket with sis, sometimes, but, since sis charges everything, she hardly ever looks at prices-- I know!--) so, now niece REALLY has to LOOK at the prices... she took a calculator. LOL! Why LOL? Well, whenever I go to the supermarket, I make Ale keep count... in her head... or in paper... not exact counts, everything gets rounded up, but, Ale can do it in her head and she writes down the resulting number next to the last item bought, just in case she forgets!

Anyway, this should be a valuable lesson for niece! (I sent her with $90 and a very detailed list)

Ale seems to have caught dengue fever again. I HATE mosquitoes!

It is more dangerous this time around, because it could turn into hemorragic dengue if you've already have it.

Her platelets are at 127,000 (normally, the minimum is 150,000). She's at home today, on fluids and vitamin C. We need to do another blood test tomorrow, if she is anywhere near 100,000, she'll have to be hospitalized. Did I mention I hate mosquitoes?

I'm trying to stay calm, I managed to keep her out of the hospital the last time, I'm hoping, with God's help, to keep her out this time, too!

Well, Ale just called and said: The car stopped. Er... she means they were driving and the engine stopped, completely... so... now, to take it to the workshop

this isn't finance related... well, perhaps a bit... "we" just bought a new car!!! ("we" being the office!) It is such a big relief, because, I was given the challenge on 8/28 to make this purchase happen before the closing of the (US) fiscal year 2009... our deadline was 9/22 ...
After many setbacks and running around (with people here saying we needed x,y,z documents and headquarters asking us why we needed x,y,z documents and such)... the final authorization was given yesterday (9/22)!!! YAY!!!... I was really worried, because a lot of this really did not depend on me, but, I knew I would be seen as the most likely "culprit" if this didn't happen. (the thing is, if we couldn't make it come out of this fiscal year funds, we wouldn't get the funds next fiscal year, so, no car!!-- talk about pressure!!!)

So, today, I'm happy!

Oh, to make it finance-related: this was my largest-ever purchase...I've never bought anything THAT expensive, not for the organizations I've worked with, nor for myself!! It was kind of scary!

For some people in my country, this is the road they must travel to get to school, or to get healthcare...




And, even parts where it looks gentler can be so slippery, this 4X4 got stuck!! The people in the picture are putting additional rocks on the road to try to give it some traction!!



No, I haven't been there... These pictures were taken by a colleague during their latest trip (yesterday!)

ok, this has NOTHING to do with finance, but, I'm sitting at our desk (used to be my father's, now it's our collective desk) at home and, I found this picture of Ale at the Museum of Anthropology...

what´s funny about that? Well, she's standing in front of a red wall with 6 wooden masks, the kind used in traditional folk dances...


I'm sitting in front of a red wall with 6 wooden masks, the kind used in traditional folk dances!!! (not IDENTICAL masks, but, certainly similar!)

I use the term "area" loosely. I don't have data about the crime in specific area that I live in, but, the data for the country says a lot...

as per the last census (2007), ES has 5.74 million inhabitants. Last year, statistics said there were 10 murders per day, on average. That means there were well over 3,000 murders in 2008. This year, the numbers are still in dispute, but, it is said to be between 12 and 13 - that's DAILY.

Las week, there was an article in the newspaper about how much we pay for security and, although it did not mention specific dollar amounts, it really got me thinking...because, the writer mentioned how we don't even think about this as an extraordinary expense anymore. And, he's right.

He talked about how all new housing developments are enclosed communities (like mine), with an armed guard at each door (like mine, montly cost per house is $15), with designated entrances and exits (like mine), with houses with bars on every window (like mine) and with prohibitions to set up businesses in them so as to avoid traffic of unknown persons (not in mine, but, I've seen neighborhoods with signs stating that businesses are forbidden, and, I've also heard about communities where you need to have 2 written recommendations from homeowners to be allowed to buy or rent!).

Now, if your house is NOT in a gated community, it is most probably surrounded by a BIG wall, complete with electrified razor wire AND an armed guard.

We pay for all this, yet, we don't really "see" it... that is, we are so used to it by now, we don't consider it extraordinary.

We also pay more for transportation because public transportation is dangerous. (over 320 bus drivers have been killed for refusing to pay "rent" to the gangs- that's what they call it, it's money the bus owners or bus drivers must pay the gang to be able to operate on "their" streets) That, of course, doesn't mean the people riding the bus won't get mugged, it just means they won't get killed (as long as they "willingly" surrender their possessions) and the bus won't get burnt.

Not that you are immune if you ride a car, though, both my niece and my best friend were robbed at gunpoint while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green at different points of the city! Niece had to give them her watch and earrings, friend had to give them her cellphone... Oh, and there HAVE been people killed just for freaking out and NOT surrendering their cellphones!

Ever heard of an "express kidnapping"? They take you on a tour of different ATM's so you may withdraw money from your accounts for them... NICE!

