Busy little Bee

I just can't believe its March already! Wow! Good news is that tax season is almost over. . .bad news is that its going to get really busy before the end. I actually spent 12 hours in the office working on tax work yesterday. Big ugh! But I did skip out around 3:30 to squeeze in a 4 mile run. Which felt amazing and gave me the energy I needed to keep going when I got back.

An yes I am still on the run wagon. I actually signed up for a 1/2 marathon in June so its kicked my motivation into high gear. No one wants to look like a fool on race day. . .especially for 13.1 miles! I will not be able to get in a lot of run time until after April 15th but I can build up some mileage and then hit it harder after. I was up to 7 1/2 miles last year so I think I can do it and since my husband the 50k runner says I can. . .I know I can!

On the knitting front I finished my Topiary scarf today. Pattern by Michele Wang and the yarn is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Very happy with the length and width of this scarf. It gives you enough scarf to fold in half and loop which is my preference when wearing a scarf.

Pattern was easy to read and can be made into a medium or large wrap as well. Yarn of course is soft with perfect flex of color that any tweed fan craves for. Two thumbs up!!

In the baking world, I bought a jumbo muffin pan to try out some muffin recipes this weekend. Tried a Butter Rum recipe for my husband which neither one of us really cared for the flavor but loved the texture and look of the muffin. Not a lot of Butter Rum muffin recipes out there either. Will have to keep looking.

Also tried a lemon poppy seed muffin from http://annies-eats.com/2011/04/11/lemon-poppy-seed-muffins/ which is amazing. . . .I think I am in love! Wow!! Soft and tangy with a hint of vanilla yogurt. Oh just dreamy. I did use lemon juice and zest from a meyer lemon and I used vanilla Greek yogurt. They are perfect!

Finished!

Finished and loving it. It's warm and light weight compared to some knitted blankets. A great knit that was enjoyable from start to finish! Now that is very impressive, since most of us grumble and snarl toward the end of a sweater (which always feels like an eternity!!!).

20 various skeins of Noro collected over a few years and two skeins of Cascade Ecological wool knitted on size 8 needles. Paintbox Log Cabin Blanketby Katherine Keyes. Pattern is free on her blog getyourhookon.wordpress.com

I highly recommend this knit!

Resolution 1 complete!

New Years resolution #1 is complete. I got my final CPA exam score Friday. A pleasing 89! I am thrilled to pieces. Took me 8 months which is not bad considering that I have a little one running around and I work full time. Wasn't easy but I made it work. Thankfully my husband stepped up to the plate with helping watch miss B. I could not have done it without having someone pick up the slack in that area. I barely get enough sleep now. So now all I have to do is take a 4 hour ethical webinar, get my working experience documentation, and submit my application! It will be a few months before I have that little piece of paper and before I can put those three important letters after my name but its finally here!!!!

So onto resolution #2 . . .running. I really slacked this week. Just too much going on . . nerved up about getting my results . . .next week I am back on the wagon and setting a better plan. Really want to run a half by June but depends on how much tax season is going to suck the wind out of me. I really thinks its going to cut into my schedule a bit so I may have to push off the half a bit.

Resolution #3 - Cooking from scratch. Well my husband being the brilliant man his is got me a zojirushi bread machine for Christmas. Now I have never really been a fan of bread machines but this one is absolutely amazing and I use it at least several times a week now.

For me it allows me to make things that I don't have time to do in my busy schedule without losing the healthy from scratch option I want.

I am still learning but I did pull off some oat bread last week and some yummy raisin bread . . .yummm!

The perfect water bottle

I have been trying to get myself to drink more water for years with no such luck. I hate leaving a cup around. . all the dust that gets in there and plastic bottles leave that plastic taste to your water. . .big yuck. Over the years I had purchased many plastic bottles . .all different brands and levels of BPA free. . .still that taste!

Until I discovered life factory water bottles. . .now I drink plenty of water . . my running has improved, my skin, my hair. . . water really makes a difference!

I discovered lifefactory bottles http://www.lifefactory.com/ when I was pregnant with Brooke and I was looking for an alternative to plastic baby bottles. A friend recommended the brand and right away I fell in love with them.

Not only are they stylish but the water tastes soooo much better! Everything is dishwasher safe, they have a silicone sleeve to protect the glass if you drop it. And the best part is they now have a sports tops for runners!

The first one I purchased had a screw off wide top which I learned to get use to while sitting but trying to run on the treadmill and drink was impossible. I have a hard enough time sitting in a chair not spilling it all over me (apparently there is a hole in my lip somewhere that I am still searching for). So now at least I have a smaller top to work with. . .this I can actually work with without getting all over me.

