Stacey Is...

today's random tax tip- charitable donations

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:42:22 -0500

first the bad news- unfortunately, if you do not itemize your deductions, you are unable to take a tax deduction for charitable donations. but please give anyway. :)

today’s tip- donations on a credit card count for 2009 as long as they are charged by 12/31. It does not matter if you pay the bill in January 2010—the donation is still deductible in 2009.

This is one I learned this year from my mom. CPAs to the rescue!

I’m super excited about “friend Christmas” which is what Lee and I are calling our...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:46:55 -0500

I’m super excited about “friend Christmas” which is what Lee and I are calling our celebration of Christmas this year since we’re staying in Asheville and celebrating Christmas with friends instead of family. It’s awesome because we don’t have to travel and we can sleep in and wear pj’s all day. But I am a little sad that we’re not going to Corning anymore for holidays. It was nice to be up with horses and snow. We also will never get a free trip close enough to visit friends in Canandaigua and eat awesome mexican food, bowl and drink.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a character created in a story and song by the same name. The..."

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:04:32 -0500

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a character created in a story and song by the same name. The story was created by Robert L. May in 1939 as part of his employment with Montgomery Ward. The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been sold in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special (done in stop motion animation), and a feature film. Character Arts, LLC [1] manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. Although the story and song are not public domain, Rudolph has become a figure of Christmas folklore.”

- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I’m here to bring a little downer to your Christmas spirit, only because I read this and it brought me down. Obviously most of Christmas is commercialized, but reading this little paragraph is so depressing. The Rudolph Company? Come on!

Urban Craft Uprising Blog Post

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:52:01 -0500

Urban Craft Uprising Blog Post:

If you are near Seattle go see Elijah and Rhonda selling Figs & Ginger goodies at the Urban Craft Uprising Show. It looks like there are tons of other awesome people selling there too. And check out the link for a funny little interview with us.

Note to self: It’s so funny to say “later dudes” like Clark Griswold on Christmas...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:05:00 -0500

Note to self: It’s so funny to say “later dudes” like Clark Griswold on Christmas Vacation. Say it more often.

The art of flattery

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:48:40 -0500

Me: I want a facelift, there's too much skin on my forehead.
Lee: your forehead is flat like an ocean. No wait that doesn't make sense. It's flat like the desert.
Me: are you saying I have a big forehead?
Lee: I just can't think of the right landmass.
Me: I don't want my forehead to be ANY landmass.
Lee: ok it's like a billboard.

The kids' letters to Santa

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:18:21 -0500

capucha:

“Dear Santa,

I have been very very good all year and I have been waiting for you for a long time now. I haven’t done silly things, I haven’t broken anything, except for a glass one day, but it wasn’t on purpose. I have listened to what Mom and Dad have told me. And I always say “Please” when I ask for something.

For Christmas, I would like a Hopper Ball, a fireman outfit, a tool case, a box with hamburgers and hot-dogs that you can carry around, and colored Kapla stacks so I can build houses. That is all.

Big hugs, Santa, I hope you will bring me everything.

Capucine.”

————————————————————————————————-

“Dear Santa,

My name is Aliocha, I am a BOY and not a girl, I’m 11, almost 12.

For Christmas I would like :

- Volumes 4 and 5 of Astroboy.

-Volumes 2 and 3 of Dororo.

-The albums “Free as a bird” and “Even in the quietest moments” by Supertramp.

- A book of Charles Baudelaire’s poems.

-Surprise presents.

I deserve these presents because :

-I set the table more often than before.

-At school, even if I have not gotten very good grades lately, I took a good start at the beginning of the year (not like last year).

-I am more careful with my notebooks. I also write better (compare this letter to my letter from last year and you’ll see !).

-I play with my sister, even though sometimes I don’t.

-I take better care of the cats.

Big hugs.

Aliocha

PS : You don’t have to bring me everything I asked for.

PPS : One last thing : could you lower the price of oil, water and electricity ? Thanks in advance.”

Awesome parents make awesome kids and these kids are the best!

Men of Craft

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:19:36 -0500

Men of Craft:

I forgot to mention this earlier, Elijah was interviewed by an intern while he and Rhonda were at the Crafty Bastards show in DC. Listen in, pretty cool/funny.

