The story of my yard so far...

My wife and I have lived in our home for just under 2 years now, so we're just getting started with our yard.  I enjoy yard work.  I'm not a master gardener by any means, but I enjoy getting outside and playing in the dirt.  I like planting trees and flowers and I hope to start a vegetable garden this year.

Last year my main yard goal was to get our sprinker system installed and sod laid.  I did some ground prep by tilling in an entire semi truck load of composted turkey manure.  I found a Website that some guy set up to teach people how to properly design and install a home irrigation system.  I studied his suggestions and designed my sprinkler system.  I got some input from my father-in-law, who also enjoys this kid of thing.  I listened to the KSL Greenhouse Show on Saturdays for more tips.  I calculated the flow rates in each of my sprinkler lines.  I bought sprinkler heads that have pressure regulators built in so that they will always operate at 30 psi, and at that pressure, I know the amount of water that will be flowing out of each sprinkler head and how far it will spray.  Maybe I over-planned, but it sure was fun.  That was May through July, I think.  I was studying for the CPA exam during this time, too, but the sprinklers were much more fun.

Once I got everything planned out how I thought would work, I hired a guy to come and trench my yard.  What took him an hour and a half to do for $190 would have taken me a whole lot longer to do (with insane amounts of swearing, I'm sure).  Money well spent, I say.  That was August.

I spent September, October, and part of November laying my sprinkler pipe and installing the sprinklers.  That's when it really got fun.  I also spent that time trying to keep my neighbors out of my yard so that my trenches wouldn't collapse before I got pipes in them.  That wasn't so fun.  I got the pipes all glued and the sprinkler heads installed and the valves hooked up and the irrigation water turned on and it all worked great.  I was very proud of myself.  

Then in mid-November, I ordered three dumptruck loads of top soil to be delivered, and I hired a landscape company owned by a friend of mine to come and spread the topsoil and level my yard.  Again, I could have done this myself, but it would have taken me even more time, and there would have been even more swearing, I'm sure.  Definitely worth the money.  This same friend ordered the sod for me at his discounted contractor rate, too.  He said it was the premium, top of the line sod and what he would use for his own yard.  I was nervous about the "premium, top of the line" comment, because that pretty much always means "most expensive."  However, his contractor discount was awesome because that made the price less than what other people around paid for the less-expensive stuff from other sod companies.  That brought a little bit of a smile to my face.

One beautiful chilly Saturday in the later part of November, my wife, her dad and brother, my sister, my nephew, and I got up and rolled out the 6000 square feet of sod that we ordered.  (No neighbors helped, even though I helped most of my neighbors with theirs.... no ward members helped, and the Elders Quorum President forgot to tell the service chairman about it... so thanks.)  We got it worked out, and the sod looked great.  We started watering it and I even threw down a fertilizer specific for new sod applications.  

Then about a week or so later, it snowed.

The snow stayed there pretty much until March.  When it melted, we were happy to see that our grass was still there, that it didn't die or anything.  We were really surprised to see that it was still kinda green, since it was still technically the dormant season for grass.

Well, a few weeks have passed.  It's now officially spring.  I haven't turned on my sprinklers yet, because it's way to early in the season for that, especially in our little desert of Utah.  But check this out...

This is the view from the street...

This is a view from our upstairs back window...

This is another view from our upstairs back window...

Can you see where my property line is?  I have the only green lawn in the neighborhood.  I'm pretty happy about that, especially because we have a know-it-all on the street who likes to tell people how they should be doing things his way because it's so much better.  I hope that this is a sign of good, healthy grass, and not just a fluke.  I hope that all of my preparations will continue to pay off.  I also hope that my neighbor with the playground there won't flood my yard again this year.

Time to get a CPA?

How can you tell when you should get a CPA to do your taxes for you?

There are a number of indicators, really.  Here are just a few:

1) If you start a business for yourself, get a CPA to make sure you are doing everything right.  You want to make sure you're getting all your deductions, and (maybe more importantly), you want to make sure you're not deducting things you shouldn't (like a friend of mine who used to live down the street).  It's a lot cheaper to do it right the first time rather than getting audited.

2) If you're a year or two behind in filing your taxes, a CPA can usually help you get back on track.

3) If you feel you have better things to do with your time than filling out a tax return, then you might want to get a CPA to do it for you.

4) If you've ever written this on your tax return form that you have filed with the IRS:

If you can't read what this person wrote it says, "I don't know what they are?"  If you've ever written this -- or something like this -- probably it's a good idea to get a CPA to help you.  The IRS doesn't like to read notes like this, because it makes them realize that you have no idea what you're doing, and probably your return would be an excellent return to audit.  (Oh, and to answer your questions before you ask them... this is not from a client of mine, and I have no idea who wrote this note.  And yes, it was actually filed with the IRS.)

Wow.  Two posts in a row about taxes.  Sorry, but that's my life right now.

It's a shame, really

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

The IRS just issued an announcement (Announcement 2009-17).  To spare you the pain of actually reading it, allow me to summarize.

Basically, the IRS is suspending the tax exempt status for any organization that has been designated as supporting or engaging in terrorist activity or supporting terrorism.  As a result, contributions made to such an organization during the suspension period are not deductible for federal tax purposes.  

How does this affect you?  You can't deduct any donations to Al Qaeda or groups such as these.  What a shame.

