If you haven’t already, it’s back to work! It was such a great and enjoyable break. Sometimes I think having a week off is worse than having one day off because you get far too comfortable waking up at your leisure, reading a book, drinking coffee, etc. If that wasn’t bad enough, it gets worse: Your paycheck is lower! That’s right - the take-home from your paycheck is going to be lower because as part of the Fiscal Cliff, the payroll-tax cut didn’t get extended. That means the Social Security deduction for your Federal taxes went back to 6.2% from 4.2%. It was a nice two years at the lower … [Read more...] about Welcome Back to Work – Did You Notice Your Paycheck is Lower?
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Weekend Wind Down 6/02/2012
I’ve been back in the U.S. for just over a week and now it’s time to leave to again! Only this time, it’s for pleasure instead of work. We’re off to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for our annual Summer Vacation! The trip could not have come at a better time. School just got out for my wife and kids. And being a proud Dad, I must brag – both of the kids did really, really well on their report cards! … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 6/02/2012
Weekend Wind Down 5/19/2012
Well, wish me luck. I’m off to England today for a business trip. That’s 11 hours of travel plus a 5 hour time change. In other words, by the time I start to feel sleepy, we’ll probably be landing and it will be morning outside. My stay there will be a little over a week. I’m going to miss my family; this will be the longest I’ve ever been away from them. Luckily, the week after I return is when we go on vacation together. I’m hoping the hotel’s WiFi will be nice and reliable. My last hotel had very questionable Internet service. So if I disappear, sorry about that! Posts You Should … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 5/19/2012
Weekend Wind Down 5/12/2012
I’ve felt like a VERY delinquent blogger this week. My apologies to all of you who I normally visit and comment upon. Work has been extra demanding this week (with one of the big projects nearing a close), so my time has been spoken for. We’re looking forward to the weekend! Tomorrow, the boys are going to see “The Avengers” while the girls are going to get their nails done. And we’ve got all Sunday to do whatever Mrs. MMD wants to do for Mother’s Day (including catching up on all our shows that keep piling up on our DVR). Speaking of TV shows, is anyone watching “Don’t Trust the B”? That … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 5/12/2012
Weekend Wind Down 5/06/2012
What’s this? Am I on a boat?? Nope! That’s just me driving through my neighborhood and what it looked like after a massive rainstorm came out of nowhere! When I initially drove out of my driveway, the water was just a little deep. But the further I went along, it got deeper and deeper! I was getting a little worried and didn’t want to stop. I’m glad I didn’t stall out! This was kind of a busy week (as you can tell since I’m a day late on my normal schedule). I was on a business trip through OH when I stumbled upon something VERY interesting! More on that to follow in Monday’s post …. I … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 5/06/2012
Weekend Wind Down 4/28/2012
Following the last post “The Value of What You Know”, I found a hilarious example to use as a follow-up and lighten the mood. What is it that this guy “knows” and is using to draw value from others? … Fighting Zombies of course!!! That’s right! There is a place in South Jersey that is offering a “Zombie Survival Course”. The program prepares you for the “upcoming zombie apocalypse” through teaching you to shoot guns, hot wire cars, perform first aid, and even the martial arts of “Zombitsu”. So how much does it cost to learn these life-saving survival skills? Packages run anywhere from … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 4/28/2012
Weekend Wind Down 4/07/2012
Weekend wind down??? Yeah right!! Tell that to the 6 tons of flagstone that the semi-truck dropped off on Friday morning! Phase 1 of our landscape remodeling project was in full effect. For a long time now we’ve wanted to line our gardens with flagstone pavers and fill the beds with slate rock. It took about 8 hours to move it all and get it in place, but in the end it looks great. Fortunately it was exactly the right amount of stone we needed. Unfortunately, my back and hamstrings are killing me! Here are some more pics: … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 4/07/2012
Weekend Wind Down 3/31/2012
Another exhausting week of work! I’m glad to be finally sleeping in this morning. The week started off with the actual birthday of our daughter. Unfortunately because we had already celebrated her birthday in the combined party with her brother (and because it fell on a Monday), we gave her her presents and brownies and that was pretty much it. During the school week you’ve still got homework and spelling words to study for even on your birthday. It was the end of the marking period for our kids – one more to go until Summer Vacation! Both of them did really well on their report cards. … [Read more...] about Weekend Wind Down 3/31/2012