D-Day and B-Day!!!

Well. It's here. Doomsday and Birthday. On the same day even. Tomorrow I will begin the first real step on the mountain that is my CPA. I've been trekking through fields and forests to get here. Now I'm here. I'm not looking up. I'm just going to focus on the patch of road ahead of me and making sure that I successfully lift up one foot after another. Of course all this is a metaphor for taking the exam step by step, page by page, chapter by chapter, section by section. I read a quote (and I'm paraphrasing) that a man who had climbed Mt. Everest said: If I had looked at the entire mountain, I would have never made Mt. Everest summit. I just took it one step, one day at a time. That quote hit me like the liberty bell and has been resonating in every fiber of my being since. I dare say the quote (and the Macbook laptop, and the Becker classes/flashcards/final study review, Master's degree, support from friends and family) has given me the gumption and determination needed to successfully get through this journey. The final hours of what has been building for over 6 years. Pretty amazing.

And then it's my birthday, which is clearly overshadowed by the CPA. In fact I'm not even celebrating my b-day this year. That's a lie, a small group of friends celebrated with me at the Wig & Wine event last weekend - which was sooo much fun. I definitely drank more than I should have/wanted to but I don't regret it. It was the last time for a long time and I got it all out of my system. I'll post a pic soon. We aren't celebrating Valentine's Day either. We aren't doing anything for the next 5 months. However, I will have a break over Memorial Weekend but no money, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my break - I'm sure something will come up.

The Diet Regime has been going well. Dane and I have religiously hit the gym 6 days a week. I upped my cardio to 40 minutes on Monday so I'm now at a workout time of an hour and 45 minutes. But it goes by fast. I also have built in plateau busters - those weeks are KILLER!! Between that and the Nutrisystem I have lost 13 pounds since January 5th. Not bad at all. Especially considering the three cheat meals I've had all in the last week!! Even though I cheated by eating outside of NS, I still kept it under control with the portions and calories. Go me! Dane is down over 25 pounds since mid-December. He's about to reach a weight milestone that he's really proud of. I think he'll hit it in the next day or so. I still have a week before I break another digit bracket.

So that's it. Good luck to me for the next 5 months! I'm more excited than terrified these days. We'll see if that lasts.

Bonus (taken from my 2/5/05 blog - the first one, but updated for this year):

It's all about: OBAMA!!
Self-pity: pffft - what about self-pep!!
I think: January sucks.
I also think: government workers are lazy.
Cheap beer is: not my cup of...pint of beer anymore - but Hoegaarden is!
The Gothic World: is a just a step above Emo.
Some people: think I'm crazy.
My favorite jeans: are a size 9 that hopefully I can wear again soon!
Friends cannot: stay with you throughout your entire life, that's just unrealistic.
However: they will always be loved, at least in my world.
Driving: my Mercedes never gets old.
There are always: birds facing the same direction on the I-90 bridge.
I wonder: what I'll be doing 10 years from now.
I can be very: demanding.
I don't like: excuses.
Yoga: has been missing from my life, sadly.
A good diet: is absolutely the difference between gaining and losing weight.
My mom is going: to come and see me for my graduation.
And you know what: I'm really looking forward to it.
Amy is: really far away and I miss her and our Boston's nights.