Taxes & Diet Results

Anticipation was high this morning when the hounds and I started our day. The calendar said it was 'April' and that means spring is here, just as soon as the temperature would climb above freezing and head that 50° they are promising me today. I had a plan for this morning which is rare but that plan changed and it turned into a morning of multi-tasking. So far, all with good results.

I've mentioned before that I keep spreadsheets for normal things and the first day of each month is update time. Some of these are for information, some for fun and all of them are used because I love spreadsheets. It took less than 10 minutes to update, monthly mileage driven, body measurements, financial stats, used electric, and diet tracking.

I caught Stella running this morning but this picture shows I caught her on the downward part of her run as her ears are pinned flat against her head. When the camera focused her ears were flying ... but she was too fast this morning, faster than the camera shutter.

If you remember March 17th I announced I was going to get serious about my eating plan. I'll not review all that I was going to do but will say that in the past few days I have been feeling "lighter". I'm serious when I say that. When I sit at my desk or on the couch I could also tell that my gut was looking smaller ... so this morning's monthly measurements might tell me if my eyes were deceiving me.

It might have been only 13 days ago when I was going to get serious about what I was eating but the tape doesn't lie. The skin calipers don't lie and neither does the scale. It's one reason I always like to record the truth so I can see the real differences, good or bad.

Comparing my measurements to what they were just a month ago on March 1st, I've lost 4 pounds, an inch off my gut, 1/4" of fat on the side or 4mm ... measured by skin calipers.

Although I fluctuated between high and low carbs or fat, all plant-based or fish, meat a chicken ... one thing that I did not deviate on was ... NO Dairy. Also I fought through urges for junk food like cookies, candy and anything else in a package. That continues to be a daily battle.

One week I thought I was going Vegan, Vegetarian or was it going to be Paleo?? Like I posted a few times these past few weeks, I migrated to what I have done before in making modifications to where I was eating somewhere in between all of the diets. Still staying away from dairy, processed foods.

I did not go one extreme or the other but in the past week had decided to lean in the direction of 'low fat', higher carbs and the required amount of protein.

So the bottom line is, in the past two weeks I have decreased my gut, weight, and fat. I have only added sugar to my coffee but no longer use it for anything else. If I had not lost weight this month I was going to eliminate those two teaspoons from my cup of coffee every morning and I still might do that.

Last night after the last NCAA basketball game was over, I was channel surfing and caught the last part of a diet presentation on DrOz tv show. They were explaining THE SAME THING I AM DOING !!!! Where's my commission ???  LOL

They were explaining their reasons for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday would be  'low carb' days. Wednesday and Saturday would be 'high carb' days and Sunday would be a 'cheat day' ... where you can eat anything you want plus add 1000 to 1200 more calories on top of your daily limit. In my case that would put me around 2800 calories on Sundays.

I looked at my Cronometer app where I can see all of my food breakdown by day. It's easier of course to look at that site on my computer instead of my phone. What it showed over the past few weeks was that I was alternating Keto and Vegan diets throughout the week unintentionally. Oh ... that Wednesday and Saturday are basically Vegan days ... meatless on their plan.

I can go to the DrOz website and either see or read the first part of the show I missed last night. The dietitian was explaining the reasons for alternating that way of eating on different days, as boosting your metabolism and burning fat faster, thus losing weight. The Sunday cheat day was a reward plus it would also help change your metabolism.

Yet, like I said the other day after reading this in one of the two books I was reading about food. Someone with an addictive personality (me) might have a really hard time with that Sunday Cheat Day because one day of junk food would be too much and seven days of junk food wouldn't be enough. (that is my saying) ... It's either one extreme or another ... but ... I'm willing to try the cheat day concept and see if it works.  :)

Since it has been possible to file federal and state income taxes online years ago, I have. Every year went smoothly, refunds were received and payments were paid electronically without a hitch. Most of my life is electronic, all of my monthly expenses are paid not only electronically but automatically such as phone, tv, internet, water, electric and insurance. I do the automatic payments just in case I end up in the hospital sometime and can't get to a computer. I NEVER make these transactions on my iPhone.

With my income electronically received and all my basic expenses paid, it would actually be possible to pay those monthly expenses on time and I would never have to be around. A sick side of that story is that I have joked about it to friends, I could die and based on my bank transactions no one would ever know I was gone. Life would go on like always. LOL

Over the years I have used different online tax services from TurboTax, TaxAct and HR Block. In all of those services I have been able to file electronically and if I owe taxes I could pay at the same time, a smooth process.

Not this year.

