Cheers

The January I Happily Ate All The Frogs In One Weekend

Shelley

I have a confession to make. While I don’t love frogs, I eat them every January. Some frogs are cute, like this one I have hanging on a plant on the corner of my office desk. See him dangling above the piles of papers. Alongside him is a dinosaur to remind me of how long some papers tend to hang out there in the dark corner of no return until I eat them.

EVERY STINKING.CLOUDY.GLOOMY.GRAY.JANUARY.

I attempt to eat said frogs (also known as tax prep papers) as fast as possible. Not because I like the taste of them (frogs or papers), but because I avoided nibbling on them for the months leading up to January so then I’m forced to eat them.

Taxes MUST be done before April arrives, so I have no choice but to JUST DO IT. I don’t want to be doing that in April, I’ll be doing this on a beach in FL!

A favorite moment in April 2023 when it was warm enough to be outside!

This year, I’m happy to report that I squirreled myself away in my office and consumed a whole year of frogs in one weekend!

I feel accomplished and over the top happy about it!

Plus, I’m happy to report that I don’t have to fire myself as our bookkeeper like I’ve done every year since can’t remember when I didn’t want to.

It warms my heart like the first sign of spring flowers.

Hyacinths for the soul.

Looking up at this time of year is such a nice feeling. Like seeing pink blossoms on the flowering crab trees in May.

What’s the secret tool that I used? I simply started backward in a methodical way and just plugged away until I was done.

An American Goldfinch Favorite Photo from Feb 2023

I’m waiting for the applause…go ahead, I deserve it. 😆🥳

All it took was focused dedication and a desire not to waste away the whole month of January. Come Spring and Summer, I’ll get behind again. But maybe not, we’ll see. I kind of like this feeling of being caught climbing up instead of down.

I’ll have time to hang out with friends this summer.

Throw caution to the wind.

Find love for my neighborhood scoundrels.

Go for walks in our yard with my camera and take silly photos.

And watch the flowers grow.

Frog eating isn’t such a bad deal. It’s as productive as a cat-and-mouse chase that ends on a good foot that thankfully I didn’t step on in the dark!

I searched my bookshelves and found the book I read in 2008 by Brian Tracy that was based on Mark Twain’s advice.

If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.

Mark Twain

The book is called Eat That Frog!

It’s a delightful read and a quick one at that. Two of my favorite quotes from the book are:

  1. Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all of your energies on a limited set of targets. – Nido Qubein
  2. Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. – Napoleon Hill

I worked diligently on tax prep and paused to turn on the Happy Light for a mood refresher when I was feeling frustrated with myself. It’s like a ray of sunshine on a foggy summer morning.

I bought it because I LOVE the name of it. It’s so bright and cheery.

The Happy Light sits in the corner of my office, across the room from the corner that became representative of me the procrastinator in 2023.

Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Albert Einstein

That spot bugged the heck out of me so in December before I started on my tax prep project, I ate the procrastinator frog and bought a new bookshelf. Now the corner is a happy spot too.

I was surprised at how quickly I was able to fill the shelves. And how easily I could be distracted from eating frogs.

Now I’m waiting on the mail to deliver the reports I need to complete the task and hand it off to the accountant. I don’t dread entering my office anymore!

I’ll leave you with one of my all-time favorite photos of 2023. It represents why I’m glad I ate the frogs this January. Now I can get back to playing with my camera…I love to keep trying to catch that perfect shot. Even the missed moments are there to treasure.

Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 6th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “Just do it.” Use the phrase “just do it” somewhere in your post, or write a post in the spirit of the phrase. Enjoy! And all of the hosts of Lens-Artists Challenge #281 Favorite Images of 2023.

PS – Happy New Year blogging buddies, what’s new with you?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

57 thoughts on “The January I Happily Ate All The Frogs In One Weekend”

  1. You have every reason to be proud, Shelley. I have one tax-related thing I have to do between Christmas and New Years, and I’m always proud when I do it. Your pictures are wonderful. That’s what you should be doing – taking more of those.

    1. Thank you for the encouragement Dan. Congrats on your theme choice and for getting your tax prep done already. I thought maybe all you book sales would add to your prep work?
      I’m taking one for the JOMO team and trying hard not to feel like I’m letting blogging buddies down when I choose to work on tax prep tasks at hand instead of doing fun blogging things.
      I hope to grab my camera more this year and show things that I notice that I haven’t shared here on my blog when I’m trapped in the house. We don’t have much snow so I don’t have that excuse to use. 🤔😅
      Happy New Year and Happy JusJoJan!

      1. My book sales are just another 1099 to file, but not putting me into a higher bracket 😉 Still, it’s funny. I write the book(s). Amazon charges me to print them. Then Amazon takes a big slice of the royalties. The the IRS wants their share. It’s good I didn’t start writing to make money.

