I PASSED

I FINALLY PASSED ALL OF MY CPA EXAMS. HOLY SHIT.

So, that knocks #1 off my list of resolutions! YAY!

It took me three tries on that last one, but my final score was an 87! Not even close to the failing mark!
I've been cooking and eating lots of yummy foodstuffs and I'm super thrilled to finally share them!


So this concoction is a mushroom artichoke lasagna. I found this recipe in the BHG Taste of Home 2012 recipe book my grandmother got me two Christmases ago. I had some leftover lasagna noodles and Zach can't have ricotta, so this seemed like a good ricotta-less lasagna alternative. But it has A LOT of cheese. If there is such a thing as too much cheese, this was too much cheese. Zach and his brother liked it, but I didn't so much.

 Next, not so impressive, chicken caesar salad. A good enough meal, got the job done.

Now, I've talked about this one before, but I just had to show you. The infamous shrimp and asparagus risotto! It. Is. So. Good. We're making it about every other week now and doubling the recipe to have leftovers. Do it. It's worth the stirring, I promise.

 

I also took the plunge and made french onion soup, from scratch! I can't find the exact recipe right now, but I remember it called for about 3lbs of onions thinly sliced, a bunch of beef broth, and some wine. I'm not usually a fan of french onion soup, but this one was pretty good. Could have gotten the onions cooked down more - next time.

 

So this isn't really COOKING, but I really loved the way my fruit and garlic station looked after we went grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago. So much yummy!

Alas, that beautiful pineapple immediately met its doom when I chopped it up to make PINEAPPLE SALSA!

 

Which then went on FISH TACOS! The sauce I made was so spicy. But so delicious.

Lastly, I want to share my homemade chana masala (I tweaked that recipe). We ventured over to the Indian market down the street and got some good spices (and frozen naan) and had ourselves a chickpea feast! It was delicious, to say the least. I'm proud that this (my second) Indian food attempt turned out!

 

Now, for my bento boxes! I've been using these most days to bring my lunch and they're AWESOME for portion sizing and all that. I love them. They were my anniversary gift (we'll get to THAT celebration) from Zach!

First up, chicken caesar salad, with dressing, pistachios, and chocolate coins for dessert

Next, leftover turkey burger (bun not pictured) and fresh broccoli for steaming for lunch, and mini quinoa cups for breakfast.

As I just mentioned, Zach and I celebrated our 4th anniversary about two weeks ago. We went to a local restaurant, Justine's, and had a DELICIOUS meal. I ordered the best pork chop I've ever hand in my life. Also served with potatoes au gratin.

 

Then I provided cupcakes from Polkadots for dessert!

I also went to dinner with my parents at Olive and June where I had some phenomenal duck. Always up for duck.

And I attended my first crawfish boil at a birthday party. Now, let me tell you, I don't like crawfish. As you will see, there are some shrimp in there that were purchased especially for me and two other attendees that don't eat crawfish. However, I got a little drunk and Zach persuaded me to try it. By itself, crawfish tastes like sea testicles. It was not good. But when you drown it in Sriracha, it tastes better. Everything does. And then I felt sick. Not wine sick. Fish sick. It wasn't good.

Exercising... hasn't been great. I.e., non-existent. But I'm getting there. I promise. I'm gonna do it...

running

Guys, running fucking sucks.

At least running at 5:30am on an empty stomach on your apartment complex gym's treadmill sucks. It took almost a week for me to manage to get my ass out of bed early enough to run in the morning, and I was so proudof myself today. Then I looked outside and saw that it was drizzly and dark. Like DARK dark. Like get raped and murdered and no one ever finds the body dark.

So I went to the complex gym. Yay treadmill. It started out well, I kept a positive outlook, and I got through 6/7 of the intervals I was planning on. But around interval 4 I started feeling sick. Like, dizzy, lightheaded, gonna vomit but there's nothing to vomit sick. I pushed through it because I didn't want to pussy out, but by finishing the 6th interval I was pretty sure I would seriously damage my health if I continued further.

Let's recap how out of shape I am -  the intervals I'm running are run 1min (6mph), walk 2min (3.8mph), and I nearly died. After six of those. Six. Holy tub of lard, Batman.

So, I don't know if it's the time of day? The empty stomach? The treadmill? Maybe a combination of all three? If you have any thoughts, please share, because I'd like to figure this out. I might try an afternoon run not on a treadmill later this week, weather permitting.

Any advice is super appreciated.

it's done

Took my test this Monday and actually felt pretty good about it. It was definitely a different experience than the last two times, so that's promising. Nineteen days until I know for sure.

But since then, I have found SO MUCH FREE TIME! Monday night I came home and played Zelda and did laundry and read some of Bossypants and played piano and had all kinds of fun. So now, finally, I can get back to what most people call life.

I was going to start my running regimen this morning, but it was raining, so it's getting put off until tomorrow. I'm going to use this guide, that I mentioned back in January, to get my lazy butt moving. I think it's mild enough to make sure I don't burn out, and I'm actually really excited about it. I'm also going to try using the Nike+ app to track my progress.

I also signed up for my first Coursera course. They're free, and I love learning. The class officially started back on Jan 28 but I was still allowed to sign up, and I'm just trying to catch up now. Luckily, the first quiz deadline was extended until February 13th! The one I'm enrolled in is Health Informatics in the Cloud. So far it's super interesting - dealing with the current state of healthcare in the US, where it's going, how to fix it, and how information technology is desperately needed in order to have any hopes of improving. I'm such a nerd. If you too are a nerd, you should sign up for a course!

Zach and I have just gotten into House of Cards on Netflix. It's. Awesome. Go watch it. Netflix original. Kevin Spacey is the bomb.

Speaking of Zach, our 4th anniversary is one week from today, which is crazy to think about. But exciting, too!

Ok, I need to go read for my class :D