cough sneeze sniffle yuck!

ciao amigas! i hope this post finds you all in much better condition than i am! omg! i've been so sick! my dr says i've got it bad! i think i need to own stock in flonase! lol!
i apologize i've been so m.i.a. lately. i've just been really, really, ill. the colder weather exacerbates my tics and spasms and to have a severe cold and allergy issue on top of it~ i've been in bed a lot! the cough from my post-nasal drip is so severe it gags me. ugh! yuck!  i have felt much too awful to even blog in advance so you'd have something to read everyday. i'm working on getting better each day, though. i suppose if i weren't such a naturalist i could take a prescription and be past it but i prefer to let nature run its course so i'm not needlessly taking antibiotics or things of that nature. next month i'm going to budget for a really good neti pot!  i'll tell you a fabulous tip though ~ take vicks vaporub and rub it on the bottom of your feet at night and wear socks. omg! it totally works! i have to thank my beautiful "scrappin' mafiosa" for that little tip! yep, she sent it to me all the way from australia! :-)
having been able to watch general conference over the weekend was such a comfort. i know my heavenly father is always looking out for me and i will survive anything that comes my way.
speaking of being a survivor, i hope all of you are doing your bse's and having your mammograms as admonished by your physicians. i  recently changed my dr and so i will find out if i truly need biopsies on the right breast. no matter, i know if it's cancer i will beat it like my mum did! she taught me how to be a survivor! she fought her way out of a comatose state after being given a 3% chance to live! so si se puede! this is breast cancer awareness month and i admonish you all to take care of your tatas! let the photos below, again remind you to get your tests and diagnostic screenings! pink is my favorite color and it's awesome it's associated with something so important! get your mammograms, amigas! below the pics i have some fabulous news!
 
the fabulous news?! i have some really awesome things to share with you once i'm feeling well enough to get them posted. until then salud, amigas! thank you for stopping by and supporting my blog!
abrazos y amor,
bella

beans, beans, the magical fruit... hee hee

yep! that's what's for dinner~chili beans and cornbread. i just know my granny would be so proud of me if she were down here, in southern california, to partake in this lovely dinner i'm fixing for tonight. i mean i even have a smoked hamhock in the beans!

(photo not indicative of tonight's actual meal. for illustration purposes only. it's actually the pic from the dinner odie and i fixed a couple of weekends ago~he made the beans. i made the bread. it was a great and delicious collaboration hee hee!)
i would like to thank albers for making the best cornmeal on the planet! having albers made my cornbread come out so fabulously! here's my recipe if you'd like to try it:
bella's cornbread~
preheat oven to 400 degrees. place 10" cast iron skillet w/fat(smart balance/butter/bacon fat) into oven to melt and swirl around the pan. once melted remove from oven and pour into a ramekin to cool. place skillet aside.
1 1/4 c albers cornmeal
3/4 c unbleached all purpose gold medal flour
2/3 c c & h granulated sugar
1 T + 1 t calumet baking powder
1/3 t arm and hammer baking soda
1/3 t morton salt
1/4 c 8th continent vanilla soy milk
3/4 c horizon organic fat free milk
2/3 c (melted) smart balance or butter or bacon fat (hee hee yeah this is the naughty part of my cornbread)
1 egg, beaten
combine wet ingredients in bowl of kitchenaid w/paddle attachment. whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl until well mixed. with the mixer on low, stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated a bit. add cooled fat and stir on low until well incorporated. remove bowl from mixer. pour batter into skillet and bake 20-26 minutes. edges of bread will detach from sides of skillet when done and center will be firm.
bon appetit!
i hope your weekend meal is just as hearty and tasty! thanks for stopping by, amigas, and supporting my blog! i truly appreciate you!
abrazos y amor,
bella

slip-up saturday

yep, it's slip-up saturday! hee hee! too tired to post a "facebook friday" on top of other posts yesterday hee hee!
ciao amigas! how was your week?! i hope it was fabulous and blessed! mine?! o-m-g, long! here's how it went
monday~looked for mia. it's so hard for me to let go and truly admit that the "urban coyotes" may have gotten her. but the more time goes on, so it seems. :-(
tuesday~looked for mia and worked on my stampin' studio. called my grandmother. she was in the hospickle(hee hee didn't you just love the rugrats?) bless the lord it wasn't anything too, too, serious.
wednesday~early in the morning i went to pick up ciaran-liam. omg! i love that little snugglebug! he is so sweet and loving. i get weepy at night though because i wish miabella was snuggling with us. take a look at his beautiful green eyes, mills took this pic(not sure if it's a self portrait or one of ciaran-liam hee hee):

