My Funny Valentine
6 years ago, Bella was a Valentine’s Day gift from the Pilot.
Same sassy face, 6 years later:
We had gone to look at puppies one weekend, and I knew Bell was the one, so we decided to go back the following weekend. She came from a family here in Tucson –none of whom spoke English- and the Pilot went to pick her up while I was at home studying. They gave her a bath, wrapped her in a T-shirt, and when the Pilot came back to my apartment, he put her tiny puppy face into the doorway first.
Of course, it was love at first sight.
Bella and I have been through a lot together: 3 deployments, living in Tucson, North Carolina, Valdosta, Orlando and back to Tucson. She’s traveled with us all over the place, and now she’s a protective mama dog to Livi.
My funny little valentine. My other valentine is currently snoozing on my chest in the Moby 😉
Chicken, however, is Bella’s true love and always will be.
Last night, she gave us a little bit of a scare when she decided to take the rest of the Pilot’s chicken drumstick off his plate while we were upstairs. She ate all of the meat, and half of one of the bones. After a call to the emergency vet, they told us to watch her but she should be ok. She just loves chicken a little too much sometimes…
It was really awesome having the Pilot home yesterday. We got a lot done around the house:
(Dance Central 2 and Fruit Ninja)
made dinner together, and ran a few errands.
V-day breakfast appetizer:
(sea salt AND almonds)
and the main course:
Raspberry oats –add the berries in just before the oats are finished cooking- with Sun Warrior, hemp seeds and tea
We’re going to go on a little walk before it starts to rain, and then nana is coming over to visit 🙂
Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day <3
xoxo
Gina
Some of my favorite mushy love-y posts:
–How I met the Pilot + a love story
-Anniversary posts: Four years, three years, two years
–Pilot comes home from deployment
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Awww, that first picture of Bella is adorable 🙂 Have a great Valentine’s Day!
Have a great day!
I am gonna dig a hole and hide…:-)
Ahh even as a pup Bella is adorable! I love looking at puppy pictures and comparing them to how they look now!
Happy Valentine’s Day to your and your family!
Adorable! Happy Valentines Day to you and the pilot 😀
What a sweet post and here’s to having many more years and Valentine’s Days with Bella.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Gina, to you and your family 🙂
xoxo
Tiny baby Bella is so adorable (not that she isn’t still adorable now, of course).
What a fantastic Valentine’s Day present and I love how the two of you have been through so much together. Who cares if chicken is Bell’s first love, right? 🙂
Happy day of Love my friend! <3
My boyfriend bought that chocolate for me today! It’s my favorite 🙂
My Yorkie was a gift from my Dad for my 21st birthday-she too came from AZ (Glendale) from a huge family that didn’t speak English. My pup is the sweetest and 4 years later, we’re still best buds!
Every single time I watch the Pilot’s homecoming video, I cry. Every single time. It’s embarrassing!
The Pilot comes home post/video is probably my favorite blog post on not only your blog, but of all of the blogs I read. It is just so happy and touching 🙂
Are those game on xbox360? It appears there are no controllers so I am assuming so. I am getting one next week and I am looking for some fun games. So pumped!
Oh my goodness–Baby Bella is TOO cute! I love that you always keep bows in her hair. My girls rip them out as soon as I put them in. They currently have them in, we’re on Day 5, so we’ll see how long they last!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Gina and family!
Ahh could baby Bella be any cuter? As you know, I will always-for as long as I live-love your “how we met” story. It’s the first thing I think every time I walk in a Starbucks (which is often) and I swear I’ll find my husband there one day 🙂
Happy Valentine’s Day, Gina! I made your Protein Pancakes this morning and I was soo impressed! They were absolutely delicious (and filling). Definitely will become a new breakfast staple for me! 🙂
Bella is a little sweetheart! So lucky to have her in your life. <3
Bella is cute, Livi is adorable, you are gorgeous…such a cute bunch of chicas.
I’ve been catching up on posts so I’m just doing one ginormous comment.
The controversial family post…don’t sweat it, people who got it got it and people who didn’t never will.
The post on you looking for a birth control method, I really don’t recommend the implanon that some others mentioned. I’m actually going to have mine removed a year early today because of side effects that were never mentioned by the doctor: increased water retention, horrible mood swings, and sorry for the tmi but constant bleeding (for the past 20 months…shoot me.) Apparently these are really common, especially the last one, and I would not wish it on anyone. I’m going to try the Today Sponge because it can be inserted hours ahead of time, is non hormonal, cannot be felt once in and can stay in for up to 30 hours. It’s not for those timid about their bodies but just thought it might be an option if you are not wanting hormones.
