Tax Time

OK, it has taken me about this much time since tax day to actually calm down enough to blog. If you are a person who gets a big fat IRS "refund" you should probably stop reading right now...because this is just going to tick you off.

I don't get refunds, I don't even remember the last time I did, and I certainly have never gotten a check from the IRS for more than a few hundred dollars. Yup, I'm one of those people who actually pay taxes. In answer to your questions, yes, I do have money held out of our paychecks, Scott claims 1 and I claim 2. Yes, we do know how to fill out our tax documents and occasionally have had them professionally done. No, I don't cheat on our taxes. Yes, I do claim all my deductions.

You see the problem is that Scott and I just pretty much work our ****es off, and as a result the federal government seeks to penalize that by making us pay more. I don't get the "earned income tax credit", I have never received section 8 housing support, never had food stamps, never had reduced lunches for my children at school, never had help with my utility bills, medicaid or subsidized anything. One time Scott got laid off from a job and the unemployment office decided that since he had a retirement from the US Military he was entitled to $40 per week of unemployment, boy did that really help. We drew that for about 5 months.

Now for the part where I make some people angry. If you got a really big refund from "Uncle" Sam, do you really think you actually overpaid? Are you that stupid? Look at the actual numbers, if you are that capable, and realize that you are simply being paid for your inability to succeed. That's right, you are a bunch of leaches sucking off people that are actually paying their way. Do you think that money just shows up? They estimate that the bottom 50% of wage earners in this country have virtually zero tax liability. So now I will explain what that means for those people, it means that if you don't work as hard as 50% of the population, the US Government will steal money from people that are working harder and give it back to you. The top 10% of wage earners pay 71% of the taxes in this country. Now you may say, "Well, they should, they make a bunch of money." Except that guess what the cut off is for the top 10%...this year it was estimated at households that make more than $108,000.

Scott and I did not chose to have children we could not afford, we drive older cars that are paid for, we don't default on our responsibilities, we go to work every day, we deal with bosses and co-workers who sometimes annoy us, we go to work when we are tired, we pay for our children, we pay for our food, we pay for our health care, we pay our mortgage, we pay our insurance, and most of all we don't expect anyone or anything else to pay for us.

Forgive me if at times I become frustrated with you for your excuses, but since when did your stupidity and bad judgement become my responsibility? Apparently, it was when the US Government decided to use it's power to force me to pay for you.

Huh...haven't done that in a long time...

I used to sing. No really, I did. I was in all kinds of choirs in high school, including the "elite" Octavos. I enjoyed singing, what I didn't enjoy was the issues so many music people have. My father tried to warn me, you see, his mother, my beloved Grandma Whiting was a music person. She was a guest soloist at the first radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. My Grandma Whiting was a wonderful person, and she had some awesome qualities, but she was a force to be reckoned with when it came to music and productions.

I pretty much decided that I was done singing when my high school choir director got mad, threw down his baton, ran into his office and slammed the door. Granted, it was his first year of teaching and we were a pretty mouthy bunch of high schoolers. Anyway, I didn't pursue it when I went to college. At one point I did have to go to the director of the music department to drop a class, and when he saw the form, he looked up and said, "So you're the Whiting I heard about that could sing." I just smiled, thanked him for signing it and left.

So for that last 20 years, it has just been a few little songs here or there-a funeral, a Relief Society lesson, etc. About 9 years ago I did have an inch of my trachea removed because of some scar tissue build up, and I never really planned on singing again, so I was surprised about 6 weeks ago when I got a call from the stake Relief Society about singing in a choir for a Women's Conference with Janice Kapp Perry. Well, I have good days and not so good days, but I gave it a try.

It has been a really long time since I worried about breathing, diction, crescendos, etc. but it brought back a lot of memories from way back when. Well, after it was all over, it turned out to be pretty good, and I guess we sounded ok, anyway, we got a lot of compliments. Maybe I'll do it again, well until someone throws another temper tantrum.

Death by Chocolate Trigonometry

All right, I can't help it...we are a pretty nerdy family. There, I said it, my daughter loves, and I mean LOVES math. She's taking trig as a sophomore and is doing, well, let's just say really good. Anyway, she climbed in the van the other night after tennis practice (that's a whole other blog entry) and started to tell me about her trigonometry assignment that was due next week.

Emily: Mom, I have a big trigonometry assignment we...blah blah blah blah (at this point my eyes have glazed over)... so I thought I would make a big cake (oh, something that caught my attention) and then I would....blah blah blah....with cupcakes around it. What do you think?

Admittedly the only thing I understood was that I needed to make a big cake, and some cupcakes and have stuff for her to draw on the cake with. I told that sounded great, when was it due? I remembered that Allison the Younger had a ginormous cake pan (ok, it was really a 16" round) left over from a smiley face cake she made a couple years ago. So I snagged that, then I called her and asked how many cake mixes it takes to make a cake that big, turns out it was 4! The whole thing turned into a family project that consisted of me making the cake and cupcakes, Scott finding some plywood that we could support a cake that bigon and creating a cover that wouldn't mess it up, Emily doing all the decorating and figures, and of course her little brother making comments such as "I can't believe you're doing your homework on a cake!"

Well, Scott and Emily took it to her teacher this morning and...needless to say, it was a hit.

Oh, it's that time again..

Yes, it is that time again, when I rant and rave about the pathetic casualization of members of my faith. Once again Emily and I attended what should have been a nice, church dress, New Beginnings program (and I use the term program loosely). I worked all day, Emily had to stay after school, so we had to hurry home to change and get back into the chapel. Now, I will admit, I was tempted to just wear what I had on, but in all good conscience I couldn't do it. So "suited up" Emily asked me on the way in if I thought we would be the only ones there in church dress, I told her, "I'm afraid so, but just because they have lowered their standards doesn't mean I will lower ours."