I get to the point of finishing my state tax and it tells me that my state is not accepting electronic debits. The real problem was I could not proceed past that problem to file my federal taxes nor file my state taxes electronically. The tax service website contact info did not have a phone number and if I needed help I had to pay money for their "free tax advice" with a real person on the phone.

So back in February I wanted my federal tax refund so I went to another online service, filed my federal and received my refund. The online service I was currently using said I could file federal and state separately but after reading their help section and trying to do that multiple times, it wasn't possible. They wanted me to print out my state tax return and mail it in.

I played along and printed out my state return and let it sit to simmer for a couple of months as I decided what my next plan would be.

That one line in my state tax instructions told me I could go to their website and pay my state tax obligation and mail my return separately. So .... long story short ... I only did part of that.

A little break in the action ... do you notice the one on the left is now filled with dirt ??? Just yesterday they were both open and in fact filled with water.

Here is what they looked like yesterday.

So this morning I had a plan, a tax plan. I didn't like it but I was going to do it and get it out of my life and since it was April I wanted to close my 2018 Income Taxes for good.

My plan was to mail in my state tax return WITH a check, certified mail for proof of delivery and be done with it. I was even telling Stella along the walk that I was going to the post office after this walk.

Of course when she heard the word "go" she changed her attention from the back of the field to me and decided to walk with me back home.

I get back to the house. It's funny because Stella hearing that was going somewhere, immediately walks straight to the bedroom and lies down on the floor waiting for me to shut the door. I still had to fill out my envelope and write a check. (I can't remember the last time I have written a check) In fact my checks are so old they have the printed address of what I had prior to my current mailing address, when they changed it for the 911 Emergency System.

That has been years ago !!!

I am almost to the point of writing my check when I catch that one line again "Pay online by visiting 'their website' " I did that without any issues and received my receipt of payment for my records. I still wanted to talk to a human voice at the state revenue office so I called to explain my problem and wanted to confirm as the written instructions indicated ... that I could still mail in my state tax return without a payment.

She said, I can suggest even something better than that if you don't want to mail it. Drop off the return at a district office. Well they have a district office not only in Bloomington but right on the way to Mother Bear's Pizza ... a favorite of mine.

Can I have one of those "Sunday Cheat Days" in my diet plan on a Tuesday ??? Like tomorrow ???  :)

So basically I am finished with my 2018 income taxes with a few glitches this year.

The new and improved Cincinnati Reds this year looked like the terrible Cincinnati Reds of the past FOUR YEARS yesterday as I tuned into their game on tv. They were starting their game in the second coldest temperature in the HISTORY of their franchise (150 years). It was 33° and that is just too cold to be playing baseball. The Reds played like they were freezing, losing 5-0. Wasn't the other team cold or did the Reds just simply suck yesterday??

Luckily the first of two games in the NCAA basketball tournament started within the hour of the baseball game so I was able to limit my misery. It was two great basketball games, exciting but more than anything, both teams I wanted to win did win ... so they have a final four WITHOUT what I call "The Best Teams Money Can Buy" ... meaning, money involved to have certain players show up to that school to play basketball.

There has been a little news in the past month where some assistant coaches and shoe company handlers are going to prison for these illegal payments. The real action will start after the tournament is over on the 8th of April, a week or so later. That is when the NCAA holds their meetings on crap like this and the rumor is many many many coaching job openings will occur after those meetings.

Don't be alarmed with what I am about to discuss. This is just for information for anyone that might want to transfer their WordPress blog back to Blogger. I know, that sounds strange because why would anyone want to do that? I'll not go into the reasons nor compare the two but I have found a valuable tool that works perfectly in the process of importing your WordPress blog into Blogger.

The issues have always been that they don't play well together, even when you want to transfer a Blogger blog to WordPress. It's possible but a lot of extra work and on a level where you have to know what you can do behind the scenes.

Most of the time over the past five years, I could find a converter tool for the .xml file imported from WordPress but every time that tool no longer worked. There were no updates.

Yesterday through internet searches I thought I had found one but when I clicked on the link, it would return me right back to the WordPress blog article I was reading. It described the process. So I made a comment about the problem, asking if the converter site still worked?

Within the hour I had a reply and was told they were fixing it and were unaware that it did not work.

Long story short ... they fixed it and it worked perfectly and fast this morning.

If you are needing a converting tool online so the WordPress file you downloaded can be imported into Blogger without any problems ... click here for that converter.

So why was I playing around with that, if I am happy with my blog on WordPress? I know it's not much money but I don't like having to pay $96 per year for their Premium account just so I can use my own domain name that I have paid for plus have a few more templates to choose from. In fact I am not even sure I need the Premium account to use my own domain name, maybe I don't.

