The Week In Review

And just like that, it's November. I know we always say that the year has gone by quickly, but somehow this year seems like it's not only flown by, I haven't accomplished near as much as I thought I would have by now. That's what pandemics do.

I meant to post yesterday, then I just forgot. I have no other excuse. I wasn't too busy, I was home all day, I just plain forgot. I'll try to make up for it today.

Monday started off on the wrong foot. I was awaken at 5:57 am to the news. No, I didn't turn on the tv in my bedroom. I don't have a tv in my bedroom. My neighbor does, however, and it was so loud I could hear it like it was in my house. He'd been punching walls and playing music off and on all weekend, and I tried to ignore it, but now I'd had enough. I called the police again. He didn't turn the tv off till he left for work, but he's been more cautious now. If he turns on the tv he keeps it low so I don't hear it. We'll see how long that lasts.

I've begun doing my Christmas shopping. This is actually late for me; I used to start Christmas shopping in September. My kids are grown now, and I don't buy them a lot of little toys and games anymore.  I try to get them things they need, or things they really want and will use. So rather than having a bunch of stuff in my closet, I have a few large items that I know they will appreciate, and I don't have to start shopping near as early. I was also waiting to see if my income tax return would get approved. And finally, it did. On October 30. When they told me they'd get my tax return approved in October, it didn't occur to me it wouldn't be till the very end of the month. I should receive my refund this week. Yay.

My youngest son E needs to have his wisdom teeth taken out. I'd taken him to the dentist two years ago, and was doing everything possible to get this taken care of, but his father's dental insurance was giving me a hard time. I went back and forth repeatedly with the oral surgeon's office and the insurance and couldn't get them to agree on what was covered and what wasn't. Ultimately J cancelled his dental insurance and nothing got done. Now the wisdom teeth are bothering him again, but thankfully he has some insurance now. He tried to schedule an appointment with the dentist that was assigned to him. They no longer take his insurance. I went online and found another dentist close by, made an appointment, and when we got there we found out they wouldn't take the insurance if he was over 18. They referred us to another dentist, who also said they no longer take that insurance. So he called the insurance company and explained the situation. They gave us three more dental offices to call. I tried the first one, and was happy to hear they actually do accept his insurance. There's just one catch: it expires on his 21st birthday, which is less than two months away. We knew we needed to move fast. He's scheduled for his first appointment on November 9. They will do the initial exam, then refer us to an oral surgeon. Hopefully this can all get done in time. 

This past week was my big grocery shopping week. November is a tricky month; it's shorter than October or December, but it's got Thanksgiving, meaning a lot of food for just one day. I'm super excited because my oldest son and my new daughter-in-law will be coming down to spend the holiday with us. I did get a few things that I'll be needing, though most of the items on the menu will be purchased later in the month so it doesn't sit around the pantry or fridge for a month. 

I buy the Kirkland brand chicken stock from Costco because 1 - it's a great price considering it's organic (the box brings 6 - 1 quart containers for $9.99, or $1.67 per container), and 2 - it's the best tasting and best quality on the market in my opinion. I use it to brine my turkey and also for soups. Crescent rolls are a must have on the Thanksgiving table, and Costco had the box of 5 on sale for $4.49 so I couldn't pass that up.

I'm gonna do a separate post on the monthly grocery shopping trip. Right now, laundry is calling me. Be back with more soon!

My IRS Woes

 Everyone who loves tax season, raise your hands...

I'm waiting...

Yeah, me neither.

Let me tell you about my tax woes and why the IRS is not on my Christmas list.

Back in March - early March - March 6, to be exact - I filed my taxes online. I used to file my taxes in February, right after I got my W-2, but last year I had an issue. My employer had not filed her taxes, and had not sent in my W-2, so my return was put on hold. I worked with the IRS Tax Advocates but my refund was held until June. So I figured this year I would give my employer's accountant a little extra time and I'd file in March. Of course, no one knew at that time that our entire nation would be on lockdown for the next three months...

