Aug ’08
20

Finishing up DC and on to Ohio

06:37 pm | Uncategorized | No Comments

Well, our trip to DC was quite a whirlwind. We spent the day Saturday at the library of congress, SAIS and visiting some other places we hadn’t seen yet. Audrey and I went over to Tangy Sweet for a little snack… I thought it was NASTY, but Audrey LOVED it.
Ben at SAIS Audrey loved this stuff
We ended the day with a very interesting discussion on Pakistan with some amazing folks. 2 people from a “Think Tank” in DC, one guy from MCIA (Yeah, that’s the Marine Corps Intelligent Activity… Who knew there was such a thing?), one guy who is / was the key US translator in Iraq (Knows EVERYONE and their brother), my crazy smart aunt, and of course, Audrey and I. How the HECK did we end up in that discussion? Anyway, it was a BLAST!
Then, up at 5:00am on Sunday to head to Ohio for our niece’s first birthday party! She is so beautiful, isn’t she? Oh, and on the way to Ohio, we listened to Voddie Baucham… Yeah, he’s a great communicator!
First taste of cake!
Finally, we flew back to Atlanta Monday afternoon and went right back to work around 3:00pm. CRAZY whirlwind, but totally worth it!

Aug ’08
16

DC Day II

10:50 am | Uncategorized | No Comments

Ok, so today’s post won’t be nearly as cool as yesterday’s. It’s hard to top the West Wing! However, on our way to B-Fast (at 11:30am) we stumbled upon a Pot Belly’s. Holy Cow! We had to just skip b-fast and go straight to lunch. Who would pass up Pot Belly’s? It competes with the West Wing, believe me!
Pot Belly
After that, and a stop into Starbucks, we began the tour of monuments and museums. We started at the WWII monument and then walked alongside the reflecting pond down to the Lincoln Memorial.

We then walked back past the WWII monument and across the street to the Washington monument. I have no idea why, but I was calling it the National Monument all day. What a dork!
Classic
Anyway, as we walked through the National Mall, towards Capital Hill, we stopped at several museums.

Here’s how we do museums… We go directly to the info desk and say, “We only have a few minutes, what are the 5 things we should see?” So, we can hit up 5 museums and just a few hours.
Natural History Museum
National Gallery of Art
Air and Space Museum
National Archives
Old Post Office Pavilion
The Old Post Office was pretty cool and we took an elevator up to the top of a huge tower. Of course, we had to walk by the IRS… This is me squashing it… mmwwwhahahaha

After all that, we grabbed a cab and rode over to Georgetown so Audrey could do some shopping!
Then, back to the White House to grab my Aunt and walk over to the Elephant Castle for Dinner.
Perhaps the best quote ever!
Oh and there was a “Movement” just after we picked up Mary.

What a freaking fun day!
Audrey is making some b-Fast and we’re about to go back at it today. We’re going to hit up capital hill today and wherever else Mary wants to take us!
More to come!

Aug ’08
15

The White Hizzel

10:56 am | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

So, we got into DC yesterday evening around 6:30 and went directly over to the White House.  Oh, BTW, my aunt works as a special adviser to the president, so she gave us a private tour of the hizzel.  It was quite amazing!  For some reason, they wouldn’t let us take pics inside… Maybe because of all the top secret stuff that goes on in there.
Going into the West Wing
The “West Wing” was pretty sweet.  Not anything like what you see on TV.  The oval office was smaller than I thought.  I sat in Bush’s chair, put my feet up on the desk and started barking out orders… for some reason, nobody listened!  Anyway, it was pretty cool… I did use the restroom directly across from the oval office and can vouch that the $400 toilet seats are quite amazing and totally worth it. I used Bush’s medicated hand lotion… Now I know why he has such silky smooth skin!
Rose Garden Isn\'t she cute
We went out into the rose garden and it was very nice. Bush had just played with his dogs and left the soccer ball out in the grass. Silly guy!
Press Room
Then, we went over to the press room and played around in there. It was pretty cool too!

So, all in all, it was pretty cool and something that I’ll probably never get to do again. BTW, my aunt’s office is so top secret that you have to type in this special code just to get into the door. Crazy! She wouldn’t let us in because it is a “Secured Area”. She can’t even take her own cell phone in there. Nothing goes in and nothing comes out! Check out these guys… mwwwhahaha
Don\'t mess with us

Jul ’08
29

New IRS Mileage Rates

01:14 pm | Human Resources | No Comments

Just wanted to put out a quick post with the recently updated IRS Mileage rates.
As of July 1, 2008 and through December 31, 2008 the OPTIONAL standard mileage rates are as follows…

Business - $0.585
Charitable - $0.14
Medical & Moving - $0.27

Again, these are optional rates to use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes. In other words, if your organization reimburses employees for miles driven, the IRS recommends that you reimburse them at $0.585 per mile.

See: http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=156624,00.html

Jul ’08
21

Stock Donations

02:30 pm | Donations & Fundraising | No Comments

\"Stocks\"Likely because of our current economy, we have had an increasing number of requests to make stock donations to churches. If you’re interested in setting up an account to receive stock donations, just contact us and let us know! Here is a great write-up that will help understand the benefits of this type of donation.

Why give stock?

There are significant tax advantages in giving appreciated stock held for more than one year. The donor may take the full fair market value of the stock gift as a charitable deduction on his or her income taxes and neither the donor nor the church has to pay the long-term capital gains tax, which is 15% of the net appreciation of the stock.

The maximum deduction you may take within a given tax year is 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. If you are unable to take the entire deduction in one year, you may carry the excess deduction forward for five additional years. The long-term capital gains tax rate is reduced to 5% for those in the 10 percent tax bracket.
Illustration between 1) selling appreciated stock first and then giving the proceeds and 2) giving appreciated stock outright:

Sell First vs. Giving Stock

Market Value                                      $15,000           $15,000
Hypothetical Cost Basis                        ($5,000)           ($5,000)
Gain                                                  $10,000            $10,000
Capital Gains Tax (Assuming 15%)        $1,500                $0.00
After Tax Proceeds to Church              $13,500            $15,000
Donor’s Charitable Deductions            $13,500            $15,000