The Median Sib

I’ve got to share a couple of hilarious posts I’ve read tonight. I guess they wouldn’t be too funny to liberal democrats, but as an independent conservative, I thought they were amusing. The first is from Sparks From The Anvil. Nope, the only hint I’ll give you is: Helen Thomas. You’ll have to follow the link and read it for yourself. Ditto for Blue Star Chronicles. The hint for that story is the same as for the first one, but with Michael Moore and Michael Jackson thrown into the mix for good measure.

I’m listening to the State of the Union Address. It’s humorous to watch the two sides — Republicans cheering and applauding - Democrats sitting solemnly - sometimes. It’s going very well, though. President Bush is giving a great speech. He’s speaking with conviction and authority - exactly what we need right now. He’s projecting a strong and confident image. I like his tie, too. Laura Bush looks dignified and classy. Beautiful dress, by the way.(Don’t you love the fashion review?) Laura Bush is a wonderful asset to both President Bush and the entire country. It’s rather scarey to think of who COULD have been First Lady. “Class” is an adjective not associated with that particular person.

However, it should be noted that Democrats are standing and applauding often enough. Maybe they’re beginning to realize that their extremism is causing them to lose their standing with the average American. It’s time for some common middle ground to be found.

It’s funny watching how often the cameras show Hillary as she applauds or smiles. Yeah — she’s running for president already. I doubt if many are fooled by her obvious pandering for the cameras.

Well, President Bush is about to end the speech. I don’t think I’ll listen to the Democratic response since they will only give their tired, lame same old-same old sound bites.

President Bush just ended his address with these words: “MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA.”

Amen.

Here are some other bloggers that have posts about the SOTUS:

The Pirate’s Cove has thoughts similar to mine about Hillary and the Democrats.
Beth at Blue Star Chronicles talks about the Democratic Response - the “eyebrows” have it.
Captain’s Quarters live-blogs the speech.
Well, LOTS of folks were live-blogging. Here’s another one: A Soldier’s Perspective. And Polipundit was an especially fun read.

They announced earlier that Cindy Sheehan had been arrested for trying to bring in an anti-war banner to the State of the Union address - banners aren’t allowed. Of course that didn’t stop Cindy because if she didn’t do SOMETHING that’s not allowed, how would she continue to get publicity? The news folks changed the report almost immediately to say she hadn’t been arrested, after all - she had been “detained.” Later - the report changed yet again - she was indeed arrested - had an anti-war t-shirt hidden under her jacket. She was charged with a misdemeanor for trying to protest inside the capitol. She was released on her own.

Well, she succeeded in getting her publicity out of it. She must be feeling a little lonely and forgotten since the Democrats are beginning to realize that she is hurting rather than helping them.

I remember when David Letterman was interviewing Bill O’Reilly, he asked O’Reilly how O’Reilly could feel anything other than compassion for Sheehan. Uhhhhh — Dave, over here! May I answer that question, Dave? I can think of LOTS of reasons to feel anger, disgust and pity for her. I stopped feeling compassion for her a long time ago. She’s a liability for our country. She’s obviously a very sick, misguided and bitter woman. Nahh - won’t say another word about her. She’s not worth the space on this blog.

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. I usually make adjustments to any recipe to reflect my own tastes, and this recipe is no exception. It tasted very good!

Chicken Cobbler

6 T. butter, divided
5 cups cubed bread (I used a few slices of sourdough bread that I cubed - other breads would be good, too)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 T. chopped parsley
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup buttermilk (you can substitute regular milk OR wine, depending on your taste)
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup drained/chopped roasted red peppers
2 1/2 cups chopped/cooked chicken (I used canned chicken)

(1) Melt 4 T. butter and toss lightly with rolls, cheese and parsley. Set aside.
(2) Saute onions in 2 T. butter until golden brown.
(3) Stir in the buttermilk.
(4) Add the soup, peppers and chicken.
(5) Heat in the saucepan until bubbly.
(6) Pour into a 9-inch square baking dish.
(7) Top with the bread mixture.
(8) Bake at 375 for about 20 - 30 minutes until browned.

Over at The Monthly Marathon, we’re walking the total of a marathon each month in 2006. It’s not a difficult thing to do for most people. Just think - 30 minutes of walking a few times a week, and by the end of the month, you’ve walked a marathon!

I hope some more of you will join us for February. It starts tomorrow! Come on, you KNOW you’ll feel better for it! Follow the link above and leave a comment, and you’ll be put on the blogroll and be able to post to the blog.

It has been fun this month to keep up with each others’ progress and to encourage each other.

I’m still chuckling over a post I just read by Angie at Ficken Chingers. Now is there a mom anywhere that can’t identify with THAT?

Beth, at Blue Star Chronicles, has an excellent post entitled “American Strength.” It is at once touching, sad and uplifting. Here are some highlights, but it’s worth clicking over to read the whole post.

An American Soldier was laid to rest today. He was eulogized, honored and buried with full Marine military honors.

The ceremony was spectacular and heartbreaking.

It’s the extraordinary common man who holds this country together. It’s the guy who loves his country, his family, his community and his God. It’s the wife who waits for him, understands him and loves him.You probably know these people. They are probably down the street from you, living in your community.

They are the threads that make up the fabric of American society and the cloth of the American Flag.

