It is finished!

I'd like to officially announce that as of Tuesday, April 14th, 2009, I have passed my national examination to be certified in Speech-Language Pathology! No more testing for me!!! Praise the Lord for giving me the endurance to get through those grueling months of studying before the exam and the grace for the areas I didn't have enough time to study!! I am so relieved to have these results because after taking the exam I felt totally defeated. It was definitely the most challenging exam I've ever taken. The hardest part though was waiting a month to get the results. So, I just want to encourage all of you girls who are taking the exam next weekend. It's going to be hard, but you know more than you think! The questions are tricky but go with your gut instinct. I would also advise you not to get too hung up on any particular problem because the test took me the entire allotted time. It's important to keep chugging along and make sure you have filled in every bubble before the proctor says "pencils down". Lastly, most likely you will feel like you did horrible after the exam (like I said, it's hard and you will see questions and ask yourself, "Am I in the right testing room because this doesn't look like anything I've seen before??!!"), however try to relax and not fret about the results. Most likely, you'll find that you did better than you thought and remember you just have to pass it, no need for flying colors!! Good Luck to anyone who is testing next weekend and remember to get plenty of sleep the night before and rest your mind the evening before (it's not gonna help to cram last minute!!).

Also, I would like to announce that I made a successful dinner for 4 last night! As most of you know, I am a little challenged when it comes to the kitchen. I wasn't raised like many of my girlfriends to cook so it doesn't come naturally for me. My sweet mommy spoiled me just enough that I didn't have to help cook which turned out to be a blessing and a curse. Anyway, I got motivated by some of my girlfriends who are little Martha Stewarts (Molly and Kelsey particularly) to try to cook a meal instead of getting it catered once again. Molly gave me a recipe for "Poppyseed Chicken Casserole" and walked me through each step in preparing it. I will admit I almost gave up about halfway into the process. Seriously, I was yelling at Ross to get on the phone and order a pizza, but he just encouraged me to keep working at it. Alas, it turned out and was actually delicious! You can ask the Ayers' if you don't believe me. They even took seconds! I was delighted! I forgot to take a picture, but I served the casserole, a cranberry spring mix salad, and crescent rolls. I might even try it again sometime, but not for awhile. Cooking is exhausting!!! :)

I am so excited for this weekend! I'm flying to St. Louis again and this time I get to see my sisky-wisky, my cousin Kate, and our moms. Kate, Dana, and I are running in the Go! St. Louis 5K on Saturday! I will update you on that after the weekend!!