Work

Tax Man

As if life couldn’t get any more glamorous around here… this was the scene the other night:

Since tax day is less than a month away, we met with our accountant this week so that he could begin prepping our taxes. With all of the intricacies of running a small business (income from different sources, tracking quarterly tax payments, business license expenses, health insurance payments, charitable donations, retirement and college fund deposits, etc) this is one project we wouldn’t dare DIY. I’m a pretty organized guy when it comes to numbers, but keeping a spreadsheet of all of our incoming and outgoing money is about as far as it goes for me. We figure it’s better to spend some time and money with a CPA than with the IRS! Haha. We actually file quarterly taxes, but this time of year is when we have to double check and recalculate lots of things throughout the year, so it’s always a bit more heavy duty.

Oh and since we get the question all the time, we don’t write off home improvement projects as business expenses because our house is our primary residence (and we wouldn’t want to bill it as our business since it would mean we owe major taxes on it when/if we ever sell). But more on all the behind the scenes small business stuff here. Anyone else enjoying tax season so far?

Blue Light Special

We’re not the best photographers, but we are trying to get better as we go. And that’s why we find ourselves doing things like this in the middle of homespun photoshoots.

See how neon blue it looks behind me in that picture? That’s because when shooting our artificially-lit kitchen, any natural light looks like that. Usually not a problem, except when some window light shines through and makes a subtle blue splash on the freshly painted cabinets that we’re trying to take pictures of. Sherry doesn’t always notice these things, but they drive me crazy. See the blue-ish light reflecting off the doors and the side of the peninsula? It’s taunting me.

So with the help of my trusty blanket (which blocked the light coming in from the living room) and Sherry behind the camera, we got this shot instead.

It’s subtle, but it makes me very happy. According to Sherry “it’s exactly the same thing.” And I might have been called a dork. But no sir, John Petersik sees the difference. And will not stand for pesky lighting inconsistencies. Not on my watch.

Whatever It Takes To Get The Shot

Who knew photographing a kitchen could be so death defying?

Forgive the poor picture quality. Obviously the good camera was in use. And of course this was taken before we did this (part of the counter and cooktop are no longer there). Ah, the joys of tearing the kitchen apart.

If only picking a countertop was as easy as demoing the old one…