Tax Time

Tracy and I have finally received all of our W2s, student loan interest papers, and other sundry and miscellaneous tax documents for last year, so now it's time to do taxes.  actually, we don't do them ourselves.  one of my co-workers from my stint at the IRS helps us.  He can find deductions that we normally wouldn't notice.  This year, however, the anticipation for next year is the biggest deal:  Imagine, next year, we will have a child to claim, a house (hopefully) that we'll be paying mortgage interest on, and Tracy may or may not be working, so our total income might drop like a rock.  I'm practically quivering with anticipation at what our refund will be like next year. 

 

Also, I'm trying out a new tool to post this particular post.  Microsoft (shudder) has come out with a blog post writer called (what else) Windows Live Writer.  Duh.  Don't ask someone at MS to name your new product if you don't want it to be incredibly dull.

A home for me?

Tracy and I went down to the bank on Saturday to apply for a home loan. This is just the pre-approval letter part, but it's the first step, one that we haven't been able to do before. Tracy's credit history has prevented us from being able to get anything before now, but with the mortgage market going belly-up, prices around here have dropped dramatically.
When I say prices have dropped dramatically, I don't mean 10 to 20,000. I mean $100,000 or more. You can find listings on the market now for less than half what that house was listed for 2 years ago.

Almost half the homes in our price range are foreclosures, and everyone says "Oh, those foreclosure homes are always trashed," but really, what can they do to the house that I can't undo? Holes in the wall? I'll patch 'em, or replace the drywall in that part. Carpet trashed? I'll replace it, possibly with something more durable like wood or tile. Unless it's structural, I can deal with it. Heck, even if it is structural, it may be an opportunity for improvement. If the previous residents tore the drywall off the wall, I'll wire the dang room for ethernet before I replace it! If this happens, it'll also let me put all those plans I mentioned here into practice. Hello, warm bathroom floors and unending hot water!

New Year's Resolutions

Yes, I know its almost February, but I figure its never too late to make goals. So my goals for 2008-
1. Have a healthy little girl- ( I figure this might be the easiest to keep since she's got to come out sooner or later. I pray that the health is there and that she really is a girl since a boy might not look so hot in pink. )

2. Continue piano lessons and be able to play and complete Adult Piano Level 2. I only have 2 songs left in level 1. (It feels really good to be starting up piano lessons again.)

3. Learn to really walk on my hands. I've tried to before but to no success. Maybe if I try harder. :)

4. Swimming-I need to be a better swimmer so I can do a triathlon in 2009.

5. Run a marathon in October. I want to beat my last time and get it under 4 hours. Plus, I need something to motivate me to get back in shape.

6. Explore new authors. I keep re-reading books I know I like because I hate reading a bad or boring book. And I can't just not finish it...

7. Write in my journal weekly. So far, I have written one entry. I really hate writing. So I figure weekly is a good place to start.

8. To be more girly-I'm having nightmares about having to fix little girl's hair. Yikes! Hopefully, she will be a bald baby for a while! :) I also include scrapbooking and general crafts in this category. Wish me luck!



Well, that's about it for my goals. Next years goals will probably involve more about parenting, but I figure its harder to mess up a kid the first year of their life. Hopefully, that won't start until at least year 2. :)

Late Christmas pictures post

I know it's really late, but here's my obligatory Christmas picture post:

Yes, I know. Now that the season's over, I'm Fully Invested. Thanks, Janet!












Yes, that's a pink punching bag, with gloves.

















Emily opens the first of two tents.

"Many tents mean much joy." -- Ancient Joseph proverb













My favorite winter weather: Snowy
Also, the big tree on the right is the one that we cut down, cut up, and split.

We're back!

Great news! I'm finally online. I came home tonight and checked the DSL router. Hey! the DSL light is lit! However, the first thing I had to do was say hi to the dog and take her out for potty.
As soon as I got back, I started trying to set everything up to finish the setup. Unfortunately, by this time, the DSL light was off. Dangit.

About an hour later, my impatient self looks again, and hey-ho, the DSL light is on again.

So, I'll spare the rest of the details, and yes, we're back online.

It only took 7 weeks. Gah. Blech. Boo.

Almost back?

Well, it looks like we may almost be back online. I had a nice chat with a Verizon ordering person today, after a tech came to our place and activated a dry loop line at our apartment. Hopefully, by the start of next week, we'll have DSL service.