I did something big tonight; I did our taxes. Check one more thing off of the "big girl" list. Now those of you who were around for the trainwreck that was me taking accounting (bad news, seriously bad news), are probably a little concerned and wondering why my my finance/economic graduate husband didn't take the lead on this one, I'm happy to report that I am fairly confident that I did them right (at least I sure hope so...).
UW has what is called the VITA or volunteer tax assistance program. Ironically, I used this program before I started working there and thought it was just BYU that put it on, but it is actually UW who coordinates the local area. It's an awesome program where trained volunteers help people who make less than $49,000 can come and receive free tax assistance. (we estimate for every hour volunteered, a total of more than $1,750 is brought back into our community, that's a total of $6.2 million just last year!) I've taken advantage of this great program since I've become a financially contributing member of society. For some reason, this year, I decided it would be a good idea to leave another appointment open for someone else and use our other great resource www.myfreetaxes.com/utah to prepare our taxes for free by myself. Amazingly enough, a few hours later, we were good to go. I had our VITA coordinator look over everything to make sure I didn't mess it up TOO badly, and when she gave us the green light, I submitted it.
Anyway, there is only a little more than a month left (did you know this year's deadline is April 18, not 15? Random, I know...). If you need some help, dial 2-1-1 (like 4-1-1, but 2-1-1 and it will connect you to our office) or 801-374-2588; we actually still have some appointments left! You can also use the www.myfreetaxes.com/utah site that we used this year if you want to easy step-by-step instructions or even just a free way to file. You can also make up to I want to say $59,000 to qualify for the service.
Happy taxes!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
You're Hot then You're Cold; You're Yes then You're No...
Kind of random post, but whatever...
So i have mentioned on more than one occasion the awful insulation that our apartment sadly possesses. Last winter, after it started cooling off outside, I had multiple mishaps with my nice warm morning shower suddenly and without explanations turning to freezing cold water. It was bad, pretty much every morning I would end up almost in tears (ok, so i maybe cried for reals a few times) because our hot water would suddenly be completely gone, not to return for a few hours.
As matt and I brainstormed to figure out what the problem was (and before we got too smelly from avoiding the shower...), the only thing we could think of was that the pipes were so cold it was quickly using everything our old waterheater could handle to have warm water reach the showerhead. While this didn't seem to make sense-- I have lived in the same cold winters here in Utah my whole life and never experienced this, and people live in much colder places, and i have never heard of them not having being forced to take a cold shower-- nothing else seemed to make sense either. This made us pretty sad and very unaware of how to fix our problem.
Luckily, we eventually noticed a pattern; when the heater turned on, our hot water disappeared. Now, I haven't ever heard/experienced this either, but it seemed a lot more likely than our other theory. So, now, we turn off our heater every morning before hopping into the shower. It's kind of sad to not have a warm house when you climb out, but I'll definitely take that over the ice shower any day.
This winter, I called around to try and find out what it would take to nip this issue in the bud (it is a BAD morning when you forget to turn the thing off or evening when you get home from work/school if you forget to turn it back on...). Unfortunately, pretty much every place thought that i was just a crazy woman and had no ideas for me.
Oh the joys of apartment living! Gotta love the funny quirks of this place.
So i have mentioned on more than one occasion the awful insulation that our apartment sadly possesses. Last winter, after it started cooling off outside, I had multiple mishaps with my nice warm morning shower suddenly and without explanations turning to freezing cold water. It was bad, pretty much every morning I would end up almost in tears (ok, so i maybe cried for reals a few times) because our hot water would suddenly be completely gone, not to return for a few hours.
As matt and I brainstormed to figure out what the problem was (and before we got too smelly from avoiding the shower...), the only thing we could think of was that the pipes were so cold it was quickly using everything our old waterheater could handle to have warm water reach the showerhead. While this didn't seem to make sense-- I have lived in the same cold winters here in Utah my whole life and never experienced this, and people live in much colder places, and i have never heard of them not having being forced to take a cold shower-- nothing else seemed to make sense either. This made us pretty sad and very unaware of how to fix our problem.
Luckily, we eventually noticed a pattern; when the heater turned on, our hot water disappeared. Now, I haven't ever heard/experienced this either, but it seemed a lot more likely than our other theory. So, now, we turn off our heater every morning before hopping into the shower. It's kind of sad to not have a warm house when you climb out, but I'll definitely take that over the ice shower any day.
This winter, I called around to try and find out what it would take to nip this issue in the bud (it is a BAD morning when you forget to turn the thing off or evening when you get home from work/school if you forget to turn it back on...). Unfortunately, pretty much every place thought that i was just a crazy woman and had no ideas for me.
