01/30/24 let the games begin

printed my first tax returns this morning

the race is on

the game has begun

75 days of chaos to go

i got this

i got this

we got this 

we got this

 

01/28/24 more fog

the fog continues .. I hung out at home until 7:30 - the eeriness of the fog continued until midafternoon -- I did manage to get gas in the truck .. $75 later .. should be good for a month .. maybe longer (?)  I think it has been a month since I got gas .. 

3rd street on the inbound .. was kind of cool .. it's rare that there is no traffic -- moving or parked -- early Sunday mornings are the quietest .. the lack of snow is weird too .. I am enjoying it .. I've shoveled twice .. the lot got plowed once and Lee plowed once at the farm .. it's okay -- 

I came home at 3:30 .. took a nap and can't seem to warm up or wake up.  So, I'm sitting here typing away yawning .. Mom is baking cookies .. something she hasn't done for a year .. they smell good and anticipate they will taste even better -- nothing beats a choc chip cookie with walnuts :)   

A client brought me chili, goulash and beer sticks yesterday!  I am a pampered woman .. a grateful pampered woman -- the village that cares for me is large and generous ...

 

01/27/24 I'm not sure

 I'm not exactly sure what I actually did today ... but it's 8:00 pm and I'm tired :)

I'm doing my best impression of Lance, our techy geek, setting up the computer in the file room -- making sure it was updated, shortcuts were functioning ? need to flip out batteries and the chair and it's ready for Regis and Kevin .. the treadmill left the room and came to the farm .. and I moved a chair back in the corner near the window -- a good place to hide out with a cup of coffee and whatever needs to be done .. the purge continues .. does it ever end ...

then I made it 3 blocks up the street and decided I hadn't shut off the Scentsy pot so back I came and well the pot was shut off ... 

so today's accomplishments:

1    more 1099's

2    more payroll (*3) and the related payroll taxes 

3    set up the file room computer

4    set up the green room computer

5    opened a clients cheepbooks and downloaded documents

6    printed a trust return :)

7    met with a client

8    said client came back lost her phone

9    found it ringing in her van ... 

10  trash baby trash

11  cleaned out the office fridge

12  came home

13  finished sanitizing the cabin computer

            it is going to a new home and it's pretty empty

14  moved chair to bedroom

15  cooked supper

16  laundry 

tomorrow's project list

1    finish the middle room and dust

2    finish 5 partnership returns

3    life planning

4    get gas and wash the truck

5    wash the Jeep

6    vac living room (hello, roomba)

7    take a walk ...

01/25/24 froggy

it was a dark and foggy start to the day ..  weird weather peeps, weird weather

this is a problem on 3rd street -- clients don't take "things" out of envelopes, sometimes they don't even open said envelope.  our recycling trash output is significant in the busy season 

Since I got to the farm at 6:30:

1    ate my McDonalds

2    vac'd the porch

3    vac'd the kitchen

4    steam mopped the kitchen

5    new rugs down in kitchen

6    a load of laundry

7    roomba'd the bedrooms

8    carried my treadmill to the basement -- 

            i did it ... it's down there

9    need shower and bed

It has been project week 

1    eye doctor appointment made

2    apartment inspection made and done today

3    directv called and partially unplugged

4    chair home and put together 

5    treadmill home

tomorrow the back office gets a re-do -- since the treadmill came home ... and on Saturday the copier goes back to it's old location -- splitter and cables arrived .. lets hope it works ... the people and document flow between the front room and the green room has been sketchy ..

by Monday IRS will be open and we will be rolling -- I'm sitting on a couple of piles of work to finish -- once we can get rolling .. 

the games are about to begin ...