Sure enough, they stared dazedly at us, as if we were the confused ones. However, I was soon justified when--- glory be...the stake leaders showed up in dresses!! Don't worry, I'm sure all the ward young women and their leaders still felt right at home in their skin tight jeans, athletic shorts and yes...even some sweat pants.

In fact one of the leaders in front of Emily and I (slouching in her tennis shoes and fleece jogging jacket) was commenting to another leader "I'm glad I only have boys, I just couldn't get into the whole girl thing." And my only thought was, "I'm glad you only have boys too, at least they won't learn how to dress from you". I know that sounds pretty mean, but I don't care. They all own dresses - I've seen them wearing them on Sunday.

There are two major programs each year associated with the Young Women's Program, New Beginnings and Evening of Excellence. Neither of these programs are surprise parties- aka they should be planned well in advanced, not..."hey you're here! Want to read a part in this skit I just downloaded from the Internet? I don't have the props, in fact I only have one copy of the skit and it requires 4 girls, but hey let's all have a goofy fun time."

Gee...I wonder why they have such a hard time getting girls to earn their Young Womenhood Award.

Apparently, it could be worse...

Believe it or not, there are a few things I don't share with everyone. I know, that is hard to believe since I feel like I tell everyone everything! But I have had quite a few challenges in the last six months which I have, shall we say, kept pretty close to the vest. The other night, I was reminiscing about the last couple weeks, since I kissed 2010 away and welcomed in 2011, thinking...there is no way it could be as bad as last year. I went to bed thinking so far for 2011, our challenges are pretty darn good. Then I had the dream.....

I dreamed my darling 15 year old announced she was pregnant. The father, a boy she doesn't have an interest for in real life, is a very nice young man. I dreamed they were almost as surprised as her Mom and Dad were. Of course my plans in the dream were to send her live with her Aunt Donna, and give that child to someone who needed it.

Then I woke up, and realized that as bad as my challenges have been in the last couple months, apparently... they could have been worse!

Here we go Again!

Sometimes when I have way to much time on my hands (not at my work, of course!), I come up with grand ideas. I know that to regular readers of this blog, this will probably not come as any surprise...plays, cub mobiles, parades, over the top reunions...but I digress. So as I was sitting at my desk one day, before Thanksgiving and I started thinking about all the family that was coming home for Christmas this year. Then the usual wheels start turning and I think, maybe I could host a Christmas Eve party, just like Grandma Whiting used to have. But the logical part of my brain remembers a not pleasant experience involving Christmas Eve a few years ago, and all the therapy and xanax it required to get over it.

So I suppressed my Christmas Eve idea, although I did confide in both my sister and Scott about it. After a bunch of other stuff going on, I decided I simply didn't have the energy to pull it off, so I shelved the idea and planned to move on. Then Nancy called and pretty much talked me into it, she promised to help and so I sent out the invitations.

Here it is three days till Christmas Eve, and now I think..."Allison, the next time you have one of these great ideas, walk out of the lab, walk over to the big main power line that feeds the plant, take a pair of bolt cutters and soon that idea will be out of your head!"

Oh, I have lots of help, Allie and Nancy are going to help with the food, Jake is taking care of the Nativity play, Scott and I are home this week to get ready, and yet already I am stressing. When will I learn??? Today, Mom, Nancy, Emily, Allie, Janna, Lucyann and I all went out to eat at Red Lobster (Thanks Harriet) and when someone said something about a crazy person Allie said, "Oh, yeah, you're crazy!" Well, at least it's an illness my whole family recognizes. And to make sure I'm truly crazy, we are having a cookie decorating party on Thursday for all the kids.

I hope my children remember fondly the good memories that I tried to give them...you know, before I went away to my special hospital!

End of the Semester!!!!!

Although it has been a few years...ok more than a few! I still can remember the feeling of walking out of my last final, in my last semester, in the last year of college. It was a grass tax class, and I had the best feeling walking out of that class. Well, fast forward a few years, and now I have been back in school hell!

Emily (and her parents) got caught up in the whole AP/Honors curriculum idea. Unfortunately, the school has now recognized a couple things 1) Sophomores are probably not good candidates for AP Bio, especially since this is the first bio class she has had 2) Honors Comp Lit in conjunction with any other AP/Honors program is really not a good idea (this from multiple AP teachers) and 3) Who believes that any 15 year old should take AP Statistics? OK, the last one was mine, fortunately she did drop that one in the first week of classes. Now, after missing a week because of pneumonia, a suspension for fighting (oh we are so proud, who knew three years of Judo would pay off like that?), and a whole lot of other stuff you won't get me to blog about, we have actually finished this semester with some pretty damn decent grades!!!

I was just going to be glad if we were all still alive by December 18th. But this child has seriously worked her butt off! We gave up a social life, church activities, and family movie nights, and it paid off big time. However, we have learned from our experiences and next semester, we told Emily that we didn't care if she took underwater basket weaving. She just looked at us with that blond look and said, "That doesn't make any sense!" This from the girl that had to learn to recognize aldehyde's and alcohol chemical structures in less than a night for bio. Anyway, next semester is going to be considerably less stressful. Hopefully we won't have regular 60 hours of homework a week.

Yes, I didn't think after walking out of that final that I would ever have that feeling again, but on Friday, December 17th, at 1:30 I had it again! And I wasn't even at the school.