Puppy Love

Meet the newest addition to our Smelly family.....

Our little fur baby.

How cute is she?!?

She is a boxer.

She was born March 1.

We are picking her up May 3rd on our move back to NH.

We are so in love with her and can't wait to meet this adorable furry little lady.

I can't stop smiling.

I might be a bit obsessed and already have her as the wallpaper to my phone and desktop.

There is one problem though...

Mr. B and I can not agree on a name.

Maybe even causing an argument that results in the silent treatment.

Very mature, I am aware.

I am so thankful our kids names are already chosen because

I do not like this game.

I won't even tell you the name I love because it has already been shot down. hard. and. fast. by multiple people. including my husband. regardless of that fact that I love it.

Please send me your suggestions! We need help.

I have looked at a bunch of websites, but nothing has really jumped out, except for the one unmentionable.

Some guidelines:

I like 2 syllable names.

Unique- not very popular.

Could be something Springish, like a flower or something (not Daisy), since we are getting her in May.

Can't be:

Anna, Maggie, Bella or Jasmine those are already family dog names.

Ella, Stella, Layla, Lilah anything close to my {future} daughters' names.

In the running:

Selah {Say-La}

Lola

Gracie (too weird because that's my maiden name??)

Not totally in love with any of those though and I know the perfect name is out there, I just haven't found it yet and maybe YOU know it. Please give us some ideas =)

Thank you!

PS- About to go conquer Day 3!!

So long Lil' Hustler

Mr. B has a t-shirt. Actually, he has many t-shirts, but there is one shirt in particular that you will not find me wearing when I am too bloated to wear my own shirts. In fact, you won't find him wearing it any more either...Operation Get-rid-of-nasty-old-yellow-pit-shirt= Success.

I am pretty disappointed in how these pictures came out, they were with my phone and the lighting was bad. They totally don't do the justice in proving the complete nastiness of this shirt. You may have to use your imagination a bit. If I knew how to be creative and put writing and arrows to draw your attention to his additional detailing to the shirt, I totally would. I don't know how. Just pretend.

The innocent, but completely disgusting shirt.

Pretend there are arrows pointing to the stained armpits and

the black permanently stained dirt marks on the front.

After many unsuccessful attempts of begging Mr. B to throw the shirt out, I finally had to take matters into my own hands. One day I was home alone and doing a load of laundry. As I threw some clothes in the washer, I came across this oh so lovely shirt. There we were, in the little laundry room, alone. Just me and the shirt. I am almost positive I heard it screaming to be thrown out, so of course I had no other option but to do so. I proudly took the shirt and put it in the trash. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty proud and accomplished with this defeat.

No arrows needed here.

Fast forward a couple weeks. This weekend as I was doing the laundry. I noticed a wrinkly, white, yellow pit stained shirt crumpled in a ball sitting on top of the dryer, underneath the pile of towels. Oh no he di-n't!! Oh yes he did. Okay then, is this how it's gonna be??

GAME ON.

G-R-O-S-S.

Little did I know, when Mr. B brought the trash out that day, he must've noticed this prized possession (note: he never paid for this shirt, his friend got it for free and gave it to him) sitting in the trash. Let me remind you, this shirt basically forced me to put it in there. I had no choice but to do so. Although Mr. B is the most wonderful husband, at times he can be a bit stubborn (unlike me of course!). If he really thought out this situation he would've washed the shirt himself and put it in the closet, but he didn't. Clearly a sign that this shirt is not supposed to reside in our apartment.

As we were cleaning the apartment for my mom's arrival and I found the wretched shirt, I ever so slyly placed it outside in the trash. I am a competitive person and I was determined to win. This shirt was going to be gone. forever.

I quickly went outside and took these pictures. I would've feel terrible if I didn't capture our last day with this shirt. Maybe even felt the need to remember the day victory was mine.

The trash man came last night. And as far I can tell, I have won. I will gladly say...

So long Lil' Hustler.

Thanks for being so good to my husband, but it time he has moved on.

Road Trip Entertainment

A little over a year ago,

for my 21st birthday Mr. B bought me a new camera.

We took a road trip to Hilton Head to visit his parents.

What else are you supposed to do with a new camera and 7 hours in the car?

He played along.

Once.

About 6 hours and 200 songs 10 minutes and 2 songs into this trip,

he may have been regretting buying me this present.

Ben asked for the Flip HD video camera for his birthday this year.

We may have been a little surprised when we opened it.

Ben didn't just get any kind of Flip from his parents.

He got a Flip that will never be mistaken for another's.

A Flip that looks like Mr. B's eye is the lens.

A Flip that screams "Hello Ms. J, look at your face taking up the majority of the front".

A Flip that will remind us of what we I (and Mr. B's mouth) used to look like in the years to come as we tape our children's milestones.