 

01/24/24 Happy Hump Day

we're losing snow fast .. I have not shoveled the deck at all this season .. by mid afternoon it was just wet .. I did salt the office sidewalks this morning ... the freezing fog thing was happening

the snow is melting off the ice too ... 

and the squirrels were frolicking 

it was the grayest of days 

I spy grass and gravel 

and a dumpster and that damn cat house is still standing 

it's easy to see the foot tracks over to the new cat house for feeding time .. and the tire tracks from the snow plow .. the forecast is almost delightful

I should be working .. I have a pile of homework .. we're in a holding pattern waiting for software and the like .. it's messy, just messy -- trying really hard not to fret ... fretting is my nature ...

frolic and fret in the same blog post .. really need software so I can get busy ... 

 

01/21/24 I need to

I need to make  list of things that keep my sanity sane ...

1    watch the sunrise (and sunset)
2    quiet time -- 30 minutes of daily quiet (no contact) Marie time

I got up at my usual 5:00 am this morning -- it's been a couple of weeks since I just got up and sat in the chair with the computer / iPad and just read the papers, surfed the obits and my my favorite websites -- in the busy months it seems like a waste of productive work time -- there's not a lot of quality informative tv at 5:00am on weekends so it's me and the silence

It's really quiet without Asshole hounding me for food -- or needed to go out and come back in .. some mornings it was the revolving door of cat .. Mom misses him -- he was her buddy.  

this leaf blowing in the wind this morning would have driving the cat nuts .. it was right outside the front windows ..

I had a somewhat weird yet productive day at the office -- I lose things in my office .. slips of paper are evil and not matter how hard I try to scan/save/label/document - I still lose things .. well, I hadn't lost this particular list of 1099's .. I had completed the damn things and they were in the box for Kate and Robyn to finish up ... in the meantime -- 5 cubbies in my cube shelving got cleaned out .. some items shredding, some scanned, some just tossed and some in a box to scan next summer when there is more time .. just shit that had accumulated ... 

I finally quit trying to complete anything and loaded up homework and headed home .. Mom and I took a drive to the cabin -- we haven't been out there since Christmas Eve .. the south wind was really blustery .. but the lake is iced over and idiots are driving on it .. yesterday the cameras caught a cross country skier zipping past .. that would have been cool to see ... it looks like someone is skating all around our bay ... perhaps even the entire lake -- some day peeps, some day 

the projects of the evening -- sanitizing a computer that is going to a new home, laundry, dishes and planning for the week ahead.   We're kind of in a lull at the office -- most (3/4 of the 1099's are done, all but 3 clients W2's are done - can't do them if I don't have them ... and small corporate clients and partnerships are dribbling in .. we're in a holding pattern since Congress is acting on a potential retro active tax bill this week.  Assholes -- they should have gotten the job done in November.

01/20/24 I am ...

a paper towel abuser -- after the case got delivered Thursday .. I should be better at wasting less paper towels.  Tax season is so chaotic -- I purchase a case of tp, case of paper towel, and case of tissue to have on hand -- no time for shopping for the necessaries ... and copy paper -- arrives once a month -- 2 cases at a time on a revolving order -- again, mindless .. it arrives and by the time April arrives the stash is dwindling down .. there's 8 cases stashed in the corners to get us rolling ..

I am also a raspberry geek -- I've been without for almost 2 weeks and this morning at the grocery store I sprung for a box -- I didn't even look at the price .. and dang, they were worth every penny --- finally a decent tasty box .. ate the whole thing with my afternoon coffee

I started early this morning ... in the cave, with the laundry .. dang quiet without that damn cat driving me nuts .. and moved to the office at 7:30ish .. (grocery store - then office) -- was not prepared for the -15 start to the day .. I spent the entire day on one client .. and other than tax return, they are ready to roll for 2024 .. it was a marathon and I'm glad their financial statements are done 

Sunday's Project List:

1    Office

        More 1099's

        Payroll prep for the week

        Finish the sales tax filings

        Finish the quarterly payroll reports ( only 3)

        Finish the W2's 

        Get the recycling out

        Move treadmill & chair home

        

2    Home

        Laundry 

        Roomba day 

        Meal prep for M T & W

        Wash truck?

        

 

01/19/24 and the not so happy

what a shit show of a week ...