Copy the questions and provide your answers. Link back so we can see how far this goes. I’m not “tagging” anyone. Use the questions as one of your own posts, or not. Here are my answers:

Five to Get-To-Know-You Questions:

1. What was your favorite game as a child? Pick-Up Sticks and jacks
2. What’s the best thing about being you? My family
3. What’s your favorite meal of the day, and why? Dinner (or as we say in the south, supper) - because I usually eat dinner with someone else. The other meals are often solitary endeavors.
4. Would you rather be exceptionally smart or exceptionally good-looking? This is going to sound very shallow…but I’d choose exceptionally good-looking. OK, now after thinking about it a few minutes, I will change my mind and choose exceptionally smart. Of course my mother would say I’m already both - but she’s biased, to say the least.
5. How would you describe your underwear drawer? a little messy but basically organized

You might consider this a little cheesy, but I like it anyway. And since whatever I like ends up in THE MEDIAN SIB, I’m sharing it here with you.

I’ve written a couple times of attending a small church near where we are going to build our house. It’s a great place, and it has the friendliest and most welcoming people I’ve ever met in a church. The following was in yesterday’s church bulletin at Hillsboro United Methodist Church. (hat tip to Pastor Tom who got it from Betty H.) I thought it was clever and right on!

What equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life? Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8 + 1 + 18 + 4 + 23 + 15 + 18 + 11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11 + 14 + 15 + 23 + 12 + 5 + 4 + 7 + 5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1 + 20 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = 100%

AND,

look how far the love of God will take you
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12 + 15 + 22 + 5 + 15 + 6 + 7 + 15 + 4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While HARD WORK and KNOWLEDGE will get you close, and ATTITUDE will get you there, it’s the LOVE OF GOD that will put you over the top!

Here’s the latest house plan that we’re considering. It looks pretty for a house that will be out in the country - on a hill surrounded by woods. We’re 99.99% certain this will be the one - and we’ll build it exactly like in these plans - except we’ll reverse it.

I had considered one other plan a few months ago - wrote about it HERE, but I think I like this one better. What do you think? (Sorry the floor plan is so small - I couldn’t get it show up any larger. However, you can get the general idea from this.) Later Note: HERE is the webpage where you can look at the plan more closely.

Les Miserables is my all-time favorite musical. So I was excited to see this questionaire. Which character are you?

Congratulations! You’re Enjolras, the revolutionary!

Which Les Miserables character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The husband had just finished reading the book, MAN OF THE HOUSE. He stormed into the kitchen and walked directly up to his wife. Pointing a finger in her face, he said, “From now on, I want you to know that I am the man of this house, and my word is law! I want you to prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I’m finished eating my meal, I expect a sumptuous dessert afterwards. Then, after dinner, you are going to draw me my bath so I can relax. And when I’m finished with my bath, guess who’s going to dress me and comb my hair?”

His wife replied, “The funeral director would be my guess.”

(Hat tip to RC for sharing this with me.)

There has been a lot in the news lately because of a column written by someone with the last name of Stein. I won’t link to the article since he has already received way too much press for what he wrote. However, another Stein - this time Ben Stein - has written a response at The American Spectator. It is well worth following the link to read the article in its entirety.

The men and women of the United States military are fighting the remnants of a regime so evil that it pioneered the use of torture against children — just for the amusement of Saddam and his family. The men and women whom Joel despises rid the world of a dictator so twisted and murderous that he openly admired Stalin and Hitler and sought to match their level of atrocities. The men and women who wear the uniform fought, bled, and died to rid the world of the most dangerous man on the planet in the most flammable place on the planet. They died to save a slave people from the genocidal control of a mad killer who thought nothing of gassing his own people, of wiping out entire regions, of setting up special rape rooms to allow his henchmen and his sons to rape women at will, who amused himself by pouring gasoline down the throats of totally innocent people and setting them on fire.

He continues to provide his description of the American solder.

They are saints in body armor, men and women of staggering moral virtue in a time and place when those words mean very little in the modern world. Their lives have the most meaning of any lives being lived on this earth right this moment. . . .Do I support the troops who have more moral decency in their toes than I do or anyone I know does in our whole bodies? I support them, pray for them, am humbled just to be on the same planet with them.

Others have weighed in on the subject:
Conservative Thinking has a post to which that other Stein responded.
Michelle Malkin offers ways to support our troops.
Baldilocks has two posts on the first Stein. Here and Here.

PawPaw and I saw “Walk The Line” tonight. I’ll preface my remarks by admitting my bias. I live in Nashville, and I like country music. So perhaps my opinion isn’t the most objective. However, we both thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Although it’s a 136-minute movie, we were so engrossed in the story that we hardly budged the whole time.

Great performances by both Phoenix and Witherspoon. So, two thumbs up for “Walk The Line.”

I learned awhile ago that Connie’s father, Billy, died this morning after a battle with cancer. Connie is one of my good friends — someone who was there for me soon after my divorce. She helped me learn how to get out and have fun again. Some of my best memories are of parties at either Connie’s house or mine - and trips we took with a group of our single friends.

Connie took a leave of absence from her job this past fall in order to take care of her father. She knew that his time was limited. She moved in with him so he wouldn’t have to leave his home. I only met her father a couple times, but I know that he was a good man who was loved by his family and his community. May he rest in peace, and I pray that God will be with Connie and her brothers during this time.