Bella Before and After

Small tour of my new home PICS

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:36:00 +0000

Tomorrow we were supposed to have the closing on our new home, only now it's been extended until the 25th of May. I hope that everything is done by then, and we can close already. I am just a little anxious to be in my own home once again. I'm packing, and trying to get everything done so that our move is as easy as possible, but I know it will be a pain once it actually happens. Moving plain and simply sucks. Thank goodness I don't anticipate another one for a very long time.

I would like to show you just a few pics of the house.
The main floor, has lots of arches throughout, and the windows have the same arches too. There's lots of molding on this floor too, and the whole house was freshly painted, and had new carpets installed. Although I'm not too crazy about the carpets, especially on the main floor, for now, they are staying, especially since they are new. The floors could use a good polish, but the fact they are banged up a little doesn't bother me at all. They are good wood floors, and I'm happy with them as well.

This is the foyer. We just walked in the front door. The dining room is to the right.

This was the day we had the inspection done on the house, so all the kids were chilling with me there. Every room is so full of natural sunlight, I just love that. Every window has a beautiful view.

The kids are lying down in the dining room. To the right is a sitting room.

The sitting room. The front door is too the right.

Aren't those arches lovely? I can't wait to see how I can get creative with these walls.

You all know how I'm constantly trying to organize my pantry. Well this one, is practically walk in. I'm sure I'll have lots of fun organizing this one too.

The kitchen is rather large, and I have built in oven and stove. Never had that before. I must say it sure does create lots of extra storage space, which is nice. The cabinets, are in great condition, clean, and extra long, so I don't have any storage issues here. I would like to upgrade those appliances eventually, but lets see how that goes. Have you checked out the price for built ins lately. I about fainted!!!

This is our living room. My husband, and brother say the TV must go on top of the fireplace. I'm saying no, and the TV will go on the wall to the left. What do you think?

Another wonderful window, letting in tons of light.

My kids dancing around, hehe.

The kitchen, and breakfast nook. I like it :)

This is the princess's room. She's kinda spoiled being the only girl. She gets a BIG walk in closet, a remote control ceiling fan, her own bathroom, and an incredible bay window.

Isn't that pretty? She does have one of the best rooms in the house. Lucky girl :)

I'll finish off todays tour with my laundry room. Which I couldn't be happier with. It's upstairs, next to all our bedrooms, hello, wonderful!! Oh and look at that beautiful WINDOW. Oh man, that is just awesome, even in my laundry room I get natural sunlight, and fresh air. How awesome is that?

I have TONS more pictures to show you. Can you tell, I'm pretty excited? This will be a long summer indeed. Moving, unpacking, gardening, and trying to fit in a vacation or two as well, lol. Let's see hwo everything goes!!!

Breastfeeding : TIME magazine cover

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:32:00 +0000

I JUST saw a couple comments on facebook about the new TIME magazine cover, that has the whole country talking. The comments, were for the most part negative, and even went as far as to refer to the cover as child porn, and totally gross. I was really shocked, and VERY saddened to see this kind of reaction. Obviously the picture was taken in a way that would get reactions, OK. I doubt that she seriously nurses her son like this in public, or even at her own home. It was a photo shoot, yes, but much more that that. It was meant to get us talking, SO LETS TALK!!!

I remember a couple years ago I watched a documentary, about an English woman who was still nursing her 9 year old girls. I watched that and thought, OK, yes, maybe that's a bit extreme, and while maybe that would not be something I would do, I didn't at any point think it was porn, or totally gross. The girls obviously weren't bothered by it, and clearly their mom wasn't bothered by it, and so who was I, or anyone else to say that they should be bothered by it.

As a mother who COMPLETELY believes in breastfeeding, as THE VERY BEST thing you can do for your child, between having 3 kids, I was breastfeeding for nearly 7 of those years. That's a whole lot of breastfeeding in my lifetime.

My first child nursed for the shortest of them all, not because either one of us wanted to stop. The only reason I stopped with him was because, while nursing one day he fell asleep with my breast in his mouth as babies do, and while he was dreaming he bit down so hard he drew blood from my nipple. I'm talking he really bit the crap out of it, and after that, I was so scared, and couldn't think of that pain again. Besides that one had to heal, and you know walking around with one breast full of milk, while the other is shrinking just didn't appeal to my young self back then. I was only 20, and maybe if that happened now, I would handle it different, but I did my best even then. He breastfed an entire year before that happened.

My second child nursed for 2 1/2 years, until I was in my second trimester with my 3rd child. I started weaning her ever so slowly for a couple months before that, but she just wouldn't have it.

My third child, bless his heart, he nursed for 3 1/2 years. I thought he would never stop, but the day came when he too, called it quits. For the record, both my youngest continued to ask for it, ON OCCASION even much after they stopped. Yes, there was no more milk, and yes they had practically forgotten how to suckle, but it was a bonding moment, that nothing compares too. It was a comforting thing for them, even if it only lasted 20 seconds. I didn't make a big deal of it, and they felt incredibly happy for it. I was so thankful that I could STILL comfort them in such a wonderful way, and honestly I wish I could still do that to this day, lol.

Life was so simple when popping my boob in my childs mouth would solve ANYTHING. Seriously it was the best medicine, and ultimate cure for anything that came our way.

I was never one to cover myself with big huge blankets, or sheets, or other stuff. I never had an issue nursing anywhere, and IF someone gave me a look, I would just smile. I was very confident, and it showed, so nobody really ever gave me a hard time about it. Although practically everyone I know, including most of my family and friends, DID think I was a bit weird. I never let it bother me though, and would always tell them how wonderful it was, and how HEALTHY it is for a child.

My thoughts have always been like this, and although I strongly believe that breastfeeding is THE ONLY way for me, I must also remember that many might NOT be ABLE to do so, for various reasons, and then of course there are those who choose not to do it at all, or just for a very short while. It's all good people. I don't judge, whatever works for you, but if you know me, and if I know you, no doubt you will hear me ramble ON and ON about the benefits of breastfeeding. I do believe in it very much, and I have no problem telling the world.

So what are your thoughts on this? I can already imagine that most of you will think that extended breastfeeding is a bit extreme, and that's ok, but try to be respectful even if you don't agree with me. I would be happy to discuss the topic with you, but not if you will be mean about it :)

Oh and having a supporting husband, is most helpful. I can't imagine being able to do this, if you don't have a husband who completely agrees, and supports you. So I was blessed with that as well. Nobody else really mattered, this was what we BOTH agreed was the best thing for our children, and often he was the one defending me to others.

I know it's not for everyone, but I would have it no other way. Those years I spent breastfeeding were the most amazing years of my life, I absolutely LOVED it, and the bond I created with my children will never go away. If you are thinking about going down this path, I can tell you, IN ALL CERTAINTY you will not regret it. If you have any questions about it, please let me know, I will be happy to help out in any way!!

I will continue my thoughts on this next time, along with co-sleeping. So get ready!!!

How to catch a snake in your garden.

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:41:00 +0000

As I was getting out of the car today after picking up my oldest, I saw a snake in my garden. It was black, with yellowish white stripes, and looked to be about 3-4 feet long. I kinda freaked.

I ran to the garage to get my mom, and my oldest to help me catch it. My kids play in the front yard all the time, and are always playing in the garden, so leaving it there was definitely not an option.

I was almost 99% sure it wasn't poisonous, but didn't know exactly what kind of snake it was. I just knew I had to catch it and get it out of there.

My mom screamed like a girl, haha, my oldest tried jumping ON TOP of my van, so I was left alone to try and catch this thing.

I took a fork like tool from the garden and tried to corner it into a bucket, but I didn't have much success.

