I just got notification that I've been accepted to NAFSA Academy! I really wanted to do this so I am STOKED. It's a 9 month training program for young professionals in the field of international education. Since I'll only be in Qatar one more academic year, I wanted to find ways to broaden my international experience and boost my resume. This is my golden ticket! So, so, so happy I got accepted! Woohoo!

Which means, brief visit to B-lo in March! The spring training session is in Atlanta, but I need to get to B-lo to do some important name change stuff that I must do in person. Hopefully I can see a few peeps while I'm whirl winding my way through!

For Christmas this year I tried a new way of cooking the turkey. I enlisted Rory's help because it was grossing me out, but hey, got a 13 pound turkey cooked in an hour and ten minutes! Got the idea from our favorite cooking criminal, Martha Stewart.

They made it look so easy in the magazine I thought it would take about 15 minutes to mutilate, but ended up taking an hour! Maybe the turkey wasn't 1oo% thawed, maybe my kitchen sheers need sharpening, or maybe it's just plain harder than it looks in a picture.

STEP 1- remove all the innards, rinse, and pat the bird dry with paper towel. This is important because the bird WILL slide all over the place if it's damp. Our poor Blinky got her head covered in pink turkey juice as it spilled over the counter. I scrubbed her fur and got the pink out but she smelled like turkey all day.




STEP 2 - Flip the bird over on it's belly and stick your sheers up it's butt hole. Cut the spine out by cutting along both sides. I think our bird had scoliosis....








STEP 3 - Flip the bird over so it's breast side up, and break the breast bones. Essentially, set yourself up like you're going to give CPR, except you WANT to hear the bones break.




STEP 4 - Pin the wings under, baste with a mixture of olive oil and pepper, and roast for approximately 70 minutes, basting in between.




STEP 5 - Carve and enjoy.

Doha has wreaked havoc on my sinuses since I got here. Between the constant sandy air, air conditioners and mold I don't stand a chance. I've already had two URTI's as a result. I've been looking at the neti pot as a form of preventative medicine to see if it helps. I think I remember reading something on here at some point in the last 3 years about people using them?

Does anyone have any input on using one?

If my cat was a boy I'd have to name it Hammy after that crazy squirrel on Over the Hedge. Seriously. For a cat with no eyes she's pretty spastic.

I just opened a bag of Cheetos and I swear it was just like this clip from the Over the Hedge trailer. 35 seconds in, watch Hammy's reaction to a bag of cheese chips being opened.



Now replace the squirrel with a frantic no eyed kitten. MeOW!

Happy New Year 2010! We'll be ringing it in 8 hours ahead of you, so at 4pm give a shout out to Doha! I'm afraid I'll not be awake at 8am to return the favor, so Happy New Year B-lo!

OH - and happy blue moon! Though you won't get to witness it in North America, there will be a partial eclipse tonight to make it all the more special (viewable from Europe, Africa and Asia only I'm afraid).

Photos to share of my new do, feeling like my old crofty self again....ahhhh purple ;)

On the eve of each New Year we often reflect on our lives. As I do this dear e-strippers, I wish you joy that never ends and happiness with all your family and friends.

Where were you when 2009 began?
At PMT's

Who were you with?
everyone

Where will you be when 2009 ends?
At a house party here in Doha

Whom will you be with when 2009 ends?
My husband, a work colleague, and lots of new people

Was 2009 a good year for you?
Amazing! Married the love of my life and am eternally happy for it!

What was your favorite moment of the year?
Tie: when (e:Rory) proposed to me and when (e:Drew) announced we were official

What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Maybe 3 days before the wedding. My family were at each others' throats and stressing me out.

Did you reach your New Year 2009 goals?

• Meet Rory's family and friends - did it
• Finish my sailing course with minimal bruising - sort of did it
• Travel to Jordan, Singapore, Antarctica - wedding superseded these plans
• Present at the NASPA conference - attended NASPA, worked on presentation, but had to leave early for Rory's grandfather's funeral
• Increase my fitness level considerably - negative ghost rider
• Be the best supervisor I can be - I think so!
• Marry the love of my life - did it!

Did you fall in love in 2009?
Absolutely! Madly and deeply.

What was your favorite month of 2009?
October - I GOT MARRIED!

Did you travel outside of the US in 2009?
Qatar, England, Italy, Maldives - skim on the travel but for good reason.

How many different states did you travel to in 2009?
D.C., Massachusetts, New York

Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009?
Rory's grandfather Trevor

What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009?
Coraline!