o-m-g! he's such a lovebug!
later on in the afternoon i went to the dr. when i got home, my other dr. called and said that i need a diagnostic mammogram of the left breast with ultrasound, an abdominal ultrasound because they saw a cyst on my liver on the breast mri, and biopsies on my right breast. i told the scheduler that we can set up appointments for the non-invasive stuff but as far as biopsies were concerned i was going to seek a second opinion. i just feel like i've been going to the hospital for something almost every single week since august. i'm getting worn out hee hee! i need to stay in bed and rest more!
thursday~ watched conchobhar-versace and ciaran-liam wrestle each other and just mostly rested. the weather has been sporadic and i've been so tic'y and achy. a sore scratchy throat and sleep deprivation just made me want to lie in bed mostly. and it doesn't help that mills sleeps when she gets home then decides at 2200 every night she needs help with her geometry. i just had to tell her, "i help with homework between 1430 and 2000, please do not ask me at 2200 because i will say no"
friday~slept in. yea! been having a lot of insomnia this week and it's just been hard to get to sleep before 0300 most nights. i got my appointments scheduled at the breast care center/radiologist. 29 september i'll be getting everything done(sans the biopsies). in the evening i called and checked on my grandmother. she was back home in sacramento and doing quite well.
 today~arranged furniture in my studio and unpacked more stuff. i also watched the boys wrestle and play. i always love when cats and dogs can play and be so good to/with each other. i have such lovely kids! hee hee!
well amigas, i hope your weekend will be safe and fun! thanks for stopping by and see you next week! i have a few projects to share so bolo for those!
abrazos y amor,
bella

simply the best!

omg! i've totally been dying to show you my first project with my simply scored scoring board!

it's simply fabulous! i'm so happy i waited to purchase a scoring board until now. stampin' up! has really hit the mark with this one (the one thing i wish it did was start at 1/16" increments but its 1/8" increments rock, too)! it has a comfortable stylus to make your score lines with and awesome little place markers for if you have several projects to score in the same place! stampin' up! was brilliant to include a little compartment on the scoring board to store extra place markers and even a small treat or bone folder! i absolutely adore it!
so the first thing i created with it was a never-ending birthday card for my dear friend, anett's daughter, anne. i have been waiting to show it to you because i wanted anne to get her card all the way in germany first. so...i received a message from netti, that they received my little packages., so now i'm finally ready to share the little card i created with you. you can see more views of it on netti's blog.


i used the dsp and card stock from my starter kit! yea!
i hope you like it! this card signifies three firsts for me~ 1. it's my first never-ending card. 2. my first project i made using my simply scored. and 3. it's the first thing i created with my starter kit components!
thanks for stopping by and supporting my blog!
abrazos y amor,
bella

purr...purrrrr...purrrrrrr...

that's all ciaran-liam has done since they handed him to me today! yep, he's finally home!
omg! he's just the sweetest little kitty you'd ever want to know. i know mia would just adore him if she were here (yes, i checked again for her, at the shelter today, but she wasn't there nor was she on the "deceased list" :-(  i will just have to look on a weekly basis for as long as it takes). i think the name ciaran is quite fitting since he's a little black kitten and it's so cool he has little brown stripes in his fur when you look at him in the sun. it's like he's a mini jaguar! lol! he is also a snuggler and a kisser! he will jump onto your lap and kiss you square on your nose or lips! too funny! he's a little casanova kitty hee hee!  i told mills i should have named him "shadow" because he follows me everywhere like a puppy.
speaking of puppies, he gets on great with his big brother conchobhar-versace. they're really close in age and i think it's a good thing because they're both young enough to grow up with each other. conchobhar-versace was born on 19 february and ciaran-liam was born on 25 march. so it's fun they have a playmate (and when mia gets home, she will, too)!
omg! it's like, i can't even tell you how excited i am to have him home, finally! of course i had to document the day with a few photos!  so i made a quick page in mds with pics from my webcam(the only camera i have right now lol).
take a look at my new little purrmeister:

i took these pics, like as soon as we got home from the shelter! yes, before i gave him a bath! rofl we all know my germ ocdness hee hee! but,  o-m-g! he was so odiferous! yuck! ewww! i don't know what that smell was. now he smells like lavender baby bath, though. hee hee! and he's all shiny and  sleek, like a clean panther, now. hee hee! oh, and btw, he handled the bath quite well. he's just a sweet, sweet little boy. he reminds me a lot of mia (i know that's how i was so attracted to him everytime i saw him). he loves and purrs on anyone that holds him, just as she would. he stays right by me or where he can see me, just as she would, too! i'd have to say, i didn't know i would meet such a lovely little boy (and fall so in love even through my grief) on all the trips we made to the animal shelter to look for miabella, but i'm really, really happy to be able to have him! he is definitely bringing some light into the darkness i've felt since mia went missing.
thanks for stopping by and sharing in my joy with the new addition to "our pride"(omg! speaking of pride, if i don't see the lion king before it leaves over the next couple of weeks i may go cuckoo! hee hee! i love, love, love that movie! the seven/eight weeks i was on bedrest, when i was preggers with mills, i would just lie in bed and watch the lion king vhs over and over(among other things)! after she was born it's one thing that i could turn on to soothe her and make her less fussy! hee hee!). it's hump day so enjoy the rest of your week, amigas! hasta viernes!
abrazos y amor,
bella

