Say hello to...

MANA!!
Our newest edition is a beautiful one year old black lab rescue that we have named Mana (pronouced MUHnuh, which is a Maori word meaning strength). We picked him up from the rescue on Saturday morning and it is as if he has been with us his entire life. He looks like a miniature Murphy but just a little bit blockier than she (for those of you that know labs she is a field lab and he is more like an English lab.)
Pic # 1: Murphy & Mana on our balcony
Pic # 2: Mana - on top of the couch (just like Murphy did when she was a puppy!)
Pic # 3: Mana & Murphy (before murphy growled him off!)
Pic # 4: Our Beautiful wonderful sweet Murphy

I'll add more pics later!

REAL Rugby - well Rugby league anyway

We made a trip up to Jacksonville last weekend to see the South Syndey Rabbitohs play the UK Leeds Rhinos in an exhibition game of Rugby League. (This is different than Rugby Union which is what is played during the Rugby World Cup). The weather was cold and gray and rainy but the game was a blast. OHHH and Russel Crowe shook Frank's hand!!! He is one of the 2 owners of the Rabbitohs and has done a lot to bring recognition to the sport - in particular his team. Also present at the game were the Orange County Chopper guys - along w/ 2 custom bikes in Rabbitohs colors for Russ (aka Russel Crowe); Greg Norman (AU golfer); Chris Everette (US Tennis player and fiance to Greg Norman) and a cameo by Dennis Rodman.

Anyway - we had a total blast and I am loving Rugby more and more - and realizing that Rugby Union is much much more fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So this post is a little more timely!! Here we are at New Years. Frank's brother Nelson and his girlfriend Raelene "Rails" have been visiting us for about a week so we got to spend New Years with them and another couple of our friends. We decided to make it low key and just head down to the community party, where we were promised champagne and live music. Of course by champagne they meant a toast at midnight. So the boys headed back up to the condo, filled up the cooler with beer, margaritas, vodka and cranberry juice and brought it back down to the pool with the ipod and speaker. We ended up drinking and dancing by the pool and the bay until about 3 -3:30. Frank and Nelson stayed up until about 8:30 to watch the sun rise. Was a great impromtu NYE - you know those nights!!

Anyway - CHEERS to you all and we hope you have a healthy and happy year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

OK so I am seriously late with this post but I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! We had a wonderful time here. The weather was warm so it didn't feel like the holidays to me, but it was perfect holiday weather for Frank. Christmas Eve was just the two of us and Frank made a delicious dinner. Christmas day we went to my brother's for a few hours to visit with him, my sister-in-law and their girls. That night we had friends over for dinner. A wonderful christmas but we both missed our families!!
You can see our beautiful tree - my biggest one yet - and my cutie fiance and Murphy!

The ring and some pics of the condo

Just some pics of the ring and of the condo!

Engaged!!

YAY! We got engaged!! Ok so this blog has turned into more than me in iraq but since Iraq is where I found Frank I've decided to just continue using it. Frank & I got engaged December 3, 2007 after dating for over a year. I came home from work to a beautifully clean condo, filled with lit candles and a scrumptious homemade dinner. We had a lovely dinner and sat on the couch to finish our wine. That's when he got on his knees and proposed!!! No ring but we picked it out the next day. I'll post a picture of teh ring next. I'll also try to find some pics of the condo and get those up for those of you who can't visit right away. We are planning to get married on the beach in Florida December 6, 2008.

The end of an era...

Hey all - I just wanted to let everyone know that I have officially decided that I am not returning to Baghdad. It is a very bittersweet decision for me as I really loved my job but I cannot go back because of personal reasons. I'm hopeful that the project will continue and that I'll be able to be a part of it from the states. Thanks so much for sharing my experiences with me through this website and through emails.

Back Home

I'm back in the States and happy to be home. Everything is still up in the air as to where my life will take me next but I am looking forward to the future and building on what I have started. I will hopefully see you all soon! Please feel free to email or call me whenever!!

Tel Aviv, Israel

We started our trip in Israel in Eilat, down in the south after walking across the border from Aqaba, Jordan. It felt like coming home. We spent 1 night there and then flew up to Tel Aviv. Robin described it perfectly when she said that Tel Aviv is like a laid back New York on the beach. I LOVE it there and could easily move there in different circumstances. We also walked all over that city - Robin more than me but that's a story not meant for a blog! As a bonus this was clearly a dog friendly city - we even saw someone walking their dog at 4am! And Robin discovered a dog beach. Ok that's all the pics for now. Will upload the rest when I get back to the states and am happy to share if anyone wants to see them!! Miss you all and looking forward to seeing you when I get home.

Jerusalem, Israel

I have a bunch more pics but these are from our 4 days in Jerusalem. We walked all over the New City and the Old City (behind the walls). We also went to the Mount of Olives and Ein Kerem. We visited Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum) - which was amazing - moving powerful overwhelming - but worth every minute. If you want to see more pics just let me know and when they are uploaded I'll send them out. Tel Aviv Pics to come.

HOLA

Robin is not going to be happy about me posting this picture!! Haha - this is us at the Dead Sea in Israel. We have been traveling around Israel for about a week. We are heading back to the States tomorrow. More pics to come in additional posts. Just wanted everyone to know I am good happy traveling and heading home soon. Miss you heaps!