Arabs lavish jewels on Secretary of State Rice

I thought this was interesting...

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush's foreign policies may be unpopular in the Middle East, but Arab leaders showered his top diplomat with jewelry worth far more than a quarter of a million dollars last year.

While Bush himself didn't fare nearly as well, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raked in at least $316,000 in gem-encrusted baubles from the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia alone, making her one of top recipients among U.S. officials of gifts from foreign heads of state and government and their aides in 2007.

In January, Jordan's King Abdullah II gave Rice an emerald and diamond necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings estimated to be worth $147,000, according to the State Department's annual inventory of such items released Monday just in time for Christmas.

The king and his wife, Queen Rania, also gave Rice a less expensive necklace and earrings along with a jewelry box valued at $4,630, the document shows.

Not to be outdone, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presented Rice with a ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, bracelet and ring worth $165,000 in July. The inventory also includes a $170,000 flower petal motif necklace the Saudi monarch gave to Rice in 2005, which the department says was not previously disclosed.

From the same Arab leaders, Bush received just over $100,000 in gifts in 2007, the list shows.

Other gifts include an $85,000 sapphire and diamond jewelry set and $10,000 piece of artwork depicting a desert scene of bedouins, camels and a tent made of gold given to first lady Laura Bush by Saudi King Abdullah.

Unfortunately for the Bushes, Rice and other recipients, they won't be able to enjoy the gifts as they have been turned over to the General Services Administration and government archives in accordance with federal law, which bars officials from accepting personal presents in almost all circumstances.

The inventory, prepared by State Department's Office of Protocol, catalogues all gifts given to top administration officials. The presents range from the modest — a $6 assortment of nuts and dried fruit from the Dalai Lama to Mrs. Bush — to the extravagant — Rice's jewelry — and the odd — a $570 Brush Cutter with "comfort grip handles" from the Swedish prime minister to the president, presumably for use at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Bush got a $150 bronze platypus paperweight from an Australian official. The prime minister of Singapore gave Bush $450 worth of fitness equipment, including a "uSurf Wave Action Exerciser" and an "iGallop Core and Abs Exerciser," according to the documents, which offer a window into the tastes of foreign leaders.

The wife of Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe appears to be an animal lover, having given Laura Bush two red, white and blue hand-embroidered pillows with American flag designs and the names and images of first dogs Barney and Miss Beazley worth $100 last year.

She also gave the first lady a $700 porcelain Limoges box with the two pets painted on it and a stuffed black fleece Scotty toy valued at $100, the inventory shows.

Some gifts reflect the recipient's specialty. Gen. Peter Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff received two machine guns — one mounted — worth $1,300 from his Colombian and Russian counterparts, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates got a $3,200 decorative Arab knife from a Bahraini official and a steel dagger valued at $345 from the Jordanian king.

The source of gifts to U.S. intelligence officials is classified, but CIA chief Michael Hayden took in $8,000 in gifts, including a sword, fountain pen and silk rug, in 2007

12 days till Christmas!

so I thought I'd show you all some pics to get you in the Christmas spirit...

ALSO CLICK ON THE PICS TO MAKE THEM BIGGER!

THE VIEW IS SOO MUCH BETTER THEN!

Stephen with his train

My adorable little brother and little sister

Oreo Balls

The following 5 pictures are of our Christmas tree, the theme if you can't tell is patriotic. All the ornaments are red, white (silver), and blue, as well as the ribbons and garland.

The star on our mantle..yeah we don't put a star on our tree..cause it'd touch the ceiling. So instead we put red white and blue bows. But they arn't in any of the pictures..

Snowman.. (:

All the presents from me..shh

same, different view

An ormament thing I found in mom's room..pretty!

And SNOW! I love this view!

So perfect and untouched..

(haha that is susie in the bottom corner)

I came outside to find this amazing sight...if you remember what happened last year, none of the leaves fell off the trees or changed colors, and when it snowed it looked weird..well this year it was different but look here, a weed (in the butterfly bush) still alive and green! It looks rather funny!

love this...the ladder against the trolley tree, with the green handles sticking out...so perfect!

This is halarious!

Watch this first video!


Which brought about this


and if you havn't heard this song yet...you must

WEC closing program

*Photo Courtesy of Zeb Eichelberger*
So a couple weeks ago was the WEC closing program. I was in the play Little Women, as Meg.

Abby Ruth was Joe, Elizabeth Shaw was Beth, and Sarah Popp was Amy, with Michael Gilliand as Laurie and Mr. Laurence.
Elizabeth did a great job at portraying Beth in her sickness and in her health...She had much fun "crying" in practice which often turned into laughter.

I love this pic..if only the mic would be gone.

Meg telling Amy she must go to Aunt March's while Beth is ill.

Laurie giving Amy all the reasons why she should go to Aunt March's

Abby did a superb job at playing Joe!

Final Bow

Stephen and his God Made Me Special class

Emma also was in a play called "The Twitts" starring as Mrs. Twitt

Mrs. Zajdel (my drama teacher) announced that she would not be returning, at least for next semester. :(

Me..