Years ago, before ATM's, they'd target family groups and, they would drive to the bank so you could cash a check while they held your family in the car... so, my Mom taught me to write down all my checks, but, never the balance...to this day, I balance my checkbook at home, in a notebook, rather than in the checkbook!

I also signed up for the debit card that only lets you withdraw $150 in cash every 24 hours...

I've been thinking about all this a lot lately, and, I've come to the conclusion that I live as a hostage!!!

don't worry, it was planned for!

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I was going to buy myself a new wardrobe for my 40th birthday. I was either:
1. going to lose enough weight, or
2. accept the fact that I'm not a size 6 (or even 8!) anymore....

Of course I would have preferred to go with the first option but, oh, well...

first, I made a list of what needed to be updated. (5 pants, 1 dress, 4 shirts) Then, I decided on a ceiling for what I realistically could/wanted to spend on all that. ($250) THEN, I waited....

the week after my birthday, the stores went crazy! Gotta love mid-year sales!


I decided to go to the local dept store, as they do have a very nice selection and, I have their purchase card and, their offer was 45% off "yellow tag" (already discounted prices) if put on one's store card. I spent $170 and, managed to find 4 pants, 5 shirts (1 was not "included", but I just couldn't resist it, I can wear it to the office, but, I can also wear it with jeans for the weekend!. I'm still "missing" 1 pair of pants and a dress (thinking of maybe having a seamstress copy my favorite dress, in my size!...that is not really expensive here!) AND, I still have $80 for those missing items! YAY! (oh, and the purchase card was paid in full)

Also, just wearing my size makes me look thinner, because I don't look like a badly wrapped tamale!

Yay! My house fund is over $500 now!!!

she crawled into my bed at 1am. (she NEVER does that unless she REALLY feels bad). I took her to the Dr's this morning. It's just a common cold.

I just have to say, I feel sooooo grateful that I was able to just TAKE HER to the doctor and not worry about how to pay for it (had cash!!) or for her medicines (cash, again!!)

So, this was money that was allocated to paying taxes (in August), so, now I have to find a way to earn more to "replace" it, or, work the budget for the next 3 months to adjust for it (less "fun" or "clothing" money, for example), but, nothing like taking money allocated for rent and/or utilities.

Come to think about it, I do have a (very small) emergency fund, about $300, and the whole trip (dr + meds) will be about $100 (I still have to get 1 medicine, which the pharmacy didn't have this morning)...

See? this is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE change for me!!

I feel soooo grateful (yes, I know I already said it, but, I DO feel the need to repeat it!)

Ale and I went to get her school supplies. Instead of getting just what the list said, we got dozens (or half dozens) of everything: lead pencils, colored pencils, highlighters, erasers, pencil sharpeners. I estimated a total of $50, and was surprised that the total was $58. But, then I remembered we had added a Spanish-Spanish dictionary (one that has more words than the one I bought 2 years ago, when she started school), which cost $6.00, so, in reality, I was only over by $2.00! (and those were a couple of notebooks we had not found previously).Soooo....she should now be set for the whole year!

my boss and I were summoned to a special office budget-review exercise.
This was over how we get billed for certain services.
At first, he wanted to know if he REALLY HAD to attend (generally, he asks me to look at the invoice, then tell him if everything is ok so he can sign!)... I just told him if they had sent invites to both of us, that probably meant they DID need him to be there.

At the beginning, they just asked answers to see if we understand the system, then questions to see whether the info they had is accurate according to those parameters.
It must have surprised the people at Finance that, for most of the questions that arose, he would just look at me for an answer (for my grade/level, this would technically not be part of my job description. It would be "above" me, so to speak, to deal with budgets).
It must have made him feel glad that I knew the answers, and that not once did Finance correct me (so, he now knows I do understand the system! He trusts me, but, now he has CONFIRMATION that this trust is not misplaced!)
So, I earned some brownie points today! YAY!

*************
Edited to add that the Finance Manager has a low opinion of me due to a problem we had in the past, so I guess this also helps in that respect, as she saw today that I'm NOT a scatterbrain and that I actually KNOW what I'm doing!

Ale announced over the phone...

So, how do you plan to pay for it? I said.

I don´t think that was the answer she expected.

I just paid my taxes and my translation cheque is late, so, I have the amazing amount of $5 available.

And, no, I don´t think she should be asking for credit (either from the little store two houses down or from the people at the Martial Arts Academy where she is attending summer school).

So.... I guess I´ll have to wait until I get home to see if she´s come up with a plan!

so here's ONE picture....
This one would look soooo cool in one of those "fake" magazine covers, don't you think?

Anyway... for the time being, it's my new favorite! ROCK ON!

...delegation is a wonderful thing!

I asked the nanny to chop everything I needed for the chicken spread... I instructed on her how to cook it and then showed her how to puree it in the blender... ta-da! the chicken spread was ready...

This morning... asked niece to make the sandwiches... ta-da! I gained about 2 hours of time to work on translations!!!