Within a couple of weeks of checking to see if my return was processed, I knew something was wrong. Everyone who had filed after me had already received their refund. On March 27 the dreaded message "Your tax return is still being processed" came up on my IRS2Go status. It was my oldest son's birthday so I decided I'd call the tax advocate office on Monday. There was no answer, but I left a message. Keep in mind, at this time we were looking at being on lockdown for a couple of weeks, then maybe a month, then we'd see what would happen. No one knew how long this quarantine was gonna last. I figured they'd come into the office, at least to listen to messages. I left another message the following Monday, April 6. I decided at this time to also mail in my request for assistance, again thinking someone would be coming into the office to check messages and/or mail. I tried calling the IRS as well, but no answer and no way to leave a message. Surprisingly though, I did receive the stimulus money in April because I'd received a refund for the 2018 tax year. At least they didn't hold that back too.

Finally, on July 10 I was able to talk to an IRS agent. They told me they still had not received a W-2 from my employer. What upset me the most was that I knew they had the numbers, because after the problem with my 2018 taxes I personally made sure that tax payments and paperwork were being sent in. My employer was upset as well, and she called her accountant who assured her all paperwork had been submitted to the IRS, but to be on the safe side he'd resend. Of course there was nothing I could do at this point, since the IRS will inform you NOT to call them again for 60 days after they've checked status. So I had to wait.

I finally received a letter from the IRS on July 25. It was a generic letter stating that they were still verifying any number of problems, including verifying employment. I realized they'd only generated the letter because I'd called in. This letter said I was to wait 60 days from the day the letter was generated, which was July 22, before I could call them. But since I'd talked to an agent on the 10th I decided I'd wait 60 days from that date and if I hadn't received my refund I'd call then.

September 10 I tried calling the IRS several times, only to get cut off. I called the Tax Advocates instead, and explained my situation. I was asked if I was in danger of being evicted from my home (I'm not) or of having my utilities cut off (again, I'm not). Since I was not in dire straits, they told me they couldn't help me but would transfer me to an IRS agent. I spent two hours on the phone with a very sweet lady out in Texas who was extremely helpful. She was able to tell me that yes, my employment and income had been verified (hurray!) but my return was still on hold (boo). At first she blamed the pandemic and being shut down for three months, but as she reviewed my account she said there might be another error, this time with one of my credits (what?!?!). The system kept going down so she wasn't able to verify, but instead she gave me another number to call so I could find out from this other department if that was a problem as well. Trouble was, their system was down too. It took a couple more calls to their office to find out that everything on my return looked good, but now it was pending manual release by yet another IRS agent and I would now have to wait 60 days from August 13 before I could call them again, though it did appear I would be getting my refund in OCTOBER!! My frustration was mounting but once again, there was nothing I could do.

On Saturday September 19 I received a call from none other that the Tax Advocates office. The lady there told me they'd received the forms I had mailed asking for help in resolving my issue with the IRS. Remember, I mailed out the forms April 6. Here it is over 5 months later and they finally are getting to the mail. She asked if I still needed help, so I explained everything that had gone on since March, including the fact that the Tax Advocate office had refused to help me because my case was not considered urgent enough. She was surprised at that, and said based on my application I did qualify. They gave me a case number and said I would receive a call from their attorney sometime this week. 

As of today, I'm still waiting. My biggest complaint in all this is not the fact that my return was held up again (though that's pretty annoying). It's not that a pandemic hit and the hold was extended - everyone has been affected by the quarantine. It isn't even that they are behind after being shut down for three months - I'm not an unreasonable person. My issue is the fact that it took two separate departments to verify and approve my return, but it is now pending a "manual release" by yet another agent who has to review the entire return and give it an okay. Good grief! How many IRS agents do you need to (screw in a lightbulb?) approve one return?! I thank God everyday that I'm not in a position of losing my home or unable to feed myself and my son. I'm thankful that He has provided for all our needs. I can only imagine how desperate it must be to really need this money and to have it held up. I will continue to wait, call if I need to, and pray for those who are also struggling with the IRS. I feel your pain.

Tackling Tuesdays

"Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck.  Faith is the solvent that sets you free." - Shannon L. Adler

There's nothing like that panicky fear of not knowing what to do.  That reminder that control is an illusion.  Faith is letting go of the fear and trusting in God to come through at just the right time.  My daughter had to learn that lesson once again.

