On the Fence about Flowers

Alright. When it comes to flowers from my hubs, I have quite a mixed philosophy. There's part of me-we'll call it "Cheapskate"-that immediately wonders how much he spent on them and then thinks about the things I could have bought for that amount that would not die in a week. Then there's the other part of me-we'll call this one "Romantic"-that is just not willing to give up the notion of a surprise bouquet. Now, I've never fully talked this out with my dear Jono, but it seems that he has picked up on my flower quirkiness and found the perfect middle ground. Today, which by the way is our 9 year anniversary, he popped home for a minute from work to deliver a fresh bunch of buds to me. They were winners! No, it wasn't 9 red roses. I love roses, but I'm always drawn to those mixed bouquets that have lots of colors and different flowers. And that's exactly what it was. There were a couple of roses, some daisies, chrysanthemums, and some other flower and really cool greenery that I have no idea what they are. It was great because the Cheapo part of me didn't kick in since it wasn't a huge "Flowers R Us" rose presentation. In fact, for the sake of this post, I asked Jono to reveal the price. After much promising that the cheaper they were, the more wonderful of a gift they are he told me that they were just $10!! Now that's romance-that-will-die-in-a-week I can handle. And they're so bright and colorful and happy!
Now here's my trick to always making these cheaper bouquets look their best. For some reason, most people get a bunch of flowers, grab a vase big enough to hold the bunch, and stick them all in. This works sometimes, but I much prefer to find a bunch of my smaller vases and distribute all those little flowers around. They look better because they aren't all crammed together and those non-rose, small buds seem to stand out more when they're cut down a little shorter. Plus, more rooms in your house get to be graced by their presence. So, for $10 I now have 4 arrangements (which reside by my kitchen sink, on my pub table, in my living room, and in the guest bathroom) instead of one. It just makes me wanna sing!!
So there you have it. Unless you just can't appreciate a flower that isn't a rose, save a bundle of money and go for those mixed, grocery store bouquets. Split 'em up and it'll look like you just went for a walk through a meadow with your basket and collected them yourself!!
And, since I'm hoping that my girls are reading this one day in their twenties, I thought it would be neat to mention how in love I am with my Jono on our 9 year anniversary. Since it fell on a Wednesday and he had to teach, our surprise festivities begin tomorrow afternoon. But I made him an adorable (read:embarrassing) little badge to wear at church that said: "Heather's Hubby: 9 years of marital bliss. 09-08-01". It may have even had a little glitter on it. Of course he cringed, but it's kind of a tradition for me to make him wear some ooshy-gooshy thing on our anniversary. But we are madly in love and the best of friends. My babies may have weird parents, but they at least have parents that love each other like crazy. And I'm seeing more and more that that is not as common as it should be.