i'm alive!

i did it! i survived going alone to convention! i survived taking public transportation alone! it was not easy, though. i cried a little after bunny dropped me off at the front runner station but i kept telling myself 'i'm open to not having anxiety today. i'm open to not being afraid to do this by myself.' i also called bunny a lot to calm my anxiety too. one time i called and i said 'i'm nervous, that's why i keep calling a lot.' and he said, 'it's ok buddha.'
you all know why he paid for me to go to convention don't you? he did it to try to get me out of the house because my agoraphobia has been very bad. well, anyway, i managed to get through today and make it home still early enough to welcome millE home from yw's camp and to get some things done around the house. i'm going to bed early so i can get up early and not want to sleep in my classes. tomorrow will be an even greater push of my anxiety, but i'm sure i can do it.
oh, i forgot to mention that i got major blisters on my achilles tendons because my boots had worn into them but i didn't realize it until i got on the front runner home.
oh and a major faux pas on my part~not putting my upline's cellphone number in my cellphone so i could see where they all were going to be today.
oh, and the tour to the riverton campus rocked! it's so gorgeous out there! it was so awesome to see stampin' up!'s history on the walls and in the galleries see the people of demo support, watch the boxes of stamps be packed in the distribution center. it's really an awesome place!
ok, ok, that's it. that's all i have to report for today. ttys
abrazos,
bella

convention or bust!

wow! i cannot believe i will be at my stampin' up convention in three days! i'm so stoked! it's like incredible how i'm even able to go! convention will be 30 july, 31 july, 1 august and 2 august. i will probably only be able to blog in the evenings. it's going to be held at the lovely salt palace convention center. i wish i had a laptop then i could blog to you from it, but alas...i don't! don't worry, i'll fill you in on all of the fun details next week!

i've been...

working on scs challenges for the fan club and the private blog today.
i hope you all have had a lovely weekend! i'll be posting some of my challenge projects and more within the next couple of days.

you never know...

how many times have we heard those words about something? 'you never know when it's your time'. 'you never know when you'll be one or two paychecks from the streets'. 'you never know when you may need to go to a food bank'. those are just some of the "you never knows" that people often say to others.
well, i have another "you never know" for you. you never know when a natural disaster will hit your home/town and you'll require the services of the american red cross.
i've just recently read about a new "it's not a raffle" fundraising effort going on at splitcoast stampers to raise money to send the red cross to aid the families of the midwest that were just hit by the horrible storms. please hit this "it's not a raffle" link to be directed to the information page to learn more about it and please join bella's petit gateaux in adding to the effort by making a small donation. thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend!
abrazos,
bella

p.s. here's a great quote to accompany this post( i picked it up at kelly lunceford's cute blog flutter by atomicbutterfly):
"it is a kingly act to assist the fallen" ~mother theresa

i've been nominated (cubed)

yes, you heard me, i've been nominated x's(times) 3! sanela, amanda, and tiffany all nominated me for this award. wow! who knew?! li'l ol' me?! why i do declare...
hmm...i'm suspicious~do they admire my blog or are they getting me back for tagging them? lol! well, i'm stoked nonetheless and i'm going to pass the torch off to following eight ladies:

1. aaron~i love her work! i've cardlifted a few things from her!
2. ava ~her cards are so pretty and i've drooled over a few of them!
3. jasmine~ she has lovely layouts and i really love her creativity!
4. sandra ~she has the cutest ideas and posts!
5. charla ~her cards/posts are too cute!
6. e-fridgedoor ~there are a ton of things i'd love to hang on my fridge from there!
7. kisha's sharing something ~you should see her lovely cards, lo's and pictures!
8. the ink boutique ~rachele's work just inspires me and she's a phenom as a mum and crafter!



here are the rules of the nomination and award acceptance:

1) The winner can post the logo on her blog
2) Link the person you received your award from.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Put links of those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

i did it! i particpated in one challenge

ok, so i've been an scs fan club member for a while now and i finally got a chance to make something to post in the dirty dozen gallery. here's my little card i created. i titled it nice and simple. i truly believe that, though it's simple, it's totally nice. i gave it to mom last night as a thank you card. she's such an awesome matriarchal role-model and i felt i should just remind her of that with the card.



