I love it when the taxes are done.

Of course I'll love it more when the refund comes in. This year I have a good refund coming back. Substantial enough to wonder about finding a new laptop... Sometime during this year, though, I need to start my Roth IRA to add some deductions for next year when the full effect of my job change will hit. This year I only had three months at the new salary and it, apparently, didn't kick me up into the next tax bracket. It annoys me, however, to pay $82.40 to buy the software to do the taxes but I suppose it gives me peace of mind that they are done correctly. If I had wanted to deduct that amount from my refund I would have had to pay another $40 so I just put it on my debit card. It will make the rest of the month tighter because I wasn't expecting that expense. (Oh, don't ask why! I should know by now!)

The taxes were my top priority today but I've also spent a bit of time outside pulling weeds, raking, and planting bushes to replace the ones that died over the last few years. I figured I could invest $25 to make my outside space prettier over the long run. I bought a small pink Rhodie and Pink Pieris Japonica. They are usually hardy plants and they are also pretty. Hopefully I can keep the small children out of them long enough to get them established. I bought so Gladiolus bulbs but now I can't figure out where to plant them. I need another large planter but I think I'll see what's at my parent's house first. It has to be big enough that the drunk idiots can't pick it up to throw or over turn it. I may just need to buy another half barrel. Hmmm, I just realized that all the plants in that row are now shades of pink. I didn't do that on purpose, these were just what looked healthy of what was available at Bi-Mart. I do like pink though so I'm not unhappy about it. I also bought a couple of flowering plants to go into the planter that holds the mint. It will provide a pretty face while the mint re-establishes itself for the year. I'm trying an experiment. The wild side of my apartment doesn't get any yard care so I bought some wild flower mixes and threw them out onto the surface. I don't know if they will grow or not but it's worth a try. The children may trample or pick them before I ever see them but I'll try it anyway.

For the rest of the day I need to vacuum and mop. The floor is particularly dirty since I was trecking back and forth and bringing in dirt on my shoes. At some point I will work out. It won't be morning this Saturday but maybe this evening. Once the housework is done, I need to figure out whether I'm sewing or knitting. I've done no knitting this week. :>( But I have some new fabric that I want to get cut out. It's for dresses so it doesn't count for my skirt of the month club. I also need to get my groceries but I hate doing that on the weekend because it takes so much time. Maybe it will wait until Monday. I'll have to see if I have enough breakfast and lunch items to skate through until then.

Ok, I must get busy. I hope everyone is having a great Saturday and enjoying lovely weather like we are. (47 degrees is still cool but the sun is shining!)

Oops! Not today....

Apparently yard work is too much for my back. There was no exercise today and no machine sewing. Instead I worked on some hand sewing while I kept the icy hot pack on my back. Egils is coming and I need to make sure my garb is ready anyway. I cut out the dress I meant to sew but that's as far as I got. I did go to do the grocery shopping. The kitty litter is still in the trunk. I couldn't lift it out today. Getting it into the cart was as good as I got. I had a clerk load it into my car.

I'm not too worried about the exercise. It would have been nice but my weeks totals are good: Minutes 227 actual / 120 goal Calories burned 1979 actual / 1040 goal. I exceeded my goals for the week but It's nice to stay on a roll. Hopefully my back will be better tomorrow and I can do some sort of work out.

Tomorrow is Easter. We don't celebrate, although we did the eggs and basket thing when we were kids. I remember coming downstairs early to hunt for eggs or maybe catch a glimpse of that elusive bunny. I contemplated buying candy, but it's better for my figure if I don't. My sweet tooth gets out of control.

Anyway, I'm delaying trying to get out of the chair to go to bed. It's a bit of a difficult and painful proposition today but I'd better get to it. Goodnight all.