Day #23 is things you’ve learned that school won’t teach you.  I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to be talking about high school or college or school in general so I went with high school.  And if you’re wondering, these pictures DO in fact make me wince and shudder.  More than you probably know.

• Popularity won’t matter after you graduate.
• Networking is the best way (but not the only way) to find a job.
• Kid meals and hot dogs aren’t just for children.
• That girl who had the locker next to you in middle school and you always admired from afar will become one of your closest friends after you graduate college.
• No dream is too big.
• The world really IS THAT small and everybody knows somebody that knows somebody.  Moral of the story; always watch what you say.
• You can’t always rely on your metabolism to keep you slim; it eventually catches up with you.
• There are no failures, only detours.

Friday night we went to the Aaron Lewis concert with a few friends.  Brian Davis opened up for him and I never heard of him before bu seriously fell in LOVE with his music!  This is my favorite song so far!  It’s pretty much on repeat in this house.

Saturday morning my mom and I went to rummage sales.  It’s a tradition that we go every spring and I absolutely love the time we spend together!  Unlike other years, I didn’t buy furniture (Mr. C. threatened to burn anything that is furniture if I bring it home, lamp included), but I scored a serious amount of books and a few other things!  I was very happy with my finds!  Saturday night I went with some girlfriends to the No Shoes Nation Kenny Chesney concert.  Oh he is delicious and has the energy of a 20 year old!  And Eric Church…mmm mmm mmm.  I always liked his music but I never have seen him in concert and I would DEFINITELY love to see him again.  He was amazing!

Sunday was a clean the house and get ready for Mr. C.’s work people to come over for dinner.  It was perfect weather for patio dining and shish kebabs.  And a mischievous puppy who was a huge attention snob!

He sure is a cute attention snob though.

Monday night I went to the Brewers game with this Nebraska girl who’s home for the month.  We always have the best time together (and I secretly don’t want her to move back even though I’m rooting for her 110%)!

Last but not least, last night two of my girlfriends and I went to see The Great Gatsby.  I remember having to buy this book in high school but I’m pretty sure I never read it and I know I never saw the original movie so I had no clue how this was going to go down.  Now that I’ve seen it though, I TOTALLY understand the hooplah of it all.  What an incredible story line!  This weekend I will be making it a priority to read the book and watch the original movie!  If you haven’t seen it yet, GO SEE IT.  You will love it!

And all this fun stuff is the reason I have been MIA from the blog for a few days.  Hope you’ve all been having a great week so far!  Happy super-close-to Thursday!

This one was easy for me.  One of the things that drives me absolutely crazy is bad drivers!  Oh my goodness I am looking at you Illinois…you are the WORST!  But I promise I still love all you Illinois people reading this

I’ll just bullet point this puppy since it will be much easier.

• Don’t use blinkers.
• Cut you off before a stop light.
• Act like they always have the right of way.
• Get mad because I am going 70 in a 65 and that isn’t fast enough for you so I get cut off before I can even blink.
• Flips the bird.  Often.
• Lights don’t get turned on when it’s raining, snowing or the sun is setting.  Hello!  A little hard to SEE you!
• Stops about an inch away from my rear bumper.  I’m not going to move any faster the closer you get…please back off a little!
• Sneak in when there’s hardly any room for you to change lanes.  Is it really necessary?

And end rant

This picture was taken in the early fall on a hayride at my best friends wedding.  I was surrounded by Chelsey and Mike’s new love for each other, I was having the time of my life meeting all these new friends, and I was so so happy in my marriage.  It almost felt like my second wedding because that girl is like another sister to me and I was so grateful to be a part of their special day.  By my facial expression alone, nothing could have brought me down.

I honestly have had a pretty great life and don’t have a whole lot of complaints.  My family and childhood was a little crazy but who’s isn’t?  My high school years weren’t the greatest but they weren’t the worst either and I really don’t think about them at all anymore.  College was nothing short of too much fun.  I’ve got a terrific husband, the best of friends, a better sister than yours, a pup who gets in trouble on a regular basis because he eats chocolate or hangs out in our neighbors yards, and a roof over my head and food on the table.

I couldn’t really think about anything that I’ve been struggling with until I pulled out my shorts today.  I’ve suddenly gained this extra fun in my mid section that I never realized I was sucking in this whole time.  You can read about how I’m overcoming it here.

But I’m not sure if that really can be considered a difficulty or struggle because I just realized it was there today and even though I’m frustrated with it, it’s not a huge challenge, I’m not upset about it and it certainly isn’t stopping me from enjoying food (although that day will start on Monday…WAH!!!).  So if that’s my only difficult “lot in life”, God blessed me with a pretty great one!

