Denver, here I come!

So, I took the Auditing portion of the CPA exam yesterday. Never can tell how I did... so I will just wait for the score. Now that the studying is out of the way, I should have some more time for blogging, but not this week, as I am shipping out for Denver, CO in the morning for the entire week for work. My plane gets back into Columbia on Friday around 5pm, but then I will be heading to Folly Beach with a whole group of friends for the weekend for our semi-annual weekend away! It is sure to be LOADS of fun. I cannot wait! From the mountains of Colorado to the beaches of South Carolina all in one day. Lots of traveling. Maybe I will get a chance to do some blogging from the hotel room. I have lots of updates to post. Til next time!

And happy late Halloween....

Sick of studying

So, I am studying. I have several blog updates that I need to post, but they will have to wait til after Halloween, as I am taking the Auditing part of the CPA exam on Saturday, October 31st. I have just over a week to get it all in my head. And, I am starting a new job with the Federal Highway Administration on Monday, October 26th. I have been off work this week and last week, and have had lots of things going on!!! Blog updates to come, I promise. Wish me luck as I finish studying for this exam over the next week. If I pass, I will be halfway there......

FINALLY!!!

I FINALLY found out my score on my first part of the CPA exam that I took back in August....

After a week of expecting my score, and it being delayed due to the website where they post the scores having IT issues, I found out tonight that I got an 81!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only needed 75 to pass, so yes, I passed!!!!!!!!!! I could not be happier.

However, this now means that the clock is ticking for me to pass the other three parts. I have 18 months from the date I passed this one (August 17th) to pass the rest. Next up, Auditing and Attestation. I hope to get this one taken by Thanksgiving. Here I go back into my study bubble.......

Wish me luck!!!!

Taylor Swift's Fearless Tour 2009!

What can I say? The concerts were AMAZING! Friday night, Heather Ann and I drove to Greenville to see Taylor Swift (and Gloriana and Kellie Pickler) in concert there. Gloriana was good, Kellie Pickler was fun to watch as always, and Taylor was just plain awesome!!!!!!!

She played most of the songs from her Fearless album and her five singles from her first album. She had eight different costumes (nine at the Charlotte show because she came out in a Bobcats jersey), including one on-stage costume change, and she had an amazing set.

She did several songs on the main stage, then showed up in the back of the arena in the crowd playing "Hey Stephen" before she made her way to the center of the arena, hugging all the fans she passed along the way. Then, she made her way back to the main stage (again hugging all the fans she passed along the way), and she finished playing "Tim McGraw" there. After that song, the crowd stood and screamed for over three minutes both nights, while she stood there taking it all in. She removed her earpieces so she could hear the crowd, and then thanked the audience for that, saying she would never forget it. She then did her hit "Love Story" complete with costumed dancers, and a few other songs before leaving the stage.

She returned with an encore of "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" which is my favorite, and she brought out the members of Gloriana and Kellie Pickler to sing it with her. I loved that part! Her last song was "Should've Said No" where she ended up singing in the rain, like she did once on an awards show. It was so neat because she had words from the song appear in the rain as she sang. Here is a link to a video of her doing it on the awards show. You can skip to the end (around 3:00) to see the rain.



Saturday night, we did it all again in Charlotte - this time including Amanda! Our seats were up sooooooooo high at the Time Warner Cable Arena, it was a little ridiculous. It made our upper deck seats at the Bi-Lo center in Greenville feel like the front row! I enjoyed every minute of my Taylor Swift weekend. Thanks to Heather Ann and Amanda for joining me!

On my way to see Taylor Swift!

A van we saw near the Bi-Lo center

Taylor's bus in front of the Bi-Lo center!

Heather Ann and I in our seats

KELLIE PICKLER!!!

The view from our seats in Greenville

"You Belong with Me" - Taylor's opening song!

That's Taylor's mom there in front of her behind the mic stand

Taylor and her whole band

Kellie Pickler singing "Red High Heels"

Taylor Swift singing "Our Song"

Taylor Swift singing "Fearless"

In other Taylor news, she was recently nominated for FOUR CMA awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Fearless), Music Video of the Year (Love Story), and ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR! She is the youngest artist ever to be nominated in that last category, and after seeing her on tour two nights in a row, I definitely think she should win it! Watch this video for her reaction to hearing all of her CMA nominations announced. Also, I bought a Flip Video Camera like Taylor uses to make those videos, so now I can get started making my own and check that off my list! And congrats to Taylor on her very first VMA win (and the first ever country artist to win one!)!!! I'm not even going to mention Kanye... TAYLOR SWIFT RULES!!!!

Litchfield Beach!

