Passed

I PASSED the CPA EXAM on the first go around!! Couldn't be happier. That's it for now

Time for Travel

I have now officially started the month of travel! It started at the end of July with a wonderful trip to Puerto Vallarta with my mom. It was a wonderful week spent reading and relaxing. Mom and I both needed time away and for us, Puerto Vallarta is paradise. We generally spent the mornings on the beach, then the late afternoons in the pool. We ate at our favorite places and never felt rushed around. I was able to read 3 books: Something Borrowed, The Red Tent, and Consent to Kill. I highly recommend all of them! At the resort, there is a little zoo with pumas, tigers, parrots, and monkeys. The puma's just had a little cub. He was so cute. We caught him one day stalking his momma's tail.

Now Rich and I are in Estes Park for a week. We'll do some hiking, reading, and some planning for the future. We're hoping to figure out where we want to get married and then set a date!! YAY! We're staying at the Worldmark up here, and we have both found it leaves something to be desired. Our "unit" is incredibly small and the "kitchen" is almost non-existent. It'll work and we'll still be cooking in the unit instead of always eating out.

We'll be off to San Diego next week for my cousin's wedding. So excited for them. I'm sure I'll blog more about the trip later with the fam. After that I have a week to move and get things set up at my mom's house before starting work. Wow, what a month. I think I need a nap and a glass of wine now.

Honeymoon!

Was fabulous!

Richard and I made a deal about a year ago, that whenever we got married, I would plan the wedding and he would plan the honeymoon.... and that the honeymoon would be a surprise. So on June 11, we were married and it was everything that I've always wanted. I felt gorgeous, Richard was extremely good looking in the tux (I wasn't sure about the black shirt with white tie ... but it was awesome) and we had a blast. We got to see friends (went to fast) and got to swing dance ( I didn't keep my frame well but we had fun), really it was perfect. From the feedback we've received everyone also had a great time ... but people always tell you that. Then that night we got hooked up at a local hotel, the Omni... with Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

The next morning, we did what any new married couple would do.... went home and mowed the lawn! I know romantic, right? But it needed to be done before we left and we always do it together. It also gave us (read Richard) time to finish packing and prepping for the honeymoon.



SAT AM - we go to the airport and I find out we're going to Tampa, FL. I'm thinking, really Tampa? Why Tampa of all the places for a surprise honeymoon. But I keep my thoughts to myself cuz who knows what Richard has planned...

We arrive in Tampa, get on a shuttle bus and head downtown to our hotel. During the shuttle ride the driver is asking all kinds of questions and I learn that no, we're not in town to go on a cruise, while we are here for the beaches we're staying just about as far away from them as we could get and we didn't rent a car ... interesting honey!

So we go to a nice dinner that night since it is our honeymoon and all... there Richard breaks down and tells me that we are in deed GOING ON A CRUISE!!!! And not just any cruise, but a Western Caribbean 7 day Cruise to Grand Cayman, Belize, and Isla Roatan, Honduras! Couldn't have been a better place for our honeymoon.

We just got on the boat and thy handed us drinks!

Cruising around on the boat, checking things out

We spent much time sitting in these chairs, reading, napping and laughing

Dancing in the club :)

Port #1 - Grand Cayman Island

We went snorkeling here ... look how clear it is.

Port #2 - Belize

Sharing a Coke over lunch

Mayan Ruins of Belize

Port #3 - Roatan Island - Honduras

Our favorite!

Swimming with Dolphins

Kisses

More Dolphin kisses

The best beach EVER!

Last day on the boat

Every night at dinner our steward would make a towel animal, but on the last night we got a heart. He must have figured out we were honeymooning.

My favorite animal of the trip was the monkey - he was awesome!

Florida Aquarium - We spent our last day here until we had to go to the airport. It was an amazing honeymoon! Way to go Rich!

And the Studying Continues...

So this week, I have been living in my Becker CPA review book for the Business section. Sorry I could only find a pic of the auditing book. Same thing though, just a red cover... Oh and for the non-accountants out there: CPA = Certified Public Accountant.

I can say that I cannot wait to be done taking the CPA exam. I'm almost entirely burnt out on studying and memorizing the material. The only thing keeping me going is that if I pass this next exam, I should be done with the exam portion of my CPA requirements.

I often wonder how those who are working and studying to take the exam do it. I can't imagine working 8 hours a day doing accounting then finding the energy to study. Given - I did work earlier this summer and found it hard to study. I was in an office where I could study some at work and the work wasn't all that challenging for me, so I still had some brain power left at the end of the day.

Good news though: I have for sure passed 2 of the 4 tests. I took one on the 14th of July and will take one next week. Assuming I pass, I'm done after next week (HOORAY!!) I've heard rumors that the grading time will increase so I hope to find out about the scores by Oct.

