Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end..

Hey All,
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! During the last few days of 2008 I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the great things that this year had to offer and make some resolutions for the new year. In case you havent heard - I passed my CPA exam - I am officially done with the tests FOREVER AND THANK GOD! That was a major accomplishment, as it took up the majority of my free time in 2008.

Looking back, this year has been one of the overall happiest years of my life thus far. It was far less of an emotional rollercoaster then most have been. I have made some great friends in Manayunk, as well as kept in touch with friends from both highscool and college. I'd like to think of my life as a triangle. The three keys to a happy life are personal health, career sucess, and good relationships. This year I have been blessed to find the delicate balance of all three.

Careerwise: I am overjoyed to have passed my exam, a huge weight off of my shoulders. I received good ratings at work, which secures my job.. for now!

Family: I am so greatful to have my grandparents still in my life... and while I see that they are starting to fail.. I am trying to enjoy the little time I get to spend with them these days. I am also greatful for a healthy/happy family - a mom, dad, and brother who love me and I miss them every day when I am in Philly!

Relationships: I have been so lucky to find great friends in a new city this year. I have been even luckier to reconnect with some friends from highschool and stay in touch with my great girlfriends from college. I couldnt be happier with the people who surround my life these days.

Personal Health: This is my biggest weakness at the moment. I dont think my body has seen a gym in many many months. I have come to terms with the fact that a person can only accomplish so many things on any given day, and therefore my personal health has been up until now put on the back burner. Now that all of the above mentioned items are under control, I feel it is time to get back in shape as I really could benefit from the excercise. See this and other goals below for 2009:

2009
1. Get in Shape
2. Visit all friends that I have not seen in forever
3. Save Money
4. Get more sleep

This list will continue as the new year gets closer.

May all your Christmas' be bright!

Hi All,
Just wanted to share the family Christmas Photo this year! I dont know if you can tell but Bren is pulling my hair in the one on the left. Its funny, this is how I remember us and this picture feels like yesterday to me. It was 1990 - almost 18 years ago! Where ever you are this Christmas, take time to reflect on all the joy life has brought you through the years. I know that I am very blessed. Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2009!

13 days until Christmas..

So.. lately there has been a lack of inspiration in my fingers. Every time I sign onto this website, I come up with a title for my blog and then promptly realize that I have nothing to contribute. This could be for one of two reasons:

1. Everything is going well in my life, therefore, I have no drama, and therefore nothing to say

2. I work crazy hours and pretty much live for the weekend. 

Since my last post:

I came back to Philly after Thanksgiving with a renewed sense of spirit towards my job. My CPA exam score never came, but I have been able to put it to the back of my mind and focus on the tasks at hand.  I have been making attempts to get into the Christmas spirit by decorating my apartment windows with Christmas lights, I also bought a poinsettia, which is nice. Last weekend I hung out with J.R. (we will use initials to protect his identity) and had a very nice time. We went to Dave and Busters on Saturday, just hung out and played some pool and video games. Saturday night we went to Mad River - a new bar in Manayunk, which was a ton of fun. 

For those of you that don't know, JR is a guy that I have been seeing for a few months. Nothing truly official, but pretty  much. Due to our highly ambiguous title, I am a little weary about the upcoming gift exchange. I want to get something nice, but not extravagant, something fun, but not too coupley. Let me know if you have any ideas. Other then that I am just trying to get through the week, as I leave for Rochester on Friday and I still have a ton of stuff to get done at work. 

Much Love,
N

Drunk Amendment

Hi All,
Its currently 4:15 am.. Thankgiving eve, the biggest bar night of the year. I just went out in Webster, my hometown, and am still feeling the effects of a wonderous evening. I wanted to share my drunk thoughts on tonight with the blogging world.. before I sober up and forget what I really think.

TONIGHT WAS AMAZING. I went to a local sports bar in the 585. There, resided most of the class of 2003, in their usual clicks. There was one difference this time though. ME. I didn't care what anyone thought of me. I went up and talked to every single person I knew or remotely recognized! Funny thing was... most were highly receptive to my friendliness and remembered not only who I was but welcomed me by name. Without getting into more detail because it is now 4:20 am and I am drunk and tired. The moral of the story is..

