The range of my fantasies has telescoped down into daydreaming about spending an entire day on the couches with Damon and burning through our Tivo list. I honestly can’t think of anything that sounds better. This, I believe, is a demonstration of fatigue. I’m not exactly a thrill seeker, but generally I am at least interested in putting on some lip gloss. But after many days of house guests, this is what I have left.
I did manage to get it together to make a lovely pot of tomato rice soup tonight. It came out even better than I hoped and will feed us a few more meals or snacks. Carrots. Carrots are critical. Carrots and tomatoes absolutely belong together. It’s the sweet/acid combination.
Yesterday morning Damon got up and pulled Alden out of his crib. Alden asked for the pacifier he’d tossed on the floor, and Damon groaned as he leaned down to pick it up. Now whenever Alden bends down he says, “Uuuunghghghghg.” I’m laughing even as I type this.
Do you want to hear something embarrassing? I finally broke down and paid cash money to download some music. I have, until now, cheaped out by picking up cds at the library and loading them on to my iPod. Anyway — Beyonce and Jason Mraz. I can’t help it.
Speaking of cheaping out, I’m going to be taking it to a new level in the next few months. We’re actually fortunate enough to have some savings. So I called on my family’s financial planner and she is helping us set up a 529 college account for Alden and the new baby. She’s also got a few other places better for our money than a 1%-earning savings account. But that means I had to write some big checks and now I can’t see the cash sitting in our account anymore. And that makes me very, very uncomfortable. I told her, “You have to realize that I’d keep my money in my mattress if I weren’t so afraid of house fires.”
And! Has anyone done the math on how much money one is supposed to have put aside to put a now-toddler through college in 17 years?! I can’t bear it. Good grief, I hope at least one of mine is good at sports or interested in vocational school. Who am I kidding? I don’t care if my kid is a mechanic, but I still want him to go to college.
Finally on money: I checked in with an accountant about doing our taxes. He wanted $600. Is that normal? That sounds crazy to me. Turbo Tax and I have a date this weekend.
jaysaint 
Posted by travellight on March 20, 2009 at 3:20 am
Tonight for supper I made spaghetti sauce that was so very good. It’s a good thing it was good, because, as you know, I only have a rudimentary kitchen at the moment and I couldn’t find any pasta. I made it with some organic marinara that I got at The Mercantile and added tomatoes and garlic to it (and some ground beef, which I know you don’t eat), but after I added the extra tomatoes, it was so concentrated and tomatoey that it was like biting into sunny earth.
Posted by travellight on March 20, 2009 at 3:20 am
Tonight for supper I made spaghetti sauce that was so very good. It’s a good thing it was good, because, as you know, I only have a rudimentary kitchen at the moment and I couldn’t find any pasta. I made it with some organic marinara that I got at The Mercantile and added tomatoes and garlic to it (and some ground beef, which I know you don’t eat), but after I added the extra tomatoes, it was so concentrated and tomatoey that it was like biting into sunny earth.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:23 pm
That sounds like something that would be a hit in my kitchen. I may try a version of that tonight.
Did you eat it with anything or straight?
Posted by travellight on March 28, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I ate it straight because I cannot seem to locate my pasta, but I would have eaten it with some sort of short noodles, and had I left out the meat, I might have eaten it over a cheese ravioli.
But I’m prone to eating things like this alone, too, or with a piece of bread, since I love very tomatoey things.
Posted by jaysaint on March 29, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Apres Diem in Midtown has the most delicious appetizer called tomato montrachet. I’ve ordered it a million times. I just checked, and it’s still on the menu. It’s a bowl of thick, savory tomato sauce with a big hunk of goat cheese in the middle. You get that and a loaf of crusty bread and it is heaven.
Posted by trope on March 20, 2009 at 3:53 am
Accountant price sounds crazy to me too. Of course it all depends on how many stupid appendices you have to fill out, but still.
We couldn’t get cheapo taxes (like Hewi.tt or HR B.lock) for less than $300 the couple years we did it in Chicago, so now we go back home to Ohio and see my mom’s accountant, who does the whole thing for $175 or so. It’s crazy how much variation in price there is, and how many people who do not know what they’re doing are able to hang a shingle. (The last year that we went to the big-box accountants, they claimed we had a four-digit refund when, in fact, we owed almost that amount back to the government. We found this out in the last week of March. It was really horrific.)