well, actually, it's not a slip-up i was just too tired and/or tic'y to post yesterday.
anyway, ciao, amigas! how was your week?! my week was pretty eventful! here's how it went:
monday: online searching for miabella a bit. relaxed a bit. last day to have summer "girl time" with mills.
tuesday: school started! woo hoo! so nice to have time to myself during the day w/o being nagged! oh what a fabulously restful day it was...until she called home and said she had to come home because of a mistake on her registration card! agh!
wednesday: even better than tuesday, she attended school all day! later, in the evening, i took a look at a couple of tutorials on youtube and i learned how to make/create my own blog blinkies! so i stayed up until...
thursday: 0830 this morning working on it to get it just right! don't worry, nels already chewed me out about not getting rest/sleep. i just couldn't rest until i got the blinkie to blink the way i wanted it to.  you will get to see the blinkie(on my sidebar) once i'm done working on my tutorials for opening day. so bolo for that. :-)
friday: called the shelter because, once again, i saw a cat online that favored miabella an awful lot and i wanted to see if it was her. no, it wasn't. so my eyes started raining. my eyes were raining quite a bit today because i had another dream that miabella made her miabooboo(maine coon) sound and jumped on the bed to lie next to me. but it was just a dream. i also called the other orange county shelter near our home to see if she was there and also to check on "cat doe". later in the evening, chatted on the phone with my aunt up north until...
saturday: like 0300ish this morning. fell asleep around 0400ish and was awakened at 0630 by mills' alarm for school. i fell back to sleep then i was startled awake by the sound of hail hitting the roof and windows really forcefully because of the wind. it was a beautiful sight to see but i wasn't so pleased to be awakened so early by it. nor was the startled awake panic attack pleasant. ;-) hee hee. it was a good wind, rain, hail, lightening, and thunderstorm for sure! i finally fell asleep again after 0830/0930 (it all ran together i was so tired). lol! i also received a phone call this morning that "cat doe" was still sick and i could either wait until the 14th when his meds would be done or i could adopt him w/take-home meds. once i awakened again, in the afternoon, i called and i was told he was ready for adoption and if i got there by 1600(4pm) i could adopt him today! so that's what i did! he comes home monday, after his neuter surgery is done. so, though we're still looking for and missing miabooboo, we have added to our pride by one. his name is no longer "cat doe". he will be known as ciaran-liam. yes, sticking to my scotch-irish roots and giving him a fitting irish name as he is a black cat. hee hee!
well, i hope you all will have a fabulous weekend and safe patriot day. we will observe a moment of silence for my uncle that died on united flight 93(my aunt natalie's brother). have a blessed rest of the weekend and thank you for stopping by and supporting my blog!


abrazos y amor,
bella

tgifacebook friday

ciao, amigas! what a long busy week! omg! i'm worn out this week! here's how my week went:
monday~ we went to funeral services for my dear great-grandmother. o-m-g! the SPIRIT was so present, it took your breath away!  it's an incredible feeling to feel the spirit so strong!
 tuesday~i mostly sat around home and rested. i had a lot of tics and speech problems, so i just stayed around the bed today. i did make it out to the post office to mail some little things. twenchie may be pleasantly surprised when she opens her envelope. hee hee!

wednesday~i mailed some cards to a couple of my great-aunts. grandmother's passing really prompted me to get out of denial regarding the mortality of women in my family. i suppose since grandmother was well into a century old i took it for granted that we'd have five maybe even six generations of girls going for a long time. i still have four great-aunts to get cards out to. i'm also going to send cards to other family members. you know, there's no time like their living years to let the ones you love know that you do. grandmother's funeral snapped me out of my habit of procrastinating!
i tried to adopt my little kitten today but after everything was said and done, it didn't come home with me because it has a kitty version of kennel cough. oh and the funny story~all of this time, as i've been going over to the shelter to look for miabella in the kennels and on the "deceased list", i've been visiting with this little kitten and it's supposed to be a girl. rofl after i filled out my adoption paperwork i was allowed to wash my hands and go hold "her". well when i went to put "her" back into the kennel i noticed "she" was indeed a "he" if you catch my drift! rofl! so instead of naming her stella, as i'd hoped, i'll be naming him ciaran-liam. so i'll have conchobhar-versace(omg just realized i've been leaving off the "n" in conchobhar!) and ciaran-liam(he's a black kitten with gorgeous green eyes) :-) he looks a lot like the kitten pictured below:

thursday~ more bedrest. it's been a tic'y week hee hee! i am really worn out this week. it's like not only do the spasms hurt, they're tiring! but you know, it's like an earthquake, you just have to get into the doorjam and ride it out! that's how i always view my dystonic storms. i was able to sleep a lot today and really rest.

