I'm Stressed - Pure and Simply Stressed ARGH!

Well, it's looking like I'll be stuck in a write-off in LJ Idol. Two of us are currently tied for last place with 11 votes each. If I do end up in a write-off, although that's not the end of the world, it hits at a time when I'm totally crunched for time. It's a week before Thanksgiving, I have to determine what my After-Thanksgiving Day Sale will comprise of, and write the email for my customers, as well as any sales sheets my people will need to refer to at the cash register. Just kill me now! OY! Too much going on in my life right now. I'll have to see what happens when the poll closes early tonight, but it doesn't look positive. 

It's looking as though I'll be in a write-off with one other 
author. Hard to say for sure, the poll doesn't close until 
tonight, but that seems likely. I don't necessarily have a 
problem with that, except life is starting to seriously 
get in my way. THAT's a problem. *sigh*

I did convince DH to hire our accountant for a Federal form that we have to file before the end of the year. He was stressing over it, and I told him that if our accountant could do it (and it's a borderline accountant thing - not really money related), and if Paul was charging a reasonable amount, then we should hire him. After stressing out for another day or so, DH finally agreed with me. Our accountant is charging a flat $100 for the form, and that's SO worth it. I dropped my information at the accountant's office yesterday, and DH can drop his by today. Then, it's problem solved. 

There's a new form that businesses have to fill 
out and file with the US Treasury Department. The 
fines for doing it incorrectly are NOT fun, and 
DH and I were not 100% sure we could do it 
correctly. So, we're hired our accountant to 
do this for us. ARGH! 

I'm already stressing out about Thanksgiving. Not the preparation of the bird - I know how I like to do that. I'm stressing out over the next few weeks until we reach the end of the year. We've gotten our last shipments of product in and processed (although I'm sure I have a lot of things for price tags waiting at the shop for me today), but everything has to click. We need a good holiday season, and if this year's sales are any indication, that's going to be hard to achieve. It's been a slow year - one more reason why DH is resigned to leaving the business next year. Will we do it easily? Hell no. I'm sure my stress levels will be through the roof. But that's next year and I have to get through this year first. 

We're almost ready to move into our busiest time of 
the year, and we're nowhere close to being ready 
for it. Nope ... not anywhere close to being ready. 
STRESSED! 

I've received one of the two holiday cards I'm having made for me, but the other one is still pending. Once I get those, I can start working on putting addresses and postage onto them. This year's handmade card simply didn't work. I had absolutely NO time for personal projects at all. It was one crisis followed by another one throughout the year. So, I apologized to my recipients in general, and I ordered cards from two different custom vendors. I still wanted something uniquely me, and the first ones are pretty fun. But, sending holiday cards is just one more thing to manage between now and early December. Time is at a premium. I think I need to swim off some of this stress, so I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be kind, and thanks for being there - every one of my readers is a lifeline for my sanity. *hugs* Slava Ukraini. 

ARGH - Computers are NOT My Friend Right Now *Sigh*

Lately my personal blog has been asking me to sign in EVERY morning. I've gone months/years without having to do this and it's HIGHLY ANNOYING. I have more than 4800 posts on this blog, and really don't want to lose them to a cyber glitch. It's very frustrating. Every time I have to pull out my code book from my laptop bag and re-enter the information requested to be able to post my daily post. I've now written the information on a post-it note and am keeping it close to my main computer. 

My code book is quite messy these days, and I 
don't have the energy to re-do it, although I actually 
do own the new sheets upon which I could write the 
information. There are hundreds of websites that 
I have to have a log-in code for. Ridiculous! 

DH and I are wrangling with another Federal form (just one more hoop to jump through). Although I think I have the appropriate up-to-date software on my laptop, I don't have the requisite programs on either of the desktop computers that we operate because we're running older operating systems on them. I'm going to call my accountant today and see what he would charge us for filling it out and submitting it. It might be worth dipping into my dwindling funds for one more thing. *sigh*

If we just filed it online, which would require scans of our 
drivers licenses for identification, it would be relatively 
easy. But DH wants to have it in PDF format to look things 
over and make sure there aren't any errors. Although I 
have Adobe and all of the different programs on my 
laptop, my laptop won't talk to my home printer, only to 
the shop printer (a newer printer version). *sigh* 
Electronics will be the death of me! 

I think I voted in this week's LJ Idol vote, but honestly, yesterday was such a cluster f**k, that I'm not 100% sure. I'll have to go onto the website later today and double-check that. There were some excellent stories this time around, and it's such an honor to have made it into the top ten. I'm quite sure if my friend from California hadn't pulled out for personal projects, I might not have made it this far. I'm grateful to be sparring in words and themes with this talented group. 

We're down to the final 10, and I'd really 
appreciate your vote if you haven't already 
voted for me. Also, remember, votes for other 
people doesn't really help me either. The person 
with the lowest number of votes (or two people, 
in this case) are out of contention. Read all 
of the stories, and make nice comments if 
you enjoyed them, but be sparing of those votes. 

So, I'm off and running. I have a LOT to do today, and there never seems to be quite enough time in which to do it. The store is open today, despite it being a holiday, so I'm heading there as soon as I grab a quick bite to eat. Have a lovely Monday, and remember to honor the Veterans and those in active service today. It's a hard job, and they're willing to put their own lives in danger to protect all of us. Slava Ukraini.