Blogs I didn’t expect to see posting about fitness and health were now all about it. These ladies were the reason I finally put my own foot down and am deciding to take control of my health and well being. So Kelly, Raven, Whitney, Melissa, and Tyler…thank you for giving me the push that I needed!

The summer skirts and shorts are feeling a little bit more snug and the super cute tanks don’t fit as nice when there’s a little extra in the mid section. As much as I would love a brand new wardrobe (and really, what girl wouldn’t??), I don’t have either the money or the ambition to buy a size bigger than my usual. Now if I was going a size down, I WOULD FIND the money but that’s a whole different conversation if it comes to that! (It will…right?)

Toward the beginning of this week, Lauren Conrad had a post on getting healthy and fit (see? I told you everyone is talking about this business everywhere these days) and after going through it probably 5 or 6 times (it takes time for me to comprehend not eating chips or ice cream), I’ve decided to incorporate her tips along with other ideas I already had planned to present to you…

You guys. You know what I’m talking about right?! That inevitable food baby that comes after you eat too much. Except you eat too much every time and it’s permanently there now? Please please please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem! I suck it in really well but it’s getting a little old so I have spent DAYS preparing this plan for you! (Okay, maybe it was only two hours or so but saying days sounds so much better doesn’t it?) We all remember Tone It Up Tuesdays right? Yeah that series didn’t last long so don’t feel bad if this is your first time hearing about it. Unlike TiuT though, I am not going to give a weekly check-in with this fitness plan. That’s practically setting myself up for failure. Ohhhhh the pressure! Instead I’ll be checking in the first and third Monday of the month. I don’t want to go overboard with fitness posts but I do still want to keep myself accountable. I am not nor will I ever be a fitness guru. I’m not going to try to compete with all the other incredible fitness and health blogs out there that know WAY more than me but I do want to stay on track and be able to discuss my progress. Let’s hope there is actually some to discuss! Come to think of it, I started gaining weight when I made a huge blog change and this became Read, Eat, Create. Hmm…a little ironic dontcha think?!

So what exactly does this plan consist of? Here we go…

Part One: Food

1. Drink lots of water! You’re supposed to consume half your body weight in ounces of water per day. We all know I have problems drinking water, so I am going to use the incentive of every day I reach this goal, I am putting a dollar into a jar. Mind tricks are fun!

2. Trading certain foods for a healthier option. This chart that my friend Stephanie made is terrific for this!

3. Choosing healthier snack options. I work at an office job so I am constantly snacking throughout the day. Here’s a short list of things I’m going to trade my junk food snacks out for.

4. Choose one meal from every category every day (this was one of the big parts I took from Lauren Conrad post…I love that she included this!).

Breakfast Options

• Any of the options from the Busy Girl Breakfasts post
• Overnight Oats
• Ezekiel toast topped with 2 sliced up hardboiled eggs served with half of a grapefruit
• Perfect Morning Quinoa
• Egg white veggie omelet
• Slim Down Protein Pancakes

Lunch & Dinner Options

• Any of the options from the Busy Girl Lunches post or Busy Girl Dinners posts
• Rosemary grilled chicken with a side of oven-roasted carrots
• 1 Stuffed Bell Pepper
• Portobello Turkey Burger
• Two slices of cauliflower crust pizza with a side of steamed veggies
• Apricot chicken with a side of quinoa
• Salad with mixed greens, ½ avocado, 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, 1 sliced cucumber, ¼ cup slivered almonds, ½ cup cooked quinoa (mix together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper for the dressing)
• Pasta-less Spaghetti
• Chicken wrap with mango, basil and mint
• Baked Tofu Veggie Rolls served with ½ cup of brown rice
• 1 cup of your favorite low sodium, organic soup served with a side of steamed vegetables
• So Fresh & So Lean Tempeh

**OR**

I just bought this book and have been drooling over all the healthy living recipes Gwen shares so I’m sure I’ll be going back and forth between Gwen’s recipes and Lauren’s plan!

5. No soda.

6. No white bread or fried foods.

7. No sugar (candy, brownies, cookies, cakes…all the stuff that people bring to work all the time…this is going to be the worst one!).

8. Don’t lose sight of your goals. I am making a small goals list everyday so it will result in the big goal eventually!

9. Have one cheat day (this is definitely for me…I can’t do this without at least a little indulgence)!

Part Two: Fitness

1. Have two different workouts. One per week and alternate so your body never gets used to the same routine (<- look at that, I almost know what I’m talking about).

• I’m going to do this DVD. There’s three different levels on this workout plan so as you progress you’re going to be moving up levels.
• Instead of doing this workout every day though, I’m going to do this four days a week and two days a week I will be running 45 minutes or biking for 90 minutes. I’m also going to be doing 50 sit ups in the morning and at night and 60 second plank every morning and night.

