Reading List

Kate Gosselin is my hero. If you're a fan of Jon & Kate Plus 8 you'll love their new book. She uses a ton of bible verses to describe some of the situations she's endured throughout marriage and parenthood. I would love to meet Kate and her brood. I'd also love to have a "quiver full"....one day...


I stole our copy of Marley & Me back from my mom last weekend while we were home. I finished my second read last night before bed. I think I cried for nearly and hour (AGAIN) after I finished the final page. I'd forgotten what a great read this one really is. We've been planning to go see the movie this weekend but I'm not sure I can and if I do I'll need LOTS of Kleenex!!

Santa EJ put this under the tree for me. MAJOR BROWNIE POINTS!!

We're headed Uptown tonight for sushi and the countdown at Nikko's. Check back later for our 2008 In Review: His & Her Edition

Happy New Year!

Holiday Hangover

We made it back home after nearly a week of travel to multiple Christmas celebrations, mainly in the sandhills, around the state. Its good to be back home, our home. Back to work tomorrow for me, as Roo will most likely spend the day getting everything in the house back in order...and catching up on the DVR. Not sure I am ready to fall back into the routine, though luckily a short and broken work week will not afford that routine to settle just yet. I am fairly certain that I am ready to return to eating normal amounts of food each day. Riley's family, unbeknownst to them, spoils me with food. Every meal is a mouth-watering feast. The fact that Riley can make just about anything had over the holidays makes my mouth water a little more. I hope to learn to smoke some meat, as we were treated to a deliciously smoked spread from my step-brother Mike Thursday night. Max and Kennedy also feasted on more table scraps than usual this week, but all in all, I believe they are ready to get back to the normal swing of things. The trash man comes tomorrow, as he does every Monday, and he will find a bin full of bows and ribbon, boxes and paper scraps. But these hardly tell the true tale of 2008's Christmas. It will be the first of many for Roo and I as husband and wife and it will be memorable for many reasons: I read a book in less than 24 hours, a first in the history of me (sure its Twilight and written on the level of an 8th grade girl, I still did it), Riley's dad's side of the family had a mini-reunion (again, with maximum food selection), I learned the true meaning of giving a gift and all that goes into it, we discovered Max to be a dog with no understanding of the society-imposed cat-dog love-hate relationship and we discovered that sometimes less is more. of course, this is just scratching the surface. I could go on and Roo could paint a similar or completely different picture...but I won't, because I have to get up early for work tomorrow. We hope everyone had an equally enlightening and enjoyable Christmas holiday!

"I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick."

I wrapped my first Christmas present of the season today. Any given year that may be the norm, but this year is much different than most before. This year, my shopping was done early. Most years, for me, early meant the 23rd of December. An oft overlooked and underestimated perk of marriage though is centered around gift-giving. All of our gifts are stamped "From" Riley and EJ. And Riley did a wonderful job of co-ordinating our gift giving efforts. Unlike most years, the only person I had to work at getting gifts for were Roo. And unlike most years, I listened, paying close attention to her hints and wants. Hence, she won't be getting a shower radio this year. 2008 was great, for the obvious reason. But now being married, holiday shopping season seamlessly and stress-less-ly came and went.

Holiday travel however does not come so easy. Go see Vince Vaughn and Reece Witherspoon in Four Christmases and you'll understand. Perhaps not as dramatic, but I wish there were an easier way to spend time with all of our families at Christmas. It is family that makes this time of year mean so much, not the gifts nor garland lights (that I never hung). I will definitely start my house decorating design much earlier in the calendar. There simply wasn't enough wattage this winter.

It certainly doesn't feel like winter either, the Christmas Day forecast puts the high around 70. Tomorrow, sans Christmas sweaters, we will continue to rejoice the reason for the season and bask in all things Dasher and Dancer. We will celebrate our family and feast on the turkey and fixin's. Honoring all the Comets, Cupids, Donners and Bliztens.

Lo, hear me exclaim ere I close out this web site, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.

"Rich is the person who has a praying friend." Janice Hughes

My mom was diagnosed with multiple myeloma two months before our wedding this year. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells which attacks and destroys bone. There is no known cure, but it is treatable.
She went through radiation treatments throughout April and May and since then her lab work has not shown cause for further treatment. – until 3 weeks ago. A change in lab work (a change that signifies the disease is progressing) led to a second bone marrow biopsy on Friday. My Aunt Lib and I were able to be in the room during the procedure. I’ll share two things about the procedure: (1) The tool used for the biopsy is about the size of a nail. (2) The woman who did the procedure was a very robust woman and had to use ALL of her robustness (is that even a word?) to drill the nail sized tool into my mom’s hip bone.
We’ll know the results of the biopsy next Tuesday. The biopsy results will determine if we’ll move forward with treatment or continue to monitor lab work on a monthly basis. We’re hoping for the latter.
I share this very personal information with our readers because I am asking for one small favor from each of you. Pray for my mom. Pray for her health. Pray for the doctors who care for her. Pray that the news we hear on Tuesday will be an answer to our prayers. EJ started this blog to share our lives with friends and family. However, we now share our lives with readers across the country who we’ve never met. I have enjoyed getting to know several of you through your own blogs. Those of you who openly share your love for Christ and share your own life struggles are among my favorites. I can only hope that across the miles a few of you will hear my request and pray for my mom. To those of you who do – thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It hopes in all things, it endures in all things.

