Out with the old. In with the new.

It's time to eat healthier, exercise more, and get ORGANIZED! I'm not so sure about the first two, but I am all about organization. I love making order out of chaos. 

I've been going through scads of photos from the past twelve months. Sorting through pictures is time consuming, but rewarding. It's a good reminder of just how blessed we are. I've sorted through an abundance of family members' faces, oodles of friends' smiles, countless places we've been, stuff we've seen or done over the past 365 days, numerous ballet pics, and a few things I just don't recognize or recall taking a picture of. Of course, there are a gazillion images of those darn cats. (Millie's been using my camera again!)

During the month of December, there were several hundred pictures taken with my camera. (Oh, I am so glad we don't have to buy film and pay for processing any more.) I won't share all of the pictures here. I promise! The majority of the images already have been, or will be, deleted. Here are a few choice photos from Christmas Day until the end of the year. Well, there might be more than a few pics -- perhaps a dozen-ish will do.

The table was set for five for Christmas dinner, but Jemima thought that she needed a chair of her own. (No, we didn't pull an extra chair up for her. She got booted. And no table scraps, either.) I thought our table looked simply elegant set with our Dansk china and silver. (Wedding gifts!) The water goblets are circa 1900, and used to belong to Mr. Smith's grandmother or maybe great-grandmother. They are old, no matter who the original owner was. I think the food tasted better because it was served up in a little more formal fashion than we are used to on a daily basis.

#1 Resolution for 2012: Use the "good stuff" more often, and not worry if a piece gets damaged/broken.

These "boots" were a quirky addition to the Christmas decorations this year. They are so doggone adorable, I would almost consider leaving them out all year. Thank you, Pier1!

 Harwood and his two favorite girls. These two are my two favorite, too.

The journey to the Hoosier state on December 26th may have been long, and rainy, but it was fun. Junk food (a road trip tradition) and silly games were the order of the day. We received many stares and chuckles from other motorists along I-44 as we were playing this guessing game. You've gotta admit that the headbands ARE rather stylish.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland? What a treat it was to wake up to an Indiana snowfall on our wedding anniversary. All that precipitation we drove through in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois turned white when it caught up with us in Indiana.

 I coerced the Smithlings into posing for a picture in the new-fallen snow. Everyone's smiling and all eyes are opened, so it's a keeper.

Surprise! For our 24th anniversary, Mr. Smith had our favorite Hoosier florist, who did our wedding flowers all those years ago, recreate an arrangement similar to what we had for decorations. He's so thoughtful!

Are there any photos of me with my beloved on "our" day? Nope. Maybe Mr. Smith and I will pose for a photograph on our twenty-fifth. I'll start planning now.

#2 Resolution for 2012: Say, "Cheese!" more often.  I take lots of pictures during the year, just not of myself. I've always been more comfortable behind the camera, but I will resolve to get out of my comfort zone and get in the picture more often.

 Millie Girl with her grandpa

Grandpa and his grandkids minus two

All smiles!

I've always looked up to my mostest-favoritest seester.

 Or over to her? Or something like that.

Cousins!!!

Thompson, Burton, Thompson, Burton...

Do you see a pattern here?

I already know that I am going to get questions regarding my current hair color, so I will address it right here and now.

So, does she... or doesn't she?

She did.

On a whim, I decided to try out some darker tones. It has been interesting to hear and see the reactions of my family members and friends. The brunette hair color has been getting mixed reviews. One of our neighbors simply didn't recognize me, and had to do a double and triple-take before things clicked. A couple of people loved it, a few liked it, and there were some who were indifferent. I only received one "mildly dissatisfied" comment. All in all, I learned that I could do a brown 'do if I wanted to. So, there! Operation Brunette was not only born out of boredom, but also it has been a scientific experiment to try to answer the age-old question of whether blondes or brunettes have the most fun. The results reveal that blonde wins, by a hair! 

#3 Resolution for 2012: Return tresses to their mostly natural shade of dark blonde soon; however, a few well-placed lighter blonde highlights are always welcomed. 

After three short days in Indiana, we drove back to Texas. Instead of the usual 14 hour trip, this one took 17 hours. We stopped in St. Louis for coffee and beignets with T&L. This tasty stop may have added an extra hour and a half, but it was well worth it.


We stopped again in Joplin, MO, to survey the rebuilding process. It was amazing to see how much has been cleared and rebuilt after the tornado last spring. We opted to eat at Panera, no fast food, so this stop added another hour.

Sprite

Miss Millie took a photo of her Panera drink, and I think it turned out really well; however, too much liquid refreshment caused us to have to make an unplanned McWee Wee stop along the Will Rogers Turnpike in OK.

After our McStop, it appeared that we would be getting home around 10:15 PM, but that was before we opted to make a Starbucks stop in Norman, OK. Since our resident high school senior has applied to a certain university located in said city, we had to take a short driving tour of the campus. We arrived home at 11 PM, oh, so happy to be back home and out of the car.

New Year's Day Forecast:

#4 Resolution for 2012: Give thanks and enjoy every day, rain or shine. (Shine is preferred, but rain is good, too.)

#5 Resolution for 2012: Rejoice!...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Happy New Year!