Accountant In Training

Bad Blogger

2011-04-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm embarrassed to say that it has been yet another two years since I last posted or even looked at my blog. I wish I wasn't so bad at posting. I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and would like to say that I will try to do better at writing, but certainly can't expect anyone to believe me. So all I'll say is hello to anyone who happens to stop by.

Two Years

2009-06-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing like two years between posts. Well I got a new computer a few days ago, so with it I'm going to attempt to blog more often. I know I don't have a very good track record, so we shall see how I do. I will try to post again soon.

Post From Uptown

2007-07-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

The last week has been very long, but good. I took my finals and finished school last Tuesday night, and began packing promptly after work on Wednesday. Nothing like waiting until three days before you move to start packing. Michael worked hard all week, and I worked in the evenings after work, and we managed to get everything ready for the move on Saturday. Friday we came and signed everything and officially took possession of our new home.

We started moving bright and early Saturday morning, and thanks to all of the people that helped, it went pretty smoothly and quickly. By lunchtime everything was unloaded, and we had the rest of the day to work on making sense of the mess. Luckily, my mom stayed and helped me out with the kitchen and bathroom, and we were able to get all of that unpacked, and get a few boxes out of the way. As of now, pretty much everything has a place, and for the most part, we know where that is. Moving to a smaller place, we had to get rid of a lot of stuff, and are getting rid of even more now that we are here. It feels good, though, to get rid of stuff. It's funny, that you think that you're not attached to your stuff, but when you move, you spend days or weeks packing it, carefully wrapping it lest anything should break or get scratched, and then spend days unpacking it, looking for the perfect place to squeeze everything in. While I don't feel like I'm attached to possessions, there are obviously still a lot of things that I "need." It has been very good for us to move to a smaller place and be forced to get rid of things. When we moved to a four bedroom place we felt the need to fill it up, and now that we're leaving that, we realize all of the money that we have spent over the years filling the space. Anyways, that's what moving does to me. It forces me to think about possessions, and look at my attachment to them a little more closely.

We do love our new place, though. Maybe soon one of us will post some pictures. It's amazing how fast this place has felt like home. We've been here two days, and it already feels that way. I went back to the house after work today to get a few things and clean up a little bit, and it didn't feel like home anymore. I didn't feel any sadness. Moving here seems right and good. Even though we haven't sold the house yet, it already feels like a load has been lifted off just moving out of it. I guess that's step one, step two is to sell it, hopefully soon.

Here I've rambled on. I think that I'm done now. I am going to go sit on the balcony and read a book and watch the sunset.

Seven Days!

2007-07-18T18:28:00.001-07:00

Look at me...it has only been a month and a half since my last post, and here I am posting again. This may be some sort of record for me. Well for those of you who haven't been in the Stone household to hear the daily count down, I am done with school next Tuesday. That's right, in less than a week I will be graduated, no longer to spend my evenings sitting in class, or every free moment studying. It's a little wierd, that here this thing I have worked for and looked forward to for so long is actually here. School is all I have talked about or thought about for two years now, and many years before that, so it's almost like, despite all the anticipation, it can't really be over. I'll admit that part of me is a little sad. I really do enjoy school, and I enjoy what I'm learning so much. But, I also look forward to all of the other things that I'll have time for now. School has been the excuse, albeit a valid one, that I have used for years now as to why I don't do some things. It has been my excuse for not working out as much as I should, not reading as much, not keeping up with friends as well as I would like, not cooking as much, not keeping up with the cleaning or the laundry as well as I should, and of course, not blogging very much. I suppose that now I will find out if school really kept me from those things or if it was just an easy excuse. I have been a "student" for so long now, that now it's almost like I can redefine myself and figure out who I am apart from the class and books.

So I have now been rambling for quite a while now, and my intent in starting was just to spread my excitement about school being over in seven days. But, unfortunatley, it's not yet, so I must go study. I must learn some more business law before I can be done.