We called a critter hotline, they said it was unlikely they could get anyone here fast enough, besides the snake was not dangerous so just leave it alone. YIKES, again, not an option. I can just imagine my kids playing and the snake jump out at them, OMG, yeha they would practically freak out, and even though my youngest LOVES snakes, finding one in the garden that just jumps out, or slithers past you might be a bit much even for him.

Then my mom went to get a neighbor and he finally helped me get him back in the woods where he belongs. He ended up just picking the snake up since we couldn't get it to stay in the bucket.

After he caught it, we called the kids to see it, and pet it a couple times, and off it went back home.

KING snakes are very good snakes to have around the house. They are non-venemous, and help control the rat population. OK, good stuff. Oh and they also eat other venemous snakes, yeah, that's good right. It was a pretty snake, I must admit, but no thank you, NOT in MY garden, ahhhh.

AND even this made me thing of Tiger. Remember THIS post where he was playing with a snake in my garage at my old house? Oh man, I wonder if he would have caught this one too?

Does cupping therapy work? YES, YES, YES!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000

First let me tell you a little story about my back, and how I got here in the first place :)

A little history on my back, it hurts, A LOT.
I've never been in a car accident, never had any major trauma, so I'm not really sure why my back is all messed up, BUT it is. (Oh does giving birth to 3 babies, and breastfeeding for over 7 years have anything to do with it, hmmm, MAYBE).

The middle of my back, my lower back, you name it, it hurts. My neck area, oh wow, sometimes I just want to dig my fist under my skull to relieve the pressure I feel there, which is pretty much everyday. Instead of having the normal C curve in my neck, mine is practically reversed. Just today I went over my xrays with the chiropractor and he said it was 63 degrees off, YIKES.

Via

What does that have to do with anything. Well, if I don't treat it, I will eventually have a major HUMP BACK, and obviously continue getting nasty headaches, and back pain, all of which I already suffer.

Two days ago I went to the chiropractor, I felt like crap, had a MAJOR kink in my neck for the millionth time, and was fed up, so I went. Felt better, and had another appointment today, and after my TWO MINUTE consultation I was left unsatisfied with his treatment plan, he didn't make me feel confident about anything, and I was not happy.

ANYWAYS, I left the office feeling very unsatisfied, and even though I JUST had a treatment, and a 15 minute massage (which by the way was great for what it was, I mean my kids could karate chop the heck out of my back, and it feels better than nothing) I remembered this place someone told me about one time while I got my nails done. I remember this lady raving about this ROMANIAN massage guy who was beyond amazing, and she went on and on for an hour talking about how he healed her, when nobody else could. She had bad knees, or something, I don't know. BUT I clearly remember that he was AMAZING, and ROMANIAN, so I asked where he was, she told me, and then I forgot all about him, UNTIL today.

I drove around a bit until I found it, and got lucky. Not only was he there, he had an opening, (come to think about it, I probably took up his lunch time, oooops), and after talking with him for 5 minutes I was READY for my first treatment/consultation/diagnosis. Just from talking to him, I felt like he knew more than any doctor, chiropractor, etc I had ever seen. He was SO confident, and practically gave me a 100% money back guarantee that he could make me feel MUCH MUCH MUCH better, of not completely. That's how I felt anyway, you just know when someone knows their stuff, and this guys knew his stuff. HE WAS AMAZING, did I already say that, YES simply AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Since he specializes in REFLEXOLOGY the first thing he did was touch my feet and he immediately told me my feet were the problem for all my back pain. I have an really bad arch in my foot, and when I walk, most of my weight falls on the balls of my feet, which also explains why I can't stand wearing heels, my feel HURT already there. Then he found the EXACT FLIIPIN spots on my back and neck that cause me grief every moment of my life. I'm talking like in the first ONE minute. After that he got to work, and pushed, and rubbed, and stretched my back, muscles, and all those knots out until I felt like a train just hit me. This was def not your typical relax, music, hot stone, lalalala massage, this was THERAPY, and it hurt, and it was rough, and I almost had to tell him to stop, BUT I didn't.

The more it hurt, the better it felt when he was done, I mean seriously just when I thought I couldn't take the pain anymore, it went away. Got it, so if you go get a massage, MAKE sure you let them do it HARD, and really REALLY get in there, you will be happy they did.

Ok, then I was ready for my FIRST ever cupping treatment. I've wanted to try cupping for the longest time, and I can't believe my ROMANIAN massage therapist who I just happened to find by chance through a lady at the nail salon, could do this, and not only that he was like an EXPERT. He's been doing this for 30 years, and his mom used to do this on him when he was a little boy in the village in Romania. WOW, I thought only the Chinese did this kind of thing.

So he started placing like 30 cups on my back, he seriously covered my whole back, and it felt weird, I could feel heat, almost a burning, tingling sensation, but no pain. I had no idea what to expect, but I felt like my whole back was being tugged on. Talk about getting the blood flowing.

After about 10 minutes the cups came off, and I could not believe the difference RIGHT away. It was amazing, amazing, amazing. Where did all the pain go, where did all the tightness, and pressure go? Really I could care less, all I know was I could move my neck again, my shoulders, my back. My posture felt like 10 times better, more improved, and even now as I'm sitting here almost 6 hours later, my back is still HOT, like I can feel the blood circulating, literally. I am blown away at how incredible this treatment is.

My back looks SCARY, indeed, and I've seen people at the gym before (mostly asian women) with cup rings on their back, and I always thought I wanted to try that. NOW I have a whole mess of them, and I am proud to show them off, to anyone. Take a look, enjoy, ask questions, I don't mind.

I want to tell everyone how awesome I feel, AFTER ONE SESSION, and recommend this to anyone who is suffering from chronic pain. Seriously just give it a try, you have nothing to lose, and while the marks will remain for several days, and possibly scare everyone who sees them, WHO CARES. You will feel A MILLION times better, I just know it, and that's what matters right.

I can't wait for my next visit with him. I'm sold. What about YOU???

**Disclaimer** Clearly I am not giving out medical advice, please consult your trusted physician. I am simply telling a friend about MY experience with something that brought me a great deal of relief, and I think it can work for you too. I would love to write more about my experience and interest in holistic and alternative treatments, because I'm TOTALLY into it people. I just might become the next CRAZY AWESOME ROMANIAN massage therapist/doctor/holistic healer/whatever you want to call people who can heal without the use of conventional medicine. YUP, that's what I'm all about.

Ok, that's it for now, just wanted to share this very exciting thing with all of you, because it was kind of a big deal to me, and I just had to tell all of you too :)

It's been over a month....

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Hello everyone!! I feel so strange being back on my own blog, it's been literally over a month since I've even taken a look at it. The past month has been hard.

Since losing my cat, I've felt many things. Guilt being #1.

I still can't believe it happened, so quickly. In a flash he was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it. I still replay those moments in my head, and every time I back my car out of that driveway, I shutter, and every time I see the spot where he took his last breath I lose mine.

The night that it happened, my youngest son woke me up at around 3am to tell me, very CLEARLY that Tiger was NOT dead, that he woke up, was walking, AND was very much alive.

It was weird, I can't really explain it. When everything happened earlier that day, he didn't want any part of it, he acted like nothing had happened. I thought he just didn't understand.

That night though, he dreamt of Tiger. He was the one to to see him "wake up in HEAVEN"????
Why not, that sounded pretty good to me :)

It made me cry, he hugged me, and told me everything was ok. Then he told me that even a big bear couldn't hurt Tiger anymore, lol. I told him he was right. Tiger was safe, FORVER, and EVER.

It's been strange not having him around. Everyone has felt his absence. My mom misses him terribly, and she never really cared for animals much, but he was special!!

Here's my big question to all of you....

Am I traitor, that literally the next day after this happened, even with all my grief, and crying, and guilt, all I could think about was getting another little kitten?