What was your favorite song in 2009?
Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night by Black Eyed Peas

What was your favorite album in 2009?
This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars

What was your most exciting moment of 2009?
Convincing Rory to try SCUBA diving with me and him doing really well and enjoying it!

What was your proudest moment of 2009?
Marrying Rory. We did it as a team, together all the way.

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009?
Having a very temporary haircut after donating my hair and a woman run up to me and say "Oh my God did you just get your haircut, you have a piece hanging in the back!"

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
I would have started the turkey with Rory much earlier in the day - it took us way longer to dismember it than I thought it would.

What are your goals for 2010?

• Master the art of packing light
• Travel to New Zealand, Oman, Abu Dabi, India, Egypt, Jordan, Australia, and Antarctica
• Lose 40 pounds by our 1 year anniversary
• Pay off my car in November
• Pay off 1/3 of one of my student loans
• Knit tons of goodies to donate to charity
• Participate in more community service opportunities
• Be the best teammate (wifey) I can be
• Drop the dead weight in my life and look for more positive forces to surround myself with
• Create a solid sustainability campaign in our residence halls

Hope your Birthday Rocks!

Originally we got adopted two kitties from the local shelter but it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare with two. Always fighting, body parts getting caught in the middle of those fights = many ouchies.

Luckily my colleague loved Inky so she adopted him from us. At least we still get to visit and play with him :)

Blinky is a special needs cat in that she has no eyeballs. We can't sew up her eye sockets until she's old enough to handle anesthesia so we just have to try to keep them clean. In her first solo picture she still has a bit of an infection. Second one, taken just moments ago, she's doing much better.

Special needs is a bit of a lie too, because this kitty is balls out the most adventurous little bugger I've ever known! She often overshoots her target by leaping an extra foot into the air, has an adorable weasel like side pounce attack, and runs through the house with ease. On occasion she bonks her head into a wall but it hardly phases her. Ironically, she has great skill in poking us in the eye while we're in bed.....

We're so happy to finally have the "Christmas Kitty" we've been wanting for several months now!



Inky and Blinky in a moment of calm





Blinky likes to curl up in the trash basket





Blinky being as Hallmark cliche as possible playing with a giant ball of yarn.

The Webbers wish you a Happy Christmas!

So I have a pretty hefty upper respiratory tract infection. Joy, joy, joy. To brighten things up a bit I thought I'd share just a few shots from the US leg of our tour.



the traditional British group photo after the ceremony





the husband and I with the man who took our pics, the one and only (e:Libertad)





one of the coolest shots we got in the cemetery





my favorite kissing shot

Mr & Mrs Webber have arrived home - amazingly. We had a lovely party in the UK, though a little chaotic to get set up apparently. We also ran out of time to do our slideshow which means we carted around our projector around the world for no reason...oy. Everyone around us was sick, and between that and the traveling I didn't really stand a chance. SO now I'm sick too. Rory was, but seems to have thwarted any major affects. Getting on another plane with a head cold made the pain so much worse. I had to actually take a sick day today, which is almost unheard of for me.

We barely made our plane out of London because we got stuck in so much road works and traffic on the way out. I'm so proud I managed to drive in and out of Heathrow airport - that place is nuts....and I still sometimes try to get into the 'wrong' side of the car when I'm over there. Or bash my fingers into the window reaching for the gears, when they are on the left as well. Nonetheless, I think I've qualified as a world driver now.

So, back in Doha we just picked up keys for our 2 bedroom apartment - YAY! I'm supposed to have one anyway as part of my contract, but there are lots of promises made that get broken here, and that was one of em. So, now that I'm a married woman, they HAD to give me a 2 bedroom (which is like 3 times the size of my one bedroom).

In other words, we now have a BED for people to sleep in - so if you have ANY desire in seeing the world outside your backyard, particularly experiencing the middle east, this would be the time to do it. Hotels are very expensive around here and there are no motel 6 type dos. Even if you use it as a 2 day layover on the way to someplace else.....and I think we might try to plan a group stay at Rory's aunt's place in Indonesia next year. That would be tre fun!

Anyway, sooner that later because before you know it, 2 more years will pass and we'll be on our way to somewhere. Nothing sounds worse that opportunity as it whizzes past your head.

When we're back in our time zone and the 3rd party is over, we'll get a few shots posted from the big affair :)

Ciao, Mrs. Webber