March felt like a really long, hard month. However, when I went through this exercise, I
only came up with one thing in the Challenges section. I think that is a testament to how
overwhelming work is to my life at the moment.
My frustrations there overshadow what seems to have been a pretty good
month in every other aspect. Here are my
reflections for the month.
The Good
CPA Exam – I took the REG exam on Mar 3rd. I received my test scores on Mar 20th. I passed with a 90 which boggles my mind
(0-99 range, with passing at 75). It
felt so hard when I was in there taking the exam. I felt like I was guessing on so many of the
Multiple Choice questions. Although none
of the Task Based Simulations totally stumped me, I was often unsure if I had
picked the right variation of the rules to apply. I honestly walked out of there unsure of
whether I had passed, so finding out I did so with such a high score just
amazes me.
Hiking – We managed to get a
nice weekend day during March for my husband & I to take a walk. It was not the warmest day (50s and a little
windy), but the sun was bright. We went
to Burke Lake Park and walked the lake trail.
It is about 5 miles on relatively flat terrain. There were lots of people out that weekend; everyone
wanted to enjoy the sunshine.
Ballet Burn & Pilates – I continue to enjoy the Ballet
Burn class at my gym. I really wish I
was a little better at it, but if I just keep going I know I will improve. I can already tell my flexibility is
improving, because my forward fold is better.
It looks like we might have a Pilates class for a few more months too. Work has not reinstated it, but one of the
guys at work made arrangements with the instructor to do the class independently. The first one was this past Wednesday. It went well, and I will probably continue to
do it for as long as they keep it going.
Diet – I did much better at my diet this month. I reduced my soda intake to about 1 a week,
and even none last weekend. Going
forward, I am trying to make soda an out to dinner or at a party only
drink. I mostly kept up the breakfast at
300 calories, although I still struggle some weekends. I added a second low calorie day to my
week. So now I am doing low calorie
Tuesdays and Saturdays, trying to keep my calories under <1200. I did all but two days this month. One Tuesday, my husband totally messed up
dinner and delivered me a carb fest.
Yesterday, my family did Easter dinner, so I did not even try.
PA Trip – I took my trip to PA to see my sister, baby T, and
the rest of the family. Friday evening,
I met my friend for dinner in Wexford at Emporio: A Meatball Joint. This place was awesome! I had a meatball grinder with beef balls and
crack sauce. I also had cheesy bread
with bacon and warm ricotta donut balls with hot fudge and cream cheese
icing. Saturday, I spent the morning
with my sister, baby T, and an aunt at Impact Christian Church for an Easter
Egg Hunt. Baby T is an expert egg
hunter, although she really would have like to participate in every age group
not just her own. Afterward, I hung out
at my sister’s house until it was time to go to a different aunt’s house for
Easter dinner. I enjoyed a delicious
dinner and spent the rest of the time there talking with my dad and my
uncle. After dinner, everyone went to
see my grandmother in the rehab center with cheesecake for dessert (she fell
and broke her hip, but is doing really well and should be discharged
soon). Today, I went to church with my
mom, sister, and baby T, and then out to lunch with them plus my dad. Overall, it was a really great trip. I miss my sister and baby T so much. I wish I lived closer.
The Challenges
Work –Work was awful this month. As I predicted, the really big transaction
slowly trickled through the system. When
I left work on Thursday (took Friday off), we still had not gotten the ledger
straightened out for it. On top of that,
there were somewhere around 100 leases discounted for the month. There is just so much work all the time, and
we never seem to get caught up on it.
These crazy transactions are becoming standard instead of rare occurrences. There is a new one every couple of months,
and it takes us months to get them straight.
Then, the tax manager is always having a fit over the way we accounted
for them in the ledger, and I am the one who has to bear the brunt of her
frustration. There is no breathing room,
and I am so tired of it.
The Future
Year-End – April will be dominated by year-end close at
work. I expect that it is going to be
awful. We still have a pretty big mess
because of that huge transaction. On top
of that, we have many discountings, which have the potential to cause a lot of
a certain type of time consuming quarterly entry, but I will not know for a
couple more days. Then, year-end is
always busy and stressful just because it is the fiscal end. There is so much pressure to get everything
done correctly and quickly. People start
pestering me for schedules before we have even closed the books. I expect to work late most nights and be
there for the next 3 weekends.
CPA Studying – I passed my first section, which means now
there is a clock ticking on the rest of them.
I have 18 months to pass the remaining 3 sections. I thought about starting on the next one
during March, but after realizing I was out of town for a weekend and then
heading into year-end, I changed my mind.
I see no point in getting into it until after year-end. The next one I am studying for is FAR, which
is generally considered the most overwhelming.
It covers a lot of material, so I am allotting myself more time to study
for it than the other two. I think I am
going to schedule it for beginning of September which will give me
approximately 5 months. I plan to give about
3 months for each of the other 2 sections. Then, I would have 6 months if I need to
retake any of them. I almost wish I had
not passed REG, so then I would not be obligated to move forward.
Hiking – The weather is warming up, so I know there will be
more hikes in the future. April will be
tricky because I work practically every weekend. Even if I am not working, I am not sure how
motivated I will to be to take a hike.
My downtime activities tend to lean more toward binging TV shows than
exercise. I have many ideas on where I
want to hike next, but I think I have decided to do Harper’s Ferry National
Park next. It will be about a 4 mile
hike in and out, and some walking around the little village. I do not yet know if I will be taking my
husband on this one. Sometimes it is
nice to hike with him, and sometimes not so much.
Husband Home – My husband has now been off work for a little
over one month. He has done a very
minimal amount of looking for a new job.
I have been trying to keep my mouth shut, because I understand that he
wanted to take some time off before jumping back into a job. I want the same courtesy if/when I quit mine
in August. However, now that it has been
a month, he needs to start doing something other than playing video games. Obviously, I want him to look for a job
first. However, it would be nice if he
also did some of the house projects that are waiting his attention. We have a broken toilet, an unfinished deck
(although I guess weather does need to be better for this one), a room he started
to rip apart and is now unusable, several burnt out lights including one that
needs to be rewired, etc. He originally
told me he was going to work on these while he was off, but so far the only
house projects he seems to have done is clean the basement (yay!) and
reorganize the shelves in the kitchen (why?).
There you have it, my month in review. See you next month!
