Howdy!

Long time no see! I hope y'all have been well. This past year has been absolutely crazy! I am finally recuperating.... it will probably take a little bit longer to get fully re-energized but I'm getting there!

I'm sure some of y'all are wondering what's been going on, so let me fill y'all in....

Personally and professionally, this past year has been a challenge but I'm a stronger person because of it. Professionally: As you may know, I work for a Big 4 firm. I won't go into details but needless to say, it was darn difficult (but most certainly atypical of a normal busy season.... very crazy circumstances and not at all routine!!). My busy season started in October 2011 and didn't end until mid-May 2012. My team and I worked between 70 - 80 hours per week (around 90 the last few weeks before filing) for about 7 months straight (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks). It was physically, mentally and emotionally challenging but I made it through.

Right after my busy season, I started to seriously study for the CPA exam in mid-May. I am very happy and relieved to tell y'all that I passed all four sections over the summer! I will be writing a separate post on the CPA exam to help with advice for anyone else seeking to pass the CPA exam and working a full-time job. Needless to say, I felt pretty darn brain dead after busy season and studying for the CPA exam... hence the need to recuperate LOL

Personally: Mike lost his job in July 2011. Thankfully, we could still pay our bills with my salary but we were on a very tight budget. He was able to find work here and there but it wasn't anything near what he was making before. Good news though, he got his job back in May. We are now in the process of building a house :)

I feel like the past year was quite a test and I'm a firm believer that you find out how strong of a person you are when faced with adversity! I am so excited with what the future has to bring & can't wait to start decorating the house once it's built!

I have so much love and gratitude for all of y'all who have stayed in touch with me over Twitter & for all the support I've received! Thank y'all!!