I have been wanting to go to the shelter and pick one up SOOOO badly, and have been waiting to do it. Is it too soon, does it mean that I loved Tiger any less? I just know I want another one, maybe two, and I can't wait to hold that little kitty in my hands, and cuddle with it, and make all kinds of new happy memories with it.

Gosh, I can't wait!!!

Also I wanted to say THANK YOU soooo much for all your incredibly messages, you all are so awesome. Every one of them just made me feel at peace, and loved, and if Tiger could read, I'm sure he would be on cloud nine now too, purring away, and rubbing all over you with gratitude. Truly, I am so thankful for all the kind words, they all made me feel much better.

Love you all, and I'll be back this week with some pics of MY NEW HOUSE, that I simply can't wait to move into, because then I can go get my new kitty, among all kinds of other things, I am so excited about. Life is good, even when tragedy strikes, I guess there's always a silver lining somewhere.

Believe it or not, I learned an important truth about myself with Tigers death. That's a LONG story, but I really think I know WHY it HAD to be ME. By letting go of him, I had to let go of many things in my life that weren't very healthy for me, and just realizing those things, has made the world of difference in my life. I've tried very hard this past month to reflect on many things, and hopefully things will continue to look up for me from now on.

Why GOD, Why? I ran over my cat today!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:17:00 +0000

RIP TIGER

I don't even have words to express the grief I'm feeling.
The GUILT
The anger, that I am the one who ran over my beautiful cat.
I loved him so much.

He was the BEST FREAKIN CAT EVER, and I will miss him
I will miss him rubbing against my legs everyday
I will miss his BEAUTIFUL green eyes, the most beautiful eyes ever
I will miss him walking with us down the street, EVERYWHERE
Everyone that met him would always say how awesome he was
He was the friendliest cat
He was the best companion
The kids adored him
Even my mom who is not a pet person, LOVED him so much

He ran out of food yesterday, and my mom must have reminded me a million times to get Tiger food
So yesterday and today he got spoiled with whole albacore tuna, I was just joking that he loves running out of food, because thats when he gets the yummy stuff :)

Just this morning, my mom and I watched him as he devoured his food
He was so beautiful, we loved on him SOOOO much today

I just can't believe he's gone

Right before my eyes, I saw him take his last breath

It's just unbelievable. WHY me, WHY did I have to be the one to take his life

I just couldn't stop shaking, the kids ran out to see, and everyone was screaming, crying, I just killed him, I just killed Tiger

It was supposed to be a happy day, everything was perfect, I was heading to the gym for my yoga class and to go rock climbing with the kids

If I had left a minute earlier, if I had left five minutes later

If I didn't leave at all

If I had looked behind my van, like I always do.

This time I only saw the kids bike to the side, and I don't know why, but I never checked for the cat
WHY DIDN'T I CHECK for the cat?

WHY

WHY

WHY

The kids said he was sitting in the driveway cleaning himself just minutes before we left
I called them all to hurry and get in the car
We were all thinking about the gym, rock climbing, and NOBODY thought about Tiger

I'm sorry baby, I'm SOOOOOOOOOO sorry.

I love you, LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU with all my heart!!

I took some pictures of him, I will miss him always.

This is the hardest it's ever been on me to lose an animal. I just can't imagine I could cry so many tears for a cat, but damn it, I LOVED that cat so much, and I FUCKING killed him. How can I ever forgive myself for that?

It's been four hours since it happened, and I haven't stopped crying since. I just can't stop thinking about him, right now, he would have been sleeping on his favorite spot in the garage. We would have called him in for the night, and gave him one last rub before heading to bed.

Now he's dead, and cold in a grave. I feel so guilty, so bad, so sad, so hurt.

All I know is that he didn't suffer.

It happened so fast, I backed up, ran over him, saw him dash to the front of the driveway, and thats when I jumped out of the car, realizing what just happened

By the time I got to him, (5 seconds later) he took his last breath, there was NOTHING I could do.

There was no blood, no visible sign of injury, he just looked like he was sleeping, only this time he would never wake up, and I'm flippin crying like a crazy mad woman all over again, I just can't get the thought out of my head, I just can't stop seeing him. I know he didn't suffer, it was just SO fast.

If there is anything I can be thankful for, it is that!

I'm so sorry everyone, I know this was a terribly sad post, but I just HAD to sahre his story, and what I did. I had to write about it, and get all my feelings out, and I have to share some pictures with all of you, because I loved him, and I always will

He was a HUGE part of our family, there will never be another cat like him, EVER.

My husband said, that you never know why things like this happen, and I know that's the truth.

Would I rather have had him die a painful death some other way, or hit by a strangers car on the road, where he was left by himself, NO of course not.

But this pain is just unbearable, I am 100%responsible, and he never saw it coming. He trusted us so much.

This is just something I can't explain, to know that you are responsible for your animals death.

Oh gosh, my heart is hurting so bad, I miss my cat :(

Do you believe cats, (animals) know when they are loved?
Do you believe they can love you back?

I know Tiger loved us, and I sure hope he knows how much we loved him too, FORVER!!!

We buried him in my daughters blanket, so he would be forever warm.

We all wrote on this makeshift cross, that just happened to by Dino D's sword. It was from him to Tiger, so he could remember him always.

My mom, bless her heart, she was so strong, and dug the hole, and took care of everything for me. I don't know what I would have done without her, I was just a mess. Shaking, I"M STILL SHAKING, and CRYING, and shaking, and crying :(

The girly, grabbed a kitty from her room, and buried it with Tiger, so of course he wouldn't be lonely.

My oldest, gave Tiger his book. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Diary, because it's filled with all kinds of stuff about him, and he thought Tiger should have it. I mean seriously, OMG, these kids are just making me cry even more. We all loved Tiger SO much. DId I already tell you guys that, WE LOVED TIGER!!!

After he was buried, my mom put a planter on his grave and filled it with flowers. The princess said it was perfect, so he would never be hungry. You know because cats love to chew on grass, and plants :)

I never quite understood the grief of losing an animal like this, it's so painful.

I just can't believe that he was with us, and now he's gone.

Just the other day I shared a picture of him on facebook, he was so peaceful sleeping on the grass, it was such a beautiful day, everything was perfect.

Now he's gone

I will ALWAYS love you TIGER!!!

MIHM #4- Organizing my PANTRY - both of them!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:38:00 +0000

Make it Happen Monday!
This week I will finish up my pantries. Yes PANTRIES!
I worked on my Under Stairs Pantry last week, and had a bit of a detour, when I had to play plumber for the day and fix a water leak.

I've pretty much finished that though, and in the process had to work on my upstairs pantry as well. So why not finish that up this week.

Here's a couple more pics at what I'm working on! Oh the joys of getting organized. It's so much fun, like FOR REAL. I'm not being sarcastic :)

This weekend passed so quickly I don't even know where it went. Despite the fact that it was a 3 day weekend for us, it's over now, and I'm feeling lazy as ever.

My little girl is sick, fever, and throwing up. {Frowny Face} No school for her tomorrow, and I'm just sitting in bed with her watching a movie.

I've actually been feeling kinda crappy the past few days as well, especially with a major headache. Sucks. It feels good to have a lazy weekend every once in a while though, he he.

One thing I am doing this week, is taking on a WATER CHALLENGE!
So far today, I've had lots of water, and just finished up two oranges. That def quenched my thirst for juice. I also had some tea this morning, AT HOME.

Will you guys join me as well?
So far I have TWO friends participating.

Ami @ ALILILLY
Lesley @ FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Clean Drinking WATER - Shouldn't everyone have it?

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

What would you do if you didn't have access to CLEAN drinking water?

What would you do if your child was at risk of dying because of the water they drank?

What if your child died because they simply didn't have any?

How blessed we are to have clean water!

Water that will not make us sick.
Water that doesn't require a 5 mile walk to the closest well, and then carrying it back in a bucket to your family. Forget about having water to shower with, or flush down a toilet.

