Taxes, Skiing & Black Horse Design (and some odds & ends photos taken over the last few weeks)

Nap buddies.

We spent yesterday evening working on our income taxes and it looks like we'll get a nice refund this year. Mike took off with a neighbor early this morning to finally go skiing in Taos on what is being touted as 'the best snow in over twenty years'. I'm really glad for him as I was beginning to worry he wouldn't get a chance to ski in this phenominal year of snow. That makes me a ski widow for the day and I intend to spend it relaxing. He is bringing his camera and promised he would take photos and get our neighbor to take some of him since I've never gotten to see him ski. I promise to share!

'What?!?!?'

The reason we are feeling a bit time pressured is that 'news' I was waiting to share. Even though we don't have all of the details yet, things have moved along enough to talk about it. Mike has officially left his old company, Weatherford International, and is in the process of becoming an independant directional drilling consultant. What this means is he will have some control over his life again.

Vannie is pouting. We had to activate the Puppy Controls to keep her away from questionable sites.

He is being courted by a number of big companies to work Internationally in a fixed rotation of either four weeks on, four weeks home, or five weeks on, three weeks home. As of now, he is being looked at to work either in Ecuador or off the coast of west Africa. This is really exciting for both of us because he will be paid much more and work much less. And he will have a schedule we can plan on. That is very, very good but we are scrambling to get his passport in order, file our taxes and get caught up on all of the Star's Rest needs since he may be gone as much as six weeks on this first trip.

'It's so exhausting being me.'

And here's another decision coming up...as I halfway expected, our Black Horse Design profits actually hurt us on our income taxes this year since our net profit was less than the additional refund would have been without it. This is helping me to make the decision of shutting down the business in some fashion over the next year or so. Even though this is what Mike has been moving towards when he decided to go back to work, I have such a strong work ethic about being a financially contributing part of our marriage that I have had a hard time considering it. Yesterday I told Mike I was beginning to realize that perhaps my best contribution was to support him by being healthy and happy, instead of stressed out and angry over dealings with some of our more demanding and less than pleasant customers. Bless him, his response was to tell me that was what he hoped for when he decided to go back to work as a directional driller.

Duffy can look so distinguished...

I really don't want to sell BHD, or just abandon it, so I have a plan that I hope will actually happen. I have a dear friend who contacted me earlier this year about learning to make jewelry and develop her own line. She also asked about selling some of the BHD designs which caused me to have a bit of a brain storm. I just got through making her an offer...that if she is good at it and still loves it in a year, I will turn Black Horse Design over to her in exchange for a royalty for using our designs. A serious win/win for all concerned! People will still have access to our jewelry, as a single mom she will have a great second income, and I will be free! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she is jumping up and down in excitement as she reads my email...

and then there's Ellie.