Kirsten Cooley, CPA

Yep, that's right! I got my audit exam score today...AND...I passed!!! Finally, all 4 CPA exams are OVER! Time to celebrate! Read more...

Relaxation

I took today off to relax and recoup from my hellish past few weeks. I slept in til 9, took the pups for a nice, long walk, hopped in the shower, and had a delish lunch at Potbelley's with Tanner and Jairus. Since they were headed to Redskins park (which I feel has an unwritten rule that forbids women) I thought I would head to one of my favorite Ashburn nail salons for a chair massage and pedi/mani.

It usually is a great place to relax and read a book. Unfortunately for me, new nail technician, we'll call her Alexis, thought it was a time for conversation. In the midst of her upselling she managed to cut my freaking toe with her little cuticle cutter. I wanted to bust out some tears it hurt so bad. Then the whole rest of the time she was trying to control the bleeding that would not stop which managed to overshadow the whole relaxing experience. All the time smiling trying to pretend it didn't happen.

That should have been my cue to leave...but stupid me moved me and my belongings to the manicure station. At this location she not only managed to give me the crappiest french manicure but to also tell me about some really depressing experiences from her life. I did not know how to respond to this. Uh, I'm sorry your life sucks but I came here to relax, lady. The only positive that came out if this appointment was the interesting compliment I got, "If you were this beautiful in my country you would have many rich boyfriends and husbands." Read more...

My All-Time Favorite Redskins Videos

Here is about ten minutes of classic slash funny video provided by Dan Steinberg and Tanner. If I am ever having a crappy day these are some of my go-to's.

Bobos - Dan Steinberg interviews some Redskins

Vladimir interviews Kenny Mayne

Redskins blogger Matt Terl keeps Chris Cooley Dry

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Undue Stress

As some of you may already know I have spent the past year and a half studying, sitting for, passing, failing, and re-taking the 4 painstakingly awful CPA exams that are required by my job. They have pretty much taken over every aspect of my life of which I am definitely not proud to admit :( Fortunately all of my hardwork has paid off and I have currently passed 3 out of the 4 nasty beasts.

I wish I could say - as of July 1st at 11 AM when I walked out of the testing center after taking the long and dreadful final section - that the CPA exam has no longer been a part of my daily life. I really, really do wish I could say that, but that my friends, would be a lie.

Whether or not I passed has been a burning question in my mind day in and day out and day in and day out and day in and day out....why?...you say. Well the biggest reason is because I have something a little more than pride riding on that score being 75 or higher and that something is a pretty spectacular bonus provided by EY.

You all know that feeling of expecting some important news online or in the mail...Everyday you have to talk yourself into walking to the mailbox and once you get there all of these thoughts come gushing into your mind and you sort of want to run away when that rush of adrenaline and intense panic comes across you and your heart feels like its going to beat of your chest. You know it...you know it well.

One of the many downfalls of the whole CPA exam experience is that they don't tell you when your score is coming. It can take prettymuch anywhere between 3 & 12 weeks give or take a few days. The VA Board of Accountancy, on a much larger scale, is following the cruel practice of the cable guy/delivery service/plumber when he gives you a timeframe for service anytime between the hours of 7 AM & 7 PM. And just like with the evil service guy you are given no warning of arrival, that score can be online at any time. So the moment I felt I had given the VA BOA a reasonable amount of time to calculate my score I found myself on their website multiple times a day in hopes to give my anxiety ridden being some relief. Since I have become unnaturally obsessed with knowing that score I had to limit myself to checking only on Fridays. Plus having that anxious feeling multiple times a day every single day is just not healthy.

I began to think that maybe something was wrong with the VA BOA website so yesterday I decided to pick up the phone and call them. Oh...no...here it comes....awful, anxious, want-to-crawl-out-of-my-skin feeling and the lady on the other line was so calm and collected when she told me she hadn't received my score. I told her that my friend took the exact same exam on the exact same date (July 1st) and she had already received her score. We are still waiting for another wave of scores, by the way we still haven't received our August scores, she said in a slow well thought out tone. At this point I wanted to climb through the phone and strangle her but before I did that I would say come on lady I've been waiting painfully since July 1st let's get a move on.

Here I am on day 75 starting to think that maybe something happened with my test and beginning to lose that positive attitude that believes that I passed. So, please everyone cross your fingers with me in hopes that tomorrow I will finally receive my score...oh ya, please also hope that I passed. Read more...

Proud Wife :)

Story by JC on Stetsport.com
Tanner Cooley: Smartest Man in DC

Plenty of all-star caliber athletes have siblings that are known solely for being the siblings of all-stars. But Tanner Cooley is something different. Something suddenly and disarmingly smart enough that we not only know who he is, but care about him being more than the bridge between the world and Chris Cooley.

It started with his playing the background on blog posts and youtube throw-off videos. Now he’s hosting radio shows and blogging for Maxim?

