Grandma Lillian Does It Again

My grandmother turned 104 today.  I called her from work in the afternoon to wish her a happy birthday.  Since she lives 11 blocks from me, I figured I'd go over there with my Uncle Norman, have some cake and bring her a small gift.  How many chances does a person have to be with a 104 year old person on their 104th birthday?

So when she told me that she was too busy for me, had too much paperwork, had been on the phone with Bloomingdales complaining about something they charged her for that they weren't supposed to and had a ton of phone calls to return, I was a bit taken aback.  "We'll have a party on a different day, Honey, I'm too busy today."  And that was that.   Rejected my grandmother who was too busy to celebrate her own birthday.  She's a rock star.

A few minutes later, Uncle Norman called me to say he was at Hot & Crusty Bakery and was going to get her a cake anyway. He later told me to just come over, that Grandma Lil was temporarily tied up with all her "work," but it would be nice to have a little celebration on the day of her actual birthday.  So I went over there and ate some cake, shared some gifts and took a tons of photos.  Every year on her birthday, Grandma Lillian likes to make a little speech before she blows out the candles.  She thanked us for coming, wished us all lots of health, happiness and that we should all have another great year.  She acknowledged her frustration at not being able to get around like she used to, but says she still feels very young, so that's most important. She insisted that I take the rest of the cake home with me for The Husband, and really, who am I to argue with a 104 year old woman on her birthday?  So it's day 3 of our "eat at home challenge," and I've got a Hot & Crusty black forest, Oreo topped cake sitting in our living room (same cake featured in picture here). I doubt it will go untouched.  In fact, The Husband has already insisted that I go to bed which is code for making sure I don't see him sneak into that cake box and swipe out some of the oreo cookie topping and chocolate frosting.

Not to worry, I'm determined to dive into those recipes left on the last post - and please keep them coming or we're going to blow up here!!

One other thing worth mentioning: late last week, I received a notice in the mail from the IRS saying that I owed $1000 from my 2009 taxes for some undeclared income of stocks that were sold.  They sent me 15 pages of information, with all of these forms to fill out.  Whether I agree or disagree, I am required to give them a response and if I agree, I have to send them a check for $1000.  Having absolutely no idea why they think I owe them something, I asked our accountant to check it out.  Turns out, the IRS is WRONG.  They neglected to see an attachment I had sent them which explained the sale of the stock, and a loss incurred - no income was made and therefore no tax was owed.  What a racket these guys have.  I imagine if they are sending me notices telling me I owe $1000, they are probably sending out hundreds of thousands of notices to people all over the country demanding that money be paid - some legit perhaps, but many more that are not.  So if you get a notice from the IRS, best to get it checked out by an accountant or someone who speaks the language of Tax.  They purposely make it as complicated as possible so that regular people like myself are required to either succumb to their demands or have to hire someone to decipher their code.

Ok, have to run and pick out my clothes for tomorrow and get ready for a 5:15 AM wake up tomorrow, as I have a 7 - 9 AM call for work.  Don't ask.  Can already feel the exhaustion, but luckily, there's a trip to Starbucks in my future.

Good night, all.  And happy birthday, Grandma Lillian!!