Why I'm Smiling...

You could say today was just another day, until you stopped to smell the roses anyway. Today was going to just be another day. Believe me! When it was yesterday, today was just going to be another day. In fact, I stood in my bedroom last night and actually said out loud (to myself...), "Oh my word. Today is Wednesday. That means tomorrow is Thursday, and then it's Friday. It's almost Thursday, so it's almost Friday (maybe this is how I lose whole weeks at a time). Today was thus planned to be "just another day". Let me tell you why it is most certainly not. It's because 

i stopped to smell the roses...

It all started with a little snooze. When the alarm went off at 0700, all I wanted to do was snuggle closer to the pumpkin and sleep a little more. I whacked the snooze button and continued in my dream of investigating something or other, when i was jolted back to the very real buzzing in my head... *whack* and I was back, this time at work...? I continued to beat my alarm clock every time it tried to pry me from my dreams, and snuggling, until satisfied with my "snoozing". 0815 I padded into the bathroom and proceeded to "lather, rinse, and repeat". Normally, when I finally realize I've been snoozing and it is already 0745, in all my frustratedness I chew my pumpkin out for skipping another class. Mostly because I have now missed the bus, and was hoping for a ride to work, but reluctantly take the bus. This is the usual Thursday routine. Thankfully, today we shook things up a bit. Joshy made eggs for breakfast. I scooped out the last of the salsa and a dollop of sour cream and mixed it all together. It was delightful! Breakfast with my love! Couldn't have been better! My shirt had all kinds of sweater fuzz on it, so Josh took to it with a lint roller. It was so much fun to actually feel married again. To feel like we were more than just roommates, co-habitants of a (somewhat messy) 3rd floor apartment. It gets to feeling that way, not to mention mundane splashed with loneliness.

The journey continues with bendy flowers drooping over to persuade me to stop and look, and even smell....
I'm pretty darn lucky if yaknowwhaddimean...

I've had a run of bad luck so far this week, but it doesn't matter. The fragrance of flowers is overpowering the bitterness of an well-beaten path. For instance:

This is what my pretty shiny silver car looked like Monday night after a "run-in" with a pole (pun very much intended). What, you can't see it? See how the pole is white? and it has those marks?? Marks = car.

The Culprit: The neighbors REALLY need to retake Parking 101...or at least take it for the first time. This is their car, over on our side of the line (I know I sound like a child who has divided a shared room down the middle "don't even cross the barrier")

Another "mug shot" (the poles are the edge of their space--we park to the right of them)

The Victim: My pretty car, all beat up and broken.

The Crime from another angle...

I'm so glad I have the loving husband I do, you know, the one that didn't get upset about the car...being on the pole and a few bits on the ground. He wasn't upset about the amount of money it will cost (and I'm fairly certain he won't be too upset about it). After all, as my Dad says, "aren't you glad it's just money?"

Dare I say, Popcorn Popping...?

Salt Lake was dumped on with glistening white snow. I do not like to drive in the snow, and I think it is a pain in the neck to deal with, but when you stop and think about it, it sure is pretty. I took this picture from work (The Roof) a couple of Wednesdays ago. Pretty, right?

As I plunked down at the bus stop and spotted the bus just down the street, I remembered I forgot my keys! No matter, it was just another excuse to see husband Josh. My keys, a smooch, and he was off.

On Tuesday, we put an offer on another house, in hopes we would be "home for the holidays". Unfortunately, interest rates were up again, and we didn't feel comfortable with the counter-offer they submitted. We were of one heart and one mind as we realized we were going to reject. Today we sent the rejection, and lo and behold--the interest rates were back down. No matter, we still feel we made the right decision. I loved how good it felt to be completely together on a big decision like that. These aren't even all the reasons I'm smelling flowers today, but I hope to tread this path, and many more like it, far more often. I'd like to frequent the path of flowers that stand to greet me as I pass, hoping they'll be noticed by this traveler. Best part...

                  today they were........