2007-06-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that it has been almost six months since I last posted. I realize that probably no one still checks this, so I suppose this post is just for me. It's really probably more of a study avoidance tactic, but it's working for the moment.
It's summertime now. The last couple of months it has rained so much and been wonderful, but it is now starting to get warmer. This is always such a disappointing time of year. I know that soon it's going to be blistering hot. I hate it when it's so hot that I get sweaty just by walking from the car to work. It seems like no matter what we do, it's always a little warm, even in the house. But, I suppose the seasons must change. While I dread summer getting here, I look forward to it being over and fall arriving. This fall will bring a lot of changes. I started my last semester of school last week, and will be graduating in August. (I know, it seemed like I was aimlessly plugging away, but the end is actually close.) Also, as I am sure everyone already knows from Michael's blog, we are selling the house and moving, hopefully in that order. We are very excited about downsizing and moving to a smaller place. We are now just hoping that the house will sell in the right time.
It seems funny to me how I have a different mindset during summer, even though it's no different than any other time of the year. I am still working and going to school, but for some reason everything seems different, almost like nothing is quite as pressing as during the year. I don't know if that's because Michael is out of school, and so his laid back attitude is rubbing off on me, or what. Whatever it is, it helps the summer semester, which is much more fast paced and cram packed, seem not quite as bad. The fact that it's about half as long as a usual semester helps also.
Well, that's all I've got for now. The snow cone stand closes in ten minutes, so I must hurry to get one and then continue with my studying. A good ol' peach snow cone is just what I need to spur on the motivation. I guess check back in December. With my track record, that will probably be the next time that I post.

Sense & Sensibility

2007-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Michael and I enjoyed Christmas in Angel Fire with my family. Michael snowboarded, and we all tubed and snow mobiled. It was all a lot of fun. It was nice to be somehwere cold and with snow on the ground. We spent New Years in Ruidoso with Michael's family. It actually snowed quite a bit while we were there. We got to play in the snow a lot. After a few days back at work, I went to Georgia last weekend for Stacy's wedding. It was beautiful and a lot of fun to spend the weekend with her. Now all of my travels are over for a while. School starts next week, which keeps us in town.

To the title: Michael and I have decided to try to read one book together each month this next year. In January, we're going to read Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. She is one of my favorite authors, and that's the only one of hers I haven't read, and Michael is going to be taking a Jane Austen class this semester, so it seemed like a good one to start with. All that to say, we'd like to invite anyone who wants to to join us in reading Sense and Sensibility. Let us know if you're interested.

It's Been a While

2006-12-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog. It's been almost two months since I've posted, so I figure it's about time to post an update. Last week the semester ended. While the semester overall was less demanding than others have been, the last month or so ended up being pretty busy. Between term papers and presentations, and then finals, I was glad to see it all end. We'll see in a few days how I did with it all. Now I have about three weeks off before school starts back again. A point of good news: I think I've worked it out to graduate a semester earlier than I originally thought, which means that I'll probably be done at the end of the summer. Only two more semesters! But enough about school, I try not to think about it too much during the breaks.

Christmas is only a week away, and for the holiday we're going to Angel Fire with my family. It's technically a ski trip, but I don't know for sure if you can call it that when only two people will be skiing. I'm looking forward to having a few days off work, and being somewhere that it actually feels like winter.

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Fun Times

2006-10-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

I had a really great time this weekend. I got to spend time with some old friends that I don't get to see real often. In the picture are my two best friends growing up. From birth through high school we were best friends, then when we graduated we went our separate ways. They both moved to Florida, and since then Marcie's come back to Texas and Stacy is splitting her time between Georgia and Russia. So, we still keep up, but needless to say, we don't get to see each other real often. This summer, though, they both got engaged, and since then they and their families have made the trek back to Denton several times for various things. We've thrown a shower for each of them. The second one was this weekend. The best part about that is that then they're here for the whole weekend, and we get to hang out and have fun. This weekend was such fun, it seemed like old times. The first wedding is in just a few weeks. And the second wedding is in January in Georgia. I'm so excited for both of them.

The sad part, however, is that I've gotten spoiled with seeing them and their families, which are like my own, every month or so. After January, the wedding festivities will be over and we'll probably go back to seeing each other only once a year or so. It's sad that that's what happens. I spent every day growing up with them, and now I'm lucky to see them once a year. I guess that's just what happens when different chapters in life come along. We've all made new friends, all fallen in love, and all are doing different things with our lives. I suppose I should be thankful for that, and should be thankful for times like this weekend when we can get together and enjoy each other's company and remember old times.

Busy Month

2006-10-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

Things have been busier the last week or so. I would use that as the excuse for not having posted in a while, but I don't think I could get away with that, since I'm never very regular with the postings. Work has picked up a little bit. The month of October gets busier. Today was a big deadline, so I spent a lot of the weekend working. And it all falls right at midterm time. I have a midterm Thursday night that I started studying for tonight, and should be studying for now, too. The midterm is in my accounting theory class. Unlike a lot of other classes I've taken, it's much more theoretical (hence the name), and that makes me a little worried about the test. We have spent most nights of class just talking about different theories and principles, things we learned long ago, and debating them. It's been interesting, but it makes it really hard to know what he's going to test over. He could pull anything out that has been said in class. Hopefully I'll do fine, but I still do better studying for more concrete things with right or wrong answers. My other midterm, next Tuesday, will be that way. So it will be another fun weekend of studying for that. But, in another couple of weeks, work and school should slow down again and I can get started writing term papers and can get back into reading novels. I did finally finish David Copperfield, and I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It's long, but it's well worth it. Charles Dickens does such a great job of developing the characters and intertwining them throughout the novel. I will definitely read more Dickens soon. For now, I need to go study accounting theory.

