Rain Rain Go Away

It has rained for a week and a half straight (strange weather for this part of the world), and I'm starting to miss the warmth. Time to bake some chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

In other news, we are the proud aunt and uncle of a new baby boy!! We have total baby fever and can't wait for the next skype date.

This is a picture from a recent trip to Bethlehem before the weather took a turn for the worse. Come back, sunshine!

Marines, You Rock!

I am usually a pretty stubborn tomboy.* Sometimes [ahem, almost always] I don't even blow-dry my hair in the morning. But when I get the chance, I love dressing up.

This weekend my spouse and I attended a celebration for the anniversary of the Marine Corps. Our Embassy (as are all Embassies) is guarded by a sweet group of Marines, so it is a tradition to have a ball to celebrate the occasion. I have loved getting to know the young men and women who are assigned to our post. I think it's a lovely tradition and a great way to build up the community.

We had a fun time with our friends and coworkers. Little known fact: I LOVE to dance!

*PS: sort of obsessed with the blog Tomboy Style right now. Have you read it?

The Great Outdoors

Do you like camping? Living abroad, I miss Shenandoah National Park where we used to camp with our friends. However, we've had some good experiences here in Israel, including last weekend. What is your favorite part of camping? Mine is waking up the next morning bundled up in a sleeping bag and feeling so refreshed and relaxed (and looking forward to the campfire coffee!).

We picked up some fresh ground Arabic coffee with hel (a spicy cardamom mixture added to coffee) in Nazareth on our way to the campsite and my spouse made it in our copper Turkish kettle.

Last weekend we also biked in the "soldier ride" with some visiting wounded veterans as part of the wounded warrior project. I don't usually interact with a lot of veterans, so it was a unique and meaningful opportunity.

Let's Catch Up!

We've got some catching up to do!

This first picture was taken a few weekends ago during a promotional sailing lesson. If you live on the East Coast of America, you wouldn't believe how nice the weather still is in Israel. Although we loved the lesson and were inspired by the skipper's "Do you have a dream of sailing to Greece?" pitch, we need more time to think about it before we commit the time and money for certification lessons.

Last week a friend from A-100 came for a visit, which was a great excuse to go out to our favorite restaurants and try some new ones. We loved showing her our city and hearing about her experiences at her post. Here we are with a group of friends at a winery in the Judean hills.

I know you're dying to hear what we were for Halloween this year! We decided to go as the characters from the movie Drive. David's jacket turned out great, and I wore a blonde wig to be Carey Mulligan. Unfortunately, no one here had seen the movie.

Lastly, we ran another 10K. Remember the Nike Night Run we ran last year? I wasn't as sore or tired after the race this year--which either means I ran slower or I am in better shape. I'm going with the latter option and setting my sights higher: Half marathon anyone?