20 things I didn’t do until I met Roo

1. Eat asparagus

2. Put the toilet seat down

3. Feel passionate about my career

4. Blog

5. Cook a meal involving more than four ingredients

6. Own more than one pair of dress shoes

7. Floss daily

8. Attend a chicken bog luncheon

9. Watch 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

10. Get oil changes every three to four thousand miles

11. Separate my whites and colors when doing laundry

12. Brush and bathe Kennedy on a regular basis

13. Attend church more than twice (Easter and Christmas) a year

14. Live on a budget

15. Demonstrate concern for my health

16. Crave sushi

17. Read books without pitcures

18. Make the bed every day

19. Dine at Vivace, Geja's, The Penguin or Miriam's Kitchen

20. No matter where we are or what we are doing, wake up with a smile knowing that I unconditionally love with all of my heart the perfect complement to all that I am, the one that makes me believe, makes everything taste just a little sweeter, makes the moon shine a little brighter and confirms to me that all in this world is exactly how it should be

The EJ & Roo Family New Year Resolutions

Looking back at '09

2009 had its ups and downs, ins and outs. The biggest part of our year involved doing everything we could to help Roo's mom in her fight against multiple myeloma. Be it Roo living in Greenville with her mom, serving as her caregiver to me keeping the house clean and pantry full, it wasn't always easiest but the results were great. Following Roo's home away from home in Greenville, she was sent on the road to make up for lost time travelling for work. I took a new position at my company which also placed more demands on my time and my brain. Roo interviewed for the job she already had. We didn't spend as much time together this year as we would have liked, but in the same breath, everything happened the way it was supposed to and the way it was meant to. And when we did get sometime to ourselves, we have some fun. Two trips to Chicago to see the Cubs, one time included a trip to see the Bears as well. Cubs again in Atlanta, then later, back to Atlanta for Lady Gaga. (Roo took her sister, not me). Chairmen of the Board concert in January may have been more my speed. Gone fishin? A pair of trips to Edisto, one has awakened the anglers in Roo's dad and myself, prior to that was in celebration of our one-year anniversary. The May trip involved jet skis and very dry one-year old cake at the Oak Manor Inn. Our family trip in July coincided with the first annual Edisto Beach Shark Tournament. I grilled that shark and we had many other good eats over the year. Cantina 1511 and Vivace in Charlotte became new favorites. I was turned on to muscadine wine, we toured a winery on Wadamallaw Island. In 2009, Riley ate more parts of a pig that I can imagine, parts I didn't know existed. I notched two more marks on my turkeys fried count. And can count on one hand the number of operas we saw: 1...but it was great. It was the Phantom. We would have blogged in December, but Roo had her laptop stolen. It rained, it snowed. We laughed, we cried. We love.