the particulars(all stampin' up!):
cs: whisper white
stamps: happy harmony
ribbon: 5/8 regal rose grosgrain
ink: pretty in pink, regal rose, certainly celery
technique: empressor, 2nd generation stamping
hardware: hodgepodge antique brass buckle(ribbon slide)

thanks for looking. don't forget to let me know what you think.
abrazos,bella
p.s. i just barely posted it yesterday on splitcoast and it's already been favorited by 3 people! wow! that was a good feeling! i received three comments too!
here~ you can mira mi~ it's my splitcoast stampers gallery.

bunny and i saw fireworks for our anniversary yesterday

how?! we went to mom and dad's to watch the "days of '47 fireworks show" in their backyard. that's bountiful for you, always ahead of everyone else! i know you're asking(~and before i explain let me wish you all a happy pioneer day!~)"what is the days of '47 about?"
well, once upon a time ago there was a group of pioneers~mormon pioneers to be exact. they were being chased from their homes back east~nauvoo, illinois and other places and they sought a new home~ a place of refuge. well, they pushed their handcarts across the plains and made their way to a little valley in the mountain west~a little desert-like green valley mostly inhabited by native americans and brigham young pointed his finger and said "this is the place!" so they pitched their tents and made~utah their home away from home! yep, they settled right here in this little valley and tilled the land and worked with the "indians" and well, you know, lived in religious freedom(for a while, anyway)~ well, until the president outlawed polygamy and then...well another group broke off from those mormons and they became know as the flds(fundamentalist latter day saints). the flds are the the mormons that you are hearing of in eldorado, texas and colorado city on cnn, fox news and all local news stations (the women with the long single french braids and high collared dresses). well, they're not the same "mormons" that you see with the temples all over the world. those mormons are the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormons. and they prefer to be called lds (latter day saints) not mormon~they'd like to escape the stigmas still held behind that term/name.
so...we celebrate the days of '47 to commemorate the days of 1847 when the mormon pioneers traveled west and found and created a home in utah. today is recognized as pioneer day, it's a utah state holiday. there are parades, fireworks, carnivals and other celebrations all over the state. i would have loved to go to the parade but bunny thinks they're a waste of time. i'm fine as long as we get a spot in the shade. i mean i grew up watching the macy*s thanksgiving day and rose parades! i'm a california girl and the rose parade is huge to me!
so there, there's a little cultural glimpse for you into utah(well a brief historically based peek into the culture of utah and the reason utah was initially inhabited by "the mormons"). you'll just have to visit to experience all utah has to offer! believe me, it's more than green jell-o salad and funeral potatoes!

yo, hey adrian! i think i'm rocky!

i'm soooo into boxing lately! into boxing?! you ask~yes, i am totally infatuated with making boxes! i have been taking apart chewing gum boxes and measuring them with my ruler and then recreating them with my su! cardstock. i'm so excited to know what the 1/8th and 1/16th measurements are on the ruler, i don't know what to do with myself! i've been making box prototypes like crazy!
ok, so, here is one of my latest box creations. i gave it, with a little card inside, to my relief society president to thank her for the mm tool kit she gave me(which i in turn gave to my sweet niece skyy because she doesn't have very much scrapbooking stuff and every virgin scrapbooker should have tools for eyelet setting and paper piercing,etc.). let me know what you think.
thanks for looking!
abrazos, bella

july is national ice cream month

ahhh...i remember the days i'd make coffee can ice cream, with my classes (when i was an ece teacher), for national ice cream month. ahhh...such memories!
well,...now i'm making paper ice cream!
it's like totally 98 degrees along the wasatch front today!(naw, really, it's supposed to be like 96 degrees~ but i just had to be punny because i loooove that "boy band"!)
i hope this card cools you off! take it from me, it's not worth it to push yourself with the heat as bad as it is! so take it easy! have a lovely friday!
happy national ice cream month!
abrazos,bella

i'm stampin' up!

