vw, let Emily take care of you for a while. You know when you're back up to it, you'll be doing the dishes and a lot more for her. There's a give and take in any relationship and it very rarely balances out all the time in an even way. If it's a little uneven right now, that's okay.

Try to give yourself a day to not worry about what you haven't gotten done, vw. This is "don't do what I do, do what I tell you to" advice, since I'm a champion at dwelling on what I didn't do. You've had a bad, bad week and you should just lie about eating bonbons.

OMG! Tucker finally took on Tanner and made him back down! Usually, it's Tanner chasing Tucker around the house until Tucker finds a place that Tanner can't get to him at. Wow. About damn time.

Sorry, but cat dynamics can be pretty interesting on only one cup of coffee.

What they said. Give your body and mind a break. You have healing to do and the dirty dishes don't matter. (so I have the entire week's dishes in my sink, it happens, a lot)

I'm alternating cleaning data, cleaning the house, and cleaning up Brendon's research paper. Joy.

They towed away my car to the dealer. I'm certain it's the starter, but we pushed it up the incline of the driveway and tried to start it rolling downhill and popping the clutch, several times, and no go. Likely it is something that wasn't fixed when I paid $2300 last August. Cars.

Dad is coming over tomorrow to do my taxes. Last Sunday he told me I needed to figure out how to do them on my own...he said he doesn't do them for either of my brothers (who are younger), yada, yada, yada.

I think he feels badly for the week I've had, though, 'cause he offered to do them tomorrow, and even, I think, offered to pay for them to be electronically filed so I can get my money faster. I think he's trying to help with something, so I'm gonna let him.

vw, if you (or he) go to www.irs.gov, you can follow the links to find a vendor to e-file them for free. In order to get the free, you have to follow the link through the IRS website. It's under an agreement between the feds and the vendors, and there are a few restrictions with some of them, but not all. I e-filed for free last year, though this year I paid $20.00 for e-filing with turbo-tax online since it got kind of complex and they're good at hand-holding. Your state may also allow you to e-file for free.

Yeah, I know. I told him that. (Or, actually, Emily pointed it out while I was on the phone with him.) I put the link in my favorites, so maybe he'll decide to do that tomorrow instead.

Okay. You know, I would have done them for you. I like doing taxes. I used to do my parents' taxes all the time. Back when you had to file in the snow, uphill both ways, without a keyboard.

Hee! Thanks, you. We'll get them done tomorrow, either way. And they're taking me out to brunch at this new place we found last week, that they loved. So, bonus!

Aw, you guys are making me feel guilty for not doing my taxes. Not that I won't, but I feel like I should be joyfully flinging paperwork left and right, digging up old receipts (that haven't even been filed yet), sweating out the number crunching with pencil and paper (but no eraser or calculator), and otherwise cackling cheerfully like Scrooge over the way I'm going to get the guberment to give! me! back! my! money!

Actually, it's on my agenda for the weekend, whether or not I actually get around to doing it is another matter.