2 days of intestinal disruptions ...

and this afternoon enough calls from telemarketers that I refuse to answer the phone any more today ...

seriously - where in the hell do these idiots come from .. and then

I couldn't get into my Health Savings Account .. called for assistance .. could not understand the CSR .. seriously .. it wasn't the phone nor India .. argh .. finally got the basics and into my account with her assistance .. 

bring on the January thaw .. I CAN'T WAIT 

and then there was this ...

this guy -- this tough " nine lives " guy didn't get a 10th life .. yesterday was kind of rough on daisy lane .. he zigged when he should have zagged -- it was his last move and not his best move 

Mom was pretty devastated -- he was her buddy -- they napped together, slept together and he chatted with her during the day -- he rode on the golf cart with her, he got jealous when she petted the "big cats" in the cat shack -- 

as a kitten -- life #1, and possibly 3 got used up when he got run over by dad and the golf cart -- so he got the pampered treatment that winter -- got to live in the shop, bed, private heat lamp, personal chow dish and litter box .. that winter he lost all of his claws - fur on his feet and ears .. tough little dude 

he got upgraded to house cat at that point -- but spent nights outside with the "big cats" .. he was Dad's lap warmer thru the cancer treatment -- they watched a lot of baseball, football and hockey together .. during the nasty snows last winter -- his status was upgraded and a litter box became a thing .. he was know to forget about it once in a while -- (irked me) .. there were many "life lessons" and chats during Dad's last week -- one was "tolerate that damn cat - your Mother loves it" .. 

so I changed a lot of litter box and cleaned up after the Asshole.  and yes, he answered to Asshole .. I tolerated him and Mom spoiled him with fancy food and lots of chats 

that damn cat -- he led the life .. 

 

01/18/24

Wedding Pictures are starting to show up on Wastebook.

Beautiful wedding

a fun time was had by all 

 

01/17/24 Hump Day Blues

I'm struggling again ... this time it's envy over the free time others have to pursue the fun things in life .. I'm jealous -- I saw this picture on Wastebook and I just want to play with some scraps .. lose myself in the process .. 

then a few posts later I saw the scraps turned into these beauties ... 

I've been busy turning numbers on paper -- into 1099's for others .. it has been the focus of the last 10 days and the panic of not getting them done timely is scaring the crap out of me .. we are actually in really good shape .. but it's always the "last minute Louie's" that wreak havoc on my system.

the control freak within me is spinning 100 mph.  

I had a touch of something yesterday -- up early and then re-arranged - cancelled gigs in case it was something other than a body meltdown .. feeling better today .. stress can do weird things to the body ..

I got this

I got this

I got this

 

01/14/24 Damn it's cold

I went to the office for a couple of hours yesterday -- there are some things I just cannot do remotely - yet.  Anyway I came home to "cat toys" .. argh .. the cat has a bad case of cabin fever ... and well, it was less than 12 hours into the deep freeze .. it is going to be a damn long week

On the homebound commute -- I had the "oh I forgot the iPad moment" -- turned around and went back .. can't live w/out my iPad ..

my Christmas treat to self -- I purchased the entire Craig Johnson Longmire series -- 19/20 books .. evidently I'm stressing -- I'm on #15 and it's 20 days past Christmas (I did start them in early December) .. reading is the best addiction ..

no deck shoveling yet - I ran out of steam

I am a worrywart -- I worry about the furnace at the office ... the "big" 44 number is the basement temperature -- no heat down there ... and the "little" 64 number is the air temp at the counter in the back hallway -- I put a ring camera on it ... I sleep better

view from the happy place .. 

I have at least 8/10 hours of work home with me .. but I will sneak in and check over the office and bring in the completed homework once daylight arrives -- the project list for today ..

laundry -- 'tis the day

roomba-ing the living room 

(finally took down the crappy tree and have it bagged for the dumpster) 

1099's -- lots of 1099's

B/W -- year end, quarterly, & related stuff

CFP - Partnership Return

Life Planning

set up the laptop in the "middle room

clean the home office

 

01/12/24 more snow prepping

 

I've probably lost my mind.  the daily Lands' End email of bargins ... I scored this down maxi coat for $98 -- one shouldn't look at winter coats during a WSWarning .. 