On the family front: my sister, Grace, and her boyfriend just got back from Mexico on Tuesday then were both in the ER last night from either Ecoli or Salmonilla... so G is home today sleeping and I'm playing the caretaker role of fetching prescriptions, turning on movies, and occasionally getting water for her. Not sure where they got it from in Mexico cuz we've never had an issue in the last 13 years or so of going down there...

Back to the great red book now.

Heading Back to Colorado

While we've been in Austin, Matt and my Mom split kitty watching duty. THANK YOU!! It was such a huge help to us.. and I know the kitties appreciate being fed daily.

This morning they wrapped up the conference and I packed up and prepared to head back home to Colorado. While Austin was fun to visit, I'm ready to be back home. I think next time I travel to this part of the country, I will be doing so November.

Yesterday I managed to leave the AC of the hotel and explore a little (pics to come). I headed over 3 or 4 blocks to a little Mexican restaurant that was highly recommended by locals for lunch. I sat down and asked for a coke. nope no coke served there, but they do have Blue Sky soda. So I had that but I think a coke would have tasted better. I had the enchiladas rojas - chicken. Good food. A great lunch if you're in a hurry as the food came out very quickly. After lunch I strolled another few blocks away from the hotel and walked back another the river front. They call it a lake here, but really it's a river. The previous night, Rich and I walked down to the river front by Congress St. Bridge to see the bats. At dusk these bats who live in the bridge by day come out to hunt. Amazing! We must have seen 150,000 bats, and they don't just all come out from the bridge at once. They flow out in a line at the banks of the river and fly just above the trees. Then eventually they spread out to eat. I'm so glad we took the time to do that.

Dinner last night: Fogo de Chao. Much like Rodezio in Denver and as we called it: Meat on sticks! Amazing dinner, but also a little more expensive then expected. But well worth it. It was Richard's and mine celebration together since we haven't really done that since our engagement, along with 5 others joining us. Fillet mignon wrapped in bacon would be the favorite. YUM!

Okay time to socialize with the other bloggers around.

Austin, Texas

We're in Austin this week..... and well that being said... it's HOT!! I know it's Texas and supposed to be hot, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. Really its the humidity that kills me. I can handle the dry 100 degree temps in Colorado, but add 85% humidity and I'm not a happy camper.

We arrived yesterday with no issues and took the bus from the airport to our hotel for a whapping $0.50. Probably the best money spent. We only had to walk about 2 blocks from the bus stop to the hotel and if I weren't wearing jeans, it would have been fine. Given the whole wearing jeans part, I was warm (see above) and thrilled once we hit the AC. How people live without it in the south, I'll never know. We checked in at both the hotel and the conference then decided that food had to be in our future. From many recommendations, we tried Iron Works BBQ. It was good BBQ but they didn't have AC and I overheat quickly so couldn't fully enjoy the meal. Walked back to the hotel and spent many hours online in the lobby. Much of which was spent talking with other bloggers attending Netroots Nation. I was interviewed for an XM type radio. I tried (HARD) to get them to interview Rich since he's really the blogger and I'm not so much but they wanted to hear from me. I don't really get involved with the political blogging, but the guy wanted to hear about the blogging I do, which led to this site, which led to me reading this post. Hopefully, I don't sound like too much of a dork.

Today, I spent most of the by myself while Rich was attending sessions at the conference. I joined them for lunch at a local mexican food place but otherwise stayed inside. I went to workout and was shocked that they charge to use the gym here. So I opted for the $15 for the whole trip instead of $10/day usage. I'm hoping this will motivate me to use the gym daily since I am paying for it. I also got chapter 1 of the BEC Becker CPA book studied. My goal is to get a chapter a day done so that I'll be ready for the exam on the 29th. Now, I think I need a martini...

Weekend of Fun...

So this weekend, we made our down to Larkspur, CO for the Renaissance Festival. We chose a great weekend to go as it was only in the upper 70's and low 80's and found some great buys. We also found out some good friends of mine also just got engaged!! Congrats to Malea & Clark.

To start the day, Rich and I drove the 1hr-ish drive together and got to spend some time together just the 2 of us. We were able to talk about life and start discussing wedding details. Even though we have agreed that I'll plan the wedding and he gets the honeymoon, I still want his input on things as it is his wedding as well.

We found this great little stand: Garlic Festival, where they sell amazing spices made with... GARLIC. We highly recommend the jalapeño pickled garlic. Then made our way over to the steak on a stake place for lunch :) Yummy!! I also enjoyed cheesecake on a stick dipped in chocolate for lunch. While it was yummy, I don't recommend eating it in the heat of the day.

We did more than eat too.... Rich found a ring that he has been looking for to go on his middle finger. Somehow the cats have managed to steal his old ring and a replacement was needed. Rich also found a black cape. Another item which has been on his to get list for a while.

Sunday was spent studying for my exam on Monday. I don't feel confident that I passed, but I don't think I bombed it either... I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, now we're off to Austin TX for Netroot's Nation over the weekend.