Taxes, Anniversary, and the Creature

This weekend was a very long one. Not in the good way. I spent much of it hunched over my computer with boxes of receipts, invoices, and check registers in my lap as I tried to get my taxes done. It was an ordeal, to say the least. It might have been a wee bit easier if I had done them back in April when I was supposed to have done them, but we had filed for the magical extension back then, and I figured I'd get them done 'eventually'. Eventually came pretty quickly when my Father-In-Law (our tax man) called and reminded me that the deadline was approaching. So I dug in and got to work.

Wow, what a mess! Every year, I resolve to keep better records, and this year is no different. However, after this particular tax session was over, I actually did sit down and print out all my statements and check registers so that I'll have everything on hand at the end of 2006! Yay for me! Anyway, I did manage to finish this year's taxes more or less on time. And we even got a small refund. Woo hoooo!

Yesterday was our 8/9 Anniversary. 8 years married, 9 years together. You see, we got married exactly one year to the day after we met. It made it easier to remember the dates. ;-) This year, it fell on a Tuesday, and we're in the middle of a hard workweek for her, classes and seminar preparation for me, so we just opted for an evening at home, watching the first season of Lost. She's always enjoyed that show, but I never got into it, so I promised to sit down with her and watch it from the start. OK, so now I'm into it. It seems far more interesting now that I've seen it from the first episode. Anyhow, darling wife was feeling sick, so we made a huge pot of chicken soup and watched the show. Special thanks to Mr. Lawler, who took over classes for me last night so that I could stay home with her!

This morning, I awoke to some truly hideous noises. I thought that the Creature from the Black Lagoon had stopped by to say hello, but it turns out that it was just me. Season allergies, you know. So my head feels like it's stuffed with snot, and I sound pretty icky. It's gross. Since I haven't had a whole bunch of company at my sprints lately, I opted to stay home and blow my nose a lot. Of course, now that I've done that, I'll have a room full of people at my noon class asking where I was. Figures. Ah, well. I didn't sleep that much, so I'm also hoping for a quick nap before I head out there to teach.

My Sifu, Master Art D'Agostino, is coming out this weekend, and I'm looking forward to learning some more stuff. This seminar is more about refining what we know than actually learning new movements, but that's all good to me. I always need help in fixing things, and I've got forever to learn more forms. I'd just as soon learn more applications and how to use the forms.

And I'm still waiting for the literary agency to let me know if they think my work will sell. Fingers are still crossed, and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to type this way. I'll keep you posted.

OK, then, back to bed. Just for a bit.