It’s January 25, do you know where your resolution is?

Mine is happening right now as my little fingers fly (poke) over the keyboard of my hand-me-down laptop; Resolution 2012, more writing.

Only took 25 days to get crackin’.

Do you know that almost half of all Americans make a New Year’s Resolution and by June, more than half of those folks are still sticking with it?

Astounding and Huzzah!

The magic seems to be to not make goals along the lines of: I will lose 25 pounds by February 1 or I will never drink again, but rather to approach the clean slate of a new calendar year with more open possibilities such as, I will move more over the next 12 months or, cocktails are a weekend treat… see the difference? The more rigid and extreme, the greater the chance for failure.

Which is why, on the last day of 2011, I decided to forgo my usual blather about trekking Machu Pichu and simply aim to do more of the one thing that I actually want to do more of: write.

I need to write because of what is happening Chez Fast. The oldest child is a freshman in high school, the middle child is in the 8th grade and the youngest is in 2nd but let’s be honest, she is really more of a short adult than actual child so the bottom line is all of my wee babies are so not wee babies and I have been actively mourning the loss of their non-baby status for close to five months to the point where I have been banned from even looking at any pre-2010 photos because my maudlin state makes me weepy and then dinner is late…

And where I am going with this you ask? I am going straight into needing some documentation of my busy life which goes by much too quickly and I need to set things down so when I am an old woman I can look back and remember these precious, precious days before my kids had the nerve to grow up and get their own lives.

That is actually another little know trick of resolution success: mania.

I am asking you all for help. Help me stay focused. Once a month I will be here, Succulent-ing for your pleasure, but give me feedback and let me know what you want to hear about… for example, who among you needs tips when dealing with a first year high schooler with a senior girlfriend? I can help!

I would love to know how you are doing on your goals for 2012. Have you stuck with them or perhaps revised them? And more importantly, what motivated you and can we help you?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Viva 2012. Happy New Year to all!

Now with this Social Media revolution there are truly no secrets anymore. Within seconds all your poor taste, poor judgment and poor you will be over the internet. With the help of Viddy, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and (God help me) LinkedIn, last nights indiscretions will be the talk at the water cooler, PTA meeting, yoga class, Starbucks and everywhere else you go.  There is now a way to help protect yourself from – well – yourself with the Holiday Party Sobriety Test app.

Spin the wheel and find out which three coordination or cognitive test you need to take to determine if it is time to go home and keep your dignity. Plus, ensuring that you get home safely by doing a search for nearby cab services based on your location.

This tongue-in-cheek app is for entertainment purposes only, but it still may help as a humorous reminder to avoid social media and over-sharing when one is enjoying a few too many libations over the holiday season.

Available for both the Android and iPhone devices. Go to Webroot for free download information.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Merry Christmas!

As the Succulent Wife has matured, so have her writers, who have just come to terms with calling themselves Baby Boomers. Although we do not feel our age and have always felt that Baby Boomers were of the older generation, we have now embraced who we are, i.e. members of the most influential generation ever. Thus, The Succulent Wife is now, officially for B(l)oomers™ *.

To those who have seen us grow and to those who have just discovered us, we want to thank you for being part of our journey of succulent self-discovery.

We would like to offer to four of our readers a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Restaurant.com (if you do not know about Restaurant.com, just read what we wrote here).

To enter this giveaway, please subscribe to our blog (see the subscribe field in the right column) and then simply tell us – by leaving a comment below – what you enjoy about The Succulent Wife or what topic you would like us to focus on. The giveaway is open until January 12, 2012 at 11:59 am CT.

Usual giveaway rules are: One entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random using a random integer generator. Your information is confidential and used for this giveaway only. Multiple entries will be deleted. Winner who does not respond within 2 days of our announcement via email will be dismissed in favor of another winner. Restaurant.com certificates are valid in U.S.A only.

*see our description of our made-up but so appropriate B(l)oomers™ term.

Every year at this time, we scour the internet looking for websites that bring out the child in all of us and help us (and our kids) get into the spirit of Christmas. Last year we found several Ho Ho Holiday sites and the year before, some Creative Christmas Magic Sites.

This year, we found another free site, PortableNorthPoleTV which creates a personalized video from Santa. What makes this one different? It’s not just for kids, but also works well for non-believers, aka teens and adults. Santa will tell them if they are on the naughty or nice list and why. Very cute and the smaller kids will think, for sure, that this is Santa himself.

Perfect for co-workers, neighbors, family members, teenagers (I sent one to my son, see below) and, of course, children. Have fun!

Warning: Slightly addictive and could take you away from doing actual work, but still so worth it!

Plus, do not forget to track Santa at NoradSanta.

Merry Christmas!

Writing about holidays or personal holiday traditions is tricky business because there is a greater than average chance you will offend your reader – either by sounding as though you are giving Martha Stewart a run for her money with your just general awesome soups and crafts and vintage decor, or you will offend your reader with your snarky thought slightly tongue-in-cheek holiday tales as told from the bottom of a wine glass… guess in which category I tend to fall?

That being said, when the Succulents asked me to contribute a piece to be published on (American) Thanksgiving, I had to throw caution to the wind because Thanksgiving has gone from being my least favorite to my MOSTEST favorite holiday and, for all of you thawing out 22 pound turkeys and changing the guest room sheets, pull up a chair and listen as I tell you how to Reclaim Your Holiday.

