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• Travel to Jordan, Singapore, Antarctica - wedding superseded these plans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