Last night, after I'd entered the tax information that she'd given me, my daughter A was facing the prospect of having to pay over $200 in taxes to the IRS.  She was hoping to get money back so she could pay some bills, but instead was looking at having to dish money out.  I told her we'd work on it after a good night's sleep, when our heads were cleared, but she couldn't sleep.  She lay in bed for several hours turning the whole thing around in her head over and over.  I, on the other hand, prayed about it with my son E, then went to sleep.  I knew it was something God would reveal at the right time, so I chose not to worry about it.  This morning, as soon as she got up, A had a million questions about why and what and how.  I told her we would delete the entire return and start fresh, looking for possible errors and ways to bring her debt down.  That's what we did, and God began to show us different deductions that she could take that hadn't even occurred to us the day before.  In the end, she went from owing over $200, to now getting back over $300.  God is so good!  Why should we panic or fear?  

At 10:00 I told her we had to stop so that E could start school.  I got him settled with his English live lesson and started fixing my bed (no, I hadn't even fixed my bed yet).  Suddenly Molly started barking at the door.  She does this when she hears someone coming, usually the mail lady or the UPS man.  This time, though, it was J, my kid's father.  I think he came to see if E was actually doing schoolwork.  He doesn't approve of me homeschooling E, but there isn't anything he can say to change my mind.  E is doing better than ever in school, and he actually likes it more.  He's learning and progressing, and getting very good grades.  J watched him for a few minutes, used the bathroom, then left.  It was pretty annoying, but at the same time it was satisfying to know his purpose was defeated.  

E finished his English class, then did his music and leadership work before stopping for lunch, fish tacos.  They were so good!  After lunch he did his algebra assignment and got 100% on his quiz.  Woohoo!!  He's getting the whole statistics thing with no problem.  He still needed an hour to finish the day, and I knew we'd probably do it when we ran with our running group, but I decided we would watch a video sermon my Sunday school class had been watching called "Is America A Christian Nation?" taught by David Barton.  I highly recommend this video.  David Barton provides documented proof that the Founding Fathers were all Christian men, and that our government was founded on Christian principles.  It was a great teaching, and we both got encouraged by it.

After our run, I took a shower and continued working on income tax paperwork for my kids.  I won't be sending anything in yet, since the software I use (H&R Block) has an update coming up, but I want to get as much done as possible so that all the returns can be sent in early.  But now it's late, I'm tired, and I still have to clean up the kitchen.  So I will say goodnight to all, and pleasant dreams.  God bless.

Monday, Monday

Monday is a fresh start.  It's never too late to dig in and begin a new journey of success.

Mondays are always busy for me.  A new school week, new menu plan, new items to add to the old schedule.  I don't hate Mondays, though.  I look at it as a new beginning.

School started at 10:00 am today.  We were all kind of slow this morning because it was so dark out.  It was a hot and muggy day, totally the opposite of yesterday with its cool breezes and clear skies.  We got rain on and off all morning, and even when the breezes picked up in the afternoon, they were warmer than what we'd gotten the past week.  Of course, it's supposed to get back down into the 50's tonight, so the weather roller coaster ride continues.  

So anyway, school began with music, Hope, and science.  At noon my son paused to take his algebra online class, and I made Southwestern style chicken soup.  Days like these call for soup.  I'd bought everything to make the soup except the tortilla chips, because I knew we had some.  What I didn't know was that they'd gone a bit stale.  I still ate them, but my son E wasn't too happy.  Oh well.

After lunch we finished working on science, and he took his quiz.  He's got a 90% so far, but the teacher has to grade a couple of essay questions.  It was a normal sort of day; he got all his work done and completed his required 5 hours, so we're both happy.  It looks like it might be a slower day tomorrow, but we'll take it one day at a time.  He's doing well so far, so I'm pleased.

I started working on my daughter's taxes.  It looks like she's gonna have to pay, which she's not happy about.  She has to pay her own taxes for her church job, and while we did the worksheet and figured out how much she needed to pay, it seems it was short.  I'm looking to see what can be done additionally to get the amount down.  I feel bad for her; she was counting on getting some money back, but instead she's gonna have to dish out about $200.  That's gonna put a dent in her savings for sure.

I have to share this amazing quote from Beth Moore from the Daniel bible study:  "A sovereign, powerful God sits upon His throne, and nothing misses His gaze.  He will right all wrongs.  I do not know how, but I know Who."  Amen!  Thank You Jesus!

And with that beautiful thought I leave, saying Goodnight and Pleasant Dreams.  God bless.