Well, those of us that have animals might be able to legally claim them on their taxes!
According to this bill, pet owners would be able to get a tax deduction of up to $3,500! It would help owners with things like vet care, heartworm and flea medication, and even food!
This makes me very happy, as I'm sure that it will make other responsible pet owners happy as well! We love our dogs and, for us, they are a part of the family. I'm glad that they are finally thinking of pets as part of the family!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Greetings!
Well, life has been puttering along here in the Charwood home. We have settled into a routine that lets us do the things that we need to do and have some family time at the end of the day! That makes me quite happy!
This past weekend we went to Myrtle Beach for a greyhound convention called BeachBound Hounds. It was alot of fun! We got to spend some time learning about Greyhounds and got to meet alot of other people with Greyhounds! We had pizza on the beach at sundown and then drove home!
We have plans to go to another aquarium next weekend. If all goes well we will get to see some more fish and dig around for sharks teeth! They also have an albino alligator at the one that we are planning on going to! My best friend is so scared of alligators, so I will have to take a picture for her!
Monkey and Bug are doing well in their new school. Bug has made alot of friends and Monkey is slowly making friends as well. Monkey is also in Cub Scouts this year! Sam volunteered to help out with this and is excited to start helping these young boys learn skills that will help them in life. Bug is awaiting Girl Scout Daisies to start. We're just waiting for her troop to start up. She is really excited. That means popcorn and cookies this year!
Sam bought me a new crockpot last night and I got to make a nice pot roast today. I put some onions, carrots, potatoes, the meat, some onion and mushroom soup mix and some tomato paste with some water in before the kids went off to school, let it cook all day, and viola! When we sat down to dinner the meat was so tender that it actually flaked off when you ran your fork down the side! I had a heck of a time trying to get it out of the crock to cut up and put on plates!
Monkey has developed a fear of the 'boogie man' being under his bed, so, today I went and got him some storage bins to go under his bed and a nice blue dust ruffle to hide everything under there. He went to bed with just a slight disagreement because he had to go to bed 15 minutes early for getting in trouble. We shall see tomorrow if this idea has worked or not!
Well, until next time my faithful readers! The husband is snoring, one dog is passed out on the couch, the other in the bed, and both the kids are snuggled safe in their beds, so, now it's time for me to slip in and get a couple hours of sleep so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow!
This past weekend we went to Myrtle Beach for a greyhound convention called BeachBound Hounds. It was alot of fun! We got to spend some time learning about Greyhounds and got to meet alot of other people with Greyhounds! We had pizza on the beach at sundown and then drove home!
We have plans to go to another aquarium next weekend. If all goes well we will get to see some more fish and dig around for sharks teeth! They also have an albino alligator at the one that we are planning on going to! My best friend is so scared of alligators, so I will have to take a picture for her!
Monkey and Bug are doing well in their new school. Bug has made alot of friends and Monkey is slowly making friends as well. Monkey is also in Cub Scouts this year! Sam volunteered to help out with this and is excited to start helping these young boys learn skills that will help them in life. Bug is awaiting Girl Scout Daisies to start. We're just waiting for her troop to start up. She is really excited. That means popcorn and cookies this year!
Sam bought me a new crockpot last night and I got to make a nice pot roast today. I put some onions, carrots, potatoes, the meat, some onion and mushroom soup mix and some tomato paste with some water in before the kids went off to school, let it cook all day, and viola! When we sat down to dinner the meat was so tender that it actually flaked off when you ran your fork down the side! I had a heck of a time trying to get it out of the crock to cut up and put on plates!
Monkey has developed a fear of the 'boogie man' being under his bed, so, today I went and got him some storage bins to go under his bed and a nice blue dust ruffle to hide everything under there. He went to bed with just a slight disagreement because he had to go to bed 15 minutes early for getting in trouble. We shall see tomorrow if this idea has worked or not!