We're celebrating 7 months today!

My grandfather read this passage from the Bible during our ceremony. He is an amazing man and it was a blessing having him be a part of our wedding.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
And if I dole out all my goods, and if I deliver my body that I may boast but have not love, nothing I am profited.
Love is long suffering, love is kind, it is not jealous, love does not boast, it is not inflated.
It is not discourteous, it is not selfish, it is not irritable, it does not enumerate the evil.It does not rejoice over the wrong, but rejoices in the truth
It covers all things, it has faith for all things, it hopes in all things, it endures in all things.
Love never falls in ruins; but whether prophecies, they will be abolished; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be superseded.
For we know in part and we prophecy in part.
But when the perfect comes, the imperfect will be superseded.
When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I reckoned as an infant;
when I became [an adult], I abolished the things of the infant.
For now we see through a mirror in an enigma, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know as also I was fully known.
But now remains faith, hope, love,
these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Christmas Cards are Done!!

Has everyone been crazy busy like we have?!?! We finally got all of the Christmas decorations up last night - just in time for me to leave on yet another work trip. I'm spending the rest of the week in rainy Baltimore (and of course I forgot my umbrella). Thankfully this will be the last trip until after the holidays!! We've got a busy weekend ahead of us -- final Christmas shopping, Christmas Dinner Theater at church, EJ's work holiday party, baby Buxton's church dedication, and my great uncle's birthday party!! Whew!

Hope everyone enjoys our VERY FIRST Christmas card. I apologize for spoiling the surprise for those of you who'll be getting one in the mail! We chose a few of our favorite photos from the past 6 months (7 in 7 days!). Left to Right: Honeymoon in Antigua, Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers in September, Dorothy & The Scarecrow on Halloween, Sunday afternoon after taking in the sights and sounds of "Christmasville" on Main Street.

Gobble til ya Wobble

I have always wondered why we got the day after Thanksgiving off but not the day after Christmas. Perhaps to afford extra travel or boost the economy on Black Friday. Or maybe its to catch up on rest after days of preparation leading up to and all things Turkey Day. We began preparing to host our first Thanksgiving weeks ago, with slight touches around the house. But the real work kicked in Tuesday evening and never really let up well into the night Thursday. We spent hours cleaning, or doing our best at it. We spent plenty of time in the grocery store, and a few trips back. We wined and dined and cleaned some more. Our first major holiday hosting was a huge success. To highlight: the overnight brine for the turkey was key to a deliciously fried bird. Perfectly written (and set) place settings for 10. Neither the chocolate chip nor the pumpkin maple cheesecake was voted better than the other, both were scrumptious. The Jon and Kate plus 8 marathon proved more entertaining to our guests than the terriblly lop-sided football games on the air. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and I was especially thankful for family and friends to be able to join us for such a great feast. I couldn't have wished for a better Thanksgiving day...so luckily, I didn't have to use my wishbone wish on such. I didn't burn the house down and the only time Roo got to sit down all day was to eat. So we certainly deserved a day of rest after all of that...but instead we were up and out around 8 adding to the consumer chaos of Black Friday.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

As I am at home doing laundry and picking up dogs from the groomer and washing dishes, Roo and Jess send their best via Blackbery from the front row of Phillips Arena in Atlanta. I suspect more pics will follow upon their return tomorrow.

Its beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving

If the Extreme team can makeover a house in an hour every Sunday, who was to stop us from mildly renovating our bathroom over the weekend? It started with our do-it-yourself painting of the guest bedroom that will house Roo's in-laws for Thanksgiving. My mom, step-dad and sister are driving up from Florida this week. Our prep list of to-dos is slowly shrinking...practice frying a turkey. Check. Paint the bedroom. Check. Stock up on groceries. Check. Clean the house...well lets not get ahead of ourselves. Roo and sis head to ATL tomorrow for their front row show of the Queen of Pop. Had we cleaned this weekend, my wife would not have returned to find the house in the same manner. So instead, we used the leftover bedroom paint to add some color to the master bathroom. Then we had to replace the mirror. Then we needed to change the color of the light fixture. Then we had to stain the cabinets. Let's add some of that grafiti art above the tub. Exit brass cabinet knobs. We probably need to replace some of the caulking around the shower. It took more than an hour, the project technically started on Tuesday and just wrapped up an hour ago. How do those folks at ABC do it?

