He's official!... Well, he already was but now he's more official

As of today, my hubby, Carlo Piacente is now a
PERMANENT RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!

We, oh wait...... I have been working on this for about a year. It took a lot of time a patience to fill our all of those forms correctly and to mention the numerous calls to USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services) I have had to get copies of my tax returns, proof that I can support him, birth certificates for both of us, and many other documents. I sent those in January and in August, we had our interview with the Immigration office. We waited 1 1/2 hours to meet with someone for 10 minutes. I guess all my hard work paid off because they just wanted to look at our pictures and make copies and said we'll get the card in the mail. Well, exactly 6 weeks later, it's here! I am so happy for Carlo and proud of myself for all of my hardwork. Now we can travel to Italy and back without having to worry about a Visa or proof of work in the US!! I should do this for a living.... I'd be making some big bucks!!

Getting to know.....Sonia

I stole this from Miffany and I thought it would be fun to do. She's one of the coolest gals I know.


1.)What is your full name? Sonia Laura Piacente. (I always said I wouldn't change my last name unless it was a cool name... there was no way I would have gone from Castaneda to Smith)

2.) What do you like to do in your spare time? Besides taking pictures of the food I make, I have discovered the joy of reading. Anything and everything Italian and watching Movie trailers on AppleTV.

3.) Name two of your biggest vices: 1-iTunes. I can and will spend countless hours listening to my music, sorting them into categories and browsing and looking for artist who are huge in the UK but not in the US. 2- Criticizing those who leave themselves open for public mockery.

4.) Name two of your biggest virtues: 1- I am a friend till the end, unless you do something to make me mad, then we've got problems. 2- I am full of generosity. I tend to be too nice and offer my help, services, support, etc.... when I know that I shouldn't or don't have the time.

5.) What is your biggest regret, up to this point?: Losing contact with old friends... I wonder about them alot.

6.) List 5 of your deepest, darkest desires (keeping it G-rated, of course): 1- To be the most popular TV personality on Food Network. 2- Meeting Rick Steves and joining his team of tour guides in Italy. 3- Open up a Tex-Mex restaurant and become the biggest and best hotspot in Turin. 4- Taking my money from the restaurant and open a second location in Paris. 5- Be able to fly my family to Italy for get-togethers.

7. What do you consider a perfect day?: As long as I can wake up and breath.... I'm good.

8. Name 3 songs that you know EVERY word to: 1- Crazy by Aerosmith. 2- In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry. 3- All you need is love by The Beatles

9. What fictional character do you secretly envy and wish you could become? Charlotte on Sex and The City, just because she comes from money and doesn't have to worry about it.

10. What's the first thought that pops into your head when you see yourself in the mirror? Ugh.... why mamma why do i have to go to work.

Appetizers for dinner...... why not

One of my favorite things to do is to cook. I love buying cook books and trying out recipes, making my family members the guinea pigs. This recipe for Jalapeno poppers is one. It was given to me by a coworker. Once I made them, Carlo just loved them. Unfortunately, They are a greasy,fatty pleasure so, we don't eat them very often. When we do, we balance them out with some Bruschetta because that's healthy so, we don't feel too guilty.... until we reach for the Ice Cream.

Bacon- Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers*

*quantities vary depending on how much cream cheese or bacon you want for each popper.
*baking time will also vary on the quality of bacon you use.

Jalapenos
Cream cheese
Bacon

Cut the stems of the Jalapenos, then cut them in half. Take out all of the seeds, wash and pat dry with a paper towel.

Spread desired amount of Cream Cheese onto the halves of Jalapenos, then wrap with half a slice of bacon. For bigger jalapenos, use 1 whole slice of bacon.

Bake for 20-30 minutes @ 400º or until Cream Cheese is golden brown and bacon is crispy. Lay on paper towels to remove excess grease and cool for 2 minutes.

Bruschetta

1 Baguette (best when at least 2 days old)
4 medium sized tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
Italian seasonings
salt (or in my case... garlic salt!)
Olive Oil

Dice tomatoes and place in medium bowl. Season with salt and Italian seasonings to your liking. Place aside.

Thinly slice the entire baguette. (not too thin or they will fall apart when you broil them) Place slices of bread on a cookie sheet and broil until golden brown.

Remove from oven and very carefully (because it will be HOT!) rub each slice of bread with garlic clove. Once all of the slices have been rubbed with garlic, spoon your tomatoes onto each slice.

Place back into oven and broil until bread a little darker. (about 1-2 minutes) Remove from Oven and drizzle with Olive Oil. Hot or cold.. doesn't matter.. is good either way.

Why is it soo hard....

I have been trying to find a way to post my music playlist onto this crazy thing and I can't figure it out. Well, I finally gave up and had to go to Myflashfetish.com. I really didn't want to have re-do my music list but, it guess it will do for now.. and besides... I've got a nifty iPod Touch as my music player. (Thank to Carlo, I've become a Mac user).