Monday was a holiday, President's Day. I don't think I've ever had the day off before.
Growing up in the south we always had a long weekend to remember Martin Luther King Jr, but President's Day was a holiday that seemed to only be recognized by car dealerships and furniture stores. As a grownup working in a hospital the tradition continued. I'd get Monday off for MLK which I often celebrated with a ski trip, but President's Day would come and go without me even noticing.
As I found myself enjoying the long weekend, I realized a disappointing fact... I had no idea what was the point of the holiday. As usual, I turned to Wikipedia for answers.
Apparently President's Day is celebrated the 3rd Monday of February in honor of George Washington's birthday. There was a side note that Lincoln's b-day was also in February. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGIE & ABE!!!
Now what better way to celebrate our nations forefathers than by doing my own taxes?!? Turns out that I had enough life changes in 2013 to make this process tricky. Here's the things that turned completing taxes into a day-long process:
- Moving always seems to complicate things. Apparently I get the bonus of deducting moving expenses; however, I was punished and had to file not one, but two state returns.
- Giving to charity is a good thing. It would have been even better if I had remembered to keep all my charitable receipts in one place during the move. Organizational fail.
- Being a homeowner gets you some tax breaks. Being a rental property owner apparently gives you even more. Of course extra tax breaks means extra paperwork!
At least the paperwork is behind me. Now I can start dreaming of what to do with my refund. God bless 'Merica!
Here's some pictures from my week:
This is a Vietnamese tofu bun bowl. I got it from the local farmers market from a tent called The Pig Lady. Good thing that lady also knows how to do vegetarian food.
Special treat: sugar free, gluten free, chemical free peach popover. Now I just have to figure out what the heck was in this tasty treat!
And now for the pic of the week:
Mahalo!
Your week sounds eventful. Glad taxes are behind you & that you will be receiving a refund. Back in the "old" days we used to celebrate both George & Abe separately. Then the holiday was changed to recognize our Presidents (good bad & ugly). In doing this we also recognize our form of Govt. Democracy is based on the peaceful transition of power through a popular vote. God bless America !
ReplyDeleteL-O-V-E the pic of the 'rents. It's magical. And I still can't stop laughing about Dad and a cat getting along...pirate style. Cheeeeeeeeese Sammich!
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