Things to be Grateful for!

The smell of fresh air just after a rain...or the sprinklers.
I grew up in Washington State near Seattle and I love rain. I love the sound it makes in the forest when you are out hiking in it. I love the cozy pat on the windows when you are curled up warm inside. And I love the fresh, clean smell of it.
About four years ago I moved to Los Angeles, CA to see about acting professionally. LA was not as brown as I was led to believe but after I was there for a few years I realized it was browner than I wanted. When I would fly home to Washington to visit it was so funny to see the contrasts from the air. Leaving LA you'd see brilliant green lawns, sparkly blue pools, and grey concrete. Then as you got higher you'd notice LA was an artificial oasis because everything on the outside of town was brown and tan for miles and miles. When you came in to Washington everything is a rich deep green of evergreens and deep blue of the bay. The funny thing is in the summer, when you come in closer, the only brown you see if from the hibernating lawns!
Then I moved to Texas. Hmmm. No, it was not on the list of places I'd like to live, but it's kind of a long story on how I got here. Dallas is even browner than LA, but it is where I am right now and I want to be happy where ever I am. There are great creepy trees here. My banner picture was taken from the patio of my apartment. It has also been overcast-y a decent amount...like today. It is warm and a bit muggy and it feels like there are tiny bits of rainlet sprinkle-ish-ness out there as well, but the part that really made my day was when I came out of the leasing office and the sprinklers had just shut off....it smelled so lovely! The air in LA just doesn't hold moisture like down here. So it may get hot and horribly muggy in the summer here but for right now I am grateful for those sprinklers and the air that holds the moisture enough for that lovely scent!