Tax Refund and Certification Test

This morning, I checked our account and our State refund was deposited into our account!  

I choose to pay for the certification test online today.  I had to wait until today when there would be more money in our account.  I have to wait until tomorrow to actually try to schedule to take the test.  I want to get the certification test done and over with while the information is fresh in my mind.  In the meantime, I am going over my notes and trying to memorize and recall the questions from the final exam.  The certification test is very similar to the final exam. I definitely want to get certified so that I can add that to my resume and it's something to fall back on if we ever need it.  

I am also interested in taking a Medical Assisting course.  There is a school that offers a program, which can be completed in less than a year.  I may look into it more after we move since the apartment complex has a bus line right there! 

We still need to give a 60 day notice with our current apartment complex.  Shannon has been busy working.  I need him to write up a notice so I can turn it in.  But first, we need to figure out when we're moving... 

My in-laws called this afternoon just before Shannon had to get ready for work.  They asked if we were approved and based on what we were told, it looks like we will be.  They said they are going to apply too and get that process going.  I am surprised they don't want to see the property and the inside of the apartments.  They said they drove through the complex two years ago, but I don't think they've seen the inside of the apartments.  Maybe they are just really needing to move and want to save on rent.  Plus, they will be VERY close to us!  I am honestly surprised they are moving back here because they were very happy living near the beach (literally 10-15 minutes away). 

They also asked us if we wanted their artificial Christmas Tree and Shannon said we do.  I had mentioned to Shannon months ago that I would like to have an artificial tree so that we can decorate it.  It would be so pretty to have one!  In all the years we've been together, we've never had a tree at Christmas. 

2012 Taxes are done and filed

I filed our taxes yesterday.  Luckily, we qualified for free tax filing, for State and Federal.  Unfortunately, our refund isn't as big as we hoped it would be, but it is better than nothing (like last year). 

School and Taxes

Shannon started college again earlier this month! He's already back in the groove of the school schedule. He is tentatively scheduled to graduate in July 2011. He's also looking at taking the LSAT test, which he needs to go on to Law School. I saw on the LSAT website that he can apply for a "fee waiver" in order to take the test, so we would have to go that route.

Kyle went to school for the first time in a week! As soon as he saw his school bus, I saw a little smile form on his face! He was so excited to get on that bus! The weather got up to 70 degrees today. Kyle doesn't have any short sleeved school shirts. It's definitely time to get him some Spring/Summer friendly clothes. The teacher sent him home with a copy of the incident report from last Friday. It explained how Kyle got hurt. It said that, "Kyle was on a tricycle, and another child came up behind him and PUSHED him on the bike. The bike went forward and Kyle fell face first onto the gym floor." The report also came with a note from the teacher saying she was glad to have him back at school!

Kyle was also sent home with a letter from the school. It explained that his school has teamed up with a local dentist to offer an "initial dental exam" free of charge to any students who sign up. The exam includes x-rays, cleaning, and fluoride. They also give us an option to have Sealants added to his teeth. I was all for this, considering Kyle has never been to a dentist and it is free of charge. But, Shannon and I were concerned that Kyle wouldn't sit still and he wouldn't understand what was happening. I tried calling the office to ask them how they would handle a situation like that and if they would put Kyle to sleep while they worked on him. I was unable to get a human on the phone so I looked up their website. Their website stated that they serve adults and children 0-13 and also offer "Sedation Dentistry." I filled out the permission slip to have Kyle go to the dentist but I attached a note asking for him to have the sedation dentistry!

I received my W-2 in the mail today! Our taxes are done and e-filed! We're getting a nice chunk back from Uncle Sam!

The weather is beautiful today. Shannon took Kyle outside to play this evening. It's supposed to reach 76 degrees tomorrow!

Even though he's home...

Even though Kyle has been home with us all week, I feel like I have gotten a lot done!

I still hadn't received my W-2 from Walmart in the mail, and that is the only thing we were waiting on! A few weeks ago, I asked a former co-worker if she had received hers and she said she picked it up! I assumed that Walmart would mail them out automatically! Finally, I called and asked if they could mail it to me! So I should receive it by the end of this week! I am excited that we can most likely have our taxes done by this weekend!

