I did not get a picture of the next thing we did, because along with not being a scrapbooker, I do not take a ton of pictures either. Maybe having a blog will change that. We will see. Ok, back to what we did for Chad. Chad was out of town and comming home on Valentines evening. The kids and I cut out a bunch of hearts, then got the security guard to let us in the parking area of Chads work. We taped the hearts all over the windows of his car. When he landed and walked out to his car, he had a little suprise. The kids got really into it, and could not wait for their Dad to see it.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Valentines Day
Alex and Ethan's elementary school let parents decorate a valentine for their children. The Valentines were posted on the wall in the school. Here is what I did or our kids. I got a bunch of small candy bars and wrote them a letter using the title of the candy in the letter. Keep in mind that I am not a scrapbooker and I am not the most creative person around, but the kids thought it was cool. This was part of their valentines gift from me to them.
I did not get a picture of the next thing we did, because along with not being a scrapbooker, I do not take a ton of pictures either. Maybe having a blog will change that. We will see. Ok, back to what we did for Chad. Chad was out of town and comming home on Valentines evening. The kids and I cut out a bunch of hearts, then got the security guard to let us in the parking area of Chads work. We taped the hearts all over the windows of his car. When he landed and walked out to his car, he had a little suprise. The kids got really into it, and could not wait for their Dad to see it.
I did not get a picture of the next thing we did, because along with not being a scrapbooker, I do not take a ton of pictures either. Maybe having a blog will change that. We will see. Ok, back to what we did for Chad. Chad was out of town and comming home on Valentines evening. The kids and I cut out a bunch of hearts, then got the security guard to let us in the parking area of Chads work. We taped the hearts all over the windows of his car. When he landed and walked out to his car, he had a little suprise. The kids got really into it, and could not wait for their Dad to see it.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Chad's Rants - Episode 1 (taxes and tax cheats)
Although Melissa will be the major contributor to our family blog, on occasion I may take a moment to contribute. Today, I have decided to post a few rants that I have been stewing over in recent weeks. Those of you who don't want to hear any political rantings may choose to bypass this post (Don't worry, I won't hold it against you).
Over the last couple of weeks I have been finishing my taxes. Man, what a royal pain in the bahookie! As I sat there trying to gather all of my necessary documentation, I couldn't help but wonder why in the heck we are subjected to such misery in the first place. Why does the IRS have to have such a convoluted tax code? It is such a complicated mess. I can't help but wonder why the government doesn't just simplify and go to a national tax rate that is applicable to everybody - whether one is a private entity such as myself, or a corporate entity. Why not just go to a flat rate of, let's say, 15%. Everyone pays a flat rate of 15%...no corporate loopholes, no multitudinous deductions, just 15%. And that goes to everyone...even those who are getting welfare. That's it...15% off the top. Period. Anyone who is a US citizen, any entity that conducts business in the US, anyone or anything that earns an income of any sort within the US pays a straight 15% tax. Think of all the time and effort this would save, not only for average US taxpayers, but also for the IRS and associated tax collection entities. Seems pretty simple to me..which means that the US government will never, ever adopt such a proposal.
Speaking of the US government, man, am I ever impressed by the wisdom and foresight shown recently by our new President, Barack Obama. (Thick sarcasm applied here) Wow! Only a man of such experience and fortitude would think to nominate Timothy Geithner to be the Treasury Secretary, and by default, the head of our premier tax collecting agency, the IRS. Yes, folks, a man who purposely chose not to pay his taxes (except for a few days before his nomination was announced, at which time he paid his delinquent tax burden in full) was nominated and confirmed. And then, to nominate three other people to prominent positions, all three of whom also failed to pay their taxes! Among these latter three, Tom Daschle was delinquent in over $128,000 of taxes and fines. At least he had the decency to back out, but the point is, he never should have been in such a position to begin with. Can you imagine if you or I, as private citizens, would have been delinquent in the payment of our taxes? I'm pretty sure that if I were in a similar position, I would have probably been tracked down and put in jail. But I guess there is a different system for the politicians and former politicians. It's pretty sickening. But it really concerns me that President Obama would try and appoint such people to prominent positions within his Cabinet. It really causes me to question not only his judgement, but also the effectiveness of his staff's vetting process. It is going to be an interesting four years....