I'll be reviewing their Premium account info again today. I did read it before I paid last December and for some reason I thought it was a requirement.

Yesterday I started thinking and that is always dangerous when I start thinking ... what if I have to pay that $96 next December to keep my domain name for the blog? What if I don't want to pay that? I know it's not a lot of money spread out over a year but it's close to a $1,000 per year and I could use that much money on something else. For food or fun or even save it.

So the only backup plan would be ... move the blog back to Blogger to my old blog and transfer the domain name for FREE because Blogger doesn't charge me for that process. I just pay for the domain name. Also Blogger gives you unlimited photos for free ... Wordpress gives me 2Tb of photo space before I have to pay for more storage.

Since I have used only 15% of that storage, it isn't an issue.

I set up a free blog on Blogger yesterday "Steve's Test Blog" just to see if I could complete the transfer without any problems. I also found they have improved their customization with more options and I swear I am sure they use to call them templates but they had the word themes listed and that is the same word that WordPress uses.

I have no plans to move ... but I have to admit ... having all the blog posts on this blog from December 9th 2018 to this one, on my old blog, making ONE blog with all of my blogging history with the hounds ..... is very tempting.  LOL

Too much rambling ... too much time ... and Stella wants her lunch ... I gotta go

Spring is here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

What A Surprise !!!

As I was watching college basketball Saturday night, I glanced out the window to see the largest snow flakes of the winter and possibly the hardest snow of this winter. It was really coming down after a day full of rain. This is normal for this time of year here in 'the tropics' but it was still a surprise. Enough so, that during the next tv commercial I grabbed my camera and headed outside to record the moment.

This same type of snow took place last year on April 16th.

As Stella and I did our Saturday morning walk in a warm 56° I knew by late afternoon the wind was supposed to increase and change from the SW to the NE/N. With that change the temperature would drop into the 40's and overnight lows in the 30's. What the forecast did not tell me, there was a chance for snow.

I just glanced at my weather app on my iPhone and it says the "feels like" is 26° at 10:29am this morning. No worries though because after today the temps get back to our spring averages with many days in the mid to high 60's. This is just a reminder I guess of the weather gods telling us that winter is officially over.

That didn't keep Stella and I from taking our walk this morning. With the standing water in the field across the highway I know our path was going to be very wet with standing water in some spots. What was weird, if Stella and I walked in the thick grass off the path, there was a crunching ice sound on top of a very saturated field.

Heidi was in her daily routine as usual, a nap after breakfast, so none of the light snow or freezing temps outside bothered her. Yet, I can almost assure you that she will NOT be taking any kind of afternoon walk with Stella and I today.

It's always nice to see all the different clouds after a day and night of storms. Weather is moving across 'the tropics' but we will see nothing but bright sunshine all day. That will not interrupt my schedule as a sports addict though. I have a Reds game starting at 1:10pm and the last two games of the weekend for the NCAA College Basketball tourney starts a little after 2pm. Thank god for the split screen feature DishNetwork gives me.

BTW, I am noticing the programs to stream tv are slowly increasing their prices. By the time I add the channels I would need to see all the sports channels I have now, there is only a ~$30 to $35 difference in my monthly price ... hardly enough to make a change, especially if I don't know if it would work well with the lag time of satellite internet service.

Stella was stubborn as ever by the first step she took outside the carport. She curled around the corner of the house to the left, walking as close as she could along the side of the house basically to keep her feet dry. She was heading north I was heading east ... this wasn't going to work. How did she know that the path we take every day was soaking wet and cold ???

After the second time she looked right at me, turning away and walking north ignoring my verbal herding ... I marched across the yard to manually direct her in my location. We were taking the normal path one way or another, wet or cold. Sometimes you have to decide to be a leader I guess.  :)

This is what she was wanting to avoid. When it is this wet just a few steps into the field that is a sure sign that water will be coming up over the sides of my boots with each step I take for the next half mile.

She was okay with the decision I made, or at least she acted as if she was. She had scents to track and like any other morning after a night of snow, she had more than enough scents to follow. They always seem to increase after this time of weather

As you can see there were some massive clouds today, moving slowly in a NE direction.

As I was feeling the effect of freezing cold air on my face I was happy when I remembered it was going to be April tomorrow. That has the sound of spring and I instantly starting picturing t-shirts and cargo shorts. I am more than ready for summer to show up ... the hotter the better, humidity does not bother me. Bring on the heat !!

