Bathroom Renovation

So, I am VERY embarassed to show you my old bathroom. I cannot believe how NASTY it looks. My husband finally decided it was time to renovate and he started DEMOLITION this past January. Over the next few weeks, I wanted to share the process of our remodeling with you, I hope that you enjoy it!

A little history of my home. It was moved, yes that is right, moved. Up on stilts going down the street. It is a 1950 style ranch. There really isnt anything special about it, I mean from a structural or character standpoint. Just a plain old ranch home.

Ok, back to the renovation. Jay (my husband) decided to rip out the walls from where the wainscotting was down to the floor. There was just too much there to deal with, so we went for the fresh start. you can see if you look close that the fixtures were all blue. A really ugly baby blue. Blue tub, blue toilet, blue sink, blue counter. Seriously? Yeah, I am serious. I really have no idea why anyone would do that! The only answer I can come up with is a Sale at M. Schuetel Freight Sales.

So, Jay and I knew we would need to start with a clean slate. It was complete demolition. It was reported to me (I didnt help with the demolition due to my back injury) that the demolition was SUPER! It felt so good to destroy that bathroom that my husband and I had come to hate. The only downside to this was the dust that covered every inch of my home. Even with the bathroom door shut and the window open, it didnt matter. DUST WAS EVERYWHERE.

Human Resources World

There is so much going on in the HR world right now, I wanted to be a source of information for you! Mainly for the employees of Image Studios, I have added a list of websites that I find helpful. If you are from another company and also find this information helpful, I invite you to dig in!

The website I want to highlight today is the "myuhc.com" website. On this site you can check your claim status and history, review your benefit information, compare in-network and out of network costs, use the Pharmacy Online, and even participate in a Health Improvement Plan, not to mention the many other items that I have found to be useful on this site.

I invite you to check it out, with the costs of Health Care on the rise, get yourself more informed!

Food Critic

As stated earlier, I love food. Love to cook it, bake it, eat it, taste it and smell it. Along those lines, I wanted to share a little treat with you! I made a Red Velvet Cake for Valentines Day. This is not a mix, it is made from scratch. I love the photo that one of our photographers took of it, PROPS to SHANE VANBOXTEL.

So, I also like to critique the food that I make. Here is my breakdown of the above cake. Color and presentation- Beautiful! Fun to look at, fun to serve and brought on the WOW factor from my guests. Frosting- home made cream cheese frosting, when made correctly, you really cant go wrong there. I use this frosting on my pumpkin bars, carrot cake, zuchinni bars- you get the idea. Flavor- pretty good. Certainly not my favorite cake. It has a mild cocoa flavor on the back end. It is NOT a good cake for a chocolate fix. Sweet, a little but not too much (hence the use of the cream cheese frosting), more rich than sweet. What I DIDNT like about the cake is the texture. It was VERY dense. Moist yes, but dense. I prefer a tender, fluffier cake.

Overall, it went over very well. Everyone liked it. I would give it a "B". I would only make it again if it were requested. There are too many other yummy cakes that EASILY get "A's".

Sledding- Not such a big fan today.

I love to sled, ski snowshoe, play in the snow, all of that. I know with complete certainty that I was made for snow. I love the winter and I love snow.

For this year, I am taking some time off from sledding. It "won" this year. That's fine snow, I win every other year. You haven't heard the last of me.

Lemon Flavor- For Real?

Lemon flavor, can you please tell me who invented this and why? Yuck. Doesn't everyone know that RED is the #1 most preferred flavor? Why doesn't lifesaver just make every other color RED? I like red, my kids fight over it, its usually one of the 2 maybe 3 colors I eat.

Sorry yellow, but when I throw you away, I dont even feel bad. You can sit in the trash next to lime. Better luck next time.

"Why are taxes so hard for the Average Person"

This morning that is what a co-worker asked me. I personally do not think they are hard, I like them. I like trying to figure out how to bring my AGI down so that I can pay less taxes! It's a bit of a cat and mouse game. I would never ever lie on my taxes and I dont think you should either, but there are ways that are COMPLETELY LEGAL, that bring your AGI down therefore lowering your tax due for the year. Here are some of them:

Deductions, Deductions, Deductions! Find them, use them, make them! You can deduct a portion of medical expenses, home interest paid, personal property taxes paid, sales state tax paid, financial donations...the list really does go on and on.

Skip the standard deduction and go for the Itemized Deduction- its well worth the effort- if you are crafty enough it could reduce your AGI(Ajusted Gross Income) by a lot of money. For example, if you can find $20,000 in deductions, you lower your taxable income by that amount and can save $1000- $2000 on your taxes. (Depending on your tax bracket!)

Why do I work?

I have had people ask me, "If you were a stay at home mom, and your family learned to live on one income, then why would you ever want to go back to work?"

I work because it is good for my daughters to see their mom working. It is good to see that a woman can do what I do. They will see me using my intelligence to support our family, they will see someone that is proud of working hard and a job well done. They see that a woman can take care of herself, I have the most wonderful husband, but I could live my life if I didnt have him. I need for my daughters to know that deep down they are Self Reliant, Self Sustaining, Intelligent women.

That is why I work.