Well, until next time my faithful readers! The husband is snoring, one dog is passed out on the couch, the other in the bed, and both the kids are snuggled safe in their beds, so, now it's time for me to slip in and get a couple hours of sleep so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Newest Family Member
So, we officially have a new family member! His name is Doc's Whipper. He's a retired racing Greyhound that we rescued from Greyhound Crossroads. He's such a sweet boy that we have decided to call Doc. (Or Doc-er Do!) The kids absolutely love him, and he loves them too. Lilly isn't quite sure about this very tall dog that has invaded her house. She will give a warning bark when she thinks that he is getting too close, and will give a nip if he doesn't heed her warning. It doesn't seem to phase him much and he continues to stay close to either me or Sam. She does seem a little jealous, but, she will come to love him as part of the family, just like all the rest of us, in time.
We've run into our first "problem" already this morning! While it's not really a problem at all, it could become one very quickly if we don't figure out a solution. We got up to start our morning routine and Doc was doing very well. We let both Lilly and Doc sleep in our room and have not had more than a couple barks from Lilly to tell Doc "You are not allowed in my bed, go sleep on the floor!" He doesn't seem to mind sleeping on the big fluffy bed that we have for him on the floor. Well, Sam got up to let the dogs out to go potty. It is raining outside. Lilly just runs out the back door and does her business. Doc, on the other hand, stops at the back door and looks at Sam like he's lost his mind! We even tried putting him on a leash and taking him outside under an umbrella. No luck! He will need to go out to use the bathroom about 15-20 minutes after he eats, so, we haven't fed yet today. It's only 8:30am so, it's not like they're going to starve to death.
Other than that, things are pretty good! I will learn about my fate at work on Wednesday. I'm not so worried that I'm freaking out, but I am a little worried. If we could afford it, I would just stay home. Someday!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
New direction.
Ever heard the expression Change is inevitable? Yeah, me too. I hate change.
Yesterday at work, we were all called into a meeting. This is never a good thing. It turns out that the client that I work for is downsizing our department. What was once a size of roughly 30, dwindled down to about 18, and as of September 14th, will only be 6. We got that news yesterday. Less than a 2 week notice that 2/3's of us will no longer have jobs in that department. I am one of those that will be leaving.
The company is trying to move us into different departments. I have taken the test to be moved, and I have seen a tentative schedule. This does not mean that I will be given a job. This does not mean that I will get a good schedule. This does mean that if I qualify for this job, and I don't take it for whatever reason, I am not eligible for unemployment, or anything other benefits.
This is a very big decision for the family. I would love to stay home and be a full time housewife. I think that Monkey needs that type of support to be able to be as successful as he can be. Bug, she still needs help as well, just not as much as Monkey. Unfortunately, this is not exactly feasible at this time. I can't leave Sam and the kids alone at night, so, working a night shift wouldn't really work well for the family. The weekends are about the only time that I get to spend with them, so I would rather not work the weekends either.
I'm sure that we will figure it out and decide what it right for our family and make it work. That's about the only way that things can go. We will make the best of the situation, no matter what happens.
Yesterday at work, we were all called into a meeting. This is never a good thing. It turns out that the client that I work for is downsizing our department. What was once a size of roughly 30, dwindled down to about 18, and as of September 14th, will only be 6. We got that news yesterday. Less than a 2 week notice that 2/3's of us will no longer have jobs in that department. I am one of those that will be leaving.
The company is trying to move us into different departments. I have taken the test to be moved, and I have seen a tentative schedule. This does not mean that I will be given a job. This does not mean that I will get a good schedule. This does mean that if I qualify for this job, and I don't take it for whatever reason, I am not eligible for unemployment, or anything other benefits.
This is a very big decision for the family. I would love to stay home and be a full time housewife. I think that Monkey needs that type of support to be able to be as successful as he can be. Bug, she still needs help as well, just not as much as Monkey. Unfortunately, this is not exactly feasible at this time. I can't leave Sam and the kids alone at night, so, working a night shift wouldn't really work well for the family. The weekends are about the only time that I get to spend with them, so I would rather not work the weekends either.
I'm sure that we will figure it out and decide what it right for our family and make it work. That's about the only way that things can go. We will make the best of the situation, no matter what happens.
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