CPA

Today Matthew officially becomes a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and I am SO proud of him! 

If you remember during the summer of 2014 Matthew was among the first class at Tennessee Tech to take the "fast pass" and studied and sat for all four parts, and passed every one of them on the first try. He ended up being the only one from that class to pass all four parts that summer. It didn't come easy, and he sacrificed a lot of events that summer to study for them. He was studying anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week. We had many library date nights, celebrated with ice cream each time he passed a part and celebrated big when he got his last score in. It was a crazy, busy summer but it was worth it and I know he is SO relieved to have that behind him. If you aren't familiar with how intense the CPA exams are, most people have compared them to sitting for the bar.

So yes, we will CELEBRATE today! We started with breakfast this morning and will continue for dinner tonight before church. I ran by Panera yesterday morning and got his favorite bagel and kept it in a sealed zip lock bag to keep it fresh until this morning, because I knew if I tried to leave the apartment early this morning he would have known exactly what I was doing lol. 

I printed these off yesterday and taped them to some books this morning while he was getting ready for work...so creative, I know ;) 

Cinnamon crunch bagels toasted from Panera with plain cream cheese is his absolute favorite! And starting today he gets to add CPA to his title! We will be needing to get him some updated business cards!

Today is a big day full of celebrations in the Coats' apartment, and I am one proud wife!!

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CPA

Recruiting Season

Not for me but for Matthew. If your haven't been around in awhile or are new around here, let me catch you up! Matthew will be graduating in December (74 days to be exact) with his MBA in accounting. So the search has been on for a job and the interviews started a couple of weeks ago! He is doing great so far and interviewing with a lot of potential companies. It's SO exciting but SO nerve-wracking.   The other day we were talking and he told me we were going to have to sit down at the end of the interview process and talk about all of the companies and what all they have to offer. To be honest, I was a little shocked I was going to be included in the decision making process. Not that he doesn't include me in everything, but I just assumed he would make the decision. Now, he will make the final decision, obviously because this is HIS career, but he wants my opinion and I really appreciated that! He never ceases to amaze me with his thoughtfulness.   His/our decision is a huge deal! It's where he will work, where we will live (after we are married, it's not a secret that we want to get married y'all ;) ), what opportunities he will have to climb the ladder, etc. So, I am excited but also really nervous! The firms that look like they have potential so far have offices in Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, and Atlanta. He is still on the front end of this process so it's pretty surreal knowing that in a month or so we could know where we will end up!   It's also a little bittersweet knowing that Matthew is graduating in December and moving to where ever he gets a job. My plan is to stay in Cookeville until we get married but I honestly don't want to think about us not living in Cookeville. Just thinking about moving from here gets me all kinds of emotional. This town hold SO much. So many people and things that are near and dear to us. It is going to break my heart moving away from here and leaving everyone/everything, but who knows we may end up back in good ole Cookeville when we retire ;)   I am SO proud of Matthew. He has handled himself very well throughout his stressful process and I know he will continue to do so. I have so much respect for that good lookin' man and not to mention love ;) I know he is going to make the right decision in whichever firm he chooses. If you don't mind saying a prayer for him through this stressful process, we'd appreciate it :)                                                      

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Recruiting Season

6 ways to encourage & support your significant other




Today starts a big day for Matthew. Well the beginning of this year did actually. Matthew starts the MBA program at Tech today.Not only is he starting the MBA program and taking a FULL load but has been and will continue to study and sit for all four parts of the CPA exam. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see him reach all his goals and Lord willing I will be able to do so by his side. With that being said I want to make sure I encourage him and support him in every way I can and not just in this next year but always. Sometimes I worry about this, maybe I'm not doing enough or maybe I am adding to his already stressed days. So with all that being said I have been thinking of some ways to help support and encourage him. No we are not married and no we are not engaged but I think it is important for people to encourage and support their boyfriend/girlfriend even before engagement and marriage. Many people just want to be in a relationship but they don't understand what all a relationship involves. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my relationship with Matthew for a single thing in this world but it takes work and commitment. I know marriage takes a lot more and there is a lot more involved with marriage but I believe relationships take work and effort as well. It prepares you for marriage in some ways. Just like I believe you can't REALLY know someone in just a year or two and then decide to get married without running into complications, this coming May will mark 4 years with Matthew and to this day I am still learning different things about him, but that's for another post and day! After thinking about all of this I have decided that I want to do something small for Matthew at least once a week. I don't really want to put a limit on this but I know that some weeks will be busier than others so I might not get the chance to do more than one thing a week.   Here are just a few different ways to encourage/support/show that you care or are thinking of him without breaking the bank.   1.Pray for them Prayer is huge.The first thing I do when my alarm goes off is pray for Matthew. I pray for his day, I pray he doesn't get too stressed out and I pray he feels encouraged not only by me but by others and I pray for his studies and tests if he has any that day.   2. Notes.  If you don't want to spend money this is probably the easiest and cheapest thing you can do to encourage your significant other and it doesn't take but maybe 5-10 minutes! Just write a small note to encourage them, thank them for being a great example, tell them that you appreciate them and love them, etc. I left Matthew a note in his book he was studying out of a couple of weeks ago and just let him find it when he was studying and he really appreciated it. Of course I was DYING for him to hurry and find it and when he did I was just about as happy as a kid in a candy store.   3. Listen. Sometimes I just need to sit there and listen about his day without interrupting or waiting for him to finish his sentence so I can tell him about mine. So just sit there and listen, REALLY listen. No phones, no computer and no TV distracting you and respond back at the appropriate time with heartfelt responses.   4.Tell them you appreciate them. You could write this in their note but nothing says I love you more than telling them in person that you appreciate them and all the hard work they are doing.   5. Take care of dinner Matthew will be spending his days this year 1.) In class 2.) Working on campus 3.) Studying for classes + the CPA exam's so he's not going to have much free time. I have been working on meal planning for the up coming week on Saturday or Sunday nights. We usually eat dinner together every night either at my apt or his apt. So I need to focus on what we are going to have for dinner more instead of relying on him to do it. No, I'm not his mom or wife and yes, he is very capable of fixing his own meals but it will take some stress away if I can help in that department more.   6. Be their biggest fan Let them know that you support them and their goals. Celebrate different milestones/accomplishments together. Whether it be passing a test or the class or getting a GA position. When Matthew found out he had been offered a Graduate Assistantship position at Tech we celebrated with dinner and a movie but you don't always have to do dinner and a movie to celebrate. There are plenty of things to do such as getting frozen yogurt, movie night at you apt/house, making their favorite dessert, etc.   I am so proud of Matthew and I can't wait to be able to continue encouraging/supporting him in the future for all of the milestones he will come to. I am always looking for new ways to encourage/support him so if you have any ideas let me know!! :) Happy Thursday friends! 

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6 ways to encourage & support your significant other