chocolate covered *bliss*

After discussing chocolate dipped strawberries with Katelyn on Saturday, I decided that I just had to have some. I bought a package of strawberries, a cup of the Baker's microwaveable dipping chocolate, and went to town. It was perfect; I had just enough chocolate to cover all the strawberries. There were 2 plate's worth. We had the first plate for dessert Sunday night, and the second one for dessert on Monday. Delicious!

Also, *head-palm*. You were right, Jennifer. I wasn't using the macro setting on my camera, so of course I was getting blurry up-close shots. Not any more! Please see Exhibit A, the above photo of delectable chocolate-y strawberries.

And, here is just a random adorable shot of Elora playing with her toes, and another of her sitting in the Bumbo, trying to pick up her teddy bear. She was keeping me company while I folded laundry, and she was being so cute that I had to go get the camera.

It's official!

Kelly is now officially Mrs. Rapanaro:


Peguy is now officially Mrs. Tallack:


And Brandon is now officially in the Navy for another 4 years.


Not such great pictures of the jewelry that I made for the brides, but hopefully they'll send me some better pictures later. These pictures were pulled straight from Facebook. :) And, not such great pictures of his re-enlistment, either. The flash should have been on, but it wasn't, and I couldn't very well interrupt the ceremony to tell his CO to turn the flash on.

Buddy Revisited

My mom was digging through her old photos, and found some pictures of me and my buddy. The first one was taken Christmas 1984, when I was 9 months old. (Can you believe how blue my eyes are? And they stayed that way until I was about 12, when they turned green.) I'd just received him from Gramma and Grampa, as well as the swan rocker that I'm trying to eat. Grampa made the rocker. The second one was taken when I was about 4, I think, and I'm sitting in Grampa's lap. This one pretty clearly illustrates how I felt about my Buddy.
And here is another shot of the giant Buddy that I bought for Elora. The eyes are different, and this one is enormous...but otherwise, a pretty good match, huh?

Ok, I won't bore you with anymore about Buddy. I just miss mine (still!) and I'm excited that I found one for Elora, even if he is too big to take to sleep-overs.

Elora *can* push her self up!

I remembered to put Elora on her belly the other day, and lo and behold! It turns out that she can raise herself up on her arms. And she doesn't seem to hate it quite as much now. I'm so excited! She just needs to learn to bring her hands in closer when she goes to push up. I did it for her once, and she she pushed way up. Then, she started to lean...and lean...and lean...and the next thing we knew she'd rolled herself on to her back. Craziness! Fun, new things are happening every day.

Oh, before you go...I'd like to draw your attention to the adorable little onesie she's wearing in those photos. I got it at the Exchange on Panzer last week, and I love it! In addition to the fact that it's uber adorable--I mean really, the lady bug on the butt is awesome-- it snaps all the way up the front, which is super handy! Elora likes it, because I don't have to pull it on over her head. I'm tempted to go back and get it in every size, so when she grows out of this one she can grow into the next one.

I just finished reading One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. I actually bought it about a year ago, and then put it on my shelf and forgot about it, because it isn't my usual type of book. I finally picked it up again a few days ago, and then kicked myself for ignoring it for so long; it was incredible. According to the blurb on the back, it's just a murder mystery, but I think that a misleading description. It was about life, and where it can lead you. It isn't a happy book, certainly, but it is elegantly and poignantly written. I would recommend it to anyone, and will happily lend it out. Just ask me.

Picture downloaded from http://us.macmillan.com/onefootineden

Elora is 4 Months Old

As of last week, Elora is 4 months old. The doctor gave her the a-ok at her check up, and we survived the immunizations. She's up to about 13 pounds, and 23''. She can sit up in the Bumbo seat, and she can stand so long as she has something to lean against. I hardly ever put her on her tummy, though, so she hasn't had much chance to practice those baby-push-ups. She cries when I put her on her belly, so I haven't put much effort into remembering to do it. But I need to...how else is she going to learn to crawl, right? She laughs now, too. It's a wonderful little chuckle, and generally is the highlight of my days. We captured it on video, and have made our You Tube debut.

The giant dog in the picture is something that I snagged today at the thrift shop on base. It is a treasure, a perfect replica of a stuffed dog that I had--and loved--as a baby, a child, and even a teenager. (I slept with him right up until I lost him at dance camp when I was 15!) Of course, mine was about the size of this one's snout, but still. I noticed it only because I walked by a little girl holding it, and begging her parents to buy it for her. I was grateful to the girl for finding it, and even more grateful to the parents for telling her no. He may never mean to Elora what my Buddy meant to me, but that's ok. He'll be there if she needs him.

4 Years Ago Today

I married the love of my life. Here's to love!!