~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Hello Peeps We are back from our trip So we got back last week but was pretty busy. Now I´ll have to catch up on your posts but I hope everyone is doing well

[English Muffin 59]

Ovaltine Jenkins?!?!? Did I miss something?

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Oh I see STP went crazy and sent the package by normal mail Are you back to your usual self now? So did the package reach them or not? I think you need to update your timeline cuz it says nothing and I am not done with catching up yet

Riley is a cute name

Sara you can travel with that AP too, don´t have to wait for the GC I did that now and it was painless. Actually much easier than travelling with a visa. And I asked and it´s for multiple use which we were discussing with Rachel before and I wasn´t sure. They kept one paper and left the other one with me and I can use it as many times as I want until the expiration date which is a year from the date of issue.

It was funny to fly back with Scott cuz we had a reservation for the same planes but the airlines screwed his one up and so he had to get different flights. So we basically flew together most of the time at similar times but 2 out of 3 segments on a different plane So we had dates at the different airports

Ovaltine Jenkins?!?!? Did I miss something?

I dunno Did I miss something?

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Julez I don´t think your avatar can be pimped!

Gillian how are you doing in your new place?

[English Muffin 59]

Gillian how are you doing in your new place?

I'm doing very well thanks. I love the apartment complex and the people are soooooo friendly.

I'm glad you had a good trip and it's very nice to have you back.

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Haha Congratulations to Scott´s GC I think you have a lot of fun with him

Sorry to hear about Adriano´s troubles Susie It must be pretty hard for you but I am glad you are so positive about it

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Gillian how are you doing in your new place?

I'm doing very well thanks. I love the apartment complex and the people are soooooo friendly.

I'm glad you had a good trip and it's very nice to have you back.

Coolio Do you have a job there now or still looking?

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Okay, new topic. As many of you know, I am planning my "real" wedding now. What do you do with people who automatically assume they're invited but you weren't going to invite them? I have this friend; we're really not that close and we only talk occasionally. I emailed her recently and mentioned that Scott and I got married at city hall. She wrote back and said she wishes I had told her b/c she would have come. I will write back to her and tell her not to worry, that in fact none of my friends were there, b/c none of them were invited (which is true). Do you all think it's wrong to simply not mention the fact that I'm planning my real wedding now? I feel really kinda bad about it. But we're figuring out our guest list now and I'm totally seeing how cutting it saves you money. I guess more important than that is that I really just want the people closest to me there, and she is not one of them, yet I am afraid to offend her. *sigh*

Well she can never see another wedding coming and so if she doesn´t know about it she can´t get offended

[English Muffin 59]

Coolio Do you have a job there now or still looking?

Just started 'seriously' looking.

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Ah! Happy belated Birthday Gillian

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Excuse me! But Thanksgiving should be about giving thanks cuz that´s what what the name says What sort of a tradition is that for men to sit and watch a game of handball (cuz let´s face it...american football has really little to do with football cuz they really play with a crooked ball and hands )

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

In CZ the main Xmas day is actually the 24th. We do our traditions, feed animals in the forest, festive dinner, carol singing, let the Xmas tree sparkle, open pressies in the evening, cut the apple to see if we are going to stay healthy, put candles in halves of empty nutshells and it swims on water, etc. It´s such a magical evening.

And we celebrate Baby Jesus not Santa Claus cuz Santa Claus is actually Saint Nicholas (coming from Italy - he used to secretly give gifts to people who needed it). St Nicholas´s name is actually written in the CZ calendar on 5th December and he goes into the streets on 6th December with Angel and Devil and visits children and checks if they were good all year and they usually sing him something or tell a poem and if they were good they get some candies or little thingies like that and sometimes the devil gives them a bag of coals if they weren´t behaving nicely I guess that idea in American culture is represented by the Xmas stocking...but I don´t know why in USA they combine Santa Claus (St Nicholas) and Baby Jesus in one holiday cuz it´s not.

It´s kinda sad that Santa Claus is a made up caricature (the way it looks) maybe about a hundred years old and it´s invading the Czech "Xmas market" and media are trying to put this image into children´s heads and some of them already think that that´s what the Baby Jesus looks like ...a fat old man in a red coat

After all Xmas is supposed to be Christian holiday to celebrate Baby Jesus´s birth and if there should be any gift giving then it should be done (like it is in Italy) at the beginning of January (I think it´s the 6th) which is when the Three Kings came to visit Baby Jesus and brought him gifts.

So Xmas should really just be about spending time with your loved ones and I guess it´s up to everyone how much they let the commercialism into their lives. It would be nice for Scott to spend the time with you Rachel but he is stubborn so he probly won´t but I am sure you will have fun anyways

[StillThePrettiest 3]

welcome back, OJ

*hug*

I am with you one thousand percent on the proper celebration of Christmas... NO ONE does it like the Europeans

I've never been so fortunate to spend a Christmas in CZ but I have spent two in Germany... they have lovely traditions too

and, believe it or not, our package got there *gasp* and we received NOA1s (three, in separate envelopes your $1010 at work ) in less time than seems to be the average... I keep TRYING to mess with my life but it doesn't work

biometrics on Saturday

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

MARTA!! Glad to see you!! Thanks for your nice comment, and yes I'm trying to stay positive =] Going to NY on Sunday for a week, cannot wait!

How is your tummy doing? =]

That was a beautiful description of Christmas, and sadly my oh-so-American family does the typical million gift giving extravaganza. It was refreshing when I met Adriano and he told me that they don't even really give gifts. Sometimes they get like a fruit basket from a friend or boss, but even that isn't so common. The down side is that I will probably never get a Christmas gift from him, but I am okay with that. Oh yea, he still doesn't believe that we celebrate Christmas on the 25th and not the 24th, he just doesn't get it. I guess we will have to make him a believer this year!

I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas, because it is really all about family, giving thanks and of course, eating. I am really excited to spend Adriano's first Thanksgiving with him and my entire family. We go out to eat (a cardinal sin, I know) for Thanksgiving, so there is fortunately no football watching. My grandpa was a career Army/Navy/National Guard man, so we all go out to a nice catered restaurant at the army base in Brooklyn (if you're reading, Rae, it's Fort Hamilton). Afterwards we go to my aunt's house for our second serving of dessert ('cake and coffee').

Edited October 14, 2008 by BabyBlueSusie

[Jeraly 4]

Excuse me! But Thanksgiving should be about giving thanks cuz that´s what what the name says What sort of a tradition is that for men to sit and watch a game of handball (cuz let´s face it...american football has really little to do with football cuz they really play with a crooked ball and hands )

I agree with you on the football thing!!! Oh! And for those interested (and tbh I can't imagine anyone who would be interested not making it themselves) but they have marzipan and cranberry Stollen in World Market

I think Christmas has become amazingly commercial. I am not a religious person but that is why to me it is about spending time with family - sometimes it is the only time of year that I see some of them. I think as an adult it is important to remember how Christmas originated and when we have kids we will try to teach them about different religions and celebrations so they can learn to be open-minded and decide for themselves what they want to believe.

Saying that, one of the best Christmases I remember was when we went to midnight mass (when we were younger - it was so exciting staying up so late!) and we all had candles and sang carols. I love Christmas carols and have done since I was in school (CofE so had lots of hymns and carols!). I was Christened as a kid but really just like to be open-minded about all religions. I don't think it is that I don't believe, just that I don't want to pigeon-hole myself

Now I am going to have to see where they do midnight mass - we have a church at the end of our road so it would be a really nice thing to do

*dances off to look up mass and Christmas pudding recipes...*