It is a tradition in our house to watch a marathon of the Twilight Zone on the Sci Fi Channel every New Year’s Eve (and also July 4th). We are addicted! This is the finest show in the history of TV. There’s nothing like those old black and white outdated episodes! It is fascinating to watch and then look up the actors on line to see what other shows and movies they’ve done.

One year I watched 17 hours of episodes one day and 15 hours the next! A bit excessive, don’t you think? I run laps around the dining room and living room during commercials so as not to become a complete blob. I hate to admit this, but I have even created my own index of episodes so I know exactly what is comping up and who is staring in each show. What a shame it is that Rod Serling died so young. His show was brilliant.

Check it out tonight while you are waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square!

I cannot imagine going to my local library only to find that it is not open on certain days or worse yet that it has closed completely. One of our librarian contest entrants, Rekha Gandhi, informed me that the Newark NJ Public Library system is reducing days of operation for two of its branches and closing another.

The economic challenges have led to severe budget cuts for many libraries throughout the US. But communities need their libraries. I hate to hear about librarians losing their jobs or facing pay cuts. What can we do to improve the situation?

If you think about it, it does not make a whole lot of sense to wait until the new year to set goals. We should be setting and evaluating our goals all throughout the year. Our children should not wait until January 1 (half way through the school year) to work harder at school. No adult should wait until the new year to start appreciating his or her spouse or wait until now to stop destructive behavior or habits.

So what does work for setting and keeping goals? If the answer were easy, I’d be selling it and getting rich. But the truth is that there are no secrets to setting and keeping resolutions. Everything any human can accomplish can be summed up with one simple word. . .

Discipline

There are no formulas, pills, potions, experts or manuals that can give you shortcuts or tools that will put you ahead of others in meeting your goals. It always amazes me how many billions of dollars Americans spend on weight loss solutions. Our lives are flooded with magazine and newspaper articles, news programs, reality shows, books, radio programs and more telling us how important it is to maintain a healthy weight and what to do to reach that weight. Yet Americans are getting fatter and fatter. If each and every one of us really thought about it, we do not need to be told what we need to do to maintain a healthy weight. We already know what we need to do! But the sad fact is that most people simply do not do it. People criticize fast food restaurants, saying that the food choices are not healthy enough. Then the fast food restaurants add salads, apples and other lower calorie items to their menus, but people still eat the greasy burgers and fries. Is that because they do not know these foods are unhealthy? No!!!!! It is because they are undisciplined.

Let me share with you my personal mantra to maintaining a healthy weight . . .

“Shut Your Pie Hole and Move Your Ass.”

I tell myself this daily, and it live by it. I enjoy fantastic, delicious, healthy whole food, and I am a gourmet cook. I avoid sweets, but eat them on occasion. (I used to be a Sugar Junkie!!) I choose to not gorge myself on anything, and prefer small portions. I try to eat high fiber foods whenever possible. I do not consume processed foods. I do rigorous exercise every day for 30-45 minutes. I am not naturally athletic. (I was always the last person picked for team sports when I was a kid.) I do not have a personal trainer. I do not own workout machines. I have an inexpensive plastic stepper, free weights, a jump rope and some workot DVDs – plus an athletic dog to run with. Working out has become a habit (for 13 years now) and is no longer a burden. In fact, I do not feel good if I do not get some exercise.

Getting fit is much easier than getting rich or finding a cure for a rare disease. You just have to follow my mantra.

And for any other goals? A good plan and discipline will help you reach them any day of the year.

In South Florida we plant tomatoes in October and get the first harvest around Christmas. We had an extra cool fall here, so it really helped our tomatoes grow. I have never had such flawless tomatoes before! I just got a new pressure canner for Christmas, and I am very excited about trying it out.

Check out my tomatoes’ number one enemy (the last 2 photos). The giant adult moths of the hornworm drop larvae on the plants at night. The larvae turn into large worms that are identical in color to the tomato plants. These pests eat the plants and fruit at a rapid rate. We control them by separating the potted plants (the moths seem confused by this) and by inspecting them daily for activity and picking the worms off. They are not eay to see! I also spray the organic plants with a concoction of crushed and strained garlic and cayenne pepper in a water base.

I hope all of you had a great week celebrating the holidays with family and friends. For all of you who are snowed in and  trying hard to stay warm, here is a photo for you. I took it yesterday from South Beach. Sun and warmth all year round- this is why I live in Miami. . .

Chocolate Mint Layer Cake!

Just take your favorite chocolate layer cake recipe, and in place of the vanilla extract in the cake and frosting, use equal parts creme de menthe and peppermint extract. I made white mint icing to spread between the layers and chocolate to cover the cake. I topped it with chocolate curls.

I made a big batch of chocolate truffles to give to 2 of my favorite neighbor families. I decorated 2 business card boxes with festive foam stickers, lined them with some batting and put the truffles in tiny muffin cups. Then I added a few store bought chocolate and candy canes. They were fun to make and I dod not have to mess up the kitchen!

Walgreens is by far my favorite store for stocking stuffers. Here are some items I’ve bought for family members’ stockings in the past:

• Deck of cards
• Snow Globe
• Candy Bars
• Small Chocolates
• Chocolate snowmen
• Mints
• Gum
• Boxer Shorts
• Macadamia Nuts
• Candy Canes
• Tinny Stuffed Animals
• Small Puzzles
• Superballs
• Toy Cars
• Toothbrush
• Hair Ties
• Comb
• Razors
• Nail Polish Lipstick
• CDs
• itunes Gift Card
• Barnes and Noble Gift Card
• Film
• Pencils
• Paper Clips
• Cray Glue
• Stick It Notes
• Pens
• Tiny Pads of Paper
• Chip Clips
• Batteries
• Vitamins
• Lotion
• Socks
• Band Aids
• Travel Size Toiletries
• Shoe Polish
• Car Freshener
• Key Chain
• Coin Purse
• Soap
• Mini Teacup
• Note Cards
• Balloons
• Tiny Crossword Puzzle Books
• Earrings
• Sunscreen
• Yo Yo
• Swiss Army Knife

The possibilities are endless!

There are some things ya gotta just do during your holiday break – if you are lucky enough to have one:

• Watch A Christmas Story movie. It is a hilarious, all-American movie that will really get you and your kids in the holiday spirit. After watching this, you’ll want to order your very own fishnet stocking leg lamp.
• Bake cookies. You don’t have to go overboard, gorge yourself, gain 10 pounds and go into insulin shock. This is best to do with your kids. Share your goodies with neighbors.
• Read a great book in your favorite chair as long as possible with no interruptions.
• Call your out-of-town family to wish them well. When I remind my husband to call his sisters and brother, he says, “All of them?!” (He’s one of 7!)
• Hang out with your family and tell stories about past Christmases. Hopefully they are funny.
• Listen to your favorite Christmas music.
• Remember to water your live tree.
• Make potato latkes for your family.
• Do a jigsaw puzzle with your kids.
• Do something special for someone less fortunate than you.
• Just say no to the chaos. Choose how to spend your time wisely. Don’t do anything you’ll resent doing out of obligation.

Lisbeth Boutang, the Smart Poodle Grand Prize winner was featured in her home town newspaper, The Pine Journal.

Thousands of readers have read our winning entries, and we have received many comments about how much other libraries from all over the US enjoyed reading them!