friday~ this morning i awakened to the sound of woody in our bamboo in the backyard. huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huhhhhhhh! yep a woodpecker was in our bamboo! he looked just like this:

just kidding! hee hee! he actually looked more like this:


 had my breast mri early this afternoon. it wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be. lynn and chris were very fabulous at making me feel as comfortable as possible. i was mainly concerned with getting too hot or too cold thereby setting off more dystonic tics but they kept me comfortable. i didn't need a sedative afterall! it was about 20 minutes or so~a far cry different than the one i had for 60+ mins at the huntsman. i have to admonish all of you to remember to perform your bse's and keep your mammogram appointments!

mills decided to put a red patch in my hair. she says it didn't have ammonia in it, but, omg!, it burned. she washed it out and put conditioner on it. we'll see how it turned out.  i'll post pics once it's all dry.~like tomorrow hee hee!
over the weekend~going to rest and keep working in my studio. going with odie bear to his best friend's bbq and bowling birthday party on sunday. i hope my bowling arm will be up to par hee hee so i can have a great game hee hee! you'll be calling me "the dude" next week hee hee!


 this is labor day weekend. it's the end of summer! please stay safe, amigas! enjoy your nice long weekend! happy back to school! yay! school starts tuesday for us! woo hoo! as always, thank you so much for stopping by and for your support!



abrazos y amor,
bella

farewell grandmother

buenas tardes, amigas! i've just arrived home after spending the morning in los angeles. my great-grandmother was laid to rest today. 101 years old she looked ageless! she wore a beautiful pink suit(it was so nice to see her in my favorite color) and a gorgeous pink hat. she truly looked at peace and as if she had a slight smile on her face.
it was lovely to see my family but hard to see them all so wracked with sorrow. i may have become dehydrated with the shedding of my own countless tears. it was indeed a celebration but also a time to realize that we won't see her again until we cross to the other side of the veil.
we were blessed to have five generations of women/girls until 16 august 2011. "grandmother" was a beautiful and great matriarch! she was the epitome of a fine homemaker(she was to me as big martha was to martha!). she had 12 children and she never grew tired of being a fabulous mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother! i appreciate all she was to my life growing up and into my teenage years and the things she taught me(simply by observing her when i was knee-high to a grasshopper) that i've brought into adulthood and motherhood with my own child. it's a beautiful thing that she can be reunited with "granddaddy" after decades of being apart. he passed on when i was still in elementary school. theirs was a beautiful love story. i'm so happy they can embrace one another again and not be weary or faint but just together, reunited in HIS glorious presence.
i was really pleased that mills stood up and gave her remarks~yes, i know, i shouldn't have let my anxiety disorder keep me from doing the same but it did (:-/). she gave a special blurb about family and it was good to hear her say those things aloud.
below are a few photos we were blessed to have with grandmother back in 2002! have a great week amigas!




abrazos y amor,
bella

tgifacebook friday

ciao amigas! how was your week? i hope it was fabulous! here's how mine went:
monday~searched for mia and placed a new craigslist ad to see if anyone has her or may have seen her.
tuesday~more searching for mia.
wednesday~ got up at the bc of dawn and went to see my new neurologist. he's waiting for my reports from utah to decide how he wants to handle my dystonia. you can support dmrf by purchasing a friend/loved one, one of their brand new faux leather journals or other gear. also had another mammogram this time on the right. looks like they want an mri. when we got home i was beyond sick with a migraine and tics. the weather/heat was atrocious! i searched for mia for a bit online then i zonked out on migraine meds.
thursday~in and out of bed with the same migraine and searching online for mia. once my migraine meds took later in the evening i worked on the "never-ending card" (netti's daughter, anne. her birthday is on sunday.
friday~still have the migraine. went to the shelter to search for mia. you're not even going to believe this but they had a silver tabby maine coon in there that they'd just picked up and the cat responded to me as mia would and i started to cry, i was so excited! then i ran outside and asked otis to come take a look at her and then we felt her paws and she had claws. i was beyond devastated. but thankfully, again, miabella wasn't listed on their "deceased list". i'm still working on my cards for this next week~condolence(for great-grandmother), baby shower(for cousin), and birthday(for dear sweet, anne).
have a super great weekend amigas! feliz fin de semana! thanks for stopping by! don't forget to join the giveaways if you haven't already!
abrazos y amor,
bella

slip-up saturday

well, kind of. it's not exactly a slip-up. i have just been so depressed since i haven't been able to find miabella that i didn't really feel like posting a tgifacebook friday post yesterday. i truly hope you all are well, though!
monday~had a dr. appt. and searched online shelter websites for mia
tuesday~my beautiful great-grandmother, 101 yrs old, passed away. she was a lovely matriarch and great homemaker(household coo) and i admired her greatly for her commitment to motherhood and her fabulous cooking that i remember from when i was a little girl. i'll miss you, grandmother.

