An Ode to Missouri.

In some much appreciated care packages I received some copies of the coveted Missouri Conservationist Magazine. I was a big fan back home and having it in Morocco is just an awesome treat.

As a tribute to the fall time I miss so much, I replaced some of my Thailand photos with photos of the great state of Missouri and even some Mizzou photos, just to make me feel more at home!

Happiness, even in the smallest forms.

Yes, days around here can be stressful and trying but thankfully a life long ally is back in action. I have always loved cereal. I could eat boxes of Fruit Loops, Raisin Bran and CornFlakes with little to no effort at all. In an attempt to carry my love of cereal over to Morocco, I splurged and bought a very expensive box of "Fruit Loops" and some milk. When I sat down to try out my heart-warming snack, I was sadly and udderly disappointed. As it turns out Kellog's doesn't make the same Fruit Loops everywhere, these Moroccan ones were different. Bummer.

After this failed attempt I had given up, until one fatefal day I took a trip to the Marjane to stock up on snacks for my 14+ hour journey home and bought a box of Tito's suprise.

My entire outlook on changed thanks to this little, overpriced box of cereal and some fat free milk. Woo hoo. My mornings (and evenings) are a lot better these days, lets just say that.

Happy birthday to all and to all a good night.

Yep its a birthday month for my family. I would like to wish a warm birthday wish to my mother and brother who are October birthdays. Eat some cake for me!


My mother, a birthday long ago.


Dear old AJ, with Maddy, about 10 birthdays ago!

A pretty great visit.

Here is a photo taken at PC Headquarters in Rabat with the resident turtle!

You can't trust vampires, trust me.

I have a confession, I am addicted to Twilight. Yes, I know. Most of you who know me even remotely well will remember my lack of interest in fiction. Despite the occasional Harry Potter and a class assignment or two, I have never really been into fiction. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I didn't have a lot of time to read, and if I was going to ready, I wanted it to be something I could learn from.

Things changed pretty drastically when I moved to Morocco. I was suddenly presented with a great deal of free time. After finding the first movie in my DVD case and remembering the mania around the sorority house and from my 15 year old sister, I watched it. Then I got hooked.

I found the first two books and went to work. Man, I blew through them in 1 day each. Thankfully (luckily) I was headed up to Rabat and the Peace Corps library just days after finishing the first two to pick up the last two. Turns out the PC library had them both and I got to work.

It took me another day to get through Eclipse and another day and half to get through the 700 page Breaking Dawn.

I can't really explain what it is about them, and like lots of things about me, I have been getting a lot of grief for getting into them, but they were hard to put down. Something about the way Stephanie Meyer does such a great job portraying emotions that are so easy to relate to.

At first I was ashamed of this little minor addiction I had developed, but I guess my self-confidence has taken so many hits since moving to Morocco, this is nothing. No longer am I ashamed. I have watched the first two movies and just finished downloading lucky number 3, so that will be my after-dark activity for the day!

For all you haters, don't hate. Morocco really has been quite a test and I guess reading some good fiction now and then won't hurt me. I promise to be back to non-fiction when I get back to the good ole USA.

Also, I am very strongly and passionately on Team Edward. Sorry Maddy.