My RealAge result has me feeling like I’m 17 again (but please don’t call me Zac Efron). According to RealAge.com, I am biologically younger than my calender age and that makes me excited. I get to enjoy all the benefits of physically feeling like a teenager while living as an adult. At times I like to pretend as if I’m not one of those super health conscious freaks but I basically am. If I don’t exercise everyday I feel worthless, I purposefully seek to eat healthy as much as possible, and I avoid unhealthy food and habits at all costs.

I would have never imagined that my RealAge would be younger than my wife, but now that it is I’ll have to do everything in my power to keep the title. I’ll be watching my wife closely. Every time I see her eating healthy, working out, and catching a few extra ZZZ’s I’m going to make mental note and then go one step beyond. Whoever said competition between spouses was a bad idea wasn’t talking about RealAge.

So it turns out I’m still the “older woman” in my marriage…even in the RealAge.com test. I enjoyed taking this survey and getting the result. The test takes about 10 minutes and the questions range from how often you exercise to what type of vehicle you drive. The data is calculated and voilà, they present you with your real age. As you can see above I’m 19! This was so funny because though I’ll be 26 next week, people usually guess that I just graduated from high school! I guess I have to thank my parents for the great genetics and raising me to be health conscious. I recommend you and your Mr. take it too. It’s fun to see who gets the younger spouse bragging rights.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.

1. Watch someone who does it right and do what they do.
2. Watch someone who does it wrong and do the exact opposite.

“The Couple’s Experiment” from TwoOfUs.org teaches with the second method. Scott, the husband in the video, is disastrous from the beginning. The good news is they are still laughing together at the end. Accompanying the videos is some expert advice dealing with the basics of getting along with your spouse. If you take the time to watch, you’ll find “The Couple’s Experiment” is a solid addition to a useful marriage site.

When a couple bickers or has a sarcastic disagreement, how does it look? This is the question The Couple’s Experiment can answer. A collection of a few short videos make up the first episode. The Mr. and I were excited to see how it would all end. How could a “gift” turn into stress and bickering? Well you’ll just have to see for yourself. I will tell you though that I’m sitting pretty on Team Erin…I mean what’s wrong with purple? I’m looking forward to more episodes and expert advice!

Watch The Couple’s Experiment for an anytime laugh with your Mr. Please feel free to post feedback below. Thanks for reading.

I didn’t make that statement to try and one up my friend and his special plans for Valentine’s Day. I don’t put myself in a superior category as if I shower my wife with gifts and romantic plans at all times, but I do make the effort year round. And it’s not just me that makes the effort for romance. I appreciate my wife for letting me know how much she loves me with special gestures.

I applaud all of those who planned something special for their spouse today, but consider doing it again (and maybe even doing it better) in a few weeks. Have a great day.

What is Valentine’s Day? Well, in my observation of society it seems to be a day of commercialism where a man must buy everything advertised on television…the earrings, flowers, card, dinner, etc. to prove to the woman he loves that he loves her. And women spend $80.00+ on piece of dental floss that will be worn for less than five minutes. For all of these reasons my husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Why you may ask? Because honestly for us it’s everyday. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t tell my Mr. that, “I am proud of him and I appreciate him.” There isn’t a day that goes by without an “I love you” or a special gesture. It’s the way we have decided our marriage will be from newlywed status and beyond. True love cannot be relegated to a day of greeting cards, candy, and overpriced/overbooked restaurants. That just doesn’t cut it for me. So may your marriage be blessed with a non-commercialized celebration of love everyday.

P.S. There is one major bonus Valentine’s Day brings, and that is lots of candy at 75% off! I’ll be picking up a stash tomorrow.

“I hate Valentine’s Day. I think every day should be a day of romance. Then, on Valentine’s Day, you should get to tell whoever you hate that you cannot stand them. There would be one day of hating, and 364 days of love.”

I’m in complete agreement (except for the whole thing about a day of hating. Although that could get interesting…).

I’m looking forward to checking out the show, but I don’t know how long I’ll keep watching. It’s a interesting concept that will allow couples to settle disputes through a third party, but will it resolve the issue? If the disagreements are trivial then the show has the potential hilarious, but if the disagreements are meaningful I don’t believe a third party can step into a marriage and decide a winner and a loser. These are my thoughts before the show and they may change. All I know is that I’ll be watching on Feb. 28…will you?

A relaxing bath is great way to end the day. These days intense Zumba has me longing for nighttime soaking. While browsing around on twitter I found a very cool woman who creates cupcake shaped bath fizzies by hand! Yes, I said by hand and they are amazing. My order came today and I was impressed. They were just as picture (minus a little in transit crumbling) and smelled fantastic. I’m dreaming of my future house where I will keep a closet full of these bath fizzies in stock right next to my gigantic soaking tube…until then a few at a time will have to do.

P.S. My apron obsession is growing. She hand crafts those as well, so I’ll be ordering one as soon as they are in stock. Visit Dirty Laundry and see for yourself!

Please share if you’ve seen any can’t miss jokes or have any thoughts on the new iPad.

By Brittany

Once upon a time there was a cute saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. These days the $1 menu has become the standard for foods that consumers eat. This cheap and fast American diet has many facing obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. It seems the idea of an apple keeping a person away from the doc just doesn’t cut it anymore.

The Oprah Show Wednesday featured Michael Pollan author of Food Rules, Alicia Silverstone author of The Kind Diet, and Steve Ells the founder of Chipotle. It was a great show that encourages us as consumers to become more conscious about things we eat. We all know eating good/healthy food in turn makes us feel and look great. I know personally when I eat well I have more energy and have an overall better outlook on life. I want to live a long, active, and healthy life with my spouse, so I am challenging myself to be a more conscious consumer of food. I ordered both author’s book from amazon.com at a great price, can’t wait until they arrive.

Thanks for reading. Have a fantastic day!

It’s easy to develop tunnel vision when striving for excellence. If you’re focused on performing well at the job, starting a new a career, or like me acing the big test, balance is important. Balance has become the number one word in my vocabulary. Without it, I’m sure to burn out and my career ambitions will suffer. Even more important is the damage that an unbalance life can bring to relationships (especially a marriage). With that in mind I found this great article with 5 tips for maintaining balance in life from WebMD.com:

1. Figure out what really matters to you in life
2. Drop unnecessary activities
3. Protect your private time
4. Accept help to balance your life
5. Plan fun and relaxation