Oh the joys of apartment living! Gotta love the funny quirks of this place.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Let the good times roll...
It's funny how life changes once you're married. We have been wanting to get together with a former roommate of Matt's who is getting married soon. Earlier in the week, we arranged to do something this weekend. They expressed interest in going country dancing, so we agreed and waited to hear back from them on the details.
We got the call yesterday morning. Dance instruction is from 9-9:30 and then the "real" dancing is after that, so we should pick them up at 8:45. We were both shocked, seriously? We wouldn't even be starting the evening's festivities until 9? That is the time we are usually headed home (oh who are we kidding, we are usually home WAY earlier!). It's pretty funny that just a few years ago (we got married 2 years ago this Saturday, go us!) leaving the house at 9 was such a normal and common occurrence (and ironically, most nights, not just one weekend night), but now, we were worried about making it through the evening.
Matt called me from the library around five asking if i wanted the "half-good news." Apparently former roommate's fiance (or is it fiancee, I always forget which is which) was not feeling well, so they asked to postpone. Now don't get me wrong, we're sad that she was sick, but man, we both felt a small sense of relief that we didn't have to start partying at such a late hour. Funny thing is, after we ate dinner, Matt got kind of a funny look on his face and said, "Man! Can you imagine? We wouldn't even be leaving for another hour!" I then had to remind him that it would have actually been not one, but two more hours before the activities even began.
Needless to say, we had a great evening at home, in our pajamas, just hanging out. Funny how things change :D
We got the call yesterday morning. Dance instruction is from 9-9:30 and then the "real" dancing is after that, so we should pick them up at 8:45. We were both shocked, seriously? We wouldn't even be starting the evening's festivities until 9? That is the time we are usually headed home (oh who are we kidding, we are usually home WAY earlier!). It's pretty funny that just a few years ago (we got married 2 years ago this Saturday, go us!) leaving the house at 9 was such a normal and common occurrence (and ironically, most nights, not just one weekend night), but now, we were worried about making it through the evening.
Matt called me from the library around five asking if i wanted the "half-good news." Apparently former roommate's fiance (or is it fiancee, I always forget which is which) was not feeling well, so they asked to postpone. Now don't get me wrong, we're sad that she was sick, but man, we both felt a small sense of relief that we didn't have to start partying at such a late hour. Funny thing is, after we ate dinner, Matt got kind of a funny look on his face and said, "Man! Can you imagine? We wouldn't even be leaving for another hour!" I then had to remind him that it would have actually been not one, but two more hours before the activities even began.
Needless to say, we had a great evening at home, in our pajamas, just hanging out. Funny how things change :D
Thursday, January 20, 2011
When you're helping you're happy and you sing as you go...
Last night, matt and I fulfilled one of our service duties and went to a shift at the Lindon Cannery. Growing up, I remember my mom working at the cannery and thinking it would be fun to do one day. Well, let's just say, it was everything I imagined and more.
When we got there, I was intrigued and a little afraid when the senior missionary told us we would be working on Pork and Beans. All of our plans changed though, when she realized we would be the evening's cleaning crew. We started out by washing up, putting on plastic aprons, gloves, hairnets (over the ears), goggles and rubber boots. Sadly, we were unable to take pictures, but think of the Honey Bunches of Oats commercials. Some of the girls were skeptical of the boots, but it was definitely a good thing. Within seconds, we were trudging inches of water.
Matt man and I (along with another dude) were assigned to clean 3 very large machinery-type pots and the surrounding platform. I sprayed everything down with foam. It was a pretty fun job, a hose that had so much foam spraying out that I almost lost the thing a time or two. Then we scrubbed everything down and then proceeded to use large hoses to rinse everything off. You've gotta love being able to spray everywhere/anywhere inside, it's like a little kids dream come true!
Anyway, to make a long story short, we had a great time. What seemed like a potentially nasty job ended up being a great time, something you don't really get to do anywhere else. (although we did luck out in not having to scrub trash cans...) Who knows what we'll end up doing next time!
When we got there, I was intrigued and a little afraid when the senior missionary told us we would be working on Pork and Beans. All of our plans changed though, when she realized we would be the evening's cleaning crew. We started out by washing up, putting on plastic aprons, gloves, hairnets (over the ears), goggles and rubber boots. Sadly, we were unable to take pictures, but think of the Honey Bunches of Oats commercials. Some of the girls were skeptical of the boots, but it was definitely a good thing. Within seconds, we were trudging inches of water.
