We have a brand new baby, and I am SOOOO excited! My darling neice sent me a text-pic, of OUR baby, who was just a couple of hours old. The baby is named after my mother, which I think is a VERY nice gesture. Can't wait to see up close and personal!

From Michael Yon's Online Magazine:

"Iraq only continues to improve. I plan to return to Iraq this year. That war truly is over. We can start bringing our men and women home, but it's crucial to pay close attention to the advice of our military commanders."

My sentiments exactly:
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005 ~~~

Super Bowl ..... Well, I have to say that it was an awesome game! I even got into the shouting, cheering mode. We played a very good game, but Pitts was just stronger. It was so tense at our party house, that people actually had to leave the room to calm down. And BTW ... the best ad was Pedigree!

And how abt that new conservative, Republican leader??? He looks very good to me. Bright affect, strong sense of self, composed, competent. My prediction: he will move farther up the political ladder. Possible pick for a future cabinet post or higher.

Love At Firt Bite

Chocolate: what better way to embrace American history, than with the gift of
chocolate?

Often associated with European culture, chocolate's roots are much deeper in
America than you might think. The trees that grow cacao beans actually
originated in the tropical regions of the Americas, and chocolate didn't
make its way to Europe until Christopher Columbus brought the beans back to
Spain after exploring the New World. In fact, chocolate has shaped the
American experience for more than three centuries:

Chocolate was a military ration during the Revolutionary War.

George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin all
drank chocolate.

Chocolate was drunk for medicinal benefits during the Lewis and Clark
Expedition and on the Overland Trails by California Gold Rush miners.

Amelia Earhart drank a cup of chocolate during her record-setting flight
over the Pacific on Jan. 11, 1935.

For other interesting stories surrounding the origins of chocolate check out
Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage (Wiley-Blackwell), a collection of
56 essays edited by Louis E. Grivetti and Howard-Yana Shapiro, which traces
the confection's path from pre-Columbian times to its worldwide
proliferation in both culinary and medical uses in Europe, North America,
Asia, and Africa.