Where has the time gone?

So far, 2011 has been a whirlwind of activity. It seems like just yesterday I was heading off to Topeka for my first job of the busy season. I guess time sure does fly when you're AUDITING LIKE CRAZY!

There are many positive qualities about my job. First of all, you have the name (which, for my own sanity, I'm not going to mention). When I tell people where I work I get a generally good response. Things like "wow", "that's awesome", "lucky you", or more often than not, "what is that?".

Most of the year I do consider myself to be quite lucky. My job has put me in a position to learn about many different companies, get into the nitty-gritty of financial statements, the networking opportunities are outstanding. What could be the problem?

I just don't think I'm cut out for this work for the long haul. I want a family. I want a life. While I get decent flexibility the majority of the year, for the 3 months that are dubbed "busy season" my life is a seemingly endless, miserable, black hole.

I hope that the coming months brighten my attitude. Maybe this was just an especially brutal busy season? It could be the new role I was in, the pressure of studying for my exam (one more left!), working 80 hours a week. It's hard to narrow it down, really.

On a much more uplifting note, now that busy season has officially ended, I am allowed to take VACATION! Starting tomorrow, Ryan and I are off to the Cowboy State! I'm so excited to visit Wyoming! It will be nice going there with Ryan too, since he was born there and all. It will be like my own personal tour guide!

We have quite a bit on our list of things to-do:

• 12 hour drive from KC to Deadwood, SD where we'll stay the night
• Next morning, off to see Devil's Tower. I've been here before, but it's been SO LONG ago I barely remember. Plus, it was during my "I'm-too-cool-for-sight-seeing-because-I'm-14-and-know-everything" phase. I've found it's actually quite nice visiting these places again, now that I'm older and have more appreciation.

• After Devil's Tower we'll be touring a couple small towns where Ryan lived throughout his childhood - Gillette and Sheridan
• Next, we're making our way to Thermopolis. We'll only be here one night most likely. Should be fun though - I've never been in a natural hot spring before!
• For the next few days we'll be staying in Jackson Hole. We got an amazing deal on a resort hotel nestled in the mountains! I can't wait! (This is our hotel)
• From Jackson Hole, we'll head back East to Casper. Ryan still has quite a bit of family in this area, so we'll be doing the family thing for a couple days before making the 12 hour drive back.

Here's a pictorial view for those of you that like that sort of thing

About 2,400 miles round trip!!

I've recently learned that the winter season lags on a little longer in Wyoming, much to my dismay. Unfortunately, this means we won't be visiting Yellowstone. I guess the roads are all closed until the middle of May because of snow! YIKES!

However, I won't let a little snow ruin my time. And truth be told, I think the mountain setting would look quite nice with a little snow around!

I will be sure to post pictures once we're back!

I've Missed You - Part 2

Those words sound familiar, huh! I can't believe I haven't posted since November! Well, actually I can. Remember that "Work-Life Balance" calculator from my "About" page? Back in August, I input my "life" into the calculator to see how things fell out. Based on that, I had about 16.5 unplanned hours. At that time, I felt that 16.5 hours was a bit of a stretch. What I'd give now for 16.5 unplanned hours!

Since October I have been in what seems like a constant busy season. Typically, we are busiest from January through April. Contrary to popular belief, my busy-ness is not due to taxes whatsoever. It is purely due to the fact that TONS of companies have a 12/31 year end. My company audits those financial statements. However, my busy-ness has carried on for months now. Due to being short staffed and the numerous "quality" changes that we had to implement my schedule went from a typical 40-45 hour week to a 50-55 hour week, during the off time. Fast forward to busy season...Consider the same set backs (short staff, improved quality measures) and add to that shorter timelines for your audit turnaround and multiple jobs going on at once. You know what that equals? NO TIME. Then, go an extra mile and add to that studying for the CPA Exam and you get me - very tired, very burnt out. It kind of sucks.

Just for fun I went back and filled out the "Work-Life Balance" calculator based off my schedule from last week and here's the result:


Yep - that's right. I'm somehow wrong in my calculations because it says I'm doing more in a week than physically possible. Lumped into the "Chores" section is basic daily routine for showering/getting dressed for work and the night time routine for getting ready for bed, as well as study time.

Maybe I'm overestimating the time I sleep or eat. Luckily my boyfriend has been handling the cooking and cleaning the past few weeks, so that helps dramatically. Unfortunately the "work" hours are correct. My "Time & Expense" tracking software at work shows that I have worked 480 hours since January 3rd, 77 of which occurred last week. Over the 8 week period, that's an average of 60 hours a week. While that may or may not seem like a lot, believe me, it's enough to burn you out, especially when trying to study on top of that.

Good news is that I take my exam on Monday, the 28th. Hopefully I've managed to squeeze enough study time out of the past few weeks to enable me to pass. After that I will just be down to the typical busy season hours for about another month until busy season is OVER!!

After I take that exam I plan to post some things that will seem out of date, like my Christmas goodies that I never got around to getting on here. So while they may seem irrelevant, I still want to share them! I can't wait to get back to my life and enjoying my hobbies again!

I've missed you!

Hello Blog World!


I know I have been pretty terrible at updating my blog lately. The combination of working (out of town, nonetheless) and studying for my next exam has left me with approximately 5 minutes of free time each day. I promise I will be back in action beginning the week of Thanksgiving! I have many posts planned and will have much more free time to crank them out! Love you all!


Sincerely,
Bailey

Spicy Broccoli Pasta

Hey There!

As you probably know I've been working out of town the past couple weeks. Well I have training today in my office so I came back last night to save myself an early morning commute. Since I've been gone so much lately I have hardly any food at my apartment. So for dinner last night, I had to improvise.

I looked in the pantry and fridge and saw that I had some pasta, some frozen broccoli and some parmesan cheese and though oooh! I know what I can make! Awhile back I saw a recipe for spicy broccoli pasta and decided to try it out. It's a simple recipe and doesn't take very long to cook! I love spicy food, so I added some red pepper flakes, however, you can adjust the spice level to your tastes!

Spicy Broccoli Pasta
1 lb. broccoli (preferrably fresh, but frozen will work if you're in a pinch)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb. pasta, cooked  
Hot Sauce, to taste - a few drops (My Favorite is Sriracha)
Parmesan for sprinkling on top

Cook broccoli in boiling water, 3-5 minutes until just tender**.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic.  Cook over medium heat until just golden, about 2 minutes.  Add drained broccoli and red pepper flakes, and cook 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add hot sauce to cooked pasta.  Toss and serve.

**If you're using frozen broccoli, skip this step. Just warm it up and toss it in the pan and saute with the garlic.

(Ignore my messy stovetop!!)

And here's the finished product!

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

So fast and so easy! It was ready in about 15 minutes and tastes yummy! It did make quite a bit, but you can store for a couple days in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy!!

Sincerely,
Bailey