Lastly, somehow I stumbled back on your formspring q&a…some really funny reads, especially seeing where you are now.
Love love love the blog, as always!
That picture of Baby Bella is too much!! PLEASE show some more baby Bella pics! That would make me so happy, LOL!
What a perfect Valentine! Such a cutie. 🙂
Bella is so cute. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your precious fam!
Your post about the Pilot coming home from deployment (and the video) still gives me shivers Gina – it’s beautiful!! And so is Bella of course! I’d love to have a little dog as well but sadly my work schedule just doesn’t allow for it and I’d feel bad leaving her home alone for so long. In the meantime, I’ll live vicariously through you!
That picture of Bella as a baby is one of the cutest things ever! She is such a sweetie.
Happy Valentines Day to you, the Pilot, Bella and Livi. I hope you have a great day!
What a cute story! Puppies make awesome gifts, no? Haha happy v-day everyoneee!
My doggie will always be my first born too. Last month, my husband gave her a rib bone to gnaw on while we ate dinner. 5 minutes later, she had eaten through the bone and swallowed half of it! I didn’t know she could do that! No more munching on bones. Those little ones have strong teeth!
I just had to comment to say that first picture of Bella is beyond cute! I love your dog! We’re moving overseas with our cat in two weeks… it costs $2100, but we just can’t part with him. These damn cute animals.
Baby Bella looks like a stuffed animal! I can see why you knew she was the one right away!
Reading how you and the Pilot met, I’m just curious how he proposed. Sorry if I’m intruding but I just love those stories! Happy Valentine’s Day 😀
thank you!
there isn’t a long story to that one, it was just something we talked about. it was basically like:
you want to get married?
um, yes.
ok!
Happy Valentines Day, Gina! You have so much love around you this year! Enjoy it, sweetheart! Love that puppy pic of little Bella!
PS- I’m obsessed with the “chocolove xoxox” sea salt–adding almonds though, I need to try that one!
She definitely is a sassy little dog, and so cute as a puppy! I wish my dog still looked like he did in his puppy days. He’s still a major cutie, but not the size of a fluffy cotton ball that hops through the grass.
Hi Gina, Happy Valentines day to you. You look so pretty after having Livi and she is such a beautiful baby. Bella was and is such an adorable dog. it makes me want a dog like yours. well, have a nice day.
thank you, kari- hope you have a great day too!
That face on baby Bella is great! Cracks me up.
I am sure you have mentioned this before but what kind of dog is Bella??
maltipoo 🙂
Bella is so cute!
I have never had hemp seeds before. What do they taste like? What else do you add them to?
they have a really mild flavor- you can hardly taste them, but they add extra nutrients (healthy fat and protein) and fun texture
they’re great in smoothies and on salads, too
Bella is so adorable, I’ve never seen the photo of her as a tiny puppy!
Hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!
Hey, Fitnessista HAPPY Valentines day…..Livi is gorgeous and bella is a cutie pie. I know you are transitioning a lot right now but I NEED your help and desperate please email me at iambeautful@ymail.com so I can go into detail and maybe you will decide to help…
Thanks
Desperate
Little bell is the perfect valentine 🙂 Have a great V Day!
I love that your Valentine’s Day post is about Bella! What a wonderful gift!
awwww baby bella..so cute 😀
Baby Bella is SO stinking cute!! Ahh I can’t take it. Happy Valentine’s Day girly!
Bella is adorable!!
awww baby bell! So cute!!! Hope you enjoyed your valentine with your family 🙂
It’s amazing how different Bella looks when she was a puppy! She looked almost brownish, but now she’s pure white! And soooo cute <3 She looks just like my poodle, who is my favorite Valentine (sorry, boyfran).
I backtracked to you and the Pilot's "love story" and I just wanted to let you know how much hope it gives me with my relationship. Not quite a deployment, but my boyfriend and I are going on completely different career paths and the way it is looking, we will still be in a long distance for a while. It's been hard and a source of a lot of problems, but he's so special to me and letting something like a few states come between that seems silly to me. I can only hope I can be as strong as you!
I love that Bella is a v-day baby. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day to you Gina.
Bella was too cute as a puppy and is still adorable now. You and the pilot have a beautiful love story!
Oh my gosh, look at lil puppy Bella, she’s adorable.
Omg, I literally awwed out loud when I saw that picture of Bella as a puppy- she’s so precious and is still so adorable! I loved reading about you and the Pilot too! It sounds like you guys have such an amazing relationship and as a single gal it’s always nice to read stories about people who found their partners in random ways (like Sbux!) Happy (belated) Valentine’s day!
Aw, baby Bella is adorable!!!