here we are with grandmother just after her 5th generation celebration in december 2002
 i visited my local shelter to look for mia. thankfully she wasn't on the "deceased list" though she wasn't in any of the kennels there, either.
wednesday~just searched for mia online and everything.
 thursday~took another trip to the shelter to look for mia. no luck. omg! i miss my sweet little girl so much! i had a dream that she was lying on my chest kneading me and purring. i was so sad when i awakened to realize it was just a dream. i cried so hard. lately it's about all i can do(lie in bed and cry~though i've made a commitment to myself to stop it and get back to work). i just miss her so much.
friday~more searching online for mia. had a mild dystonic storm(lost my speech and had severe spasms and tics all evening). thank goodness i awakened today in my normal state so i could look online for mia some more.
so that's about it, that's been my week this week. i'm still painting and working in my studio so it can be a lovely place to create~my fairystampin'mother headquarters lol!
feliz fin de semana, amigas! thank you for your support!
abrazos y amor,
bella

slip up saturday

ciao, amigas! i hope you all had a great week! mine was very tiring and emotional. miabella being lost has been so devastating for me. but here's a recap of this week:
monday: discovered mia was lost. day 1 of my six day giveaway.

miabella my beautiful little girl.
tuesday: more looking for mia. went to the shelter and put up fliers. day 2 of the giveaways. met a fabulous new friend(more like an hermana). i call her twenchie! she's my long lost twin. hee hee! please check out her amazing blog the paper castle.
wednesday: more looking for mia. posted an ad on craigslist for miabella. day 3 of the giveaways.
thursday: still looking for mia. had to ask "helpful craigslisters" to please not email me unless they had mia as i'd get my hopes up each time i saw an email about my lost cat. day 4 of giveaways.
friday: went to the shelter again to look for mia. checked all shelters in our vicinity online, even the "deceased lists" to no avail. mia is still lost (:-```(  and it's day 5  of giveaways. will continue to look for mia over the weekend and just keep hoping and praying she'll be back with me soon.
feliz fin de semana, amigas! thank you for supporting my blogs!
abrazos y amor,
bella

tgifacebook friday

ciao amigas! another busy but lovely week! how about you all?!
well, i'll re-cap what happened this week:
monday~sitting on the edge of my seat to hear if my starter kit had shipped. hee hee!
tuesday~same as monday! lol!
wednesday~ yahoo buckaroo! my starter kit came! here's another look at me opening the box:

the e-collar came off and cochobhar-versace got his staples out. mills kept chanting "cochobhar's got a mangina! omg!older siblings can be so cruel(yes, her chant is a "stepbrothers" reference)! he also got a good dose of k-9 advantix II. there ain't no bugs, no bugs on him. hee hee~that commercial is stinkin' cute! he also got his backpack and i put two 1 liter water bottles in it so he can "do work, son" and focus better on walks and get used to carrying it so he'll be all set for it when he becomes a full on service dog. he looks so stinkin' cute in it. i'll get a pic this weekend and show you next week.
thursday~went out to the habitat for humanity (ocReStore). found a fabulous set of chests for 15 bucks! yes, fifteen bucks! so i'm still chugging away at getting fairystampinmother headquarters/my stampin' studio fixed up and all the boxes unpacked. everything in its place! ;-)
friday~more work in my stampin' studio. picked up some fabulous deals from the price club(costco nowadays i suppose).
this weekend will be more work on my stampin' studio(got some tsp the other day so i can paint all of my fabulous finds! don't worry, i'll get before and after pics). working on some stampin' projects and i will post information on the giveaways of next week! feliz fin de semana, amigas!
thank you for your support!
abrazos y amor,
bella

happy august!

ciao, amigas! i hope you're enjoying your summer and having a fabulous august! i'm so stoked, my starter kit should be here tomorrow or thursday! yay! have a great week!

abrazos y amor,

bella

tgifacebook friday!

ciao, amigas! how was your week?!
mine? it was fabulous! i rested a lot this week so i can continue to pace myself with getting my fairystampinmother headquarters, oka my stampin' and craftin' studio, all set up! so other than some tough boxing matches with allergies(bless the lord for benadryl otherwise i would have been tko'd hee hee) i've just been resting this week! still working on stretching and meditating daily also. but, there is a fabulous thing i have to report this week.....
i am a stampin' up! demonstrator now! yep, i joined today! i'm so stoked! i absolutely adore stampin' up! and i'm so happy to be a new demonstrator! so bolo for some things i plan to create when i receive my starter kit! i'm so excited and i just can't hide it!(yeah can't you hear the pointer sisters singing, too?! hee hee)
so that's about it, girlfriends! thanks for stopping by, amigas! have a fabulous weekend!
abrazos y amor,
bella

oops my mistake monday on tuesday

ciao, amigas! how was your week!? mine was exhausting but oh so fabulous! let's recap what happened last week:

on monday~my dear hermanita arrived in the o.c. with emerson ("the little prince").