        1. Ah, that makes sense. Oh, my, I wondered about how much it costs to run book sales through Amazon. So many pockets picked on the road to being a best-selling author! I don’t know if you noticed, but your four books have their own shelf on my new bookshelf! 😉🥰

          1. Oh my goodness, I didn’t notice. It’s funny, I was looking at that shelf to try and figure out how it was made, and I totally missed that. I am honored!

          2. I happy to keep displaying your books (free advertising for you). Yes, it’s an interesting shelf. I bought it because the video said it only takes 15-30 minutes to assemble. Mr. made it look easy as he put it together. He loves puzzles and assembling things without the instructions at first. 😆

    1. Thank you for the encouragement Frank! Yes, I am using photos for that reason. I want to stay caught up in my tax efforts throughout the year so next year I’m ahead of the game instead of behind.
      Happy New Year to you and yours as well. I hope the weather is nice where you are and that you’re enjoying walking on the beach!

        1. Glad you have a safe spot to be when the storms roll through. We’re expecting some kind of storm, the tale end of the bigger one that went south of us.

          4. Wow, I can only imagine what that looks like in person. I’m glad you’re okay and the weather is back to normal.

          6. Ah, that makes sense. Our weather was exceptionally dry last year. I’m surprised we’re not getting more snow to make up for it. As I typed that I checked and we’re supposed to get snow all day, maybe 2-4 inches by the time it stops. I guess I should be careful what I ask for. Again, I’m glad to hear your safe and ready for another new day!

  3. Well done, Shelley! Brava!! I for one want you to eat all the frogs as quickly as possible, so you can get back to taking all the wonderful photos. Those hyacinths, that finch!

    1. Thank you, Rebecca!! I appreciate your encouragement to keep on eating frogs. I hope to see some real frogs to photograph this spring along with the flowers and the birds and other interesting things. 🤞🏻💖

  4. I love the many happy photos in this post, Shelley! I have never done my taxes and have used the same tax company in Michigan for decades. Hello, January. 😊

    1. Hi John, thank you for your encouragement. Wow…you still use a tax company from MI when you live in Vegas? That’s great that you found a trusted service.
      Yes, Hello to January. So far we’ve been behind in snow accumulations compared to last year at this time. Perhaps it is because the snow blower is working this year? 😆
      Happy New Year to you, thank you for your blogging friendship!

      1. You are welcome! I feel like I’ve known you guys personally for a long time! Say no to snow. 🤙🏻 I’ve used that same tax company for as long as I can remember.

        1. Ditto to you, John! You’ve been here to share in our journey and we’re grateful for you!
          Yeah…we only got 1.5 inches so it wasn’t too bad of a storm for our part of the state.
          Truth be told, we’ve used the same tax company for decades too! 😉

          1. Dittos! I’ve been following the crazy storms on the weather channel, wow! Meanwhile, it was 32 degrees here this morning! This happens once every winter. Funny thing since the summers can hit 115 degrees!

          2. We’re not out of the snow storms yet, and then we’ll be mighty cold for the weekend.
            Glad you only hit 32 once a winter, you’re not a fan of the cold anymore!

    1. Thank you, Brian! I hope to stay on top of things this year so I can enjoy more blogging fun and finding photos to share on the Last on the Card! Happy New Year to you and yours!

  6. I loved all of this. Well the poor mouse…. I know the book. A good read indeed. I love the way you weaved your days into the perfect photos to mimic them. Yes the applause is deserved. So well done Shelley!

    1. Aw, thank you Donna. Yeah, the poor mouse, but…it did entertain the cats. 😉😻
      I love quick fun reads like Brian’s book. It’s fun to see how the tips stand the test of time. I appreciate the kudos.
      I LOVE your recap of 2023. I am always drawn to your photos and as I scrolled I notice how each one is framed so well to grab attention to an object and draw the viewer in wanting more. You did an excellent job of describing your fellow teammates on the Lens-Artists Team too! Well done 🥂👏🏻🥳 I look forward to seeing what the team inspires us to do in 2024.

    1. Thanks, John, Happy New Year to you and Mary. I enjoyed your DOOD IT post, that was a clever collection of examples you pulled together!!

  8. Very clever Shelley and thanks for the explanation on “eating frogs” – you have a nice collection of photos here and how you decluttered the corner … I love the bookshelf and its shape and don’t you feel smart for doing this. I hope one day I feel as smart as you after decluttering! I have never done my taxes. My parents took my tax return to their CPA when I started working at the diner and I’ve stuck with them every since. The owner has retired and his daughter and son-in-law now run the place.

    1. Thank you for the encouragement, Linda. As a fellow wannabe declutterer (not a word) I appreciate hearing my efforts paid off.
      There was a time when I thought I’d enjoy doing other people’s taxes and then we became landlords and I got behind and the rest is history. While I know I could save $ by doing them myself, I’m just not into the idea. You’re fortunate to have a place that has served you well all these years!

