11 Degrees.....

I am just trying to keep this picture in my head. It helps to get through the 11 degree days....sorta. Tax hell has really heated up....I have many individual returns, corporations and partnerships to prepare. Most are in English, however, one "special" client gave me some of her information in French. I don't speak or read French. I understand it's the language of love but it's not the language of tax preparation! This client is an artist and she showed her work in China, France, Canada and Italy. The works that sold, that income is in various foreign currencies...so, FUN WITH FOREIGN CONVERSIONS! I know how delightful this all sounds and really, I'm such a nerd that I kind of enjoy it. A Tax Nerd, that is.
I am looking forward to spending time with The Girl this (every) weekend....had to get my ODE in!

Finally.....

Most Awesome Thing I Saw This Week......

Ryan high-fiving the blind guy.
I am still laughing.

Also, it came to my attention that my previous post about Oprah didn't have any Ode to The Girl! How is that possible?
Well.....since I can't go TWO posts without an Ode....The Girl and I have been together for 21 months now (I know this sounds gross) and I am happier than I ever thought I could be in a relationship. We don't agree on everything and we're just different enough that boredom is not a problem. We also don't have any drama in our life, we DO agree on the important things and I still get the "butterflies".

End of Ode.
For today.

I Hate to Complain but......

Oprah? SHUT THE F**K UP! I am so over it! We get it....you lost weight, you gained weight, you lost weight, you GAINED weight! Enough! I know, this is a universal problem, people listen to you, they look up to you, they IDOLIZE YOU....just SHUT THE F**K UP about it, will ya? When you took, like a week of your show to talk about this I thought, Ok, fine..it's your show. Then, the magazine, ok....again, YOUR magazine. But last night on Larry King, he took a half hour and had on your "team." Seriously? A "team?" He had Dr Oz, Bob Greene the trainer, and the obligatory "spiritual advisor." I think it was the spiritual advisor that pushed me over the edge. Granted, I was hanging on the precipice, but still. Just take your personal chef, personal trainer, personal physician and personal SPIRITUAL ADVISOR and SHUT THE F**K UP!

It's probably hard to tell but I think Oprah is amazing. She came from literally nothing, got an education and worked her way from a local tv reporter to one of the most powerful women in the world. I might have skipped a bunch a steps there but she is clearly a brilliant business-woman who owes her success to no one but herself. I admire that. A lot.

I just want her to shut it before I have an embolism.

And The Winner Is.....

Sunday night The Girl and I went to Brenda's to construct gingerbread houses with the kids. This is a holiday tradition that has evolved into a "contest" of sorts. Brenda gets the graham crackers, mixed the icing and prepares the base. We bring the candy for decorating and an enthusiam to WIN! Just kidding....we also brought wine. This year was a little different with my father getting into it as well. I kept my house small (everyone else tried to build large houses, and they promptly fell apart....too bad for them!) and concentrate on the decorating details. Tha above pic is before the final touches. Oh, yes. It gets better!

Brenda had the most trouble with keeping her house standing.....she was getting very aggravated, as you can tell by the look on her face.

I just noticed that her house in that pic looks good. Trust me, it kept collapsing and she threw it in the trash soon thereafter. The big BABY!!

My father built a house. Hard to really tell in that pic but his decorations were haphazard at best.

Obviously he was extremely proud of his accomplishment. Eh...it was ok, I guess. My mother was just hoping the whole didn't end up on her head!! Now THAT would of been funny!

Here is another picture of the winning house (my house). The judging was totally impartial....I declared myself the winner and that was that. I think I did a pretty, pretty, pretty good job.

Of course I had some help from The Girl...she was sort of the runner...helping out where necessary. I find doing the holiday stuff with The Girl so twinkley....and it's a reminder (you think I need one??) of how lucky I am to have her to share it all with. I'm very lucky.

And I build a mean gingerbread house.

Things To Be Thankful For....

There are so many things....thankful we have Dana-Farber so close and accessible to us. Alan is making very small steps towards recuperating. Brenda just told me he ate a small cup of jello last night. That is a very big deal for him. I'm thankful the kids are all healthy and happy, growing like weeds and each smart and funny in their own ways. Watching them go from babies to PEOPLE has been amazing. Not having kids, I feel very fortunate to have them in my life. My mother turns 70 yrs old in February. Wow! That sounds old but she doesn't seem that old. My father will turn 70 soon thereafter and he really doesn't seem that old. He golfs every day, is incredibly active for ANY age. He never stops. My mother has some minor health issues but for her age, she's very healthy. They spend the winters in Florida and I think that might be what's keeping them healthy and youngish. They certainly enjoy their life and their grandchildren. I was very close to my mothers parents and I love seeing Alex, Lucas and Ella having that same closeness with my parents. They're a big bunch of nuts but they're my nuts, and I'm thankful for all of them, even when they're driving ME nuts.
This is the second Thanksgiving for The Girl and me. I know I've said it many (very many) times before but I'm thankful for her every single day. My life is better in so many ways with her in it.
We are having the whole nutty bunch for dinner tomorrow and there's lots to do. But it'll be fun and I'm looking forward to cooking a big dinner in the new kitchen.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. And tell people how much they mean to you. People like that!