I shouldn't ever be cold again.  I have it in the jacket version, the car coat version and now the maxi version ... I'm nuts

and the WSWarning has been downgraded to a WSWatch .. so I've loaded up most of my homework and am headed back to 3rd street for part of the day -- if it snows and if it blows I'll head back home .. it will be cold enough to head back home ...

well, I came down to the cave at 6:45 and the elusive snow has yet to arrive ...
wth.  

01/11/24 V2.0

ya, nothing like a winter storm warning to set us all over the edge

late afternoon shot from the happy place -- not sure what's up with the ice .. might be pressure ridges? snowmobile tracks, brave snowshoe tracks -- I don't think the ice is thick enough for people or machines -- weird shit.

so I get packed up, prepped up and finally home .. me, two tote bags of work, etc,  and a gallon of milk .. the office is winterized .. every crack has a rug stuffed in it and all of the windows are covered with either custom quilts and or tacky looking rugs ... it works ...

I walk in the door and #2 needs a ride to the pharmacy .. oh.  WSWarning and we're in need of a prescription refill -- the inhaler .. argh.  I swear she only gets drugs during storms and/or weekends ... and then -- "since we're going by Mc Donalds".. supper of the kings and queens ... seriously when we pull up to the drive up and I ask for a 4a.. they should know it is us .. ... she's the 4a Queen  ... I'm the 6 piece chix ... and 1/2 of her fries ... and at 5' .. we're ordering iced tea ... I almost ordered a frappe ... haven't had one of those beauties for 3 months .. rules .. food rules ....

and this is how a worrywart watches the temperature in her office via the ring camera ... the top number is the basement (the unheated basement) the lower left number is upstairs in the back hallway ... and the thermo is set on 70'... the back of the building is always always cold.  while we are there -- I set up a space heater back there for a boost on the frigid days ... gotta stash more of the accumulation back here .. 

tossing 3 things a day ... pretty soon I'll be tossing myself out ..

 

1/11/24

my "resting bitch face" when I heard the updated weather forecast this morning --- seriously -- I can handle a week (or two) of cold -- but "winter storm watch" and cold and 35mph wind gusts .. no .. just no .. 

on a positive note -- it's the weekend -- so it doesn't mess up the scheduling, I have a lot of things to do that can be done in the cave -- I have a lot of things to do at home too ...  my new laundry system piles it up for Thursday and Sunday wash days .. I'm getting old if I have a laundry schedule .. 

this morning I tossed in a load at 4:45 with intention of working on 1099's .. I made the bed and cleaned up the bedroom, planned wardrobe options based on the weather and took a nice hot shower to warm up .. did the milk/donut run on the way to the office -- and found $55 in my long down coat pocket ... 

the long down coat is out .. as are the fleece lined boots .. wonderful things

I got this 

I got this

I got this

 

01/09/24

winter has arrived - I hope it leaves soon - I was rather fond of November and December (other than the perpetual darkness) ... 

the wind is predicted to blast us this afternoon -- so out came the office version of a winter survival kit -- at least in my office and the back/fileroom office .. Mrs. H will be excited to hear I turned up the thermostat too -- although when it's frigid -- this is a hard building to keep warm (warmer) ( comfortable) (tolerable) 

Yesterday (Monday, my least favorite day) was a doozy -- up and in the cave by 4:04, me, laundry, cat fed -- and perking with the numbers --- and by 6:00pm I was pooped - Mom had a Hokie Pokie meeting and I needed to pick her up at 8:00 .. by 8:00 I was a babbling carcass by 8:45 I was sound asleep -- and for the first time in months -- slept thru the night until the 4:00am alarm.

it is my life .. it would be better without snow and cold ... 

need to work towards that goal.