We are talking simply about having a clean drink of water.

Can you imagine?

Me neither!

This week however, lets try!

The Bargain Babe, over at ZUCHINI SUMMER is challenging us this week to be a Water Warrior.

This week you are being challenged to make a very simple sacrifice.

Instead of grabbing your normal soda, coffee, sweet tea, or any other drink you enjoy, STOP!

STOP, and grab a glass of TAP WATER, --- NOT BOTTLED --- NOT PAYED FOR WATER!

Simply replace WHATEVER you would drink and PAY for this week, with TAP WATER!

Then donate the money you saved to your favorite charity, that focuses on helping to provide clean water to those in need.

Please go read her full article WATER - Make a Difference and get all the details, and join me in taking this challenge! Please tell your friends, and lets all try and make a difference!

I am starting Monday MARCH 12 and will do the challenge for ONE WEEK!

P.S. if you would like to support Water of Life Charity by purchasing this beautiful necklace, you can do that too :) My friend Maria @ Agape Love Boutique, created this special necklace and is giving 75% of the proceeds to this very special charity Water of Life!

You can purchase this necklace and many more at her shop!CLICK HERE

FFF - Under Stairs Pantry Makeover PART ONE

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:46:00 +0000

The week started ok, I had a plan in mind for the under stairs pantry, and while I knew it would take a while to complete, I certainly didn't plan for what was to come.

I went to the Home Depot, and got my wood cut. The man working in lumber was awesome. I showed him a picture of what I wanted, and he quickly busted out some numbers, did some mental measurements, and before I knew it, he was cutting all the pieces perfectly.

Once I got home, the first thing I had to do was take everything out of the pantry!

So far so good, except for all the water on the floor. Oh man, what is this, clearly there was a leak coming from somewhere, the baseboard had already started getting mildew on it, ewwww.

After getting all the shelves out, I opened THE DOOR, and took a peak. I was almost thankful when I realized where the leak was coming from. I was seriously scared it was going to cost an arm and a leg to get fixed. But after further inspection I thought I'd try to fix it myself.

I went to Home Depot AGAIN, and this time I had the most wonderful help from the man working in plumbing. Again I showed him a picture, and he loaded me up with all the necessary tools to fix this myself. I took pics, and will tell you all about my plumbing adventures in another post, he he. It was quite funny, you don't want to miss it!

After that unexpected detour, I finally got started on my shelves. So far everything is coming along, I'm just not quite finished. So, instead of trying to rush, I'll just do an update once it's done.

There you have it friends.

This week, I played the role of PLUMBER, and I made some shelves!

I'm kinda proud of myself if I do say so myself.

I think we'll go out to dinner tonight to celebrate, with all the money I saved from not having to call a real plumber to out.

Q-Tip : How to wrap an extension cord

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Todays super awesome Q-TIP is :

HOW TO WRAP AN EXTENSION CORD
without working out your forearms, biceps, and breaking your back, and without it becoming a big tangled mess. Sound too good to be true? Check out how I wrap MY extension cords.

Next time you use your extension cord, why not try wrapping it up with the daisy chain. It's fast, easy, painless, and so much more practical.

Hope you enjoyed todays Q-TIP.

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>
All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)
P.p.s If you host a party, and don't like the way I link back, kindly let me know, and I will be happy to make it right. I think having all the parties I link up to in my blog roll in my sidebar is a wonderful way for my readers to see whats new with your blogs, as it's always being updated. No need to wonder which party started, now you can see exactly what everyone is up to right away :)

MIHM #3 - Under the Stairs FOOD PANTRY?

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another week of MIHM.
Did you miss last week? Go check it out now :)
Make it Happen Mondays

This week I'm working on something, that I really have no idea how to make happen!
UNDER THE STAIRS - FOOD PANTRY

My mom used this space for SHOE storage before we moved in, with some extra pickle bottles, or soda cans roaming around in between. Again it was a horrible waste of space, and considering that our upstairs pantry is SO SMALL, I need all the room I can get!

This WOULD be a great addition to my upstairs pantry, if only I could figure out how to make this area work for me. Clearly the shape of the room makes it challenging!

Plus there is another small door, that leads to another small area for storage. Not that I want to use that, but I can't exactly cover it off completely, my brother has stuff in there! See it in the picture below?

Obviously I've already removed the shoes, and added more food, but this extra pantry is a LONG way from finished. I also added those black shelves in there, because I had them on hand, and I needed to add more food to that side of the wall too.

These pictures were taken when I first moved in, so since then I've added more food, but the space is so tight, it is impossible to bend over to see what is actually on those shelves, it's hard to get to anything, and there is yet so much unused vertical space.

I know there just HAS to be a better way. I've been trying to design a practical solution to this space, mostly in my head, lol, and I think I've got it.

HOPEFULLY things work out like I imagine them too, and when you come back on Friday, you will be as shocked as me, IF I can pull this project off.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

Don't forget to leave me some feedback. I'm trying all kinds of new things here, in case you haven't noticed. I'd love to see what you think of it all. If you still don't know what I'm talking about you can start by catching up on a few posts.

MIHM - Make it Happen Mondays

FFF- Finally Finished Fridays

The Hairstyle Games

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

P.p.s If you host a party, and don't like the way I link back, kindly let me know, and I will be happy to make it right. I think having all the parties I link up to in my blog roll in my sidebar is a wonderful way for my readers to see whats new with your blogs, as it's always being updated. No need to wonder which party started, now you can see exactly what everyone is up to right away :)

The Hairstyle Games - Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:24:00 +0000

Ready to play?

I had lots of fun trying on a bunch of new hairstyles again. If you missed last weeks post, feel free to go take a peak, I've updated it with the correct answers!
THE HAIRSTYLES GAMES

If you want to read all about my new series, click HERE.

Here are this weeks hairstyles:
a. Cote de Pablo
b. Aubrey O Day
c. Jennifer Aniston
d. Beverly Todd
e. Judy Greer
f. Glenda Hatchet
g. Amy Adams

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7.

Ready to play? All you have to do is match the correct celebrity to the hairstyle, and try not to laugh :)Come back next week for the answers!Oh and grab a button will ya, I'm sure your friends would love to play along too.
Now I just have to know, what is your favorite, and least favorite hairstyle this week, and why?

MIHM - Make it Happen Mondays

FFF- Finally Finished Fridays

The Hairstyle Games

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

FFF #2 - How to organize your Laundry Room, a picture tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:16:00 +0000

YAY time for another round of FINALLY FINISHED FRIDAY!

This week I worked on my LAUNDRY ROOM. I was telling you guys that even though it is like 10 times bigger than my old LAUNDRY ROOM / PANTRY, it was still a HUGE MESS! Yes there are cabinets in there, perfect for storage, but if they are not organized correctly, what's the point? Having counter space meant, the perfect landing spot to throw all our crap. Yup even the tops of the machines got used, because there just wasn't anywhere else to put this STUFF!

There was ONLY one shelf in this room, and it was above the washing machine and dryer. My mom initially had paper towels up there, and I other misc items that made NO SENSE at all, because SO much vertical space was being wasted. This is when we first moved in!

I took ALL the pots and pans she had hidden in her cabinets, and put them up there. She hates it, but I love it. Now we can see exactly which pots we have, what we want to use, and yes, you need to stand on a stepping stool to reach them, but oh well. So much more practical.

For the time being I'm not showing you the inside of the cabinets quite yet, I'm not finished! But, lets get started on the rest of the room shall we?

That shoe shelf you see there was put up by me already a few weeks ago, BUT that entire corner needed improvising. It was still such a mess. I had vacuum attachment parts, a shredder, and all kinds of other CRAP on the floor.