Saturday Night

2006-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a good night. Michael and I are enjoying a quiet evening at home. There's football, pizza, and wine. Things are so busy that we're gone most nights of the week, so I really enjoy evenings like this. Michael is tuning his guitar for church tomorrow. We've both set the studying aside for the time being. Well, I must admit that I haven't opened a school book today. I took the step of taking the book out of my bag and setting it on the table, but that's as far as I've gotten. So far this semester has held up as being less demanding than prior semesters. I'm not having to spend much time studying. I think I'm getting spoiled.

I'm actually having time to do some pleasure reading. Right now, I'm reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, which I think is the longest book I've ever read. I'm 400 pages into it, and only halfway through. I am really enjoying it, though, and don't care if it takes me another month to finish it. This is only the second or third Dickens novel I've read, and I really like him. He wrote so many novels, that there's so much more to read.

In the past, I have gotten bogged down in the really long novels, because with school they take me so long to read, but this is the second one I've read lately. I also read The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This was another novel that Michael suggested, and it was excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it. He wrote several others that I haven't had the opportunity to read, but I've heard they're also excellent.

Reading is truly enjoyable to me, and it's exciting to think that there are so many more good books out there that I haven't read yet. Classic literature encompasses so much, that I feel like I've only just begun in my reading of it. Not to mention the more modern authors that I'm just beginning to discover. There is absolutely a lifetime's worth of enjoyment in this.

I'm going to return to my novel now, after I go down the street to get a snow cone. If anyone who lives near here hasn't discovered the great snow cone stand down the street, you're missing out. Until next time, have a good night.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

2006-09-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

I read a book a couple of weeks ago, on the recommendation of Michael. It was "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. This was the first Kundera novel I had read, and I really liked it. The underlying theme of the novel, and where the title comes from, has been rolling around in my head since I read it. So, I came back to reread the beginning of it and thought that I would share a little of it.

"But is heaviness truly deplorable and lightness splendid?

The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in the love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body. The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfilment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become.

Conversely, the absolute absence of a burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into the heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant.

What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?

Parmenides posed this very question in the sixth century before Christ. He saw the world divided into pairs of opposites: light/darkness, fineness/coarseness, warmth/cold, being/non-being. One half of the opposition he called positive (light, fineness, warmth, being), the other negative. We might find this division into positive and negative poles childishly simple except for one difficulty: which one is positive, weight or lightness?

Parmenides responded: lightness is positive, weight negative.

Was he correct or not? That is the question. The only certainty is: the lightness/weight opposition is the most mysterious, most ambiguous of all."

I think that this is an interesting question. Lightness vs. weight. I don't actually have any insights, I've just been thinking about this. So, if anyone has any thoughts, I'd be curious to hear them

Update

2006-08-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

Yet again, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. So, I'll try to update this now, although I understand if everyone has lost interest by my lack of activity and is no longer checking the site. Since I last posted, summer school ended. It was a tough summer, between school and Michael being gone, but I survived it. I had a month off after summer school, during which I took a little time off work and Michael and I took a much needed vacation (for me, at least...he'd been on vacation all summer). We went to Fredericksburg and San Antonio, and had a great time. I won't bore you will all the details.

We enjoyed a few weeks of being at home with not much going on, then Michael started teaching and got busy. And, this week the semester started for me at UTA. I'm really having trouble getting into the mindset of studying. I'm only taking two classes, which means that I only have class two nights a week. Should be the easiest semester yet. And, after the first week, it seems like that might be right. I may be underestimating things, but I'm having trouble not feeling idle. This is the slow time of year at work, and class seems like it will be less time consuming. I know that I should be thankful for this, but I'm not used to it, so it feels strange. It's been so many years now that I've been in school, and I've always crammed as many hours into the semester as I could and always pushed myself to do as much as I could, that I'm having to resist the urge to run out and add another class to this semester. I know this is ridiculous, but it's almost like I'm having to learn to relax and have free time. I know I have free time between semesters, and it's always wonderful, but I always know it will only last for a couple of weeks. So, as strange as it seems, I'm almost unsure of what to do with a freer schedule.

