Valerie is a weekly Club 75 Blogger as she documents her journey through the CPA Exam. She has been a member of  Club 75 since December 2010.

I wanted to shout it from the roof tops and change all my email signatures so everyone would know that I was finally a CPA! But even after all that hard work, I still had a few things to do before I could officially call myself a CPA.

Word of Advice, don't go into this application process blindly. You don't want to loose the application fee because of a stupid mistake! I utilized the Roger CPA Review website and Another71.com for helpful hints since they helped me pass FAR.

The Ethics exam came first. I used the AICPA's CD course and listened to the slides once through and had the PDF's as reference material during the test. While the Ethics exam is a piece of cake compared to any part of the CPA exam, it is smart to at least look through the course at least once. Some of the questions are common sense while other require some knowledge or research.

The application was the next thing I tackled, and this was way more complicated and time consuming than I originally thought! I think the NASBA website was really helpful with what needs to be filled out and what other information is required.

Don't wait for the forms to come in the mail! I passed in September and still haven't received anything… I think things got a little complicated for me because my work experience was in Texas, but I am applying for my license in Colorado, so I had to get things from my old work and had to get verification of the CPAs I worked under.

I finally got all my stuff together and submitted it and didn't hear anything for about a month. I then got an email saying I forgot a job description and had 30 days to get that in or I would forfeit my application fee and have to resubmit everything. Of course I got it in that day! Then they told me about a week more of review and then if everything checks out I should get my certificate!

It is a long process but I can see the light at the end of the tunnell and am so excited! As soon as I have that certificate in hand, you better believe I will be shouting it from the rooftops! I have worked too hard to get that thing not to celebrate the heck out of it!

For those of you still working towards the CPA, just keep going. It was a long road for me, but I can now say that all that studying and not having fun was worth it because it is something I truly can be proud of. For those of you who have passed, good luck with the application process and ENJOY the holidays!!!