So, later that day after we finished our 5k race, we met up with Jake's parents here in Columbia for a brunch of sorts at Waffle House before hitting the road to Litchfield Beach for the week! The beach was perfect. We had perfect weather the entire time until our last night there, when it finally thunderstormed. We spent our days on the beach, in the pool, in the hottub, visiting Myrtle Beach, shopping, eating, but mostly just relaxing. We spent our nights going out for dinner (usually AMAZING seafood - especially the conch fritters!!!) and hanging out in the condo and hottub with Jake's parents. It was a great time, and a very much needed vacation from work. I had not been to the beach for a week in forever, and definitely not since I started working! I definitely did not want to leave to come back home. And, on our last day there, I just happened to get stung by a jellyfish for the first time in my life! It hurt SO BADLY. I never did see the jellyfish, but I definitely felt it. Thanks to Jake for pouring some vinegar stuff on it to take the stinging away. And as a side note, a week after the sting, just when you think it is all okay and going away, it comes back ITCHING like nothing has ever ITCHED in my life. So, if you are ever stung, be prepared for that. But, I did get a fairly decent tan. And, a big thanks to Jake's parents for letting me join them on their family vacation! Here are some photo highlights from our week.

Jake and his dad

Jake and his mom

Jake and his parents

Me with my DELICIOUS conch fritters!

The worst part of my jellyfish ATTACK!

Me on our last day

Our caricature we had done at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach! I love it!

Do you think it looks like us?

Flying Saucer 5k Race!

On Saturday, August 22nd, Jake, Dusty, and I ran in the Flying Saucer 5k. The race began at 8:30 am, and we got there just in time to get signed in and ready to run! Pictures from the race are HERE. Dustin is pictured on the far left in photo #30 at the beginning of the race, and pictures numbered 31 - 33 are of Jake and me at the beginning of the race. In #32, that is my old roommate, Amy, and her dog in front of us. A funny sequence of photos begins with #94 with a guy pushing a stroller crossing the finish line. In the verrrrry back of that picture is Dustin in a grey shirt and blue shorts. That's right, he was passed on the last stretch of the race by a guy pushing a stroller. hahaha You can see Dusty's race to the finish line through picture #105. He finished #37 overall in 21:48. Amy and her dog are seen finishing the race in picture #191. You can see Jake and me approaching and crossing the finish line in pictures numbered 281 - 283. Warning: these are HORRIBLE pictures of the both of us. hahahaha We finished the race in 37:06 and 37:07 (I beat Jake by a second). At the end of the race, the Flying Saucer provided beer, water, apples, bananas, and brats, which were all delicious and very well received by the runners. Here is a link to the results. We were worn out at the end of it, to say the least, but we were very proud of ourselves for actually getting up that early on a Saturday morning and running this race. Now, we can check one more thing off of our lists! And I was actually impressed with our time, as I thought it was going to be around 45 minutes. Next year, we hope to improve our time! Who wants to join us then??

Weekend update

This weekend was:

*helping Jake pack
*picking up my vacuum cleaner from the repair shop
*studying
*Saving Abel, Papa Roach, Hinder, and Nickelback concert in Charlotte with Jake, Crystal, Crystal's dad, and Crystal's friend, Julia
*hot tub with Jake and Crystal
*more studying
*helping Jake move
*lunch with Jake and his parents
*more studying
*phone calls catching up with Erin and Jenny
*trying a new wine
*knitting
*cleaning
*more studying
*updating my resume
*applying for a new job
*updating my blog

and finally,

MORE studying!

Unfortunately, there were no pictures taken of any of the above activities this weekend. Sorry for the lack of visual aids on this post.

Hope everyone's weekend was great, and here's to a great week ahead of studying!

Taylor Swift's new video

Here is Taylor Swift's newest video blog! I love these things.

If you haven't seen any of them before, click here for a link to her other ones.

This is the kinda video I want to make one day. It would be soooo fun! Any ideas as to what song I should set my video clips to?

Run, run, run, run, run!

Today, Jake, Dusty, and I all registered online for the Flying Saucer 5k! It's a done deal. Based on my poll, those who said to run the race definitely outnumbered the one who voted to head straight for the beach. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Anyone want to join us?

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post, last week was Steve's birthday! Jake and I met up with him and some of his friends, as well as Robert and his girlfriend, Jessica, at the baseball game. It was such a treat to watch Steve's heckling skills of the opposing team, especially number one-seven, from about 5 rows behind their dugout. It was so fun, we hardly noticed the rain falling on us. Funny, it rained last year while we were there celebrating Steve's birthday, too. And it was so great to see Robert and meet Jessica! After the baseball game, we headed on over to the Flying Saucer where we were served by a Beer Goddess. Wish I had gotten a pic of Steve with her. Haha fun times!

Here are some pics!

Just like old times...

The birthday boy and me!

Jake and me

Had to include this one just because of Steve!

Robert and Jessica

Now, these pics below are of #one-seven and Steve with the ball that #17 threw to him after much heckling.

Yes, it does say "To Shrek"

My Columbia Blowfish cozy that Robert bought for me! I love these things!

And finally, a couple pics from Flying Saucer...

And awaaaay she gooooes!

I ran a mile last night!

It has been a looooong time since I've done that. Well on my way to running a 5k next month.

Oh yeah... Jake did it, too.

