SAINTS MANIA IN FULL SWING

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees

This game is about a devastating hurricane and a city's inspiring recovery.

It's about a franchise that has struggled to get here for more than four decades, and a loyal fan base that has kept the faith.

It's about the hometown hero, Peyton Manning, who now rides into this game wearing the "black hat, " hoping to lead the other team to victory.

It's about Manning's legacy and Drew Brees' legacy, and Sean Payton's legacy and Jim Caldwell's legacy. And it's about the Indianapolis Colts cementing their place in history and the New Orleans Saints changing their reputation forever.

But when Super Bowl XLIV finally kicks off this evening inside Sun Life Stadium, more than anything, it will be about football.

This game will be about the two best teams in the NFL doing what they do best for three hours inside their own little bubble on the game's ultimate stage.
....

Brees said he always has some level of nerves or butterflies leading up to a game. And he said, "If you don't have any of that, it may be time to get out."

But he said the more he prepares and visualizes the moment, the more those nerves become replaced with confidence.

"It's really about getting past all that (pregame) stuff initially and being able to get to the game, " Brees said. "You have to say to yourself, 'It's football. It's another game, and we know how to go out and play well and win these types of games
....

The Saints came up with a team mantra to start this offseason, one that has been repeated often as they've learned how to dominate the fourth quarter and find ways to win. But that mantra has never been more fitting than it is right now:

"Finish Strong."

"Sounds good to me," says she who knows very little about football.




Yeah. CRAAAZEEE!

From NOLA.com.

Win or lose, there will be a Saints parade Tuesday.

The New Orleans Saints Super Bowl parade scheduled for next Tuesday will begin at 5 p.m. on Poydras Street in front of the Superdome, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

The entire Saints team and organization will be on a series of floats donated from various Carnival krewes across the city.

There you go. We don't have enough parades parading right about now. One more will round things off.

BLIZZARD IN MID-ATLANTIC

From Reuters:

A blizzard producing heavy snow and powerful winds pummeled the U.S. mid-Atlantic on Saturday, causing at least two fatalities and paralyzing travel in the region.

Snowfall totals of 20 to 30 inches (51 to 76 cm) are forecast from Virginia to southern New Jersey by Saturday evening when the storm is expected to move out to sea.

Up to 28 inches 71 cm) of snow had fallen by 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) in suburban Washington, D.C. Local weather forecasters said the storm could bring the heaviest snowfall in 90 years to the Washington area.

The National Weather Service declared a 24-hour blizzard warning for the Washington-Baltimore region until 10 p.m. EST Saturday/0300 GMT Sunday.

Winds were strong, especially along the mid-Atlantic coast, with gusts recorded up to 40 mph (64 kph).

Elizabeth Kaeton is at her cottage at Rehoboth Beach and lost power for a while, but now has electricity once again. Read all about her adventures at Telling Secrets.

Pray for those who have lost power or in in any kind of trouble during the severe weather.

From JimB:

That is not tears of concern in my eyes -- nasty infection. I am getting treatment but as a diabetic, I am only terrified when something threatens my sight. Prayers gratefully accepted.

FWIW
jimB

BISHOP ALAN LOOKS FORWARD TO GENERAL SYNOD

Bishop Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, reflects on the approaching General Synod of the Church of England. Bishop Alan blogs at - well - Bishop Alan's Blog.

From the Guardian:

General Synod ahoy! Sadly for aficionados of genteel custard pie wars, bishops' gender is not slated for major discussion next week, although fans of turf – and astroturf – wars will take note of a private member's motion about a US dissident former Episcopalian group. Connoisseurs of murder at the vicarage may find some tasty morsels in the debate on terms and conditions of service for members of the clergy.

That would be Lorna Ashworth's motion:

“That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”.

"The church's parliament" it may be, but the General Synod's house of laity is democratic in the pure ­Athenian sense that only a tiny proportion of the ­punters get a vote. A while ago I questioned this aspect of the setup, but gilded ones who sit in the tearoom and make our futures told me that, even using the internet, it would self-evidently be ludicrously costly and ­bothersome to have ordinary Anglicans voting. So there.

