I have taken up smoking

I am on the last day of my 5-day weekend that started with a trip to Atlanta to meet Roo for lunch (and while I was there also take in a couple Cubs games at Turner Field). I decided to wrap up the week with a feast, smoking ribs on the grill. Here's how I utilized the 3-2-1 method:

1. Soak hickory chips in water for 15-30 minutes.

2. Assemble needed ingredients and peel membrane from rib rack.

3. After pat-drying rack with paper towels, generously massage ribs with rub. Save a teaspoon or two or three for the sauce.

4. Prep the grill to set up an indirect heat source. We have a smoker box attached to our Charbroil grill. I use a chimney to quick start a charcoal and hickory wood chunk mix. Chimneys work great for non instant-light charcoal.

5. Once the charcoals are starting to ash but still with some flame, empty the chimney in the smoker box.

6. Heat and maintain a temperature of around 220 degrees F. Place soaked wood chips in smoking container near fire (or place on side of fire mound). Add rack to grill.

7. Set oven timer for 3 hours. Remember to make sure the temp holds around 220 degrees F through out the entire process. And I did flip them once halfway through.

8. Have patience. I probably should have mentioned that the ribs will cook for 6 hours. Naps are not recommended as you'll need to keep an eye on the grill thermometer.

9. Take this time to maybe clean the house, or more appropriately stated, make the house cleaner that it was before. This will not only make the wife happy but also bring you down from a raw meat and fire induced testosterone high. Win win.

10. You can watch the Masters while you clean, to bring the manliness level back up if cleaning brings it down too far.

11. After 3 hours have passed, pull the rack off the grill and quickly double wrap in aluminum foil. Pour some apple juice into your wrap. Leave an opening at the top that will vent the juicy steam.

12. Add more wood chunks as needed to maintain the proper temp.

13. Make sure you have enough wood chips before you start so that you don't have to go buy more mid-smoke. In all, I used 3/4th of a $7.99 bag of hickory wood chunks. You could also use apple or mesquite...but not the pine chunks used to line the bushes.

14. Place the wrapped rack in apple juice back on the grill.

15. Set the oven timer for 2 hours. Don't touch the rack or open the grill during this time. Fire up the Xbox.
16. With about 30 minutes to go in the second phase, now is a good time to prepare a sauce. No need to reinvent the wheel. I mixed Jack Daniel's master blend and their honey smokehouse sauce. I added brown sugar and the leftover rub spice mix. Once 2 hours has passed, remove the foil wrapped rack and apply the sauce to both sides of the rack. Put back on the grill.

17. Set the oven timer for 1 hour. Feel free to flip and brush with more sauce halfway through.

18. While waiting for this hour to pass, be sure you have plenty of napkins ready and time your side dishes to finish just before the ribs. Remove the rack promptly and close the air vents on the smoker box and grill. A folded newspaper can be used to shoo away the neighbors that have gathered at the fence, drawn to the 6 hours of smoky flavorful smell.

19. After cutting the ribs, place your feast before you and take a moment to pat yourself on the back.

20. Enjoy. Leave the dishes in the sink for tomorrow.

Case of the Mondays

I've got a case of the Mondays, the blahs in non "Office Space" speak. Mondays themselves don't annoy me, but it just seems the offenders that do, do so more intensely on Mondays. Excuse the following rant as I reel off a few things that really grind my gears: the freecreditreport.com band/commercials, people who pass on the right, overly chatty co-workers first thing in the a.m. on Monday or at 4:45 on Friday, Spencer Pratt, commercials on all 10 programmed radio stations at the same time, gas prices, Vienna, carry-on bags larger than the required (read: recommended) size, waking up 3 time zones away from Roo, telemarketers, St. Louis Cardinals, people that don't refill the printer tray, cookies that look like chocolate chip but instead contain raisins, Rod Stewart, people that don't swing the bat in slow pitch softball, when I don't have/can't get out the right words.

Is it Tuesday yet?

Doppleganger week on Facebook?