This afternoon is "lost" to work, though, since, really, there is NO WAY I´m going to miss Ale´s Bday party!!!


by the way, here´s the guitar I made her for her rock star costume...isn't it cute??





I´ll post pictures of the bday party over the weekend (don´t think I´d be able to log on again until then!!)

Saludos!

They just gave me the "go ahead" to translate the other 9 documents for that huge company!!! YAY!!!....

...now... how do I clone myself?? ;P

woo-hoo... the company I told you about, the BIIIIG company that wanted some translations? They sent me a (very) small job yesterday... I promised them I'd work on it and sent it after 7pm, as I would not have internet access before then (ture)...sooooo... today, they sent me a 9 page document!!! still a small job, but, that means they liked the first one and are willing to "try" my services!... They also have 10 other documents (about 50-70 pages in total)...sooooo.... I think I've got them!!! This would be my "foot in the door" with them... so to speak... WOO-HOO-HOO! (plus, its HR stuff, one of my "favorite subjects"!...legal and technical tend to be very difficult for me...)

::happy dance::

Used to pay for Ale's 2009-2010 enrollment! (we get a yearly bonus that equals one monthly salary, we get 30% in May/June and the other 70% in November)

I'm thinking of buying stuff I KNOW I really won't use...

You know, things like... a sewing machine (no, I don't know how to sew...no, I don't think I'd learn if I bought one... yes, I've always wanted to learn BUT...even if I bought it ....I wouldn't have the time to learn to use it at the moment!!)

... there are also a couple other "useless" things in my mind...so...

HELP!!!

somebody talk me out of this!!!!

Well, here's the link again, and a list of currently available jobs...

http://www.mccjobs.us/

Current Vacancy Listing As Of 5/18/09



Director (Economic Analysis and Evaluation), MC-301-3a

Location: Department of Policy and International Relations/Economic Analysis and Evaluation Division

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0086

Open: 04/17/2009 – Close: 06/01/2009



Resident Country Director (Moldova), MC-301-2d

Location: Department of Compact Implementation/Chisinau, Moldova

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0050

Open: 05/18/2009 – Close: 06/02/2009



Program Officer/Senior Program Officer (Procurement), MC-1102-4b/4a

Location: Department of Compact Implementation/ Procurement Division

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0047

Open: 05/15/2009 – Close: 06/05/2009



Program Officer/Associate Director (ESA), MC-301-4b/3b

Location: Department of Compact Implementation/ Environmental & Social Assessment

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0038

Open: 05/07/2009 – Close: 06/19/2009



Associate Director/Director (ESA), MC-301-03b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Implementation

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0002

Open: 12/29/2008 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Associate Director/Director (Infrastructure), MC-301-03b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Development/Technical Assessment

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0091

Open: 01/08/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Civil Engineer, MC-810-03b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Development/Technical Assessment

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0094

Open: 01/08/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Associate Director/Director (MEEA), MC-301-03b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Development /Technical Assessment Division

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0027

Open: 03/17/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Associate Director/Director (Fiscal Accountability), MC-301-03b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Implementation

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0032A

Open: 03/31/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Associate Director/Director (Portfolio Analytics), MC-301-3b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Implementation/Front Office

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0046

Open: 05/06/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled



Associate Director/Director (Procurement), MC-1102-3b/3a

Location: Department of Compact Implementation/Procurement Division

Vacancy Announcement Number: MCC-09-0048

Open: 05/15/2009 – Close: Open-Until-Filled

She's always complaining that she has no money, but I always see her spend the kind of small money that ends up amounting to A LOT!... About 2 weeks ago, she asked me for my chicken lasagna recipe...said she'd decided to start cooking lasagnas on the weeked to sell... she'd take orders THEN cook, so as not to end up with a perishable product that won't sell... Now, pasta is not her strenght... but, she is an amazing cook, so I know she'll be able to do this...
BUT, I need to TEACH her, because last time was a disaster... she made pasta the top layer in her lasagna, so it dried up in the oven... Also, she didn't have basil on hand, panicked when she coudln't find it (it WAS there!) and substituted for oregano... er... And, finding the sauce a bit "too bland" she decided to "fix it" with pepper... er...

So, no, it wasn't her best try...I'm supposed to help her make another try this weekend, and then the week after that she'll try to do it on her own again...

I also helped her price the lasagna...

Hopefully, this will help her increase her income a bit!

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Please, if you pray, add my friend and colleague Rosa Maria to your prayers.
She suffered a severe stroke this morning and is currently in the ICU.

Thanks!

I had a call today from a woman who used to work at the same company I used to work for... she´s no longer there, she´s working for another HUGE company here... she wants me to quote some translation jobs... woo-hoo! my network keeps expanding!

Thank You, God!

Well, HR asked us to pass this along to anyone who might be interested....

http://www.mccjobs.us/

...Ale is almost done, but I´m just getting started!

ok, this THE most important "investing in me" expenses: health!