I just read an article about the guy who has prepared our taxes for the last four years. He is being indicted on 136 counts of tax fraud and forgery. Heidi and I knew something was up when our usual $2,000 tax return took a huge swing to become a $5,000 tax liability this past year.
Now it looks like the government might be auditing our tax returns for at least three years back (I think that is the statute of limitations on taxes). Just what we need.
What bothers me the most is that Heidi and I don’t know a great deal about the insanely complex tax system, and we trusted this guy to prepare them for us. We never wanted to short-change the government, we just wanted to pay our taxes like other honest, hard-working Americans. Now we are going to have to take the hit to fix a situation that we didn’t cause.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I hate dealing with taxes!
I am less than a month away from my 30th birthday, and manhood is knocking on my door.
Most of you that know me well, know that Heidi and I have been unable to conceive a child due to major problems with my sperm. We have been undergoing fertility treatment for almost a year now. During a doctor’s visit in early July, I learned that the problems with my sperm were rooted in the fact that my testosterone level was at a dismal 118 (normal levels are between 800 and 1,200).
Since then, I have rubbed testosterone cream on my leg each morning in hopes that I could induce a reversal in my levels. The minor side effects of this treatment make for some funny stories, most of which I will save for another time. One side effect is increased irritability — which I generally don’t recognize on my own. My wife, in her ever-so-tender and loving way, gently informs me about my aggression by saying something like, “Hey, take it easy now Testy Testosterone!” That’s what she calls me. Testy Testosterone.
Well, I got the results of my latest blood work today and it looks like Testy Testosterone may be a name that sticks. My testosterone level is now at 785. I’m knocking on the door baby! I am excited that this treatment is helping and that God seems to be answering our many prayers. For those of you who already do, please keep praying that this trend continues.
I just encountered one of my biggest pet peeves in life — I got a bowl and a spoon out of the cabinet, poured a nice bowl of Golden Grahams, and opened up the refrigerator to find that we were OUT OF MILK!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr….
What is one of your biggest pet peeves?
Photography is something I have loved for a long time, but I don’t spend a lot of time doing it. During a recent church video shoot in Riverside, Arizona, I snapped some photos for Ryan Nunez’s son Eric. He is totally into everything involving trains (and even coins words like “traintastic” to express his train affection).
I was using the church’s Cannon EOS Rebel XT camera (which I love as much as Eric likes trains). These photos are not likely to win any awards, but I thought they were cool. We’ll know for sure if photographer extraordinaire Kim Logan leaves positive feedback. She rocks at photography.
Just returned home tonight to seven squad cars and nine of Avondale’s finest breaking up a big disturbance next door (involving at least ten people).
I have heard that the house next to us was turned into Section-8 housing last year. If that is true, I’d like to give a great big sarcastic thanks-a-lot to our state government for helping to turn a perfectly peaceful neighborhood into an episode of COPS.
Heidi and I just finished watching a fascinating four-hour documentary on PBS called The Mormons.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, I have had a great deal of contact with Mormons, and Mormonism is a religion that I know well. Just about every kid in the neighborhood or at school was Mormon. In fifth grade, social studies is dedicated to teaching about Utah’s history — which is essentially the story of the Mormon exodus from Illinois. My family has visited Temple Square many times, and we have taken the visitor tours which tell all about Joseph Smith and the revelation that gave birth to Mormonism.
Writing on the topic of Mormonism could take me in about 100 different directions. The Mormon story is definitely intriguing. It includes acts of terrorism, God-ordained adultery, separatist anti-Americanism, mass murder, death oaths, and black magic. On the other hand, the Mormon story also includes elements of strong family values, close-knit communities, worldwide evangelism, and fervent pro-Americanism. Its an interesting dichotomy.
One quote from the documentary sums up this fascinating religion’s history by asking, “How do you go from being the ultimate outcast, to the embodiment of the mainstream in two generations? Its a breath-taking transformation.”
It is indeed an amazing story.
I love playing tennis. Earlier this evening, Heidi and I played a few sets at Avondale Friendship Park. We haven’t played tennis together in years, and it was great spending the day with her and doing something different.
I have to tell you, Heidi did a great job and kept me running the court all night. She has this strange ability to hit the back line, then return my volley by barely clearing the net on a short lob. I know I’m not in the best shape of my life, but I’m not even sure that Agassi could have run baseline-to-net as often as I did tonight.
Here is a live-action shot of one of her signature returns:
Perhaps I should have focused more on returning the ball than on getting pictures.
In an effort to lighten the mood left over from my last blog and the crummy things going on in my life, I’d like to offer up this Zigvid in honor of something in life that still makes me happy: pancakes.
I must warn you, if you choose to view this video, I cannot be held responsible for the pancake theme song getting stuck irrevocably in your head. If you love pancakes as much as I do, there is an even higher chance of song stickage.
You have been warned.
I cannot begin to express how disappointing it is for me that I have not blogged in a long time. This site is a source of a great deal of joy and relaxation for me, and I have missed it greatly. I would go as far as to say that my frequency of blogging and blog reading is in direct correlation to my energy level and/or my attitude toward life. It’s like a personal barometer for me.
Over the past few months, I have been struggling with a number of health-related, personal, and professional issues in my life. None of my issues are particularly serious or life-threatening, they are just pestering. I am not deeply depressed or anything, but I am definitely going through a dark time. I wish that I could pinpoint what it is that has me down, but I can’t — and that frustrates me more. I guess that there are just times of random discontent in each person’s life, and this is one of mine.
I have never been the sort of person to hide what is happening in my life; I am truly an open book. Please know that I don’t write these things to somehow gain sympathy or to cause anyone to go out of their way to make me feel better. Honestly, I’m not even sure kind words will help. I only write these things because writing them down is a way for me to get rid of the baggage that is keeping me down — and I think its good to share things publicly rather than keeping them to myself.
If you have a minute, I would appreciate a quick prayer on my behalf. I’m generally not selfish about asking for things, but I believe that prayers will help.
Thanks.
Please refrain from excessive talking, turn all cell phones to silent, and promptly remove crying babies or irratable children so that others are free to enjoy this blog in peace. Thank you for your cooperation.
~The Management