No idea where the "post the celebrity who you look like" craze started on Facebook this past week. I suspect it originated with the same folks that started the "forward this email to 517 people and a dancing baby will appear." Nevertheless, I've given into the movement and am trying to figure out who Roo and I most resemble in the the celebrity world. I've been told I remind people of Vince Vaughn...but I'm certain that it is only because I can and do quote all of his movies. Roo cooks like Rachel Ray. But I can't peg who we look like...so please comment with any suggestions. Don't feel obligated though...just as I never feel obligated to accept the 517 requests to join Farmville.

Ned? Ned Ryerson?

Happy Groundhog's Day eve! We are all on the edge of our seats waiting to see if an oversized rodent in Pennsylvania will forecast six more weeks of winter tomorrow morning. I am hoping that the next six weeks are better than the last six. Christmas aside, the last six weeks have been full of rain, sleet and snow (mostly rain and more in the last six weeks than we've had in the last six month) and a ton of travel for Roo which led to spending New Year's apart and more rain and hence muddy puppy paws. It's not that the last six weeks were terrible but more so, I'm looking towards the next six weeks, because LOST will have been found, next year will be here (again) for the Cubs and spring will settle into the South.

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.

Black Friday

We didn't head out Friday morning for any doorbusters. It wasn't that Thursday still had my jeans busting at the seams, just that none of us were motivated to get up very early and head out into the madness. None of the ad papers had any must have at this price deals. It wasn't til around 5 p.m. that Roo actually did stumble on a sale item that she wanted...so we called Target but they were all sold out. It would be easy for me to add this to her Christmas list...but its a Dyson steam cleaner mop thing and I long swore off household appliances as gifts. For the first time since I believe we started dating, I have known what I wanted to get Roo for Christmas long before Black Friday (or better yet, the week of Christmas, which I admit has more than once been shopping time for me). The only problem is that the longer I have, the more I question my gift idea. The good news is that we are on the home stretch. I may still have stuffing and sweet potatoes on my palette by the smell of egg nog is in the air. Its now acceptable to tune into the 24 hour Christmas stations on the radio. Bring the decorations down from the attic and put them up around the house. Thanksgiving is over, Black Friday is upon us and yet all I really see is red and green.

Southern Fried Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving...and we have so much to be thankful for. We can complain about traffic or health care reform or the terrible performance of Jay Cutler (though I still contend its not his fault), but we are all a bit spoiled and nothing like Thanksgiving to remind us that we are blessed in so many ways. We are spending Thanksgiving in the country at Riley's parents and for the second year, I fried a turkey. I may never NOT fry a turkey on Thanksgiving again. If you haven't ever had fried turkey or have never fried one yourself, here's

how easy it is:

Step 1: Heat 4 gallons of peanut oil to 325 degrees. Do this outside.

Step 2: SLOWLY place completely thawed and turkey into pot. Turkey can be soaked in a brine overnight on the night before or injected with marinade. Use a paper towel to dry the surface of the turkey off before SLOWLY lowering into oil.

Step 3: Maintain the temperature of the pot at 325 degrees. Once you get over 375, you risk the oil starting to burn. The temperature will drop 25 degrees when you put the turkey in, the temp will go back up so don't increase the flame intensity too quickly too soon. Enjoy the smell.

Step 4: It takes about 3 and a half minutes per pound to cook. Strike up conversation with your father-in-law to pass the time.

Step 5: Remove turkey and turn off the gas on the fryer. Let turkey rest for 15 minutes then look up how to carve a turkey on YouTube because I didn't know...I mean if you don't know how.

Step 6: Enjoy the turkey. Be thankful.

Made it a Blockbuster Night

I started a new job last week, well a new position at my job anyway. With this new role, comes new responsibilities, a new paycheck and new hours. I used to work from 7 to 4, avoiding most of the traffic and associated road rage. Now, that I am working 8:30 to 5:30ish and getting home and settled closer to 7pm, I’ve been neglecting my Xbox. With Roo still fighting like a girl in Greenville and Jessica out celebrating her princess month and Halloween, I went into Friday night with the home alone and full expectation of devoting several hours to Call of Duty and Madden. Instead, I made it a blockbuster night. And while there weren’t many blockbusters that jumped out at me on the new release wall, I will get caught up on some of the sci-fi titles that Riley and I have passed over on previous trips. Riley isn’t big into movies that couldn’t really happen so an alien-induced Indiana Jones flick, an alien that makes the Earth stand still for a day and some sort of alien that turns New York into a cloverfield were films I was able to enjoy instead of the Xbox and Roo was able to avoid altogether. I just need to find a personal movie clause that will allow me to avoid the next Nicholas Sparks flick.

