I am really frustrated right now. I am working on stuff I could have done weeks ago, but my clients have been really slow. I am not sure what it is. We have been so swamped, that I just let them slide too long? Perhaps...

Oh well, 12/31 is always a huge deadline, but I am afraid this is the worst year yet. By far. I remember stressing last year or 2 and it wasn't as bad as I imagined. But now I remember why I have been stressing. I have THREE clients who want to give me stuff Monday. (Monday, at 5pm? Would figure). Unless they are going to wait around until midnight for #s, not sure I can promise much but a rush. Their loss I guess. I like working under pressure as a whole, but I don't like rushing. Then mistakes are made. So I am frustrated.

On the flip side I will easily pull 20 hours OT this week. $500, whenever I get paid. I am crossing my fingers for Monday. Just not sure. I think I have $500 or so due to me for the rest of the year. I generally really only work OT in the January through april months. But this is a nice start to the season.

Maybe I should hope it doesn't get paid out until April/May. I get a raise come January 1st which should up my overtime rate. I just figure $25/hour after taxes, in round figures, for now. It might go up a dollar or to on Tuesday.

In other news I did my taxes a few days ago. Preliminary. We owe $1000! I think it is somewhere around $1700 with AMT. Our software hasn't been updated for the patch. But take out the AMT and we're at $1k.

Yeah, I planned it down to the dollar, and look where I ended up. Haven't had time to look where I went wrong. Guess hoping this is an error. I just figured, eh, will pay it april 15th anyway. But now I am wondering if I should pay in a small estimate to ensure I get under $1k balance due to the feds. We'll see. Plug it in and see if it lowers my $30 penalty. If not, it will wait until April 15th. At least I have time to scrape it together. there goes a chunk from my car/house fund. Bah.

I also re-evaluated my withholding and it looks okay. The problem I think is my ROTH IRA conversion phased out much of my medical deductions. Maybe the HSA is looking slightly better. I mean I used our advanced software and it should have figured that, but I went wrong somewhere and that is all I could figure. I had more deductions than expected everywhere else. which makes it more scary.

I am also considering upping my emergency fund to $13k from $12k. I feel that at minimum we should have $12k in accessible cash at all times. But another $1k just to kind of keep for stuff like this. Like for the $1k miscalculation of tax bill. Yikes! My dh said he thinks we need a new accountant (joking of course).

Well, we'll see. I got a couple of weeks to ponder. Before final estimates are due for 2007.

Since all of our money is in ROTHS I am glad to not go through that this year. Done done done. Was a lot of tax money in the interim. We converted about $30k over 2 years (at a tax rate of 15% though, which was sweet). I forget that is the other reason our IRA contributions were so dismal this year and last. A good $6k in taxes, plus more for losing a chunk of our medical deductions. But I figure the ROTH conversion was WELL worth it. & we're done! Now it should grow tax-free. Forever. We'll see what Congress says bout that in a decade or 2 or 3... But for now it's looking pretty good. & I don't have to fork over a few extra thousand to the IRS next year. phew.

Oh anyway, in other news, MIL got over her threat not to take the kids (though she was the one that begged in the first place). Dh finally talked me into it, which was fine since I figured I would work much. Just did not think this much!! So he and the kids left me last night. I went to the gym. I worked. I never sleep well alone.

Dh will be back soon. They went to the "Walking With dinosaurs" show in San Jose. I just talked to them. They took BM to a Japanese restaurant afterwards (they went with my dad) and said he had a great time. I was relieved that he was enjoyed. DH finally admitted that it would have been too scary for LM. We have been arguing about this for ages. He really wanted to take him. I really didn't want to spend the money. sure he LOVES dinosaurs, but these would probably just scare him. Plus he is 2. He wouldn't remember if he liked it. So I win finally. Yeesh.

Today I went into work all morning, and I guess I should go scrounge up some lunch. With 2 nights alone with dh it is tempting to go out. But we are terribly broke. Trying not to spend anything but gas and groceries to Friday. So I think we'll just have to eat in.

I never got to making a cake for christmas but I have all the ingredients. A treat I Was thinking about. That's something!

But I will work a few more hours today before dh gets home, and much of tomorrow. I guess his mom offered to watch the kids in the end, if dh worked on some video thing for her. As long as he is productive. (She gets so annoyed when she takes the kids and we don't like clean house or something. Like of course the first thing we do in freedom is clean the house. ??? Is she crazy? LOL. But I am glad dh has a project since I am so swamped. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if he just watches movies all day).

As for Monday I will work as long as I have to. Maybe 5... OR 6... Hopefully get off sooner. I do have a deadline in none of my clients will stick around after that anyway. Will just have to get it all done.

Will relax and enjoy tuesday. & no FAMILY. Phew!!! LOL. Dh is picking up the kids Monday afternoon. MEeting 1/2 way.

& I might just roll into work late Wednesday. I need a bit of recovery. Actually I can get away with taking the next weekend off. Phew. can't say that for another 4 months after... IT's starting!!!

Dh wants to go to San Jose for his dad's birthday around the 31st. I Want to throttle him. We have been there about 10 times in the last 3 months. Our auto fuel bill is insane. I told him we can not afford to keep up this pace. We generally keep it low key during tax season. & this time of year of course is always crazy. But it has been completely out of control. Some business there every weekend. We are going to the dentist in 2 or 3 weeks, and our nephew's birthday another weekend.

He has got to be kidding me. I Was just upset. My parents had birthdays on the 15th and the 28th. No we did not go, because those were the ONLY 2 weekends in 2 months we weren't going. Who cares????? Yeesh!!!! Well, he was there for my mom's birthday yesterday, but I Wasn't. I gave her her gift on christmas.

So that is our fight of the day. He offered to compromise the nephew's birthday, but I don't think that's fair to the kids. Of course I could probably do without either birthday really... I probably won't go to either; I'll be working.

He did tell me that gas might go up to $4 come summer (predictions I guess). HE said we might as well enjoy. He may have a point. Because lord knows we aren't going anywhere near this pace at $4/gallon.

We honestly have barely been over our gas budget, if at all. Our grocery stores are having gas price wars. & I always padded the gas budget because of ever rising prices. But I know we could save a hell of a lot money if we stopped driving 250 miles round-trip every weekend! So here's to tax season. Too busy for the drive.

It's tough though. The problem is kids are older and easier to travel with and he is certainly not too busy for the drive. So I am wary. I have to say it is nice that so little really separates us from substantial time with our family. But we really have to invite them up here more. maybe next time MIL gives us a chunk of cash I should just put it in the driving fund. PArt of me thinks it has been kind of nice. But mostly I look to a calmer few months ahead. It's just too much to pack up and head out every dang weekend.

But yeah, they picked the dates for Florida because they had to be there ON grandpa's birthday. They just drive me nuts with that stuff. They were really peeved I didn't go but it was a tax deadline for Pete's sake. Like they couldn't of moved the party back a few days? But anyway, worked out, I couldn't have gone to Japan if I had went. I just have to remember they drive me crazy, but it worked out. & well, if it's that important to dh.... So be it. There are much worse things he could demand. But I will still grumble when I spend that weekend alone and they run up the credit card with unnecessary fuel expenditures. LOL.

Well, enough procrastinating. Back to work for me!