Write, Write, Write

Once upon a time I tried to write a novel. I finished a draft of it. I didn't do anything more after that, since I wasn't all that excited about it. (Translation: It wasn't a very good story!)

Recently I've been reading about the craft of writing. It's got me thinking I should try again, especially since my two-day work week will allow me to have some creative time.

Instead of a novel, I'm going to try my hand at short stories of the "whodunit" variety. I love mysteries, so this sounds fun to me.

Now that I've told my blog readers about it, I guess I should follow through soon!

It's the 12th of December

December 12th already?!  Didn't the month just start?!

Fortunately, I'm almost done with my Christmas preparations.  Just a few more items to get.

One item I need to buy is something for myself... a present for Lew to give to me.  I'm going to get myself something real nice!

😁

P.S. Not sure what the "real nice" thing is going to be yet....

I Will Buy a Candy Bar

Yesterday I received a letter from our credit union. If I don't use my debit card by the end of the month, they are going to deactivate it.

Reason: I haven't used it for several months, and they want to protect my account from debit card fraud. According to them, deactivating my card is a "security feature."

Lew uses his debit card. I do most of our online banking. We both have direct deposits going into our account. It is not as though we are inactive members. 

If I lost my debit card, I would definitely report it as lost. So what if I'm not using it? Nobody else is either!

Tax Time!

This afternoon I thought, "Gee, I should do my parents' tax return right now."  So I did.

I always start by putting the information into an Excel spreadsheet (which I carry over from year to year) and calculating what I think the taxes will be.

Then I input the data into TurboTax.  If it comes out the same as my spreadsheet, then I'm happy! If not, then I figure out why it's different. Any difference is usually due to a change in the tax law, so this forces me to at least try to understand it.

I am pleased to report that I was right on the money regarding my parents' taxes. Done and e-filed!

Two more returns to do (ours; Matt/Emily's) then I can close up shop for yet another tax season. I always look forward to closing up shop. 😊

Tuesday Roundup

College football national championship game last night... ho, hum... turned it off shortly after half-time. Snoozer of a game, but congratulations to Georgia on defending its title.

Visited with a friend this morning and we went to Aroma Joe's. We both ordered a "Grinch Rush" which is this marvelous drink made up of green apple, lime, and red raspberry — with the red raspberry being layered. Yum, yum, yum.

Then I visited with Mom this afternoon. We watched "Gunsmoke" while she drank the Ensure I brought her. (I drank a nutrition shake and ate some carrots and celery.)  She then wanted to go for a "walk" which consists of me pushing her in her wheelchair. About two minutes into these walks she is ready to return to her room, but I make it last a little longer. Such was the case today.

So we are now 10 days into the new year. Time flies!

And That's A Wrap!

Today was our annual Christmas present wrapping day. I am in charge of putting gifts in gift bags. Lew wraps whatever isn't going in a gift bag.

Our cats may have mixed emotions about wrapping day. They enjoy trying to "help" us, but then they realize they can't get into the guest bedroom. We keep the door shut because I don't want them destroying our nicely prepared gifts. Just a few days, kitties, and you'll have full access once again!

And that's a wrap for this blog post, too.

🎄🎁🎄

Renewing My Commission

My Notary Public commission expires toward the end of the month. I thought about not renewing it, but I decided it would be useful when I rejoin the workforce.  (Employers appreciate having a Notary on staff.)

On Friday I completed the online renewal application, paid the renewal fee, and printed off the paperwork I am required to mail to the State.

Today I made a couple stops here in town to get three signatures that I needed on my paperwork and to get sworn in. (Paraphrase of swearing in: I will uphold the Constitution and do my duty, so help me God!) Then I was off to the post office to mail the paperwork to the State. I even sent it certified receipt.

Now I just need to wait for my new certificate, and then I can order my new stamp!

Playing Catch-Up... Again

I am trying to catch up on everything I fell behind on this past week. Being sick for a few days will do that to you!

I made good progress today. 

I still have some bills to pay tomorrow morning. And after I get home from visiting Mom, I am going to do my laundry.

My life is so exciting!

😁

Happy Twos-Day!

Today's date = 2/22/22. Twos-Day. Tuesday.  😁

Lew and I had breakfast out with my former supervisor Susan and her husband and daughter. It was really fun to spend some time with them!

After visiting my Mom, I came home and did our taxes. All done and e-filed! Yippee!  Now if the IRS would just finalize the form I need for my parents' return....

I hope you had a wonderful Twos-Day!

Tracy's Day Off

I didn't exactly "skip" work today, because I did talk to my supervisor yesterday about taking the day off.

Lew and I went out to breakfast, after which we went to the pharmacy so that I could get the first dose of the shingles vaccine. (Second dose in a couple months.)

After a quick return home to take care of a few things, we were off again. I closed an account at a bank we don't really use anymore, bought some stamps at the post office, deposited the funds from the closed account at our regular bank, and renewed my library card.  Then we went to Market Basket, which I had not been to yet.  Lew wanted me to see it, and I think we should do all of our grocery shopping there!  It is a longer drive, though, but might be worth it.

I went with Dad to visit Mom and then switched off with Kim when she arrived to visit.

When I got home I took care of a few more items on my "to do" list, and I must say it has been a successful day in that regard.

