Scores

Well, I got my scores for Audit on Friday.  I didn't pass, but I also didn't fail by much.  I'm confident that I can pass taking the test the second time.  But I won't know for sure until probably after the holidays.

Due to the trying schedule of studying, preparing for the exam, etc. any sections that I fail on the first go round have to be added to the end.  Let's just pray that I don't forget anything between now and December when I pick up the books again to study.  :-)

High Five for Friday

It's Friday!  ::30 second dance party::  This has been a grueling week, but close and longer hours typically means that the week isn't going to be fantastic.  :D But, it wasn't horrible either.  Close went relatively smoothly with only a few minor hick ups, so I will not complain!

What's on your weekend to do list?  Big plans for the weekend?

For us, we're going to be having a relatively LOW KEY weekend at home.  I'm going to go to school tomorrow & help Lindsey put some finishing touches on her classroom for next year so that she can enjoy the summer and her new baby boy! We're going to work on organizing & cleaning a few spaces in our apartment, namely the hallway closet.  It's a mess!  And - I'm hoping to get a couple of hours of sewing in.  I have some projects that I need to get a move on.  Of course, there will be hours spent studying for the CPA exam, but overall it should be a pretty enjoyable, relaxing weekend.

So without anymore talking & dreaming about the weekend, here are my High Five for Friday mentions.  :-)

1.  Last night, Alex and I were able to enjoy a *rare* date night.  Alex surprised me with tickets to see The Fault in Our Stars, in an event called The Night Before Our Stars.  The movie actually releases to theaters nationwide today, but last night, they were doing a special pre-screening.  The event started at 7:30 Central time, but aired at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 on the west coast.  And after the movie was over, we were able to engage in a live chat with the author, the producer, the director, and the cast of the movie.

Let me just say I've always, always, always been a HUGE John Green fan.  I adore his writing, fall in love with the characters, and just enjoy his books.  I've read pretty much all of them.  Alex, on the other hand, is a huge follower of John & his brother Hank's YouTube channels.  All of them.  I think there's 8 or so.  

It was kind of cool to merge the two worlds, and watch a spectacular movie. Normally, I don't think the movie does the book justice, and I almost always despise the movie, because I feel like it takes away from my feelings of book.  This movie wasn't that way though.  It was FANTASTIC!

*Ignore the goofy expression, and the piece of hair across my forehead.*

2.  I'm kind of irrationally excited to help Lindsey with her classroom.  I'm such a kid at heart, I really should have been a teacher, and I loooove making bulletin boards.  :-)  What can I say?!
3.  I'm nervous, as CPA exam results come out on Monday.  :-(  Will I be retaking AUD?

4.  My parents & I are working on a {BIG} surprise for Alex.  He doesn't read this blog, so there's no ruining the surprise, but um, I'M EXCITED!  

5.  I'm so thankful today for the caffeine that comes in this little white cup.  It's about the only caffeine I drink throughout the day, as I try to drink only water while at work.  So it's caffeine magic powers are from Heaven.

Some days...

Ever have one of those days when it feels like the world is out to get you?  Or maybe not out to get you, but out to conspire against you?  Where it seems like every time you turn around, you are getting more bad news, more obstacles to jump over?  

Nothing life altering, but kind of sick of the disappointment.  When there are things that *could* make your life much easier, but then they just continue to get pushed off, pushed back, etc., it makes you kind of irritated.

Alex & I are learning to communicate in the trying times as well, which isn't always easy.  He watches a lot of YouTube videos, and he's always sending me videos to watch.  Today was a motivational video.  It basically talked about not quitting, not giving up, not letting life beat you down.  

I wrote down a couple of quotes, and I wanted to share them, mostly so I could remember them for the future.

I don't have authors for all of them, but I tried to find them if I could.

* Every day is a new day, every moment a new moment.

* Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~ Marianne Williamson

* Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. ~ Rocky Balboa

* Look up, get up, and don't ever give up.  You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up, and don't ever give up. ~ Michael Irvin

* Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. ~ Michael Jordan 

Clearly you can tell many of the quotes came from sports, and the majority of the video was talking about not quitting athletically, but I think these all touch so many aspects of our lives.  So there you have it.  Some food for thought! 

Plus Size

I rarely blog on things that are mainstream media, because I don't like to get into it, but I just felt called to discuss this, somehow.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook today about how Plus-Size Models recreate the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover.  You can see the link here.

However, the response from a particular individual on her Facebook has me a bit offended, incredible appalled, and well, disgusted overall.  

This individual says that this "country is going to shit because of our views on obesity and weight. And the taxpayers are paying for it."  He also goes on to talk about his girlfriend who is "105 lbs and gets insulted by heffers (his spelling) in her family, call her too skinny, real women have curves, etc."  