Note: I only use this at the gym, I never run with water . ..it slows me down and running with glass would be heavy and not recommended.

They have several differnt colors and even though pink is really not my typical color. . it reminds me of my daughter so I had to have pink. Pink is just her color and every time I look at it I think of her.

So if you haven't tried lifefactory water bottles . . .please do! They are a great company and sell a great product! I have enjoyed my first bottle for over a year now and my second one is even better. And it you are looking for an alternative to plastic baby bottle . . .I loved them as well and they now even have sippy tops to convert your old bottle to sippy cups. Now my daughter has her own water bottle to match mommy's:)

Back in the old routine and checking off the list!

While anxiously awaiting my last test score (hopefully by February 3rd) I dusted off my running shoes once again. I sadly put these away a few months ago when I got to the peak of my running season last year. In October I was running at least 6 miles twice a week . . .which may not seem like a lot to some but from a girl that use to hate gym class. . .it was awesome! I felt amazing! But with the cold weather and my study & work schedule it just became impossible to get to the gym. We have no room for a treadmill in our house so I just gave it up until the exam was over.

So I broke out my sneaks and worked out a schedule so that even during tax season I am still getting to the gym 3 times a week. And boy what a great feeling. . .you grumble all the way there the first time or two but by the third time you start to feel like you need it as much as sleep.

10.5 miles for my first week . . .3, 3.5, & 4. Not bad at all. I was worried since it took me forever last year to get past 3 miles. . .but I finally learned to slow down if you want to go the distance and to not worry about the speed. . .speed will come later. So for now a 10 1/2 or 11 mile is good enough! I will get back to my 8 1/2 or 9 later.



And my noro blanket is coming together. . .one more square! How exciting! I love it already. I never would have thought I could get through an entire blanket and not hate it by the end. It must be the noro. . .you can’t hate noro!

Having time again

What a wonderful thing time is:) My test is over and I am just waiting for my final results. The test itself felt really great. . I wasn't caught off guard by anything and I put a lot of study time in so hopefully all of my hard work this past year will pay off and I will finally have my CPA license.

And I am so thankful that I finally invested in Becker's CPA review. . .it really made the difference. Information was well organized and their study tips and tricks were just what I needed along with the lecture. I comprehend so much more in a lecture than by reading it myself. . .I need the stories and the funny jokes to really have it sink in. My hats off to them. They really put together a good quality product.




And although it is tax season, I have rearranged my schedule to allow for three days at the gym. . .two long work days and a Saturday work day. Other than that my time is my own. No bringing home work on the other days . . .those are for rest and Brookie time.


And I woke up this morning at 8! Oh how nice that felt. I feel like a new person. I haven't slept past 6 in years!




And finally my project for the past few weeks when I had 10 to 15 minutes to relax has been the paintbox log cabin blanket by Katherine Keyes. It has been so much fun. . .really! And even though it is a long and large project. . .I am not even fed up with it yet! 20 blocks, each a different skein of noro. . .what could be more fun! And it's just knitting. . .couldn't be more perfect to start when you just want to make something but don't have the brain power to handle something complicated. Hence why I started this during my final leg of the CPA exam. I really needed to have just a little knit time to release some tension but didn't want something complicated to frustrate me. And so here I am . . . on block 16 with 4 more to go before I put them together. . . .so exciting!

Happy New Year!

I decided to actually make a few resolutions this year. . .

1. Pass my final CPA exam and obtain my license.

2. Get back to my running and actually run some races this year. I ran quite a bit last year but never ran an actual race . . . .this year I am shooting for a half-marathon. (as long as resolution 1 above is complete) :)

3. Actually do something with the craft stashes I have (knitting, spinning, sewing, & scrapbooking). I have stopped accumulating more stuff but I have not had any time in the past two years to actually put a dent in them. I would really like a more healthy crafting environment . . .not one that makes me feel guilty every time I open the door! (as long as resolution 1 above is complete . . .I should be good :)

4. Cook more from scratch. I actually do quite a bit of this now (especially baking) but I really want to expand this for my health and the health of my family. Like most things cooking from scratch takes time. . .something I have not had a lot of in the past few years.

So, with that in writing. . .let the new year begin! Officially only 8 days until exam day. . . .I can almost see those three letters at the end of my name . . .bring it on. I have worked hard and I am so ready for the challenge!

Off for my final review. . .until post exam day. . ttfn :)