Taxes

It's that time of year again.

Taxes.

Okay, let's get it over with.  I bought a copy of TurboTax for fiscal year 2013.  Hopefully it will make things quick and easy.  I wonder how non-American stuffies file their taxes.

I put the CD into the computer.  Do you like my desktop background, by the way?

This nice lady says she's going to help maximize my honey refund.  I sure hope so.

But I still need to get all my paperwork and receipts together.  I enter them into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Ugh, this is still beary confusing.

Did you have any foreign income for fiscal year 2013?

Yes, some royalties from my honey business in Bosnia.

Did you have any charitable contributions?

Yes, to the SPCA.

Does the teddy bear cuteness deduction apply to you?

Yes, of course.

Now take line 21 from your tax form, divide by 9.3, multiply it by 2.43 and then take the square root of it, just for fun.  Add this number to line 7.

WHAT???

UGH!  This is too confusing for a little bear to handle.

Okay, I think I am finally done.  Let me just click the next button and I will get the final number for my tax refund.  I hope it is a big number.

WHAT?  Just one dollar?  You have got to be kidding me.  I think I need a honey ale drink right now.

Super Mario Bears

Uncle Tibbs and I were playing the video game Super Mario Bears.  Then we made some of our own props, and thanks to Ooogie, we now have a turtle shell also.  It's a fun game.  Have you ever played it?

a relative

I was sent this picture today of a sighting of one of my relatives.  Wouldn't you say we look quite similar?

sharing hats

"Aaaaaaaaachoooooo!" Ooogie sneezed.

"Bless you," I said.

"Aaaaaaaaajdin," Oooogie said.  "I'm a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit coooooooooooold."

"Hmm, I guess you're not used to this cold weather huh?  You also don't have fur like Uncle Tibbs and I do." I patted him on his green head.

"Oh, I know, Ooogie.  You can wear my hat."  I took off my hat and put it on him.

"Thaaaaaaaaaanks Aaaaaaaaajdin.  I'm muuuuuuuuuuch waaaaarmer nooooooow.  You're a greeeeeeeeeat paaaaaaaaaaal."

A new friend

I still have to unpack my suitcase from my vacation trip, so that's what I'll be doing today.  For a little bear, it is interesting how I managed to pack so much stuff.

Hmm... there is this green thing sticking out of the suitcase.  I wonder what it is.

A turtle! 

"Hellooooooooooo thereeeeeeeeee," it said.  "My name is Ooogie."

"Hi Ooogie.  My name is Ajdin," I said.  "I guess you snuck into my suitcase somehow.  Well, you can live with me and my friend Uncle Tibbs."  (My mom taught me to be very welcoming to other stuffies.)

I made a new friend!  He has beary big eyes, doesn't he?

Uncle Tibbs: ladies bear?

I was watching a little TV earlier today when a commercial came on that caught my attention.  Now I usually don't pay much attention to the commercials but this one intrigued me.

In this commercial, a man was trying to impress a lady for Valentine's Day and he picked up the phone to place an order for a bear.  The person narrating the commercial said that a bear is much better than flowers or chocolates (I agree with this statement 100%).  Then the bear arrived in the mail and the man brought the bear to the woman.  The woman was so happy to see the bear.  The bear also looked like... UNCLE TIBBS.

This commercial said you could also order the bear online so I went to the website out of curiosity.  There were many bears on this website, and they even had bears bigger than Uncle Tibbs.  That is pretty big if you ask me.  I showed Uncle Tibbs the commercial and the website and he said that is where he came from also, but that there are many bears that look like him and so he is not the one in the commercial.

That got me thinking... I wonder how many stuffie bears there are in the world.  How many Valentine's Day bears will be born tomorrow?

♥ mailbag ♥

I've been getting mostly bills lately in the mail as well as other tax-related things, but what is this?  I don't think it's a bill...

It's from Jerry and Ben!  I opened it quickly to see what was inside... a beary cute Valentine's Day card with a great picture.  Thanks guys!  Happy Early Valentine's Day!

An Island Vacation

My mom said it has been a long winter and that we would be going on a trip to get away from the cold.  So I hopped into her backpack with my head sticking out like I always do when we go on trips.  (The downside to this is that I cannot see where we are going, just where we have been.)

I had to go through the x-ray machine at the airport before I was allowed onto the airplane.  Here I am looking out the window from the airplane.  (I was let out of the backpack to stretch my legs.)

Then we arrived in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

We had a beary great view from the balcony.

The water was beary blue.

And also beary clear.

I made some new duck friends.

And relaxed all day...

It was a beary nice vacation, but I was still glad to come home, even if it is much colder here.  There is no place like home.  :)

Bear Lennon

This evening, I heard someone strumming a guitar and singing so I went to see who it was.  I followed the sound until I got closer and closer.  And then I saw him.

The amazing Bear Lennon was in the living room.

He was singing some of his famous songs, such as "I Want to Hold Your Honey Jar", "Beautiful Bear", and "Power to the Beehive."  He also has an album called "Milk and Honey."  Wow!  I have a front-row concert seat.

Then he let me try on his sunglasses.  I think I look pretty cool in them, don't you?

A puzzle

I thought it would be fun to do a puzzle so I dumped out the contents of this 1000-piece puzzle box onto the dining table.  It's a small table so it barely fits the full size of the puzzle which might make this even more difficult.

Here I go...

Oh my, this is quite a lot for one little bear.  What did I get myself into?

I need a break.

Perhaps Uncle Tibbs can help me.

"Sorry Ajdin, I'm afraid I'm not much help here because my big paws have trouble picking up the small pieces, but I'll cheer you on," he said.

I think I've got it...!

It's a puzzle with all kinds of candy.  And could that be... honey?  as in BIT-O-HONEY?

Phew, that was a lot of work so I'm going to take a nice nap right on the puzzle.