This corner was my major project for the week. I knew I had to utilize that space. It may bot be a lot, and it had all that silver air duct stuff in the way, BUT what a waste of space it was indeed. Initially I thought I would put ONE shelf up towards the top, and hang some clothes from it. Then realized a hanger wouldn't even fit, because of the silver stuff. So then I had to move on to plan B.

You see all those lovely little wire shelves there? Yup I installed those, and don't even think for one second it was easy. First of all it was my first time installing wire shelves, and while it's not exactly HARD, it was in this case, because it was such a crammed corner. Plus you REALLY need to measure everything perfectly, which I did not. I'll tell you all about HOW to INSTALL WIRE SHELVES later!

BUT look at what a difference it made. I was able to take ALL my crap that was lying around and put it on those shelves. While it still looks extremely cluttered, and messy, I assure you it's not. I'm sure once I pretty up the box I use to hold my cleaning towels, and do something about the silver air ducts and the ugly heater, it will look much better, he he.

Oh and did I tell you these were FREE. I had a whole bunch of wire shelves that a friend gave me over 2 years ago, how sweet hugh? I never got around to using any of it, BUT now I'm finding all kinds of ways to use it. This is just the beginning people!!

Totally useful for the laundry room. I was able to put all the small stuff in there.

Shoe polish, sponges, extra floor pads, etc. Totally get one, it's awesome.

These shoe racks on the other hand, were NOT FREE. I know I could have gone WAY cheaper, but I LOVE them, and sometimes, you just have to splurge a little. I'll talk about these SHOE RACKS later too. I seriously LOVE them,

Here's something different. Instead of putting all your shirts on hangers, you could just throw them up on this utility hook. It's just like putting them on the back of a chair, it keeps them from getting wrinkled, and when you're done you can just gently grab them and go to your closet and hand them up. Much MUCH faster if you're in a hurry, and they will not get wrinkled.

Clearly because you can have the UGLY silver duct pipes and heater staring at you from both directions, lol. No seriously....... it is a wonderful addition. It's a great place to get one last peek at yourself before heading out the door. AND it does make the room seem bigger, more open, less like a laundry room. Now if I can just make it look even prettier. I'm sure I'll get to it one day. For now, I'm just super happy that it's way more organized!!

So what do you think? Is it much better or what? Did you learn anything new to apply to your own laundry room makeover?

MIHM - Make it Happen Mondays

FFF- Finally Finished Fridays

The Hairstyle Games

If you LOVED this post, why don't you consider sharing it on :

FACEBOOK - TWITTER - or PINTEREST

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

Instagram-RECIPES - Adding GARLIC to your EGGS

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:51:00 +0000

Hello there, and welcome!

Today I'm trying something a little different. I'm posting all my recipe pictures via Instagram, because I seriously suck at editing photos, and using my FAVORITE photography app is way too easy!!
I've decided to call this experiment of mine:Insta-RECIPE"ba ha ha ha"
I'm curious to hear what you think about todays post, so make sure to give me your feedback ok?
Todays recipe:ADD GARLIC to your EGGS PEOPLE

Sounds crazy right? But if you are anything like me, and LOVE garlic, then I promise you will love this recipe! I seriously added about 20 cloves of garlic, and honestly, nobody ever believes me when I tell them I put that much garlic in their eggs!

GARLIC EGGS RECIPE
INGREDIENTS: - 10 eggs- 20 cloves of garlic- 1/2 an onion- 1/2 pack of mushrooms- 4 big handfuls of spinach- EVOO - salt and pepper

STEP 1 : Saute the garlic and half an onion in a little EVOO with a dash of salt (be careful not to let it burn, or it will taste bitter)
STEP 2 : After the garlic and onions are soft, and clear, add the mushrooms. I like to brown my mushrooms, so cook yours how you like them, more raw, or more browned like me :)
STEP 3 : Beat your eggs, season with salt and pepper as needed.
STEP 4 : Add TONS of spinach. It wilts down to practically nothing, so stuff it in there, it's HEALTHY!
STEP 5 : Pour your eggs, add feta cheese, and slowly start to scramble. Cook until set, but again try not to burn it. Eggs always taste better when cooked at lower heat, and are served just a little wet, if you know what I mean.

So tell me, what did you think? Was this a fun way to read a recipe? I'm hoping if nothing else, I didn't hurt anybody's eyes with more bad pictures, lol. One day I will get the hang of it all, but until then, i think I'll stick to Instagram to help with my photo editing!

MIHM - Make it Happen Mondays

FFF- Finally Finished Fridays

The Hairstyle Games

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

MIHM #2 - Laundry Room

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another week of:Make it Happen Mondays
This week I'm working on:MY LAUNDRY ROOM

Our laundry room is is like 10 times bigger than my old LAUNDRY ROOM / PANTRY. In fact there is so much room now, I'm trying to see just how much stuff I can put in there, lol.
No seriously though, it WAS and IS filled with stuff, only it's not very organized. My goal this week, is to once again MAXIMIZE the amount of usable space in there, and make it really work for us. The room has tons of potential, but it also has several things I'm not sure how to work around..... LIKE ALL THIS! I know it isn't pretty, and I can promise you one thing, it's not getting any prettier by Friday. My goal is to organize this room FIRST, and then worry about doing something about that huge eyesore.

Let's see how everything goes, and when you check back on FFF hopefully you will be impressed :)
If you have no idea what MIHM is all about, I've explained everything HERE!
So what did you think about last weeks projects?What, you haven't seen them yet? Well then go see what I'm talking about silly, I'll hold on :)Finally Finished Fridays (FFF)
P.S. Just curious, do you notice anything new about the blog? I'm trying people, I'm really trying to make it easier to navigate, easier to read, and I'm working on it every day little by little. I hope you like everything so far, and as always if you have any suggestions, just holla (or leave me a comment, hehe)
P.P.S. I said I would challenge you to Organize your own closets this week. However I think I will start that in a week or two. I'm working on several ORGANIZING CHALLENGES, and just want to be ready for it, when you all start participating. So be patient, while I work out the details, and we will get the parties started very soon.
P.P.P.S. I am 99% sure I will be bringing back AMAZE ME AUGUST. I really miss seeing all your projects, and while I plan on hosting some other parties here, they will be specific to what we are working on, so by bringing back my regular linky party, you can always share whatever you want. What do you think about that?

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

The Hairstyle Games - Week #1

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:27:00 +0000

Welcome to our new series!

THE HAIRSTYLE GAMES

I am so excited about this new series. It's FUN, it's silly, it's goofy, and everyone likes to play dress up right, JUST not with your hair, hehe. Well now you can experiment all you want, and with no regret, because it's all done online through this VIRTUAL HAIRSTYLING program called THE HAIRSTYLER. I sure hope you have fun!!

Click THE HAIRSTYLE GAMES to find out more.

Here are this weeks hairstyles!a. Ciarab. Christina Riccic. Salma Hayekd. Sharon Osbornee. Whitney Houstonf. Kim Kardashiang. Angelina Jolie 1. g 2. b 3. f 4. c

5. d 6. a

7. eAll you have to do is match the correct celebrity to the hairstyle, and try not to laugh :)Come back next week for the answers!Oh and grab a button will ya, I'm sure your friends would love to play along too.
Now I just have to know, what is your favorite, and least favorite hairstyle this week, and why?P.S. Don't forget to check out my NEW blog series. It's all about getting things done.Click on Make it Happen MONDAYS to see what I'm working on this week!
Or to see my finished projects Click on Finally Finished FRIDAYS!

The Hairstyle GAME - A new series!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:46:00 +0000

THE HAIRSTYLE GAMEA new Series
Every week I will post SEVEN new hairstyles. All of them are "celebrity inspired" and you have to match my pictures to the celebrity. I will name them all at the bottom of the post!
Come back every SUNDAY for a new game, and the answers to the previous weeks game.
Oh and if you GRAB a button, you'd totally make me happy!Besides, we all love to play dress up, and this is just WAY to much fun to not let your friends join in the fun. If enough of you ask, I might even turn it into a linky so YOU can play too!