Is this really a concern?  Are there really that many Americans donating to organizations like this and then trying to deduct those donations on their tax returns?  Or, if you are an organization like that, are you really trying to get U.S. tax exempt status?  You know, Al Capone was finally caught because of tax problems... he could hide from the FBI, but he couldn't hide from the IRS.  Maybe that's the secret to catching terrorists.  

Okay, so maybe this isn't really that funny, but I thought it was funny.

Think positive

There are a few benefits to working really long hours during tax season.

Benefit #7:

By the time I leave work at around 10:00 tonight, I don't have to drive home in this:

As soon as I figure out what some of the other benefits are, I'll let you know.

Busy?

I'm a CPA.  It's February 24.  It's the middle of tax season.  Literally.  Yesterday was the halfway mark between January 1st and April 15th.

At this time of year, people often ask me, "Are you busy at work?"

I politely reply that things are pretty busy and that I'm working some long hours and that, yes, it will get a lot busier in March and April.

But in my mind I'm thinking of my desk and the stacks and stacks of files that are piled there, waiting for me to do something about them.  There's a lot to do at this time of year.

The picture doesn't really show it very well, but those two stacks at the far left of my desk are over a foot tall.  

I really don't think I'd notice if any of those files fell off my desk and into the garbage can on floor there.

Why oh why did we not elect this man?

This is an article I found on cnn.com.  As our country careens toward more Democratic-imposed Socialism, I think this is worth sharing.

From: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/06/romney.stimulus/

Commentary: Stimulate the economy, not government

By Mitt Romney

Special to CNN

  

Editor's note: Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2008. This commentary was adapted from remarks he made last week to the House Republican Conference.

(CNN) -- These are extraordinary times, and like a lot of Republicans I believe that a well-crafted stimulus plan is needed to put people back to work. But the Obama spending bill would stimulate the government, not the economy.

Mitt Romney says Obama's spending bill would stimulate the government rather than the economy.

We're on an economic tightrope. The package that passed the House is a huge increase in the amount of government borrowing. And we've borrowed so much already that if we add too much more debt, or spend foolishly, we could invite an even bigger crisis.

We could precipitate a worldwide crisis of confidence in America, leading to a run on the dollar or hyperinflation that wipes out family savings and devastates the middle class.

It's still early in the administration of President Obama. Like everyone who loves this country, I want him to adopt the correct course and then to succeed. He still has a chance to step in and insist on spending discipline among the members of his own party.

It's his job to set priorities. I hope for America's sake that he knows that a chief executive can't vote "present." He has to say yes to some things and no to a lot of others.

As someone who spent a career in the private sector, I'd like to see a stimulus package that respects the productivity and genius of the American people. And experience shows us what it should look like.

First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by spending more or by taxing less. But if it's stimulus you want, taxing less works best. That's why permanent tax cuts should be the centerpiece of the economic stimulus.  

Second, any new spending must be strictly limited to projects that are essential. How do we define essential? Well, a good rule is that the projects we fund in a stimulus should be legitimate government priorities that would have been carried out in the future anyway, and are simply being moved up to create those jobs now.

As we take out nonessential projects, we should focus on funding the real needs of government that will have immediate impact. And what better place to begin than repairing and replacing military equipment that was damaged or destroyed in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan?

Third, sending out rebate checks to citizens and businesses is not a tax cut. The media bought this line so far, but they've got it wrong. Checks in the mail are refunds, not tax cuts. We tried rebate checks in 2008 and they did virtually nothing to jump-start the economy. Disposable income went up, but consumption hardly moved.

Businesses aren't stupid. They're not going to invest in equipment and new hires for a one-time, short-term blip. What's needed are permanent rate cuts on individuals and businesses.

Fourth, if we're going to tax less and spend more to get the economy moving, then we have to make another commitment as well. As soon as this economy recovers, we have to regain control over the federal budget, and above all, over entitlement spending for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. This is more important than most people are willing to admit.

There is a real danger that with trillions of additional borrowing -- from the budget deficit and from the stimulus -- world investors will begin to fear that our dollars won't be worth much in the future. It is essential that we demonstrate our commitment to maintaining the value of the dollar. That means showing the world that we will put a stop to runaway spending and borrowing.

Fifth, we must begin to recover from the enormous losses in the capital investment pool. And the surest, most obvious way to get that done is to send a clear signal that there will be no tax increases on investment and capital gains. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be extended permanently, or at least temporarily.

And finally, let's exercise restraint in the size of the stimulus package. Last year, with the economy already faltering, I proposed a stimulus of $233 billion. The Washington Post said: "Romney's plan is way too big." So what critique will the media have for the size of the Obama package?

In the final analysis, we know that only the private sector -- entrepreneurs and businesses large and small -- can create the millions of jobs our country needs. The invisible hand of the market always moves faster and better than the heavy hand of government.

Demorgatization

My sister and I (mostly my sister) made up a new word today.  It's demorgatization.  It is defined by us as what happens when you chew gum so long that it loses all its qualities of gum.  You know what I mean, don't you?  You chew and chew and long after the flavor is gone, your gum suddenly becomes a blob of disgusting mess inside your mouth.  

Here's an example:

Me: "Eww!"

You: "What's wrong?"

Me: "I was chewing this pomegranate gum and all of a sudden it demorgatized!" 

You: "Oh, that's sick.  Spit it out before it becomes an ooze that you won't be able to wash away!"

Me: "Too late."

So there you go.  Please pass this word on to others and use it in your daily speech.  I really want it to appear in the dictionary soon.

Thank you.