Friday 5 – Beware the Ides of March
I’m late on this, I intended to post yesterday so you could see the funny meme on the correct day. But the day got away from me, as they so often do. Pretend it’s Friday, OK?
- Because it made me happy to do so, I ordered Caesar salad at dinner last night, and we toasted both Caesar and the senators that murdered him.
- Caesar’s bad luck aside, March 15th is generally an auspicious day for me, as my company gives us a bonus that is paid on that day. I did my best to stimulate the economy by getting a massage, ordering a birthday cake for Maya’s birthday party in a couple of weeks, and buying some cushions for our outdoor furniture and some plants for our yard. Pray for the plants, I am really good at neglect in this area.
- Sadly, some of that bonus cash is probably going to Uncle Sam. I did my first draft of our taxes and it looks like we will owe both Federal and State this year. Last year we only owed State, and we got enough back on Federal that it paid for the State. What’s different? I don’t know. Maybe because Ted got a raise and I didn’t adjust my W-4 accordingly? Will I learn from this and re-do my W-4, or just mutter and pay? Probably just mutter and pay. It’s not like having precise withholding actually saves us money, it just means we would pay as we went instead of at year end. We don’t owe enough to cause penalties or anything.
- I’m still reading the Neapolitan Quartet. I just finished the second book, The Story of a New Name, (kindly gifted to me by Suzanne! Thanks Suzanne!) which I liked even more than My Brilliant Friend. Next up is Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. Because I’ve seen the HBO series, I kind of know what’s coming with this book, though of course books are different than TV and Movies, and we get a lot more of Lenu’s internal thought processes. When I get to the 4th book, The Story of the Lost Child, I will be going in blind, as the corresponding season on HBO doesn’t come out until later this year. I am avoiding doing anything that might spoil it for me.
- Like Suzanne, I’m curious about what is going on with Catherine, Princess of Wales (aka, Kate Middleton). My favorite theory is that she is growing out her bangs. Of course it sounds to be much more serious than that. Maya says that Queen Elizabeth was such a micromanager that this level of PR snafu would not have happened on her watch. Probably true. While she doesn’t remember squidgy gate or Fergie getting her toes sucked, I suspect Elizabeth learned a few things. I’ve always suspected an eating disorder for Kate, and of course divorce is a possibility. I hate to think that William is having an affair, after watching what his parents put each other through. I want to think better of him and that the gossip is unfounded. As Maya says, “Free Kate!”
20 Comments
Margaret
Great caesar salad! I keep seeing Happy Saint Patrick’s Day posts on Instagram and Facebook and think to myself–wait, that’s tomorrow! Or am I confused? We don’t have state taxes here but our other taxes (like sales and gas) are pretty high. I owed $142 with over $500 to my tax preparer. However, due to my rental and investments, I would rather pay than try to figure it out. I too am curious about Catherine and the mystery shrouding her surgery and condition. I would bet money that the surgery was much more serious than they’re letting on and that it wasn’t planned. Perhaps a hysterectomy? C’s sister is very thin like her but C is almost freakishly so. Anyway, there is definitely something going on that we don’t know about.
J
Margaret, it sounds like the taxes you pay throughout the year are pretty close to right, if you only owe $142, that’s great. Our taxes used to be complicated, and yeah, we paid someone to do them for us. I had too much fear of getting something wrong!
Lisa’s Yarns
I also wonder what is going on with Kate. They have really boggled things lately and made people extra suspicious about what the eff is going on.
Yay for bonus day! Ours is the last day of February and I had the day off which was delightful. I got a 90 min massage. But ugh, taxes. We always pay in since getting married. I guess tax tables can’t account for the fact that your spouse has a similar income. One year we had a penalty so now my husband has his entire December paycheck go towards taxes and we still pay in. We claim 0 allowances on our W4 so there isn’t anything more we can do so we just sigh and accept it and recognize it’s part of life. But it’s such a downer expense!
J
The newer W4 is supposed to take your spouse’s income into consideration, and thus get things much closer, but it’s a pain to fill out. We did it 2 years ago, and last year’s taxes were really close, but now they’re more complicated again. I think I need to look at my check stub and see what’s going on there, and maybe put a bit more aside each month. And have my husband do the same. Or, we can just pay next year too.
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
I am obsessed with Caesar salad. And woo hoo happy bonus day!!!!
Grrr I guess it’s time to start thinking about doing our taxes and to see if I got our W4’s right this year. I once had to pay a TEN DOLLAR PENALTY for underwithholding which put the fear of God into me so now I try to make sure that we overwithhold just a bit. Good times.
J
Ack! A penalty! I don’t think I’ve ever had to pay that…well, maybe back when our taxes were complicated and someone did our taxes for us, maybe then. But now that all of our earnings are W-2, it’s easier.
nance
I, too, would like to think the best of Prince William after all the trials that Princess Diana went through, but he was still young when she died. He has since had many, many years inside the royal family. Only they know what that’s like and how it shapes and affects a person. That ethos is strong and entrenched.
