State Certification Exam

Well, I took my Life and Health State Certification test today. I needed a 70% in order to pass. (It's a hard test!) After 2 hours of testing with only a 3-minute stretch break, I finished the test with a 78%. I thought "Yay, I guess I did pretty good." So after I left the testing room, I asked one of the staff if people usually pass the Life and Health exam on the first go and she laughed at me and said no. So I guess I did better than I initially thought! While I was there, there were several other people testing for it; only one that I know of also passed the test, and she passed with a 71%. Even my new boss said he had to take it twice. :P I may sound boastful, but I'm proud of myself; I studied hard for this exam and I'm glad it paid off. :)

So, I got fingerprinted, applied for my license from the state, paid some more money, and am now (I think) fully hired on at Beneficial Financial! (I still have to turn in my contract, they told me not to stress about it until after I had finished the test.) I'm going to talk to them tomorrow and find out when they want me to start coming into the office. Be aware, I might be calling you soon to help me get some clientele so me and Dawni can afford our cabbage soup for dinner! ;) (If you really are interested in setting up something for retirement in an IRA, Roth IRA, or a Whole Life Insurance policy (it functions like a retirement account + life insurance; you can take money out when you need it later in life), or just insurance on yourselves to help protect your kids (for those of you that have them), please let me know as I'd love to get some stuff set up early. It would help me and Dawni out a lot, as they say the first year or two is always the hardest to survive in this business.)

Oh, and someone told me last night while we were up in Morgan to ask Dad (father-in-law Dad) how many times he had to take the CPA exam, cause I was nervous I wouldn't pass this test. I'm guessing he had to take it more than once?

-Zach

Holiday Baking

I love baking for the different holidays (like you could see with my cookies on Halloween ^_^) These are the Christmas cookies that I made for the 2 family parties that we went to this year. I think they turned out great. They were really easy to make and were fun to bring to the parties :)

My New Car!!!

This is my new car :) It is a 2003 Honda Civic. We got it at the Auto Auction for a steal. The only thing that we can see wrong with it is the scratch on the front bumper and it looks like someone tried to steal the cd player but it it just a scratch as well :)


I love it :) The only thing is now I have to learn how to drive a stick shift. I am getting better every day at it and building my confidence. It will be a good family car and last a long time.

Yay for Graduation!!!

Zach graduated from Weber State University on December 12. He now has his Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He is done with college for now, until he goes back for his MBA but that will be after a well deserved rest.

This is him walking down to go to his seat. We were sitting right across from where he sat. (that was by chance because we were told wrong where he was going to march in from. It worked out better though, I think)

Sorry for the dark picture, the lighting was terrible. Here he is standing with his fellow graduates.

Walking back to his seat after he received his diploma. I think this is the best picture of him

Him with my mom. My dad was out of town on business or he would have been there as well.

Me giving my graduate a kiss :)

Zach and his family.

Hurray for the Graduate.

6 Quirks

I was tagged by Camille a while ago. Sorry I’m a slacker.

1. I have to have all my money facing the same way. When ever I get change at any store I have to put it from largest to smallest bill. I face Zach's wallet sometimes as well. When I tellered at America First I always had to have the bills not just face up, but having all the faces going the same way. I even had to face all the money in the vault when I was in charge of the money in there. I blame it on working at Jubilee. That is when this obsession started.

2. I hate folding socks. I don't know why, but that is always the last thing that I fold. Sometimes I even let them sit a few weeks before I get to them.

3. I don't like taking baths. It grosses me out to think that I am sitting in my own filth in the water. If I take a bubble bath or just need to soak in a warm bath for some reason, I have to shower first so I know I'm clean.

4. I always am early to things. I always over estimate how long it is going to take me to get ready, then I am sitting around until it is time to leave the house. I would rather show up early and sit in my car in the parking lot than show up late. (Zach is the one that usually makes us late to things. He knows exactly how much time it takes him to get ready and he waits until the last minute to start. It drives me crazy sometimes)

5. I have to have the TV on when I am alone in the house. I hate being alone and I guess that makes me feel like I'm not alone or something. I just have to have the noise.

6. At work, I have to have all my windows open in the same order every day. If one of my tab things on the bottom of the screen is out of order it drives me crazy. To the point that if one of my windows has to close for some reason, and it isn't that much of a hassle, I have to close and reopen all my windows to make them in the right order.

So there is all you ever you wanted to know about me, and maybe a little bit more ^_^
I tag Sherry, Natalie G., Michele, Denise, and Janell.

Beneficial Financial Group

Many of you know that I've been interviewing with Beneficial Financial Group for over a month now. Well, as of today I now have a new job. :) I begin my training on Monday, and they hope to have me through most of my training by the first of the year. Both Dawni and I are excited for this opportunity.

So, if any of you are thinking of investing, retirement accounts, or insurance, give me a call soon. My living will be based on the clientele I help, so if you have any friends that might be interested, please pass the word on! :) They say the first year is always the hardest, but I'm ready to go for it!

-Zach

(BTW, I'm still planning on working at the shop part-time for a bit, so still come in and say hi!)

First time

Last night when we were coming home from a friend's house, it was after midnight. We were by the new Chevron there on Park Lane (the street you go on to get to Lagoon Dr.) and I saw a car slow down, going the opposite direction for a deer to cross the road. I was pointing out that deer to Zach, and when I looked back there was one right in front of me. Yes, I hit it. It was the first time I have ever hit a deer and only the second time that I have ever hit an animal in the road. I was so greatful to have Zach there to help calm me down. The girl that had slowed down for the other deer came to help us and see if we were ok. Luckly, neither of us were hurt and there was very little damage to my car...

There is a small dent in the fender next to my door. As you can see I scared the poop out of the deer that I hit :)

There is also two small dents in the front end of my fender.

The door creaks when you open it a little so we think all we need to do is shift the fender back up, since the deer pushed it back, and hammer out the larger dent near the back of the wheelwell with a rubber mallet. These are the times I am greatful to have a mechanic in the family. As for the deer, all I did was break its hind legs. It was sad to see it struggle to get up to reach its family (the other deer that crossed the road before her). We had to call the police to come and put her out of her missery. It was hard, even though I hit it, to watch the officer shoot her on the side of the road but we couldn't let her suffer.

So, there is my long story of the night. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well after that :)