Greatttt News!

I woke up early Tuesday morning to check my emails that we keeping me up all night (more on that later) and decided to check to see if my last exam score had been posted. It had been delayed several times last week and I was getting antsy. I let out a little scream at 6:15 am (hopefully I didnt wake my roommate Tuttle who doesn't have a fourth wall!). I PASSED! My score was a 76 and you need a 75 to pass. Whew! Just made it :)

I have now passed all 4, count 'em FOUR, sections of my CPA exam! I am so happy to have these stinkers out of the way now. It has taken me a little over 1 year to complete this exam with many, many hours of studying and sacrificing social engagements. But now I am a free woman!

I have one 50 question ethics exam required by the state of California before I am officially:

Cheryl Berrey comma space CPA (I dont want to jinx it by writing it out until its official.)

My wonderful boyfriend got me these beautiful flowers (below) and a special note for this special occasion. What a thoughtful guy! I so wasn't expecting anything. Then we popped a bottle of mini pink champagne my friend Brienne gave me after I took my last exam. Jake made a corny little toast and we celebrated together by watching TV on the couch. (Well, I watched Rachel Zoe because she's my fav and he played around on his computer. Actually, a pretty typical night for us.) It was the perfect ending to a long, long road. Now, I can't wait to get my new business cards printed to include those 3 important letters!

Hilarious.....and true

I found this on another person's blog and thought it was totally hilarious. I've bolded my favs. Enjoy!

Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old..

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tellmy own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in thedirection from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still theonly one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand thantake 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying tofinish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

-Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantrontest is absolutely petrifying.

-Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

-I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

-While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

-MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure Iknow how to get out of my neighborhood.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories.

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up andleave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Also....getting excited for USC Football! A little over 2 weeks until the first game. Jake and I plan on going to all the home games and two away games (Ohio State and Cal). Woo hoo! Here is a pic from one of our trips last year to Virginia with our fav newlyweds G and Twiz.

Thoughts about the Future.....

My thoughts lately have been consumed about the future. In a year's time I have no idea where I will be living or what I will be doing. As a natural planner and somewhat of a worrier, I find this a really difficult concept to grasp. My job ends next June (but I will probably stay on until August), after which I will be following Jake to grad school. He is in the application process right now and he is applying all over the country.

I'm not gonna lie, at first I was really pissed about this idea. Why did I have to drop my life, leave my friends and family behind and move to a place that was pre-determined by some stranger of an admissions officer? Jake and I argued back and forth for quite awhile. I love him, I really do. And I know I cant lose him. So that is how I started to come around. That is where all of our arguments went. In the end, I know we are right and us separating because of my selfish reasons would be wrong.

Now, I'm looking at this situation as a great opportunity. I'm young and basically responsibilty free. No kids, no mortgage, and I've never lived any where besides Southern California. I will miss everyone at home, but I find comfort in the fact that business school isnt forever. Its a 2-year program and Jake and I both want to end up back in California. I cant see having a family any place else! The possibilities seems endless and I think I will enjoy discovering a new city with Jake. It will be an adventure for sure!

With this new way of thinking, I have come to accept the whole moving aspect, but began to stress about the logistics. How will I find a job if we move across the country? How will I deal if they actually have a winter there? (I wear flip flops year around). What if we get there and Jake and I fight? Who will I turn to? Will I make friends? See, this is stressful stuff.

Then the actual moving part is scary too. How the hell do you move your whole life across the country or even up the state? I have always moved down the freeway and made at least 10 trips back and forth with my clothes in trash bags. (I'm a terrible packer). I have no clue where to even begin. Part of me just wants to sell every last piece of our mish mosh furniture and start completely over at our new locale. But...that's not always practical. And what do I do between now and then if I need to make a major purchase? For instance, our mattress is absolutely terrible. It's Jake's from college and needs to be placed in a dumpster far, far away from my aching back. BUT...I dont want to buy a new mattress and then have to pay to move it across the country. Same goes for our couches. Are they even worth the shipping costs?

I think our best option at this point would be to find a fully furnished apartment where ever we end up so we wont have to move big furniture items. Then I can find the local IKEA or Restoration Hardware to spruce the place up! That is one thing I am looking forward to in this moving process!

I know its a ways away and there are so many variables to consider, but I am finally getting really excited for this new adventure. I want to maybe do a road trip across the country if Jake gets accepted somewhere far away too. We may even have to sell our cars if we move to NYC. That would definitely be an adjustment.

The possible schools are:
1. Stanford (No. California)
2. Columbia (New York)
3. USC (Los Angeles)
4. University of Texas
5. Babson (right outside of Boston)

Big changes are ahead!

August Birthday Shout-outs

So it seems like I have a million friends and family whose birthday falls in the month of August. I wanted to give shout-outs to these special people and wish them the very best year to come! Love you all so much!

August 3rd - Jenny Kriens (my best dance bud)
August 5th - Chris (my lil bro) is 21!
August 10th - Amanda Pham
August 11th - my beautiful Grandma Carolyn
August 13th - Michelle Dobson
August 15th - Brienne Bittel (my fav bull and Chiner buddy)
August 16th - Anne Pham from Vietnam
August 19th - my Dad turns 53!
August 21st - Maren Karen Hall
August 24th - Crystal Stalsignant, who also has her first doctors visit this day for her babe!
August 31st - My Grandpa Charlie

Wow! Thats a lot of birthdays! I guess a lot of parents got busy during the month of November!

