As I get older, I give a lot of thought to making promises...especially to myself. Those are the ones I tend to keep the least, rationalizing that there's always time to restart a project, get better in the fitness department, read more, write more, travel more, and on and on. While the rationalizing assuages my conscience for a time, the blunt bare truth is I get caught up in everyone else's promises and put my own so far back on the stove that most of them boil dry. No more.

2008 is…

Fall is in the air here in Central Illinois. I know because I woke up this morning to a crisp chill breeze floating through the open window in my bedroom. I smiled. Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the departure of allergies and the emergence of gold, red and all the colors in between on the neighborhood trees. There's football of course, although baseball is still around, and the occasional (and illegal inside city limits) smell of burning…

I love football. Sometimes I don't understand the nuances, but I love to watch the game. I can't tell you why exactly, since sometimes it can be deadly dull. There's nothing slower than slogging through mud and rain in search of those ten yards using only running plays; especially when those plays don't seem to be doing a darn thing. Pass! I scream (in the stands, at the big screen TV, at the radio). Throw the damn ball...there's a receiver wide open in the end zone! Of course, no one…

We've fallen into a rut when it comes to Sunday's main meal. Every other week or so, my husband and I actually manage to be in the same place at the same time. When we are, I make it a point to ask what he has a taste for when it comes to dinner. The last few times, his answer has been predictable. Meat loaf. He always prefaces the choice with 'your wonderful' or 'world famous', which is intended to flatter me. Now I like meat loaf as well as anything, and I have a favorite recipe, but I…