Matt man and I (along with another dude) were assigned to clean 3 very large machinery-type pots and the surrounding platform. I sprayed everything down with foam. It was a pretty fun job, a hose that had so much foam spraying out that I almost lost the thing a time or two. Then we scrubbed everything down and then proceeded to use large hoses to rinse everything off. You've gotta love being able to spray everywhere/anywhere inside, it's like a little kids dream come true!
Anyway, to make a long story short, we had a great time. What seemed like a potentially nasty job ended up being a great time, something you don't really get to do anywhere else. (although we did luck out in not having to scrub trash cans...) Who knows what we'll end up doing next time!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Great Blizzard of 2010
Remember the post last week about the biggest blizzard to hit Utah in basically forever? Well, I was pretty happy to head home early to make sure we were prepared. Matt and I enjoyed dinner together while we waited for the snow to come. I was excited for Matt to see a big storm. Finally, the snowflakes started to fall. We kept waiting for it to pick up and start coming down more than just in flurries, but it sure took its time. Finally, we decided to make the most of our evening and head to Walmart to make some exchanges. It was great, there was no one out! I guess everything was canceled because of the storm, and everyone was staying home. It was the best shopping trip at Walmart that I've ever experienced; there were NO lines at all!
I guess it wasn't quite what everyone was expecting...
When we left the store, the snow had stopped. We went home and went to bed, figuring the blizzard was just later than it was supposed to be. When we got up the next morning, I had to take a picture of the results of the storm.
I guess it wasn't quite what everyone was expecting...Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving Thankful Things: Wednesday
So I had a hard time thinking of what to write about today. I had a handful of things happen today that made me happy, but none of them really stood out as being "the one." With that said, one thing that made me quite happy was the great customer service of Bed Bath and Beyond...
When we got married, we received some nice towels. I wanted to use them but wasn't sure if I wanted to exchange them for different colors; Matt wanted to keep using our mismatched towels that we both had before we got married and return the new ones (then get nice ones when the others wore out, but everyone knows how cheap we are, the odds of that happening are fairly small...). Well, we could never reach an agreement, so the towels went in a box and into the closet, neither of us getting what we wanted.
Last night, I finally agreed to take the towels back. We didn't have a receipt and were worried they wouldn't accept them (it has been almost two years you know...). However, Bed Bath and Beyond is the best place for taking care of customers. I have never had any issues with them. When I walked in tonight, they took all of the towels back, no questions asked! Who does that? Seriously, in the days of no one wanting to accept returns after 1 day (and you have to have a receipt and can only get store credit), it is so great to have a place actually take care of its customer! They definitely have found a lifer in me! (And who doesn't love the 20% off coupons that always come in the mail? And, I've had them take that one with the other $5 off coupon that comes, taking 2 coupons at once? Yes please!)
When we got married, we received some nice towels. I wanted to use them but wasn't sure if I wanted to exchange them for different colors; Matt wanted to keep using our mismatched towels that we both had before we got married and return the new ones (then get nice ones when the others wore out, but everyone knows how cheap we are, the odds of that happening are fairly small...). Well, we could never reach an agreement, so the towels went in a box and into the closet, neither of us getting what we wanted.
Last night, I finally agreed to take the towels back. We didn't have a receipt and were worried they wouldn't accept them (it has been almost two years you know...). However, Bed Bath and Beyond is the best place for taking care of customers. I have never had any issues with them. When I walked in tonight, they took all of the towels back, no questions asked! Who does that? Seriously, in the days of no one wanting to accept returns after 1 day (and you have to have a receipt and can only get store credit), it is so great to have a place actually take care of its customer! They definitely have found a lifer in me! (And who doesn't love the 20% off coupons that always come in the mail? And, I've had them take that one with the other $5 off coupon that comes, taking 2 coupons at once? Yes please!)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thanksgiving Thankful Things: Tuesday
So I definitely have something to be thankful for today, in preparation for this crazy blizzard with below 0 temps that is supposedly on its way, UW closed early! Can I get a woot, woot? (Matt barely made it back in time to grab his books before all of the students got kicked out of school, they're staying closed (for weather related reasons) until Friday!)
It's 5 o'clock now, and it seems like the only difference in weather is actually blue skies. Maybe the blizzard will come through though making it impossible to get to work tomorrow, hence getting an extra day for Thanksgiving. I'm skeptical, but we'll see.
It's 5 o'clock now, and it seems like the only difference in weather is actually blue skies. Maybe the blizzard will come through though making it impossible to get to work tomorrow, hence getting an extra day for Thanksgiving. I'm skeptical, but we'll see.
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