1. no one is better then anyone else. The inferiorness we felt to "the popular" crowd in highschool was mosly our own insecurity in our head
2. if you peak in highschool I feel sad for you
3. Things change, people change, and you have to be willing to see people for who they are, instead of who they were. Some people, even the worst ones.. may deserve a second chance.

Tis all..
Goodnight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey all,
In honor of thankgiving, I decided to write a post of all I am thankful for. There are so many things in life that I am greatful to have and often in my daily life forget to appreciate. Here is a short list of all I am thankful for this year.
1. My family: I am so lucky to have 3 out of 4 of my grandparents still living, a mom and dad who love me, and a wonderful brother.

2. My job: In this economy, I feel very lucky to even have a job, let alone one that I enjoy. My job has its good and bad points, but overall I enjoy it and have learned a lot during the last year.

3. My girlfriends: Toni, Michele, Sara, Meg, Megan, Rachel - You guys are awesome, I couldnt have done alot of things in my life without your support. I know that no matter how many miles seperate us at the moment, we will always still be there for eachother, and I am so greatful for that.

4. The Manayunk crowd: I have met a wonderful group of friends in Manayunk who make me appreciate where I live every day. You guys are so much fun, and I am so glad to have had the chance to get to know you this year.

4. My past: Without this I wouldnt be where I am today. I am thankful for all the ups and downs I have had in my life. They have shaped me into a wonderful person, who I am proud to be.

5. My home: I love Rochester, even though I have moved from this place, I will always call it home.

6. I am thankful to be me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
<3 Nicole

Unknown

Hey All,

Not really much exciting things have happened this week! I am still waiting for my exam score -- and this waiting game is taking years off my life. I just want to know whether I am done, or need to geer up again. I hate being in limbo.

Leaving for Rochester for Thanksgiving on Wednesday! Very excited to see the family.

1 tequilla, 2 tequilla, 3 tequilla, floor..

Hey All, 

So this weekend a group of us went to a BYOT. What is a BYOT you may ask? Well, BYOT stands for bring your own tequilla! There is a small resturant in old city called La Azteca. You bring your own bottle of tequilla and they will provide many flavors of magarita mix. Our dinner party was huge, 25 to be exact... and between us we polished off 8 large bottles of tequilla and this was only the pregame. The dinner was good too.. and cheap! For 25 people = $360 dollars! (20 bucks a person with tip). 

After getting incredibly wasted at dinner, we went to Plough and Stars in Old city and continued right on with the drinking extravaganza. Needless to say, I haven't woke up that hung over in awhile. But it was a good time.

 On Saturday, Sara, Steve, Joe and I went to the park and played some football to get outside and get some fresh air. It was beautiful, at least 70 degrees. For dinner, we went to Five Guys, a famous burger joint in the area. My burger was amazing, and most of you know my feelings on burgers!

Now: Sunday afternoon, still tired, need to clean, did nothing productive this weekend, and cpa scores come out sometime during the week. Life is soon to get a whole lot better or a whole lot worse!

Will keep you posted. 

DC

This weekend I went to DC to visit my best friend from highschool, Meg.  I had a really great time. First of all, it was great to get out of Philadelphia for a weekend and secondly it was great to see her. I arrived on  Friday and we went to her cute apartment for some apps, then headed out for a night on the town. We ended up meeting up with an old friend of ours from highschool, Paul, who is really hysterical. It was great to catch up and reminisce about old  times. Its funny, we can finally laugh about the drama. We are far enough removed from that time in our lives, that even the pain seems funny. 

On saturday we met up with Michele for a nice lunch and some shopping in Georgetown. Then saturday night we went and saw the movie Rolemodels, which was absolutely hysterical. Oh! We also went out to this really cute French resturant for a lovely dinner. All and all, a wonderful time was had by all. 