Here's how this New Series came to be!!
I found this amazing virtual hairstyle program online, while searching for help on cutting my Moms hair. She was scared to go short, and leave it natural (grey). I told her it would look awesome. So I had to find a way to prove it to her.
Let me introduce you to:THE HAIRSTYLERNo more trying a hair color just to realize you look like poo with it. No more bad haircuts. DUMB AND DUMBER HAIRCUTNo more taking a comb to fold up your hair to see if you like the way you look with bangs. I did a video on cutting your bangs, it was pretty funny, check it out. HOW TO CUT YOUR OWN BANGS VIDEO TUTORIAL
If you want to see all my hair posts, just search for HAIR, or click HERE!
Now you can try any hairstyle VIRTUALLY. I'm telling you it looks so realistic! I bet you could fool someone if you sent them a picture, hehe.THE HAIRSTYLER

Go check it out people. For the cost of a CHEAP haircut you can get a ONE YEAR membership to this amazing styling tool. I can't even tell you how fantastic it is. I'm sure there are other sites out there, maybe even free ones, but I stumbled on this one, and LOVE IT. Totally easy to use, totally customizable, great advanced search options, and you can get a full makeup makeover as well.
You can ask real stylists for help, watch tons of videos, and I could go on and on, but the best way for you to understand is to check it out yourself.
GO now, and treat yourself to a FUN afternoon, trying on different hairstyles. You never know, it might just be what you need to change your look once and for all. I know it can be scary to cut your hair, or change the color, but now you can try out all the things you never thought you could pull off, JUST FOR FUN. How cool is that!!
P.s. I am NOT being payed, compensated, or in any way asked to write this review. I found this site, signed up, USED it, and LOVED it. Although I am going to write them to ask if I could giveaway some free memberships, so keep your fingers crosses, he he.
Check out this weeks game by clicking:THE HAIRSTYLE GAMES

Finally Finished Friday #1 - Linen Closet turned KID STATION

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

The last thing I am sharing with you today is my TINY Linen Closet. I put all the sheets, and other crap in there because hey that's what it's for right, lol. However I knew there had to be a MUCH better way to use that TINY closet, after all it is ALMOST 22 inches wide, surely thats enough space for lots of things right???
Here is the OLD Linen Closet!!

Then after looking around the house, I realized I REALLY need a place for the kids CRAP, you know like a central place where they can grab coloring books, games, the WII guitars, and also a place where I can file some papers, and keep activity books too, since I no longer have my BUILT IN LIBRARY from the OLD HOUSE.

This is what I came up with, and if I do say so myself, it is BRILLIANT!!!

As proof that is works, by little ones JUMPED at the opportunity to grab their NEWLY organized toys and make a run for it, lol. Ahhhh I just love the new closet, it is so functional and so practical. Totally makes me happy!!!
If you want to know just what I did, MAKE sure to come back throughout the week I will be giving FULL TUTORIALS on how I Redid all my closets, making them WAY more functional, and improving the amount of usable space big time!!
Now, go take a quick peek at my other FFF posts I did today, where I show you MY CLOSET makeover and MY MOMS CLOSET.

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

Finally Finished Friday #1 - My MOMS Closet Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:12:00 +0000

Here is my Moms closet Before and After pictures. This closet was a MESS, she went from having THREE closets to store all her clothes to JUST ONE. I still don't know how she did it, but she did.

She stuffed that closet TO THE BRIM, and to the point of no return. Until it finally came crashing down, yup you read that right, her ONE and ONLY shelf just fell off the wall, and left some pretty big holes in there too, YIKES.
That's what got me started on redoing our closets in the first place. If that hadn't happened, we would probably still be struggling with storage issues.
Here are the BEFORE pictures, look at them and weep, it was bad!!

I think the picture above was taken right before the shelf fell. It was funny because this was a couple days before my moms birthday, and I took the picture so I'd have a before picture. I planned on surprising her with NEW hangers, lol.... matching ones, so at least it would be a little better. Little did I know that I would be REDOING the entire closet set up.

The shelf simply gave way, and even after I tried reattaching it to the wall, with HEAVY DUTY anchors, it still collapsed, and then there was EVEN more damage to the wall, omg, my mom was mad.

Here are most of her clothes, I was scared her bed would break too, he he. Dang for real though, the lady has a TON of clothes, I'm not even going to lie.
HERE are some AFTER pictures.

BEFORE & AFTER
So what do you think?
Just like in PART ONE of todays FINALLY FINISHED FRIDAY post I am going to see if YOU can figure out what I changed around. Lets see how many things you can notice differently!
This is so awesome, doing this new series is proving to be JUST what I needed. I accomplished a lot this week, MUCH more than the 3 closets.
I will be sharing the FULL tutorials throughout next week, so make sure to come check it out, and WHILE you are here, GUESS what, I am challenging YOU to give your closet a makeover.... With STEP by STEP ideas on how to do it (next week) I'm sure you can do it too.
I have tons of new ideas for the blog, I can't wait to share them with you!!!
One more Finally Finished Friday ( FFF) post will be coming up later today. It's just awesome, and I'm sure glad I started my new series Make it Happen Monday it has helped me a lot.
My linen closet was out of control, and totally useless to me. YES I technically had all the sheets in there, blah blah, blah, BUT I'm no Martha over here, and when I wash the sheets I USUALLY put them right back on the bed, hello, call me crazy. So this meant I never really used my linen closet, and all those extra sheets just sat there, without a use in the world.
Come back later today to see what I did with this ONCE useless space. Oh and btw the closet was SOOOO tiny, I wasn't sure if I could do anything better with it, BUT I did, and I just LOVE IT....

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

Finally Finished Fridays #1 - Bella's Closet Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Ok guys here it is, my closet Makeovers are almost complete.
This past week, I worked on MAXIMIZING the amount of usable space, and making them work better for us. I did the best I could working with what was already there. LIKE those horrible wire shelves, and my mom's old dressers that she already had in the closet. Isn't my DREAM closet, but I am so much happier with the setup now.

These are the BEFORE PICS in better clarity :)

Here are the AFTER PICS again, hopefully a little clearer than below.

Ok now for the fun part. Can you tell me how many things you see different in the pictures above, look for it, look for it!!!
I could always tell you, but I hope the pictures speak for themselves. Ready, now lets see who can name all the changes---- GO!!
P.S. I officially suck at taking pictures. I had the hardest time, the closet light was so bright, it was horrible, and obviously without it, I couldn't take the pictures either. Erghhh, do any of you have any suggestions on how to take GOOD pictures in a time like this?
P.P.S. After previewing the post, I just realized the pictures suck even more than I thought, OMG even the dang watermarks are blurry,,, I AM SO SORRY. I will try to make them better, IF someone will please give me some pointers,,, PLEASE!!
If you want to see PART 2 (my moms closet)and PART 3 (my linen closet) make sure to come back throughout the day, I will be posting those later on today, and I can't wait to show you detailed TUTORIALS on how I did everything next week!!
Oh and start thinking about how you can maximize your closet space, I will be challenging you to do just that next week as well. Oh I am SOOO excited, I can't stand it eeekkkk!!

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

Don't forget to check out my NEW blog series. It's all about getting things done.Click on Make it Happen MONDAYS to see what I'm working on this week!
If you missed my post on I HATE CANCER - Be Thankful - Choose Joy make sure to go check it out. You will be inspired beyond belief, and I don't want you to miss it!

I HATE cancer - Be Thankful - Choose Joy

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

This post isn't going to be all mushy, or depressing, but more like an eye opener AND a daily reminder to be THANKFUL for all those that are HEALTHY in your life. Including your own health, and if there is anything you think you can do to improve it, DO IT NOW. Oh and P.S. I HATE CANCER!