Act Like a Man

One of many memorable scenes of the Godfather is the part where Don Corleone slaps a wimpering Johnny Fontaine and demands that the struggling singer can “act like a man.” Basically, the Godfather is telling troubled troubadour to grow up and stop crying. Riley hasn’t seen me cry in some time, probably since we saw "Marley and Me." And she has never slapped me and told me to grow up, though I suspect she has thought about it on a few occasions such as when she walked in on one of my xbox sessions in which I am arguing with a 9 year old.

Well, this week, I have taken a step forward, I’ve grown up a little. I started a new job on Friday, a new role at the same company and I honestly feel like I’ve taken a huge step forward professionally. Her dream job is to be a stay at home mom and I really think I’ve made a strong move in that direction. In other recent adult moves, I fixed two sinks, have flossed every day since my last checkup at the dentist, learned that kitchen knives are shaped differently to serve different purposes, graduated from using watermelon scented baby shampoo by switching to manly high endurance sports body wash and I’ve stuck to a workout regiment for an entire week.

So any tears you see from me are tears of joy when I say Happy 17^th Month Anniversary Roo!

Dog Tired

I wish the second half of the weekend would drag on and play out as long as Friday afternoons in the office always seem to do. Another weekend has flown by, and this one has left us dog tired, literally. As I type, Kennedy is no doubt dreaming of open fields, squirrels and steak scraps.

Friday night, we celebrated the birthdays of Jessica (sister) and Jessica (bridesmaid) at Nikko's, a sushi hotspot in Charlotte. I spent Saturday getting an oil change (sorry Dad, I know you told me I should do this myself), cutting the grass (which I thought had stopped growing for the fall, only to find it growing faster than it did in May) and fixing the sink (well, repairing two chips in the porcelain that I am responsible for creating). Riley was out at about getting her hair done, shopping and planning the week's menu for me. We also entertained cousin Morgan, who came to town to gauge interest from brother Phil about a European trip next summer. That involved a little housecleaning accompanied by laundry. After Sunday school, it was time to switch gears and prepare Roo for her next trip to Greenville. The whirlwind weekend has finally calmed and while we are both briefly relaxing in the living room, laptops in hand, we should maybe take a hint from Max on how to best spend the next few free minutes.

Taking a Time Out

As you may have been tracking, Riley has been away, serving as caregiver for her mom as they fight like girls against multiple myeloma. Back home, I ruled the house. With that great power, comes great responsibility. So while I am able to spend more time with the Xbox, which temporarily resides downstairs on the big screen when Roo is away, I also am in charge of the chores, dry cleaning and weekly menu, among other things. Not to say I can’t hold my own or haven’t been on my own before, but I don’t recall it ever being this long. I think the hardest part was creating the weekly menu for Jessica and me. It isn't that beef taco night or cheeseburgers on the George Foreman, weren't delicious but our menu wasn't nearly as diverse as Riley would have made it, nor did it possess anywhere close to the daily recommended allowance of vegetable servings. I didn’t have a problem telling Jessica to do her homework and I did manage the dry cleaning. Still, I have yet to align my definition of clean with Riley’s, so while maybe the bathroom wasn’t up to Roo’s standards when she returned home Friday, it wasn’t the disaster it had been on Thursday. Maybe I procrastinate too much, or maybe I work better under pressure. But to an extent, I think I take free time for granted, in the sense that I should have a better grasp on how to make the best use of it. If I didn’t stay up until midnight playing Madden, it’d probably be easier to match my socks at 6 in the morning. If I didn’t snooze the alarm or stall for stretching before softball, maybe I’d be able to update the blog more frequently or wake the next day without sore knees. Or maybe the way I use my time in part defines exactly who I am, it is just that all the time, no matter what I am doing, Riley is in my mind. All in all, in the time she has been away, I am so proud of the strength Riley has given her mom and family through her support. And I am so very appreciative of all she does to support this house, this relationship and so very appreciative of the time she is home. And she is home now, so I am going to spend less time on the laptop, and more with her.