On a side note...during the Presidential primaries, didn't Joe Biden tell Katie Couric during a television interview that "It is PATRIOTIC to pay taxes!"? I guess by Joe's definition that all four of these Obama nominees are unpatriotic because they didn't want to pay their taxes. Joe Biden...what an idiot! I guess Obama picked Biden for VP as insurance against an assassination attempt by some white supremacist nut job.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been finishing my taxes. Man, what a royal pain in the bahookie! As I sat there trying to gather all of my necessary documentation, I couldn't help but wonder why in the heck we are subjected to such misery in the first place. Why does the IRS have to have such a convoluted tax code? It is such a complicated mess. I can't help but wonder why the government doesn't just simplify and go to a national tax rate that is applicable to everybody - whether one is a private entity such as myself, or a corporate entity. Why not just go to a flat rate of, let's say, 15%. Everyone pays a flat rate of 15%...no corporate loopholes, no multitudinous deductions, just 15%. And that goes to everyone...even those who are getting welfare. That's it...15% off the top. Period. Anyone who is a US citizen, any entity that conducts business in the US, anyone or anything that earns an income of any sort within the US pays a straight 15% tax. Think of all the time and effort this would save, not only for average US taxpayers, but also for the IRS and associated tax collection entities. Seems pretty simple to me..which means that the US government will never, ever adopt such a proposal.
Speaking of the US government, man, am I ever impressed by the wisdom and foresight shown recently by our new President, Barack Obama. (Thick sarcasm applied here) Wow! Only a man of such experience and fortitude would think to nominate Timothy Geithner to be the Treasury Secretary, and by default, the head of our premier tax collecting agency, the IRS. Yes, folks, a man who purposely chose not to pay his taxes (except for a few days before his nomination was announced, at which time he paid his delinquent tax burden in full) was nominated and confirmed. And then, to nominate three other people to prominent positions, all three of whom also failed to pay their taxes! Among these latter three, Tom Daschle was delinquent in over $128,000 of taxes and fines. At least he had the decency to back out, but the point is, he never should have been in such a position to begin with. Can you imagine if you or I, as private citizens, would have been delinquent in the payment of our taxes? I'm pretty sure that if I were in a similar position, I would have probably been tracked down and put in jail. But I guess there is a different system for the politicians and former politicians. It's pretty sickening. But it really concerns me that President Obama would try and appoint such people to prominent positions within his Cabinet. It really causes me to question not only his judgement, but also the effectiveness of his staff's vetting process. It is going to be an interesting four years....
On a side note...during the Presidential primaries, didn't Joe Biden tell Katie Couric during a television interview that "It is PATRIOTIC to pay taxes!"? I guess by Joe's definition that all four of these Obama nominees are unpatriotic because they didn't want to pay their taxes. Joe Biden...what an idiot! I guess Obama picked Biden for VP as insurance against an assassination attempt by some white supremacist nut job.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
COUPONS, COUPONS and more COUPONS!
I know that this is a little cheesy to post, but I do coupons. I spend about 10 hours a week cutting coupons and going to the stores with the best deals. Yesterday I went to Kroger and purchased 4 boxes of instant Quaker Oatmeal, 4 cans of Hormel Chilie, 2 boxes of Captain Crunch, 4 pkgs of Steamer Veggies, 3 gallons of milk, 1 gallon of orange juice, 6 jars of Pace Salsa and a diet Coke. I got all of it for a mere $33.00!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Happy Fourth of July in February
OK, we just got a new computer and we have very few pictures saved on it. So, our first blog entry is about those few pictures. This is a trip we took to Florida to visit Chad's brother, Mike and his family. We toured a battlefield in Vicksburg, Mississippi, an old Civil War era fort in Pensacola, Florida, and then the highlight of the trip was the BEACH. The kids loved the beach!!! They miss the beach so much and had not been to a beach for more than a year (we used to live in So. California). We all had a great time, most everyone got stung by a jellyfish, but who cares when you are at the beach!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)