on tuesday~we had a visit with my dear sister and emerson.because she was pregnant with him the last time i was able to visit
california from utah, this was the first time i've visited with him
since he was born. being on a limited income i was just never able to come over from utah to see him after he was born. omg! he's even more beautiful in person! he's so funny and very articulate for a 3 year old. yes, i got pictures of us together!


                 ~cochobhar-versace turned five months old. guess what his birthday present was! he was neutered! lol! i know, i know, some present eh?! lol! well, it's for the best and as with all of my children i only want the best for him! lol!

there's a pic attached (he's so stinkin' cute and rockin' that elizabethan collar, don'tcha think? lol)

                 ~i had a visit with my own dr. and i was relieved that the problem i was having with my left arm was not related to my heart. simply a pinched nerve or cervical radiculopathy. he told me to carefully do some stretches. so i'm sure it'll be cured with a little yoga.
                 ~otis made the best chili dogs i've had thus far! omg! so yummylicious!

on wednesday~we spent the day with my sister and emE again. after a quick trip to the 99 cent store, we spent the day having fun in the shade at a park near my home. so much fun! emE is too funny! we were watching him play for a while and he met a few "friends" there(two jr. high girls and their little brother) my sister asked him if he wanted to go play on the tire swing. he immediately walked over to the picnic table where the other children were and asked the one girl(he was obviously sweet on her lol) "do you want to go ride the tire swing?" it was so stinkin' cute and funny! it was a truly lovely and fun day. once we arrived back at my house i let him choose all of the books he'd like from my collection. i think he loves books almost as much as i do! he got so excited when i let him have my copy of "if you give a mouse a cookie". my house was a goldmine for him because i still have hundreds of ece books from my days as an ece educator. i love when children's faces light up when they're given books!

on thursday~a total day of rest for and the day mills left with my sister to spend the weekend together in slo.

on friday~ohmmmm breathe inhale....exhale....ahhhh. i had a fabulous and relaxing massage from my most favorite massage therapist, jason miller, of community well massage. he works out of my fave spa~the loft on broadway. between the pinched nerve and the tension from my tics last week, i sooo needed that massage and you want to know the best part?! it was complimentary because i earned it as a customer reward for being a loyal client of the loft on broadway! i love that place! they treat me like family and tami has the most brilliant artists/stylist/estheticians/etc. working there!you may recognize them in long beach, california from a show on bravo~tabatha's salon takeover.

so, that's pretty much it! i had a lovely week. still working on my studio and unpacking all of my stuff and putting everything in its place. it's a process, piece by piece just like eating an elephant(though i don't think i'd want to actually eat one hee hee)! feliz fin de semana, amigas! thanks for stopping by!
abrazos y amor,
bella
p.s. this was my first typepad blog post through email. woohoo, i did!(i can hear dora cheering me on lol)

my mistake monday

hee hee! i came up with that when i realized i neglected to post my facebook friday post.
i had a rather lovely week, last week! so let's re-cap what happened:

worked with cochobhar-versace on the commands~ "vaya dormir" where he goes in his kennel and stays until i ask him to come out and "espera" where he waits for me in my bedroom w/o whining when i leave to go to the kitchen for a drink. it's coming along very well. he's so smart! here's a pic of his cute little self. i call him "puppy chulo" rofl. doesn't it look like he's trying to give besos in this pic?! rofl. he's a loverboy! he loves attention from everyone!
 


monday, i decided i want a nook color instead of an ipad2. i mean other than a camera, the nook has just about everything an ipad2 w/wifi has! so that's on my wish list~the nook color with a pink cover of course! but i'm also thinking of using some of my stampin' up! fabric to sew one! i think it'd be sew fun and i think i could make something sew stinkin' cute!

friday, we had a lovely visit from mom. it was really nice to catch up. she taught me how to play mahjong on her little netbook. what a fun game! who knew?! i may be hooked, i'm looking to see if it's included in my vista games! we had fun hanging out and chatting while i prepared dinner. but alas, traffic died down and mom had to leave. we plan to get together again on the 29th. can't wait!
so, that's pretty much it. i rested most of the week because i had some mild tics early on in the week. thanks for stopping by and catching up with me!

