Rules for Dating My Auntie Lala...

...according to my 7 year old niece!

Actually, I'm surprised that she was willing to agree that I should even date. She's actually quite against it. 

Here are her objections:

1) What if I want to sleep over?
2) You'll be out all the time, going on icky dates.

Basically, she is unwilling to share me.

I was reading Aziz Ansari's book 'Modern Romance' and I was discussing the book with my mother, while my favorite 7 year old was playing with her toys.

I told my mother that I was pretty sure at this point I'll never marry.

To which my niece replied, "And there's nothing wrong with THAT!" 

But then I asked, "Well, if I did get a boyfriend, what kind of guy should I get?"

And here is her list & reasonings: 

1) He'd have to be funny & like to have fun because I (Auntie Lala) am funny & like to have fun. So that makes sense.

2) He needs to like comic books. And by comic books, she means 'My Little Pony'. Yes, because her daddy likes 'My Little Pony' and once when she was wearing a 'My Little Pony' sweatshirt, a man told her that Rainbow Dash was his favorite. So, since guys like 'My Little Pony', my boyfriend would have to as well.

3) He doesn't have to like 'Doctor Who' because 'Doctor Who' is scary and gives her nightmares. He should like 'Star Wars though', because Auntie Lala likes 'Star Wars'.

4) He should have a job because that's what adults do.

5) He has to like big dogs and cats because of Dakota & Lola.

6) He can't live with his parents because only little kids do that.

7) He has to let her do what she (my niece) wants.

And there you have it. Those are the rules. 

Actually, looking over them, it's not a bad list. 

I imagine that when I bring a fella home to meet my family, it's not going to be my parents who he'll need to impress though. And since she's declared that she's only willing to share me with Dakota & Lola, good luck with that!*

*She was aware of a gentleman who liked me & asked me out on a date and when she met him, she glared at him when he walked away from us. Like seriously shot daggers at him with her eyes!

2015 Reading Challenge Update

So I started the PopSugar's 2015 Reading Challenge in January. 

I don't know when I became such a big reader. I remember, as a teen ager, sitting in the living room with my brothers, and all of reading our own books. Maybe I was a reader back then but in a house full of readers, I never noticed it because it was our norm. 

I remember as a punishment for not completing pretty much any of my homework in middle school, I had to back up my bookcase and turn my books in with my mother. (Since she wasn't looking, I stashed some of my favorites away in my closet. Then I'd sit & read in my closet instead of doing my homework.)

I remember also in middle school, when my mother left a Jackie Collins book in the bathroom and I spent 3 days sitting on the bathroom floor, pouring over that novel. My mom left to run errands and I remember lying on the floor, half in the bathroom, half in the hall so I would be able to hear her unlock the front door. That book was the trashiest, most awful book I have ever read. Still to this day.

I did admit to my mom that I had read that book and after that, two things happened 1) my mom was much more careful about the books she left lying around and 2) she decided that I would be allowed to read adult romance novels, but she got to pick them out for me. Her choice were top rated (not trashy) historical romances. My favorite authors at the time were Julie Garwood & Judith McNaught. I am sure I was a middle school English teacher's worst nightmare.....the books I pulled out for silent reading were not your average middle schooler's.

Looking back, I guess I've always been a reader. But it didn't seem like being a book worm was anything to comment about it. 

I think I figured that everyone liked reading and read books. 

It wasn't until my friends started posting posts about loving books & reading on my Facebook timeline that I realized my love of books & reading was anything special. But those posts made me feel special. It made me proud of books & reading and that people associated me with something so fine & lovely.

I've never tried to compete with anybody or look down on them for not reading books. My sister-in-law isn't a reader, and I adore her. She interacts with the real world far more than I do. I admire her for that. She's constantly out doing things, having fun, so who I am to judge anyone for that. 

I just spent two hours laying on my bed, reading my Stephen King book. That was great fun (to me). 