Amy's journey with breast cancer was the first cancer blog I ever really followed. This is Amy, I think she's beautiful as can be, and while I could have picked a "non cancer" picture of her, I think it's important to share just what cancer looks like, for this was, and IS her reality.Click HERE to go to NEW NOSTALGIA and read all about her Journey with Breast Cancer.
Amy was so young when she got diagnosed, I just couldn't believe she had breast cancer. How did that happen? I immediately felt a connection, and her posts about faith were always soooo very inspiring to me. I was just moved beyond belief at everything that she was going through, and her strength, which I'm sure looked a whole lot different in REAL life, but non the less, her outlook on life was contagious, and I just wanted to have her spirit if even for a moment. I truly love this gal, and have enjoyed her blog for a long time.
Amy shares tons of healthy eating tips on her blog too which I love. MY ADVICE to you is DON'T WAIT until you have cancer,,,, :( Take advantage of your health NOW, and start to take care of your body while you have the CHOICE to do so.
Btw here's 9 reasons to juice your greens.
She also shares lots and lots of other cancer fighters struggles, victories, and sometimes loses. It's always an eye opener reading those posts. I especially wanted to share this one with you. I'm sure EVERY cancer fighter and their families out there can relate, and for the rest of us, what can I say.
BE THANKFUL for your health, BE THANKFUL, and again BE THANKFUL.
Not as I Pictured a film by John Kaplan has just left me speechless, and I only saw the trailer. Take a look, into the REALITY of cancer!
"Not As I Pictured" trailer from Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar on Vimeo.
To wrap up Amy's mission through her entire journey, please read THIS post where she talks about
BREAST REDOS and NIPPLE TATTOOS
She just wants to educate EVERY SINGLE woman out there YOUNG and OLD, that this can happen to anybody. Please read her VERY important post, and I'll leave you with this VISUAL of Amy comforting her daughter after her head shaving party. (My heart hurts) I just want to hug her!!
************** ~~~~~~~ **************
Then not long ago, I visited another blog I adore, BUT hadn't really visited for a while, and COULD NOT BELIEVE my eyes when I saw that Ashley from Lil Blue Boo was struggling with cancer. What, SAY WHAT?

This is not happening, HOW can this happen. That was my question all over again. I spent literally the entire weekend catching up on EVERY SINGLE post of what she calls :

READ all THE CANCER CHRONICLES HERE
I loved pretty much everything about Ashley before all this happened. She was always so CHEERFUL, JOYOUS, CREATIVE, TALENTED, FUNNY, PRETTY, and INSPIRING.
Guess what Cancer hasn't changed her.
I can't even begin to tell you how enjoyable her daily blog posts are, (is it terrible of me to describe it like that?) It's true though. I do realize she is sharing things that are NOTHING but enjoyable, and that there is NOTHING funny about having cancer, BUT this girl can write, and she can share something as terrible as cancer, and turn it into something beautiful, and even funny. I can't help but LOVE that about her, sharing all these intimate details of her life, and body, and openly poking fun of it, because you know what, I CAN RELATE to some of those things, even though I dont' have cancer.
Things like being SCARED TO POOP!!!
Read all about how EVERYONE POOPS. It was a joyous event, and I know just how she felt. After each of my kiddos, I had tons of pain in my bumm, because of the dreaded H word, Ashley also talks about HERE. So the thought of pooping, just scared me half to death, and when I finally did, I basically celebrated just like her, so I LAUGHED OUT LOUD while reading that post.
AND she IS BEAUTIFUL, still, no matter what, and maybe EVEN more so now than ever before.

I also want to (NEED TO) remind myself and all of you, that you can CHOOSE JOY every day!

Something that was born after her father died last sumer. Again I can relate because I too lost my dad, although I was much younger, but I do know exactly how she felt. I miss my dad still.

Rite of Passage - Shaving my Head from Ashley Hackshaw on Vimeo.

You can choose to let the small things bother you, OR you can CHOOSE JOY.
Tell me honestly, could you watch that video without crying, or in my case bawling. I just cry at the look on her husbands face and the way he lovingly shaved her head, and kissed her throughout.

I am telling you, I would have been a HOT MESS, she is such an inspiration, and an example for us all, dang it, JUST CHOOSE JOY people.

Ashley hands out these Choose Joy bracelets to people every day, and I'm sure that EVERY SINGLE person that ever has the pleasure of meeting this fine lady will NEVER forget her, EVER.

I'm telling you I am just beyond inspired by these ladies, and by my little lady friend.

************** ~~~~~~~ **************

Meet Arianna (in her most recent phtoto shoot) by the awesome Matt Whytsell an amazingly talented TN photographer. He did such an amazing job capturing the pure joy in these girls eyes. Their love for each other, and for life, and the colors are so bright, and cheerful, and I adore them so much.

Last July I shared with you the story about a little girl named Arianna in THIS POST and how she had just relapsed with her cancer.
Seven Months later, she's still with us (THANK YOU LORD) and still cute as can be. I have been following along with her family's journey through her moms facebook page. You can go check them out too, they are all the SWEETEST people and your heart will just melt seeing this little girl, and her sister. The family is VERY involved with St. Jude hospital and if you've ever thought about donating to these kids, JUST DO IT ALREADY... they need all the help they can get. Enough said right?
Here's a link where you can get all the info on :

ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL.
So there you have it my friends. That was a lot to take in right, BUT ohhhh sooooo important.
Please GO NOW, and say a small prayer, THANKING the LORD for all the healthy people in your lives, and then say another prayer, one for all those who are struggling, and hurting, and scared, and sick, and even dying.
They all need our help, our support, and our understanding, and why not go show them some love by visiting their blogs, saying hello, and sharing their stories with ANYONE who you think could use it.
What they don't need is our sympathy, because as you can see, they all are better examples of what it means to live then any of us. We need to learn from each of them, just HOW TO LIVE, because even if they (technically) are living with the reality of mortality on a daily basis, only GOD knows what is in store for any of us. They teach us that every day is SPECIAL, and it is.
Thank you ladies, for letting us be a part of your lives, I will NEVER be the same :)

P.s. I'm linking up to these awesome parties ---->>

All the blogs I link up to can be found in my blog rolls in my sidebar. Go see what my favorite bloggers are up to :)

Come take a TOUR of my old house :(

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome home!! This WAS my home for the past 8 years, and now it's ready to rent. (sigh)

Read about my sadness HERE.

My newly cleaned out flowerbed. See more on the Flower Bed and Garden HERE.

Come on, lets go inside!!

The front entrance. I had a new door put in FINALLY!!

The wonderful living room is huge, and opens to the kitchen, dining room, and leads to the blue room. See it back there. Come on, lets go check it out.

This was an add on by the previous owners. It was a major selling point when we bought the house. We kind of fell in love with that wall of built in cabinets, and library, oh and the windows make me really happy too, oh and of course the blue walls.

My deck, another big plus for me AT the time. No backyard, meant no cutting grass, lol. Little did I realize that kids require a yard, preferably a fenced in yard. But we survived, and had MANY MANY good times on this deck. Endless bbqs, and believe me the kids had no problem playing back there either. Anyway, it's all clean now!!

My kitchen, which may not be built by a professional, but non the less, I love it. I love the colors, and the fact that there is no more wall dividing up the space. I love those wood counters, and my sliding drawers. We finally got a backsplash put in too. Yeah,, FINALLY...

I love my red tiles in the kitchen, and really miss cooking in there.

I miss all the extra storage that window bench provided, even if the top was never finished properly, and it was full of crap most of the time. I still loved it.