Its crazy how great friendship picks up right where it left off. It felt like not a minute has past, when really its been years since we have spent any significant amount of time together. Or lives have seen so much change in the past five years..  yet our friendship has not changed. I guess its a credit to our ability to let eachother change and grow, without letting our friendship get lost in translation.  I hope that we can truely be friends forever becuase it is only within our friendship, we will stay forever young. 

"We are friends for life. When we're together the years fall away.
Isn't that what matters? To have someone who can remember with you? To
have someone who remembers how far you've come?

... and the winner is...

There is not too many days in our lives when we can say we witnessed history in the making. The past few weeks I have had the privilage of being witness to two historic moments. A win for the Philadelphia Phillies which broke the long standing curse on this city and, more importantly, the election of our nations first african american president. Its remarkable how victories bring a nation together. How bannning together for a common goal unites mankind.

I was facinated by Anne Nixon Cooper the 106 year old woman from Atlanta who lived through slavery and was able to cast a vote for the president 106 years later. My hope for my life is two fold: 

1. I hope I live to see 106 years of history in the making

2. I hope I look as good as this woman!

I can only hope that Obama will restore prosperity to our nation in the coming years ahead. I guess we'll wait and see...

There are places I remember all my life, though some have changed, some are gone, and some remain:

Hey all,

So the weirdest thing has been happening to me lately. Boys from the past (ie. past secret crushes who never knew I liked them etc.) have been randomly IM'ing me unsolicited and out of nowhere. There is this one boy, for the sake of argument, lets call him hot army boy (anyone who knows me might be able to guess who this is) randomly IM'ed me last night after we hadnt talked since Fall 2006! Also, this kid I used to love in forth grade (hahah), who ended up not attending a different highschool  then me randomly IMed me asking if I wanted to get together when the pro hockey team he travels with comes to Philadelphia. I havent seen him since probably 1998!

This got me thinking about how time really does change things, becuase when these boys gave me the time of day now, I didnt feel the same way about them that I once did. Its funny actually. If hot army boy had given me the time of day a year ago, I would have danced for joy! Now, it was like talking with any old person... and it wasnt anything wonderful.

How does this happen? At what point do we get over people and just move on? Anyone who knows me well knows that there was one boy from my past who I absolutely couldnt go a day with out talking with. Seriously the world may have ended before a day went by that we didnt keep in touch. Now, days, sometimes weeks go by and he doesnt even cross my mind. 

What is the lesson here? Well I think there is two. One is when you admire someone and you put them on a pedestal. You obsess how they would never/will never feel the same way that about you. We tend I think, especially girls, to give far too much credit to our crushes. In reality, no one is out of anyones league and we should be less intimidated to persue our secret admirers  becuase when you fall out of love with them, you realize they become any old person.

The second lesson- most people and relationships come and go. And it isnt until people start randomly popping up again that we realize how many individuals touched our lives and are longer in it for whatever reason. Many people and places have made us into the people we are - whether they were a blip on the radar or a five year earthquake, they are rewritten our lives just by being in it. This does not mean however, that becuase someone is a part of our past that they need to be part of our future. Sometimes, they teach us a lesson, and we move on, and that is how it should be. I've finally learned to let go. 

The curse is over!

Hello! Sorry I've been MIA this week, I was busy studying for hopefully my last CPA exam, which I took on thursday. It was hard, and it is very hard to gague how I did.. so I am not goin

to even wager a guess.

Also, I was a witness to history as the Philadelphia Phillies won the world series on Wednesday night! It was great to be a part of such a historic moment in Philadelphia. The Phillies had not won a title since 1980 and the city went nuts.
Too bad I really couldnt be to much a part of the drinking and partying as my test was the next day. However, I did blow off work on Friday to attend the Phillies parade. It was a really good time! We drank 3 bottles of champagne on the parade route and mingled with all the crazy fans. Day drinking is the best! Being out in the sun laughing with your friends, its really an alive feeling.
The curse is over for Philadelphia, and hopefully my personal curse- the CPA exam is over as well. We'll have to wait and see!

