More PHOTOS from Germany (and more to follow)

Nic's Berlin Photos

MERRY CHRISTMAS from BERLIN!
This post will be chock-o-block with pictures because Ed, Henry and I are in Berlin for Christmas with my sister Natalie & her husband Kurt. And away we go....

My son has a favorite song!

So Henry goes to a Nursery School that he LOVES! They sing nursery rhymes and one morning when H. was being fussy they decided to sign his "favorite song" to calm him down. Then they launch into 3 Little Men in A Flying Saucer which I had never heard in my life! But its kooky and fun and so very Henry.

New photos not from the beach

I know it has been awhile since I posted photos or did anything "bloggy", but damn it! I have been busy and as previously mentioned- Henry broke my camera. So here are some recent ones that have been taken within the last few weeks (since Ed's parents have been visiting with us). We went to the beach today so I will post beach photos (there are a ton) tomorrow. The first two are Henry and his parents before brunch. That nice white shirt did not survive the chocolate fountain. Then we have, "Friends", followed by, "I'm on a boat!" and "Cap'n Spooky likes candy corn" Enjoy!

Blame Henry...

Lack of new photos, and to that end, new blog posts is the sole responsibility of H. Stockton, who took it upon himself to test the durability of our camera by throwing it to the floor. The Elph did not pass Henry's super scientific test and we are in the process of getting a new camera. So photos will be limited to older ones I had not previously posted. Any comments or complaints regarding this arrangement should be taken up with The Boy.

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

I can't believe my camera can do this!

While most of what I do with my camera is point-and-shoot, I do like using features as long as they are not complicated or too time consuming (always the most important factor for me...),
so I was really excited to find a few quick tricks I can do with my Canon. Also, it helps to have really really good-looking subject material!

Oh, yes she did!

I am weirdly proud of Qatar's own SHEIKHA MOZAH for making Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List.
I hope other people look at this as a compliment -she is a great asset to the future of Qatar. AND apparently a great dresser!
Check it out-
The 2009 International Best-Dressed List: vanityfair.com


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WHOOO-HOOO!!!

Last assignment of the semester is DONE! I am so proud of myself that I am concerned it will seep into other aspects of my life and I'll start requiring that people refer to me as "Her Most Awesomeness." But, for today, anyway, I am just thrilled that I have completed my first two classes, and did pretty darn well, if I must say. So my last assignment was to make a webpage with all of the things I have done during the course of my one class (a portfolio of my assignments for LIS2600- Introduction to Information Technologies) and I know it my be boring to most of you, but for those of you that want to know what I've been doing all summer- I thought I would put it here. Be amazed!!

Why, Blogspot, Why?

Ever since I returned to Doha, every time I go to my blog page (but before I sign in) all of the Blogspot tabs at the top of the page are in Arabic. So I hit the
and after that its all in English. I know, I know, one or two mouse-clicks is not really something I should be complaining about, but its still frustrating.
I am still finishing up the last assignment for 2600, but the end is not just in sight, its an arms-length away. Too bad my plan to celebrate pool-side has been thwarted by a sand storm... Maybe tomorrow. And good news for the folks back home: once I am done with school-work blog stuff I can start serious work on cute-photos-of-Henry blog stuff!

Copyright Law is Hard

Reading all this copyright material and writing the final paper for my Intro Class just reminds my why I'm soooo glad I'm not in Law school. (among many other reasons) It's convoluted. It's complicated. It is at times VERY counter-intuitive. And even the experts don't know everything there is to know about it. This is NOT my favorite section (maybe that's why they put it last) and I will be glad when I don't have to read about it anymore.

Despite how important it is to my profession and consumers as a whole...

I blame Mickey Mouse.

Semester 1- almost over

I was just talking to family on Skype and I realized that my first semester of Graduate school is almost over. Whoo-Hoo! I really enjoyed this semester. I really enjoy the program and everything I have learned so far, despite (or in part- because of ) how much work its required. I know I should be updating the blog a bit more, but I really am glad I started one, and I am sure I'll keep up with it if for no other reason than to post photos of my son. But I can't wait for the end of term so I can go back to reading for fun. I have just barely had time to read everything I need to for class and NO free time to read so that is what the month of August is going to be about. I already have my first book picked out and sitting next to the bed. Gore Vidal's The Smithsonian Institution: A Novel. I book that I have had for a while now- I think I got it at one of those BIG used book sales they used to have in the mall or in State College, at the Agricultural Stadium/Barn.

Jet Lag is a cruel mistress...

I am home!
Whoo- hoo!
The flight went better than expected, despite the minor detour to New Orleans on the Pittsburgh to Houston trip. (Thunderstorms. Won't have any of that in Doha!) But the 17hour flight from Houston to Doha was great. Henry & I got comfy, had dinner and then we both slept for 9 hours! I could not ask for a better son. :) Then we had breakfast and were left with only 2 hours to kill before landing. Even immigration was a snap. If only I could say the same for the jet lag... Wikipedia does not do justice to what I have felt the last 48+ hours. I will not go into details other than to say I am showing all five of the symptoms listed on that site and then some.
My husband is a saint for still being happy that I am here.
Henry is doing OK, but not sleeping normally, yet.