Backstory: when Hugh (husband) and I bought our home back in 1998, it had the strangest little kitchen I had ever seen. It was three small rooms, a kitchen proper, a pantry and a laundry area, all crammed into maybe two hundred square feet. The house was built in 1933 and it was built as a vacation cottage for a family from the Pasadena area of California and they owned, and I suppose vacationed in it, for 30 odd years until they sold it, in the late 60s, to a professor of astronomy and his wife. This couple, who embraced hippie culture, and saddled their offspring with the names Rainbow and Morningstar, did nothing to “modernize” the kitchen that was meant only for light summer fare and not hearty holiday meals.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving… it isn’t the company or the cleaning or the even the turkey that began to take it’s toll, but rather, as the children got older, I began to feel that I was wasting precious vacation days running around town in search of harvest colored candles or rare root vegetables. I began to carve “to do” lists of chaos. Obsessing over floral arrangements, outdoor heating while trying to forcibly create meaningful traditions for my family. Days of prep, a full morning and afternoon of cooking, a dinner which never lasted more than a half an hour, and all topped off by a dirty kitchen filled with dirtier dishes; clearly not my idea of a holiday. I wasn’t spending time watching the Macy’s parade or baking fun turkey cookies or even taking in the newest holiday movie release – I was on the go trying to create something like this:

Because deep in my heart I am an old white granny with a silver soup tureen. I wanted my family and our guests to sit around a beautifully set table and share what we were thankful for… I wanted tears and reunions but what I usually ended up with was this:

Okay, maybe not quite that askew, but it certainly felt along those lines and when the letdown of the holiday started in early November and I began to consider re-upping my Xanax just to survive the holiday, it occurred to me that a big change was in order.

I decided to be among the 2.23 million people who traveled somewhere over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Delighted in my decision making process I then had a myriad of criteria to fulfill: this trip could not involve an airport, could not cost thousands and thousands of dollars and could not be San Diego (Sorry, San Diego, but the scars from the college years run deep). It also had to be a destination which my husband, a man who I will refrain from calling “cheap” on the Internet but will instead go with “frugal”, would happily dip into our marital bank account and not give me the side eye every time I approached an ATM. I found my answer in Catalina Island. 26 miles across the sea and, well, you know the song…

In a word: heaven. Those 26 miles are the difference between schedules and lists and driving around town like a maniac. They are the difference between spending four days with my kids vs. my kids spending four days hanging out with their friends. They are the difference between forcing meaningful time and actually experiencing it.

This year marks our sixth Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Avalon. We travel with two other families, rent homes on the same street and divide up the duties of a relaxed holiday dinner. We have created traditions of Mexican food on Wednesday and movies at the Casino on Friday and the kids (all nine of them!) count on this time away as much as the adults.

It took leaving town for me to find a way to be actually be thankful. To stop and look at my life, my husband, my children, my friends and be shaken by my many many blessings. I had to get off the hamster wheel of attempted perfection to realize that what I have is perfect.

And although I will never get Norman Rockwell, I do get this:

I encourage all of you to take the time to reclaim your holiday season. Be it saying “no” to an annual party you dread, or hand-making all of your gifts, find the thing that will quiet the noise and bring meaning back to what should be a most special time of year.

The winners were selected at random using the Random Integer Generator (chronological order). This giveaway CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED but do subscribe via RSS or email to get updates on new giveaways as they get posted. Thank you all for playing!

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Just in time for the start of the festive season of parties, entertaining and overindulgence, Galeos is offering three giveaways of their 5-pack of great tasting, low calorie miso-based dressings. All this because they want you to try all their flavors, but most especially their brand new Miso Southwest dressing.

We have written about Galeos miso dressings before. We love their product and we’re happy to introduce you to the newest addition to the family, the Miso Southwest dressing, which has only 25 calories and 1g of fat for 1 tbsp of dressing, making it easier to keep within a reasonable caloric intake during this holiday season. With a zesty hint of sriracha peppers you would never know that this dressing is miso based.

Here is a video demonstrating a super easy Chicken Fajita recipe using the New Miso Southwest Dressing. YUM!

Click here to view the embedded video.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY, all you need to do is to visit the Galeos website and tell us what recipe you would try OR let us know how you would be using Galeos Miso Dressings by leaving a comment below.

The giveaway is open until Tuesday December 6th, 2011 at 11:59 am CT. Usual giveaway rules are: One entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random using a random integer generator. Your information is confidential and used for this giveaway only. Multiple entries will be deleted. Winner who does not respond within 2 days of our announcement via email will be dismissed in favor of another winner. USA residence only.

We hunger to learn more about your perceptions of our website and what other content you might wish to see. If you are a regular, or even an occasional reader, we would love to hear from you through this really super-short, super-quick survey. In taking the survey, you will be entered to win one of three $50 Restaurant.com gift certificates.

Please note that the survey is entirely anonymous. Instructions to enter your name in the giveaway are provided at the end of the survey. Click here to take the survey.

We really, really appreciate your time. THANK YOU!

Turns out that new colors need to be created to match current consumer trends and moods. It’s a real science and the authority is, bien sûr, PANTONE.

I thought that you would enjoy this video that quickly walks us through the PANTONE process of researching, adjusting and testing the development of new colors.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who knew? Well, I certainly feel smarter now.

And, designers and artistes, you will want to check out the PANTONE website for resources, tools and apps for fashion and home color planning.

Color is just plain cool.