Well, I’m glad to say that the test that has consumed my life for the last couple months (aka the interior design licensing exam, NCIDQ) is now officially OVER!!

This past Friday, I took the first half of what could potentially be the most important knowledge based test of my life!  A couple of tidbits: #1) That sucker was hard as F.  #2)  I went to bed at 8pm on Friday if that gives you any idea how exhausted/brain-dead/studied out I was.

That being said, I’m glad its over.

( In 12 weeks I’ll find out if I passed or not…and then it may be another studyfest for me.  Plus, I still have the other half to take. )

For those of you that may take the test in the future, here’s a quick summary:  (Please feel free to message me if you have any questions about it!!)  They only offer it twice a year, and you become eligible to take it after receiving your Bachelors from an accredited school + 3,520 hours working under a licensed professional (UNLESS you began any of your design experience prior to 2008, then you can count your hours under any design professional).  The exam is broken into 3 sections that span 2 full days.  The first day is 2 multiple choice exams.  The 2nd day is what they call the practicum, which is putting all your knowledge and experience together into a full 8 hour hand drafted project.  Since I’m beyond rusty at hand drafting, I figured I would just knock out the first 2 sections and go from there.  Wellllll….. they pretty much knocked me out! haha.  Think 300 questions about building construction/structure, fire codes, architectural drafting, etc etc etc.  (So to anyone that thinks all an interior designer does is play with paint swatches – please, do your homework.)

On the drive home, I thought about all the things I could have done differently.  I even started frantically looking through my notes trying to see if I could figure out what ones I got right and wrong. (I can’t begin to imagine what kind of road hazard I was)  As soon as I began to get frustrated, I brought myself back down to reality: this is only a test.  Life will go on.  If I fail, it doesn’t mean I suck – I can retake it!

Then I came home to this beautiful orchid and a nice card – which totally made my night/weekend/life! (thanks Hunny!)

The rest of this weekend was very relaxing.  We celebrated Nate’s birthday- as best as we could since he has a stomach bug.  We sat around and watched football and I made him homemade Mac & Cheese and Asparagus Cheddar soup.  🙂  Overall, life is good.  I’m excited to start blogging again more.  Not sure where September went, but I’m ready for October – and to start enjoying this lovely fall weather!