Recent Events

I have been Blog M.I.A. for the past week,so I am going to update you on life.

A couple of weeks ago our company had their annual PAAMCO Cup in Newport Beach at the Hyatt. It was set up as a scramble. Each hole had some sort of handicap like swing with a kids club, throw the golf ball, closest to the pin, etc. We played on teams of 5 or 6. We then had dinner on the golf course and had some yummy drinks throughout. Sadly, I did not win a prize or a raffle gift, but I had tons of fun nonetheless. See some of my dorky pictures below. We were "Team Pink" but we didnt win best dressed :(

About a week after the golf event, the Newport Jaycees had a mixer on a boat that sailed around the Newport Harbor. Jake and I put on a donation drive to benefit the USO. We will be sending out care packages to troops overseas at the end of the summer. I think we raised about $200 from the Silent Auction (picture below of our fabulous gifts donated by my awesome mom and roommate). We collected about $75 worth of care package goodies and we plan on doing a raffle at the next mixer at the end of August to raise even more money. See some pics below from the boat (They're not very good).

Other than that, I've been studying like crazy for my CPA exam on Auditing. I failed the test back in April and found out in late June that I would have to take it again. I re-took the test this past Monday morning and I feel much more comfortable than last time about it. I hope I did enough to pass! I wont find out my score until mid to late September, so now I can enjoy my summer! Woo hoo! No more studying!

I also wanted to mention that we just found out on Sunday night that two of our closest friends are pregnant! These two crazy kids have been married for a couple of years now, and the Mrs. has wanted a little one for awhile now. I'm so happy this has finally happened for them and I cant wait to spoil this kiddo. He or she will be a great new addition to our circle of friends!

Also....Last night was my little bro's 21st birthday! He's been having a rough time lately adjusting to adulthood, but I love him so much and I'm glad I got to spend some time with him on his special day. He invited my parents and I to dinner, which, in normal families would be just great, but my parents are divorced and havent spoken in the past 3 or 4 months. I was really nervous that they would fight or cause a scene, but it actually went really well. (I'm not sure why I always think they will cause a scene when they are together, because they never have in the past. I guess I just think their bottled up emotion may just explode in a restaurant in front of 50-60 strangers and I'll be left to pick up the pieces.) Anywho, it was so so nice to be able to sit at the dinner table as a family again and have good conversation. I know my mom was a little uncomfortable, but we all knew it was my brother's day and we werent going to let anything ruin it. I only took this one picture of my bro last night, but I think its a goody! Have fun in Vegas bud!

On another note, I wanted to share a personal battle I've been dealing with privately. I had only talked about this with Jake and my mom for the past month or so. Let me start from the beginning.

My mom invited me to breakfast about a month ago and I suggested we go to Rockwells. I was so excited to spend time with my mom because I felt like we hadn't had too much alone time lately. We talk everyday, but we hadn't sat down and had a face-to-face conversation in God knows how long. When we got there, my mom was acting kind of funny and was really fussy about what table we sat at. We moved 3 times. I finally was like, "Mom, whats up? You're acting strange." She then started talking about some very personal issues and crying at the table. We hadn't even ordered yet!

She had this whole big build up to the news she brought me there to say. About two days earlier, she found a lump in her breast. I had an immediate knot in my stomach and my eyes began to water. What do you mean there is a lump in your breast? This cant happen to you! She saw I was already getting worked up and tried to calm me down by saying its very early and she hasn't even been to the doctor, but she wanted me to know. I think subconsciously she didnt want to deal with this alone. So we sat there and cried together. Finally, I said enough. Let's enjoy what is left of this breakfast. There is no use crying over this if we dont even know what it is. We left on a happy note after a long hug in the parking lot and lots of kisses :)

I cried the whole drive home. When I got there, Jake was studying or doing something on his computer. He saw that something was wrong, but I just told him I was tired and I went to sleep. I couldnt decide if I wanted to tell him right away or not. I thought that talking about it, whatever it was, would give it fuel. It would give the disease or cyst or whatever it was power over me and I wouldnt be able to stop it. I know its weird, but thats how I felt at first. Then I came out of our room after my nap and saw Jake. I couldnt keep this from him. I tell him everything. So we sat down and talked about it and I'm so glad I did. He calmed me down and told me to not get worked up over something we didnt know yet. Which is totally what I needed.

Fast forward to last week....and my mom finally had her visit with a breast specialist. My mom said the woman was absolutely wonderful and so caring, which I'm really glad about because she needed it at this point in time. The doctor told her that it is most likely a hormonal imbalance that has caused the growth. She told her to stay away from anything with caffeine in it and take some special vitamin. What a relief! Except......my mom drinks about 5 cups a coffee per day. So it is not much relief to her energy level, but we are beyond excited that she is healthy.

This whole experience has taught me to really appreciate your loved ones and be able to lean on your support systems when you need them. If I hadn't talked to Jake about this, I would have gone crazy with worry. I remember standing in my bathroom looking in the mirror one morning getting ready for work and just breaking down. I was in the middle of putting my make up on and just started bawling. I was thinking what my wedding day would be like without my mom, or what having a baby would be like without her there. (....and I'm crying now...perfect!) Anyway, in the middle of my meltdown, Jake came in to give me a hug. He told me, again, we cant think this way, we need to be positive. He was so right and I'm so greatful for him! So glad this is all over now!

Very long post, I'm sorry. I had to get that out!