Sweet 16

Happy 16 month anniversary to us! Here are some interesting facts about the number 16:

• There are 16 ounces in a pound
• The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES was one of the most popular 16-bit video game systems
• Most bank cards contain 16 digit account numbers
• Peyton Manning wore #16 at the University of Tennessee
• 16 is the atomic number of sulfur
• US Interstate 16 runs from Savannah to Macon, Georgia
• A chess set contains 16 pawns and each players starts with 16 pieces
• 16 is one of the recurring themed numbers of ABC’s LOST

Fighting Like A Girl

I've started Fighting Like A Girl to chronicle the journey I'm about to take with my Mom as she goes through a stem cell transplant to treat Multiple Myeloma. A HUGE thank you goes out to all of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers over the past few months. I'm truly amazed by the compassion I've experienced from friends, family, and complete strangers. I hope to post daily on our progress throughout the 11 week process. I'm also hoping EJ will keep up with our posts here!! If you'd like to follow us on our journey please do so -- the more prayer warriors we have on our team the better!!

Home is Where the Heart Is

It seems like the last time I blogged, the Cubs were a good team in the National League, Obama had all the answers, people were still talking about Michael Jackson and swine flu was a thing of the past. It feels even longer since we first moved into our house but between Roo’s last post and now, not only have we celebrated two years of home ownership but we have visited Chicago, cleaned the garage, sold the garage and prepared for a temporary change of residence.

Sweet Home Chicago: For work, Riley not only had to travel to Chicago but was working in my old neighborhood for the week. I had a voucher for a roundtrip flight and both the Cubs and Bears had home games on Thursday of said week. These events converged like the perfect storm. By mid-week, Roo received some moral support to a rough work week from yours truly. Thursday, within hours of each other, we attended games at both Wrigley and Soldier Field. We panoramically viewed Windy City and seemingly saw California, gazing west from 1300 feet in the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower with only about 6 inches of glass between our feet and the Chicago River below. We ended the trip with some deep dish pizza and a surprise upgrade onto an earlier flight.

Home Sweet Home: While the Chicago trip was all fun and play for me, Roo was busy at work all week and a stressful week it was. By week’s end she was worn out and longed for the soft sheets of our bed, sweet tea and all other things Carolina. Because of this, I did not complain when she was upgraded to first class on the flight home while I flew coach. She didn’t complain when Max, out of excitement, peed on her jeans upon greeting us as we walked in the front door.

Home Improvement: Over the past two years, our garage has evolved from a shelter for at least one of the cars, to an accumulation of all unused, out of season and otherwise not-fit-to-be-placed-in-any-other-room items we own. The garage needed an overhaul and that’s what we gave it. Through thoughtful planning and design, we added some shelves and a Gladiator tool rack to establish some order in the large-scale version of a junk drawer. Let me say that this customizable “wall system” lived up to the name of the movie as far as manliness is concerned. During the renovation, I truly felt as if HGTV was filming and our final results were emmy-winning.

Yard Sale: Some of the garage clean-up meant creating a temporary pile in the center of the floor, stuff that wasn’t going to stay. We were up at 5:15 this morning, preparing to greet the waves of bargain hunters with a wide assortment of items from our past. Along with neighbors and friends Lori and Will, we had a fairly successful rummage sale. Considering I would have paid someone to get most of these things out of my garage, coming out with a little extra cash at the end of the day was rewarding. No amount of money however can present a feeling as rewarding as helping out someone in need. We “met” many strangers today and while some didn’t have they felt like spending in the form of conversation, others shared their stories while we shared a couple hundred square feet of grass. One neighbor’s friend had lost nearly everything in a house fire, another visitor has been without a job for over a year, another couple shared the joy of a new house, while another shared the joy of an older child moving out of their house into one of his own. Some things we “sold” for no price at all, and at times felt like we should “pay” for the good feeling.

