> I am not sure if anyone even reads this thing anymore (obviously I am hoping some still do). But I find myself at the airport and my flight is delayed ... so I guess this is a good opportunity for our first blog post in several months. Things have been busy and we will save the majority of updates for a future post, so stay tuned.
> > I do have one important announcement. As of last Monday I am officially done with the CPA exam! I took the final section the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I got the score a few days ago. It is a huge relief to have it out of the way. > > I could have never done it without Lauren who has been such a gracious sugar-momma while I stayed at home and studied over the summer. I would also like to give credit to the awesome portfolio of television series on Netflix, which helped me keep sane through all the studying. I am not yet a CPA - I need more hours at my job to be official, but it is nice to know the hardest part is over. > > Lauren and I both are grateful to all who have been so supportive over the past several months as I have taken the exams.

Over the last two weeks I have learned my scores on the first three sections of the CPA exam ... and I passed all three! That means I only have one exam left. 

I have begun working at Deloitte, which surprisingly has cut into my studying time [who would have imagined?]. I am waiting for one last administrative item before I can schedule my exam, but I hope to take it around the end of October or beginning of November. 

There was a strategy to taking my exams - the three completed exams were the longest in terms of material and test time. I am hoping that translates into me having enough time to study for this last exam. Wish me luck!

I am not a creative person, when accountants get creative the consequences are usually bad - see Enron. So my latest project was something most would not believe me capable of.  But I saw a need and realized that I could save money - which is practical (a word I would use to describe myself) I decided I was going to make a cover for our window seat.  

I am a perfectionist. Meaning my project needed to look good. In my design I created a flap to cover the zipper, I knew I could do this - it's basic.  But I was worried about the corners. I got the zipper on and secured the cushion inside. Then I sat, stared, tucked and pulled. I knew I could figure it out, I viewed it as a math problem that had to have a solution, because something else that I am is logical. I composed a theory and tested it and lo and behold it worked even better then I had anticipated. Maybe it was a little bit of luck ... but that’s something I’m not, so it’s unlikely.

Now the project is complete and it sits idle under our window bringing color and character to our bedroom. Not bad for an unlucky, logical perfectionist who lacks creativity. 

 

I took the Auditing section of the CPA exam yesterday. It was my third of four exams, and all things considered it went well. The exam covered auditing and attestation engagements and their respective procedures and reports. I finished the exam early, but I am just happy it is over. No tests are administered in September so I will take the last exam in the beginning of October. 

I will learn my scores toward the end of September, hopefully I will pass the three exams I have taken. I will keep you posted. I begin work the second week of September, in the mean time I will be studying for the next exam. Wish me luck.

We had a great anniversary weekend in San Antonio - the city is perfect for a weekend getaway. After our contractedly-obligated dinner at Pappadeux's on our actual anniversary (and yes, the cedar plank Atlantic salmon still is awesome) we left early the next morning for the five hour drive. Downtown San Antonio has a lot to offer, most notably the riverwalk and the Alamo. The riverwalk is a lot of fun, it is packed with people and interesting restaurants. Texans love their rights - be it gun rights or smoking rights. Cigarette smoking is alive and well in Texas, which gave me a headache and Lauren nostalgia for the casinos in Las Vegas. To our surprise the Alamo is literally in downtown San Antonio. With only foggy memories of Billy Bob Thornton's performance in 2004, our lackluster attempt to brush up on the history was not very successful. The site had a lot ot see and was packed with tourists. Aftwerwards we visited a couple of other sites and then made a short drive to one of San Antonio other five missions. The Catholic church established missions in the San Antonio river valley to teach and convert the natives (the Alamo was just one of the six missions established), and they have been preserved and maintained as historical sites. We had a lot of fun in San Antonio and our vacation even had nice side effects - because of the hot weather and the walking we certainly burned a lot of calories. 

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Lauren and I were married four years ago today. A lot has happened in four years ... since out last anniversary I graduated from BYU, we bought a home, moved to Dallas, and Lauren began a new job.

Our wedding day was accompanied by 115 degree weather, major single-day construction on the way to the reception, a lost temple recommend, a family medical emergency, and sweet dance moves courtesy of Stanley Wilde. In other words it was nearly a perfect day. And even though it only seems like yesterday four years is a long time. Time can be a hard thing to comprehend so like any good accountant we have attempted to provide perspective to four years in numerical format.

