Right Now - February 2016

Working On - Taxes. Tallying property tax amounts and medical expenses, trying to understand IRS rules concerning HDHP and HSA, and what to do with a 1095-C from an ALE. Oh, the drudgery and resentment of every single moment that I spend trying to get our money back. On a positive note, I was happy to figure out that we could still claim an exemption for Justin, even though it's the last year for that.

Watching - The Walking Dead. I am so not a watcher of anything dark, yucky, or about zombies, but strangely enough I've gotten hooked on this. I blame Justin. Yes, there are plenty of times that I have to cover my eyes and look away from the screen, and I may not be able to watch more than one season, but the characters are complex and multi-dimensional and the story is compelling. I find it especially chilling that some of the worst characters are not the walking dead, but the evil humans.

Knitting - Baby alpaca fingerless mitts. My fingers are freezing!

Learning - Calculus, still. It may be time to move on or get a better teacher. (I'm trying to teach myself :-)

Reading - A Doubter's Almanac, Last Chance to See, and A Mother's Reckoning. Very different from each other but equally interesting.

Wondering - Why the front axle on my 2012 Forester has to be replaced. It's under warranty, but cost isn't the issue (for now, anyway), safety is. I've liked this car so far, but after having the steering rack replaced twice, along with the left and right rear axles, multiple recalls for the brake lines and the thermostat, and now the front axle issue, I'm seriously questioning whether my next vehicle will be a Subaru.

Wishing - That the service advisors and mechanics at Subaru service would listen to me when I describe my car's symptoms and not make me feel like I'm being dismissed simply because I'm female. I came dangerously close to yelling this time, and I'm proud of myself for not saying, "See, I told you so!" when it was the front axle, just like I told them. I'll be giving some serious thought to my survey response to Subaru when/if this latest repair is completed.

Drinking - RumChata. Come to think of it, Justin may be responsible for this also. We were at the liquor store and he mentioned that he thought I might like it. I replied that I had more than enough wine, beer, and Scotch at home, but his answer was, "Come on, Mom. You only live once!" That sounded almost like a dare, so of course I had to take him up on it. It's a creamy rum-based lightly cinnamon-flavored liqueur that is delicious in tea and hot chocolate, and addictive when added to chai. I may be on my second bottle. (I blame Subaru.)

Eating - Mashed potatoes. I've been craving their creamy, buttery goodness and since I'm the cook, that's part of what we're having for dinner tonight.

Hoping -That my indoor hyacinths bloom soon. I'm anxious for that delightful spring-like fragrance since our spring-like weather has been quite changeable.

Planning - We did a lot of planning for a possible summer vacation in Alaska, but for many reasons, it doesn't look like that will work out. So now I'm planning my next visit to Colorado. It will cost less and have more yarn.

Starting - a Hitchhiker with this yarn. It will be an antidote to the drab end of February and I can also use it as a reward for working on taxes.

Trusting - That the universe is unfolding as it should, and sometimes wishing that I could nudge it to unfold in slightly better ways. :-)

What's going on in your world right now?