We took Kyle to the ER today to get his stitches removed! We waited an hour in the waiting room before we were taken into an exam room. We waiting another hour before they took the stitches out. He did cry a little because a scab had formed over his stitches, so the nurse had to remove his scabs to get to the stitches! He started bleeding a bit. She told us to keep it clean and keep doing what we've been doing. Kyle was very brave! We're glad to get that over with. He should be ready to go to school on Friday! It sounds like his teachers miss him!

While we were waiting in the exam room, Shannon and I had a chance to talk. The subject of our car registration was brought up. We never renewed changed our address with DMV when we moved last year. So I renewed our registration after we got home from the ER! We were a tad overdue! Whoops!

Happy Tax Day!

Today is Tax Day! I did our taxes a few months ago. I am not the type to wait until the last minute, otherwise it would bother me until I did so. I don't like things "hanging over my head." I like to finish any tasks that need to be done and get them over with! If I left our taxes up to Shannon, he would be doing them at 11 PM tonight. LOL

Shannon had his appointment with a school counselor at the University of Phoenix, which is located in Charlotte, about 45 minutes away. He left around 12:30 PM (his appointment was at 2 PM), and he got home around 4 PM. Going back to college is something Shannon really wants to do, so Kyle and I are behind him and supporting him. If Shannon gets his unemployment, then we will definitely have him go to school. Initially, he was going to pursue his Bachelors in Hospitality Management, but after looking at the courses for Criminal Justice and talking it over with his dad, he decided he's going to pursue Criminal Justice. He loves the subject and he knows he will do very well in it. Plus, there is a law school here offering a full scholarship if you have a 3.5 GPA or higher.

My mother-in-law (MIL) had to call a repair company to fix their dryer and refrigerator. Come to find out, they will need to buy a new refrigerator because their current one will break down. So they went shopping today, and finally found one they like. They chose an "energy star" fridge. The dryer [will hopefully] be fixed tomorrow morning. We are really hoping it can be fixed, we have at least 3 loads to do and my MIL has laundry too!

Catch Up

We just got back online a few hours ago. Our internet was out all day yesterday. I've been catching up on emails and everything else that I do online. I haven't been able to work since yesterday morning. We have internet on one computer. I am not on my computer so I don't have my bookmarks or settings that I am used to. Even the keyboard is throwing me off.

Our tax refund is being transferred into our bank account! The first time in since we've been married. We plan on getting the car fixed with the money.

Shannon also applied for unemployment. All he had to do was call in to file it. Now all he has to do is call in once a week and apply for at least 2 jobs a week. Piece of cake!

My mother-in-law has offered me some clothes that she is getting rid of. So far, I have gotten several tops (long and short sleeve) and a new bra! This is great since I had to get rid of most of my clothes!

Shannon has a phone interview in about an hour for a position with a hotel in New York! We're trying not to get our hopes up, especially after a roller coaster of emotions when he does get a call back. In the meantime, we are still looking.

We're looking at making our own laundry detergent. My mother-in-law got the idea from the Duggar family (the one with 18 kids) show. I looked up the recipes online and we just need to print them out. It only takes 3 ingredients. Mrs. Duggar said it only costs her $4 per month to do laundry, and they have 20 people in their family!!!

Shannon is still researching colleges. He found University of Phoenix, which he can attend online. He also found a local law school and all you need is a BS or BA to attend. He wants to get his BS/BA from University of Phoenix. He still needs to research the colleges more on costs, etc. With our internet being down yesterday, it really through us off. We couldn't do any research, check emails, etc.

Taxes are DONE!

I just finished our taxes and e-filed them! I am glad that is done and over with. I was able to file both state and federal taxes for free since we qualified for their free program (just like last year)! I don't even know or expect to get a refund since it usually goes straight to Shannon's student loan.

I also had to switch our address with our car insurance company and that brought our rate down about $3 per month.

Slow at work

It's been slow at work all this week. So I haven't been spending as much sitting there waiting for work. I've been focusing on us packing and moving. I just want to make sure everything is taken care of when we move out of here. Shannon takes care of the packing part, and I focus on the background things like paying bills, packing our clothes, forwarding mail, etc.