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...

I received this forward from my friend MPP. I really believe that a lot of this is true. Its funny she sent me this because my 21 year old cousin in preggo and my mom and I were just talking about all the things she missed out on by getting married at 20 and having a baby by 22. I really believe that all women should do the things below before they settle down in the roll of wife/mom.. or come 40 they will have many regrets. (esp the ones I've bolded)

WOMAN SHOULD HAVE enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . one friend who always makes her laugh.. and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE a feeling of control over her destiny..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... what she would and wouldn't do for love EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.... how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table.. or a charming Inn in the woods.... when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. What she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...

Ive Been Tagged!

Ive been tagged by Rachel, and so I give you my 7 Facts you may or may not know about me:

1. I hate men who are intimidated by sucessful women. I worked hard for my sucess and I dont care if you think it makes you feel less manly if I want to pay.

2. I still sleep with a blanket and a teddy bear, and I probably will when I'm married. 

3. I recently became a Phillies fan and can name the starting line up by name and number.

4. My favorite food is Gnocci's or Penne with Vodka Sauce

5. I am 3/4ths done with my CPA exam and am taking the last part on Thursday

6. I am in love with girly cheesy movies and will defend them to the death.

7. I hate games, I am who I am, I dont appoligise for saying what I think, and I either like you or I dont, and there is no middle ground.  :)

Tag

1. Meg

2. Toni

3. Michele

4. I need more blog friends!!!

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

So one of the things that has been on the forefront of my mind lately is how we define ourselves. Particularly, how we define our lives in terms of our relationships to others. It seems that we are always in a rush to define ourselves in terms of relationship and/or careers. When people ask us who we are we often rush to the obvious choices For example: " I am an accountant" or "I am _______'s girlfriend/wife/ fiance" Do they really define who we are as people? Do these definitions of ourselves somehow make us feel like we are sucessful? Have you ever stopped to think about how many of these types of definitions define you?
Here are mine:
I am Cathe and Garys daughter
I am Toni, Rachel, and Micheles best friend
I am Saras roomate and friend
I am an accountant at a big 4 firm
I am a UD college graduate
I am a woman
I am Brendan's sister
I am from Rochester
I am living in Philadelphia
I am 23
I am Italian and Lithuanian

Why is there such a push to define ourselves in our relation to others? What are your thoughts - & what defines you?

Job Market 2009

Thought this video was funny, yet scarily true.

Slow Dance

The alarm clock goes off, late again, racing to catch the train. Get off the train join the sea of people racing for the doors of the train station. Run across the busy street, and through the glass doors before the revolving door hits me. Race to the elevator just before the door shuts, almost spill my coffee as my bag slips off my shoulder then I arrive.. 9 am. Race to finish the last bit of work I should have done the night before, before I race to the meeting I have in 10 minutes. Back to work, is it lunchtime yet?? Is this day alnost over. Finally 6 pm. Race home to make dinner, cram in some studying, and a few chores before bed. Get in bed, my mind racing through tomorrows tasks as I drift off to sleep. 6 am the alarm goes off and I repeat the above cycle.

So often I find myself racing from one thing to the next.. just wishing the day away. How has it come to be that I spend most of the week wishing it away - lost in dreams about the weekend? It feels like lately I pretty much live for Saturday. Why Saturday? Well Saturday is the best day of the week. Think about it, you wake up on Saturday and there is nothing you HAVE to do, the day is pure, its a clean slate. It can be anything you want it to to be - endless possibility lies in Saturday. I cant help but think though that while we all want to get done with the work week and onto the weekend, its sort of sad how we spend 5/7 days in a week racing our lives away from one mundane task to the next. If you think about it in terms of a year that would be 260 out of 365 days in which we wish we were somewhere else -- broken down even further that is 374,400 minutes per year spent waiting for saturday. Over a lifetime of the average working person that equates to 16,099,200 minutes spent waiting for the weekend.