2. Have one rest day.

3. Stay consistent. Every time I think of not working out one day, I’m just going to repeat the first quote. I love the 4, 8, 12 rule! Never would have looked at it that way!

Now that I’m reading through this again, I’m worried that I’m getting too ambitious. Eeks! I’m going to try my damn hardest and if I can do this for 12 weeks I’ll be fine. 12 weeks is nothing! I can do anything for 12 weeks! Good gracious I started the pep talks already! I plan on starting this on Monday (I have two concerts this weekend and a cookout…you better believe I’ll be indulging this weekend before this new plan of action) so at least I have the weekend to clean out my pantry and eat get rid of all the naughty foods! Once Monday comes, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be posting pictures throughout my journey. Follow along if you don’t yet, username readeatcreate!

I would love to hear if any of you are on any health or fitness plans to get bikini body ready! Maybe we can encourage each other!

1. A green light
2. A new recipe turning out like it’s supposed to
3. Kisses before bed
4. A puppy who snuggles
5. The sun kissing my skin with warmth
6. Finding a new blog I love
7. Water with a lemon slice
8. Making goals and dreaming big
9. Driving by the lake with the top off my Jeep
10. Receiving a hand written letter

Dear husband,

When you and I re-met four years ago (read our love story here for understanding the “re-met” part),  I’m sure you had no idea what you were in for.  I was sweet, fun, carefree and went with the flow.  Little did you know, there was another side of me.  You see, I never knew I had this other side until two years ago.  I showed you what I wanted to show you but we were young and just graduated college and we didn’t have a care in the world.  I had everything in front of me and I was ready to take it on.  Little did I know, I would be sharing this post college adventure with you.  I’ve changed since I was 22.  I have mood swings and sometimes get mad over the silliest things like when I burst into tears when you finish the ice cream.  I feel the need to publicly apologize about how sorry I am that you got stuck with an emotionally unstable demanding control freak like me.  Almost everyone gets the good side of me.  The side that I want them to see.  But most of the time you see the worst side.  It’s not fair I know and I have to say I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that I forget to buy bread or lunch meat all the time when I’m at the grocery store.  I’m sorry I don’t match your socks even though I have to match mine or I’ll have another break down the following morning.  I’m sorry that I freaked out when you put your feet on our brand new coffee table on WHEELS less than two minutes after I said you can always just move the table out of the way and put the gigantic ottoman in front of you if you want to put your feet up.  Even though a lot of your traits annoy the heck out of me and make me want to burst in flames (one square left on the toilet paper roll, the magazine resting on the shower, a sip and a half left in the milk carton, dirty laundry in your office right after I did my happy dance because I finished the laundry), you’re always very constant and that’s why I love you.  I am slowly SLOWLLLLY coming to realize that some things will never change and I need to get over it.  Even though these are not my best qualities and you are the unfortunate one who has to deal with them, you love me anyways.  Every day, every hour, I know you love me.  I admire you so much, though sometimes your overachieving self only pisses me off more because it’s so hard to stand next to someone who does ANYTHING he puts his mind to.  You want a piece of furniture and can’t find it so you build it yourself.  You have high career goals and got your masters degree done (almost) in a year and a half.  You put more faith in me than I have in myself and I hope that one day, your awesome traits that drive me nuts will eventually rub off on me.  I’ve already started to notice things that I’m picking up from you and every time I catch myself I shake my head and smile because “it’s such an Andrew thing”.  Maybe my good traits will someday rub off on you too.  I see it once in a while and I always smile inside because I know where you got it from.

I hope we won’t drive the other ca-ca-ca-razy as long as we’re doing this marriage thing.  Love you times infinity.

Erin

Before I start 10 Things Sunday, I have to gie a shout out to the best mom anymore could be blessed with.  My mom has taught me EVERYTHING!

If I can be half the mother she is to me and my sister, I will be set for life.
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1.  S’more’s season is here!  And Nikki has 50 ways of making s’more recipes!  Isn’t she the greatest?!

2.  Loving this adorable shop for little ones in your life!

3.  I kind of want confetti poppers at all my parties I throw from now on!

4.  Buttermilk biscuits with cinnamon…need I say more?

5.  These tips are terrific for building a great spring/summer wardrobe!

6.  Taylor wrote a post on why people driving cars are actually just big toddlers.  I found myself nodding a lot and laughing out loud a LOT more!

7.  I’ve been reading Whitney’s blog a lot more lately and last week she wrote An Ode to Non-Blogging Blog Readers (hi dad!).  I know you’re out there and I love you all but seriously…read this post because you will consider yourself very lucky once you do!

8.  Elise painted these two canvases instead of buying the artwork.  Love this idea…adds so much more personal meaning to the home!

9.  The prettiest cakes you ever did see!

10.  Picnic season is here!  And I found a great go-to guide for packing your picnic!