I'm a "bit" behind.....

Ok, it has been a while. I know. Lots of things have been happening since the last post. I think it might be easier to just bullet point it. So, it no particular order:

• Alan finished his radiation therapy at the end of August. He has a feeding tube and is still, for the most part, unable to swallow. He has good/bad days. Thankfully, more good than bad. We saw him the other night and he was trying to swallow a VERY small teaspoon of sherbert.


• In August we made final plans for our kitchen remodel. We bought the appliances (refrigerator, stove, wine fridge, range hood) and decided on a contractor. Cabinets and granite was picked out, light fixtures and new paint color for walls.


• It took us about 6 trys for the paint color. The Girl painted the walls at least 6 times before we decided on one.


• On Sept. 11 our house was robbed. Various items were stolen, windows broken/damaged, door lock jimmied. Luckily, no one was home and the robbers didn't make any mess or cause the house any real damage. We had just bought a new tv and Wii system, neither were stolen. However, my digital camera WAS stolen and accounts for the lack of pictures accompyning this post.


• I have to replace the camera, it's making me nuts not having one. I have my eye on a Nikon SLR.


• We were very into the whole election process, watching lots of analysis. And, needless to say, are VERY pleased with the outcome.


• Things with The Girl are great, as always. I know it sounds disgustingly gross and obnoxious but the longer we're together, the more I realize how lucky I am to have her in my life and how right we are for each other. I always knew, in some part of my compromised brain what I wanted a relationship to be like and now, with her, I have it. It just grows stronger and gets better as time goes by. I have never loved someone so completely and I couldn't be happier with her.


• In mid October the remodel started. It took about 3 weeks, which is not that long. It felt longer but, it was SO worth it. If I had a camera, I'd post pictures. But I don't. Soon.


• We went to a great Halloween party at a client of The Girl's. Sharon and Tommy had a big party and it was so nice of them to include us.
• The Girl turned 38 on 11/06. We had thai food (her choice) and I gave her a gift certificate to a spa for a massage. She GIVES massages everyday so I thought it would be nice for her to receive one for a change. Alison was horrified that I'd give her a gift certificate but The Girl was very happy with it.
• We are hosting Thanksgiving and all my family will be there. Not sure if Alan will come over or not. It might be too hard for him to smell all the food and be unable to eat. He has been avoiding smelling food if he can. I hope we're able to see him but will totally understand if he just can't.
• After the house was robbed we decided to install an alarm system. From the time of the robbery to the installation of the alarm, I don't think we slept through the night! Every noise would put us on high alert. Now, with the alarm, we feel safe.
• My friend Deb shared something last week and I was not only surprised to hear but I was also a bit concerned. She told me she subscribes to this website, flylady.com. It sounds a bit cultish to me and we might have to stage an intervention. Deb, please, step away from flylady. Followers of flylady call themselves flybabies. I'm afraid she's a short step from redhats. I was surprised because Deb and I have coffee together most Saturday mornings and she had never mentioned flylady before. Usually, she just talks about the craft fair she's organizing...her other obsession.
• As for Tax Hell....I'm in Tax Heck right now. Lots of things with a 12/15 deadline. I've also been doing more Foreign tax projects than usual. I had one client that inherited property in Switzerland and she wanted me to review the paperwork. Ok, fine. Except it was in german. Sorry, I need English. I was able to convert the Swiss Franc's to $$ but that was about it. Another woman called and wanted me to review her 2007 tax return. She had a rental property in Paris and wasn't confident the accountant had handled it properly. I was able to alleviate her fears, convert the Euro's and retain her as a new client for 2008. I'm just that good. : )
• In late October I had a client call and ask me who he should vote for! That was a new one. I explained to him that I couldn't, in good conscience, tell him who to vote for. I was quietly whispering "obama...obama...obama..."
• I'm being sued by a pool company I had a dispute with in 2005. I'm trying to get all my paperwork together for the court date of 12/15/08. We'll see how that goes.
• OH...and Monday, Alison was arrested! The scofflaw has bounced a check in 1987, for $29! She was stopped for speeding, her warrant came up and she was handcuffed and taken to court. By a state trooper. Then her fun really began. She was shackled. Brought before a judge and it was eventually dropped. Her car had been impounded and the whole thing was a goat-f**k of the worst kind. I am so sorry she had to go through that, honestly. And I might never stop laughing.
• That's most of it, for now. I do enjoy blogging. I just got so far behing that it seemed impossible to catch up. Hopefully, I won't let 3 1/2 months go by until my next post!