Madge on Monday!

Is she a lucky star?!?

Yes that's my sis and yes WE will be sitting in the FRONT ROW at the Madonna concert in ATL on Monday.

6 Months

Happy 6 Month Anniversary to Us!!

I should be mad at you...

For coming into my life

and turning things every which way...

For flashing that smile

that melts my heart

and makes me forget

what I was saying...

...for the way

thoughts of you

constantly interrupt my days

and make it next to impossible

for me to focus

on anything

but the shape of your eyes

and the softness of your lips...

I should be mad at you...

but I'm just too busy

being in love with you.

Have a Little Faith

I had a potluck lunch meeting today at work. I needed a desert dish and Roo quickly stepped in and seized the opportunity to test out a Turkey day dish. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year with my mom and family coming up from Florida to stay with us for 5 days and Riley's parents joining us Thursday. My brother will be in attendance, though he's a regular 'round these parts when it comes to eating. I also reached out to a stranded co-worker that can't get back home to Ohio until Christmas. He accepted our gracious invitation. Holy cow Uncle Jesse, we'll have a full house. Needless to say, there is a lot riding on our first Thanksgiving. Roo is working on the menu as we speak and I'll be frying my first turkey this weekend as a test run. So back to my office feast, Riley has been working over the baby showers and holiday parties of recent months to fine tune her homemade chocolate-chip cheesecake. My waistline speaks for her cooking ability, but yet she was worried about the outcome of a Thanksgiving desert experiment: maple pecan pumpkin cheesecake. She was so worried it wouldn't work for my work that we whipped up a backup batch of cookies just in case plan A was a bust. At the luncheon, I carved the first slice to hide a crack in the crust on the side. I watched as the main entrees were consumed and the first few sweet-seeking stragglers browsed the desert line. It almost wasn't even fair. Riley's treat was up against an assortment of store-bought pies and cupcakes and candies. It only took one endorsement and the cheesecake was history. One of my cube neighbors suggested Riley should make and sell them. After hearing a brief version of the test run concerns, another office mate implied that Riley can cook with her eyes closed and not have to worry about the outcome. To start the day, I was worried I'd have to take too much home...at day's end, my only stress was being able to squeeze 5 minutes between client calls to clean the crumb-laden cake plate. The cheesecake was a huge success. Roo may have been surprised by my office results and perhaps also when she got a taste for herself on the slice I cut and saved, but I've always had faith in her ability to feed me. And now more friends from work want to come over for Thanksgiving.

...and the wine is bottled poetry..

Napa was absolutely amazing. Trip Favorites - Shramsburg, Prager Winery & Port Works, Milat Vineyards, and Fried Olives at Don Giovanni.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Dear UPS: We get it

Seriously, what is the deal with the whiteboard UPS commercials. Its a pretty straight forward concept, I need something delivered to someone and I give you some money and you take it there for me. I don't need a guy with a Cosby sweater and late 80s intellectual mullet to draw a picture demonstrating how mailing a pacakge works. It takes me longer to figure out what his stupid drawing means that it does to understand what it takes to send a package. The cartoon about how a bill becomes a law has more substance. What can brown do for me? Stop annoying me with this guy. I've moaned about this marketing migraine before...I think my present mood is partly to blame for this rant. The Bears lost another game they shouldn't have today. On various radio stations, Christmas music has started its 24-7 loop earlier than last year. Tomorrow, I'll be flying west just as Roo flies back east, our planes will cross pathes in the air. guess being apart for 11 of the past 14 days is what really has me down, not the Michael Bolton wannabe and his whiteboard. But seriously UPS, we all get how it works.

"Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."

We're both traveling for work this week. I'll be spending the next 6 days in Napa while EJ will take a quick 2 day trip to Pittsburgh. I'm not sure what's on his agenda but here's a sneak peak of a few things that are on mine!!

This will be my first trip to Napa (actually my first trip to California period). I can barely contain my excitement! I hope the weather's nice in Pittsburgh.....

