Drip Drip Drop Master Shower Reprise

Photo Credit

Well the shower started leaking again. Phooey!
The Tile/Guy came by last night to give Matt a definite quote, and when it was all said and done . . .Guess what?
I get a NEW MASTER BATHROOM, YAY!
however, I have to help pay for it. Bummer-roo-noo!

If only it looked as great as this photo when it was all done right? ha!

You can take your HSA and stick it where the sun don't shine!

1) I have been strongly encouraged to open an H.S.A. account and enter the account number into the company benefits site before Friday December 19th. H.S.A. accounts with different banks/credit unions have different monthly fees/interest rates, etc.
After much evaluation and research, I decided on 3 different Credit Unions that I liked, and I started calling them. All of these Credit Unions had H.S.A. accounts with NO monthly fee (it was free) which is why I chose them. I refuse to pay a monthly fee just to have an account opened (thanks a lot BofA - $4.50/month? no thanks.). The first one (based in California) wouldn't let me join as a member, so scratch that one. The 2nd one was based in New Jersey - same thing. The last one was local to Atlanta, so I called them. They said they could open an H.S.A. for me, but I could not have a zero balance, and I'd need to deposit funds to open it. However, I'd be penalized by the I.R.S.
Why?
2) I am not "eligible" to make H.S.A. contributions (aka Deposits) until January 1st, 2009. Because our HDHP plan won't start until then.
3) Most (not all, but most) of the banks/Credit Unions I called, won't LET you open an H.S.A. with a zero balance. You have to put money into the account.
4) There are I.R.S. penalties for depositing money into an H.S.A. before you are eligible.
5) Nobody (My own HR dept or the Benefits dept. etc) could explain to me what these mysterious penalties were, so I actually called the I.R.S. today. http://www.irs.gov/help/article/0,,id=96730,00.html
6) According to the I.R.S. any money you put into your H.S.A. before eligible (ie: before Jan 1, 2009) will be penalized a 6% excise tax.
In my example that would mean I had to deposit $50 to open the H.S.A. and then that would be taxed 6% by the I.R.S.
The Bank/Credit Union has to send you (and the IRS) an 8889 form at the end of each year for H.S.A. accounts. This will have to be filed along with your normal 1040 form whenever you file your taxes prior to Apr. 15, 2009.
However, according to the I.R.S. lady, if you withdraw the ineligible money (and any interest it earned in the H.S.A.) before Apr. 15, 2009, you won't have to pay the 6% excise tax. However, you will need to file the 8889 form and show that you withdrew the money back out. She mentioned a 5498 form also, but I was getting really lost at that point. I was so fed up.
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The other option is that you can wait until Jan. 2nd, 2009 (the first business day of the yr), and open the H.S.A. then. However, as the Corporate email stated "You must enter your HSA bank information by Friday, December 19, 2008 for HSA contributions to start in January of 2009. If you provide your HSA bank information after that date, your HSA contributions will begin as soon as administratively possible."
Which isn't a bad thing, unless you somehow need to use H.S.A. funds for medical reasons prior to the "Administratively possible' date.
You CAN deposit your own after-tax dollars into your H.S.A. at any time after eligibility (provided your contributions for the year are within the guidelines outlined for H.S.A. accts), and then you would claim this money as a deduction when you file your 2009 taxes. It isn't penalized, but you just need to claim it so you aren't taxed on that money.
Clear as mud?
yes I let me just tell you how much I LOVE this new insurance plan (insert sarcasm here).

Have yourself a Merry Little . . .

Photo Credit goes to Matthew Lane of Zazen Photo.

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Ah, as the month draws on and Christmas draws nearer, suddenly the weather seems to be getting WARMER! WTF? Where's the snow? and mistletoe?

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Anyhoo, everything is peachy keen at the moment. Let's hope it stays that way.

I have my HoneyBaked Ham ordered, and the house is ready for Christmas. Ahh the holidays are here!

Makin' Pad Thai from whatever I can find in my kitchen without going to the store . . .

