Weekly Update - 1/6/08

It has been awhile since my last "weekly update" so hopefully this won't be too painful or too long...

Where to start...I guess with the shoes...since it is pretty much always about the shoes... :) I went shopping on New Year's Day this year and found not one or two, but three pairs of fabulous shoes on super-clearance. The most expensive pair was only $25 (regularly $79)! I have never had so much good luck while shopping for shoes before, especially when I had specific colors/styles in mind. I needed new brown, navy and black shoes and I found brown, navy and black shoes that were on sale. How can you beat that?! The pictures of the shoes are the style/color I got. The brown pair (color name is "coffee") is a much darker brown than the picture shows, they are almost black. The black pair is the one with the ankle strap and the navy pair is the one with the buckle. The shoes were just the tip of the iceberg for my shopping trip though. I got bunches of other bargains that day and I didn't even break out my credit card! I limited myself to the gift card I got from my parents and the cash I had on hand. All in all, I think I ended up with 3 pairs of shoes (pictures below), 3 sweaters (brown, burgundy and cream), 2 faux wrap knit tops (charcoal and dark teal), 1 pair of black pants, 2 French lavender candles (my favorite scent) and a new pink wallet (paid full price I liked it so much!).

I scheduled part II of the CPA exam...the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) Section. I will be taking my part II on February 29th at 11:am. This part is only multiple choice which makes me happy. I didn't do so well on the essay part of the exam on the last section, as was made clear on the feedback I received in the mail. I was rated "below average" on the writing portion which was not a surprise to me. I am not good at thinking on my feet about "essay" questions and especially not when I'm extremely nervous! Anyway, long story short I was above average in a few other areas to compensate for my below average in writing. I'm completely okay with that if I can receive a passing score and be below average in writing skills. :) Actually, for the other two sections that have essay questions, I am going to be putting a little more effort into the writing skills I need to develop.

I have not set any resolutions this year...unless getting my CPA counts. I probably should at least set some other goals for 2008, but I just can't seem to get motivated to set any. I know I should eat healthier, exercise more, watch TV less, keep up with housework better, etc.

I do want to learn how to use my circle looms this year. I think that is the only way I will ever be able to "yarn" since I am a lost cause at crochet and never go the hang of knitting. I got some supplies for the circle looms and the looms themselves, but I still need the yarn to get started. They look easy enough to use and are supposedly idiot proof, so I guess we'll see...

Activity Day starts up again this week. We're making beaded bookmarks for our craft this week and then are going to talk about reading good books/watching good shows/listening to good music. Basically the ideas from "For the Strength of Youth" booklet and modified for our younger group. TexSis (now part of AD too) and I bought some beaded garland (metallic plastic beads) from Christmas clearance and some white 1/8" satin ribbon to make the bookmarks. We have enough beads to fill a 1-gallon ice cream bucket over half full, so there will not be a lack of beads for the project. Especially, since each bookmark only takes 6-8 beads. I think each girl could make a bookmark for everyone in their immediate family and we will still have gobs of beads left over...

I think that pretty much catches me up for now...have a great week!