Focus for February

Exciting news: I sat for the Audit section of the CPA exam yesterday. So hopefully (fingers crossed!) I am thatmuchcloser to finishing my CPA! I plan to take BEC next, at the beginning of April.

So, on to another focus. I am registered for the 2012 Shamrock Run!



It's the race that officially begins the 2012 running season here in Portland, and I'm pretty excited about it. I signed up for the 5k, which might be small potatoes to some of you, but it's a big deal to me. I'm not much of a runner, but I'm trying to be!

So my focus for February: run run run! Three times a week, plus continuing my weight training. That's my goal! We'll see how it goes.

The Never-Ending Battle

So for all of January, I have tracked all of my calorie intake and all of my calories burned through exercise. (Using an iPhone app called MyFitnessTracker: I highly recommend it.) I've lost 4 pounds (all of which I put on over the holidays) but more importantly, I can say one thing with absolute certainty: I do NOT lose weight unless I exercise. Even on a 1,200 calorie diet.

Maybe I still don't eat the right things, even counting calories, but I find that hard to believe.

It's been difficult to work out for the last month--I've been working 60 hour weeks, plus studying for my next CPA exam. Work got back to normal this week, and my exam is Monday, so maybe next week I can get back to the gym as often as I'd like.

Here's hoping!

Edit: I have lost half an inch off of my waist. That's something, right? Bah. Optimism is hard!

Emergency Protocol

I met Sejal for lunch today, and as we were leaving in our separate cars, I watched her nearly get T-boned by someone who ran a red light going the opposite direction across the intersection. Thankfully she was able to brake in time, and everything was fine, but for a terrifying moment I thought I was going to watch my friend get...well, killed, if I'm honest. The other driver didn't touch their brakes while flying through the intersection.

Once we both got back to work, we ended up having a conversation over instant messenger about how to handle situations like that. It's very likely I wouldn't have been able to ask her who to call or what to do. She and I are close enough friends that I easily figured it out in her cell phone contacts, but if not?

In the days before cell phones, how did you know who to contact in case of an emergency, for an unconscious person?

And have you thought through what you would do in case of an emergency like that? The discussion felt very morbid and at first I didn't want to even think about it, but after she walked me through what should be done (she's a certified EMT), I feel a little better about being able to handle a similar situation. In Girl Scouts they always told us to Be Prepared. Today was another good example of why.

More for the list...

21. Stop wasting my time on people who don't deserve it
22. Take a cake decorating class
23. Have my breath taken away
24. Eliminate all of my extraneous debt
25. Find more Joy

Shortcut Woes

I'm in love with Pinterest. I wouldn't say it's for everyone; it's definitely female-dominated, but if you're the type of person who enjoys creativity in any form (fine arts, cooking, home decor, fashion, you name it) then you should be on this website. I am constantly finding new ideas to incorporate into my life and I constantly feel inspired to try something new!

However, as with any form of social media, you also get exposed to the less savory form of creativity: stupidity. But usually it's laughable.

Today, I came across something that just made me hang my head in shame. I love to bake. If you know me at all, you know that. And always from scratch. Nothing says love like a homemade baked good. Box mixes are for those without the time, desire, or perhaps talent to make from scratch. And that's fine. But today, I saw something I wish I could un-see. LAZY! Pure lazy. If you can't take the time to mix 3 ingredients and box mix then you shouldn't be baking.

...Okay maybe you could make some really interesting flavor combinations...

......What an amazing potential tribute to Dublin Dr. Pepper......

DAMMIT! I might have to try this now. Pinterest wins again.

Thirty Before Thirty

My dear friend Sejal has, at the ripe old age of 25, been working away at a bucket list. It's quite inspiring--she is one of the most adventurous, fun-loving, and vivacious people I've ever met in my life, and her excitement about life and the experiences it has to offer is contagious. So contagious, in fact, that I started my own bucket list. It's started just as a note on my iPhone, and I've added and removed things over the last year as I've thought of them. (Aren't smart phones handy?)

So, "Bucket List" feels very morbid to me, and I'm not good at LONG term planning. But my friend Shannon started a "25 before 25" list and I really like the idea. (Maybe I should put, "Get older friends?" on the list. Un bonne idee.) I've started my own: Thirty Before Thirty. THIRTY, people. It's coming for me, and fast. So here's the start of it, I'll add more soon. Any suggestions?

1. Finish my CPA
2. Learn Spanish
3. Go to a Cowboys football game in Arlington
4. Drop two pant sizes
5. Run an entire 5k, no walking
6. Learn to snowboard: make it down the mountain without stopping or falling
7. See a whale
8. Learn to sew
9. 3 more stamps in my passport
10. Make tamales
11. Go white water rafting
12. Go to the WDW Food and Wine Festival
13. Take a road trip with someone else
14. See a concert in the Gorge
15. Cut down my own Christmas tree
16. Join a book club (Create one maybe? RCGnet!)
17. Use my accounting skills to help a non-profit organization
18. Try bikram yoga
19. See fireworks on a beach
20. Start my own recipe book/box, with family recipes

Fill in the Blank Friday

This last week and a half has been the most stressful and busy of my career. I don't think I've ever been more happy to say THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY! I'm really looking forward to a weekend of no work...except I will be studying for my next CPA exam (Audit). Sigh. I will get it done! This year. No excuses.

So my good friend Shannon over at Simply Shannon does this fun exercise on Friday's, and I thought I'd get on the bandwagon! Here is my inaugural FITBF.

1. The last thing I ate was... Sipping on my soy latte right now, but for breakfast I had Bob's Red Mill 5 Grain Rolled Whole Grain hot cereal, with almond milk, blueberries, and agave nectar. Delicious!

2. The last song I listened to was ... Jason Aldean's Dirt Road. Shannon sent it to me on Spotify. If you don't have Spotify yet, you should really look into it. It's fantastic.

3. Using the letters in my name I can spell {Ashley}: ASH, LASH, ASHEY, ASHY, YES, uhhh.....HAS, YALE. Hm. Maybe I should have to Yale?

4. If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick... Black, but only if I get to wear any color accessories I want!

5. If you were to look in my bag right now you'd find.. Which bag? My laptop bag has my laptop case in it, my clutch/wallet, an umbrella, headphones, my coin purse, some moisturizing facial spray (this winter is wreaking havoc on my skin) and a thumb drive. And a tupperware from yesterday's lunch that I forgot to take out yesterday.

6. When I finish filling in the blanks... I am going to write my annual self-assessment and review my notes from training for my new job. aka work.

7. My all time favorite song to dance to is ... I can't think of one in particular, but lately it's been "Sexy and I Know It," mostly because of two things: the sight of my brother dancing to it at Christmas just makes me grin, and every time I hear WIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLEWIGGLE I think of Tiffany and my fun trip to Texas last October.