well, since i'm all done with my atc's that were "ctmh only" i can get more stampin' up! projects done~and i have! here are some pics of two cards i made for bunny's colleagues. both families are having boys! let me know what you think! thanks for looking!
abrazos,bella

ok, i'm all done!

ciao all! i've been a busy little bee! that's why you haven't heard from me, i've been down in my patisserie baking lots of cupcakes! here are the last six of my atc's for the swap. i mailed them off today, whew! i got a creative block but then i found a new creative bone! let me know what you think. thanks for looking! sorry the pics are not the best(~i'm working on it~i know i need a digital camera)
abrazos,bella

BTGO!

ok, so unfortunately my little virtual yard sale didn't move out all of the things i have for sale~i'll have to have an actual yard sale after i do this one. i still have a lot of stamps left and i've added some new sets. everything is btgo(buy two* get one free**)! please leave a post or email me with what you're interested in. please keep in mind i have the sets posted on another site so please answer me back when i email you if you're truly interested in something. free shipping for $35 or more(usa and puerto rico) $50 canada. paypal is how i'll accept payment. i have scans of most of the sets, please email me if you'd like to see their condition. thanks for looking!
stampsets: used~ b=$3 c=$7 d=$11

new~ a=$5 b=$7 c=$11 d=$15


used----------------------------------
c1239-vintage father's day c1320-special delivery d1032-fall d1041-happy day d1217-free spirit
new------------------------------------
a1084-sweet flowers a1090-summer's wave b1033-blossom blocks b1235-solo "k" c1308-be true d1087-elegant floral d1226-magical season d1260-endless love d1275-serendipity

~ paper packs and misc.
1-from me to you (nip) card making kit $25

buy two*regular price
get one**of equal or lesser price free

7 facts *tag*

geez! i'm behind on getting out all of my "pay if forward" prizes(sorry sandra~it's coming~no, not like "the check's in the mail"it's coming but~ it's really coming~i'm mailing it out thursday) and now i've been tagged! aye yaye aye! ok so here are the rules:

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

ok, so here are my "facts":

1. i have some mild ocd and i hate odd numbers so having to do seven facts for this tag game, instead of six or eight, bothers me!
2. i'm a california girl~like totally, fer shur!
3. i went into pre-term labor with my daughter at 31weeks(21 may 1995) and was hospitalized for a few days on magnesium sulfate. stayed on bedrest(with terbutilene) until 3 july 1995 and she was born on the 4th of july!(due date 12 july 1995)
4. i ate ashes from ashtrays as a small child and licked batteries~now you know why i'm so quirky! lol!(this fact qualifies as weird, right?!) roflmao!
5. i wanted to be a: nurse, gymnast, model/actress, ob/gyn/pediatric specialist, chp officer, teacher, mother, wife, lapd officer, professional tennis player, college cheerleader, truck driver, lawyer, social worker, stay-at-home mom and french interpreter for the united nations~ when i grew up!(boy oh boy did i have an active imagination about "growing up"!) guess which ones came true :0)
6. i've been scrapbooking since i was a girl
7. i have been a registered voter since i was 18!
here are my seven(no tag backs!):
1. sanela~ sanela's secret spot
2. sandra~ scrapbooking sandra
3. tiffany~ i heart art
4. amanda~ amanda jenks
5. stephanie~ smokey mountain scrappers
6. jasmine(no tag backs hee hee)~ 2 fast 2 furious roberts
7. judy~ scruffy dreams

happy independence day!

ciao all!
i apologize for just now posting in july. this week has been a week of intense heat and severe "sick headaches"(for me), dr.appts and birthday parties for millE. today she is 13 and the statement "she'll be a real firecracker"(which my neighbors said to me when i brought her home from the hospital) is an understatement! she's miss firecracker for sure! well, i survived her and her bffl yesterday getting their hair and nails done and going to the mall and grocery shopping at walmart!
i hope you all will have a happy fourth of july!
abrazos,bella