The quilt that took almost 8 years to make!

 As we were cleaning our closet one day, Bob said that we should throw away all these t-shirts and sweatshirts that have seen better days.  I had the great idea that I would make a quilt out of them.  Well, it was very easy to start it and cut off all the sleeves and make nice rectangule pieces out of them and saw them together - front and back - but I just couldn't find the right material to put in between.  It took me years!  It went with me to VA (didn't have time to do much there), went with me to Benin (I actually found the stuffing on a catalog and ordered it), took it all to TX so I could sew it there... yeah, right!  I packed all up and shipped it to Belgium (where it stayed in our spare closet, still packed, for 2 1/2 years!)  So, I was not going to have anything to do in Iraq, right?  Yes! so it went with me to Iraq!  I finally placed it on my bed where I could see it every day and lo and behold, I got sick and had to stay home because I couldn't share my sickness with anyone... so in about 4 days, I finished it - FINALLY!  It sure came out gorgeous.  I shipped it immediately to Andy, didn't want to take any chances.

 We had a very good friend from Holland.  Her name is Myriam and she gave Andy this t-shirt.  We still keep in touch with her.  On the left square is a t-shirt from the Marine Detachment in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.  On the right is a sweatshirt from Richland College where I got my Associates Degree in Network Administration.

 Bob is from Iowa and we lived there for three years while he was a USMC Recruiter.  We had to show our support for the University.  I embroidered all the main events that happened to us in Iowa.

 The USMC has been a great part of our family as Bob served for 20 years.  This shows all the places where we lived in the US.  

And it all started in Ecuador.  This is where Bob and I met, where Andy was born and where we started our lives together.

 Bob wanted to enter the Marine Security Guard program again, this time as the Detachment Commander.  Our first post was Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.  We lived there for 18 months.  We loved it there, great friends, great job, great beach!

 Then we went to Tokyo, Japan.  We lived there for about 18 months again.  We loved the place, so much freedom, we could take the bus, metro, train anywhere!

 And I got older and realized that I had to work harder at keeping up in shape or as it says "magnificent"!

 We went to Belgrade, Yugoslavia... during the separation war.  We made so many great friends there, both Americans and Yugoslavs.  And my baby turned 15 years old while we were there!  We had a great big party and everyone in the Embassy was invited as well as from a couple more Embassies!  British and Canadians and of course, a lot of our local friends!

Rilski Manaster - This is in Bulgaria.  Even though we were in Yugoslavia, in war time, we were able to travel a bit (unfortunately Bob could not).  Andy and I went on this great trip to this Monastery.  All I remember is that the bed was wonderful, the blankets so nice and soft AND the wine, delicious!

Our home away from home

 This is our room... and yes, we did sleep on that bed!  There was enough space to move around the room and even iron our clothes.

 When the "duck and cover" alarms went off, I went to sit in the kitchen, this was my safe place.  I read a book until the "all clear" sounded.

 Bob's little computer that he could not live without for a year!  Our dining/living room area.

 The view froma window in our building.

 Towards the Embassy.  It took me about 5 minutes walking very fast, always keeping the next bunker in sight just in case I had to run to it.  This is about 5:50 am, that is why it is so empty.

 This way to the chow-hall, too long of a walk - too early to eat!

 View from one of our windows.  It is already too hot in the morning, nobody wants to be outside.

 The hallway towards the elevator.

 A cool day, it is!

The new crew at the chow-hall, lunch time!

Continuing with 2010 Synopsis

So we did socialize while in Baghdad and we even able to make some food at the apartment when we got some ingredients.  I made enchiladas.  They tasted so good but had to buy some strange meat (I think it was beef) and clean it up because it was already seasoned with some other stuff.  Ordered supplies from netgrocer and pleaded for corn tortillas, all that took a couple of months but it sure was worth the wait.

 After a full belly and drink in hand, everyone decided to stare at Bob's PC.  They were all impressed with such a big screen!  I am not going to say what they were all staring at!  LOL

 We also had a wonderful Chinese dinner for Chinese New Year.  It was delicious!  Our friend, June, who is from Taiwan and her husband, Steve, fixed this out-of-this-world meal!  We had to be rolled out of their apartment.

 It was nice and cool at night so we could sit out on the patio and relax for a bit.  It must have been either Friday or Saturday.  I think Amy (in the red) was going home (to Canada).

