Easter treats and labels

I still miss jelly beans. I think I can have the Smucker's sours, but I haven't seen them this year.

Jelly Belly claims they're gluten free, but they still put "modified food starch" in the ingredients. So I try and boycott such labels on the prinicple. CLARIFY THE DARN LABEL!!! If Campbells can, you can too.

I know the Cadbury chocolate eggs are okay to eat. My problem is that I can eat half a package in the hour and half while doing my taxes! They're so addicting.

But I've been such a dark chocolate snob these days, I rationalized my denial of the Cadbury eggs because it isn't dark chocolate.

Well, guess what I found at the grocery store on Sunday.

Yup. But I only bought one package of the dark chocolate Cadbury eggs.

*yum*

I'll probably be buying several packages the day after Easter and hiding them all around the house. So I can be surprised all year round when I stumble across a package.

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But going back to food labels. My mom buys this barbeque sauce that she only finds at the butcher. It's pretty good for a thin BBQ sauce. But the label isn't very clear using terms like "vinegar" (is it distilled vinegar?), and "Worchestire sauce" (some brands are okay, others are not). I emailed the company, and never got a response. So I just said "heck with it, we'll see what happens". I didn't get sick.

Last week my mom bought a new bottle for the ribs she bought. I looked at it to see if they changed their label. They had. It now says "Gluten-Free" on the back.

Kinda nice that they did address my gluten concerns.

_____ and taxes

I hate doing my taxes. Two years ago, I was filing electronically the 15th of April. Amid panic of "server busy" messages, I did get it in on time. Last year, I was standing in line on the 15th of April at the post office to get that magic postmark stamp.

I don't know why - I always take out more than needed so I can get a refund. I'm not married so I don't have to deal with the marriage penalty, and have the barest minimum of deductions.

So I figured this year I would do something different. I did my taxes using the free TurboTax (federal), paid for the state forms, and printed them out. I signed them, addressed them, double checked the postage, and mailed them today.

Total - just over $1,200.

I should work harder to file sooner rather than later. I got them out with less than two weeks to spare this year, but will try for better next year.

prayers - keep them coming!

As much I question the effect of prayers, I ask to keep them coming.

Things are slighly better around here. My dad is eating a little bit of food here and there. He took the M37 for a drive a few days ago (still runs), and was working on a new animal this morning.

My sister got out of the hospital Saturday afternoon. Stupid work kept me for an extra 50 minutes, so my poor sister had to have someone else take her home since I couldn't be there. By the time I got there, they just started to clean her room. At least going to that hospital isn't too far out of the way. Still mad at myself that I couldn't be there.

My mom still looks like she was in an accident. But she's getting by with Tylenol for the pain.

Yesterday, we got a reminder of why a phone call at 5:07AM is never a good thing. It was my grandmother. She either has the flu or the stomach flu that we all had and could no longer stand up. The ER didn't keep my grandmother, but gave her anti-virals, fluids, and potassium. She's still having trouble, and will take a while to get over this.

My cousin from Texas will be here with his wife Thursday night. He was the mayor of New Braunsfels, TX the year they had the major flood. He didn't win re-election last year. So I wonder what he's up to these days.