Week Seven

I have made a lot of progress with the old goals in the past two weeks. After finishing my first pass through the REG materials, I have been busily reviewing the content to make sure I understand it all. I scheduled the exam for July 7, which gives me a few more days to rework old exam problems and memorize the flashcards I have created. I’m both nervous and excited about taking this test. It will be so nice to have it behind me, if I can only pass it!

In addition to making good progress on studying for the CPA, I have also purchased a home in the Beaverdale area of Des Moines. This has been one of my most time-consuming and nerve-wracking goals, but it’s mostly behind me now. The house was built in 1941, and as such will need a little bit of work. Structurally it is in great shape, but the wiring and plumbing need updating. The house could also use a good coat of paint inside and out and some work on the landscaping, but these things seem more like fun than work.

Last Saturday was my first day at my summer job. It took a few weeks to get started, but now I can happily settle in to working 10-15 hours per week from the comfort of my own home. It’s hard to beat a job like that.

Books I have read in the past two weeks:
- Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit (6/14)
- The Last Lecture (6/18)
- In Defense of Food (6/23)
- Adventures in Missing the Point (6/25)
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (6/26)

In Defense of Food was by far the best one of the lot, and probably the only one I would recommend with the possible exception of Alice in Wonderland.

New recipes:
- Banana bread (6/17)
- Ricotta gnocchi (6/25)

Tomorrow I accomplish another big goal: vacationing! Kevin and I are going to spend five days in St. Louis at an old mansion that has been converted into a bed & breakfast. I’m most excited to visit the City Museum and the zoo, but I’m sure I will also have plenty of energy to devote to eating and shopping. This is our first legitimate vacation since our honeymoon. We have flown to NC a few times to visit family in the past two years, but have never gone off to somewhere new by ourselves.

Time to pack!

Week Five

Today I finished my first pass through all of the REG materials. My mind is filled with an overwhelming amount of information concerning taxes and business law–information I have to retain for at least three more weeks. I plan on taking the exam as close to the beginning of July as possible, which will gives me time for review, but not so much time that I start forgetting what I have learned. In addition to preparing for REG, I have been easing into FAR during the past two weeks. This has definitely not been going as well as REG. For many of the FAR homework topics I am only scoring in the 70’s, compared to mid-80’s through 100 for REG. I have a lot of work to do if I am going to be ready for FAR by the end of July.

I have finished five books so far this summer, most of which were selected at random during a trip to the library. Since the summer began, I have read The Mayor of Casterbridge, House Lust, The Joy of Keeping Chickens, The Treasure Principle, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. If my book selection seems unfathomable to you, then you probably don’t know me very well. I enjoyed all of the books I have read this summer, with the exception of the very cheesy Treasure Principle.

The most recent book I read, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, is also one of the best books I have read in a long time. It’s the story of a family who moved from Arizona to Virginia with the intention of eating locally for one year. They raised most of their own produce, made their own cheese, and raised chickens and turkeys. They bought any food they had to purchase, such as flour and beef, from inside their own county. The book is not purely biographical, but also addresses the pathetic fact that we as Americans have no idea where our food comes from, nor would we have any hope of providing for ourselves if it ever came down to that. It is also astonishing to realize that as we are taking public transportation or buying more fuel-efficient vehicles, we continue to purchase food that consumes nearly as much fuel each year as personal transportation. All of these issues are serious, but not surprising given consumer want, laziness, and wastefulness.

Here is where I stand on quantifiable goals, expressed either as a percent or Laura-style:

• Spanish 1 and part of 2 (30%)
• Volunteer 75 hours (17/75)
• One new recipe each week (5/25)
• Crock pot recipes (0/5)
• Have five people over for dinner (2/5)
• Read twenty books (5/20)
• Read the New Testament (50/260 chapters)