 

01/07/24 and on the 7th day

  I didn't rest -- so it rolls.  I didn't sleep well last night -- woke up at 2:30 to a tv ... I switched my bedroom tv over to streaming -- and it didn't shut itself off after 4 hours like the directv version does.  Need to fiddle with the settings ..  need to watch less tv - or fall asleep without it ..

  Asshole decided to howl at my bedroom door at 5 -- so I gave up -- fed him and moved to the recliner where he proceeded to howl some more -- by 7:30 I was moving .. homework, laundry, shower .. by 9:00 I was at the office -- where it was productive -- although I think I hopped out of my chair and out to the copier a couple dozen times.  I even managed 10 minutes of treadmill time.  Need to work that in a couple of times a day.  

  Yesterday's office projects included  - taking the battery out of the lawnmower, moving the final flower pot and other assorted pots into the garage, moving the recycling into the garage -- general winter things that I should have done in OCTOBER.  wth.  It got done.  

of of the wastebook pages I follow ..

and another one -- wise words -- we truly never know do we

I took this at 5:05 from the patio door after kicking Asshole outside -- light, peeps, light .. I read in the paper we'll gain almost 50 minutes in January -- it is the little things in live.

this weeks project list:

1.  shovel snow

2.  finish the w2's

3.  make a dent in the 1099's

5.  finish the quarterly payroll reports

6.  work on a couple of tax returns

7.  keep up with laundry and household chores

8.  vac the office floors 

9.  drink less coffee

10.walk the treadmill more

11. get the shit out of my truck that needs to 

        get in the house

12.set up the auto cat feeder gizmo

13.set up my new laptop for home use.

14.find a smaller tote bag in the bag box

15.not whine about the impending cold weather.

 

01/04/24 rough week ...

that moment when there is more gray hair than brown hair .. argh

#2 had an endoscopy this morning - 50 minutes of prep time, 10 minutes of scoping .. 20 minutes of wake up and hit the road for home .. weird shit

and then there is this 

i was eagerly opening the box with my new laptop in it and got attacked .. and the damn thing is still bleeding 24 hours later ... hurts too ...

the laptop is cool -- much cooler than the 8 year old one .. :) .. 

the 4:00am starts have begun -- it's going to take a week or so to get the body whipped in shape -- I crashed early last night .. and knowing I was going to be out of office this morning -- it was the prudent thing to do .. me, the laundry and a shit load of W2 prep .. rolling, rolling, rolling with the W2's .. my goal is to have all of them done by MLK Day .. it's an attainable goal.

 

01/01/24 and so it begins

   literally begins .. a new day, a new week and a new year.  

   instead of resolutions - I thought I would try something new .. a word of the month .. small steps might lead to new vision/change/improvement/attitude adjustment.

   January's word is FOCUS.  

   I've been distracted.  A lot.  There is a lot whirring and churning in my world.  I need to focus on the things I can control, I can change and I can tolerate.  FOCUS.  

   I went to work Saturday, Sunday and today - it was quiet productive end of year work time.  As I age, I enjoy the silence of working alone - well, me and the TV or radio -- I started prepping, preparing and finalizing quarterly payroll reports for the payroll clients that we actually prepare their payroll -- all but one are done and filed.  Next up is W2 prep and printing for them -- deciding on which software option to efile said W2's is next --  that will be tomorrow after the Board gig.  

  FOCUSING on better health should be a priority too -- less coffee, more movement.  The 2:00pm walks will get a jumpstart this week too -- it only takes 15 minutes.  I did treadmill it over the weekend.  Need a grocery store stop on the inbound in the morning the office fridge is a bit slim on the healthy options. 

  I lost the mouse to the surface pro and dang -- i need to right click to past/copy/delete and there isn't a right click option.  I did order a new laptop for the upstairs office and the mobile office .. a bit bigger than the surface pro -- and 2 scanners took a dump last week -- mine -- and the old one at home.  Tax planning was purchasing shit.