Even though I'm not competitive, that doesn't mean that some people don't try to compete with me. I didn't grow up with that. My brothers liked their genres, and I liked mine. I'd read one of their books, but it wasn't my thing and that's okay. There are a few genres that I don't read. I would love to be into poetry, but I just don't read it. And horror books...I will read the master of horror (Stephen King) but I don't like to be scared normally. Military & war books don't interest me either. I like some biographies but I seem to be picky about the person I read about. I like to read about strong women in history who went against society's norms and kicked ass. 

I mention this because someone once tried to put me down for not reading the same genres as he did. I was told I was really limiting myself as a reader. That offended me, because I do consider myself to be well-read. 

Back to the Reading Challenge!

I like that I read some books that I normally would not have but I don't think I will be doing another challenge next year. I miss picking books out just for fun. Now, they have to be on my list or a book I can use on my list.

This challenge is a 52 book challenge. That averages to a book a week. And I've read 34 books so far this year. I have 18 left to go. Last year, my goal was to read 37 books (and I read 52, go figure). 

Thankfully, the challenge hasn't lessened my love of reading. It's just narrowed my choices. But I did go back & took another look at my TBR (To Be Read) stack & figured out how to fit in my new books into the the challenge. That helps. 

Here's my challenge so far:

Man, if I got a free book out of this challenge, that'd be awesome. But right now, I'll take the feeling of accomplishment & pride. Either way, after reading all those books, it's still a win. 

Bad Advice Or Why I Have To Pay THE MAN

I am not doing very much this summer. I don't have any big trips planned.

I tell people that I have to "adult" this summer. Because that's more fun to say than: I have to save my money because I owe the IRS back taxes and it's due at the end of the summer. So, instead I say something cute and kind of trendy.

But how did this happen? How is it that I owe back taxes? I'm a single school teacher who rents. 

Oh yeah, it's cause I thought some people knew what they were talking about!

Have you ever met someone who spoke with such conviction & authority that you had an instant respect for them......only to find out later that they had absolutely no idea what they were talking about?

Yeah, that's annoying. But thankfully, I am starting to not fall for that.

Back when I was filing my 2012 taxes, I was doing them myself. Now, I was still living & teaching in Alaska at that point and I couldn't take my taxes over to a professional to have them done.

My taxes are pretty straight forward anyways. But there was one thing that was tricky.

Since I had no say in where I lived in Akiak (the school district was my landlord and determined what house I stayed at AND who I lived with) I fell under the category of "Forced Housing". Which meant that my rent was tax deductible. 

Yay, right? Except that it's a pretty rare occurrence and not handy on any tax form. So I asked other teachers where they had put in the rent amount. 

They said, "Oh, you just do _______________." (I'm NOT posting what they said.)

I asked, "Really? That's it?"

I was told by several people, "I've done that for years and never had a problem." Then they looked at me like I was stupid for even questioning if they were correct.

Okay, so that's what I did. I submitted my taxes and everything was fine. Who was I to question those smarter than me? 

The next two returns, I went to a professional and everything was fine.

Except, a few months ago, I received a letter saying that my 2012 taxes were wrong and I owed thousands of dollars. 

And I saw on Facebook that many of my Alaskan friends had received similar letters.

To quote Lord of the Rings: ....but they were all of them deceived...

Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But bottom line: the advice didn't come from a tax expert. And it was bad advice.

I wrote the IRS and told them why I didn't owe them thousands of dollars.

And they agreed.....for the most part. They say I still owe $700. 

Could I fight it? Maybe. I could hire a tax attorney. I could go to a professional. Or I can be grateful that it's no longer thousands of dollars and just pay it.

And that's what I have decided to do. Chalk it up to the next time I want tax advice, you'd better be a professional. 

Although, part of me wants to submit a bill to the people who gave me the advice....but one of them is in jail waiting trial for abusing his adopted children, so I don't really want his money anyways.

My advice: there's a lot of bad advice out there, and if someone has to put you down to prove their point, maybe it's not the best advice after all. 

Still Miss Ruark's Adventures....

I've decided that having an adventure blog right now is not what I want to write about anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I love adventures! However, I feel like I am narrowing my topics to write about. And since I've moved back to the world of suburbia, adventures are different.

I've got a lot to say, and Miss Ruark's Adventures couldn't contain me anymore....

I'm just breaking out of my box.

My cat, about to bust out of her box!