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!!

Tuesday's Ten

Ideas to write about are limited so I copied this idea from a favorite blogger of mine, Dave and Brit Plus One.

Tuesday's Ten: Things That Annoy Me

(this could easily be twenty, but I'll spare you)

In no particular order....

1. Saliva mouth noises

2. Finger/toenail picking noises

3. Scratching noises

4. Heavy breathing. If it sounds like you're snoring and you're actually awake-you are breathing too loud.

5. Being touched by feet

6. When Mr. B moves and takes the blankets with him

7. When Mr. B scratches and/or adjusts himself...which is pretty much always. My apologies for the visuals, but this list would not be complete with out this.

8. This super painful canker sore on the inside of my bottom lip. Something happened to my retainer and it cut me. I'm not feeling confident about the healing process because it's in a horrible spot and gets hit no matter what I do. And yes, I am that cool and still sleep in my retainers.

9. Whistling

10. Loud sneezes

Edit: Tuesday's Twelve..

11. When I paid $2 whole dollars (remember that is $200 in newlywed money) for these healthy items from McDs from lazy teenage employees who couldn't go the extra effort to fill them to the top:

Chocolate & Salt- may be another reason why I'm not confident in my canker sore healing

No lie, there wasn't even ONE fry hanging around by it lonesome self at the bottom of the bag

12. This Olympians voice- CLEAR. YOUR. THROAT. I had to mute it, I could not take it any longer. I took this with my phone so I apologize for the quality/sound, but you get the idea..

I will also add Gia's whiny, scratchy, trying not to cry, kicked off The Bachelor voice to that list of wow, you are so annoying. MUTE.

So....who wants to hang out with me??

MIGHTY Monday

I might have fallen asleep at 9:15 on Thursday night.

I might wish I could do that every night. Even on the weekends.

We might have done that on Friday night.

We might be in our 20s, but 70s at heart.

I might have been scared to get my hair done at the Hair Cuttery.

I might be a salon snob, but realize this is currently all we can afford and assure myself it can't be that bad.

I might have been freaking out on the inside when my name was called and it was an old woman named Hilda...who hardly speaks English. Was she going to understand my novel about what my hair used to be, why I hate it now, what I want it to look like and that I was giving her total control to work her magic??

I wasn't sure if she understood my condensed version, but Hilda might have decided to highlight my hair even though her shift was up in 30 minutes.

She might not have informed me of this.

We might have sat by the sink approximately 20 minutes because she loves to be at work and wanted to stay... but it was no longer her shift and Hilda no longer had a station.

My haircut might have been rushed as she took someone else's station while they were on break.

I'm glad Hilda loves her job so much, but I might save my money to go to an expensive salon next time.

I might have only gotten him a card. We celebrated his birthday last weekend...how could I give two weekends in a row??

I might believe that Valentine's is a holiday mainly for females. But of course I was very appreciative and loving to my hubby all day.

I might have felt a little guilty and decided I would make up for it by making him breakfast.

I might have thought about going grocery shopping if I knew I would've felt this way.

There might have only been one egg in the fridge.

I might have burnt his "birds nest" a little lot.

That might have been the last and only egg. There might have been no do-over.

His special breakfast might have been hostess powdered donuts instead.

We might have had a great Valentine's day and made up for that breakfast by ordering discounted $12 heart attacks at Smokey Bones. At least we will suffer together.

I might have asked where the Daytona 500 takes place...I live in FL.

Mr. B might have made fun of me. a lot.

In fairness, Mr. B might have just told me (in total seriousness) that getting gashed in the neck by a skate is the only reason he wouldn't do speed skating in the Olympics.

Mr. B might not ice skate. ever.

I might have laughed. a lot.

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

Friday Follow

I noticed Friday Follow on another blog and decided to try it out! I love wasting hours of my day stalking people I don't know blog hopping! I am excited to follow new blogs and hopefully get some new followers myself so my pathetic dream of having a whopping 25 followers can actually become a reality. My parents always told me to dream big.