abrazos y amor,
bella

happy 4th of july birthday! two celebrations, one card hee hee

all mds images (c)stampin' up! 1988-2011
i just wanted to wish a very sweet sixteenth birthday to my lovely little baby, mills and a happy 235th to my dear country tis of me, sweet land of liberty! i'd also like to wish all of my family and amigas a very happy fourth of july! enjoy your holiday!
abrazos y amor,
bella

i took it ALL off

   hee hee it's about my new haircut. omg, it's buzzed off! ok, so i've finally taken a moment to show you a couple of pics of my new haircut. it's so freeing! omg! talk about a weight lifted off of my shoulders (hee hee i love being punny). yes, when i initially got my hair cut it was shoulder length.  omg! you have no idea, i lost a lot of weight when i cut all of my hair off! it's so much better now because my headaches aren't as bad.  it's like one never thinks about how much her hair weighs until she has a substantial amount cut off and then you feel lightheaded hee hee! it's so freeing(yes, i know, i've said it before but i had to say it again) and i love that i can just wear it curly or have mills flat iron it for me when i need it to be straight.it's great! and like i said, 'it's hair, it'll grow back!'
   marinello rocks! muchas gracias, veronica! she was scared but i believe she did an excellent job! she couldn't believe i wanted so much cut off and the back totally buzzed. lol!
 

let me know what you think. thanks for stopping by!
abrazos y amor,
bella

atc's up the wazoo and got my mojo workin'

hee hee(love johnny winter...got my mojo workin')
atc's up the wazoo! yep that's what i'm going to have for the next few weeks as i work on creating atc's to fill my new(well it's still new... eventhough i bought it last year hee hee) 7 gypsies atc printer's tray. i was thinking of spreading it out for twelve weeks. you know, like one atc per week, but then i decided to create two per week and make it around six weeks. hmm...well it all depends on my energy and if my mojo keeps workin' hee hee! i'm sure as long as i don't overdo it, i'll be fine and stay on schedule. in my excitement to get back into crafting i have to be mindful not to get ahead of myself and overwhelm myself and cause me to be stuck in bed tic'ing and spas'ing hee hee. i know because i've set myself back already a few times because of my being overzealous and crafting all day and night. but baby i'm back!
ok, so take a look at the first two:


i'm thinking the theme of this tray will be love, amor, amour, amoré! i believe these two are not too shabby (but pretty shabby chic hee hee)! please let me know what you think.
thanks for stopping by. i appreciate your support!
abrazos y amor,
bella

tgifacebook friday

    thfif! ciao, amigas y familia! it's friday! yay! what a week!
ok, let's see what happened this week:
   omg! it was the final week of school for mills. she's a junior now! we celebrated by having pan pizza from pizza hut. it was yummylicious! oats and i created our own 3 topping pizza(pineapple, onions, and sausage) and mills opted for "just pepperoni". they still have that $10 any pizza carry-out deal. it was a lovely family dinner. but of course most of her dinner chatter revolved around her sweet sixteen on the fourth of july. yep, miss firecracker will be 16 on the 4th. omg! where does the time go?! she's so beautiful, i'm chuffed to bits to be her corny lil mum!
    this week i also worked on "acuestate' (lie down) with cochobhar-versace. he is still a little stubborn with it, but he's totally got it in spanish and english now. boy oh boy does he wish he was pack leader!
   i started working on a new six week project. well it may take less, it may take more, it depends.  last year when i was out in salt lake for su! convention i stopped by heartland paper co. and bought an atc printer's tray. so i'm finally working on atc's to fill it. look for an upcoming post regarding this project. it'll more than likely be showcased on my yahoo group.
  speaking of my yahoo group, working on getting that going.  i finally have another camera after the unfortunate mishap with the one my dear cielodiamante gave to me last year. so i'll be creating kits and tutorials more often for the group. some for free, some for purchase. it's going to be a lovely shabby chic stampin' boutique once i get going. my lovely partner in that group, anna, will be working on the anna side of annabella's lol! she'll be on vacation for a while so i'll be getting things all spruced up so we can have our grand opening upon her return. i'll have a button on my blogs so you can click and join from them.
   also started working on some jewelry for my other venture with sanela. you'll learn more about that, as well, at a later date. it's going to be so fun! i'm totally excited to have two very lovely partners for some fun and creative ventures!
   had a very lovely father's day. just relaxed and rested, called all the dads i love/emailed them, as well as doted on oats. he said i made the day very special for him. so what more can one ask for? we all had a hand in dinner for the evening(i prepared 3-meat meatloaf, turmeric fried chicken tenderloins, and funeral potatoes.oats made the swiss chard and mills made a fruit salad as well as a green salad)totally yummylicious! we were all pretty well stuffed afterwards lol!

