Fake It Til You Make It

So I saw this link up that a lot of people are doing for the month of May, and I thought...hey this is a great idea! It gives you a topic to blog about every day. Let's be honest people, there are some days when we stare at this blank screen trying to gather our thoughts in to words and come up empty. I may not stay with this every day, and there may be some days that I do two posts...you just never know what you are going to get with me.

Today is day 2, and the topic is: "Educate us on something you know a lot about, or are good at."

I sat and thought about this one for a little while. What am I good at. Hmmmmm. I am good at procrastinating. No...that is not something to write about on the blog. Oh, I am good at over analyzing everything! Um, let's not go there, every girl is good at this! 

To be honest, I am in a constant state of learning in every aspect of life. One thing that I have become quite good at is faking it til I make it. 

Let me give you an example. I am a newlywed, Chris and I got married in November of 2012. We did live together for almost 2 years before we got married...which I would suggest this to anyone...that topic is really a post in itself for another day haha. However, I had no clue how to be a "wife." Yet alone a wife that my husband doesn't hate coming home to at night. 

A lot of Chris's friends seem miserable coming home to their wives. They don't "allow" them to do things and are constantly nagging them about this that and the other. I didn't want it to be like that in our relationship. If Chris wants to go grab a drink after work with some guy friends, that is completely fine with me. If he wants to go downstairs on a Saturday and play video games for 6 hours with his friends....that is fine with me. I don't need him to pay attention to me every single minute of every single day. He is the same with me. He is supportive if I want to go shopping with my mom for the day or have lunch with some of my blogger friends on a Saturday.

When you live with someone you learn the quirks and you find out real quick the things you like and don't like about a person. Sometimes Chris leaves his clothes laying on the floor for several days or leaves his dishes in the sink with stuff all over them, and isn't a huge fan of cleaning. I know he does this and I have chosen to marry him...so I don't nag him about it all the time. People are who they are and you shouldn't be trying to change them. You chose this person based on prior knowledge...so accept it!

One thing I was nervous about when I first moved in with Chris was cooking. Prior to living with him, I lived alone and hardly ever cooked for myself. Usually I would just have a salad and a few slices of some fun cheese from Whole Foods when I got home for work. Special K for dinner was no stranger to me. My mom always cooked dinner for our family growing up, and I liked that she took care of us and my dad. I wanted to be the same way. I learned how to start cooking. At first, even though he didn't say anything, I am sure that it wasn't that great. Cooking really is all about trial and error. Now, I cook at least 4-5 home cooked meals every week. My co-workers are amazed that I do this, but to me...it is just part of being a wife. I enjoy cooking meals for us. I like to find recipes that I think Chris will enjoy. I like taking care of him. I even get crazy sometimes, and make my own of a lot of recipes. Fake the cooking til you make it! 

The last few months I have really become diligent on meal planning every week. This is something I knew nothing about when I first started. I just sat down one day, looked through recipes and wrote out a grocery list. Now every week, usually on Sunday, I sit down and meal plan out our week. I take in consideration what we have going on for the week, what nights we might be eating out and what I have going on at work that may make me late to come home, therefore needing something that is quicker to prepare. I usually have at least one crock pot meal a week planned for ease, and I try to keep our recipes as healthy and clean as I can and I also consider snacks. Some nights it may take an hour to prepare our meal, so I will make Chris a snack when I get home to hold him over. I also pack our lunches nearly every day during the week, and plan those out as well. 

I am by no means perfect, and am in constant learning mode with many mistakes...but I think I am pretty good at faking it until I make it!