      1. Well, I have to admit I have been having my taxes done at Bair Tax Service since 1974. When I took them and stayed for the meeting while he did the taxes, it took 30 minutes tops. That was when they did them with pencil and paper – now with their software and everything filled in already, it is even less than 30 minutes. So I am frustrated with myself that I pay them to do what seems easy. Frustrating.

        1. Yes, it’s quite easy to do when you don’t have deductions. It’s a matter of filling in a few blanks and pressing send. Ours are a bit more detailed with the expenses. Someday I should just figure it out, but then again, I’d have to fire myself and file for extensions… 😆

          1. A former co-worker lived/lives in Canada. She did her and her husband’s tax returns. Now I don’t know if it is especially difficult to do taxes in Canada, but she would tell me “well I started our taxes last night … ” she would take weeks, working on it a little every night – left everything spread out on a table, plus weekends as well. I couldn’t figure out what took so long. It takes me an entire day to get it ready as I drop it off and make him a chart and bundle up everything, plus a note. I used to do that throughout the year before blogging took off, so every check or credit card payment entry, etc. was done thru the year … I should go back to doing that instead of wasting an entire day. Of course, I don’t open envelopes when they come in either – toss them into a box, open them all at once and separate everything then – yes, it is special. Last year I think I told you I was going to eliminate hard copies of the bank statements – I may ask him if I can just put them on the flash drive and keep the originals – less to deal with.

          2. I used to be more like your friend, making sure EVERY stinking transaction was recorded and then I realized I was the only one that wanted that and the majority of the painstaking efforts weren’t tax deductible at all so I ditched those efforts and focus on what is tax deductible and my tax prep life got much easier.
            When you mention going paper free, that’s another reason I found that helped simplify my prep work too. The images on a cloud are out there somewhere if ever needed to prove anything. And a flash drive is a good backup plan as long as it can eventually be read again. 🤷🏻‍♀️

          3. I’d marvel at the time she spent on it … I felt like I was a sloth that I handed them $$ to do it as I never did taxes in my life. I know Chase has the records readily available for five years. I am trying to simplify this … I have to start doing my chart and updating it as I go along like I always did.

          4. I imagine that the more tax returns you do the faster you can do them. Typically, if audited, they’d go back 3 years, but can go back 7 years. It’s the remembering to go back and shred the boxes older than that I forget to deal with until the new boxes can’t find a space to be stored. Paperless sounds pretty good about now. 🤔😆

          5. I have a large plastic handle box with at least six years of old tax returns in them … from 2010 on. I probably have more, including my mom’s. We had a shredder and my mom shredded everything, then we got Sugar, our canary and he was scared of the noise, (he was in the kitchen), so I had to do it downstairs … you can see how that project turned out. We got Sugar in 2006, so likely stuff from 2006 on needs to be shredded. So ya – paperless, I get it too. 🙂

  9. Hyacinths for the soul. I do like that idea. I look forward to seeing them in the spring, maybe more than daffodils even. I think the three rules of work are spot on. Of course look who dreamed them up!

    1. Hi Ally,

      Welcome back to the blogosphere, it’s so lovely to hear from you!

      I love spotting the hyacinths every year. I didn’t plant ours, they just showed up in an odd spot in our yard one year and keep coming back to remind to embrace resilience as we go through the seasons of life.
      Perhaps you’d love the poem that I think of every time I see them:
      Hyacinths To Feed Thy Soul by Gulistan Saadi
      If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
      And from they slender store
      Two loaves alone to thee are left,
      Sell one, and with the dole
      Buy hyacinths to feed thy sole.

      Yes, I agree, good ol’ Albert was a wise sole indeed!

  10. Hi Shelley! I am glad you made progress and accomplished a few things this month. I haven’t even thought about taxes yet, probably because I am waiting for the state to send me a pension document and the bank to tell me how little interest I make on my savings account. Then I will take it to my tax man and have him do the work. I used to do taxes myself, but found the convenience of tax prep by someone else to be much more relaxing.

    I love your bookshelf. I have seen something similar on Wayfair and Amazon and thought about it myself. Perhaps time to reconsider…

    How much snow did you get with the blizzard? Did you escape most of it?

    1. Hi Mary! There are days when I imagine the retirement life and the simplicity of dropping off the taxes without a huge box of papers accompanying it. That does sound relaxing!

      Thanks about the bookshelf. I found it on Amazon and it was easy to put together. I think it might even be Hoshi climbing proof too.

      We only ended up with about 4.5 inches total. The winds have moved it around quite a bit. How much snow did you get?

        1. Wow, that’s plenty of snow. I agree, I prefer the snow over the cold. It’s -6 here this morning. Same to you too, Mary, stay warm!

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