CPA Exam

I logged into the CPA exam website on Thursday thinking the results for the audit section wouldn't be up yet, but to my surprise they were posted!

I passed my FINAL section! I was so elated I immediately told coworkers and texted friends!

Now that I have passed all four parts, I needed to take a 50 multiple choice question test and pass with a 90% and then it's the application for licensure after that!

The licensure process isn't too difficult, except for the four people I have to ask to fill out a form certifying that I am a competent individual. I know there are people that can certify to that, it's just a matter of whether they are an (active) CPA! Plus, they fill out the form and send it directly to the agency, so it will be harder to track. But I have no problem following up with people!

I am very grateful that the Lord is allowing me to continue with this process. The last time I took the AUD exam and got a 74 (75 is passing), I was discouraged at first and then thought to myself "God must want me here longer than I want to be here." I was wondering after taking this last exam whether God would bless me with passing the exam so that I could continue to the next step. I am very happy that He has!

Love INC's Gone Country

Saturday I went to the Love INC's Gone Country fundraising event. Shelley went with me! I love this event because it is set up really simply and it's very effective. They have tables that show what ministries they work with and then some tables for raffles. You can buy as many raffle tickets as you want and you choose which items you want to try your luck at.

Andy, Jenn and Sophia joined us at our table! I was the typical Auntie, taking Sophia off Jenn's hands when they first arrived and then handed Sophia back as soon as she got fussy! :D

They served BBQ, so here's Jenn showing how she has to put a napkin over Sophia as she tries to eat her dinner and hold her child at the same time (via a Baby Bjorn). You don't realize how far you are from the plate until pieces of BBQ pork end up on the baby and you!

Here's Jenn entertaining Sophia in the back of the room when Sophia got restless.

The musical group for the evening was "Living Sacrifice" led by Cliff Young. When I heard the name, I thought to myself "I wonder if that's the Cliff Young I went to high school with?" Sure enough, it was! I went up to him after his performance and said hi. He actually goes to my old church, Rolling Hills Covenant. Small world!

Shelley and I went out and did the line dancing portion of the evening. Shelley got super red from the activity! We had a great time and I'm sure we'll end up in the newsletter because we were at the ends and quite visible.

Jenn and Andy left but Shelley and I stayed for the raffle. I never win these things but it's fun hoping!

Still True

This article still has great advice! (I posted it 2 years ago)


http://yahoo.match.com/y/article.aspx?articleid=5338&TrackingID=526103&BannerID=68352

Cori's Birthday

Monday night I went to Hennessey's in Hermosa Beach to celebrate Cori's birthday. It was an intimate group-just 6 of us, and it helped let us all catch up with one another.

Here's Cori:

La Jolla Weekend

My friend, Alice, flew down from Walnut Creek, CA to go with me to La Jolla to kayak the sea caves there. Alice is a Chick-fil-a nut...I mean fan, so we stopped at one on the way so I could try a chicken and biscuit. After that we went to Jamba Juice to get their pumpkin smoothies. I'm a fan of both the chicken and a biscuit and the Jamba Juice treat!We ended up going on the 1 o'clock tour instead of the 2 o'clock and we were both glad! Here's Alice waiting for the tour to start. Getting on the kayaks was relatively easy. We ran into a group of leapard sharks that were swimming really close to shore. Don't worry, according to our guides they are as harmless as kittens. The kayaking over to the cliff face was pretty uneventful except one double kayak kept tipping over, but that didn't slow us down too much. The other rescue, on the other hand, did hold us up! The below picture is of the caves that some women got caught in (they came too close and then the waves started pushing them against the cave entrance). There is a reason why these caves are not navigatable via kayaks! One woman had a HUGE bump on her head and both ladies were very shooken up.

While we were waiting our turn to go into a cave, we watched several sea lions in their natural habitat. Here I am lounging about as we waited. Here's Alice, enjoying the kayaking:We almost made it to shore without capsizing, but at only 15 feet to go we both leaned to one side and I wasn't fast enough moving to the right! We both went over, but it wasn't too traumatic. I actually was smiling from ear to ear-it was hilarious! My ziplock covered camera was still safe under the lifevest and I found my chapstick shortly after that!

That night after showering the sand off, we went to Rock Bottom Brewery because it was close and we were both tired. I definitely was tired because I fell asleep before 8pm.

