Welcome Home, John

I don't know John, but last night when I walked the dogs through a nearby development, there were tons of signs welcoming home this National Guardsman who'd been stationed in Iraq. His family had put signs on the community mailbox, explaining that he'd over there for 1 1/2 years and was coming home on the 9th, and asking the neighborhood to participate in his homecoming by putting up their American flags. There were flags on almost all the houses lining the street, and signs with "Welcome Home" or "Great Job" in almost every yard. One family had made a huge 12 foot banner, and the house where John lives was decorated with tons of lights and a big balloon arch. I can't tell you how moving it was, which seems odd since I've really never met this person (although I have met their Border Collie named Two and their Lab mix named Zero). I just couldn't help but think about him having been away from his family for 18 months, and the incredible joy and emotion he must have felt finally coming home. Just seeing the support from all of his neighbors must have been overwhelming, especially since 2 days before there had been a slew of rivaling campaign posters in the yards just across the street. Now, they both had American flags and were united in their cause--showing love for the troops.

While the scene was very emotional in a joyful way, it also brought to mind the thousands of families who won't ever have this joyful homecoming because their son or daughter or father or mother was killed in the war. It's just devastating to think about, and reminded me that I should be committed to praying for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, regardless of whether I'm for or against the war in the first place.

Apparently I wasn't the only one who found John's homecoming noteworthy. There's an article about it this morning in the Lawrence Journal-World.

Chad Chesney Wins

Okay, I am seriously going to pay for today's blog, but it's just so funny I can't resist. Some of you, who have witnessed first hand how much Chad hates the comparison I'm about to make, will find this funnier than others.

About two years ago, a coworker of mine mentioned to Chad that he looked like Kenny Chesney. At the time, we had no idea what Kenny looked like, so we went home and looked him up on the Internets. We saw the resemblance, but didn't find it to be quite as striking as my coworker did. Anyway, during the last two years, as Kenny's popularity has increased, the "Hey, you look like Kenny Chesney" comments have also been on the rise. What makes it so hilarious is that Chad despises most country music, he really despises Jimmy Buffet, who is one of Kenny's inspirations, and he would not be caught dead in a huge cowboy hats or muscle shirt. There is nothing about Kenny's image that Chad identifies with or admires, which makes him go crazy every time someone makes the comparison. For example, here are some excerpts from an e-mail conversation that occurred earlier today among a bunch of our friends:

Jake--
"I would like to congratulate Chad on recently winning the Country Music Association's 'Entertainer' of the year award."

Chad--
"Jake is a dead man. Funny, but still dead."

So as you can see, I am risking my life (or maybe just 50 lashes with a wet noodle, as my mom used to say) even blogging about this. Regardless, I have to share just a few pictures in which you might be able to see the comparison.

KENNY vs. CHAD



































































And the crown jewel of the comparison pictures, even though I'm so bummed I could only find a thumbnail:







Before he wrings my neck, I would just like to point something out to my dear husband. After I warned my friend Kevin that he'd better lay off of the "Chad Chesney" comments, he pointed out that Chad should be flattered by the comparison since Kenny can get just about any woman in the world that he wants (I assume that applies only to women under 5 foot 3). I realize that Kevin may be exaggerating just a little, but he isn't kidding about Kenny being wildly popular with the girls. Chad should be flattered. And I should be eternally grateful that I have an awesome husband who resembles, but is WAY more awesome than, the famous Mr. Chesney. :)

Election Elation

Can I just say that I will be so glad when today is over? I am so tired of the hideously repulsive campaign ads that I could just spit. I think it was the staff of Good Morning America who reported that 81% of Democratic ads were negative and 91% of Republican ads were negative. I swear, it usually feels like we're voting for the lesser of two evils. What is it about becoming an elected official at the national level that turns you into scum? Okay, maybe I'm making sweeping generalizations here, but seriously, there have been far too many outrageous scandals in D.C. to call that place normal. The mere fact that at least one congressperson has suggested that the congressional page program be done away with because it's too big of a temptation for the senators and representatives is a perfect demonstration of the dementia which abounds in Washington. Clearly, many normal, decent people become completely insane when presented with too much power. Just ask Ted Haggard. Speaking of power problems and the page program, I thought this was an interesting related article, even though I know nothing about the person who wrote it except that his name is Sheldon Richman.

I will say that I didn't see a single ad for our incumbent Governor Kathleen Sebelius which even mentioned the name of her opponent, let alone in a negative light. Way to rise above the fray, Madame Governor! Of course, since most Kansans (including me) couldn't name the people she was running against, she probably didn't need many commercials at all--let alone negative ones!

Menu Makers, Part Two

Back in September, I wrote about trying MenuMakers for the first time and promised to give everyone our opinion on the meals after we'd eaten a few. Well, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting our thoughts on the subject, we recently finished all of the meals I prepared back in September. The reviews are mixed. First of all, we actually saved a lot of money on food during the month, since we didn't eat out nearly as much. Normally, on those nights that we open the fridge and go "there's nothing to fix for dinner," we end up out eating at a restaurant, and generally it's not the fast food kind. You just don't realize how much that adds up over the course of a month! Anyway, the results were mixed because while there were a few recipes that we really liked, out of the 12 entrees that we tried, most were just so-so. I kept having to remind Chad that we had paid for the convenience of easy preparation, because he kept saying "I could make something better than this," which is true because he is a very good cook. Since I'm not, and I really don't like to cook, I would lean towards doing MM again because I liked the convenience and am not a picky eater. However, Chad decided that since the recipes aren't that great, he wanted to do his OWN MenuMakers evening with his own recipes. Last night, while I was out shopping for clothes, he went to the grocery store and bought ingredients for about 7 of our favorite meals, mixed up about 4 of them, and put them in the freezer. Now, for the next few weeks, whenever we don't know what to fix the next night, all we have to do is grab something from the freezer and thaw it out. Hopefully we'll see the same benefits of saving money, but we'll be eating some of our favorite meals and not trying something new that we don't really like. He's a husband extraordinaire!

A Shout Out To Jake Too

Since I sang Amber's praises a couple of days ago, this weekend I have to give a shout out to her husband Jake as well. Jake is also working towards his PhD and finished his comps earlier this year, but he's an athlete as well as an intellectual! Jake is an avid runner, and a few weeks ago he ran a marathon in about 3 hours and 18 minutes. That means he basically ran a 7 1/2 minute mile 26.2 times, which is faster than I can run a mile ONE time!

On Saturday, he and Amber came over to watch the Nebraska game (they are Huskers by birth) in HD TV (although it turned out not to be broadcast in high def), and Jake asked us to Tivo the game because they were going to be a little late. Jake decided, on a whim, to run in a half marathon that morning in KC. I'm astounded and impressed that he can go out and run 13.1 miles after just deciding to do so the day before! Even though he decided to race on the spur of the moment, he still won his age division! Way to go, Jake! You're making the rest of us look bad! :)