I miss my kids sitting on the counter helping me cook. It really was the most KID friendly FAMILY kitchen ever. Well, I've only had a couple kitchens in my lifetime, but this was the BEST I tell you.

Even my pantry got a fresh coat of paint. My goodness!! I'm spoiling these people. I sure hope they appreciate all the hard work I put into this house.

The guest bathroom!

My boys old room.

My girls old room. (formerly a very PINK room)

The master bedroom. This was also a huge selling point for me. This room is HUGE. There were times when we literally had THREE beds in there, and still had room to walk in between, AND still had nightstands on the wall. I'm not EVEN kidding. If I can find any old pics of the baby days, nursing, co-sleeping, I'll be sure to share.

As if the master bedroom alone wasn't enough, I had this EXTRA room (sitting room) whatever right there too. I used this as an office for a while, and then each of the younger kids took turns having it their bedroom for a while.

Master bathroom.

Beautiful view of the deck, which was usually a mess, but almost always had pretty flowers too.

Ahhhh, my garage. This baby is killing me. I MISS it so much. It was a week long labor of love, the kids and I spent all of Spring Break last year painting it, and making it pretty. AND now we dont' have it anymore. Boo.... I especially miss having the big wall of mirrors. Now where are we supposed to practice our Tae Kwon Do, and dance moves.... ?

The Rental Property - During -

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

You might remember me talking about getting our old house ready for rent. Well it was an extremely long process, and I must admit, I think I went overboard with getting it in tip top shape. I mean it is a rental after all right? I really thought I'd go in and just do a few touch ups here and there, but with my obsessive personality it turned into a full blown house makeover. I had to fix everything and make it perfect, I just couldn't stop myself. You may have read my post where I talked about how hard this move was on me... Change is good, RIGHT?

After living in it for so many years, I just couldn't bare the thought of letting it go like that, so I put all my love into it one more time, only this time we are not the ones who will be enjoying it. Funny how that works isn't it? I'm very happy with the family that is moving in though. So that's comforting, I couldn't stand it if I had someone come in and trash the place.

This is the blue room. We used it as our TV movie room / library / just chill out and shut the door so mom doesn't hear you room.

The kitchen FINALLY got a tile backsplash put up. Please tell me why on earth I didn't do that sooner? I mean really, I could just kick myself sometimes :(

The living room. Just so you know a tornado did come through here, if that makes it better.

This is what you saw first thing walking though the door. Needless to say I didn't have many visitors, and I DID NOT show the house to anyone during this time.

I still can't believe I did this all, pretty much by myself. I spent COUNTLESS hours, days, weeks and actually I think more like two months on getting this house ready to rent.
Granted I could only work on it for about 5 hours a day, which really isn't that much considering all the trips to the Hope Depot, lol. Anyway, I did it...... and I'm very happy it's over!!
Come back tomorrow to see the finished pictures, with everything all cleaned up.
Do any of you have rental properties? Do you have any tips you'd like to share? I know I went overboard this time, hopefully next time around it will be easier.... (fingers crossed).
P.S. Don't forget to check out my NEW blog series. It's all about getting things done.Click on Make it Happen MONDAYS to see what I'm working on this week!

Make it Happen Mondays #1 - Maximize your closet space - Part One -

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Hello, Hello, Hello!!!

I am super duper excited to start a new series on the blog. Make it Happen MONDAYS(need to work on a button, so you can grab one)
Here's what I'm working on this week :

My closet
My moms closet
Linen closet

This is my moms closet!

Can you tell how packed her closet was? You would not believe how much stuff she had crammed in there. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to combine three closets full of clothes into one. It's no wonder she yelled frantically last week when the shelf started coming off the wall, ooops. I'm only surprised it didn't come crashing down sooner.

My closet may not have shelves falling down, but the amount of usable space was minimal. I had to fix that asap. After starting on my moms closet, my head was buzzing with all kinds of ideas.

I would like to finish the closets up this week. I did not paint them, or do anything pretty, but I did find a way to MAXIMIZE the amount of usable space in both closets, and am pretty darn happy with the results.
P.S.You want to know what this new series is about???
Well I have come to realize that I need to take my blog back to what originally worked for me, not to mention what got me started to blog in the first place. Cleaning, and Organizing seem to be an endless battle for me, one which I hope to win with the help of my blog, and my readers of course. Without the motivation and encouragement I get from you, I don't know if I could do it.
I love Mondays, it's a new start to a new week, and a new list of things to do. Anybody else love making lists? I get the biggest kick out of it, and every week I have such high hopes of getting tons of stuff done. However I'm lucky if I get even one or two things done from my long list, that can have up to twenty items on it, he he. I've accepted this reality and plan to be much more realistic with my weekly goals, and even my daily ones. I just need to pick ONE or TWO projects to work on, and MAKE IT HAPPEN, no matter what.
This is where:Make it Happen MONDAYSHelps me get it done, and will hopefully help you too.
I will be giving you sneak peaks throughout the week on what I'm working on, and THEN.....
I will start posting another new series:Finally Finished FRIDAYSWhere you guessed it, I will show you stuff that I Finally Finished. Naturally the goal here is to post on Mondays with things I want to get done that week, and on Fridays show you the results.
I'm really super excited, and have the best feeling that this is going to work really well for me.
I'm thinking of the best way I'd like to do the new link party, because I'm sure many of you need all the help you can get too. How fun it will be to get inspiration from each other :)
Ok, so that's it for now, I hope you are as excited as I am..... this is going to be so much fun!!
Come back tomorrow for some sneak peaks!!
What are you working on this week? Talk to me, and remember today is:Make it Happen MONDAY so lets do it..... no matter what!!

Mini Blog Makeover & some VIP news!

noreply@blogger.com (Bella @ Bella before and after) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Look who got the Blog design bug again, yup ME. In between organizing my house, I took a wee bit of a time out to reorganize my blog too. Not exactly how I want it yet, but the small changes I've made are making me very happy for now.

Hey listen, I know I've been MIA for way too long, but I promise (pinky promise) that SOON I will have tons and tons to share with all of you. I've been working hard on projects all around the NEW house, and since that's what I'm doing lately, that's what I'm going to share.

I finally rented my old house, and I would love to take you on a tour of the place, now that it's all clean and pretty looking. I will be sharing all the pics next week! Oh boy, if you remember my FIRST POST you will see how absolutely funny it is, that I finally have a spotless house he he, and all it took was for us to MOVE out, lol. Go figure :)

I don't like spending money on organizing, so I've come up with some pretty cool ways to tame the mess, in a very affordable way. I can't wait to show you!!

I've been thinking a lot about if I want to bring Amaze me August back, and when I went to go look through some old link ups, GUESS what, they were all gone. Ooops my subscription ended and I didn't even realize it, so I'm going to decide what I want to do and let you know shortly. I'm pretty sure I will continue to have a linky party here, but it might be a bit different than before, lets see.

Oh and one more thing, I want to apologize to all my friends. Believe me when I tell you, I NEVER really forgot about you, I think about you all the time, but sometimes you just gotta let go, and take life one day at a time. (p.s. I've added a BUNCH of my most fav blogs to the sidebar on the left, go see..) It seems every time I had a plan to do the BIG giveaway, or start blogging again, (somebody else) always had a different plan. It has truly been the most hectic and CRAZY six months of my life, and I hope I'm not ruining things by saying I think it's getting better. I wish I could have done things better, but most days were simply too overwhelming too think of anything more than what's for dinner tonight, oh and.... kids do you have any homework, did you brush your teeth, what day is it today?

That is life I guess, reminding me daily that NOTHING is truly in our control. So thanks for sticking by me, and once again, I look forward to what tomorrow brings, and I hope that it will bring much funner days filled with laughter, health, and maybe even some blogging in between!

Here's to LIFE, cherish it, embrace it, and never forget how blessed you are even if it doesn't seem that way at the moment.