I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the race of life, that we forget to make the moment count. Enjoy the little things -- and not take one day (even a day at work) for granted. Instead of racing through the commute -- lost in your own world. Stop: smile at the person next to you on your way out of the train station. Stop to smell the flowers sold by the crazy old woman on the street corner. Take 5 extra minutes and grab the coffee that you really wanted but convinced your self you didnt have time to get. All I know is that - I need to slow down - I just cant justify spending 374,400 minutes a year feeling like I'm waiting for saturday. Below is one of my favorite poems.. keep this in mind the next time you find yourself wishing for Saturday and racing through the day:

S L O W D A N C E:
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last
Do you run through each day on the fly
When you ask "How are you?"do you hear the reply?'
When the day is done,do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last
Ever told your child,We'll do it tomorrow
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time to call and say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....Thrown away...
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music Before the song is over

Mind wandering on the train...

I was sitting on the train today listening to my IPOD as per the usual commute and I took notice of a billboard outside the window as the train passed by. The billboard simply said "where are you going?" I dont know it if was the song that was playing, or the fact that its been along time since I've been home, but that billboard prompted me to start thinking about where I've been, and the road I've taken to get to where I am today. Its simple really, one choice you make can change the whole path of your life. But the crazy part is that change is so slow; your life changes so slightly each day that you dont really realize that anything is different it until you start looking back on where you have been and you realize how different it is from where you started. Its funny, I look back to where I thought you would be at this point in your life - and it is not where I expected to be at all.

Some days I just wake up in Philly, and I cant believe that I live here. Me? Philadelphia? Growing up everyone (including myself) thought that I would never leave Rochester, my family, my home. Yet somehow life lead me here and life is turning out different - better then I expected.

I used to be afraid of so many things..That I'd never grow up.That I'd be trapped in the same place for all eternity. That my dreams would forever be shy of my reach. It's true what they say. Time plays tricks on you. One day you're dreaming, the next your dream has become your reality and now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. 'Cause there are things I wanna tell her-- to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be ok. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are, will become an increasingly rare occurrence and these people, Toni, Michele, Rachel, Megan, Joe, Meg, Dan, the people from my past past have contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows. Because the truth is... growing up together was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now. How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it's because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget.

And as my life here continues to take me farther and farther from the little girl I used to be, I cant help but wonder. "Where am I going?"

When autumn comes, it doesnt ask, it just walks in where it left you last..

Happy Fall!!!!!

 Fall honestly is one of my favorite times of the year. Its relaxing.. summers events are over, and its just a great time to enjoy the simple things. Some of my favorite things to do during the fall are making a bon fire, sitting outside in the cool weather, yet keeping warm by the fire; haunted hayrides; carving pumpkins etc.  I'm looking forward to this lull in excitement actually before busy season starts. I just need some time to collect my life before working day and night commences.

Its funny, when I was a kid, my parents would take me to carve pumpkins, and the haunted Halloween stuff, and I never really appreciated it the way that I do now. I sort of just took all that stuff for granted. Now, its nice once and a while to do things that don't end in being drunk in a crowded bar. Sometimes I think we tend to forget how much fun that kind of stuff can be when we get caught up in the bar scene. Anyways, I hope that I can get a few fall activities in before I get busy. 

Still studying, but I'm sick of talking about it. Next exam Oct 30, wish me luck!

Motivation??!

 

It has been a while since my last post, good news though I passed another exam!!!!! That means just ONE MORE TO GO!! I have been procrastinating on studying the last few days. Its almost as if the thought of taking this exam for the FOURTH time is just overwhelming me to the point where I cant even focus. I know that I need to buckle down and get this done, but there are so many things that I would rather be doing! 

This week has been an eternity, I'm not really sure why - but just very slow moving. I am excited for the weekend, at it holds the promise of some fun with friends, but always dread it too because that just means another Monday. 

On a side note, I really miss Toni and Michele, I wish I had more time to be able to keep in contact with them, but we are all so busy that the days just pass and before I know it it has been forever since we've seen or talked to eachother. I think that it is one of those things though, that no matter how long its been since you've seen them, you just pick off where you left off, or atleast I hope it is. 