Cake! I’m trying to think of the last time I had any. Is that sad or pathetic? I like that you order a really good cake for Maya’s birthday. Mediocre cake is worse than no cake at all.
And the same goes for Caesar salads. I love a truly good, fresh Caesar salad without a lot of extra junk tossed in there. It should be a showcase of simplicity for the dressing and lettuce. Did you have a Sancerre for your toast?
J
Regarding Will, SIGH. You’re probably right, and the stresses of that singular bizarre life no doubt contributed to bad behavior. Not meaning to assume the worst in him, but if it’s true, then of course I wish he would find a healthier way to deal with it than to hurt the people he claims to love.
Regarding the cake…I’m not a cake lover, and while this cake is good, I’m not sure it’s worth the money. But Maya requested it, so I’ll get it for her. (I’m not sure any cake is worth more than $20, and likely I couldn’t get one at the grocery store for that anymore either.) I had cake in February, at Ted’s brother’s birthday party. It was carrot cake, and very good. (I’m not a cake person, but I do enjoy carrot cake once in awhile.)
I’m with you on Caesar salad, though I will admit that I enjoy it with avocado. We sometimes buy those kits at the grocery store with the dressing in a pouch, and they are fine. But not like a really good Caesar. There is a restaurant nearby that has a delicious Caesar, and when we go there I usually order it. Yummy. I didn’t have Sancerre…I had a declious Chardonnay. Wine at restaurants is ridiculously expensive. But our new program of not drinking at home limits my options!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Haven’t had cesar’s salad in ages. Might be time for one.
I am sorry your bonus will be partly sucked up by taxes. I know the feeling. I recently had to pay and pre-pay 3 years within 2 weeks. It is disheartening even though I knoew it is not my money.
J
Tobia, looking at it as ‘not my money’ is a good way to think about it. I vote for programs that mean more taxes, but then resent having to pay them. I mean, who enjoys paying taxes? No one. That my some of my bonus money will go to it is a gift, really, because it means I don’t have to come up with it from regular pay, so there’s that.
I hope you enjoy a nice Caesar salad soon!
NGS
My father’s birthday was March 15, so I’ve always had mixed feelings about it.
I was at a social event yesterday and all I wanted to talk to people about was Kate. Is it bad bangs? Has she just left? Is she recovering from surgery related to bulimia/Crohn’s? Is she dead? Look, I know it’s none of my business, but I feel like if you choose to be part of the Royal Family in a post-Diana world, you don’t get to have very much privacy. Or, at the very least, but consistent in how much privacy you want to have!
J
They’ve certainly flubbed the whole thing, haven’t they? I hope all is well and this is just stupidity. I mean, she’s kind of stupid already for marrying into that mess.
Melissa
Yay for getting your bonus, and for having some fun things to spend it on (apart from the taxes). I’d like to watch the TV show of the Neoploitan Quartet but I need some time when it’s just me as I don’t think it would be one my husband or kids would want to watch.
J
The series is really good, I hope you get a chance to watch! It’s in Italian, with subtitles, so you can’t multitask.
Ally Bean
I’ve been fascinated by Kategate, I admit it. I like the bangs theory it plays into my theory that she had surgery, has been sedentary while she recuperates, and is looking puffy so she doesn’t want to be seen. She is vain, that we know for sure.
J
I fault her for marrying badly, but I won’t fault her for being vain. If I had that kind of scrutiny on my every move, I’m afraid it would kill me.
Suzanne
Oh yay, so glad you enjoyed the book!!!
I think Kate is unwell — my guess is Crohn’s disease and then a bowel resection. Something boring and personal enough that she might be squeamish about sharing all the details (ostomy bag???) with the world. BUT I love the idea she is growing out her bangs. I just want to KNOW. Not that I have any right to know, or care about the Royals beyond big splashy things like weddings and babies.
Now I am craving a Caesar salad.
J
Even though I had Caesar salad last week, I kinda want more now. 🙂
I’ve heard the colostomy bag theory, and it would definitely explain staying out of the public eye for so long, wouldn’t it.
Kyria @ Travel Spot
Taxes, grr. I always have to pay. In fact, I got dinged for underwithholding a while back, and so changed my deductions to zero and still had to pay a lot, so I actually added an extra payment each month (and still have to pay). However, I would much rather pay in April and use and invest my own money for the rest of the year than get a bunch back, meaning that Uncle Sam got to invest my money. This year is going to be tricky, as I will likely sell my house and so although I will have only worked a couple of months I will probably still make enough that I may have to pay. Although I hope to finally get money back for once!
Our bonus gets paid on Feb 15, and my celebration to myself for that was to quit my job. Yay me. This is actually a very common occurrence in our industry, as they also do salary reviews right before that. So if you get no raise, you wait for your bonus and then you are Peace Out Homey.
J
I’m going to adopt that mindset, along with Tobia’s, to keep me from fretting about paying taxes.
1. It’s not my money, it’s the government’s money, I do tend to vote for things like funding our schools and Social Security and so on.
2. Better to owe a bit, since that means I collect the interest on it, rather than them having it and giving it back to me.
Sometimes a little perspective shift is all we need!