I have just a couple of resolutions this year. Trying to keep it simple.

The first is to plant a garden, now that I have a yard. I tried growing herbs and tomatoes on the balcony of our loft, but that southwest sun just burned them up. My mom grew tomatoes, and I remember eating them straight from the plant, sprinkled with a little sugar. Yum. I don't think I've had a tomato that tasted like that since, not even the tomatoes from the farmer's market.

I don't know the first thing about gardening. Nothing. Anyone have some tips they'd like to share? Or should I invest in a subscription to Sunset magazine?

The second is to practice gratitude a little more often. Like, being grateful that we live in sunny Colorado, where there's always something to do, even in the dead of winter, you can still get outside.

We just returned from 10 days visiting my husband's family in Syracuse. (I know, what were we thinking, staying so long? Like fish, we started to smell bad after 3 or 4 days. Everything started to smell bad.) It's so dang cold there! We couldn't go outside -- really, it was bitterly cold, and the only indoor activities anyone could think of were the mall or Wegman's. Yes, the fabulous grocery store.

So we stayed inside and ate. And ate. My sister-in-law makes the most delicious Italian cookies for Christmas. Everyone else must have learned their lesson, for the huge platters at everyone's house were untouched by anyone but me. I think I single-handedly ate every last cookie.

Every night, my son wanted to read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." You know, the one where he eats and eats and eats a bunch of junk. Our favorite line is "and then he had a stomachache."

We moan and groan and I truly do have a stomachache.

Time to eat a nice green leaf, and then I'll feel much better.