You can tell by the way Stella was walking on the path that she didn't like getting her feet wet. The problem was wet feet are colder when stepping on the lightly snow covered field. I know that temperature difference may not be felt by a bloodhound that not only has a high pain threshold but the pads on her feet resemble those of a bear. She can walk through anything, fire or ice.

You may notice if you are reading the blog on a desktop computer or laptop, that I have been doing some blog "housecleaning" and some of the sidebar is no longer there. That list of links wasn't being used much, in fact readers on a phone or tablet do not even see the sidebar unless you click the three dashes in the upper left corner to open the menu. (WordPress design).

So I added a few of the newer links to my old blog's sidebar, here. One thing that is nice about Blogger's platform, they automatically move the blog link to the top of the list based on the most recent post. Plus it will show you when the last post was for each blog or website.

I also changed the Archives from a list to a dropdown menu, got rid of the list of recent comments for a more cleaner look on the sidebar. I also did a little rearranging on my old blog, which I still use to go back to look at old posts plus it is easier working with the blog list, knowing the latest post.

The eating plan continues to go well. I have noticed from my spreadsheet, where I log in daily calories, carbs, proteins and fats, then average them for the week ... that I have basically flipped the nutrient targets of carbs and fats. It shows I have really reduced my fat intake but I also remember that any carbs not burned at the end of the day turns into fat. So really, is that really a difference ??

The biggest issue I still find and always have ... the nightly urges for sweets or snacks. These cravings usually take place after 8pm. They are very strong cravings and once again last night I was this close < > of getting in the car and heading out to buy some sort of snacks or junk food.

I didn't want to disturb Stella and Heidi's sleep just to move them to the bedroom while I was gone, so once again the hounds kept me on my eating plan. Away from fast food and junk food.

I did find a new way to cook a skinless chicken breast and it's fantastic. What a difference there is between the chicken I eat now compared to baking it. The other day out of curiosity I did a search for "the best way to cook a chicken breast" and found this technique.

Heat your cast iron skillet on high ... once hot, apply oil and lower the stove to 'medium' heat. Cook each side for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to 'low' and cover the skillet for 10 minutes. After that period, turn off heat, leave the cover on and let stand for 10 more minutes. After that 10 minute period make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through (so far mine has been cooked all the way through).

If you have an electric stove like I do ... move the skillet to a burner that was turned off for that last 10 minutes. You will end up with the juiciest, moist chicken breast you may have ever had. I know after the past few days I will not cook my chicken breasts or thighs any other way.

Where there was only one of these yesterday, there was a new one added and both were filled with water due to the high underground water level after all the rain yesterday.

decided to move over to where I could follow Stella and to my surprise there was more spots of standing water along that path than anywhere else in the field. Water was also standing in the thick grass to the side of Stella.

Here she steps around one of those puddles you cannot see.

She didn't hesitate to make the turn for home when I said "come on, let's go" ... she must have been cold. It was freezing like a January day this morning.

Looking in the direction of the neighbors a few houses away from mine. I wonder if she smells food in the air, hears something is just looking for the field cat. I do know that during the walk this morning a woodpecker was very busy in the north woods which is on the other side of the field and was working non stop while we walked.

Why she decided to sit down and then look at me ... I have no idea. At first I thought she was getting ready to scratch herself but as I walked closer to her, she got up and trotted  away.

It is going to take a while before the north yard grass is tall enough to mow. Right now the yard just in front of the carport is the tallest as usual, followed by different spots in the backyard where the hounds have helped fertilize it during the winter. I'll start the spring by cutting the yard taller so the root base can be established and as usual I'll expect to mov every two to three days or in between spring rains.

Another morning walk in the books and hopefully this was our last walk in extremely cold temps until next winter.

It was another night of some great college basketball games. Things changed in a matter of seconds and between the two games there were just too many highlights to describe here. I did tune into the baseball game in San Diego during commercials of the basketball games. They did a fantastic job with their stadium design as you can see the city skyline in the outfield. It's right downtown. It reminded me of the years I lived in the San Diego area many years ago.

You could tell by the sky, sunset and what people were wearing to the game, just how nice the weather was. Why wouldn't it be nice, it's San Diego. I did think to myself that after the hounds are gone maybe I should sell the house and move back to Carlsbad CA and rent a place. Of course living there now compared to when I lived there in the 70's and 80's are two different worlds. Maybe I need to visit some friends out there first before making any moving decisions.  :)

I'll try to get some photos of Heidi this afternoon and post those later. Due to Saturdays weather she wasn't real active and the only photos you would have seen, were her different sleeping positions on the couch.

Let me know if you like or don't like the sidebar changes.

It's cold but at least it's sunny here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today.