Me and my D out with friends.

This is one of my favorite things about city life – there’s always somewhere to go. We all have “places” – there’s a “place” for this group of friends, and a “place” for that group – because humans like patterns, familiarity. But there’s always something new to try. I really enjoy the variety and the ability to discover something new any time we’re out. Life is so much less interesting in small towns. =)

My David is so patient. =) We went out to eat, and I pulled out my camera. I figure the more pictures I take, the better I’ll know the camera. Since we’re together all the time, he’s the perfect practice subject. At least, in my opinion. You’ll be able to see his opinion in the photos I take of him this year.

Insatiable desire for attention – that’s my Lindy.

My favorite 2-year-old.  Ever, except for Leah. That is, when she was 2.

Ahem. Anyway, I love this face – I said, “Smile, Autumn!” – and this was what she gave me.

So, I had to work on my birthday.  Even better, I had to work out of town on my birthday.  Because it was my birthday, and because my birthday’s a holiday, David came with me.  He even took me to dinner that night.  =)

I work 4 10s.  After my 10-hour shift, David surprised me with a scavenger hunt.  

There was a small pot of flowers on the hotel table (I live in a hotel 4 days of the week, and had said maybe I should bring pictures and plants to make it more like a home).  Inside the plant, there was a slip of paper… and so began the hunting.

The flowers led to socks. (I’d forgotten to bring socks for the week.)

The socks led to another pair of socks.

That pair of socks led to a candle (really yummy smell!) in a pretty holder (good taste for a guy).

The candle led to one more pair of socks – made a set – gray, brown, and khaki to match the pants I’d brought.

The socks led to the real present – David bought me fuzzy boots!  If you have lived with me at all in the last year, you’ve heard me pining for fuzzy boots.  It’s so blasted cold here in the winter, and I can’t seem to get warm at all – I’ve been talking and talking about fuzzy boots for months.

So thoughtful!  And it was fun to dig around in the hotel room with David as giddy as a kid.  I really did have a great birthday this year – thanks to D.

Happy new year! I think there might not be a much better way to spend New Year’s Eve than with family (especially church family) and friends. We went to two parties this year, and got to spend time with a bonus friend – Evelyn!

Meet Evelyn, Bethany’s cousin; she’s vogue-ing with Bethany and me:

New Year’s is my birthday (I’m 28 this year).  I always forget because it’s so quiet after New Year’s Eve.  So I’m always surprised when I get tons of phone calls from family and friends – especially when, like this year, I’m working or busy instead of staying home like most folks.  It’s nice that my loved ones remember – even when I don’t – that this isn’t just another day.  It’s the one day in the year I don’t mind talking incessantly on the phone.  =)

There are always a million things I want to do with myself when a new year dawns – many resolutions I’ll never follow through on. (How about THAT grammar, Leah?)  This year, I decided to write out the list of things I’d like to do but will never accomplish, so you can all be as disappointed in me as I will be in myself.  =)  Here’s what I’m not going to resolve to do, but will nonetheless eagerly attempt (at least for the next few days):

• Stop biting my nails.  (FYI: I’ve been resolving on and failing this since I was 10.)
• Lose weight.  (Again, every year, I say “THIS is the year.”)
• Exercise.  (Directly related to the above, and the main reason I never acheive that goal.)
• Spend regular and significant time with my sisters.  (We’ve drifted as we’ve been far apart geographically.)
• Read my Bible every day.  (That’s EVERY day.  No sick or tired or no-time days.)
• Take more pictures, and more meaningful pictures, with my awesome camera.
• Do something with my pictures – scrapbook, post, frame and hang, etc.
• Keep my house clean – not just clean, but Lorene Woodrum clean.
• Keep a plant alive for a full year.  (I keep a dead-for-three-years poinsettia around to remind me not to attempt this.)
• Think less about myself and more about the people around me – that means being a better wife, a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend.
• Keep in touch better with people I love (to the tune of at least emailing, if not sending cards and real letters).
• Remember and acknowledge birthdays.
• Start learning to play the flute and the guitar.  (I have both – I just need to actually learn to play.)