And it’s not that he takes the attention that comes his way as a result of his blood relation to a Pro Bowl tight end. It’s that he takes the attention and makes it into his own. He is making his own brand as an irreverent, humorous champion for college freshmen and sophomoric 30-somethings who love to be distracted at work. No matter what happens with Chris Cooley, be it a subpar season, a trade, or a career-ending injury, TC has positioned himself to be as much of a media savvy personality as his brother has.

And that’s how you make big opportunities out of very little effort.

Tanner Cooley, you are the man, sir. I may not endorse the team for which your brother plays, but I respect the hustle that you and your brother put in to create a vision beyond this season or this town.

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Wanna take a shower with your clothes on?

A quote by Eric as he got off White Water Canyon at Kings Dominion. I chose to sit with Eric's bag of prizes and Liz and Allison's purses since I really hate getting wet at themeparks. Apparently I was the smart one...because these guys looked miserable when they walked down the sidewalk toward me.

I loved today...it was such a great release to scream my head off on roller coasters after my 80-hour work week. I loved spending all day with Tanner and now I am listening to him on the radio. I loved people watching (an intense sport at themeparks)...although I did feel pretty out of place since I own a toothbrush. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful summer day and there's no doubt that I'll be back since we only hit like 1/10th of the park.

Tanner is up there...272 feet in the air getting ready for his 72 mph drop!!!

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The Cole's take on DC.

I am terrible and haven't posted any photos from when the fam came to DC. So for now enjoy what my sister created on her blog...courteneycole.blogspot.com Read more...

Our Traina-Filled Summer

We've had some good times with the Jen & Blake Traina this summer. An old favorite of theirs and a new favorite of ours, Los Tolteco's, has become a weekly occurrence for the four of us. We've spent many margarita and sun-filled afternoons hanging out on the patio. Here we are at the Virginia Wine Festival. There was about 30 Virginia wineries tasting booths in the middle of nowhere in Roundhill, VA. We had a great night as official taste testers and wine connoisseurs. I would have to say one of the highlights of the night was hitting McD's on the way home. Wine & McDonalds the perfect combination...

We spent last weekend in the Shenandoah Valley at Martha & Keith's cabin in Bryce. It was so relaxing and wonderful to spend the weekend with friends without any responsibilities. We stayed up late, slept in, ate a late breakfast on the deck, and drove around the beautiful, historic town making pit-stops at all the cute little wineries.

Yay for new friends and for many more memorable moments to come. Read more...

CFWO intermission

I got home from a long day of work and play on Friday night and started to undress to put on my pj's...and I caught a glance of myself in the mirror...and my arms were ENORMOUS. Apparently over the course of the day under the sleeves of my tiny pink sweater my upper arms had been growing exponentially. I could not stop staring at and examining them and I was suddenly wishing Tanner hadn't stopped off at the store.

When Tyler and Tanner did get home I ran down the stairs to show them. Tyler thought I was allergic to bees and had been stung by them continuously. Nope not the case Tyler, I just have the case of the swolls from my crossfit workouts on Wednesday and Friday. None of us had ever seen anything like it. I felt so nasty and I was in so much pain. The swelling is slowly going down but its two days later and I am still icing and covering up in sweaters which I am having a difficult time stretching over my massive, creepy arms. Pull ups are definitely not my friend after this turn of events. Read more...

Summer Time 09 Part Uno

Tanner: Remember when we went to Mount Vernon?

Kirsten: Ya, I do, why?
Tanner: Just making sure. That was fun.

We've had some seriously fun summer activities sans studying (if you can believe it) and no one else has been able to enjoy them because I haven't been blogging! I haven't been taking very many pictures either so this post may seem pretty lame but I just want to write down some memorable moments.

....last sunday july 26 - Mount Vernon awaited us. We woke up late Sunday morning and the weather was pretty crappy and we were both like, We want to do something today. So we did. We packed ourselves up for the one hour drive to GW's old house. It ended up being a hella hot day spent standing in line for 2 hours but we loved it anyway.

wednesday july 29 - happy hour with 19th and w - This group of guys is one-of-a-kind. Tanner had already been hanging out at Clyde's for a few hours when I showed up after work. The night was spent listening to their crazy stories and planning future vacations to create more crazy stories.

thursday july 30 - wine tasting party at Martha's - Do I really want to tell this story? Yeah! Nancy's friend Martha joined a pyramid scheme selling wines from Napa Valley. Whoever thought this up is genius. Wine up your friends and sell oodles of wine and have them sign up to host their own parties all while having a good time.

friday july 31 - crab feast - The Espejo's had us over for our very first fresh crab feast. This dinner didn't come easy, we had to work for every ounce of crab and mussels that we devoured. So it wasn't surprising to find that we were pretty tempted by the kid's food (pizza and mac and cheese) that was prepared in the kitchen when our dinner was over.

saturday aug 1 - training camp in the heat, Los Tolteco's for margs and dinner (a new...what's it called? You know, you do it every week or every year? tanner: annually? No you do it by holidays and with your family....TRADITION!), then listening to tanner's radio show...the Sports Hub.

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