Several times he calls "plus sized" women heifers.  We won't even begin to discuss his poor grammar & spelling, because that's not really the point of this post.  And yes, maybe I'm being a bit sensitive.  But when the hell did a size 12 become plus sized?  I just recently read a cosmopolitan post that says plus sized models start at a size 8.  See article here.  Are you serious!?  

I've never considered myself plus size.  I shop in the same stores as the girl who wears a size 2.  Yes, I have curves.  Yes, my boyfriend likes those curves.  I'm comfortable in my skin.  I'm healthy.  I eat right.  My cholesterol levels are perfect. My heart rate is on point.  My blood pressure is perfect.  I wear a size 12.  

What pisses me off more than anything is that this jerk can "fat shame" but how dare ANYONE "skinny shame" his girlfriend.  In the end, what's the difference?   

June Goals

June is going to be an INTENSE month.  I start the FAR review for the second section of the CPA exam today, this will be a mid-year month end close in July, the interim audit starts in July which means we have to make sure everything is organized and ready to start the audit, Alex goes back to school this month so he'll be more focused on school, Lindsey's baby shower is at the end of the month, etc.  It's going to be pretty intense.  But, somehow we'll make it through.  We always do.

Here are my June goals:

Just for your info:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-Bound

HEALTH
1.  Just attempt to get some sort of exercise, even if it's walking the dogs, for 30 minutes per day.

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  6/21/2014
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date:  6/21/2014

PERSONAL
1.  Stay on schedule for FAR review.  DO NOT GET BEHIND!
2.  Finish Project #1 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/7/2014
3.  Finish Project #2 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/14/2014
4.  Finish Project #3 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/21/2014
5.  Finish Project #4 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/27/2014

May Goals - Recap

I can't believe that it's already June.  And not only June, but it's June 2nd.  The month of May brought on some very unexpected changes, and I didn't even begin to do as well as I had anticipated.

HEALTH
1.  Get my butt in the gym.  Since started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge on 4/28, I need to up my working out.  I'm going to do the Lean Body for Her Challenge.  While the actual "challenge" is over, I have the work out plan, and I'm going to focus on that for the next 12 weeks.  Goal date:  5/31/2014  This didn't even happen.  I wish I could say that it did, but it didn't.  I did the first week of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, and found that the massive amounts of pills required for the program was too much.  I couldn't keep up.  So I stopped.

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  5/11/2014
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date: 5/11/2014

PERSONAL
1.  PASS AUDIT!  I sit for the first section of the CPA exam in May.  I'm nervous, but I'm ready.  I'm prepared.  And by the time the actual test gets here, I will have studied my behind off!  :-)  Goal date:  TBD based on when my exam gets scheduled.

3.  Start work on baby shower decor items.  Goal date:  5/18/2014
3.  Sew maxi skirt from knit fabric.  Goal date:  5/25/2014

Heck, I don't know why I'm even bothering.  I don't know if I passed Audit, although I did take the exam on 5/28.  I won't know results until 6/9.  I didn't hang the curtain rod or the curtains in the living room.  Heck, I haven't even spackled the hole from when I tried to hang them the first time.  I have the supplies for *some* of the nursery decor items, but I haven't started on them.  This week, I promise.  Only because time is sort of running out. LOL.  And the maxi skirts I was going to sew - yeah, I sent the pattern & the fabric to my mom.

Car Buying *HEADACHE*

A couple of months ago, Alex & I decided we should probably start looking for a second vehicle.  We have the Mercedes, but we've been putting off buying another car because we didn't really want a second payment.  We have a Durango that belongs to one of his friends from the Air Force, so it's not like we've been totally without a second set of wheels, but we don't have the paperwork on the vehicle, so once the registration & inspection went out, we decided it wasn't safe to drive.  

We secured financing on our own so we knew what we were up against, and where we needed to start looking.  Basically, we knew our price point, our budget, and where we needed to stay financially.  Once we received the check from the bank, we began our search.  

And let me just say that this car buying experience was a freaking nightmare.  