 And Steve and June went to Taiwan for vacation and decided to bring fire water.  I remember it was very good and we finished that bottle very fast!  They risked being arrested while coming through Kuwait to bring that bottle to us!

 And Josh convinced us to go to Prosperity (a military base) where there was a restaurant that served local food.  It was fantastic!  It might not look too good any longer as this picture is after we already went through the food like locust!

 We celebrated Mother's Day.  I "hung" pictures on our apartment of our boys, Bryan and Joshua.  The chow-hall had a couple of guys in their staff who made this beautiful statue.  It is made of styrofoam and painted over.  My IPS (supervisor) Timmie, put a message on the board to wish me Happy Mother's Day.

 And we had to experience a sand storm, right?  That is why we bought all this fancy stuff and no, I did not go rob a bank! LOL

 We went to the airport to pick up pouch.  We are waiting here for the plane to land.  On the left, our drivers and Bob and our friend, Josh.

 No, we didn't go there but it was good to see that there were other destinations between the Embassy and the airport.  I don't think I feel like going back to visit any of those.

And then, it was time to say good bye.  We had a great party with all the IRM people (computer support personel).  That, in the red shirt, was the big chief of our group.  Bruce is with me.  He is a very nice guy and crazy most of the time.  And Bob just observing the craziness around him.

A review of 2010

It seems fitting that I should start posting again a year later since my last post I placed would be Christmas in Baghdad 2009! I guess I will give a synopsis of what happened this year. 2010 was gone in a flash. It didn't seem so as we were going through it but now that it is the end of it, it all seems a blur. January found us in Baghdad, Iraq.

These are arial pictures as we were coming into Baghdad on a helo. The only place one I know for sure is the second picture - it is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There seems to be such a monument everywhere around the world. This one is huge. It has a Museum underneath but when we visited it, we were not able to go inside, it was all locked up.

We had a few BBQs throughout the year. We celebrated anything and everything. We would buy hamburgers and hot dogs at the PX or simply go to the chow-hall and get some meats (prime rib on Sundays was the best!). Some people were picky and brought pizza... from Pizza Hut. Yes, yes, we had two places we could eat at aside from the chow hall, Pizza Hut and Subway (didn't like either - can't win!). This BBQ sure looks great! I wish I had that right now!

In the middle of it all, we were able to go home to TX a few times. We saw our family more times during 2010 than in the past 5 years! We loved this chance! We left Baghdad and travelled via Amman, Jordan; Frankfurt, Germany and landed safe and sound in Dallas, TX. One of our favorite places to go was IHOP, here we are all happy and content with Bruce and Pam. We also went to OK to visit my sister and her family. On one of those trips, I even helped paint Jordan's kitchen! It was fun work doing that!

At the end of each visit, it was always sad to say good bye. Leaving the boys was hard but it was even harder to leave Andy, not only then but every time we say good bye!

I wanted to show the whole year on this one post but I guess it is going to take a few posts to go through it. I will do it again tomorrow. Putting pictures in the right place is hard. I guess I will upload the pictures and write around them.

Celebrating with Frosty in Baghdad - Christmas 2009

There were not many Christmas decorations around the compound in Baghdad but we did have a Frosty and a Christmas tree by the entrance to the chow hall. Don't we look cute?

Christmas 2009 - Baghdad, Iraq

Today is Tuesday, 22 December. Although, I had thought it was going to be a bit hard to be not just away from family and friends but in Baghdad for Christmas, it is a bit more depressing than I had expected. This week, especially, has been pretty sad and I have not really been motivated either at work or at home to do much. Life does go on and I am trying to overcome this mood and enjoy the moment. Bob and I here together and that is definitely a plus for a place like this. This picture shows the only Christmas decoration that we have in the compound, this is the DFAC (dining facility) where we eat all of our meals and socialize with our friends and co-workers and meet new people. Oh, I almost forgot to mention... you can see my honey at the table on the left side of the picture.

In Baghdad

So. we have been in Baghdad since the end of August 2009. Life has not been bad but we have limits. It seems hard now to believe that we have already been here for 3 months and have gone on our first R&R home. When we arrived in August, it seemed impossible that it would ever get cold in Baghdad... 3 months later, I can definitely believe it! Last night, I definitely got the surprise of my life when I walked to the chow hall, it was pretty cold! I believe now what I was told, that is for sure! No pictures of our trip back this time, I was comatose most of the way so I didn't have any motivation to move around. Ok, more about life in not so sunny Baghdad later.