No Jokers or Palins or Werewolves, Oh My

Another Halloween has come and past and I am not sure what hit me. It started out like any other night, I got home around 4:45 to find Max and Kennedy's noses pressed against the window at the front door. I got the mail, straightened up the kitchen from Phil and Jessica's pizza lunch, fed the dogs, changed clothes, made a mix CD of Madonna to set the tone for Jess's costume, watched an old episode of King of Queens. The one where IPS is on strike and Doug, Deacon and Arthur are living it up remains my favorite episode. I literally laughed out loud and before I could stop the calm before the storm was over. A small posse had formed at the end of our cul-de-sac and our house was targeted. It was just past dusk when the first doorbell rang. I didn't have a gameplan drawn up let alone my Scarecrow costume on yet so I did what first came to mind...flung the door upon and thrust out the bucket of candy to the neighbors kids. About 3 hours, 4 Batmen, 16 princesses, 2 dead bridesmaids, 2 Ironmen, 12 Supermen and 1 Winnie the Pooh later, I am nearly out of candy and exhausted. I managed to contain the dogs between the baby gate at the top of the stairs and the closed gates on the back deck. I watched Fright Night (a terrible 80s vampire horror) and did a crossword puzzle as waves of tricker and treaters ebbed and flowed. I had barely made it halfway through the downs before it seemed the Great Pumpkin had come and gone. I was amazed to see the bottom of the candy bucket. Almost equally amazed to have NOT seen any Joker or Sarah Palin costumes. The night went by fast, as did the week, which means Roo's trip to Phoenix was over before I knew it. I hate she missed the big night. Is perhaps a trick-or-treat session in order this time next year with a Buzz Lightyear of our own? Maybe next year is too soon, but add this to the list of reasons I am ready for a Baby Roo...I don't want Roo to have to miss all of this because of work next year. I want to be part of the cul-de-sac trick-or-treat posse. But then, who would be here to give out all of our candy?

From Gate A13

I'm headed home after an amazing week at the J&W Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. My company's national meeting was held there this week and after 3 days of meetings, awards, AMAZING food, and absolute FUN I am ready to get home. I'm not looking forward to the 4.5 hour flight....as I type this I'm hoping the poodle skirt clad gate attendant will hook me up with a first class upgrade.


I spent the afternoon yesterday riding in a jeep through the desert. LOVED IT!!! We saw a gigantic jack rabbit and even heard coyotes howling in the distance. It was blazing hot and I wish they would have told us we needed to wear real shoes (I didn't think we'd be getting out of the jeeps so of course I wore my Rainbows).

I'm looking forward to getting home tonight just in time for trick or treaters. I hope EJ remembered to buy some candy.....

Countdown to NAPA: 4 DAYS!!!!

The countdown is almost over...

I'll be here by noon tomorrow....

How about a little fire, Scarecrow?

The ability aka talent to quote movies line for line is something I am very proud of. Groomsmen Page and I can have a conversation entirely in movie script. Roo fails to appreciate this skill. I have no doubt she was ignoring it during Friday night’s viewing of Gladiator because I was lending a helping hand in the kitchen prepping for a baby shower we hosted Saturday. It was a Halloween-theme shower with good food and great friends. What I took most from the event was an advancement on when I might want to add someone new to the household of EJ & Roo. We both want kids, there is no dispute there…but we know we probably need to wait a little while and get everything in order in the house that we still have 28 years and 10 months to pay for. However, if having a kid means Roo will spend more energy on dressing a child up than decorating me and the dogs, I am all for it before next Halloween. I kid, of course, as Roo’s creative touch is one of the many things I truly appreciate about her. For Halloween, she has done a great job of transforming our home into the Land of Oz. Friday’s epic of dishing out tricks and treats will star Roo as Dorothy, myself as the Scarecrow, Max as the Tin Man and Kennedy as the Cowardly Lion. And as I write this, I am informed that future Halloween’s with little EJ’s running around the house will only add to the cast giving us munchkins and flying monkeys. So it looks like it for years to come I’ll need to try to keep my sleeves of straw away from the candles which I failed this year by the way. Roo warned me several times that I needed to mind my outfit around the food and fire. “I could while away the hours, conferrin' with the flowers, consultin' with the rain. And my head I'd be scratchin' while my thoughts were busy hatchin' if I only had a brain.”

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it."

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

You were my first love,

always there for me

You taught me how to walk and how to dream

God gave me your eyes

But it was you who taught me how to see

Now I can stand on my own

But I know that you'll never let go

I'll always be your baby

No matter how the years fly by

The way you love me made me

Who I am in this world

I'm a woman now, not a little girl

Wherever this life takes me

I'll always be your baby

You are my hero and that will never change

You still can dry my tears with just a smile

The one I've leaned on

From my first steps to walking down the aisle

Now there's another man in my life

But I know by the look in your eyes

I'll always be your baby

No matter how the years fly by

The way you love me made me

Who I am in this world

I'm a woman now,

Not a little girl

Wherever this life takes me

I'll always be your baby

Your faith, your love

And all that you believe

Have come to be the strongest part of me

And I will always be your baby