• thirty-five thousand, forty hours
• enough time to watch the entire series of LOST four hundered thirteen times
• enough time to have Michael Jackson's Thriller play on loop forty-nine thousand, seven hundred two times
• enough time to fly around the world five hundred twenty two times

That is no typo - you can't watch the whole series of LOST in the time it takes to fly around the world.

When viewed through the numbers above it feels like we haven't accomplished too much in our four years (we certainly could have watched much more television). Although we have fallen short of our television viewing potential, so much has happened to us individually and as a couple. The future looks bright and we are excited for the expected and unexpected that accompanies it.

In regards to the immediate future we are going to spend the weekend in San Antonio and do the whole tourist thing. We will tell you all about it when we get back.

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I took the Regulation section of the CPA exam last Tuesday. The exam covers a lot of topics including individual and business tax, business law, and ethics. The broad coverage made studying stressful, but ultimately I felt prepared. I arrived to take the exam early in the afternoon and quickly learned that a wide-coverage exam is very difficult. The exam lasts for three hours, and after two hours my computer [along with the computers of seven others] malfunctioned. We were ushered to the waiting room and waited for the test administrators to fix the problem. Fast forward almost two hours and we were allowed to complete our exams. 

I do not know how to feel after each exam. I definitely felt better after my first exam, but because scores for the first three exams are not released until September I try to avoid feeling confident or pessimistic and instead try to mentally move forward to the next section. I am now studying for the Auditing section which I will take August 30. Wish me luck!

"Good things don't end, unless they end badly." And since this season's Bachelorette was anything but good, it may be a good thing it ended. The only way to add the smallest sense of conflict to the fledgling season was to bring in a new cast of characters - enter Ashley's sister. In just a few minutes she claimed the role of villian from the long exited Bentley. It is ironic that the rational person in the bachelorette's family is the divorced sister covered head to toe in tattoos. And while it seemed she was campaigning for her own TV series, we appreciated the irrationality and foolishness she brought - it's exactly what reality television is supposed to be. 

And so our first season of the great experiment of our fantasy league came to an end. There was little suspense as JP has been the favorite for quite some time. Believers in love scored a tentative point when the couple arrived to the After the Final Rose episode still engaged. After the dust settled Team Lauren got a sizable victory - which means she will have her choice in a night on a town. And despite the upcoming Bachelor Pad, which is sure to guarantee ridiculous fantasy points, we are not ready to make the committment. Here is our final update of our fantasy league until The Bachelor in several months.

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Another lackluster Bachelorette, but we are almost at the finish line. Both Lauren and I have learned about sunk costs in economic classes, but we cannot seem to apply the principle and walk away from this season of The Bachelorette. Admittedly this has more to do with appeasing all of our faithful readers [Bueller ...Bueller] than any affinity we have toward the show.

Our fantasy league is meant to reward bad behavior. Integrity and self-respect are traits we all aspire towards ... but it makes for some lackluster television. So it only makes sense that vile behavior leads to fantasy points. Based upon years of reality television it seemed our point system was destined for greatness. However, the producers of this years show threw the audience a curveball by selecting the most uninteresting bachelorette in recent memory and surrounding her with half-decent men who all seem more interested in finding a way to leave the show than to win her heart. But here we are ... one episode remaining and two contestants [maybe survivors is more appropriate]. Read below for this week's fantasy point breakdown.

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At this point in the show we may be the only remaining viewers of The Bachelorette. But our fantasy league specifically has a clause that it will continue even if the season is boring beyond belief. At least home-town dates can provide some needed comic relief - right? There was the morbid visit to the funeral home and mausoleum by Shantel N. with Brad Womack during The Bachelor, and last season's bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky dealt with the painfully awkward visit to the taxidermy basement of Kirk DeWindt's father. Although the awkward home town date often leads to a quick heave-ho it makes for great TV. Unfortunately this season's contestants all seemed to have normal and relatable families [what is this world coming to, that out of four contestants, all four have good families?] - fortunate for the contestants, but unfortunate for us viewers at home. Coming into this week both of our fantasy teams had two contestants remaining, but Lauren has a sizable lead. Read more to see our fantasy team breakdown.

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