I am not sure why Mr. B asked for a video camera.

We have nothing to tape.

We do have a couple road trips planned.

I won't complain.

He might.

Wishful Wednesday

I wish it was May.

I wish we lived close to family.

I wish we would find out about a job for Mr. B. now.

I wish we could get our little boxer pup. now.

I wish we had a baby. now.

I wish I never had to leave my most favorite nanny job. ever.

I wish the weather would warm up.

I wish we had more money so I didn't have to work.

I wish we could eat out whenever I wanted or didn't feel like cooking.

I wish my hair would grow faster.

I wish I never cut it.

I wish I could cut it short again.

I wish I wasn't SO indecisive.

I wish we had cable and a DVR.

I wish I could be on What Not To Wear.

I wish Ellen was on at 9 in the morning instead of at 4.

I wish I got out of work in time to watch Oprah.

I wish, on the rare occasions that I am home by 4, I wouldn't have to choose between Ellen or Oprah.

I wish I could have the 30 Day Shred body without the 30 day exercise part.

I wish...I wish...I wish...I can wish all I want, but where does that get me besides not being thankful for what I do have? If anything, it makes me focus what I don't have which puts quite the damper on my mood. Not sure that I had a good mood to begin with, hence this I wish life was how I wanted it and then I would be happy post, but we can pretend I was. So enough with the wishing and on with the the waiting. I will try my best to be content where God has called Mr. B and I to be right now. Knowing He has a plan and purpose and works everything in His perfect timing. Romans 8:25 is a verse I came across the other day that is so imperative during this time of planning our next few steps and future plans, "But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently."

I am 1,000% sure my mom will comment and say, "You know what my dad always said, 'If you wish in one hand and spit in the other, all you'll end up with is a hand full of spit'". So I will beat her to it and put it out there. I do realize this is true statement, and I also realize wishing is still fun to do. But most importantly, I realize who holds my wishes and what I need to be doing with those wishes...

Delight yourself also in the Lord,

and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ...

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him ..."

(Psalm 37:4-5, 7)

I guess I like to wish because it gives me something to look forward to, a goal, something to attain. That is where my problem is. My wishes have replaced Jesus. They have replaced the thought of what does God have in store for me, for us, right now and in the future. They have replaced the act of fully running the race for His kingdom because I am distracted by running the race to eventually be living a "happier" life filled with babies, a house, a puppy, friends, our home church, and family just a short drive a way.

Key word in both scriptures: patiently. I have a one track mind. Put something in my head and it is all I think about. I am s.l.o.w.l.y (like super slowly) starting attain this attribute. It's hard. But's it's also hard impossible to get this chapter in our lives back--these moments of just Mr. B and I, alone, together in Florida, extremely limited funds, seeking after God, living in the unknown and pressing on to what the future holds. So although it's nice to make a list of a million wishes. It's important to be patient. To wait in confidence. To commit our ways to the Lord. To take delight in where he has us. NOW.

I thought I would like this Wednesday theme and then it took a totally different turn as it made me sound like a complaining brat and the realization that I really need to just live in the moment, stop dreaming about how our life is going to be better, and stop believing that the grass is always greener. I heard a saying once that the grass is always greener where it's watered. So from now on I will water our grass and make it the greenest. With only 2 and half months left (Thank you Jesus!!! I didn't know this time would ever come!! Oops, ok that was my last time....maybe second to last. Actually, I think it's ok to be excited for a countdown, right?) in FL, I am going to soak in this time with my husband, and look forward to our future rather than dwell on it.

I have been dealing with this issue from when first got married. I remember driving home one day listening to the words to Trace Atkins song, You're Gonna Miss This and it hit me. Now, I have heard it a million times before (it's even my ringtone!), but there is one verse in particular that Trace wrote about me (without my permission, but I forgive):

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride

In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by

He tells her It's a nice place

She says It'll do for now

Starts talking about babies and buying a house

Daddy shakes his head and says Baby, just slow down

You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These Are Some Good Times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this

And since this post ended up being so serious, here's a picture to lighten the mood a little. I can't mention him in a post without adding this picture. He may know how to right good songs, but he might not know his pant size....or maybe he does and he likes to show off his goods. Or maybe I am a perv? I know Mr. B and the guys in my family think so, but c'mon now, how can you not notice??

Bahahah :) You're welcome.

Thanks for putting up with this roller coaster of a post. Now that I officially have 35 followers (woot woot! Blogging self-esteem raised a few notches) and other invisible stalkers, I am held accountable to my words and actions more than ever. Not gonna lie, I was hesitant to post it. But I know it will be good for me!

Happy Wednesday! We have made it half way through the week!!