"LEGO Masters" is on tonight!  😊

A Father/Daughter Outing

I worked from home today so that I could fit in some personal things that needed attention. One of those things was a trip with Dad to his bank to make some account changes. There were three people working at the bank, and they all ended up helping us at some point. We were there for over an hour and a half. We accomplished everything at the bank that we had hoped to. We had a wonderful time!  😀

A Day Off... Sort Of

Last week I made plans to take today off from work. I had a 7:00 appointment this morning to have blood-work done (in anticipation of next week's routine check-up), and I decided it would be a good day to get other personal things done.

Lew drove me to my early morning appointment, after which we went to IHOP for breakfast. We got home around 8:15ish, and I got working on the paperwork/phone calls I had planned to complete. I finished all of that by 1:00 p.m.... Phew!

After lunch, Dad and I went up to see Mom. He was able to schedule a half-hour inside visit today (still with masks, partitions, supervision, etc.), and two visitors are allowed. So I took advantage of the opportunity. It was nice to be able to talk with Mom without having to stand outside in the cold!

I did a few more organizing-type things when we got home, and then I splurged by finishing a novel I had started reading a few days ago. It was a good way to wind down from the busy morning I'd had.

I enjoyed the break from my regular weekday routine. Back to work tomorrow!

Reset, Day 3

This will probably be my last post with "Reset, Day #" as the title. But I did want to do this particular post to list some of the other aspects of my "Reset."

My niece Kaelen and I decided to start learning Greek. We are using Duolingo and a beginner's Greek book, and we both now have a Greek New Testament. Looking forward to when we are able to read portions of it!

Although I have piles of books I want to read (physical piles and virtual piles), I do have a list I started a while back that I am trying to get through. There are currently 21 books on this list. Going to tackle them in earnest.

Trying to stop and wave at Mom through her window on my way home from work every day. We wave and blow kisses at each other, It is a nice few minutes.

I got behind on my devotional books during the pandemic. (Yes, I know the pandemic is still going on, but I'm doing a "Reset" on how I'm coping with it.)  I am all caught up now, and I aim to stay caught up. It's good for my soul.

One other thing I need to do is get to sleep earlier. I haven't done so great at that yet, as you can see by the timestamp of this post! So....

Good night!

Appointments

Two appointments I had scheduled in April were cancelled due to the pandemic: 1) my six-month dental cleaning, and 2) a haircut.

My dental office is now open again. The letter they sent said they would be contacting patients to reschedule. So I wait. I am attempting to be a "patient" patient.

The gal who cuts my hair was going to return to work at the beginning of June, but then she decided to take the summer off! She told me that one of her colleagues would be happy to cut my hair. It does need something done to it soon. I look like a ragamuffin.

I should have scheduled an eye doctor appointment for May, but I didn't even get the expected "Time for your eye appointment" letter! I think the office is open now, though, so I need to call and get that scheduled. Hopefully I won't need new glasses (I don't think I do), because my glasses are always so very, very, very expensive.

I guess I should make some phone calls tomorrow!

🦷💇👓

Today is Tuesday

It is nice to have a Monday holiday, but it sure can mess up the workweek. I had a once-a-month project to work on today, but I also need to be ready for a weekly task I do every Friday. The preparation for that can take all week... or not... I'm hoping it's a "not" this week, as it is already Wednesday tomorrow. Yikes!

In reality, everything will be just fine for Friday. I just needed to pretend it might not be, because I didn't have anything else to blog about today....

The truth is out!

😏

Tax Prep Shingle

Every year I prepare tax returns for three "entities" — Lew and me, my parents, and Matt and Emily. I use the tax preparation software known as TurboTax.

This year I did my parents' stuff first, as their information was the easiest.

I did our own a few days later.

Then — after waiting a few more days — I prepared the returns for Matt and Emily.

There you have it... the opening and closing announcements for my seasonal tax service in a single blog post!

🖉🖩$

In Other News....

I know I am not the only one who has spent far too much time on social media this past week.

I forced myself to take a one-day break from Facebook; I even took the app off of my phone for that day. Of course, I looked at Twitter instead, but at least I kept off Facebook, right? (Ha.)

So... what to do... what to do....

Read.
Brush the cats.
Listen to music.
Read.
Housework. (Uh, no.)
Take a walk.
Take a nap.
Read.
Hang out with family and friends.
Oh, yeah... go to work.

There are plenty of things to do instead of being glued to what people are saying about current events. There is nothing of significance being discussed anyway. (Ha.)

Will I take my own advice? I am going to try.

The First Tuesday of November

I performed my civic duty today.

It All Waited

After staying home sick yesterday, I returned to work today.

I had 86 e-mails to go through. Fortunately a lot of them required no response/action on my part.

My co-workers did a great job keeping up with their tasks that I review. I was able to breeze through my part, making very few changes.

So... I may have overstated my "breezing." I put off one thing until tomorrow: reviewing 105 payables in our accounting system.

That number — 105 — is a lot.

My co-worker sent an e-mail telling me they were ready for review. She added a winky-face emoji at the end, because she knows how much I look forward to this particular task. (Nope.)

My one-word response to her:  "Stinky!"

You Go, People!

Today's goal: Conquer the world. (See yesterday's post.)

It is good to set lofty goals. Although I can't say I conquered the world today — not with a straight face anyway — I can say that setting such a high goal pushed me to make great progress.

If you haven't attempted conquering the world, I encourage you to try it. You'll thank me later.