Sauce: 2 heaping tablespoons of Reduced Fat Creamy Jif Peanut Butter, 30-40 dashes of Tabasco Sauce, 1/4 cup Light Soy Sauce, a few shakes of Garlic Powder, 2 sweet & Lo packets. Stir over low heat until saucy. Add 1 can of chicken, some basil, and frozen chopped spinach. Continue stirring until mixed well.

Noodles: Quinoa Spaghetti noodles - Il Denti!

After Sauce is done and Noodles cooked/firm - drain noodles but keep them in the pan, turn heat on low. Add a bit of liquid Egg Whites, stir until eggs whites cook, add sauce and toss with noodles until consistency is what you want.

Dash of Lemon Juice (I couldn't find lime), and sprinkle chopped nuts on top (all I had was the leftover chopped almonds from the Baklava.

Serve warm, with plenty of water to douse your tastebuds with when the spice sets in.

In hindsight, I would have made more noodles or 1/2'd the sauce recipe - I made enough for an entire 2nd batch. IF I had done this, I'd have made 6-8 full servings.

Enjoy - Love always Abbie the madcap cook!

Drip Drip Drop little Master Shower . . .

Photo Credit goes to ME! lol.
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My company hosted a "Craft fair" this Wednesday and we were selling Matt's Prints there from Zazen Photo. It was our first "show" so to speak, and it went pretty well. We only sold 1 item, but we made lots of contacts. I am glad for the experience though, now I will know what to do at a Gallery if we do a show at one.
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I have been sick a little this week too (drainage and sniffles and sneezing) but I started to feel like it was a sinus infection (bad for me) so I started doing my nosespray and Mucinex stuff, and it's getting gradually better. I am perkier today than I have felt in a while - but still very tired.
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Our Master Shower is leaking - and the repair guy says it will be $5000-10,000 to fix it (because all the tile has to come out, and the way they did the damn bathroom that means the ENTIRE shower and floor will have to be replaced). We were about to tell him to START as we thought the roommate was moving in in January, but now he may not (his work just layed off 15% of their people, and he is skittish - even though he has his job still). We are waiting for the potential roommate to make up his mind first. blah!
Then Matt thought he FIXED the shower, and it was NOT leaking for a few days, but then this morning it started to leak again. I'm like DAMN IT!
so we will see. For now, if the Roommate doesn't move in, we can just NOT use the shower in the Master bath. But eventually we will need to fix it. Maybe after the Tax Returns? I am not sure. Money money money - I need more! LOL.

lesson learned

Don't try to talk on the phone and open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew - at the same time. Just trust me on this one.
I got paged from work, I made a phone call, and while I was holding the phone between my shoulder/neck/ear - I was trying to open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew.
something went very wrong, and suddenly the top of the corkscrew totally rams into the cartelidge (spl??) of my nose. My nose promptly starts to bleed.
Thank God I didn't break it. wine is painful!
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no bruising, but Rudolph would have been proud for a few minutes.

Bad Girl

Photo Credit
Today is my friend Holly's birthday (well and Nikki's too, but she's in the land of the mountains)! Per Holly's request we are headed to Dantanna's for dinner/cocktails before we head on to a Fashion Designer party to benefit Ronald McDonald House.
Since we'll be at one of the hottest Cigar Bar's in town, I figured I bring along a little somethin' I've been saving since my 30th birthday party. A gift from my pal Tom - my 1926 40th Anniversary edition Padron Torpedo. Ooooh yes. If the girl's gotta be bad, she's gonna be really really bad.

Multi-tasker Extraordinaire!

