Week Twenty

It’s hard to believe my summer is coming to a close. Starting my new job was always something looming on the distant horizon. How did it come so close? I begin working five weeks from yesterday. Still plenty of time to finish studying for my last exam and tackle a few domestic projects before the new phase of my life begins, and yet eighty percent of my summer is past.

I got the score back for Auditing: another 99. I feel so surprised every time that number pops up. I started studying for BEC three weeks ago and have another two weeks before I take the exam. I feel like the schedule for this section is the most luxurious. So far, no stress.

And now for a colossal update on my goal tracking. I have not really given a complete update since week five, so I’m definitely due for one.

1. Study for and pass all four sections of the CPA exam - I think I have said enough about this one. I have passed three of the sections with flying colors, with one more remaining.
2. Get a part-time job
3. Complete Spanish 1 and start on Spanish 2
4. Volunteer 75 hours - (30/75)
5. Buy a house
6. Take a vacation
7. Go camping - The forecast for tonight predicts a low of 39. I have not had the chance (or made the effort) to go camping, and it’s too late to safely attempt it now. Fail.
8. Create a list of contact numbers in case my purse ever gets stolen - I plan on doing this after completing the CPA exam.
9. Create a list of contacts to be notified of a change of address when we move
10. Sort through and organize receipts, bills, lecture notes, etc. - I did some work in this area earlier in the summer. I even bought a new file box to keep old receipts and bills. However, this isn’t the sort of project that should only be attempted twice a year, so I definitely need to do some more organizing before I can check this goal off the list.
11. Make one new recipe each week - (19/25)
12. Make five crock-pot meals - (2/5)
13. Have five people over for dinner
14. Read twenty books (at least ten non-fiction)
15. Read the New Testament - I’m 67% of the way through the New Testament, but 80% of the way through the summer. I’ve been reading two chapters a day for a long time now, but I think I might need to increase that if I am to finish on time.
16. Be less wasteful

New recipes:
- Eggplant parmesan (7/22)
- Artichoke with lemon butter (7/23)
- Shrimp-stuffed eggplant (7/25)
- Apricot pork with garlic green beans (7/30)
- Green lantern (8/2)
- Scrambled burritos (8/2)
- Farmer’s market quesadilla (8/5)
- Blueberry peach cobbler (8/12)
- Chicken piccata (8/17)
- Jalapeno poppers (8/23)
- Slow cooker chicken tortilla soup (9/11)
- Spaghetti alla putanesca (9/16)
- Pasta all’ amatriciani (9/22)
- Key lime cheesecake (9/27)
- Slow cooker chili (9/28)
- Pesce al forno (9/29)

New books:
- Where the Wild Things Were (7/6)
- Amusing Ourselves to Death (7/21)
- House of Mirth (7/22)
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma (7/27)
- The Hiding Place (8/6)
- Under the Tuscan Sun (8/17)
- Doing Well and Doing Good (8/18)
- A Room with a View (8/26)
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (9/13)
- The $64 Tomato (9/19)
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (9/21)
- I Capture the Castle (9/23)

Financial Disarray

The move to Des Moines was a success! We have unpacked at least 75% of our stuff, and so far nothing has been damaged. I have less than two crazy days to finish unpacking and cleaning before my parents come to see me for a few days this weekend.

Yesterday I spent $86 on things I do not need. I’m not usually a big spender, so that is quite the feat for me. I wouldn’t feel as badly if I had splurged on a new purse or pair of shoes for work, but tea, a manicure set, and books to be used primarily for ornamental purposes? My problem is that I’m horrible at telling people no. Two of the three purchases were made in response to a sales pitch. I had to say yes to the nice sales woman, didn’t I? Even if saying yes to the girl in the booth selling Dead Sea lotion cost me $60. Why can’t I just say no to people? Is that really such a hard thing to do? I will never see any of these people again, they might not even get a commission for their work, and now I am $86 poorer because of it. Although I must say, the tea is phenomenal, the manicure set really is amazing, and those books will add to my lovely collection on display in the living room (although if I keep going at this rate I won’t have a living room to put them in). I told myself and my husband, who witnessed all of these purchases, that I am not allowed to buy anything for myself for “a long time.” It’s probably best to keep this time period vaguely defined, just in case I am faced with another sales pitch in the near future.

On a happier note, today I got my new Capresso coffee maker. It was our housewarming present to ourselves, and well-timed too considering our last coffeemaker died three days before we moved to Des Moines. The Capresso machine is easy to use and makes a great cup of coffee. It has a thermal carafe that keeps coffee warm for hours, a gold-tone permanent filter, and a water filtration system that I will probably only use until our first filter wears out. The best part of all of this is that I bought the coffee maker refurbished from the manufacturer, so it only cost a little more than half the price of a new one. Basically I bought a coffee maker, two ounces of tea, a Dead Sea manicure set, and twelve ornamental books for the price of one coffee maker. Not bad, VandeKrol…