We woke up refreshed and ready to try Brockton Villa Restaurant which was recommended to me by a friend. The food was delicious!

After walking a bit along the shore we made our way back and went to The Cave Store where we paid to walk down 144 steps to the entrance of the Sunny Jim Cave.Alice is ready to take the tunnel down!I'm ready as well. Held on tight to the rails because it was slippery.Woa! Actually it wasn't too bad. Here is Sunny Jim. He was named after a character on a cereal box way back in the day.Alice inside the cave:Some French women took our picture:The day before we were just like that kayaker, peaking in to see the people inside Sunnny Jim's.

Alice and I drove back to L.A. after that and went to lunch at Dolci Vita, which serves primarily German food. I had the schnitzel and spatzle pasta and it was delish! We then went to get our nails done and then walked in Manhattan Beach before I took Alice to the airport. We both had a great time!

Labor Day Weekend

Chores and running errands were the names of my game this weekend! Friday night (at 3:30 am I woke up and I was WIDE AWAKE :O) I FINALLY organized my second bedroom. I had let it go because I was studying for my exam, but now I don't have that excuse so I went through clothes and added to my donation pile. I also had a bunch of "twinkies for the brain" type books that I added to my donation pile. Now my second bedroom no longer has the half-inflated air mattress on the floor with the extra pillows I have and all of the bridal shower/wedding stuff I had leftover, I put it all away in the closet.

Saturday morning I went to the gym, came home to get ready for errand-fest! I went to the dry cleaners, my chiropractice office, then to Nordstrom Rack (found one shirt I would have bought but there was no way I was going to stand in the line that went three-quarters of the distance of the store to buy it). Then I dropped off my 4 bags of donations to Salvation Army before heading to Michael's. My plan was to buy a $2.99 bottle of fabric glue and I ended up spending almost $100 on scrapbooking supplies. I decided that since I have this time I'm going to make up a scrapbook from my friend's bridal shower.

After Michael's I went to Sprouts, which is a farmer's market type grocery store sort of like Whole Foods. I picked up a few things, including crumpets which I've been getting into. I'm not a fan of pancakes, but I like crumpets. Who knew! I was exhausted when I got home!

Sunday was a fun-filled day as well. Went to the gym then got ready for church. After church I dropped off an extra car battery I had (long story) to Jenn and Andy Steip who can use it! Yay! Now I have a little more room in the trunk of my car (I've been lugging around this battery for several months). Then I drove to Dad's to help him spring clean, which means helping him rediscover his tabletops! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the coffee table was already cleared off! Dad still has his cleaning lady come (although I think he stretches the time out so it's less frequent than I recommended, but something is better than nothin') and help with some of the papers. I think he felt better about things being able to take control like that, which is great! I sat down at the kitchen table with Dad and my nephew, Thomas (he was over to clean the pool for Dad). We chatted for a bit before we got to work. It really didn't take much time to clear off the couch (it had tons of papers-mostly catalogs) and the dining room table. I also picked up old mail that was there, including a letter from my old french pen pal who sent a letter in 1995 and it arrived this year!

After finishing up at Dad's I went to Todd's for any early (for me) dinner. He barbecued chicken. We had a good time. :) Then I drove home, changed, and then drove to Sports Authority to get a new bathing suit (nothing like trying on bathing suits to keep the spirits up) before meeting my friend, Shelley, and her friend, Patrick for dinner at the Seaside Palace, a really yummy persian restaurant. I always order the sour cherry rice with lamb on the shank when I go there--because I had eaten earlier I didn't eat much, so guess what I had for lunch for two days? :)

Monday I woke up and did laundry (4 loads!) and finished organizing my apartment, mainly taking the lamps and fans out of the living room and bedroooms to prepare for the carpet cleaners to come. I also moved my frame graveyard from my bedroom to the second bedroom so now my bedroom is more organized too. The carpet cleaners came almost exactly at 10 (they had a window from 10-12).

They cleaned my carpets and power washed the tile in my bathroom. That tile is the bane of my existence! So, I paid professionals to do it and STILL the calk needs to be replaced! But it does look better and my apartment building's annual inspection is coming up so I hope I can get them to replace the calk.