I am also still job hunting here and there. Shannon had his interview yesterday and they "will be in touch." They have an internal candidate applying for this position as well, but it sounds like the GM doesn't want to hire him for it. Of course, that doesn't mean he has the job, so I am still looking and sending out his resume and cover letter. Shannon said not to job hunt this weekend but it's become a habit for me. Just this morning, I sent his resume out for at least 10 jobs.

If we don't hear anything by Monday, we'll start re-applying for food stamps, and apply for WIC. We still have to file our taxes so I want to get that done as soon as we can. I don't expect to get a refund this year anyway, since it usually goes straight to Shannon's student loan.

Bed Bugs, Taxes, & Super Bowl already?

I only realized earlier this week that the Super Bowl is this Sunday! LOL Neither Shannon nor myself watch sports. Shannon said his workplace is having a party that's open to the public but I guess they set it up way too late.

Shannon said that one of the rooms at the hotel have bed bugs! The housekeeper that went to check it out said they were all over! UGH! Anyway, the inspector that came out to look at the room, said it looks like they've been there awhile. She said they may even infected other rooms. Well, the Assistant GM convinced her to basically lie on her report to say that it's only in one room, etc, etc.


Anyway, when the housekeeper went to clean the room, they didn't tell her it had bed bugs. So she just put the sheets out in the hallway, where they sat until a houseman came and picked them up with his bare hands to put them in the laundry!!!! They didn't even tell the housekeepers!!!! We don't even know if the bed bugs were in the sheets, they had open access to the other rooms on the floor! YUCK!

The last two days, I've been working as much as I can. I am just trying to earn as much as I can until the end of the month. I will get my first paycheck from this company next month around the 21st. I just needed to motivate myself into working again. I also expressed interest for another texting job with another company. I am not sure if I am going to send in my application now, but I am keeping the email just in case. I have heard some really bad things about this company, so I am not sure if I want that drama in my life. Some people have said that the managers/moderators will stab you in the back and leave you for dead. I am not saying I don't believe the "talk" but I do take that into consideration! LOL For now I will keep working for my current company and gain experience with them.

Shannon brought home his W-2 the other night. That prompted me to gather all of our documents together and have everything in one place. We're still waiting on a few 1099s! Once we have everything, I can file our taxes and get that over with.

Taxes Are Done!

I just finished doing our taxes and it only took me about 45 minutes to an hour to do. It was free to file too, so that was nice. It looks like we’ll be getting a nice return this year! I can’t wait! I already have a few ideas of what I want to do with the money.

I am just glad I don’t have to worry about doing our taxes anymore.

The Second Interview

My husband just got the call for a second interview tomorrow afternoon at 2:30pm. We are both very excited! He’s really hoping to get this job. It sounds like the perfect job for him!

I’ve been busy with my PTC (paid to click) sites. I joined a new site yesterday. The PTC world is very unstable with the fact that there are scammers out there. So I tend to do my research and read what others are saying. Well the new site I joined is owned by a person known to be honest and pays since he/she already owns a PTC site that I happen to be a member of! So I had no problem joining this site. I got paid from another site of mine and I was excited about that. My next payment will be over $2400! PTC sites aren’t a way to get rich and I am not claiming to be. PTC sites offer extra money, which I wholeheartedly welcome. Plus they are really fun and addicting.

I should be receiving my order from Bath & Body Works today. I used my $25 gift card that I earned from a site I belong to, so my order cost less than $3. I earned that gift card from reading emails and/or through my other online purchases. Shannon is also a member of this site, I signed him up under me! We have earned gift cards from Walmart, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Old Navy! We are also signed up with upromise, so I am hoping to do more shopping through them in the near future.

I haven’t been in the mood to write any letters! Ever since I heard about the stamp prices going up again, it really made me upset. I don’t want to give up on pen palling, because I love receiving mail. Plus I like writing letters.

I think we are pretty much ready to file our taxes. I am going to do it online for free, since we meet the qualifications.

File Taxes Free with TurboTax

File Taxes Free with TurboTax

Free federal filing if:

Your income was $30,000 or less, OR

You qualify for earned income credit, OR

You served in 2007 as Active Duty Military

http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/