After a brief period of panic while proofreading (perfectly normal, in my experience), I sent the Spiderwick manuscripts off on Wednesday night so they’d be on the editor’s desk first thing Thursday morning, the day the first book was due. I like to be punctual.

Aside: I used to tell the activities counselors (the ones in charge of leading activities, sports, crafts, etc.) at summer camp that “to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is out of the question.” I don’t just talk the talk!

You might think that I’d be ready for a break after that, but instead, I’m raring to go on The Next Thing. I suspect it’s nervous energy. Will the editor like it? Are there major errors I’ve overlooked? What did I miss while I was focused solely on that project? I know one thing I missed: cleaning my house! That was Thursday’s main attraction. Friday, after 6 hours of “putting out a fire” after my web host deleted 400 of my emails, I buckled down on taxes for the umpteenth, but final time.

Aside: Emotionally, I go from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat when it comes to the subject of taxes. I don’t mind paying taxes, mind you, but I very much mind the way in which I am expected to pay taxes. Remember the issue of Taxation Without Representation? What about Taxation Without Comprehension? If our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, why aren’t the people fixing this? Show me what majority of people approves of our convoluted incomprehensible (and sometimes just plain stupid) tax laws.

Honestly folks, it’s time for a tax-law revolution. I’ll enlist and march on the front line.

If you use the standard mileage method for deducting the expense of using a car for business the FIRST year you put the car to use, then you can alternate in future years which method you use: standard mileage rate or actual expenses. However, if you deduct actual expenses that first year, you’re tied to that method in all future years for that car . . . and if the groundhog sees his shadow when awakened on February 2nd . . .

I’ve got a couple of puzzles I want to do for a magazine, and then I’m taking a Stitching Vacation. That is, I’m going to make stitching my #1 priority for a week. I’ve got a backlog of projects waiting to be stitched and I’m going to make a dent in them. Yay! I don’t really have a choice. This is part of my job (poor me!). The TNNA trade show is coming up in early June, and I’m committed to a couple of things.