While waiting the two hours required before using the shower again, I started on that scrap book! I organized the pictures and worked on the backgrounds (just picking them out, not attaching them yet). After the two hours was up, I showered and got ready to meet my new friend, Hollis, at Wilderness Park for a walk. It is a beautiful little park and it was nice to get to know Hollis while getting in some exercise.

Fighting Fair

Recently, or I should say finally, I finished a book I was reading for months. With studying for my exams and everything else, it took me awhile. But it was worth it and somewhat valuable to take my time with the text. The book I completed is "Overcoming Emotions That Destroy: Practical Help for Those Angry Feelings That Ruin Relationships" by Chip Ingram and Dr. Becca Johnson.

I heard a radio interview with Chip Ingram and decided that the themes of this book would go along with my goals of learning why I do what I do or why I react the way I do. I had noticed the last year or two becoming more annoyed with others (for seemingly small things like not knowing how to walk single file or closing a door right in front of me when I was right behind a person.) Yes, these are matters on manners, but I knew there must be a deeper meaning. Not to mention other times I get upset.

There are a few things I took away from this book: 1) Anger is only a secondary emotion. There is another feeling or feelings below that which is the true reason for anger. This could be feelings of loneliness, rejection, fear, being ignored, etc. Until we recognize what the underlying feelings are, our anger will not dissipate or change from anger to understanding, calm, or in some cases, resignation to the reality of a situation.

2) Expectations are a main cause of anger. If our expectations are different from what others expectations are, or that person is unaware of our expectations, then we are sure to be disappointed. Recognizing when an expectation is not met and understanding why it wasn't met (hopefully not personalizing it to ourselves) is a key to calming down an angry heart. In the manners example, instead of getting annoyed, I can have pity for the fact that the persons were not raised to have manners. Or, instead of feeling ignored because someone might walk right up to me (expecting me to move) instead of moving to their right, I might think that they must be preoccupied with a stressful situation on their minds.

3) Be a grace-giver. "Being a grace giver means not getting uptight at other's imperfections, slowness, quirks, miscommunications, or lack of insight. It means that we give up a critical spirit fed by expectations, shoulds, and oughts and replace it with tolerance and understanding. That has the power to change lives--both yours and others. What does a grace giver look like? Instead of grief, we give grace--a lot of freedom for people to be who they are and to make mistakes without someone coming down hard on them. Instead of criticizing, we hold our tongue. Instead of enforcing our rights, we back off. You and I long for others to be gracious towards us for our imperfections, yet too often we turn around and deprive others of graciousness." I have this page dog-eared in my book.

This is the most difficult thing to do on a regular basis (besides giving the benefit of the doubt in the above manners example). Putting this grace-giving into practice is difficult at first (I think of a teeter-totter...your inclination is like a bigger kid on one end wanting you to lean on the side of critical, whereas God (and your desire to reduce your anger level) are urging you to go to the other side where the smaller kid is...the one that would easily be beaten up by the bigger kid.) but I think it too can become easier over time. We just need to give ourselves the same grace for not being perfect on giving grace. We'll get there!

4) The Rules of Fighting Fair. I'm going to put these in verbatem from the text:

Fighting Fair

To disagree is one thing, to be disagreeable is another

When you find yourself in an argument:

1. Deal with the present issue only.

2. Refrain from using words like "always" and "never".

3. Examine yourself-your motives, mood and feelings.

4. Control your temper.

5. Try to understand the other person's position and feelings.

6. Use "I" words rather than "you" statements.

7. Stick to the issues and don't attack the other person's character.

8. Listen.

9. Remain open-minded.

10. Don't make statements that negate any possible response--that trap, corner, box, or hem a person in.

11. Assume innocence until proven guilty rather than vice versa.

12. When fighting, be aware of the surroundings and those nearby, and do so as privately as possible.

13. Stick to the content of the argument, not the process or the person.

14. After the argument, don't recount it to others in an effort to gain allies.

15. Be willing to compromise.

16. Be willing to admit weaknesses and mistakes and to say "I'm sorry."

Wow, talk about a tall order! I think #16 should be at the top of the list! Just recognizing that you did do something wrong (even if it was inadvertent) I think that defuses the situation and makes the other person willing to express their point of view and their true feelings regarding the subject matter (if they are upset with something you did).

I think I will reread this book once I've gotten through a few other books I've gotten as gifts that I haven't had the time to read yet. This subject matter is relevant to everyone and for me, a second go-around seems reasonable. :)