Good morning, I think.

Frustration... You wake up and you feel like you did not really even go to sleep.
Last night, I Heard every snore, every gurgle, every noise from the dogs, the rotation of the fan blades, the milk man truck, the dogs barking... You get the picture. Well I am off to start the day.

My theory is never miss an opportunity to pass up a good book and learn something new. I just finished reading Zainab Salbi's Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam.

What a story how she has to tell. The oppression and fear that Saddam imprinted on the people of Iraq turns my stomach and crushes my heart. Her family was under the thumb of Saddam and her father was a pilot for him.

Women for Women International firmly believes that in post-conflict societies, when women are given full access to rights and economic opportunity, the entire country fares better. They help women in war-torn regions rebuild their lives by giving them financial and emotional support, job skills training, rights education, access to capital and assistance for small business development.

For additional information on Women for Women, Click Here
Nearly 20,000 women survivors of war in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria and Rwanda will participate in our programs this year. Since its founding in 1993, Women for Women International has assisted more than 52,000 women and distributed nearly $21 million in direct aid and microcredit loans.

An important reminder:

The Foreign Service Written Exam will take place on April 8, 2006. Registration information for the 2006 written exam will be available at this website in mid-January 2006. Last year enrollment opened up the day after MLK. Click Here This is great experience and I highly recommend registering and studying ahead of time.