   this weekend i will be going through the storage stuff and either storing what won't be used for a while or putting things out for charity or a yard sale if i won't be using them ever. i'll be unpacking and getting my stamping and crafting studio all set up. but i'll take it easy. i've been having some dystonic tics this week, so i won't overdo it. slowly but surely, piece by piece, eh?
   oh, hee hee, so what exactly is facebook friday? well, it's where i'll take time to blog about my week so it can update my facebook. i want to let my friends and family know how much i love and miss them on a weekly basis and how things are going with us. so i came up with facebook friday. it'll also update my twitter so my friends/family that tweet but aren't on facebook can see how things are going and know i'm thinking of them as well. so that's about it.
    ok so what else happened this week? well, i took a blast to the past(i fell off the roof this week, so all i wanted to do was lie in bed and get over the pain incident to falling off the roof hee hee. bless the lord for multi-symptom pamprin)! got to see "jem" again on  hub, "in living color" on sí tv(nuvo after 4 july 2011), and watched "totally 80's" on vh1(i soooo miss duran duran). i miss those days! the days of the cosby show, facts of life, the days when girls actually wore clothes in videos(and were still considered "hot" and "sexy"), musicians played real instruments, and all the concerts were worth the money! i suppose that's what nostalgia is for, eh? ah well...one can daydream about days of yesteryear. i guess that's why i love "robot chicken" much!

   i hope you all will have an enjoyable weekend. i truly appreciate your support and thanks for stopping by!
abrazos y amor,
bella

i know it's a little late but...

happy mother's day! lol, yeah i know, it's like almost father's day! hee hee! well unfortunately shortly after mother's day i got caught in the eye of my most recent dystonic storm so i wasn't able to start blogging again around that time(bless heavenly father i came out of it today).

i did have a rather fabulous mother's day though! it started off with a lovely breakfast in bed. i was treated to my favorite french toast with lots of butter and syrup and delicious and crispy bacon. mills made me a sweet card. i was very pleasantly surprised by the all of the lovely things that occurred at the beginning of my sixteenth mother's day. in the evening i went down to micky spillane's mike hammer's old hangout the redwood bar and grill

in los angeles to enjoy a night of interesting cuisine(a grilled cheese with avocado, caramelized onions, and arugula accompanied by sweet potato french fries and a deliciously sweet version of fry sauce~interesting but fab-u-lous!) and kick arse music!

i saw the billy bones! i'm really keen on the sax player. omg is he hot(lol, yeah, ok well yes bad otis is my main squeeze hee hee)! i'm partial to hearing him play but don't get me wrong all of the guys are equally talented and just fabulous musicians!  they're all so kind to me and have welcomed me into the billy bones family and billy is just the greatest guy!

then after that fabulous set we saw the sweet little guys of prima donna. talk about sweet boys they are just so nice. very great music, too!

then we caught a couple of songs of eddie and the hotrods' set (they were the headliner). they were brilliant as well! 

so it was a fabulous end to a very lovely day! but boy oh boy did i have trouble trying to hear the next day lol! it was worth it though, all the bands put on brilliant shows ! i hope your mother's day was equally as fabulous! t hanks for stopping by. see ya on father's day!
abrazos y amor, 
bella

it's a new dawn, it's a new day...and i'm feelin' gooood!

yes, i totally can hear nina simone, muse, and jennifer hudson's renditions in my head! i'm feeling good!
ok, well technically i'm in a dystonic storm and i have a migraine but aside from those small technicalities, i'm feeling great! there have been so many wonderful new things to enhance my life over the past year!
i have a new blog(the Original Creative fairystampin'mother). i'm going to be actively working on it once i join stampin' up! again.
i have a new baby! his name is cochobhar-versace(connor-versace). he's my new red merle miniature australian shepherd i adopted from hillman's aussies in idaho. he will eventually be my service dog! he's a hoot and a howl(er)(especially during crate training rofl!) and i just adore him!

i also have another new man in my life but you can learn about him later. he's fabulous and i just love and adore him, too!
i know, it's been a long hiatus for me from the web, crafting, stamping, anything. i've struggled a lot with my dystonia over the past year but i'm excited and happy that i have overcome so much from my move from utah back home to california to my divorce and everything in between!
i live in orange county, california now so it totally rocks to be near the ocean again! i certainly missed that part of san diego when we moved out to utah over a decade ago! that's the part of my california heritage i have never lost! the great salt lake was lovely but i looooove the ocean! soon we'll be taking cochobhar-versace to the beach but i've been waiting because he hasn't finished his series of puppy shots. you all know how deeply saddened i was by the death of my dear carmelita, through parvo, last year. so i am taking no risks with cochobhar-versace. i love my neighborhood, it's so calm and lovely. we have fabulous neighbors but i have to admit, i miss my friends and family in utah terribly. it was good to see them in april when we drove up to pick up cochobhar-versace. it was too short of a visit, though.
so as energy and strength allow me, i'll be around. slowly but surely i'll be working on stuff and posting. i've missed you all terribly! happy new year!
abrazos y amor,
bella