That's the update. I'm now going to meet Michael for a late dinner after class. Oh, and just to share something exciting, and to rub it into those who have been doing the same to me through countless holidays, spring breaks, and summers (I'm talking about you, Michael), my office decided to close tomorrow and give us another vacation day. So, I have Friday and Monday off, giving me a four day weekend. I'm very excited. If anyone has tomorrow off and wants to do something fun while everyone else has to work, give me a call.

Still Here

2006-07-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, I'm still here. I know it's been a while. The past six weeks or so have gone by pretty fast. I made it through Michael's trip to Germany. It was a lonely time, but there were good friends and family around that made it bearable. And being away from him for a while only makes me realize even more how much I love him. I am so glad to have him back, though. I'm sure you all read about his trip home on his site, but let me just tell you that it was such a great surprise for him to come home a week early. It was wonderful staying with him at the Gaylord, and then having a couple of days off of work and school after he got back. I would definitely cast my vote for him as husband of the year. He always does so much to make me happy. It's nice to have him back and get to enjoy the end of the summer together.

I have been filling my time with work and school. All I can say is that summer school sucks. Whoever thought that cramming thirteen weeks of work into eight weeks was a good idea? In case whoever that was is reading this, it's not a good idea. I'm sure most people reading this have done summer school before, but it's getting toward the end of the semester for me, and I'm getting very unmotivated. It's taking all of the discipline that I have to make myself study. But the countdown has begun. It will all be over soon.

Hopefully I'll be better at this blog, and not wait another six weeks before writing again.

Gibberish

2006-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

I watched a couple rounds of the national spelling bee tonight. I had never heard of a single word that they were asked to spell. That may just say bad things about my education, but can you believe that these are eighth graders spelling these words. (The two finalists are eighth grade girls). I was very impressed. I do wonder, however, how someone can become so passionate about spelling. I understand that everyone has different hobbies, and some people probably think the same thing about things that I'm passionate about, but spelling? And how often will they be able to use these words they're learning, because no one else will understand them. But, to each their own. And I am impressed with their spelling ability.

I saw the strangest pair of shoes that I've ever seen tonight. They were sandal cowboy boots. They weren't the feminine, high-heeled kind, but rather men's shoes. They were true cowboy boots, but were cut off and had an open back. They almost looked like slippers. Maybe you have seen shoes like this before, and maybe you really don't care and think I'm crazy for writing about them, but I thought they were interesting. Obviously, if I'm still thinking about them a couple of hours later. I have clearly had an absolutely thrilling day.

I know these are some random thoughts, but this is what was on my mind, and there wasn't anyone around to share them with. So, there you go, blog world. It's funny how just blogging this makes me feel good, like I've talked to someone, even though no one may ever read this.

Disappointment

2006-05-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

I had made up my mind to embrace my summer, throw caution to the wind, be in school forever, and drop my classes for the summer. I had decided that coming home at 5:00 and sitting outside and reading and relaxing and spending time with friends sounded much better than hurrying to school and studying all the time. So, I was all geared up to have a three month break. It's been a while since I've had a break that long. So I called UTA today to drop my classes, and come to find out, yesterday was the last day to drop classes and get a full refund. (Who would have thought...yesterday was a holiday). If I dropped today, I would loose 20%, which comes out to close to $400. So, as much as I wanted to have a break, I can't waste $400. School is expensive enough without unnecessarily spending more on it. So, at 5:30 today I was sitting in class. It was a big let down, and I was very unprepared for class, both physically and mentally. I didn't even take my bag with me to work this morning. So the books and relaxing will have to wait. I know, however, that this must be the Lord's will, and that he took the decision out of my hands because he knows better. So I am trusting that this summer and these classes will be fine. I definitely know that in a year and a half when I'm able to graduate a semester earlier because I took classes this summer, I'll be really glad and thankful.

I have to send out a big thank you to Chad. I came out of class tonight to a flat tire with a nail sticking out of it. Luckily it wasn't too flat for me to make it home, and Chad was so good to come change it for me and put on my spare. I don't know what I would have done without you, Chad. Some day I'll come see y'all when I don't need a favor. You may get tired of me if I keep coming and asking for favors. Michael's been gone a day and a half and something's already happened, but we can hope that this will be the worst.

He's Gone

2006-05-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well he's gone. I know we'd been planning on this for quite a while, but it all seemed to happen so fast. Suddenly it was 9:30 this morning and time for him to leave. It was hard. There were tears shed, but only briefly. It was hard driving away knowing that he was about to get on a plane and head across the ocean. Luckily there were good friends at home to give me a hug when I got back from the airport. Michael had also left me a present on the counter. (He's so sneaky.) It was a beautiful James Avery cross. (There were more tears shed when I saw this.)