Home Away from Home: One of Saturday morning’s shoppers keyed us in on the Hospice and Community Care organization. Instead of taking our unsold items to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, we donated all of the remaining clothes, toys, books, dishes, etc. to the local organization that for over 20 years has provided compassionate care to those with very special needs in our area. It felt very good to donate to a cause that hits so close to home. Next week, Riley’s mom will begin the 11+ week stem cell transplant; procedures and emotions that I couldn’t do justice trying to describe in this entry. This trying time will be filled with faith, prayers, hope and tears…and dirty dishes piled up in the sink. Riley’s mom will temporarily relocate for proximity to the hospital and to allow close monitoring by her doctor during the procedure. Riley will be at her mom’s side for as much of the next 3 months as the Hippocratic Oath allows. A very distant and secondary effect of this process means that I will be driving the war effort on the homefront alone. More prayers, hope, faith and tears. I would ask they all go to support Riley’s mom’s health and Riley’s strength in support, but if you can spare a moment and a prayer, I could certainly use it.

Home is where the heart is, and my heart may have never felt healthier than it does now. Through all the trials, tribulations, travels and treats we’ve experienced and been blessed with thus far, I’ve never felt more true to the fact that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing, living the life I am supposed to live. I’ve never felt more at home.

A friend of mine shared this video on Facebook this morning. I immediately sent it over to my girlfriend Jessica who is getting married next May with a message asking if we could do this at her wedding. Fun idea right?




Then I remembered this video --- we had a little fun too.

We practiced this once and we looked like a dancing disaster but we got a ton of laughs. We didn't even intend for the dance to be videoed but a quick thinking friend ran back to his table and grabbed his camera when he realized what we were doing -- that's why the first portion of the dance is missing. I woke up in a funky mood this morning so reliving this moment snapped me right out of it -- insert big sigh of relief from EJ. We're spending our Saturday doing a little yardwork and cleaning the house in preparation for an end of summer sunday school social we're hosting tomorrow afternoon. My sister also returns from summer break this weekend and will begin her junior year at Winthrop next week. EJ may be more excited than I am about her return -- she keeps him company while I'm out of town for work and doesn't care if he plays Call of Duty for hours on end.
I'll update everyone on my Mom in detail next week. She wrapped up her induction chemo cycles this week and we're headed to Greenville on Tuesday to meet with her oncologist who will hopefully answer all of our questions about the next battle of this war --- the stem cell transplant. Keep those prayers going!

Size 15

At what point do you stop keeping score by month for a kid's age? I understand 0-11 months, you can't round up to one year given magnitude of the event that is a child's first birthday party (see previous post). But I always get confused when I ask someone at work how old their child is and I get a response like "33 months." I love math, especially the easy kind I can do in my head but I think this is a case when it just isn't necessary. I can't figure if 33 months sounds older or younger than "almost" 3 years. Maybe it is because so many new and exciting things happen in a child's life from month to month in those first few years? I mean, once you get to be 411 like me, you're not surprising too many people with new tricks, right? Not to go Andy Rooney on here, but I never understood kid's clothes sizes. No toddler I have ever met is wearing the size clothes that match his age. If babies really grow at such varying shapes and speeds so that you can only at best eyeball the attire to fit, then a new system is needed. Women's shoe sizes don't make sense to me either. Why can't a size 15 in men's be a size 15 in women's shoes too? Those are huge feet and there is no hiding them, so does using the same formula that converts Fahrenheit to Celsius really need to be used to crosswalk a male shoe size to a female's? None of this adds up. But yet, without hesitation, I can tell you that today is our 15 month anniversary and I can tell you Roo's dress and shoe sizes. I won't though, so that the next 15 months start off as wonderful as the last 15 have been.

For Buxton on his Very First Birthday..

Some of you may remember this post where we welcomed baby boy Buxton to the world, first born to our dear friends Anna & John.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since this precious little monkey was put in my arms for the first time.

It's your very first birthday, Buxton,

One candle on your cake;

Proud parents stare in wonder

At each new move you make.

We join in celebration,

As this special date arrives,

For you have brought pleasure

Into all our lives.

We look forward now to seeing

How you progress and grow,

From the cute and tiny infant

You were one year ago.

So dig into your icing;

Enjoy your presents, too.

The reason for this day

Is a special person -- you!

Revised from original by Joanna Fuchs

Happy Birthday Roo!

To my wonderful and beautiful wife - every day with you is deserving of cake and ice cream. All the candles for all the birthday cakes in the world wouldn't create a flicker compared to the light that you shine in my life. Happy Birthday Roo!