Anyway, we love our guy and wouldn’t trade him. He does good taxes (even for a different city and state!) and my mom is thrilled to have another excuse to get us home. She always does her taxes in February, and the two of them sit down and he says, “So when would you like your daughter to visit?” and they make our appointment then. Weird, but it works.
Posted by trope on March 20, 2009 at 3:53 am
Accountant price sounds crazy to me too. Of course it all depends on how many stupid appendices you have to fill out, but still.
We couldn’t get cheapo taxes (like Hewi.tt or HR B.lock) for less than $300 the couple years we did it in Chicago, so now we go back home to Ohio and see my mom’s accountant, who does the whole thing for $175 or so. It’s crazy how much variation in price there is, and how many people who do not know what they’re doing are able to hang a shingle. (The last year that we went to the big-box accountants, they claimed we had a four-digit refund when, in fact, we owed almost that amount back to the government. We found this out in the last week of March. It was really horrific.)
Anyway, we love our guy and wouldn’t trade him. He does good taxes (even for a different city and state!) and my mom is thrilled to have another excuse to get us home. She always does her taxes in February, and the two of them sit down and he says, “So when would you like your daughter to visit?” and they make our appointment then. Weird, but it works.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Nice! I used to have a cousin do our taxes, but he finally dumped everyone except the older folks in the family. Which, fair enough. To your point, I’m going to wind up paying because at least this accountant comes highly recommended and I wound up sideways with the IRS once. Never never again.
Posted by electricrocket on March 20, 2009 at 12:53 pm
$600 sounds high to me, too. Back when we used a CPA, we paid $250.
Does the $600 come with a backrub?
Posted by electricrocket on March 20, 2009 at 12:53 pm
$600 sounds high to me, too. Back when we used a CPA, we paid $250.
Does the $600 come with a backrub?
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm
If it includes spa services, I may re-think my bad attitude. We’re going to wind up paying it. The partial-year NY taxes turned out to be beyond my skills. Which, maybe indicates that the money is at least semi justified. But I will complain and complain.
Posted by tsalino on March 26, 2009 at 10:08 pm
My accountant did mine for $60, and got me lots and lots back. She does the taxes for many of the theatre people in town, so knows all about our deductions and stuff. Plus, I had to file in LA too, since I did work in Shreveport last year. Best money I spend all year is the check I write to Sallie Lawrence.
Posted by tsalino on March 26, 2009 at 10:08 pm
My accountant did mine for $60, and got me lots and lots back. She does the taxes for many of the theatre people in town, so knows all about our deductions and stuff. Plus, I had to file in LA too, since I did work in Shreveport last year. Best money I spend all year is the check I write to Sallie Lawrence.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Jealous.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Jealous.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm
If it includes spa services, I may re-think my bad attitude. We’re going to wind up paying it. The partial-year NY taxes turned out to be beyond my skills. Which, maybe indicates that the money is at least semi justified. But I will complain and complain.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Nice! I used to have a cousin do our taxes, but he finally dumped everyone except the older folks in the family. Which, fair enough. To your point, I’m going to wind up paying because at least this accountant comes highly recommended and I wound up sideways with the IRS once. Never never again.
Posted by jaysaint on March 28, 2009 at 9:23 pm
That sounds like something that would be a hit in my kitchen. I may try a version of that tonight.
Did you eat it with anything or straight?
Posted by travellight on March 28, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I ate it straight because I cannot seem to locate my pasta, but I would have eaten it with some sort of short noodles, and had I left out the meat, I might have eaten it over a cheese ravioli.
But I’m prone to eating things like this alone, too, or with a piece of bread, since I love very tomatoey things.
Posted by jaysaint on March 29, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Apres Diem in Midtown has the most delicious appetizer called tomato montrachet. I’ve ordered it a million times. I just checked, and it’s still on the menu. It’s a bowl of thick, savory tomato sauce with a big hunk of goat cheese in the middle. You get that and a loaf of crusty bread and it is heaven.