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass S L O W..

Let me just start out by saying this weekend went way to fast, I am so sad that it is sunday. This weekend Manayunk hosted the Redbull Soapbox Derby. The derby went down Lyceum and Levering St., nicknamed "the wall" in Manayunk due to its steapness. Sara and I decided to host a party at our house as a pregame to the race which started at 1pm. All week we were worrying about the weather for our party because Hurricane Hanna was set to dump rain on Manayunk just in time for the race. 

Sure enough, just in time for our party, the rain started pouring. Luckily, our friends are pretty tough, and braved the weather anyways. About 20 people came and we had such a great time! Then we headed to the race. By this point, "its raining" would have been an understatement, buckets of water were pouring out of the sky.  After 2 races we decided to head to Kildares to get some drinks and get dry. We ended up partying there till about 5 pm then we headed home and crashed. 

This weekend got me thinking about how great my life has gotten. I looked around at my party and realized how many great people I have met in Manayunk in the last year. I am so lucky to have such great friends and found a place that makes life fun - despite being in the "real world". Going to the race and partying all day with my friends reminded me to keep the day to day problems in perspective.  And reminded me that I have all anyone needs - a great family, and great friends. Thats all for now. 

If at first you dont succeed, try try again

Welp, as noted in my previous post, I was waiting for an exam score, and had another scheduled for tomorrow. I found out my outstanding score yesterday: FAILURE -74. This is the third time I have failed this exam by one lousy point. I guess there is a fine line between success and failure - as apparent by my recent test scores. I am nearing the edge of insanity with this exam. I have never studied so hard for anything in my life with such little reward. Yes, this is a distinguishing mark of my profession and therefore, they want to keep it exclusive but I really believe that if you are that close, that many times, that should count from something!!

I am not really sure what to think about my exam tomorrow. I want to believe that failing one part of the exam has no bearing on this exam. But in this case, I feel like low confidence will play a roll. I am going to continue to keep trying, because if you know me well, then you know that I dont give up easily. A friend reminded me the other day that the best things in life, the ones I appreciate the most, are the things I've fought tooth and nail to get. I deffinately agree with that statement; everything that has come difficult to me in my life has helped to shape me into the girl I am today. The things I remember most, are the times when I rose up after adversity and succeeded. I cant help but feel though like one thing is true. You can put yourself on the right track in life, but you will get run over if you just sit there. It seems like we always have to keep fighting, planning our next move, and hopefully in the end we come out successful, in whatever we deem our personal success to be. Lets hope a combination of hardwork and luck will get me though this. 

Better get some sleep tomorrows a big day!

Just another Manic Monday

Today brings up the major question: what would you do if you knew you would not fail? I've been struggling through a lot of this lately in many aspects of my life. Letting go of old habbits, stepping outside the box, have been in the forefront. I feel like a lot of the time as we go through our lives, we go with what we know - whats comfortable, safe. Whether it be in old friends, marriages, boyfriends/girlfriend, if you look around, you will find most the world playing it safe. I feel like lately Im done with comfortable and safe. We get one chance to make it great - and so from now on I am trying to step outside comfortable. 

On a side note as I push to finish the last parts of the CPA exam. It has been almost a year since the beginning and I am so close at this point, yet so far. I still have one score outstanding, and am taking another on Friday. The scores will come simultaneously and it will either be great success or epic failure! At this point, Im struggling for motivation. I cant imagine what it feels like to come home from work and not feel obligated to study. To be albe to sit and relax is a luxury I have not had in quite some time. I am so fortunate to have a great job, but sometimes I wonder. If I wasnt playing it safe - what would I want to do instead?

First Blog

Today is my first attempt at blogging. I actually stole this idea from my college roomate Rachel, but have enjoyed reading hers as a great way to keep in touch with people you never see! I dont think my life really needs anymore distractions, but I thought it would be a great thing to look back on. Im not really much of a journal keeper, but I will try my best to keep up on this, and keep the whining down to a minimum. 

Thats all for now.