Catching Up

You know, it's a good thing that I have absolutely no desire to try to monetize this blog because I do a terrible job of keeping it up.  But don't worry; I have written and scheduled several entries for your reading pleasure.

I'm going to try to do some catching up in chronological order, starting with our trip to the Center of the Universe.

On Saturday, May 12th we drove down to Ashland, Virginia, which, I am not making this up, bills itself as the Center of the Universe.  It cracks me up every time we drive into town.  It is also where Jim went to school, at Randolph-Macon College.  They were having an alumni event and we hadn't been down in awhile, so we wanted to see what was new.  Turns out, the answer is a lot.  They have built new dorms, are building a new student center/bookstore and are reworking the football field.  We walked around campus, which is quite pretty, and dropped in to the event for music, food and beer.  We also found the brick that Jim bought (and several other bricks for friends and teammates).


Then on the way, we decided to detour out to see Chancellorsville, just because we could and neither of us had been there before.  We live in a place that is smack dab in the middle of a whole bunch of U.S. history and that is awesome.  That, and because I was going to exit there anyway to get a Sonic.  We got to the visitor's center and sidled up on a group listening to a ranger talk about the wounding and death of Stonewall Jackson, which was very interesting.  According to the ranger, Jackson probably would have survived his injury and amputation, if he had not been sick already.  Then we got the battlefield map and took most of the driving tour before we had to get back on the road home.

Bad Blogger

Hi Everyone,

I want to apologize for being such a bad blogger. I'm going to try to catch you up very quickly. This week was our two month "anniversary" and we are loving being married. I do still smile whenever someone says Mrs. Watts.

We finally (this morning) got the last of our new appliances, purchased with wedding gift money, installed in the kitchen. Of course, this desperately makes me want to rip out the floor, counters and cabinets and just finish the whole thing.

Last weekend, we walked in the AIDS Walk Washington 5K. It was warmer than last year, but not as humid as the first year. We went with the pastor from our church, her sister and nephew and had a great time.

Work has been very busy this month and I've started a new online accounting class at NOVA, so I just haven't been on top of it as I should be. I'll try to do better.

100 Days

Today, I am 100 days away from getting married. I am just slightly freaked out about the time line and what I still have to do. Very excited, but freaked.

I would be better if I wasn't two weeks behind in the accounting class I am taking. Or, if my ever-expanding job duties would stop expanding. And if we weren't planning renovations on the house. Or, if the cake designer I was supposed to meet on Monday had shown up for our appointment. Or if my sister had picked out and ordered a dress :)

Speaking of class, since it is currently 10:30 at night, I must get back to the nuances of job cost accounting.

Back in School

My next accounting class is scheduled to start tomorrow, but I have already started the first unit. I was so not engaged when I signed up to take this class. It is scheuled to end in June, but I would really like to get ahead of the game if at all possible.

I am excited about it - this is the second of the prerequisite classes that I would need if I decided to continue on in the career program. This is a series of accounting classes that I would need IF I wanted to sit for the CPA exam. We'll see how this one goes, but it's always nice to have options.

Right now, it's pouring down snow. I am hoping that it snows enough that I can't get out of the parking lot in the morning :)

To Your Health and other Random Musings

So, after two trips to the urgent care center over the weekend, it turns out that the fever and crazy sweating that I was blaming on the heat earlier in the week and hot flashes later in the week was really a rampaging case of strep throat. Which, by the way, I diagnosed myself, by shining a flashlight at my tonsils. Can you tell who had strep a lot when she was younger? I learned several things from the strep incident: 1) Arlington Urgent Care is open 24/7, the staff is very nice, the service is fast and my co-pay there is CHEAP; 2) unless something changed this morning, the boyfriend seems to be immune to my particular brand of cooties, because I made him go to the doctor Monday and he's fine; 3) the aforementioned staff at Arlington Urgent Care has a miracle rinse for a sore throat that is made up of lidocane (pain), benedryl (swelling) and mylanta (to make it sticky) which you can use before you try to eat a meal. Anyway, I've been on a Z-pack for two days now - it still hurts a bit to swallow, but I feel much better.

In a related note, while I really can't recommend it as a weight loss technique, the strep did make me feel so bad last week that I didn't want to eat much of anything, so I lost about five pounds (by randomly bursting into flames most likely). Now that I am past the same two pounds that I kept gaining and losing for the last six weeks, hopefully I am back on the forward track.

In a totally not related note, I got economically stimulated yesterday. Well, a third stimulated. Like most everyone I know, I am using about a third to pay off some debt, putting a third in my savings account and spending a third. Yesterday, I ordered the textbooks for my accounting class and I was able to get them both used. I'm starting to get excited about it now.

Are you on crack? What were you THINKING??

Well, kids, it seems that I am back in school.

Ok, I'll confess that statement makes it seem bigger than it is. Please refer to the 101 Goals in 1001 Days list to the right. You will see where it says "Take two accounting classes." I really am a brand new student at Northern Virginia Community College and I just registered for Accounting 211, Principles of Accounting I, which starts August 25th. I wanted to take these before I left Athens, but it didn't happen, so I had to wait until I'd lived here for a year to qualify for in-state tuition.

It's an online course, so I can take it anywhere. I'll probably do most of the work at my desk - I can justify that as work related. It is also career enhancing. If, for example, I ever wanted to return to the Feds, most of the jobs that I'd like to have require a degree in accounting or 24 hours of course work. So, I'm building options.