Think of it! All of the members of the church, all us humble pew warmers having a vote on the issues! Well, surely the implementation of such a practice would be "ludicrously costly and ­bothersome", but Bishop Alan is way out in front for even having the thought.

What I wish for this General Synod, however, and the next one, is something the Rule of Benedict describes as the great work of any Christian leader – to order all things in such a way that the strong have something to inspire them, and the weak nothing they need to run away from.

Let us pray for the members of General Synod, who will be meeting beginning on February 8, 2010.

The comments to Bishop Alan's column are particularly and viciously anti-religion, although I agree with the commenter who states that the CofE bishops should be out of the House of Lords.

WHO NEEDS A BABYSITTER?

 

 

 

 

Within the heart of every stray
Lies the singular desire to be loved

Thanks to Sue for "the sweet pictures of little kids and their pets. Enjoy!"

SIGNS IN MALAYSIA

Click on the picture for the large view and then, don't ask, don't tell!

Thanks to Wade, who says that he's been looking for funny signs for me in Malaysia, but "most Malaysians speak far better English than is common in the US!" I don't doubt it, but apparently his compliment does not apply to absolutely EVERYONE.

OUR SUPPER TONIGHT...

...included dearly-priced boiled crawfish, the first of the season. Crawfish are not yet plentiful because of our extended cold weather this winter.

With the crawfish we had boiled fresh artichoke. We pull the leaves off and dip them in a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, black pepper, and a dash or two of Tabasco. When we get down to the heart and stem of the artichoke, we break them up and dip into the same dressing. Mmm-mmm good!

WEST VIRGINIA TRAFFIC STOP

A man in West Virginia had a flat tire. He pulled off on the side of the road and proceeded to put a withered bouquet of flowers in front of the car and another one behind it. Then he got back in the car and waited.

A passerby rubbernecked the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.

The man replied, "I got me a flat tar."

The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?"

The man responded, "When you breaks down they says to put flares in the front and flares in the back! I doesn't understand it neither. But, you stopped, so, I guess it works! You got a extry spar?"


DO NOT blame me, especially if you're from West Virginia. Blame Paul (A.).

PLEASE PRAY

Please pray for my cousin Marylynn who has throat cancer and is probably close to the end. She is conscious but cannot speak, and her whole body is quite swollen. Pray that she may be free from pain and at peace in this last stage of her life.

Please pray for healing for my friend of 60 years who has colon cancer, with spread to nodes. She had surgery to remove two thirds of her colon and is receiving chemotherapy now. So far, she is not ill from the chemo. Please pray that the chemo will do its job and that she will continue to feel well.

SCG's friend Charlotte had a set-back in that she had to return to surgery for breast cancer to have more tissue removed because the margins of the section that was taken out were not clear. She says that she feels as if she's on a roller coaster. She's right. I remember. That's exactly the feeling. Details at Wake Up and Live.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!

When the sun rose in the valley of Megiddo and shone off of the gleaming spears of the Egyptian army of Thutmosis II (at the first recorded battle in human history) the King of Kadesh and his assembled Canaanite allies looked at each other and said....

When the South Wales Borderers of the British army of Lord Chelmsford heard the thunder of the assegais pounding on the buffalo hide shields of the approaching Zulu impis below Isandalwanna they said...

When the Germans in the trenches at Ypres in 1916 heard a strange rumbling and clanking coming from over no-mans-land they looked out from over the tops of their trenches and thought....

Custer and the Seventh....well, you know....

WHO DAT?

Having more fun than the law should allow ;-)

The silliness continues. Don't blame me. Blame my Florida (not Miami) friend.

TIMES ONLINE SUPPORTS WHO DAT NATION

Click on over to the site of the Times Online to read the article and watch the video of the Brits who support the Who Dat Nation against the NFL.

Thanks to my Florida (not Miami) friend.