L.O.V.E

First off, not only did my dream come true, I received more than I could have ever dreamed of...I have 29 followers! I got 9 followers on Friday and 3 stragglers over the weekend- thank you Friday Follow and those that chose to follow me. Whether it was out of pity, or not, is of no meaning. I will remain naive in denial and believe it was out of love for me and my blog...we have become one.

We have had a great, relaxing, love-filled weekend. I don't even think we argued once. I guess all the more reason to make everyday Valentine's, right? That would be pretty amazing. Mr. B's parents were supposed to be visiting this weekend, but there flights were cancelled due to all the snow storms. Huge bummer. No free dinners. No expensive restaurants. No steak. No Busch Gardens. No deep cleaning the apartment. Yes to cooking this weekend. And of course, most importantly, no quality time with his parents. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving and we were looking forward to having them here and for them to see our first place. The good thing is they have rescheduled their visit and will be here in March! Hopefully by then the weather will have warmed up! Yes, we are unofficially officially Floridians and 65 degrees is not warm.

Yesterday Mr. B sent me to the salon to fix my hair!! When you are a poor newlywed couple a trip to the salon becomes a gift and is no longer a mandatory occurrence. I think this was both a gift to himself and to me. I may have gotten the impression he was tired of hearing me complain 1,897,765 times a day about how much I hate my hair and how ugly and pale I look. Every woman knows a haircut and color can make all the difference in the world...clearly both good and bad. So praise the Lord the dark hair is gone! I had some highlights put in. It's not as light I would like it to be, but again newlywed + no money = no appointments to fix dark roots. So the blondes are on hold for the meantime.

Later that afternoon we saw Valentine's Day. We had some good laughs, but morally it was pretty depressing. George Lopez's relationship was basically the only honorable one. A key theme I did like was the importance of being married to your best friend. I couldn't agree more and I can't picture spending my days any other way. I am so thankful to wake up with my best friend by my side every day, knowing we are going through this journey together. Anyways we gave the movie a C.

Today we had church, went to Smokey Bones and then grocery shopping. I had a coupon for SB $10 off $20 so it only costs $12. Score. We split an extremely healthy meal consisting of Chili Nachos and Fire Stix (Cheese fries, with bacon, chipotle mayo, BBQ sauce and ranch dressing) aka clogged arteries for $12...not bad at all. Need I remind you, you are reading Ms. Bargain's blog.

Also, apparently Valentine's is the perfect day to go food shopping. The stores were dead. Walmart. Weekend. NO LINE. Could this day get any better?

Oh yeah, maybe if Mr. B smiled while taking a few hundred pictures...

Happy Valentine's Day!

<3 Smelly Love

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them altogether in unity.

Colossians 3:14

Weekend Getaway

Mr. B's birthday weekend getaway.

We began the weekend with lunch at Mr. B's favorite place: Quiznos.

We drove down to Clearwater Beach and stayed at this lovely little hotel

(priceline is a great way to get good hotels at a cheap rate!)

It took me a while to get over the fact that this hotel is the kind with doors on the outside, rather than a hotel building with a hallway.

For some reason I feel safer in those ones.

Blame it on the TV and the movies, but it seems like bad things happen in these kind of hotels. Sometimes my imagination gets the best of me. Mr. B threatened to take away my shows if this was how I was going to act and I needed to stop complaining and enjoy the weekend. After all..this was his weekend. It's difficult sometimes to be on the giving end. Of course, I knew no matter what, I was safe because my sleep through everything, snoring, unaware of his surroundings when sleeping macho protector of a husband would fight off any danger after I try my hardest at waking him.

The highlight of our trip, the number one reason we stayed in a hotel:

The blackout curtains that make it legit and easy to sleep until 10.

Surely, if there is no light coming into the room you must keep sleeping. It's a rule.

Ready for dinner at Carrabba's

My all-time fav and the only thing I ever get: The Pollo Rosa Maria- delish!

Mr. B tried something new- Margarita Pizza = fail. It's a let down when

your birthday dinner is not up to par with the Pollo Rosa Maria,

hence why it's so crucial not to order anything else.

What's left to do when your dinner isn't up to par and it's your birthday?? See if YOU are up to par! Hmm...I was trying to think of a good segway here..talk about failure.

For once in our lives we were spontaneous--we decided to play some mini-golf instead of going to the movies. Although I had an outstanding come back, Mr. B did beat me. Clearly, this was on purpose... seeing as he was the birthday boy and all.

What better way to play golf than in 3 inch boots, right?

The best way to finish off any night.

We were excited because the hotel had a lot of new movies to rent. We selected Couples Retreat....$15.99 + tax!!!!! umm..nevermind. Are you kidding me?!?!? We could GO to the movies for that much! It was $5.99 + tax for an episode of The Office that you can get for FREE online. Needless to say, we did not watch a movie, instead we spent an hour (maybe two) flipping through channels-- which really was a luxury. It's not as entertaining at home with our basic cable.