If, after stepping out of my comfort zone and putting my blog on the line, I end up with zero new followers by the end of night I may be coping with blogger depression/self-esteem issues. I may be taking a look in the mirror wondering if this blog world is meant for me. Wondering if I should have stayed in my shell and remained solely as a stalker. Yes, my original intention with this blog was to update family and friends, but what one might not realize is the pressure that results from having a limited amount of other followers, followers that don't feel obligated to follow aka family and friends. You see, all those littles faces on the left hand side are merely the measure of being liked (if only it was that easy in high school). So here's to finding some extra love this weekend from more than Mr. B!

It's the fifth Friday Follow celebration hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! We invite you to join us every Friday to get more blog followers and to follow other interesting blogs

• Here's how YOU can join the celebration:
  • * Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky found on 1 of the 3 blogs. Only need to add to one blog linky.
  • * Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots. We will follow you back.
    
  • * Follow as many blogs as you like
  • * Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
  • * Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow
  
  

Reading lessons with Ms. J..."that's just how it is"

One of the boys I nanny (note: nanny not teacher) is 5 years old and learning to read. We practice his sight words every day after school, he is required to know them in order to progress to the 1st grade. Turns out I may have needed more than one semester of Elementary Education in college. If teaching him how to read was recorded it might go something like this...

1. Don't forget the song we learned from the Leap Frog video..."when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking"...

See...

Day...

Pie...

Read...

New reader: Yuh-oh...Yoh.

Ms. J: No, it's Yuh-oo...Yoo.

New reader: But there's two vowels.

Ms. J: I know, but that's just how it is.

New reader: Why?

Ms. J: Because.

2. Remember the rule the silent "e" makes the first vowel say its name ...

Came...

Pole...

Tape...

New reader: K-oh-m...Kom.

Ms. J: No, K-Uh-M..Kum.

New Reader: But there is a silent e, so the "o" says its name.

Ms. J: I know, but that's just how it is.

New reader: Why?

Ms. J: Because.

New reader: Huh-ay-v...Hayv.

Ms. J: No, it's Huh-ah-v...Hahv.

New reader: But there's a silent "e"...

Ms. J: I know, but that's just how it is.

New reader: Why?

Ms. J: Because.

3. Sound out the word! Don't make words up, if you sound out the letters you will know what word you're reading....

Cat...

Big...

Dog...

New reader: Aw-nuh-eh...Awneh.

Ms. J: No, it's Wuh-N...Wuhn.

New reader(confused): Okay.

(2 minutes later I go back to this word to see if he remembers)

New reader: Aw-nuh-eh...Awneh!

Ms. J: No it's..Wuh-n...Wuhn. Don't sound it out...

you just need to know it....that's just how it is.

New reader: Why?

Ms. J: Because.

New reader: Wuh-h-ah-T...Wuh-Hat.

Ms. J: No, it's Wuh-uht...Wuht.

New reader: No, I see "hat"...wuh-hat.

Ms. J: No, it's Wuh-uht...Wuht. Don't sound it out...

you just need to know it...that's just how it is.

BECAUSE.

Needless to say, I prefer babies.

But of course, if you are interested in enrolling your child(ren) in

Reading Lessons with Ms. J feel free to send a message.

Thankful for this man...

The man that fell in love with my mom,

The man that proved that being a dad doesn't mean you have to have the same genes,

The man that was there to love me as his own

the moment I was born.

A Godly man and role mode

a man of integrity,

the leader of the house,

the hardworking provider,

the man whose stubborn personality is so similar to mine it, often times, clashed,

the man who I have grown to love and respect more and more the older I get,

the caring, sarcastic, trustworthy and honest man, my hero, my Dad.

The man who put his reputation on the line so that we could have

a father/daughter dance we will never forget.

Not the whole dance, but better lighting so it is clearly noticed

that we know how to break.it.down.

I am so thankful for this man. Happy Birthday, Dad!

I love you,

Pumkin