I have talked to him and he did make it through customs, and he should be in the air on his way to Orlando right now, so I guess he's really leaving (yes, I was still holding out hope). But despite that, it's still a good day. It's a wonderful holiday from work. I'm getting to sit here and listen to it thunder outside. And I noticed today that our pretty weeping willow tree in the back yard that I thought for sure the plumbers had killed when they knocked it over, is blooming. It's still kind of lying on its side, but it has beautiful orange flowers on it. So, I may be missing my husband like crazy right now, but I have flowers outside and thunder in the sky. (I'm doing my best to look on the bright side).

Summer?

2006-05-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

I am curious where along the way summer lost all meaning. My summer will be no different from the rest of the year. I will work and go to school during the week, and probably study all weekend. What happened to counting down the days until summer? What happened to spending the summer days lounging in front of the pool, getting a tan, reading lots of good books, and going on vacations? I lost all that when I got a job. Don't adults need breaks during the summer, too? The only benefit I can think of that I'll receive from the summer break is that I won't have to slow down in school zones. And while this will be very enjoyable and will make my drive to work each day much quicker, it doesn't really compare with sleeping in and doing whatever I want with my days.

It's Almost Over

2006-05-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

The countdown has begun. Only two day and two hours until my last final is over. Yea! Then I have two and a half weeks of freedom before is all starts again. There is so much I want to get done in that two weeks, that it's not humanly possible. And the top thing on that list will hopefully take up the whole time. That is, spending time with Michael before he leaves. As the end of the semester is almost here, that means that his leaving is getting closer and closer also. It's like it's looming just over the hill of this semester that I'm almost to the top of. I try not to, but it's hard not to think about it.

Anyways, now I must clear my thoughts and study for a little while longer. I have been studying nonstop since 10:00 yesterday morning, and I'm not really sure that I can learn anything more at this point, but I better at least give it a try. One final tomorrow night, one Tuesday night, then I can set these books aside and pick up the next ones.

Rain

2006-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

I just want to say that I love gloomy days like this, especially when there is a high chance of rain. I love storms and rain, although it still makes me a bit nervous and causes me to go feel the carpet in the library just to make sure it's not wet. But we won't even think about that.

I really wanted to post a picture of a gloomy sky like today's, but I can't seem to figure out how to do that, so everyone will just have to look out their window to enjoy the experience with me.

Freedom

2006-04-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Michael talked about some freedoms in relation to the American Dream that we all share. It reminded of thoughts that I haven't been able to get out of my head all day about something I heard on tv last night and again on the news this morning. They were talking about the political unrest and danger in Africa. I know that this is nothing new, but for some reason hearing it today really stuck with me. I'll admit that I'm not real into politics, so I don't know tons of details, but hearing stories of what is happening to these people is saddening. The one line that keeps sticking in my head is that in doing daily tasks, such as going to get water, the families have to decide who is going to go, because very likely the man will get killed or the woman will get raped. I can't even imagine living a life like that. The other thing that caught my attention was that these people can't think past tomorrow. When asked about next year, or even next week, they say they are just thinking about tomorrow and hoping that they make it until then. I am looking to a year and a half from now of being done with school, and that's nothing to me. I think in terms of months and semesters, rarely doubting that I'll be around tomorrow. Michael is going to be gone all summer, and I don't fear for my life. I go pretty much wherever I want to go without thinking too much on the safety of it.

So, I think that this is another freedom that we have in America. I know that there are plenty of places in America that are unsafe, and maybe I need to open my eyes to them, but we do not face anything like so many others outside of America face.

2006-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

So, here we go. My wonderful husband (I would put a link to his site, but I don't know how to, plus anyone that's reading this must have found it from his site) started this blog for me and posted the first comment, so it's my turn now. I was never really interested in starting my own blog, but I really enjoy reading everyone else's, and people have been badgering me to start my own, so I guess it's time. I really don't know how good I'll be at posting and keeping up with it, but I've heard other people say the same thing who now post daily. I don't really know what this will be like, since I don't have kids to post pictures of, and I'm not as philosophical as Michael, but for anyone that wants a glimpse into my day, this is it.
First off, I must refute the comment made by my husband. I am not a math nerd. Just because I can do long division and add numbers in my head doesn't make me a nerd.
Okay, my lunch break is over, so I must return to work. I'll post again sometime.

I'm a Nerd

2006-04-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

My name is Julie, I'm a math nerd. Welcome to my world