Less Hustle More Coffee

Tropical Depression Ida

Our clouds have looked like this the last couple of days from Tropical Depression IDA. I’m hoping for sunshine today but enh – it doesn’t really matter. It will be what it will. We have had rain but with breaks at times. As our weather woman said “it’s coming in waves”. As I got out of the car yesterday morning, the wind blew my umbrella inside out immediately. I had to switch from the little umbrella to the big one as torrents of rain fell from the sky. I had driven the back roads instead of the interstate. The interstate is starting to scare me because of the latest “bloom of idiot (likely on drugs) drivers” that can’t drive and cut you off and drive 100 (or try to) in traffic that is doing 55. Their game is weaving in and out like a Nintendo game. What they don’t know is that we will see them on the news in the morning or upside down clogging traffic while ambulance crews arrive. I don’t want to be in their game or on the news. So I’m starting to take the back roads more and more and that of course takes longer with the red lights. ::sigh:: Long story short – neither umbrella protected me from the rain. I was a soaking complete mess from head to toe walking just 40 feet or so from the front door. I had to dry off with paper towels.

Too Much Work and No Play Make for a Tropically Depressed Sonya

Mostly my efforts this week have been toward the work front. I’ve put in a lot of hours extra, which are my “deposits” for Mom’s doc appointments. I go in early on Tuesdays all month to cover the afternoon of the “eye injection” appt once a month and I’ve been staying late 30 min across 4 days this week to cover the Friday morning heart test she has. That way I get my work done and my “allotment” of hours in. I’m salaried but I want to make sure I get the hours in! With the way life is right now this year, I could easily be gone hours from every day just trying to get Mom’s life situated, and my own life done, lol. So I have to make sure I get work done!

Some of the appointments have had to be pushed out too because inevitably the day the doc is in – is on a Tuesday when I’m doing payroll or a Monday afternoon when I’m doing time sheets. lol Rolling my eyes. Her reading of the heart test is a month away b/c the doc and I could not get our schedules to work. I hate it but unless she is willing to uber, it has to wait for a non-payroll related day. It’s not easy to just tell someone else to do payroll. It’s a very finicky process and one in which if you hit the wrong button it WILL explode! lol. It’s always best that the one used to doing it – does it. It’s easy for me now, but even I worry I’ll hit the wrong button. I always sleep better on Tuesday night than I do Monday night before payroll!

Some things happened lately that made me want to give up on a few things. Or change a few things. It’s really all up to God. He sets the paths. There’s just been a few situations where regardless of the efforts of my own, LIFE and or others, or situations have tampered with, changed the situation, or caused a stumbling block – likely none intentional – but it is what it is. And it is just so discouraging, to know the efforts you make to just be less than stellar because of the circumstances and it makes YOU look bad. I’ve just had to give it up worrying over it. It’s nothing I could have done, I did what I could do with what I had at the time. I made the pot with the clay I had in my hands – that is the best way to put it. If you have rotten clay the outcome will not be a beautiful piece!!!!! And yes I do make mistakes and can make mistakes so put that on top of it. We all do regardless of trying your best. But yes at least everyone is trying – with the mangled world and data we have.

My unhooking skills (different from uncaring) have come in handy. When you Unhook and then attach said situation to God, it suddenly becomes a winning situation. I no longer have to worry. God deals with the spirits and principalities of this earth or UNIVERSE as they call it, so I don’t have to. He has the power to overcome.

Weathering the Taxes in a Virus Ladened World

This was on the calendar yesterday. And it’s funny, considering the issues WE have at work with the tax returns. We have had some tax returns to come back. I guess the IRS workers finally came back to work. lol. I do *some* of the tax returns, not all of them and I do them modeling the “big return” that someone else does when I do them. I also make sure they match the numbers I’m given. And I also make sure that I report on Schedule B the payments I made, exactly as I made them. But then the “dreaded virus” credits the government allows changes things and messes the whole thing up. I was asked to change a number on a return because of the credit and when I did – then my payments didn’t match the return but I didn’t realize it at the time. I thought I was “done”. lol. I think I was supposed to have made a credit in the payments too but I didn’t know it or wasn’t told to. (My ability to read minds IS pretty good but not perfect.) So it came back.

Then another time I was given the same tax form for a payroll two weeks in a row instead of the correct week and so I noticed on the return I had paid one week twice. I can’t imagine how I could have fouled that up when I just pull the tax form from that company’s payroll each week and pay it that week. I wouldn’t have gone back and pulled the last week tax form and made a copy as there is no copying, I simply pull what is given and pay it the week given. Anyway, when you see a tax paid the same number back to back when I did the return- it was suspicious. So I had to go ask for the correct payroll week for that week I didn’t have and apparently never had – then owed more $. Which I paid but it was late at that point. So we’ll owe interest as it didn’t show up until I did the return.

Anyway, I’m not an accountant! So the federal returns are not something that comes easy for me. I just have to model the big one and then work it til the numbers finally match, but then the credits come and it messes the whole thing up. You add these things, others errors, plus any I make, and it makes me look like I’m goofing the whole thing up. But I’m sure they (the big guys in the company) probably know I don’t file all of them. It’s not just me – but the credits, the other things that went afoul and then anything I missed or didn’t realize – makes the returns come back. But I’m choosing to let it go because it what it is and not much of it is in my control.

I am a payroll person though and I enjoy doing the withholding taxes and returns and the unemployment taxes and returns as apart of the accounting side of it, but I don’t like doing the federal tax return for one of our companies that I have to do because of all the credits and ins/outs. It amazes me how the numbers can match and it’s still wrong, lol. I’m not even sure why this position was assigned to do the federal return itself when more capable others are in the building that are familiar with the credits and what they are doing and what is going on with all that. Anyway, I just try to make the numbers match and even then it’s wrong. So go figure. I just make the tax payments but probably NOT the best person to do the return itself since I’m not involved with the credits and figuring all that. God gonna have to do them from here. I’m afraid to touch them with a ten foot pole now.

And I’m just not really one that is used to dealing with that or the credits happen after the fact and mess it up into the next quarter. It gets confusing and it’s not something I have to deal with every day. So my mind is just not wrapped around this I guess.

Then there was an annual tax that I thought was paid at the end of the year. I mean – an “annual” tax is what it is called. But apparently we make quarterly installments. Who knew? lol If I weren’t so bummed about it I’d laugh. Maybe one day.

I am shaking my head though. Not a lot I can do. It’s just a bit over my head with my level of accounting experience, but I absolutely love doing the withholding and unemployment returns. Payroll also remains a first love! But those federal tax returns. Ugh! I am totally afraid to touch anything with them now. I wish they would go away. lol

Meanwhile in Texas

Someone is enjoying himself in the mirror. He sees a baby! He loves the baby! He also loves his basket of toys! He’s sitting up good and on the verge of crawling. But having trouble lifting that belly off the ground! He swims instead. He’s so close as he’s pushing his knees up and he’ll go in circles on the floor.

Look at those fat rolls on his arms!

So the rest of the week – finish out payroll and tax responsibilities at work and get my nails done one night and Mom to her heart test on Friday where they see if her valve is working properly.

The house is coming along – dry wall up and windows in! They are waiting on the brick to arrive. That is next I think.

The weekend plans are building which is not much. KFC one night and burgers on the actual day. Not a lot of plans to go anywhere. I have plans to fall decorate and plans to work on files and start the next video.

Better go. I’m now running late since I didn’t have anything to say today (I thought) but I did!

So what are your Labor Day plans for those of you who celebrate?