Possibly getting this as a tattoo tomorrow (not the chain...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:15:00 -0500

Possibly getting this as a tattoo tomorrow (not the chain obviously). My mom will be so pleased when I show up for Thanksgiving with another tattoo. Elijah and a friend of his have an appointment and I might go and take a gamble that they’ll have time for me. If they don’t I’m taking it as a sign to wait. Where should I get it?

sweett: Reminder, babies can put you in a good mood.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:05:49 -0500

sweett:

Reminder, babies can put you in a good mood.

New Rules

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:09:38 -0500

Lee: Think fast
Me: No
Lee: (throws candy at me and it lands on the floor beside me) You can't just say no to think fast!

I watched the second half from the student section in front of...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:27:27 -0500

I watched the second half from the student section in front of the band (via stacey marie)

Go Tigers! We’re going to the ACC Championship game.

This is me learning awesome silversmith skills from Rhonda at...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:45:11 -0500

This is me learning awesome silversmith skills from Rhonda at work. She was teaching Elijah and I how to polish the jewelry. We had a couple of masks and had to make a way to distinguish between them, so Rhonda drew a smiley face and went a little crazy with it. I think it looks like Mario (as in “It’s-a me, Mario”) Also, i got my hair cut today. awesome times!

Lee is on the way to a job interview so be thinking of him and send some positive vibes on over!

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:02:09 -0500

Lee is on the way to a job interview so be thinking of him and send some positive vibes on over!

hamburgerskeleton: emilyposts: Direct quote from Sarah Palin’s...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:10:46 -0500

hamburgerskeleton:

emilyposts:

Direct quote from Sarah Palin’s new book: “If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?”

(via timmelideo)

Wow.

Sarah takes a classic asshole statement that I have heard from every jerk in south and north carolina and added her own pizzaz with my least favorite piece of grammar fail, the ol’ “how come”. Bravo miss palin, that’s how come you have a book.

New post to Figs and Ginger Blog

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:25:47 -0500

New post to Figs and Ginger Blog:

Rhonda and Elijah are on vacation and I’m here working, blogging and getting ready for the holiday season.

anjalouise: Got myself the ZEPHYR jacket from REI in this...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:07:56 -0500

anjalouise:

Got myself the ZEPHYR jacket from REI in this color, “gray mist.” It actually is fairly acceptable in terms of fit, and it’s cozy and meets my requirements. I can’t wait to be warm, dry, and have a secret outer chest pocket to stash my camera on hikes. YAY

Looks good! Keep that receipt because you can take REI stuff back any time if you’re not happy with it, even if you’ve had it for a few years, and get a refund. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. We have a membership so they keep a record of what we buy so that we don’t have to keep the receipts and we get a 10% dividend back on what we spend to shop again at the end of the year. The membership is $25 total, forever. They’re great to their employees too.

duplo: I need new jewelry. I keep just hanging different old...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:20:29 -0500

duplo:

I need new jewelry. I keep just hanging different old earrings on this same gold chain. Is that weird? Does anyone else do this?

Any recommendations on a great jewelry source? Maybe an Etsy seller you love? It would be much appreciated. I’m sort of accessories-challenged so I could use some pointers.

Also, check out the streaming sunlight behind me. You can’t tell, but there’s also harp music and this voice keeps saying “The liiiiiiggght…. gooooo into the liiiiggght, Jeesssssicaaaaa”

Weird.

Figs and Ginger! You can order from our website or you can buy it in Portland. We sell in a few shops around town.

Workin on my fitness

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:43:54 -0500

Just took my first jazz dance class in 7 years. I continued ballet into college, but hadn’t taken jazz in years. It was an adult class and apparently there are only 2 other women in the class. The perk is that it’s walking distance from our house, so bonus work out! I had a lot of fun and got a good workout. We did crunches for what felt like forever and some other warm up stuff, then I learned the dance they’d been learning for a while really quickly (yay me!). I will be going back for it next week and maybe the Friday night African dance class with drummers!

livejamie: Katamari Baby I’m going to miss halloween so...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:21:22 -0500

livejamie:

Katamari Baby

I’m going to miss halloween so much when there aren’t pictures of babies and animals dressed in costumes.