Back to School Update

Hey, I just remembered I have a blog!  Actually even though it has been 2 months since I posted anything, I have actually been writing posts in my head all the time.  The problem was sitting down and actually writing them.  My chaos that I couldn't talk about before is continuing but it is becoming more routine so that shouldn't interfere so much any more.  Summer in general is kind of crazy which is funny because it is really only Kayleigh's schedule that changes but that seems to throw the whole household routine off.  And the worst part is just as I start to adjust, she goes back to school!

So, the ongoing process of getting my Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation.  I had planned to study about 6-8 weeks for the first part, take the exam, study for the second part, take that exam, etc. After studying about 5 weeks for the first part I was feeling pretty good about it so I decided to schedule the exam.  I was hoping to take it within the next 2-3 weeks.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any openings for almost 2 months.  I was horrified.  After freaking out for a couple days, I decided to move on to studying for part 2.  Now that I knew the time slots filled up fast, I went ahead and scheduled the second exam for 2 weeks after the first.

From the beginning I had mapped out my studying day-by-day to keep me on track and that became really important now that I was studying for two parts at once.  I ended up completing my study units for part 2, two weeks before my part 1 exam.  So at that point I switched back to reviewing part 1.  My study materials said that only 57% of the people pass the individual parts on the first try so that bumped my nerves to a whole new level!  I am happy to say that I passed part 1 on the first try.  I was so nervous and then so relieved, only to be followed by being nervous about the next part!

After I passed the first part, my co-workers got me a fruit bouquet and balloons which was fantastic.  I couldn't stop smiling for days.  I quickly realized that I had part 2 coming up in less than 2 weeks though, so had to come back down to earth and continue studying.  I passed part 2 on my first try as well.  I really can't believe it because I did not feel very confident.  I followed the study guide exactly how they suggested and I'm convinced that was the secret.  Shortly after passing part 2, we went on vacation so I haven't started studying for the third and final part yet.  I plan to start tomorrow.  Part 3 contains a lot more material (20 chapters in the study guide as opposed to 7 in the previous) so I'm feeling a little intimidated.  I'm sure I'll feel better once I jump into it though.

So I am living proof that you can do anything you put your mind to if you truly commit to it.  I had plenty of moments of doubt through the process but even though I haven't had to study for the past 20 years or so, I was able to get back in that mindset and do what I needed to do.

In a similar fashion, my husband just did something much larger than anything he did in the past as well.  We just got back from 10 days in Wisconsin where he competed in the Tour of America's Dairyland.  You can go here for their website and here for the Facebook updates if you are interested in more information. I have several posts planned about the competition in general and also what we did to plan for the trip, what we ate, and how Kayleigh and I fit in exercise around his races.  I'll give you a sneak preview though and tell you that he got first place overall for the 45+ Masters Category 3/4.  It was so exciting and, at least for me, completely unexpected.

Bill with Greg Hayes and Ross Giese

Masters 45+ Cat 3 & 4