Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Turbo Tax. As a young man in the twilight of my professional career, I originally looked to Turbo Tax to help me file my meager taxes. Scared and unsure, Turbo Tax gently guided me through an unfamiliar routine. I was so pleased with the process that I stuck with this service. Over the years, my tax preparation has grown in complication but all obstacles were no match for Turbo Tax. This week, Julie and I filed our taxes jointly for the first time as man and wife. As she is known to do, Julie brought lots to the table. But this special time was a piece of cake thanks to my friend, Turbo Tax. (All apologies to my accounting friends. Jokes on me I guess – Turbo Tax ain’t free!)

This week, I love tinkering on cars. I’m not a certified mechanic and I’m definitely no gear head. But I like saving money. So when a mechanic recently told me that I would have to spend upwards of $300 to replace an oxygen sensor in my truck, my DIY intuition kicked in. A quick search on the Internet revealed that there’s no getting around a pricey part but I did find instructions on how to replace said part and bypass lots of labor costs. I’ve applied this method to other quick-fix areas on my truck and Julie’s vehicle and feel confident in my abilities. Best of all – with the money I save on labor, I’ll be able to buy Julie a nice present. THUMBS UP!

This week, I don’t like the winter Olympics. I have watched zero (0) seconds of Olympic coverage. My lack of interest probably stems from the fact that I was cut from the boys figure skating team in high school. And didn’t we just have all of these events a month ago? Except then they were called The X Games?

Sofa Update

In addition to making pizza together on Valentines Day...Nick also helped me work on the sofa! We were able to get a good start on removing the old fabric.







I sure am lucky to have a husband who is willing to help me with all of my many projects!

Nothing says "I love you" quite like PIZZA

So this year Nick and I decided to have a low key Valentines Day at home. Last year we made a big deal and with flowers, chocolate, and dinner at a nice restaurant....so this year we opted to spend time together and have dinner at home. Nick offered up the homemade pizza idea so I ran with it.

For several weeks now I have been hearing about this pizza dough that Publix sells in their bakery department so I figured this was the perfect time to try it.

the dough...


roll it out


place on pan


top with pizza sauce and cheese

prepare toppings

add toppings (and a little more cheese)


pop it in the oven

bake

and enjoy!

If you haven't tried this pizza dough I highly recommend it! Yum.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like tote bags. At the risk of being labeled a “tree hugger”, Julie has been taking a few of those reusable tote bags with her to the grocery store lately. These tote bags may help contribute to Mother Earth’s health but that’s not why I like them. I like them because there seems to be some amendment to the Bagboy’s Code that says, “Cram as much as you possibly can into a tote bag.” This is opposite of the methodology used for plastic bags. So now that Julie is using tote bags, we only have to make one trip to the car when unloading groceries (as opposed to 17 trips when using plastic bags).


This week, I love Ebay. Several weeks ago, Julie sold my PlayStation 2 on Ebay (miss you buddy!!). I was able to look past the pain caused by this separation and eventually see Ebay as a streamlined way of getting rid of stuff you no longer want. Julie was a trooper and handled most of the details but from what I gathered, it seems like an easy process. In an attempt to dump some old golf clubs, Julie is now trying to sell my set of irons that I no longer use. I was impressed by the amount Julie got for the PS2 and so far she’s getting a lot of attention with the irons.

This week, I don’t like cold weather. This snow business is getting old. By my count, it has snowed 3 times in the Bammerham area since January of 2008 – twice since the beginning of this year. This last round was the “heaviest” by far but the fact that I did not even take the first picture of this recent snow should give you an idea of how fed up I am. Plus, it is just downright cold! Recent lows have been below freezing and the days haven’t been much warmer. I know…I shouldn’t be complaining. I couldn’t imagine what this poor guy was going through when this video was taken a few weeks ago in West Virginia. I’m ready for some warmer weather and I’m not just saying that for golf’s sake!!