We have moved.

Bye, bye Blogger. Its been nice knowing you but we have found a new home.

All future posts will be found at:

http://onceuponamel.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

Giving it to you straight.

This is my blog, right? My place to talk about whatever I want no matter how mundane. This evening that topic is my hair - and this is no mundane matter to me!

I hate blow drying my hair. I have naturally curly hair. Really curly and cannot stand using the round brush for close to an hour to blow dry my hair straight. It never comes out right anyway. I am mediocre at blow drying anyway. I admit that it never comes out right especially not when its as long as it is now.

Neither, though, am I willing to spent $120 on a Chi Hair Straightener. As my husband says, "Do you know how many cartons of formula that could buy?"

I love SallyBeauty.com. They gave a generic version of the Chi on sale for $59.99 and they come in adorable colors. I chose pink.



And since I have been getting a ton of compliments today on my new look - allow me to share my camera phone pic of myself. Not the best picture - but you get the idea and it works in a pinch



CIAO, bellas! Sharing is caring and I am sharing the wealth. Can't keep this info all to myself now can I? That wouldn't be cool of me at all.

Sophia is 6 months old today...

This is so emotional for me! She needs to slow down. This last 6 months went by so quickly that it makes my breath catch.

6 DAYS OLD


6 MONTHS OLD


A few things about Sophia now that she is 6 months:

1. She loves food. You can tell those she is not too sure about (peas, sweet potatoes with corn) but she eats them anyway!
2. She loves her Jumperoo. We see her "asking" to be put in it with body language and sounds she makes.
3. She has her first tooth. The bottom left.
4. She has plans. For the cats. And for the removable shower head. We can tell.
5. She is almost sitting on her own. She can keep her balance for a long period of time and catches herself before she falls - most of the time.
6. She is very vocal. She sings and yells. We call her baby Tarzan.
7. She loves to sneeze. It cracks her up.
8. ...and she knows us. She loves her parents. We can tell. She loves her family and is recognizing her "people". Its awesome.

Its amazing to see that she has gone from this little person who could barely keep her eyes open to a little person who is grabbing things and holding on, learning to hold her own bottle, fliring and smiling.

I love being Sophia's mommy. It is an incredible gift.

Established March 25, 2006

The hubby and I are celebrating two years married today. It feels like it went by so fast while at the same time if feels like it was so long ago. Marriage has done us a lot of good. We make a great team. My weaknesses are balanced by his strengths and his weaknesses are balanced by my strengths. Compromise, understanding, a sense of humor, generosity, selflessness. Those are the qualities that keep us strong together.

Its an every day thing - working on our marriage, focusing on us and making sure we stay strong as a couple so that we can be a strong unit as parents. I am so proud of all we have accomplished together so far. Its not easy all of the time - marriage is a lot of work - but you need a few hard moments now and again to make you appreciate all of the good that comes in a relationship. And to be honest those difficult moments are nothing compared to the good ones. So far. I am not so naive to think that we won't hit our big hurdles but I can hope and pray that the foundation we are building on can withstand anything that tries to topple us.

I love you, baby! Happy Anniversary!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Recipe for a Healthy Marriage

3 cups of Love

4 spoons of Hope

2 cups of Warmth

2 spoons of Tenderness

1 cup of Forgiveness

1 pint of Faith

1 cup of Friends

1 barrel of Laughter

Combine Love & Warmth, Mix thoroughly with Tenderness. Add Forgiveness and Blend with Friends & Hope. Sprinkle all remaining Tenderness. Stir in a generous amount of Faith and Laughter. Bake with Sunshine, Say God's blessings over it and serve daily in generous helpings.

Escape to Chimp Eden

Fridays, on Animal Planet.

If you love animals and are at all even slightly touched when you hear of someone dedicating their lives to save and protect animals while at the same time showing you how loving and entertaining those animals can be - this show is for you.

Check it out. Here are a few reasons why!







And here is a sneak peak at the show:

Two years ago today...

It was the day before my wedding and all of my favorite girls and I were prettying ourselves up and getting ready to get me married off! There is nothing like preparing for the most important day of your life (to date) while being surrounded by all of your closest friends.



From left to right, introducing my best beauties - Alison, Lizette, Elizabeth, Me (the Bride), Alisha, and Lisa. I love you girls!!!! I know life is busy for all of us and we are seperated by miles and those busy lifestyles and I get to see some of you more than others due to all of the above but I really do think of each of you daily and look forward to when I get to see each of you again.


MUAH TO YOU ALL!

Sophie's Jumperoo

A very short video of Sophia in her latest today. River Dance has nothing on our Pookie!