Spontaneity #2: Waking up at 4:35 AM for the shuttle launch.

Do you see it?

Neither could we...turns out it was delayed until Monday night because it was too cloudy. A little warning or automatic shut off of the alarm would have been appreciated; talk about rude! Although, as mentioned in my previous post, I might have already been up at that time sleep walking searching for batteries. As I stated earlier, those hotel curtains work really well and I was getting very irritated that I could not a. find the light and b. find my batteries...no, there were no batteries in our room, but ever try to convince a person sleep walking that they are wrong? Not a good idea...we will only get more annoyed that you don't know what you are talking about.

Mr. B's actual birthday day was spent sleeping in, getting Firehouse subs and heading home. (Mr. B really likes subs can you tell??) Who picks a sub shop for their birthday meal?? I was ready for some steak, but once again, not my birthday so I have no say...

After lunch, we went to the movies and saw Edge of Darkness. The action packed, kill everyone, blood everywhere kind of flick is not exactly my type of movie, but we are seeing Valentine's Day on Friday so it cancels out.

I made him some extra moist cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday"

And made some queso as we watched the SuperBowl and fell asleep at 10.

Perfect weekend.

Thankful for this day...

The day

this blue eyed,

blonde haired,

Bills bred,

little boy entered the world.

My best friend,

my support,

my life partner,

my better half.

I am a huge fan of cards. Whether they are already written or I write them myself- it's the perfect way to share true feelings, love and appreciation that is often overlooked or not said enough. It usually takes me at least 45 minutes to find the perfect card, but this time it was the very first card I picked up. It was as if Carlton Cards went inside my head, stole exactly how I feel, and put it on paper better than I ever could have done. I just had to share it because it is that perfect, maybe even worth a duplicate for another year (my mom did that to me, same birthday card, same words underlined, same side comments added, totally different year...at least her feelings remained the same for me).

When you reach for my hand

when we walk through the store

when you call me from work

when you open my door

When you get me a blanket

when you cover my feet

when you pick up to-go

when you put down the seat

When you watch a chick flick

when you share the remote

when you kiss me goodbye

when you leave a love note.

When you clean up a mess

when you fix the PC Mac

when you turn down the volume

when your team's on tv

When you don't get upset

when you patiently wait

when you're ready on time

when you hate to be late

When you tell me I'm sorry

when you care how I feel

when you listen to me

when you just keep it real

When you open your heart

when you share something new

when you're easy to love

when you're just being you...

I love you.

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Our First Place

Special shout out to: Craigslist, Kirklands & Ikea--thank you for allowing us to make our apartment feel homey on a budget! And an extra thanks to everyone who blessed us with wedding money so we were able to purchase that homey decor!

Welcome to our home!

Floor # 3. Yes, it is a workout and I am out of breath everyday.

Yes, I might be out of shape, thank you.

Mr. B's dad made us this beautiful table.

I know it comes as no surprise that I make a 5 course homemade meal

and we eat on this table every night.

Ok, ok the truth is...we eat on that table about once every 2 weeks, the breakfast bar about 2 times a week and on the couch watching TV the majority of the time. In our defense, we don't have a DVR (extremely tough life, we are well aware) so we obviously can't miss our shows. This could just be an excuse because we don't typically eat past 8, but it sounds better than we are lazy and like to watch reruns of The Office and Friends, and the occasional (if I'm lucky) TMZ/Extra.

Our craigslist deal of the century couch. We purchased a couch on craigslist before this one. A scratched, faded leather, 3 piece set, sold it for double what we paid for it, bought this perfect condition, basically new, hardly used couch with the profit we made and ended up spending a total of $25 out of our pocket. This included matching pillows and rug! I wasn't kidding when I said my middle name is bargain. We are very thankful that the couch is divided into individual pieces, we have two more pieces of the couch in the storage closet. It was taking up too much space, but now it's perfect.

No need to panic, we have since hidden those cords from showing underneath

and purchased 2 more baskets to our unique TV Stand from Ikea that we are in love with.

Mr. B's $130 juicer that he had to register for...that he has used maybe 10 times.

Definitely a good choice to get that instead money towards a new camera.

Beautiful sunset from our kitchen

Sage green= my favorite color

Perfect little TV stand for our room

SO thankful that our apartment came with a washer and dryer!!

Bathroom connecting hallway and our room. All of those towels are now designed with wonderful orange streaks, apparently thanks to the bleach in my hair.

*Christmas Time*

We didn't go too crazy because we spent 2 weeks in NH for Christmas. It's also not the easiest to get into the Christmas spirit when it is 90 degrees out and the AC is on, but we did what we could.

Our first Christmas tree....we can only go uphill from here in the years to come.

We had a fun little Christmas night making gingerbread houses and playing "The Newlywed Game"(funny game!) with our friends before heading home for the holidays!