Photo Credit We had 2 thanksgivings - sort of. Matt's sister's hubby's family (say that one 3 times fast) - wanted to go to Golden Corral for the big lunch, but I vetoed that, and then they decided on Cracker Barrell. What we didn't know is that they don’t take reservations. So, everybody has to be there, in line, when they open at 11am. Then they put you on a list. But wait - they won't "activate" your party until all the people in your party are there. Then once you are "activated" you get put in the official "waiting list" until they can seat you. We had 12 people in our party. Thankfully, we were seated around 12noon, and it was a nice day high of 65, so it wasn't terrible to be waiting outside. The service was great, the food was great, and I was full. mmm.
I thought perhaps we'd go back to Rachel's house, or to Matt's mother's house afterwards, but we all just hugged and then went home. I had made a pan of Baklava for them, since Brad (Matt's stepdad) loves it so much. They took the pan home with them. - So then we went home, walked the dog, finished framing photos (we had taken a photo a long time ago of Erika and her Dad together, so we framed one for each of them). Then we drove over to feed Chris & Mina's fish and cats (since they were outta town). The third/last pan of Baklava went with us to Erika's house for the big meal. We were told to arrive around 4:30pm. I was not sure what the dress code was, so I wore heeled boots, jeans, and a nice sweater, and styled my hair pretty . Turns out that was fine. - They had 3 ovens in their kitchen (huge house) - turkey, asparagus, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, 2 gravy boats, dry stuffing, wet stuffing, macaroni and cheese, baklava, homemade zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, cranberry sauce, I cannot remember what else.
Lots of red wine and a drink called the "old fashioned" - I guess it's their signature drink or something. Everybody loved the Baklava of course, and all the guests helped clean up the dishes and I helped put away the leftovers into tupperware containers. Then we played SCRABBLE down in the gameroom/bar area. Nice. Erika's stepmom is a stupendous Scrabble player. Then we went home to bed around 11pm. I was TIRED. and full.
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Friday I worked from home - and put up the tree and Christmas decorations. I couldn't put up my ornaments yet, as I needed to buy new lights for the tree. Matt had to go IN to work, but he came home for a bit for lunch. we fed the cats and fish again, Then later that night it was the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll, so we went downtown. he treated me to a nice SUSHI dinner, and then we strolled around the art galleries. We stumbled across some new places we hadnt' been - Star (a bar/jazz club/etc), and the Besherat Gallery. Mon Dieu it was breathtaking. Everything in that gallery was just beautiful!!! The gallery ITSELF was a work of art, complete with plexiglass stairs, and gorgeous railings, lighting fixtures, etc. I was blown away. THIS is my new favorite gallery in town now! Then we closed out the evening at No Mas for some chips/salsa and I had a diet coke so I could sober up to drive us home. Whew! Free wine at gallery's is/are nice, but DAMN it can hit you like a ton of bricks. Matt had a margarita and got the free bracelet with it. It's a wooden bracelet with saints on it. Very cool. then home to bed.
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Saturday, we went to Lowe's to price out a new front door (it was way way way too expensive, but good to get an idea), and then we bought christmas lights for the tree and porch. We are going to string icicle lights along the porch again, but that's it. I don't usually do outside lights - too much work. Saturday afternoon, we fed the cats and fish again and then drove to IKEA to pick up my closet (I'm getting the PAX Birkeland - if you want to look it up). Long story why. Basically, we are getting a roommate for the "Zen room" and because of this, I need to get all my clothes OUT of the roommate closet and into a new place. So, we installed this white 78" closet along the wall (between the bathroom and the green guest room). I also got the nifty slide-able shoe racks, so now all my shoes have a new home! woo hoo! Our friend Jeff has a truck, so he was helping us bring all the boxes home. We took him out to a local pizza place (Vintage Pizza) as a thank you for driving us and unloading my boxes from IKEA. Then our new roommate prospect came over to hang out. he's super nice. Anyway, we ended up watching Star Trek : Nemesis Movie on TV - one I had not seen before. I cooked up some kung pao chicken also. It was a nice evening.
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Sunday I started working on the closet and by Monday night it was all done.
Monday I finished addressing/stamping the Christmas Cards on my lunch break and mailed those out. Also mailed all the pkgs I had wrapped up for Christmas gifts. I think that is all done except for maybe 2 gifts?
Now it's time to get ready for the Craft Fair! We are having a work Craft Fair in the Activity Center next week. I am going to be selling some of Matt's prints in 5x7 and 8x10 sizes, and also some larger pieces for $150-$300. 10% of the proceeds go to charity. I cannot wait to see people's reactions. Good practice for the business and maybe we will make some $ too?
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I'm going to Stretch class tonight, cannot wait. WHEW! Now I am tired. talk to you soon!