Confession

I broke my date with Tony last night. No judgment please. As penance, I did get up this morning and run. I tried to run fast to appease my conscience burn more calories. Thanks to finally making it to the grocery, I have been eating pretty lean this week. Does that count for anything?

We've found it hard to break the tradition from Tuesday night dinners since LOST ended. Dinner is pretty anti-climatic without the show, but we make do. Last night we made one of my favorite semi-healthy Tuesday dinners, turkey spaghetti. And by we, I mean Matt. He has nailed down adding flavor to virtually calorie and taste free ground turkey.

The ingredients usually start out looking something like this, depending on the mood.

Notice the whole wheat pasta, and extra lean meat. No comments on the high amount of sodium, please. We are trying people.

This guy is always on a diet, so he understands. I think he looks fantastic. The vet often disagrees. So green beans and portion control it is.

If you've got any great, easy, healthy and easy recipes, send them my way.

Play that funky music

I've been in quite the funk the past couple days; I just can't seem to get into a good routine. Admittedly, I'm not great at rolling with the punches and changing my plans.

To lift my spirits this morning, I tried riding to work with the sunroof open, to feel the cool breeze before these heels hit the pavement of corporate America. The result was a bug stuck in my lip gloss. It just seems like that kind of week.

In an effort to get back on track with Operation 10.30 (fit into the dress hanging in the guest room), I've scheduled a meeting with this guy tonight. You love him, but you hate him.

The infamous Tony Horton. I saw him nearly every day last summer. Yet now, when I need him most, I can't seem to get it together.

Motivation, where are you?

Stocked Up

Monday is here again and the badge is back on. It might be that the only thing that got me out of bed was my new shampoo. I certainly didnt put new songs on my ipod and lay out running clothes and ignore both when 5:45 rolled around. Nonetheless, we had a relaxing weekend swimming through the humidity and wishing for a pool.

Matt had a long week at work, so we opted to stay in Friday night. Pizza and ice cream were BOGO at Publix and the national spelling bee was on. The stars had aligned. Aligned. A-L-I-G-N-E-D.

(art direction by Matt Searson)

Saturday, after attempting to battle the heat to get some sun, we headed over to sister's stock the bar party.

We had some great food and loved getting to spend some time with the bride and groom before their big day.

The whole family.

Have I mentioned how much I love this family? They have made me feel at home from day one. They have served as wonderful role models for Matt. I'm so grateful to them for raising him so well.

We met up with some friends afterwards.

This is Cal. We are kindred spirits. He's a planner, and it does my heart good to have one in the group.

Sunday I did some admin work. Laundry, cleaning the DVR, and grocery shopping. On the agenda for this week: making up said missed run, wedding invitations and the Real Housewives Reunion.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

The End.

Morning pick me up

It's Friday. The sun is shining, birds are singing. The weekend is upon us. In case you don't feel this way every morning, this little summer treat makes the mornings a little more bearable.

Of course, you can stop virtually anywhere and buy it. But, we're in a recession folks, so I'm going to tell you the great secrets to making your own.

Make the strongest coffee you can stand, since the ice tends to water it down. I prefer Columbian Supremo, mainly because it's what's available here in the office. I recommend adding a flavored creamer of your choice. Make your coffee as normal. Put a LOT of ice in a cup. Pour over ice. Marvel at your barista skills. It might take a little trial and error to get your ratios down, but you have all summer, so get to testing.

On a totally unrelated note, our counselor recommended we each pull our credit reports in the light of full disclosure. I pulled mine for the first time last year, and its quick and relatively painless. You can pull it once a year for free here. Just to be clear, you don't get your score, but a list of all your accounts and their standing. It's a great way to make sure everything is accurate, and you are aware of everything open in your name. I've heard that sometimes, your wallet can get stolen while out of town. And sometimes these people can rack up loads of charges at places like rallys, taco bell and wal-mart. Just rumor.

I'm counting down the hours until this ID badge gets pulled off, not to be seen until Monday. Is there a better feeling?

What I like about you...

Last night was our second session of pre-marital counseling. We brought in our lists of things we respect and admire about the other person, so for my own memory, I wanted to write down the big ones that stand out to me about Matt. So if cheesy posts aren't your thing, you might want to move along.


















He has such a servent's heart (apparently this was not a phrase tossed around in the methodist church he grew up in). He is always looking for ways to make my life easier, never complains when I ask something of him, and often does it before I even ask. It's such a rare trait, I think, and I find myself constantly admiring how well he takes care of me and how attentive he is to the needs of "us". We really appreciate it, even if Namath spends a lot of time channeling Debbie Downer. Those wrinkles don't clean themselves.

He's also pretty funny. He's so laid back, optimistic and doesn't let much get him down. I love what he brings to my life.

These traits we admire and respect often turn into things that drive us crazy. When that starts to happen, he encouraged us to track back to that original quality we love and focus on that. (The fact that it takes Matt 15 minutes to get out the door for a simple run is just part of his laid back nature that I love, right? Right.)

I loved the idea of continually focusing on finding additional things you respect in your spouse, and how that nurtures your relationship and a spirit of thankfulness in your life. Let's face it, we could all stand to focus more on wanting what we have.

A formal introduction

This is Namath.

Namath Clark Grizzwald, to be exact.

He looks great in a jersey.

He can even pull off sequins.

He can be really sweet.

Or rock an attitude.

He think's he's pretty great.

And well, we do too.

It's a two cup morning

It was a long weekend...which means a short week. Although the weather wouldnt let us relax by the pool as much as we wanted, we got in just about every summer activity we love.

Friday night we ate some delicious cajun food with friends, and walked next door to a wine and cigar bar. They had a walk in humador, so Matt was in heaven. Except for my picture taking, which was impeding the selection process.

Saturday our plans (perfectly laid out, I might add), had to go on rain delay. Matt spent the morning getting measured for a tux (for sisters wedding, I'm not that on top of it), and I spent the morning with a cup of coffee and these ladies.

Did anyone see Kelly's nervous breakdown coming? Team Bethenny all the way.

We made it to the pool for a little bit Saturday afternoon, but the ran caught up with us again, so we headed to our favorite rainy day pasttime, eating. Specifically, mexican.

I may have been the only girl, but nothing a basket of chips can't solve.

After braving the rain for church Sunday morning, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to the Mountain. Yogurt Mountain.

Matt's not the only one who can cheese for the camera.

We made it out to Trussville for another cookout. A small Husky reunion, if you will.

We learned a valuable lesson Monday morning. Hot coffee+run in the noon time heat=disaster. You heard it here first.

After a little shopping (Lesson 2 -TV remotes don't hold up well in the washer), we headed back out to Trussville to celebrate Matt's dad's birthday. This usually means my favorite drink, a Searson classic, the beergartia. I prefer to think of them as skinny.

Blog star Matt and the beergarita.

Depsite the rain, we had a great weekend. If you need me, I'll be making cup number 3.

Try not to disturb this one.