Study, study, study

Yesterday, I finally scheduled myself to take my first part of the CPA exam - Business Environment & Concepts (BEC). I signed up for Monday, August 17th at noon. I wanted to do it on a Monday so that I can study the entire weekend leading up to it, and I had the options of 8am, 11am, and noon that day. No brainer, right? Anyway, I had thought of scheduling it on the 24th or 31st of August to give myself a couple more weeks (since I can't take it in September), but Jake and his parents have invited me to the beach for a week from August 22nd - 29th, which I am soooo excited about, so that pushed the exam up to the 17th. That gives me 5 weeks from yesterday to study for this darn test. I think I can do it, though! I have been dabbling with studying for it a little ever since I mailed in my application back in May, but now I am in complete study mode. And I will definitely be glad when I finish on the 17th to have the rest of that week to get packed and ready for my beach trip! Wish me luck!

Afternoon activities!

This afternoon, Jake and I are getting off work at 3pm. We were supposed to head to Charlotte to see Aerosmith with some friends, but the show was cancelled due to artist injury. So, we decided instead to go see the movie Up! in 3D at 4:30 and get that crossed off both of our lists.

Also, tomorrow is Steve's birthday, and he has chosen to celebrate it tonight at the Columbia Blowfish game followed by some quality time at Flying Saucer! Steve is one of my best friends, and I am really excited to be celebrating his 25th birthday! WOW. I cannot believe he is that old. In other exciting news, my friend Robert (Steve's brother) is coming into town for the birthday shenanigans and bringing his new girlfriend, so I am very excited to see him and meet her, and for him to meet Jake as well! Robert has been in law school up in Minnesota for the past couple years and I cannot even remember the last time I saw him, so I am doubly (is doubly even a word?) excited about that! These two boys are like family to me, and I don't see them near enough.

So, I have a very fun afternoon/evening ahead - movie and baseball game and Flying Saucer with some of my all time favorite people! What could be better? Let's hope it doesn't rain on us at the game like it did last year. If it does, that just means more time at the Saucer!

I hope to get some good pics tonight!!!

A Capitol Fourth!

Well, our trip to Washington D.C. was a great success! We left Columbia just before 8 am on Thursday morning, and we were on our way.

We arrived at Lark's apartment in Arlington just before 5 pm, and after resting for a little while, went out for dinner at Ragtime, which was a delicious restaurant and bar just up the street from Lark's. I had clam bisque and crabcakes with onion rings. Soooo yummy! We left there and went for a walk around Arlington where we saw the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington cemetary.

Lark and I ran to hug this tree.

This is the view of D.C. from Arlington.

Goofy times with Lark!

Friday morning, we got up and headed into the city to check out the White House first. We then went by and saw the Washington monument before heading to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This was one of my favorite stops because we got to see the original Star Spangled Banner that our national anthem was written about. I remembered seeing it as a kid, but back then, they had it displayed hanging, and now it is laid out flat. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures of it... but I think it is one of the neatest things to see. It amazes me that they actually still have the original flag intact and on display for everyone to see. We left that museum and went to get some lunch on the National Mall - hotdogs of course! After our we satisfied our hunger, we checked out the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It was a pretty good time. At some point, Jake and I were able to buy a couple of $4 souvenir t-shirts.

I loved this building with all the flags hanging on its windows!

Here, Lark and Thomas Edison shared a special moment!

Nilly, this picture was taken with you in mind.

After that, we headed on down to the Capitol building, where they were busy setting up and rehearsing for Saturday's concert. We climbed all 75 of the Capitol steps and rested for a while. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend.

After that, we headed over to the Sculpture Garden for some jazz and Sangria! Then, we headed back to Arlington, and we were exhausted, but we went up and sat on top of Lark's building where we enjoyed seeing some early fireworks from all different directions!

Here is the view from the top of Lark's building.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed back into D.C. for a reading of the Declaration of Independence in front of the National Archives and the parade. We ended up skipping out on the reading and grabbed ourselves a prime spot for the parade. Jake did go over and get some pics for us of the front of the National Archives, and more hotdogs were consumed while we waited for the parade to begin.

Jake wanted his picture made in front of the IRS building.

Waiting on the parade

The National Archives - reading of the Declaration of Independence

The parade came down Constitution Avenue.

Saturday afternoon, we ate lunch back in Arlington, where I tried some of Lark's falafel (yummy!), then Jake and I ventured out on our own on the metro back into D.C. to visit the International Spy Museum and then to the Mall for the fireworks that night. Cameras were not allowed in the Spy Museum, so no pictures from there, but here we are waiting on the fireworks.

None of my fireworks pics came out very good, so I won't post any on here, but it should be noted that they were AMAZING! Sooooo beautiful - exploding right behind the Washington Monument. Best in the nation. The metro was PACKED leaving the mall after the fireworks, but we managed to get back to Lark's with no trouble and in less than an hour. We took a total of 429 pictures and videos over the course of our 4 day weekend, so I have really just posted the highlights here. One video is of me trying to do a cartwheel on the National Mall. haha

Anyway, we had a FANTASTIC 4th of July holiday weekend in the D.C. area, and we want to give a HUGE thanks to Lark for letting us come stay with her! We do hope she'll let us come back again sometime, and Lark - come visit us in Columbia! Hope everyone's 4th was as great as ours!

Happy Birthday, America!