I ♥ Harry Potter

I leave for home (Doha) in a day and while I am anxious to get there, I will miss many things about the States. Some are really obvious:
-Family
-Friends
-Pork (Bacon, chops, HAM)
-Readily available alcohol
-Books!
But the ones that are not so obvious include, but are not limited to:
-huge #'s of choice @ stores
-yarn
-Movie Theaters
Let me explain the last one, because they DO have movie theaters in Doha, but we don't go. Because there are limits to what the country will allow when it comes to Western influence- the movies are cut/censored. But you can never know how badly something has been changed until you see a US copy it's really not worth it (to me) to see it in an unintended form. Especially when I am seeing something for the 1st time and am therefore in an impressionable state. Especially when it is something I REALLY want to see.
Like Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.
I got to see it w/ my sister and all I can say is if I had done nothing else on the trip, but see this I think it would have been worth it.
Go. See. It.

This annoys me:

I have enjoyed my time in PA, but I am ready to be back in the Middle East. I'm so sick of people assuming that
a) I am crazy for living there
b) I am not there by choice
c) my husband is somehow affiliated with the military
because it COULDN"T be
d) helping people receive an education from one of the best engineering schools in the U.S.

Why do we assume that the only reason anyone needs to be in the Middle East is for military purposes? It shows a real ignorance on our part to only see it as a place to occupy rather than a place to live. If I said I lived in Ireland no one would look at me like I was insane- they would think it was cool. And while it is not cool (temp.-wise) in the desert that is Qatar, its a great place to experience for awhile. I am so glad I have the opportunity to experience something outside of the comfort zone that was Eastern U.S.A.
Here is some info about Education City

While I was reading...

While I was reading Everything is Miscellaneous for class it had a reference to a site for cataloging your personal book collection call LibraryThing. Truly a horrible name, but I have a personal library of over 1200 books and my organization method consists of an Excel Spreadsheet. Needless to say I was interested. I created an account and added one book- both tasks were very easy. I will have to see how it fairs after I have added a 100 or so. I have head of other programs that can catalog for you, but this is the first website that I have ever heard referenced.

Independence Day in the capital (of P.A.)

We had fun. We played. I took photos. Some of us got injured and got big Jesus Band Aids for our trouble...

We went to an old fashion Toy Store in Hummlestown. Also I got to go to not one, but two yarn stores. ( I LOVE yarn•love)We went to City Island and the park. Plus we went to Spiral Path Farms which was so great, its one of the things I miss most about PA and the U.S.- farms! And with the mint we snipped fresh from the garden, we had FANTASTIC Mojitos! Another thing I miss- GOOD RUM! So thanks Nat- we had a wonderful time!

I'm NOT Crying...

Wednesday afternoon (about 36 hours from now) my husband is getting on a plane and going home. Home is half-way around the world from here and my son and I need to stay in PA for another 2 1/2 weeks before we can join him. I am not happy about this. I have had a wonderful visit thus far and I am sure that our remaining time here will be great, but I truly wish we were all going back together. I miss my cats, I miss my home, I miss my routine, & I miss my friends (Al Areen & Knitting), and I am SO going to miss my husband the second I leave him at the airport in Pittsburgh until I see him at the airport in Doha.
And while I am not crying now, I know I will be soon.
So I need a bit of good-ol fashion musical humor to help...

My husband ♥s Linux

This is from the web comic XKCD that my husband reads. There are some that are just classic, but many are too geeky for the girl working at being a LIBRARIAN. Therefor if you are a scientist of some sort (preferably theoretical) or an IT professional, you might want to check this out. I was reading the Cathedral and the Bazaar article for LIS2000 and after about two sentences I knew that Ed would love to read it for fun (that's happened quite a bit this semester). So go waste some time either reading the comic, or trying to figure out what "man pages", Debian, or Gentoo mean...


He also showed me how to put a ♥ in the text with the help of this.

A Night in Pittsburgh

For our anniversary, my husband & I went to dinner at a great restaurant called the Sonoma Grille, and went to see the Warhol Museum. I had a wonderful time- it was so great to just hang out with him- and was surprised by the city. It's been years since I set foot in downtown Pittsburgh, but it upon first glance it looked exactly the same. But, the reality is a lot has changed for the better and it is possible to change elements of a city without the city losing its identity. We were going to visit Oakland, but ran out of time...I'll be seeing it soon anyway!

8 Glorious Years!

Today is my 8th anniversary! We get to go out without the Boy(we will miss him, but- whoo-hoo!) and have a nice night in Pittsburgh. Aside for the normal best wishes from family, when I checked Facebook today my friend Theresa (who I haven't seen in a long time, but miss very much) posted some photos from our wedding, which: she & her husband, Joe were both in, and I have not looked at in many years. I am a strong advocate of focusing on the marriage rather than the wedding, but it was so wonderful to see some of the photos again and I am amazed at how young everyone looks. It seems like I was never not married to Ed, but sometimes it feels like we were married a week ago. Anyway...
Here's to another 8, and throw in an extra 80!


This picture contains 2 of my favorite things- kissing Edward & cake

Henry's 1st Birthday Party!

Yesterday was my son's 1st Birthday party. When I was little every occasion that took place between the months of May and September was celebrated with a huge gathering of family & friends, at a pavilion in a park. It never rained (and despite the forecast for yesterday- it did not rain) and the food was always delicious even thought it was always the same: hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, pasta salad, fried chicken, pierogies & CAKE! So that's what we did and it was amazing and exactly like I remembered it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Henry had a good time too...