the biggest check ever!!!

and unfortunately, i'm not talking about one of my stubs from work. i just made out a check of about $31,656 to the united states treasury department to pay the taxes that i earned on my 2005 earnings. i think that was the largest check i've ever written in my entire life! i couldn't even fit the whole word on the "pay to the order of" line! now, canuck and i are independent contractors and don't have taxes witheld from our bi-weekly paycheck, so we project which bracket we're going to be in, put aside that percentage into a money market account, pretend that money doesn't exist, and hold our breath every year and pray that we've put aside enough. turns out we were lucky this year, so you know where that money's going...

and speaking of house hunting....very interesting times! nothing makes you feel more grown up and/or adult than searching for your first home. now that our taxes are done and we have a pretty good idea of how much of a down payment we have, we've officially kicked our search into high gear. we've seen some really great places that are totally overpriced, and we've seen some lemons, some REAL lemons that are also overpriced. lemme just say, to all you potential first-time home buyers, a second viewing is critical. canuck and i saw one place about 2 weeks ago that we were totally psyched about, it needed some cosmetic work, but still an alright, nice solid house in a great location. we arranged for a second viewing last thursday just to take some notes and we had set aside the afternoon to gather the paperwork to make our offer. nothing like a new set of eyes to scope out a place! turns out it needs a new roof and a furnace (about $10K total) for starters. and as i was walking down the foyer, i noticed a strange kind of ridge in the tiles, almost like a bump in the middle of the floor. turns out the house had settled along the I-beams so that there was a 5 degree cant to the floor on either side of the ridge, the end result being that the tables and bookcases against the wall were all at an angle, almost propped up. our real estate agent (who is a doll and a godsend) described it as "wonky" and i couldn't have picked a better word myself. oh, and the parquet floors were separating, too, lots of gaps and cracks. not my kinda pad! and if we want to sell and move in 5-10 years, as is our plan, how on earth are we going to be able to unload this thing? then there was the house that was terriffic upstairs but the basement smelled like cat pee. then there was the curry house, and the house with the fireplace half in the kitchen, half in the living room. and the house with no light. we did find one that was absolutely gorgeous we loved and we're going for a second viewing tomorrow, but again, it's priced a little high and i'm not going to hold my breath. i know the right one is out there for us, somewhere, just waiting for our little family to call "home".