We were pretty open in terms of what we wanted... the loan specified it had to be a 2007 or newer, with less than 70,000 miles.  Easy enough.  There are hundreds of car dealerships in the DFW Metroplex.  Our first car buying stop led us to Brandon Tomes Subaru in McKinney.  We found a 2011 Subaru Impreza Outback.  The price was decent, but not great, and they refused to work with us on price.  We were told that the car was a Certified Preowned Car, and that it had brand new tires on it.  Now, from the time we originally talked to the dealership and test drove the car to the time of actual purchase was approximately a week.  Three separate times we asked the salesman about the tires, and three times he told us they were BRAND NEW.  Without even disclosing the fact that he was a total jerk to me on the phone re: the actual financing of the car even though he knew that a.) we were bringing our own financing and b.) I already told him that we'd have the down payment needed, he still insisted on discussing the financial aspects of the vehicle.  Fine.  So we go back to the dealership to sign the finance paperwork and get the car.  All is well.  But then it isn't.  This was a Friday, and on Saturday, we got a bunch of heavy rain.  Alex was driving the car back home, I was at a friend's house watching her 3 year old, when Alex slid through the intersection because the tires were so bad.  

I'm sure you are asking, well, why didn't you guys check the tires?  We did.  And while the tread on the tires looked fine, the tires had been sitting in a man's garage for the past 3.5 years, in the Texas heat and cold, which definitely changes the integrity of the tires.  So Monday rolls around, and we take the car back to the dealership to speak with the used car manager.  We told the sales guy on Sunday that we were bringing the car back, and he told us to be there at 9 am.  We got there at 8:45.  After discussions with the used car manager, and the way we had been treated by the sales man up until this point, we decided that walking on the deal was the best overall course of action for us.  

Back to square one.

Over the past week, we've looked online, called various places, etc. looking for a car.  Mind you, it's just a secondary car, so we were pretty open.  Here are the details of what has seriously happened to us over the past 48 hours in regards to car buying...

7 cars found online sold before we could get to the dealership.  

There was a Mercedes C300 at Central Kia - Irving.  Alex went to the dealership to speak to a salesman about the car.  The car was way overpriced, with no warranty, and no chance for negotiation (per the used car manager).  The used car manager was rude, condescending, and just overall a total jerk to Alex.  Mind you, we already have a Mercedes C250 sitting in the garage.  He was also wearing wind pants, a polo shirt and some broken down dress shoes.  

Then there was the Mercedes E350 at e Car One.  We call the salesman and inquire about the car.  We ask him to get the car ready for us to see, that we're on our way.  He tells us to "take our time as it takes some time for valet to get the car to the front on a Saturday."  We wait approximately 15 minutes, then head out.  We get to the dealership, and the car is no where to be found.  We speak to the salesman who says the valet is bringing it around.  Great.  30 minutes passes.  He gets a text from valet stating that the car has been brought to the front.  Still no car.  Wait another 20 minutes.  Finally get someone to investigate where the car is only to find out that the "ticket" to get the car had been marked complete, but the car was never brought around.  The dealership gives us a $50 Visa prepaid gift card for our time.  We're now at approximately 5:00.  Get in the car to leave the dealership.  NO GAS!  So Alex and I drive to the gas station to put $10 worth of gas in the car so that we can test drive it.  While we're at the gas station, we see the valet putting gas in another one of their cars, and we mention, hey could you help us here so we aren't spending our money to put gas in YOUR car.  Nope, he ignores us.  We take the car back to the dealership.  And find out that it's too late to work a deal because they can't get a state inspection done today.  So we leave, annoyed and frustrated.

Then... we're driving around and I find an Acura TL online at Grapevine Ford.  I call and speak to a used car salesman BEFORE we drive to Grapevine.  I specifically ask if they have that car still on the lot.  Yep, they do.  He'll grab the keys and have it ready for us.  We get there.  The car has been sold.  Mind you, it only took us 10 minutes to get there.  We look at a couple of other options, none that we're all too thrilled about, so we leave.  But not before the guy tells us that he regularly gets high, smokes weed in his car, is in fact high at work, etc.  

Home again we go.  I find ANOTHER Acura TL online, but it's in Arlington.  I call and speak with Jay at Vandergriff Acura.  He tells me that the TL has sold, but I give him the parameters I'm trying to stay within, and ask him to call me back if they have something that will work.  5 minutes later, he calls me back with information on an Acura TSX.  Great.  In the car we go.  We test drive the car, and it's not bad.  So we start to work on the details and find that in order to get the TSX, with the loan's NADA values and LTV restrictions, we'd have to put down $2,700.  But instead of sending us on our way, Jay and John work their magic and give us a couple of options.  Granted, it's after 9 when all of this goes down, but they went above and beyond to get us in a vehicle that works for us.  We ended up FINALLY buying a 2008 BMW X3 with the upgraded M package.  It's BMW's smaller SUV, but I've always been a fan of the X5, so the X3 kind of works.  Plus, it gives us more room than the TSX would have given us.  

Needless to say, today has been ABSOLUTE HELL, but we finally found a car that works perfectly for us.  So, a huge thank you to Jay, John, Wes (in finance) AND Vandergriff Acura.